June 5th, 2008 by Mylo
In an experiment taking place at Japan’s Keio University heralded as a world first, the man donned headgear which sensed brainwaves relating to his arms and legs. Just by imagining he was moving his limbs again, he was able to “walk” a character around Second Life, a popular virtual world.
Sound a little gimmicky? Not so fast. Although it’ll never replace the mouse and keyboard for able-bodied folks, the team hopes to use the system to help stave off depression in immobilized patients — no doubt a common problem.
Next up for the Japanese team is a system to allow patients to create text messages by mentally selecting letters. Cellphones may never be the same again.
June 4th, 2008 by Mylo
It may be news to some, but the fact of the matter is that the PS3 is a power hug and consumes around 380 watts of power more than double the Xbox 360’s 160 watts and eight times the PS2’s nimble 45 watts. So spending an average of 4 hours a day on the machine will add approx $ 80 to your yearly power bill. It consumes 5-times as much energy as a fridge and 10-times as much as Wii. According to a study by Australian consumer agency Choice, if you leave the console on all the time you’ll end up adding nearly $250 to your energy bill every year.
The Xbox 360 doesn’t escape the bid either, it uses 23.57kWh per week when idling compared to the PS3’s 31.74kWh. The Wii, in comparison, uses only 2.97kWh per week when idling, less than 10% of the energy used by the PS3
June 4th, 2008 by Mylo
Yamaha is gearing up to announce (in Madrid) the world’s quickest accelerating production motorcycle with its 2009 V-Max. This new bike comes almost 25 years after the original 1200cc monster custom was first introduced. The new V-Max is said to almost identical to the concept machine shown at the 2007 Paris and Tokyo Shows. Apparently it has an 1800cc fuel injected motor, that will produce 210 bhp and feature state-of-the-art everything.
The massive torque and considerable weight of the 2009 V-Max is quite capabale while handling snaking roads. A cast aluminum chassis, fully adjustable suspension with 50mm forks, 320mm six-pot Sumitomo superbike brakes with ABS, and a 200 mm wide rear tire add to the focus. Traction control is also thought to be in the mix, and with the expected tank-like mid-range, one can only visualize what sort of quarter mile times the bike is capable of. Like the original, the fuel tank has been located under the seat to keep the weight low and controllable.
June 4th, 2008 by Mylo
Microsoft Corp. yesterday confirmed that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) omits a critical security update issued by the company in November 2006.
The company acknowledged the omission while attempting to clarify the effect XP SP3 has on existing installations of Flash Player, an add-on that Microsoft bundled with Windows XP when it first shipped in 2001. Microsoft has patched Flash Player in the past using Windows Update, notably with the MS06-069 security update it issued Nov. 14, 2006.
The AWOL update, MS06-069, patched five vulnerabilities in Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash Player and was rated “critical” by Microsoft, the company’s highest threat ranking.
Microsoft did not explain why the patch is missing from the service pack, which it has billed as including “all previously released updates.” Read the rest of this entry »
June 4th, 2008 by Mylo
Whilst there are plenty of ‘low tech’ solutions to stop…err…conception, there is now a preventative prophylactic apropos for an EcoGeek in the works. The remote control, implanted device will allow users to ‘press pause’ on their sperm. (although it doesn’t mention whether a ‘rewind’ function is in the works). The device has been developed by Australian scientists, and could herald a new dawn of even more convenient contraception for men, which has the potential to keep population growth under control more effectively.
A surgeon inserts a silicon chip into the vas deferens. The fob sends out RF waves, just like the key to your car. The silicon chip converts the RF into acoustic waves, which in turn induce movement in the material, allowing it to expand and seal the tube. Sending another pulse from the key fob lets the material contract allowing sperm to pass.However, to avoid ‘cross talk’ with say… your cordless phone, WiFi or bluetooth…. ultrahigh frequencies are used, combined with sophisticated coding, to make sure that no mistakes can occur.
All they need to do now, is integrate a button to turn off the lights so you can save electricity.
June 4th, 2008 by Mylo
Here’s what Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer revealed about Windows 7 at All Things Digital a few minutes ago. The biggest “feature” is the touch and multi-touch integration, which takes many of its roots from Microsoft’s Surface Table, and will be available as an interface options for other apps.• There will be a OSX-like dock, though how OS X-like is yet to be seen.
• Multi-touch gestures in photogalleries like two-finger zoom, flicking, and panning. Think of the photo app on the Microsoft Surface table.
• Multi-touch paint program where you can draw with 10 fingers (again, think of what you’ve already seen in Surface)
• Multi-touch piano app
• In-depth mapping application that pulls from Microsoft’s Live Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth
Looks like a LOT of the multi-touch features were culled from the Surface team, and the non-touch features look fairly similar to what’s already in Vista (based on the video above). Those apps are demo apps only, and will be revised/rewritten/reworked before the final version of Windows 7 is available. All this will be yours in about 18 months
June 1st, 2008 by Mylo
Firefox community is always up to some cool, collaborative way to declare their passion for Firefox. What better way to do this than band together to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours?!
It’s a whole lot easier and safer than donning a beard of bees or underwater jump roping. All you have to do is download Firefox 3 when it goes live on Download Day — some time in June. In the meantime check out Download Day Headquarters and pledge to download Firefox 3. We’ll let you know when Firefox 3 goes out the door, kicking off our 24-hour attempt.
Here are some other ways you can help in the run up to Download Day:
* Get the word out; tell your friends, your neighbors, your grandma, anyone and everyone to participate in Download Day.
* Host a party to download Firefox; you provide the people and we’ll provide the party favors.
* Put a Download Day badge on your blog, profile or website.
With your help the Firefox community can go down in history! If you
May 28th, 2008 by Mylo
Apple released the Mac OS X 10.5.3 update today. The latest update to Leopard should appear in your Mac OS X Software Update.
The 10.5.3 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1141.
For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.
Apple details the many fixes in their support document. Some highlights include:
- Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras
- Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices
- Improves 802.1X (Wifi) behavior and reliability and when using Time Machine
- Includes fixes for Time Machine compatibility with Time Capsule
Google posts that the Address Book application in Mac OS X 10.5.3 now lets iPhone users sync their Address Book with Google Contacts.
March 24th, 2008 by Mylo
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer got on stage at D6 with Walt and Kara to talk… Microsoft, of course. While the company is still being rather coy about Windows 7 — some have blamed loose lips early on in Vista development for saddling the OS with too high of expectations and making things difficult for developers — they were nice enough to show off what Ballmer called “the smallest snippet” of Windows 7. The big reveal was multi-touch support, which utilizes technology developed by the Surface team. The taskbar seems to have been reworked a bit, and the demo was running live on a Dell Latitude XT tablet. Apparently Microsoft is reworking the whole user interface with a multitouch experience in mind. Steve reiterated the “three years after Vista” mantra for availability. Not exactly earth-shattering, but we’ll take what we can get at this point.
