| Review: Soulo converts iPad into karaoke machine |
| Karaoke lovers typically fall into two categories: Those who enjoy it, and those whose arms have to be twisted to get up and sing in public. |
| Google rumored to have built Heads-Up-Display glasses prototype |
| (PhysOrg.com) -- 9to5Google is reporting that they have received a tip from someone they believe to be a reliable source saying that Google is working on a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) pair of eye-glasses. The person offering the tip has apparently seen a prototype and says the glasses resemble a pair of Oakley Thumps, except for the HUD side attachment. Oakley Thumps are sunglasses with earbuds attached. |
| Hitachi ships the industry's first 25-nanometer SLC NAND flash enterprise-class SSDs |
| Demonstrating its commitment to delivering leading-edge technologies and solutions for enterprise-class servers and storage systems, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced that its Ultrastar enterprise-class solid state drive (SSD) family is the industry’s first to use 25-nanometer (nm) single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash. The Ultrastar SSD400S.B family combines Hitachi’s proven enterprise hard disk drive (HDD) expertise with Intel’s extensive capabilities in developing high-endurance SLC NAND flash memory and advanced SSD technology. The drives also conform to the Trusted Computing Group’s Enterprise A Security Subsystem Class encryption specification, helping customers protect sensitive data, and reduce the costs associated with drive retirement and reuse. “Security is a growing concern among enterprise customers, especially those in financial services, e-commerce and online transaction processing,” said Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing, Hitachi GST. “Our solid state drives are designed to deliver the highest level of performance, while reducing total cost of ownership. With our new 25nm SLC SSDs, our enterprise customers now have the highest level of data protection in an SSD without compromising system performance, reliability and endurance.” The new Ultrastar SSD400S.B family is available in 100GB, 200GB and 400GB capacities, and features 2.5-inch 6Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface. This provides unique value to customers who are increasingly looking to tiered storage as a method of managing today's datacenters. Working in collaboration with Intel, the Ultrastar SSD400S.B family combines enterprise-grade NAND flash, proprietary endurance firmware and power loss management techniques to extend the reliability, endurance and sustained performance of the new SSD family. The 400GB SSD can endure up to 35 petabytes (PB) of random writes over the life of the drive, which is the equivalent of writing 19.2TB/day for five years, ensuring greater utilization and reliability in the most demanding enterprise environments. For complete end-to-end data protection and reliability, the Ultrastar SSD400S family includes advanced data integrity and power loss management technologies that are tied with industry standards to ensure compatibility in multi-tiered SSD/HDD system designs. “The transition to the latest 25nm SLC NAND from Intel reinforces the commitment of both companies to deliver outstanding performance and endurance in the Ultrastar SSD400S.B family," said Rob Crooke, Intel vice president and general manager of the Intel Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "Our collaboration with Hitachi GST continues to deliver leading enterprise-class SSD solutions that are critical to building Tier 0 solutions for the enterprise." The new Ultrastar SSD400S.B family delivers the industry’s highest SSD sequential throughput, up to 536MB/s read and 502MB/s write throughput with 6Gb/s SAS. The new drive also delivers up to 57,500 read and 25,500 sustained write IOPS, reaching speeds 100 times faster than traditional hard drives, resulting in rapid response times for real-time transaction processing access to “hot” enterprise data for improved productivity and operational efficiency. As fewer SSDs are required to achieve the same HDD ultra-high performance, the new Ultrastar SSD400S.B family offers significant value in terms of IOPS per Watt, while reducing TCO through low power consumption, efficient cooling and reduced space requirements. |
| Intel packs performance and reliability into its latest SSD 520 series |
| Intel Corporation announced today its fastest, most robust client/consumer solid-state drive (SSD) to date, the Intel Solid-State Drive 520 Series (Intel SSD 520), a 6 gigabit-per-second (gbps) SATA III SSD produced using Intel compute-quality 25-nanometer (nm) NAND memory process technology. Aimed at delivering world-class performance for even the most demanding PC enthusiasts, gamers, professionals or small-medium businesses (SMBs), the Intel SSD 520 has fast throughput performance, new security features and unmatched reliability to meet even the most intensive user requirements. |
| Researchers find social robots require astute tuning to improve acceptability by the human mind |
| After years of existing only in fiction, social robots are finally being designed that can more closely emulate how people express themselves, interact and learn – and doing so while performing jobs like teaching social behavior to children with autism or helping stroke patients with their physical rehabilitation exercises. |
| A boom in smarter baby monitors |
| The cry has been heard: After 20 years with little change to baby monitoring devices, new designs premiered in January at the Consumer Electronics Show promising Wi-Fi connectivity and high-definition video that streams live to a smartphone. |
| Motorola: Some refurbished tablets weren't wiped |
| Motorola Mobility says about 100 Xoom tablet computers that it refurbished for sale on Woot.com may not have been properly wiped of the previous owners' data. |
| GPS shoe lets families keep track of elderly relatives |
| A Teaneck, N.J., shoe maker has joined with a California technology company to create a shoe that uses GPS technology that records where a wearer walks - and can send alerts to caregivers if someone suffering from Alzheimer's disease or dementia wanders away and gets lost. |
| New Nokia phone no standout, but worth a look |
| The first of Nokia's new generation of smartphones isn't flashy and certainly isn't an iPhone killer. But it's a nice device, and at $40 with a two-year contract, a bargain. |
| Studying butterfly flight to help build bug-size flying robots |
