Tech Newz

What if you could turn your skin into a touch-interface? That’s the idea driving Skinput, a system that takes advantage of the vibrations generated when we tap our body. The prototype is accurate enough that different parts of the body can be turned into switches that control a variety of functions, as the video below demonstrates:

Using a tiny projector embedded in the armband that captures taps on the human arm, Skinput can even display a dynamic graphical interface to present ..read more

From Dell.Com: Pay $400, and you get a 17″ laptop with the following specs:

Intel Pentium T4300 (2.1 GHz/800 MHz FSB/1 MB cache) 2 GB of DDR2 RAM 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD 8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam Glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440×900) 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)

If anything, the basic Studio 17 makes for a good home web and productivity machine. You won’t have to pack it up ..read more

Bad news for Palm: after the company announced it would miss revenue estimates for the last quarter ending in February, its shares took a relatively nosedive. The reason? Weak sales of the Palm Pre. While everyone expected sales to slow down because of the economy, the scale of the miss surprised many.

Among the analysts who are now expressing doubt in Palm’s long-term prospects, Van Baker of Gartner blames Palm’s approach to marketing the Pre:

“First they announced so far in advance ..read more

Someone get Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo to scream “services, services, services!” a la Steve Ballmer. At Nokia Showcase 2010, execs and designers made it clear that the company thinks its future lies with providing better services. “We want to provide an interesting experience to customers” said Jukka Hosio, Director Services Marketing, Location. “And it’s all about the services we offer through our phones.”

The focus was all on services for the media event, which saw regional media converge on Bangkok at ..read more

If you think about it, the popularity of Street Fighter II is quite a miracle, especially when you compare the fighting game classic to today’s hyper-realistic gaming scene. But watching videos of Street Fighter I makes it easy to see just why SF II became so big; the improvement between both games was huge.

Think about it: it’s totally amazing that Street Fighter II featured 8 playable characters, vastly improved audio and music, and extremely responsive gameplay.

Still, I can’t help but ..read more

The internet now buzzes about the HTC Desire, even though it’s practically the same as the Google Nexus One. The only difference is probably the addition of HTC’s “Sense UI”, which is just the manufacturer’s way to spicing up the Android 2.1 interface. Feel free to compare the HTC Desire to the Google Nexus One, through Spectograph. Personally, I’ll wait for the Desire’s April 2010 release before judging which phone is “better”.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

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Valentine’s Day is usually about flowers and chocolates. But as a geek, the last thing I wanted to do was be cliche, and give what are basically decorative plants.

Don’t get me wrong; my girlfriend’s reaction to flowers always makes me melt, and I’ve got a box of chocolates to give to her today (this post is auto-scheduled to appear while we enjoy a trip out-of-town). As this is the first time we’re actually making a point to celebrate Valentine’s Day—and ..read more

Most mid- to high-end gadgets integrate Bluetooth, FM transceiver, GPS and WiFi hardware into one neat package. However, what if all those features were controlled from a single component? That’s what Texas Instruments is working on now, with its WiLink 7.0.

The chip still requires other hardware such as the antennas to properly function, but for all intents and purposes this looks like a powerful and integrated connectivity solution. The obvious benefits are lower heat-generation and perhaps lower power consumption—features pushed ..read more

Hardcore fans of The Beatles can get themselves a flash disk packed with 14 remastered hits, and 13 “mini-documentaries” featuring the influential rock band. Even better, the digital content (FLAC for the songs, and MP4 for the vids) are not just stored on your typical thumb drive, but in a specially-crafted green aluminum apple. The whole package is called The Beatles [USB].

The actual flash disk is within the apple’s stalk, while the apple’s body is distinctive decoration—and most likely would ..read more

To pre-order the Alienware M11x, go here.

On March 1, Alienware will start shipping what’s quite possibly the most powerful sub-12″ notebook ever. The base Alienware m11x will cost $800. That gets buyers a 1.3GHz Intel SU4100 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM, and a 160GB 5400 rpm hard disk, running on Windows 7 Home-Premium 64-bit, on a 11.6″ 1366 x 768 display.

Part of the starting price includes the M11x’s pride and joy, a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 335M. This means ..read more