Archive for September 26th, 2009

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We’ve seen so many mods around here that sometimes it’s truly hard to get excited over the minor stuff. Well, this doesn’t fall into that category in any way. A computer scientist at the University in Warwick has developed a method to use Microsoft’s Xbox 360 to detect heart defects and help prevent heart attacks. Based on a demo created by Simon Scarle a few years back when he worked at Rare studio, it’s based on a modded chip that — instead of producing graphics for the game — now produces data tracking how the electrical signals in the heart moves about damaged cells, creating a model of it. The model can then be used to help doctors to identify defects and disturbances in the heart’s beating. This significantly decreases the costs and complications of creating a model of the heart, which is currently done by supercomputers and is very expensive. Scarle’s project and findings were just published in the August issue of the Journal of Computational Biology and Chemistry. Looks like we’ll all have a response the next time someone tells us that gaming is good for nothing, right?

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Gaming, Science

Computer scientist mods Xbox 360 to detect heart attacks, girls still mysteriously elusive originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey, thought that $99.99 Amazon deal for a Palm Pre was really snazzy? Well today, Walmart appears to go one better by cutting the smartphone’s price down to a staggering $79.99 (on contract and with mail-in rebate). If prices keep going this low, you can probably expect the Pixi to show up for about nothing (zero, zip, zilch) sooner rather than later. If you’ve been looking for a deal to get into the Pre, this is it… but too bad if you dropped $200 a few months ago.

[Via everythingpre]

Filed under: Cellphones

Pre drops to $79.99 at Walmart originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you simply have $120.69-too-much in your bank account, you can thank Uxsight for being there. You may already be entertaining guests with your variety of USB endoscopes, but to really make the picture complete (pun only slightly intended), you’re going to want this succulent USB iriscope. That’s right, now you can peer deeply, digtally into the eyes of your… er, “clients” (their words, not ours) as you check their health and generally freak everyone out. When you’re done, you can “compare the irises pictures when your client comes back to see their progress.” Now, we don’t know exactly what kind of procedure you’re going to be performing on said clients, but you’ll finally have a way to show them just what kind of mess you’ve made. We think Uxsight says it best about their product: “Natural image, attractive or charming.” Who can argue with that kind of logic?

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

USB iriscope is just what you need for your next date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wacom sure has been busy with its Bamboo line, and now the impressions are starting to trickle in. The Pen & Touch is particularly interesting, marrying what is essentially an extra large touchpad with traditional digital pen tech — and to what effect? Well, the tester at BestTabletReview.com didn’t find much difference in accuracy or sensitivity with his old Graphire, and was particularly digging the 16:9 ratio over his old tablet’s 4:3 setup — making for more of a 1-to-1 penning experience. Of course, it’s probably more up to personal tastes as to whether you’ll really find the multitouch aspects of the unit worthwhile, but they aren’t touched on much here, and you could always just spring for the Pen-only edition if that’s the way you’re wired.

Filed under: Peripherals

Wacom’s Bamboo Pen & Touch unboxed and previewed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The slow wave of NVIDIA Ion-based machines continues to wash in — as expected, the Lenovo Q110 nettop is now on sale. We’d actually wait another couple weeks to score this rig with Windows 7 preloaded, but if you’re into Vista you can grab it right now for $399 with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB drive and take a free upgrade disc when it’s available. Anyone gonna throw down?

[Via Netbooked]

Filed under: Desktops

Lenovo Ion-powered IdeaCenter Q110 nettop on sale now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A group of students at MIT have just unveiled a new prototype of a braille labelmaker / printer, the 6dot. Though not the first, the MIT group’s model is apparently more advanced, easier to use, and cheaper than currently available models. Designed with the blind and visually impaired in mind, the labelmaker features an around the neck strap, and six buttons (for each of the dots of a braille character), allowing quick production of accurate labels, including contractions. The internal processor of the device can store up to 16 characters, and “prints” the characters onto adhesive label paper, which the user can then affix for easy identification of household items, such as medications, canned goods, and so on. Though it’s still in prototype phase, it’s possible the device could cost as little as $200 when it does hit the market.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household, Science

MIT students develop new 6dot braille labelmaker prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d heard that Archos had teased an Android-based phone when it launched the new Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and now we have video proof. We don’t speak French well enough to translate what’s being said here (or, really, translate anything other than “le singe conduit l’autobus”) but that spec sheet isn’t too hard to figure out: we’re looking at a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor under a 4.3-inch 854 x 480 screen in 10mm thin titanium casing with what looks like a front-facing camera. Yeah, not too shabby at all, especially considering Archos has that interesting media layer running on top of Android already — let’s hope we find out even more soon. Video after the break.

[Thanks, Fernando]

Continue reading Archos Android Phone Tablet introduced on video

Filed under: Cellphones

Archos Android Phone Tablet introduced on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The best of the rest from the physics arXiv this week:

THz Meta-Foil – A New Photonic Material

Robust Control of Individual Nuclear Spins in Diamond

Astroinformatics: A 21st Century Approach to Astronomy

Electron Spin for Classical Information Processing: A Brief Survey of Spin-Based Logic Devices, Gates and Circuits

Compressed Genotyping

We had a pretty clear indication that this one was coming, but it looks RAmos has finally gotten official with its once mysterious Android-based MID, now known from here on out as the W7. As rumored, this one is a Rockchip-powered device, and packs a 4.8-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen, 720p video support (via HDMI output, presumably), built-in WiFi, and no 3G, although that apparently could still be in the cards for the future. It also just so happens to bear more than a passing resemblance to eviGroup’s recently-debuted Wallet Android MID, and another, non-existent MID / tablet you might have heard of. What’s more, RAmos also seems to have taken the opportunity to debut a few other, non-Android-based MIDs and PMPs, including the T11TE (which apparently boasts 1080p output over HDMI), the T9HD, and the T7 — although details on those are few and far between at the moment.

[Via Electric Echoes, thanks Sere83]

Filed under: Handhelds

RAmos’ Android-based W7 MID gets real — real familiar originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The HTC Leo is shaping up to be a pretty monumental Windows Mobile launch, and not just because of that high-res capacitive touchscreen and 1GHz Snapdragon processor — it’s also running a nicely refreshed version of TouchFLO 3D. The cats at PocketNow managed to grab an early ROM and install it on a Touch Diamond2, check the video after the break to see the new icons, dynamic background wallpaper, and much, much more.

[Via MobileTechWorld; thanks Mistyk]

Continue reading HTC Leo’s TouchFLO 3D build demoed on video

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC Leo’s TouchFLO 3D build demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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