| To improve the next generation of insect-size flying machines, Johns Hopkins engineers have been aiming high-speed video cameras at some of the prettiest bugs on the planet. By figuring out how butterflies flutter among flowers with amazing grace and agility, the researchers hope to help small airborne robots mimic these maneuvers. |
| The iPhone's Siri doesn't seem so smart in Scotland |
| D'ye want me tae spaek more clearly, Siri? Aye, ye would. |
| Motorola sharpens Droid Razr with Maxx |
| The Razr is among the elite of Android devices. Motorola sharpens its Razr brand further with the 4G LTE Droid Razr Maxx which was released at Verizon for $300 with a two year agreement. |
| Some HTC Android phones found vulnerable to WiFi password leak |
| (PhysOrg.com) -- The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (U-CERT) has issued a warning to users of some HTC Android phones regarding a security vulnerability that has been found. The warning pertains to 802.1X WiFi user information and SSID data that can be viewed by rouge applications, taking advantage of a weakness in the OEM Android build of certain HTC phones. |
| Airborne robot swarms are making complex moves (w/ video) |
| (PhysOrg.com) -- The GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania this week released a video that shows their new look in GRASP Lab robotic flying devices. They are now showing flying devices with more complex behavior than before, in a fleet of flying devices that move in packs, navigate spaces with obstacles, flip over and retain position, and carry out formation flying, |
| Robot reconnoiters uncharted terrain |
| Mobile robots have many uses. They serve as cleaners, carry out inspections and search for survivors of disasters. But often, there is no map to guide them through unknown territory. Researchers have now developed a mobile robot that can roam uncharted terrain and simultaneously map it – all thanks to an algorithm toolbox. |
| New Vizio HD-TV breaks wide-screen barrier for movies, apps |
| The shape of TVs to come might be even wider than wide-screen. Today's high-definition sets evolved to a rectangular 16-by-9 shape from the more square analog TVs. But a wider 21-by-9 display standard is in the works at the Consumer Electronics Association. |
| Congolese inventor puts African tablet on sale |
| Africa has its first handheld tablet to rival the iPad and similar western inventions, which went on sale in the Republic of Congo on Monday, its inventor Verone Mankou said Monday. |
| Remote control pushed aside by gesture-sensitive devices |
| The remote control has never been much beloved. If it's not getting lost or running out of batteries, the device - and its inscrutable buttons - is confusing some family member or acting as a totem in an argument about what to watch. |
| Sony develops new 'RGBW coding' and 'HDR movie' functions |
| Sony Corporation today announced the development of two CMOS image sensor models designed for use in smartphones and other devices. They are equipped with Sony's unique “RGBW Coding” function which allows images to be captured with low noise and high picture quality even in low-light conditions. They also contain Sony's “HDR (High Dynamic Range) Movie” function which allows brilliant color to be captured even in bright settings. Sony has also developed a model with built-in signal processing functionality, an element that usually requires external embedment. |
| Study finds tablet, e-book ownership soared |
| Tablets and e-readers were a popular gift over the holidays, so much so that the number of people who own them nearly doubled between mid-December and January, a new study finds. |
| Shrew whiskers inspire ground-breaking robot design |
| (PhysOrg.com) -- The Etruscan shrew, one of the world’s tiniest mammals, measuring around 4 centimetres long, is the inspiration for a ground-breaking new robot developed to use sophisticated whiskers to find its way around. |
| Gadgets: 2012 Consumer Electronics Show picks |
| The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas can be considered a toy store for the electronics world, with mile after mile of showrooms of the latest and greatest. |
| TVs getting 'smarter' but maybe not better |
| If last week's Consumer Electronics Show is any indication, the next major computing device to enter consumers' homes will be a "smart" television - whether viewers like it or not. |
| TV, movies & motion at the Consumer Electronics Show |
| Another International Consumer Electronics Show has come and gone, and although there was no earth-shattering news, there were some fun and interesting developments among the deluge of new mobile phones, laptops, tablets, TVs and other gadgets on display. |
| Verizon cuts price and memory storage of Droid Razr, as expected |
| One of my major complaints when I'm reviewing just about any top-of-the-line Android smartphone on Verizon is the price. |
| Camera-less iPhone 4, iPhone 4S on sale in Singapore |
| The camera is normally a big selling point, but in Singapore Apple's iPhone 4 and 4S are now available without the function -- to cater to military personnel banned from taking image-capturing devices into army camps. |
| Chinese 'Red Pad' tablet reserved for top officials |
| For the communist cadre who has everything, a shadowy Chinese company is offering a $1,590 tablet computer called the "Red Pad" reserved for the nation's top officials. |
| Snakes improve search-and-rescue robots |
| Designing an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue missions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough to move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it's restricted from tight spaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing robots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy and are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine by studying the locomotion of a certain type of flexible, efficient animal. |
| LG to introduce its first LTE tablet |
| LG Electronics unveiled its first LTE-capable tablet, the Optimus Pad LTE. Initially launching in Korea, LG has equipped the tablet with both LTE technology and True HD IPS display, the two features that have helped LG differentiate its latest smartphone, Optimus LTE, from the competition. |
| PNNL's Olympus supercomputer advances science, saves energy |
| A new, 162-Teraflop peak supercomputer at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is helping scientists do more complex, advanced research in areas such as energy storage and future power grid development. It also uses less energy than similar computers because of its unique water cooling system. |