Best New Technology

Sony has a quartet of new E Series projectors on offer soon, and they are all equally at home in a home theater or at the office. The budget-minded VPL-EW5 is the first from Sony in that price range to support a native widescreen output, natively displaying 720p HD footage while matching the display resolution of most newer portables exactly. It has a brightness level of 2,000 lumens and a contrast ratio of 700 to 1. The EW5 also sports HDMI, VGA, RCA and S-video connections. As for the EX50, that 4:3 projector has 2,500 lumens and a 900:1 contrast ratio with a native 1,024 x 768 resolution, making it the most vivid of the bunch. The EX5 has 2,000 lumens with similar contrast and resolution to the EX50. The pocket-friendly ES5 is Sony’s most affordable entry projector yet with an 800 x 600. No idea when these will ship nor how much they will cost, but all four will hit Europe first.

In the 1982 science fiction classic Blade Runner, there is a scene where Deckard (a much younger Harrison Ford) is chasing a Replicant across futuristic city streets. If you listen closely, you can hear the crosswalks speak in a monotone voice, demandingly repeating “Cross now” or “don’t walk”. There was something really dystopian about seeing people follow these machines like electric sheep.

I guess what disturbs me the most about that particular scene is that I could see something like demanding crosswalk signs being implemented today. Don’t get me wrong, I want our crosswalks to be safe, but talking crosswalks are a little too creepy for me. I think there are limits you should go with crosswalk safety, and the Virtual Wall might be one of them.

The Virtual Wall is a barrier made up of plasma laser beams to show drivers that pedestrians now have the right to cross. Sure, the lasers won’t stop the car, but it is a definite preventative step to make sure the driver hesitates before crossing.

Presently, the Virtual Wall is merely a concept from designer Hanyoung Lee. However, I want you to just imagine that you are looking at a city of the future, where every crosswalk has one of these Virtual Walls. It probably looks like something out of Blade Runner.

Source

BFG Technologies (a known add-in-card maker) is partnering with NVIDIA to auction 5 cards with a special edition box featuring Jen-Hsun (Jensen) Huang blasting aliens (He is the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA). This photo was taken by Rick Dahms for the cover of the issue of Fortune Magazine in which NVIDIA was named “company of the year”. Inside the boxes, the cards have been autographed by Jensen and Scott Kerkelman, President of BFG.

The real point of all this is that the auction proceeds will go to Child’s Play, a “community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry” that provides toys and games to hospitalized kids in North America. Additionally, NVIDIA will match 100% of the auction proceeds. Add horsepower to your computer and do a good thing at the same time, it doesn’t sound like a bad deal. There’s also a chance to win a complete “package” at hardOCP

Unless you live in a very large city and rely solely on your public transportation (or your own two feet) to get you everywhere, there’s a good chance you’ll be buying a car sometime in the future. Unless you’re buying a brand-spanking new car, there are certain things you need to look at to make sure you aren’t getting a lemon. One thing that helps to know is if the car has its original paint job. If the vehicle is newer and has been repainted, it’s very likely that there has been some damage (and thus repair) to the car that you haven’t been told about. Here’s a handy little device that will let you know the status of the paint job.

This little keychain can quickly measure irregularities in the paint, which are tell-tale signs of a repair or fresh coat of paint. Knowing this information can help you to make a more informed decision when purchasing a used vehicle. You can also use the info to negotiate a lower purchase price. Not bad for a $20 gadget.

Source: RedFerret

LaCie has bumped up its Rugged Hard Drive’s capacity to 500GB, allowing you to tote around more MP3s and video files that you’ll ever need for $400. Designed by Neil Poulton, this external hard drive features a scratch-resistant aluminum shell as well as shock-resistant rubber bumper that helps keep data inside the 500GB Hitachi hard drive intact. You can choose from the plain USB 2.0 model or the bus-powered version that does USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Each purchase comes with a pre-loaded utility that makes setup a snap and the necessary backup software.

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 2:25PM

After launching its world-beating i-LIMB prosthetic hand last year, Touch Bionics is taking things in a different direction with feeling some competition from the “Fluidhand.” The new hand uses miniature hydraulics to flex the fingers, and can better interact with objects — like grasping things with irregular surfaces — than the five motor i-LIMB. Fludihand is also designed to have a more natural feel than previous prosthetics, and gives feedback to the stump to let the user sense the strength of the grip. Currently Fluidhand is just in the prototype stage, with one patient so far testing both prosthetics against each other in a battle to the death.

