A few years ago, programmer Alex Yatskov created Mangle (a portmanteau of Manga and Kindle), which made it easier to read manga on the Kindle. It was designed for older and less-image-friendly generations of Kindles.
When combined with the new Kindle 3, which has an improved screen that handles images better, the idea of reading manga on a Kindle becomes quite appealing.
The venerable battery.Photograph: Marc SimonI’ve always been impressed with my roommate’s watch: It powers itself using a gyroscope that generates electricity as he moves around. Now, Japanese company Brother--best known in the US for its printers--has developed a device that can be recharged just by shaking it, according to BBC News. What makes this device special is that it can be used in place of traditional AA batteries. So far, the device has been seen powering a TV remote, a LED flashlight and a remote switch for a lamp.
Obviously, Brother's battery replacements have the benefit of cutting down on the waste of batteries and with the added benefit of using less electricity than rechargeable batteries. They’re designed to work with lower voltage (4-8 Hz) appliances, it seems like a great start to another type of conservation technology.
The Red Dot Design Award is an international product design prize that is annually awarded in Essen, Germany. The award is split into three design types: product design, communication design and design concept. Each type has its own category ranging from architecture, fashion, garden and of course bathroom.
Photo: Wicked LasersEveryone has wanted a light saber at some point. Well, keep dreaming, it’s not going to happen. However, if you’re interested in a laser shaped like a light saber, you’re in luck. Wicked Lasers has recently released the Spyder III Pro Arctic laser. Not only does it feature a 1-watt laser that is capable of causing blindness and (under continuous exposure) setting someone’s skin on fire, it also looks like the Jedi weapon we all know and love.
Lucasfilm Ltd., however, does not appreciate the similar design, and wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Wicked Lasers, claiming that the similarity constitutes copyright infringement. DailyTech reports that Wicked Lasers CEO Steve Liu responded by saying, “Most people would feel it’s kind of ridiculous…We would never use any comparison like that to ‘Star Wars’ or a lightsaber or anything like that.” So far it looks like the company won’t be making any changes, so we will have to wait and see the response from Lucasfilm’s legal team.
Sure, this little robot looks cute, but it's preparing for the upcoming robot apocalypse.The latest demonstration of Aldebaran Robotics' Nao robot shows 20 robots performing a 3-part synchronized dance, preparing for France’s Pavilion Day. The Nao robot, humanoid in design, showcases its great range of motion by deftly moving its numerous joints and appendages in an impressive mimicry of human movement.
While these robots might not win “So You Think You Can Dance?” any time soon, close inspection of their movements shows that Nao has 25 degrees of freedom. Particularly impressive are the moves requiring Nao to stand/sit. See the video after the jump.
If you've ever seen the 1980s movie Short Circuit, you might remember the scene where Number 5 reads an entire volume of the encyclopedia in a few seconds. Fantasy, you say? Maybe not. A new development makes Number 5's inate reading ability a reality.
A high-speed scanner developed by the University of Tokyop is can scan a 200-page book in about a minute, according to an IEEE Spectrum report. The scanner captures the text using a high-speed camera that can take 500 shots per second. The device is uses stereoscopic (3D) imaging--involving parallel laser lines displayed on the book’s surface--to capture a 3D image of the page. The computer then reconstructs the 3D page, adjusts for the curvature of the page and using custom software, and creates a 2-dimensional scan.
Photo: Philips Lumalive
Fashion Week (February 11-18, 2010) is now underway, and new developments could give designers more options when it comes to high-tech fashion. Some previous attempts at wearable electronics, such as Levi’s iPod Jeans, were less than successful, but recent developments could make such attire more popular.
Image credit: Siemens
A Siemens research project has recently broken the record for wirelessly transmitting data, by making use of white LEDs (light-emitting diodes) instead of radio waves. Siemens researchers here able to transmit data at 500Mbps, beating the previous record of 200Mbps, and completely obliterating current WiFi standards (though upcoming WiFi standards could push it into Gigabit territory).
Slowly but surely, it’s becoming clear that wires are so last decade. The HDMI cable is one of the last bastions of its reign, but a new product provides a wireless (though pricey) alternative.
T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced that they will be doing what they can to lend their aid in the wake of the magnitude 7 earthquake that shook the Port-au-Prince area on January 12. The company will allow current T-Mobile customers to make phone calls to Haiti free of charge. T-Mobile is hoping to help unite family members by enabling phone calls without charges retroactively from January 12, 2010, until January 31, 2010. And any T-Mobile customers will also be able to roam free-of charge while in Haiti.
Sassy alcohol-powered robots and cola-powered cyborgs are strictly fiction, but two design concepts that look at how gadgets using these alternative fuels could become reality. Product designer Daizi Zheng recently released details on a eco-friendly phone concept designed for Nokia that uses a "bio-battery" instead of a traditional battery. It generates electricity using the carbohydrates (sugar) in a can of cola.
Image credit: Daizi Zheng
Roomba may be synonymous with robotic vacuum cleaners, but LG and Neato Electronics have just announced two new devices to challenge the Roomba's claim to the robot vacuum throne.
As reported by Akihabara News, LG’s robot contender, the Roboking, is the sleekest looking robot vacuum yet. At a less than 90 millimeters in height (compared to the Roomba 570’s 139mm and the previous Roboking’s 130mm height) this new robotic vacuum can go under just about anything.
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