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Electronics
NIST develops the world's first two-qubit programmable quantum computer
19:55 November 17, 2009 PST
In a paper recently published on Nature Physics, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) documented the implementation and verification of a two-qubit quantum computer that, according to researchers, is a truly general-purpose machine and could soon be used as a building block for much larger quantum computers. Read More
Anti-fraud credit card features E-Ink display
By Gizmag Team
03:59 November 17, 2009 PST
Emue Technologies has unveiled the next generation of its anti-fraud credit card. The device combines a world first embedded 14-segment E Ink display with a 12-button numeric keypad, microprocessor and, despite being the same size as a conventional card, a battery designed to last for three years. Read More
Christie MicroTiles create a versatile digital display wall
By Jeff Salton
21:30 November 16, 2009 PST
Better known for its high-end digital projection systems, Christie has launched its MicroTiles digital display units which can be stacked like building blocks to create a visual display wall virtually anywhere there is power. The modular MicroTiles can be used to create an almost seamless digital canvas in almost any size or shape using an entirely new, advanced optical design that produces advanced levels of brightness, contrast and color reproduction. Read More
mPower Emergency Illuminator lights up after 20 years
By Jeff Salton
22:58 November 15, 2009 PST
Perhaps the best piece of advice I never got was "leave your flashlight in an obvious, easily accessible place”, because the one time you’ll really need it will be during a power outage or a blown fuse and the last thing you want at that time is wonder where the heck you put it. Oh, and keep it fully charged (you know why). While the mPower Emergency Illuminator won’t insist you keep it close by, it does have some impressive features – battery technology that will last up to 20 years (though not if you use it continuously) and a USB outlet which lets you charge other devices. Read More
Esquire magazine to release augmented reality edition
By Paul Ridden
15:04 November 15, 2009 PST
After experimenting with things like origami (May edition) and e-ink (October 2008 edition), Esquire magazine is running a special "augmented reality" edition in December where readers use custom-designed software and a webcam to interact with the pages being viewed and get access to 3D animated video content. Read More
Epson’s new ultra-HD 2160p resolution LCD projector panel
By Darren Quick
20:31 November 11, 2009 PST
If you think that full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution TV or projector is looking a little too low-res for your liking, then Epson has developed a new LCD projector panel that should satisfy your desire for higher detail. The company's new high-temperature polysilicon (HTPS) TFT LCD panel for its 3LCD projectors is the world’s first 4K-compatible panel supporting resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 pixels. Read More
The lamp that runs on free electricity – from the phone socket
By Darren Quick
22:54 November 5, 2009 PST
If you’re looking to shave every last cent off your next electricity bill then this gooseneck lamp is for you. The lamp is so energy efficient its eight white LED lights are powered by the trickle of electricity flowing from a RJ11 socket – or garden-variety telephone socket. This means that, even if you’ve fallen behind on your electricity bill and the power has been cut off, you can still enjoy some late night reading. Read More
Ideum’s 86 inch multi-touch table explores the electromagnetic spectrum
By Paul Lester
23:47 November 2, 2009 PST
One area of real potential for multi-touch technology is in touch-sensitive tables. Some may remember Microsoft’s Surface display, and innovative designs like the ROSIE coffee table. Ideum’s ultra-wide alternative takes a slightly different approach though, as it is able to create digital representations of images across the electromagnetic spectrum. Read More
Tilera unveils Tile GX100, the 100-core general purpose processor
17:31 November 1, 2009 PST
If you thought Intel's plans to embed eight cores in its high-end processors were a bit too out there, you'll find that the latest processor developed by semiconductor start-up Tilera is even more of an extreme. Packing 100 1.25GHz to 1.5GHz cores on a single chip, the Gx100 brings parallel processing to the extreme thanks to a new architecture that minimizes the bus bottleneck in today's multi-core processors. Read More