Update: Sorry for the confusion, Fluidhand was built by a some researchers in Karlsruhe, Germany, not by Touch Bionics.

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Filed under: Robots, Wearables

Pioneer, a manufacturer of high end GPS, recently came out with the NavGate AVIC-F900BT, and a few other, related GPS units. The AVIC-F900BT comes with a lot of notable goodies and if you want a GPS that does much more than basic navigation, and want a high quality one, then this is one to definitely consider.

Some of the main features include ipod compatibility, MSN Direct, HD radio, Bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling, XM and Siruis radio, CD slot, DVD playback, and in general audio and video from USB and SD memory expansion. With all of these features, it is a great way to keep everyone in the car entertained. One of the best and most advanced feature this device has is its voice recognition technology. Basically, it can remove any unwanted words such as “um, uhh” or anything else along those lines. In addition to that filtration system, it even allows you to control music, make calls, and other basic commands.

Unfortunately, the cost is rather high, as it will run you around $1100, it is set to start shipping in June. High price tag aside, it still looks to be one of the best GPS units on the market.

Via [NaviGadget]

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by Paul Miller, posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 12:51PM

Honda has a new GPS navigation system for Japan that taps into the police database and points out seedy areas on the map. The device can point out specific locations that cars have been stolen or broken into in the past, as well as generally sketchy districts, which basically means that if you weren’t paranoid before you got this installed, you certainly will be afterwards. Honda is launching the service today, and we’re sure criminals the world over are already wondering what one of these nav systems will go for on the black market.

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Filed under: GPS

After it’s troubles became public back in January, games publisher SCi, who released games under the Eidos label, has been looking for a way out ever since. This week it has confirmed it is looking for a sale, with the following statement released on the company’s website:

The Board of SCI notes the recent speculation about an equity issue and confirms that it is considering a placing and open offer in the near future. This fund raising will be to raise the working capital the Company indicated it required at the time of its interim results on 29 February.

Two offers seem to be on the table from Time Warner and NBC Universal. Time Warner already has a 10% share in SCi and would be looking to increase that, maybe even to a controlling stake? NBC Universal on the other hand could become a significant minority stakeholder in return for the funds the company needs.

It is thought SCI needs in the region of US$90-110 million in order to continue operations. That is due to the losses it has incurred and delays to major titles, which were brought to light in January.

SCi has a significant IP library on which to call when considering new games to bring in money (Tomb Raider, Hitman, Conflict Global Storm, Championship Manager). With the right backing and injection of cash there is no reason it can’t be a top-tier publisher once more. Hopefully, whichever bidder is successful will bring that much needed kick to get them going again.

Read more at the Times Online

Rupert Murdoch has already made it clear he doesn’t have the money to buy Yahoo Inc. all by himself in light of Microsoft’s bid, but a joint venture may be on the cards. More specifically, he isn’t adverse to having a chat with Microsoft about going after the search company together.

When asked about a possible deal with Microsoft, Mr Murdoch said, “Depends on the deal“. He went on to say during an international affairs group talk at the Atlanta Council that:

I certainly can’t afford to bid against Microsoft (for Yahoo) … Is Google really going to get control of the advertising world, and should Microsoft be supported in their attempt to try and stop that?

Microsoft has already set a deadline of Saturday for Yahoo to accept its bid for the company. The US$31 a share Microsoft has offered may have to be increased however, when Yahoo’s financial results are revealed.

Meanwhile, Yahoo is taking action to try and find alternatives to a Microsoft takeover, including having talks with AOL over a merger and experimenting with Google running parts of its advertising business.

Read more at Reuters.com and The Money Times

Matthew’s Opinion

By the time you read this Yahoo’s financial results should be out and Microsoft either has to find some more money, Yahoo gives in and accepts the offer, or battle commences on Saturday.

The Murdoch joint deal would probably be tempting to most other companies, but I think Microsoft wants Yahoo for itself. It’s a massive bid to get Google squarely in its sights and I don’t think much is going to stop it getting the deal one way or another.

There has already been a lot of debate about how good or bad of an idea it is for Microsoft to buy Yahoo. This debate will continue until the deal happens and we see the actual outcome, or it doesn’t and the argument fades out over time.

The question, for the time being, still remains whether Microsoft could use the US$43 billion set aside for the Yahoo deal to better effect elsewhere in gaining a bigger share of the search market?