Last we heard, the $199 Arcade version of the updated Xbox 360 would be coming in “fall.” Now, Amazon Germany has posted a page with a few more details—namely, that it will come with 4GB of storage (possibly on a USB stick) on August 20th. Foreign Amazon pages and international ship dates can both be a bit cagey in terms of dictating what will happen in the US market, but it certainly seems that we’ll see the new, cheap version of the Xbox earlier than Thanksgiving and maybe even within summer. [Amazon via Kotaku] More »
View full post on Gizmodo
- Student made the handset in his spare time
- He hopes to launch the phone on the UK market
By Kerry Mcqueeney
Last updated at 1:53 AM on 6th February 2012
A smartphone made out of bamboo has been designed by a British student.
Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, from Shepherds Bush in London, plans to release his product in the UK and throughout Europe later this year.
The 23-year-old, who studies product design at Middlesex University, was frustrated with the lack of variety in the mobile phone market so designed the bamboo handset in his own time.
Kieron-Scott Woodhouse, from Shepherds Bush in London, plans to release his product in the UK and throughout Europe later this year
Made from four-year-old organically-grown bamboo, which has been specially treated to ensure durability, the ADzero runs on the Android operating system and is about half the size of an iPhone.
Like many phones it will include a camera, but ADzero features technology called a ‘ring flash’ not available on any current mobile phone.
A circular photographic flash around the camera’s lens ensures very even illumination and minimises shadows.
Mr Woodhouse said he had been overwhelmed with support for his product.
He said: ‘Bamboo may seem like a strange material to use for a phone, but it’s actually extremely strong and very durable, perfect qualities for this kind of application.
Mr Woodhouse was frustrated with the lack of variety in the mobile phone market so designed the bamboo handset in his own time
‘The whole experience so far has been incredible and completely unexpected. I can’t wait to see my mobile phone in shops this year.’
Mr Woodhouse designed the phone initially just for the Chinese market.
He picked bamboo, which must be four-years-old, as it is a sustainable material that can be sourced locally.
However, he was surprised to discover many people were fans of his design at London Design Week last year and he decided to publicise his work on the internet.
This led to him being contacted by technology entrepreneur Adzero and it will now be sold in the UK.
As well as being food for pandas, bamboo is used in Asia for furniture and grows quickly.
Dr Andy Bardill, Mr Woodhouse’s tutor and Middlesex University’s product design and engineering director of programmes, said: ‘The web has opened up the highly competitive design sphere and enabled those with talent to get noticed more easily.
‘Kieron-Scott is a remarkable designer and has made the most of the opportunities Middlesex has provided, which put him in good stead to make his new company a real success.’
You wouldn’t want to wrap your new DSLR in it on a bumpy ride, but if your pocket point-and-shoot is in need of a new home, an Instructables editor recommends DIY-ing it with “the squishy stuff”—non-skid, impact-resistant shelf liner. More »
View full post on Gizmodo
- Equivalent to a 240-inch 3D television from 10 feet
- Can layer ‘augmented reality’ information over world
- Company also working with U.S. army
By Rob Waugh
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 3rd February 2012
Contact lenses which focus 3D screens directly into people’s eyeballs could be on sale as early as 2014, says U.S. company Innovega.
The tiny ‘screens’ sit directly on users’ eyeballs and work with a pair of lightweight glasses with a built-in translucent screen.
The experience is equivalent to a 240-inch television viewed at a distance of 10 feet, says Innovega’s CEO Steve Willey.
The lenses sit directly on the eyeball, and have been engineered using nanoscale techniques to work as a focusing device that pairs with a pair of hi-tech glasses
Tom Cruise in Minority Report: Characters in the sci fi film wear lenses which deliver information – and advertising – directly into their eyes
The devices can ‘pair’ with smartphones and portable game devices to deliver up-close video – or switch to a translucent ‘augmented reality’ view, where computer information is layered over the world we know.
Crucially, the devices can be worn while moving about – previous bulky ‘VR headsets’ have blindfolded their users and can only be used sitting down.
The effect could be similar to the lenses worn by Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
The company is also developing hi-tech lenses for use by American soldiers, feeding battlefield information directly into their eyes.
DARPA – the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, thought of as the American military’s ‘mad scientist’ wing – has been funding research on ‘soldier mounted displays’ for some time.
