Tag Archives: Technology

New Google Maps Mashup Exposes Chatroulette User Locations

You can now see Chatroulette users’ locations, thanks to a new Google Maps mashup that pinpoints where in the world people are signing in to the voyeuristic video-conferencing service. The new Chatroulette Maps website presents markers of users’ IP addresses on a worldwide map, meaning less anonymity than users have previously experienced (which may go some way to encourage folks to keep it in their pants). Capturing screengrabs of the users, Chatroulette Map then adds them to the map using geo IP tools. The accuracy of tracking locations via IP addresses varies with the provider and area
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Sony Answers Wii Remote With PlayStation Move

Sony has named its forthcoming PlayStation 3 motion controller “PlayStation Move.” The controller is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Microsoft’s Project Natal for Xbox 360 — a way to use motion to play video games instead of (or at least in addition to) buttons. The controller was originally announced at the E3 interactive entertainment conference last year, but it was not named. Since then people have simply called it “the PlayStation motion controller.” It’s good to have a name to work with even though it’s a straightforward one. Move is expected to launch in Fall of 2010, right next to Microsoft’s competing Project Natal peripheral for the Xbox 360.
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Google Reader Play Transforms Feeds into Entertainment Experience

Google has just released an alternative player for Google Reader that gives those with a penchant for browsing news the ability to do so in an image-heavy, TV-like fashion. Dubbed Google Reader Play , the new tool is an experimental Google Labs project that presents stories one by one — based on their Recommend Items technology — using enlarged photos and auto-playing videos (in lieu of text) on a black backdrop. Viewers can redefine categories and star, like or share stories, with those behaviors further contributing to what Google displays. Google Reader Play could be both an entertainment utility for browsing the web and a complement to your Google Reader experience.
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Google Fiber Sparks Online Competition Between Cities Nationwide

It seems like every city in America wants Google Fiber. And who can blame them? Ever since Google announced its plan last month to bring ultra-high speed Internet connections (as in, up to 100x faster than what most of the country has today) to between 50,000 and 500,000 people, cities across the U.S. have been clamoring to curry the favor of the search giant. First there was Topeka, KS, which renamed itself by proclamation to Google, KS .
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Panasonic 3D home entertainment system goes on sale to a country in mourning

Beginning today, customers at Best Buy's Magnolia stores can pick up that Panasonic full HD 3D Home Entertainment System the kids in Japan have been going crazy over for the last month or so. Consisting of a 50-inch Viera VT20 HDTV, a BDT300 Blu-ray Disc Player, and but one pair of Panasonic 3D Active Shutter glasses, the total price is is $2900 -- but if you plan on having company over you'll need to pick up additional pairs of 3D eyewear for $150 each. As you well know, Panny is due to start sponsoring free 3D programming to DirecTV HD customers starting in June, so if you're not set up with the service you might as well add that to your shopping list. PC Magazine braved the stampede to check out the scene in Manhattan, so hit the source link to see the pics
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G-Tec Intendix brain-computer interface ready for consumers (video)

If you've seen G-Tec's thought control cap being used to control a Second Life avatar, play a game of Pong , or make music in an orchestral setting, you probably wondered when the thing would become available for less frivolous pursuits (to help the disabled communicate, for starters). Well, it looks like that day is close at hand: With the brand name Intendix, the €9000 (about $12,250) brain-computer interface gives you everything you need to send text messages with brain activity alone via EEG cap. According to the company, most people achieve five to ten characters per minute the first time they use the thing, with some folks eventually typing as fast as 1 character per second. In addition to to text messages, the system can also be used to trigger an alarm, send email, or send commands to external devices. There's no word on a shipping date yet, but we did thoughtfully provide that Second Life demo for you after the break
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Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t review

Who says you have to pick between a netbook and the coming onslaught of standalone tablet devices? Okay maybe some (eh hem Apple), but Lenovo's trying to have it both ways with the IdeaPad U1 and the S10-3t . In clamshell mode the S10-3t looks like any old 10-inch netbook, but swivel around its capacitive mulitouch display and it turns into that slate device you've been dreaming of. That's not all: the S10-3t is one of the first netbooks (or netveritbles) that has the new Intel 1.83GHz Atom N470 processor.
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iKat: Your New Augmented Reality Pet

There’s something about the idea of an augmented reality pet — and a markerless one, too — that will make the heart of every true geek skip a beat. The idea is not entirely new , but it’s still amazing to see a virtual creature hopping around on a real-life surface, seen through your mobile phone’s camera. iKat was created by a company called Zenitum , using their D-Track engine. The virtual pet is markerless, which means you don’t need a marker or an image target to make it work; the app recognizes the space seen through the camera lens and adapts to it. See a demo of the app (which is in prototype stage at this point) below.
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Martin Jetpack priced at $86,000, mere mortals will soon be able to buy one too

Tired of the limited legroom, bad food, and worse movies you have to put up with during a flight? Well, it's time to bust out your company credit card and get yourself a Martin Jetpack , which has just become the first commercially available jetpack . Driven by a pair of washing machine-sized fans strapped to your back, this personal transporter will give you a pretty cool 30 minutes of flight time and comes with a bunch of redundancy systems to ensure any mistakes don't turn fatal. The rotors are built out of a carbon / Kevlar composite and are powered by a two-liter V4 two-stroke engine capable of delivering 200hp (or 150kW).
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MSI starts shipping two 12.1-inch, AMD-powered Wind12 U230 netbooks

It sure took 'em long enough -- just over four months if you're keeping score -- but MSI has finally shipped its next-generation netbook. The AMD-powered Wind12 U230 has left the docks today in two distinct flavors (the U230-033 and U230-040), with both touting Windows 7 Home Premium, a 12.1-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768) display, ATI's Radeon HD3200 graphics, 2GB of RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 6-cell battery and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The duo also features three USB sockets, VGA / HDMI outputs, an Ethernet port, audio in / out, a 4-in-1 card reader and a chassis that weighs in at 3.3 pounds. As for the differences? The former ships with an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 under the hood and a 250GB HDD, while the latter sports an Athlon X2 L335 CPU and a 320GB platter.
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