Archive for May 12th, 2009

Before he was the patron saint of electric cars and GPUs, Nikola Tesla invented the AC motor, the Tesla coil (or, as he called it, the “coil”), and demonstrated that power could be transferred wirelessly. A hundred-plus years later, companies like Solaren Corp are angling to beam electricity down to earth from outer space — quite possibly solving our energy crisis with science fiction means that would even make ol’ Nicky T. look twice. But why should the big companies have all the fun? You too can experiment with wireless power, albeit on a significantly smaller scale, with merely a square wave generator, some coiled wire, a 60 watt bulb, and a few other low priced thingamabobs. Don’t believe us? Hit that read link and see for yourself.

[Via Make]

Filed under: Science

D.I.Y. wireless power project unleashes your inner mad scientist originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For years now, those in power at the top of the CableCARD chain have told you that installing your own CableCARD within your own HTPC was simply impossible. “OEM or bust,” they said. It’s a good thing they’re wrong, isn’t it? Over at Engadget HD, we’ve assembled a guide that explains how to get your existing media center PC to play nice with a dedicated internal CableCARD tuner, and the whole process just might be easier than you’ve ever imagined. Give it a look right here.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs

Get a CableCARD into your DIY HTPC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/SlingPlayer_Mobile_for_iPhone_coming_shortly_29_99_no_3G’; After what has become one of the longer (and certainly one of the highest-profile) App Store approval delays, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone has finally gotten Apple’s blessing — with some serious changes under the hood. Most importantly, 3G access has been disabled, meaning you’ll only be able to get your Sling on over WiFi — a serious blow to the app and a huge change from the way SlingPlayer Mobile works on other platforms — and likely a verification that either Apple or AT&T took serious issue with the bandwidth load imposed by this type of app on the HSPA network. Despite the restriction, Sling will be charging a whopping $29.99 for the download; in exchange for your troubles, though, they’ve decided to lift the ban on older Slingboxes, with the caveat that they won’t be officially supported if you run into trouble.

We’ve had a chance to play with the app, and it certainly gets the job done — we just wish it worked a little better. Even on WiFi, control feels laggy, and there’s no native guide (though there’s an icon to quickly pull up your set-top box’s guide). When you’re in letterbox mode, you’ve got black bars around all four sides of the image, meaning that the app isn’t taking full advantage of the phone’s display; we’re hopeful this’ll be fixed in a future release, though. Happily, we think Sling really nailed the app’s UI — the on-screen translucent controls are pretty cool and generally work well without obscuring the view. Look to grab your own copy some time between 12:01AM and 6:01AM EDT tomorrow morning, and in the meantime, check out our gallery.

Update: The app’s now available, so get ready to part with $30 (and to not part with your 3G bandwidth — you certainly won’t need it here). Thanks, everyone!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Video

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone coming shortly: $29.99, no 3G support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Listen up, jet-setters — AirTran Airways just got a lot more attractive. Starting this summer, this very airline will become the “world’s first” (Virgin America will have its comparatively small fleet of 28 fully equipped by Memorial Day) to equip all of its aircraft with in-flight WiFi, and when we say “all,” we mean “all.” Much like the half dozen other Aircell airline partners, AirTran is also utilizing Gogo technology, but it’s doing so across its entire fleet of Boeing 737 and 717 aircraft. If all goes to plan, all 136 AirTran planes will be broadband-enabled by “mid-summer,” and as with other Gogo-equipped planes, patrons will be asked to pony up $12.95 for access on flights over three hours and $9.95 for jaunts that are three hours or less. Of note, “handheld devices” can hop online for just $7.95 regardless of flight length, though we get the idea that VoIP calling will still be disabled.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

AirTran brings Gogo in-flight WiFi to every single flight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got an 8GB Kingston Technologies SDHC Video card on offer. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!

Big thanks to Kingston for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Kingston Technologies SDHC video card.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, May, 12th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Announcements

Engadget’s recession antidote: win an 8GB Kingston SDHC Video card! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawk is a humanoid, autonomous, wireless, and handsome robot made by Canadian company Dr. Robot. He’s got WiFi, a GPS navigation system, dual cameras in his moveable, animated head, and a host of other cameras and sensors that keep him trucking along. Designed with education in mind, Hawk’s skill set is a bit limited, but his hands are pretty impressive. Hawk is on sale now, and while there’s no price listed for the bot, base parts of the robot are in the range of $5,000. Video of Hawk beating the skins after the break: yes, we’re aware of the fact that he’s not exactly John Bonham but, then again — neither are any of your friends, right?

Continue reading Hawk WiFi robot is probably more fun to hang around with than your friends

Filed under: Robots

Hawk WiFi robot is probably more fun to hang around with than your friends originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sigh. It’s like making a Jag-Stang for righties — it just ain’t right, kids. Hot on the heels of seeing the other special edition Rock Band axes designed for the forthcoming Beatles title comes this, Sir Paul McCartney’s Rock Band Höfner bass replica. At a glance, most everything looks to be legitimate, but considering that it’s clearly tailored for those who lean right, it’ll never be authentic in our minds. Yeah, that’s our southpaw pride we’re wearing on our sleeves — what of it?

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Paul McCartney’s Rock Band Höfner bass gets pictured, lacks genuineness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Way back at CES, TomTom proudly announced that its GO 740 LIVE personal navigation device would be its very first “connected GPS” to hit the United States of America. Just last month, the company announced that said unit was finally shipping to anxious consumers. Hardware wise, there’s nothing here outside of the ordinary, but it’s the little extras that make all the difference in the world here — or, at least that’s what TomTom wants you to think. Is this $400 navigator worth the up front costs, let alone the monthly fee to keep it connected? Head on past the break for our take.

Continue reading TomTom GO 740 LIVE impressions

Filed under: GPS

TomTom GO 740 LIVE impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you know, Rackable Systems was originally hoping to acquire the one-time king of the 3D set for $25 million (with some speculating that even that was a bit much), but it looks like the bankruptcy judges had other plans. Now that the dust has settled (and a check has been cut for almost twice the original asking price) it looks like the two companies will finally merge, forming an outfit called… SGI. The newly minted Silicon Graphics International hopes to combine the strong server business of Rackable with the original Silicon Graphics Inc. name (and overseas service contracts), inspiring the same sort of technological alchemy that once brought the iconic brand to the silver screen by way of such fine cinematic fare as First Kid. In addition, SGI plans continued development and support for the existing Silicon Graphics and Rackable product lines. Quite frankly, we really don’t care what they do, as long as they bring back the Indigo — back in the day we would have killed for one of those bad boys.

Filed under: Desktops

SGI name lives on after $42.5 million sale to Rackable Systems originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aw, snap. Just when you thought the 4K market couldn’t get any more dominated by RED and the gang, along comes JVC to shake things up. For reasons unknown, the company has chosen now (and not a few weeks back at NAB) to unleash its prototype 4K and 8K camcorders, both of which boast D-ILA technology and can capture clips at a downright mind-blowing 8,912 x 4,320 or 3,840 x 2,160 resolution. There’s also a more “compact” sibling which does 4K only, but even it provides plenty of pixels to zoom and pan in unprecedented clarity on. So JVC — you, us, CEDIA 2009. It’s a date, cool?

Update: More details here. Thanks, Geoff!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

JVC debuts 8K / 4K prototype camcorders, moviemakers drool originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 May 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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