Xerox develops silver ink to usher in new era of low cost printable electronics
By Darren Quick
01:35 October 28, 2009 PDT
Silicon is the main substrate used for the integrated circuits found in almost all electronic equipment available today. However, silicon could soon be replaced by plastic, film or even fabrics, with Xerox scientists developing a low-temperature silver ink that they say paves the way for the commercialization and low-cost manufacture of printable electronics. This process will offer manufacturers an inexpensive way to add “intelligence” or computing power to a wide range of surfaces to produce things like electronic clothing and cheap games. Read More
Steuart’s Patent vacuum tank regulator – the timepiece to beat in the early 20th Century
By Darren Quick
03:02 October 27, 2009 PDT
The second in our series of interviews with Michael Bennet-Levy looks at the Steuart’s Patent vacuum tank regulator – a clock produced in 1923 that its makers, J & D Meek, claimed was accurate to “better than a second a year.” If true this would have made it the most accurate timekeeper in the world prior to the invention of Caesium clocks in the mid 1950s. The essence of the Steuart regulator is that the electric motor drives the clock and the pendulum governs and corrects the speed of the motor. Neither is connected. Ideal for telescopes (because it doesn't tick), the clock was used as a stand-in for Big Ben during WWII and in the opinion of the Scientific American it marked “the most important development in clock-making which has taken place in modern times.” Read More
Barnes & Noble Nook e-Book reader announced
By Paul Ridden
09:44 October 22, 2009 PDT
The world's largest bookseller, Barnes & Noble, has confirmed it is to enter the e-Reader market with a device called the nook. Powered by Android 1.5 and sporting the now familiar e-Ink text display, the nook also benefits from a 3.5-inch color touchscreen interface for library browsing and book ordering. It allows wireless access to over a million eBooks, magazines and newspapers and purchases can be shared with friends. Read More
REVIEW: Mobiu Smart Key offers secure, remote data access on the move
By Paul Lester
05:00 October 22, 2009 PDT
USB keys are a boon to those who need to carry data around with them, and with capacities always on the rise it’s becoming more and more likely that sensitive data will be stored on what is, at the end of the day, an inherently losable little gadget. Various security measures are now available that bring more to the table than standard encryption, but it’s not often we see something as all-encompassing as Mobiu’s Smart Key. We took the 1GB version of the secure Flash drive for a spin to see what it has to offer. Read More
Next-generation TMOS displays closer to mass production
16:26 October 21, 2009 PDT
Uni-Pixel, a company based in Woodlands, Texas, has announced it is about to start mass production of a thin-film to be used in time-multiplexed optical shutter (TMOS) displays, a next-generation display technology that exploits retinal persistence in the human eye and promises significantly better performance than CRT, LCD and OLED displays with, among other things, great durability and dramatically improved energy efficiency. Read More
VIDEO: Sony crash tests PS3 into Bravia LCD TV at 50mph
By Jeff Salton
18:58 October 20, 2009 PDT
What’s more fun than watching a brand new out-of-the-box PS3 slim-line console slam into a fully-functional Sony Bravia 46-inch LCD TV at 80kmh (50mph)? Well, not a lot, really, unless you get to watch it happen three times. Gizmag was one of only two media outlets invited by Sony Australia to witness the stunt at a vehicle safety testing facility in Melbourne, Victoria. The event was aimed at promoting a forthcoming advertising campaign – buy a Sony Bravia and get a PS3 thrown in free (though not as literally as the ones I witnessed). Read More
Tag it: real-time location monitoring with the T301W Wi-Fi tag from Ekahau
By Paul Ridden
18:15 October 19, 2009 PDT
If you need to keep track of customers, workers or even your kids, but don't fancy the idea of implanting a chip, then the familiar form offered by Ekahau's T301W may be of interest. The unobtrusive watch-like wristband tag enables real-time location monitoring over a Wi-Fi network. It's accurate to within a few feet, allows for simple two-way communication and, being waterproof, can be safely disinfected for re-use. Read More
4x, 8x, huh? How much power do Lithium batteries actually have?
