Origin PC makes a point of embracing game-friendly technology as soon as it arrives, and you’d better believe it’s welcoming Haswell-based processors with open arms: virtually all of its computer line is making the jump to the faster Intel hardware. The raw CPU power is the main highlight for the Chronos, Genesis and Millennium desktops, while those buying the larger EON15-S and EON17-S laptops get a few additional treats. Origin PC is adopting NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 765M, 770M and 780M graphics for the portables’ mainstream editions. It’s also letting the truly storage-addicted run two simultaneous RAID configurations if their laptop has four drives. The Haswell upgrades bump EON15S-S and EON17-S prices by about two Benjamins to $ 1,722 and $ 1,784 respectively, but players who just have to stay current can pay the premium today.
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops, NVIDIA
Source: Origin PC
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One of the hacks at Disrupt NY’s Hackathon this year employed hardware startup Leap Motion’s new 3D gesture controller, which unfortunately just ran into a delay. Leap Motion’s issues aside, this project, the combined effort of Chao Huang, Cedrich Pinson and Jorge Martinez, brings a Facebook Home-style experience to the desktop.
With “Leap in Time,” Leap Motion is used to navigate through a Facebook timeline via hand gestures that are intended to be as natural and intuitive as possible. You swipe left and right to go through photos and posts, and there’s inertia built-in to make it feel even more immersive. Then there’s a motion to pause and focus on a particular piece of content, with a palm outward gesture, and you can simply make a thumbs up to like a post.
Working with the Leap Motion was fairly simple, the team said, but does seem to experience difficulty with some environment issues like changing lighting conditions. It’s also crucial to maker sure that the Leap Motion app you’re building is cued to pay attention to certain things at certain times and to ignore specific motions in different settings. You have to cue the app to not pay attention to sideways hand waving when you want it to be able to recognize the thumbs up, for instance.
The hack was surprisingly smooth given that it was built in fewer than 24 hours, and Huang said there’s plenty more they could do given more time, but they wanted to focus on what they considered the core Facebook experience. The project is also reminiscent of a recent concept design making the rounds of a Facebook Home app for Windows 8.
Leap in Time is a simple enough implementation of Leap Motion, but it does act as a pretty solid example of how gesture control might actually work well for navigating apps and software that we use every day. I know that Leap Motion is eager to get as much software as possible into Airspace, the app store for the controller, but this team said they weren’t sure whether they’d actually pursue this any further.
For reasons I’ve never been able to discern, some people really seem to get a kick out of sharing every bit of banal minutia that peppers their daily lives.
Should you happen to fall into that category (and if so, why?), you may be glad to know that the folks at Looxcie have just announced the Looxcie HD, a new addition to its long-running series of super-portable wearable video cameras.
The basics remain the same as just about every other Looxcie model before it — the HD can connect to iOS and Android smartphones (running the companion app, naturally) via Bluetooth, and can transfer recorded video snippets to them for easier distribution. As the name suggests, the biggest new addition for the dedicated lifecasters among you is the ability to record video in full 1080p, a far cry from the 480p video that its predecessors were capable of capturing. Also new to the package is the inclusion of a Wi-Fi radio, as well as improved low-light performance for when those late night raves just beg to be captured on video.
A recent update to the service saw the addition of live broadcasting to Facebook and other Looxcie users, but the video quality for live streaming takes a hit — resolution still tops out at 480p for that, but that’s arguably a small price to pay when you get to live-stream your daring trip through the mall food court. C’est la vie, I suppose.
What really leaps out at me is just how big the Looxcie HD is compared to its forebears. While previous iterations of the Looxcie hardware were small enough to fit only somewhat cumbersomely on a person’s ear, the new HD model is (sadly) just big enough to make that unfeasible. Still, there are some upsides to be found: the newly-designed enclosure is weather-resistant, and it houses a larger battery (1200mAh, to be precise) than the model that came before it. The HD is actually more reminiscent of devices like the GoPro series these days, but that’s hardly a bad thing unless you were really keen on strapping one of these to your head.
If the concept of sticking a camera on your baseball cap and taking on the world has piqued your interest, the Looxcie HD is now up for preorder — prices start at $ 279, and jumps pretty quickly depending on the mount package that catches your eye.
Makerbot has just announced the Replicator 2.0, a brand new Makerbot Replicator with a larger build plate, coated metal chassis, and improved software as well as better print resolution. In short, this is the Makerbot all grown up.
As you can see from the video, the new Replicator is completely rebuilt with new materials and a larger cavity that allows you to make projects of up to 410 cubic inches (11.2” L x 6.0” W x 6.1” H). It now supports 100-micron resolution and is optimized for PLA bioplastic.
Makerbot closed a round of funding last year and they’re putting it to good use. Besides the new Replicator, the company has opened its first retail space at 298 Mulberry Street in New York. We were given an exclusive look at the new device and I’m wildly impressed. The evolution is stunning and considering Makerbot didn’t have real retail product until last year I’m amazed at the growth.
3D printing is the future, that’s for sure. I’m just amazed that the future got to us so quickly. The Makerbot Replicator 2 will start at $ 2,199 and is available online and in the store.