It’s now working on ‘iOptik’ lenses with Innovega.
University of York’s ‘Virtual Cocoon’: Like many head-mounted displays, it’s bulky and not transparent – ie wearers cannot safely use it while moving about
The lenses, made with nano-scale engineering processes,work as a hi-tech focusing device, which allows Innovega’s glasses to be considerably less bulky than previous devices.
The lenses themselves require no power, and thus can sit safely on the eyeball.
Innovega claims that the lenses could become successful quite rapidly because of the huge number of people who already wear contact lenses worldwide
DARPA projects are often oddball technology, but it also has a history of far-sighted technological leaps.
DARPA invented the first virtual reality devices, and one of the precursors of the modern internet.
DARPA Says, ‘Innovega’s iOptiks are contact lenses that enhance normal vision by allowing a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus. ‘
‘Instead of oversized virtual reality helmets, digital images are projected onto tiny full-color displays that are very near the eye.’
These novel contact lenses allow users to focus simultaneously on objects that are close up and far away.’
Innovega claims that the devices could become popular rapidly due to the number of contact lens wearers worldwide.
The program seeks to develop novel computational imaging capabilities and explore joint design of hardware and software that give warfighters access to systems that greatly enhance their awareness, security and survivability.
Categories:
Science&Tech Tags:
2014, Beam, Contact, Could, Directly, Eyes, Images, Into, Lenses, Reality, Sale, Virtual
By Charles Walford
Last updated at 4:52 PM on 3rd February 2012
As nippy little run-arounds go, they don’t come much nippier.
For this vehicle’s resemblance to a racing car is no coincidence – the Caparo T1 does zero to 60mph in 2.5 seconds; but despite its appearance is in fact road-legal.
But with the top-end performance comes a price to match – this particular model, advertised by Stratton Motor Company in Norwich, will set its new owner back a cool £280,000.
Without doors or a windscreen it would appear perfectly at home on a racetrack. But the world’s fastest supercar does make a nod to its potential city use – incorporating a passenger seat.
The Caparo T1 – which is 20 per cent lighter than a Smart car – was designed to be the closest thing to a road-legal F1 car
The British-built car has twice the power-to-weight ratio as a Bugatti Veyron
A NIPPY RUNAROUND
Maximum Speed: 200mph
0-100mph: 5 seconds
0-60mph: 2.5 seconds
Lateral acceleration: Up to 3g+
Braking deceleration: Up to 3g+
Weight: 550kg
Engine
• Aluminium V8
• Dry sump
• 575bhp @ 10,500 rpm /
1000bhp per tonne
Safety features
• Central safety cell with
high strength steel roll hoop
• Composite front
crash structure
• Head protection system
• Six-point harness for driver
and passenger compatible
with HANS device
The vehicle for sale has covered just 1,242 miles and is fitted with a six-speed ‘flappy paddle’ gearbox and brakes which will stop the T1 from 100mph in three seconds.
There are just 16 models in the UK and only a dozen of these road registered with the remainder used as high-end track cars.
The 2008 British-built supercar is designed to keep weight down, with the two-seat vehicle weighing just 550kg.
This makes the Caparo T1 20 per cent lighter than a Smart car and, with a 575bhp V8, gives it twice the power-to-weight ratio as a Bugatti Veyron.
It will accelerate from 0-62mph in less than 2.5 seconds, hit 100mph in five seconds and rocket all the way past 200mph.
When Top Gear tested the model Jeremy Clarkson he described it as having ‘acceleration like he had never, ever experienced’.
He added that because of its price-tag and difficulty to drive that there ‘“wouldn’t be a ditch in the land which isn’t full of footballers broken or on fire’.
But in the right hands it is a phenomenal machine with The Stig lapping the Top Gear track in just 1 minute 10 seconds – six seconds quicker than the 268mph Bugatti Veyron SuperSport.
Stratton Motor Company even insist on taking the new owner on an intensive two-day driving course on road and track so they can understand the car’s incredible capabilities.
The Caparo T1, pictured on a test run, is street-legal but can be modified for the race track
The car’s makers said the Caparo T1 ‘sets new boundaries in performance, driver experience and enjoyment’
The car was created out of the designers’ desire to come up with a lighter-weight racing car