21:36 October 18, 2009 PDT
These days, if you go looking for batteries you're likely to find a range of products with some fairly bold claims on their packaging. Standard AA alkaline batteries are the least expensive and have been around for decades, but now there's a bunch of other choices for single use batteries that are marketed as better choices for "digital" devices than the "copper top" or store branded staples we've used for years. Among the newest of these is Energizer's Advanced Lithium and Ultimate Lithium single use batteries. Read More
SanDisk ships world’s first 64Gb X4 NAND flash memory cards
By Jeff Salton
00:34 October 15, 2009 PDT
SanDisk Corporation has begun shipping 64Gb flash memory cards based on the company’s advanced X4 flash memory technology. Five years in the making, X4 (4-bits-per-cell) technology holds twice as many bits in each cell as conventional multi-level cell (MLC) NAND memory chips. Based on 43nm process technology, the 64Gb NAND flash chip is the highest-density single-die memory device in the world to enter production. SanDisk is shipping 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards as well as 8GB and 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo cards with X4 technology. Read More
World’s first commercial application of DSSC solar technology is in the bag
By Jeff Salton
19:54 October 13, 2009 PDT
The first commercial shipment of low-light, ultra thin, solar cell technology called DSSC (dye-sensitized solar cells), created by G24 Innovations, has been sent to Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag manufacturer, Mascotte Industrial Associates for use in backpacks and bags. Ideal for clothing and portable applications, DSSCs are less than 1mm thick, inexpensive, don’t contain silicon or cadmium and can even operate indoors, making them ideal for powering cell telephones, cameras and portable electronics. The company says DSSCs also can be embedded into tent material to power LED lighting systems for camping. Read More
New high energy, high reliability lithium-ion battery module from Panasonic
By Darren Quick
22:51 October 4, 2009 PDT
Lithium-ion based batteries have found widespread popularity in all kinds of consumer electronics thanks to their high energy-to-weight ratios, lack of memory effect, and slow discharge when not in use. These attributes have also made them attractive to the burgeoning areas of battery-powered cars and storage of energy generated by home-use photovoltaic (PV) systems and fuel cells. This rise in popularity, and the increase in storage systems using lithium-ion batteries, has also led to a demand for systems with higher capacity, output, reliability, safety and improved cost performance. Now Panasonic says it has developed a 1.5 kWh battery module that meets these demands. Read More
Become a human antenna with your own carpet radio
By Jeff Salton
23:29 October 1, 2009 PDT
When I was young I had a tall, wiry friend we nicknamed ‘the Human Antenna’. Now anyone, regardless of height, can rival my friend just by walking on a unique carpet recently created by Swiss designer Florian Kräutli. The carpet appears to be a typical modern rug and would look at home in most abodes, except that is has one unusual hi-tech feature - this white carpet is also a radio. Read More
New advances in excitonics promise faster computers
16:44 October 1, 2009 PDT
Much of today's research in electronics is geared towards obtaining faster computing and higher communication speeds. Researchers at UC San Diego are no exception, and have recently announced they have made another important step towards achieving exciton-based computation at room temperatures. Excitonics exploits the unique properties of excitons instead of the usual electrons, and promises much faster performance by interfacing more naturally with optical communications such as fiber optics. Read More
Hercules offers a new angle on webcams
By Alan Brandon
20:24 September 29, 2009 PDT
Computer electronics manufacturer Hercules offers a new angle on webcams for people who have trouble seeing eye-to-eye in video chat sessions. The Dualpix HD720p is a high-def webcam that shoots 720p and features an autofocus lens and built-in microphone. The Dualpix is adjustable on two axes, so you can place it where you want on the sides or top of your notebook computer or monitor, in order to better look the camera directly "in the eye". Read More
Silicon nanotubes could increase li-ion battery capacity 10X
By Darren Quick
00:21 September 25, 2009 PDT
In news that could greatly extend the range of electric cars, researchers have shown that replacing the conventional graphite electrodes in lithium-ion batteries with silicon nanotubes can produce a battery that can store ten times more charge. The researchers developed a silicon anode that, aside from extending the range of electric cars, could also make gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles more efficient by allowing them to run in electric mode for longer periods. Read More
Time to connect with the iXP3 Internet Messaging Clock
By Mick Webb
04:15 September 24, 2009 PDT
When communicating via the typed word, sometimes a text or regular instant message just won’t do the trick. Here to take personal communication to a quirky new level is the iXP3 Instant Messaging Clock, which, through a simple Internet connection, changes from a mild-mannered clock to a personal messaging device that projects messages in the air. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