Because what good are shoes if they can’t tell you how high you’ve jumped, how far you’ve ran, or how many rain puddles you’ve stepped in, Nike is dropping these sensor-laden $ 315 LeBron X high-tops next month. Now I know the burning question on everybody’s mind, and no, I’m not going to buy a pair. I MIGHT get a pair of aqua socks.
Nike+ uses built in sensors to measure everything from your steps, lunges and leaps, and sends the data to a smart phone app. Just the thing to help the coach see if you’re slacking off during practice.
Alternatively, save yourself $ 300 and use this simple formula to find out how high you jumped: Do you read Geekologie? Then not high enough to dunk.
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Afraid of the cloud? You’re not alone, as rising concerns surrounding the security of distributed computing have led University of Vienna researchers to seek out quantum mechanics as a privacy fix. The team’s findings, soon to be published in the journal Science, prove that an end user’s data can remain encrypted throughout its journey to and from remote servers, essentially rendering the quantum computer’s calculations as “blind.” So, how exactly does this evasive entanglement work? Qubits (or quantum bits) containing the pertinent information are transmitted to a central facility where they’re processed according to a specific set of measurements, leaving the resultant computations readable only by the original user. Not obtuse enough for you? Then check out the source below for a more detailed walkthrough.
University of Vienna researchers quantum leap into the cloud, ensure privacy for distributed computing originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple has been duking it out with Android manufacturers for the past couple years, and very few are safe. Samsung has already suffered some big losses with the banning of its Galaxy Tab in Germany and Australia. HTC, however, has remained mostly safe from Apple’s wrath.
In July the Taiwanese manufacturer had a close call, as Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski ruled that HTC was infringing two of Apple’s proposed 10 patents. Of course, before any serious action could be taken the ITC needed to have a look, which is exactly what’s happened.
Luckily for HTC, most of the infringement “charges” have been dropped, save for two claims in one patent, ruled the ITC. The patent HTC is apparently infringing is U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647, specifically claims 1 and 8. Unfortunately for HTC and all other Android manufacturers, those claims cover a few different features that are baked right into Android, including the ability to push-to-talk on a phone number within an email.
As far as HTC is concerned, this is a rather small win for Apple. Reuters reports that the infringing products won’t be allowed into the country if HTC can’t alter them. According to the official paperwork, the limited exclusion order will begin on April 19, 2012. But there’s an exception:
In addition, the Commission has determined, based on consideration of the effect of exclusion on United States consumers, that until December 19, 2013, HTC may import refurbished handsets to be provided to consumers as replacements under warranty or an insurance contract (whether the warranty or contract is offered by HTC, a carrier, or by a third party).
HTC has seemingly already figured a solution to the problem, offering the following statement to BGR.
We are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge’s determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent. We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the ‘647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon.
While HTC asserts that the claims only cover a UI experience, supposedly HTC’s Sense UI, the Galaxy Nexus which runs pure Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich also allows for push-to-call within an email. So, this likely presents a greater problem for Android makers in general. A feature as simple as push-to-talk within an email is something we’ve all grown accustomed to. Who knows how many more simple, but wonderful, features within Android are also infringing Apple patents?
It’s been Apple’s mission to destroy Android, and HTC is but a mere stepping stone.
You get down from there this instance! (Instance is the new instant btw)
Cockroaches: they don’t really bother me. You live with something long enough and you just kind of get used to them. Now I’m not saying I’ve gone and named them, but I can recognize a couple by sight. Look — there goes Mel! “That…was definitely a name.” Okay so maybe I did do that.
Called a leaproach, the insect only infrequently scuttles like a regular roach. The rest of the time it uses two powerful hind legs with spring-loaded knees to rocket above fields of sedge grass.
About 4,000 species of cockroaches are known to science, and all but the leaproach scuttle on the ground.
The new study reveals the leaproach uses its legs much like grasshoppers do, and yet – ounce for ounce – the leaproach far out-jumps locusts. While a grasshopper can jump up to 20 body lengths, a leaproach can sail forward 48 body lengths.
Sure fleas still win the body-length to leap-distance contest, but they’re disgusting and I don’t want to talk about them. “These are just as bad!” No, they’re not. If you think a jumping cockroach is bad, imagine a cockroach that can burrow under your skin and eat freckles. See? Not so bad now.
Hit the jump for the oh shit, we’ve got a jumper!
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Took ‘em long enough! Nearly a full year has elapsed between the time that Best Buy announced that its ‘Connect’ program would support 4G and the time that it actually started stocked 4G gear. In fact, the company actually took the time to sign up for LightSquared’s wholesale LTE service a full week prior to making good on its commitment to Clearwire, which may or may not say anything about the future viability of WiMAX. At any rate, those who’d prefer to sift through mounds of peripherals (and be hounded at the exit by employees attempting to hawk product protection plans) in order to buy their 4G service can now do just that. BB Connect stores in the US will offer unlimited 4G service for $ 45 per month with a month-to-month or two-year contract, and if you choose the latter, the $ 35 activation fee will be waived and a hardware subsidy (“up to $ 150″) will be yours. So, you digging in, or feeling the tug of Long-Term Evolution?
Continue reading Best Buy Connect takes the 4G leap, now stocking over 20 WiMAX products
Best Buy Connect takes the 4G leap, now stocking over 20 WiMAX products originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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