Social media researcher and general internet guru Danah Boyd gave the keynote address at SXSWi earlier today, focusing on matters of privacy. On paper, Google Buzz was a perfect social network. So why did it freak everyone out so much? More »
Mail this post 
Social media researcher and general internet guru Danah Boyd gave the keynote address at SXSWi earlier today, focusing on matters of privacy. On paper, Google Buzz was a perfect social network. So why did it freak everyone out so much? More »
Mail this post 
In Nokia's own words, what we're looking at is a "piezoelectric kinetic energy harvester." Working along the same principles as kinetic wristwatches have done for a long time already, Nokia's idea is to capture the energy generated by the phone's movements and to refashion it into beautiful, clean-as-a-whistle electric power. By allowing the heavier internal components to move on rails within the phone as part of a "force-transferring assembly," the Espoo think tank has figured out a way to capitalize on all the small forces of acceleration and rotation that we subject our phones to on a daily basis. It would seem overly ambitious to expect this to replace the trusty old charger, but we give credit to Nokia for even thinking about it. Check out some schematics of how this would work after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia wants patent on self-regenerating phone batteries, piezoelectrics and much magic involved originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Symbian Freak | 
UPSTO | Email this | Comments
Mail this post 
Yesterday, many Palm Pre owners were treated to an OS update that spanned the globe, except, unfortunately Verizon Wireless subscribers were left out. Luckily for you Palm-fanatics on Verizon, Verizon Wireless Pre Plus and Pixi Plus users are now free to get their webOS 1.4 freak on. Don’t forget to let us know how you’re lucky that brand new update.
Mail this post 
We know the boo birds are going to have a lot of fun with this, but today Rogers officially introduced North American One Rate data roaming plans. In exchange for an extra $10 per month, Rogers subs will be able to get their data freak on south of the 49th without having to pay a penny for per Kb data roaming. Instead, the used data deducted directly from their normal monthly data bucket. Here are the plans:
We don’t think the One Rate roaming plans will “shatter people’s perception of wireless data roaming when visiting the United States” as Rogers has stated, but we also think it’s hard to argue against the transparency of the new plans. Now to do something about voice and SMS…
Fun fact: There’s nothing that says you can’t switch to this plan as you’re boarding your flight to NYC and then removing it as soon as you’re back on Canadian soil.
Mail this post 
BlackBerry addicts, its officially time to freak out because BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 has just gone live in App Word. We don’t think we need to tell you what it’s all about because not only did we give the world its first look at the app, but its also been floating around for one hell of a long time. Well what are you waiting for? Let’s crash RIMs servers and call it a party! Hit us with your feedback, ok?
UPDATE: Looks like the servers really aren’t capable of handling the demand as we and a bunch of our readers are getting a “connection timed out” message. We’ll let you know once things calm down and everyone can be accommodated.
UPDATE 2: Looks like things are once again up and running.
Mail this post 
Because the one sentence written about this miniature-living-room-inside-a-PC-case was composed in Russian, i'll just say this—whoever created it is awesome, but they might also be a serial killer.
There's a painstaking amount of detail inside the scene, including intricate housewares such as a vase, flowers, the newspaper, and a gumball machine (?!). Anyone with this much time on their hands must also spend hours thinking of the perfect way to get away with murder.
But I do love how the circuit board nearly blends in as wallpaper if you don't pay close attention. I'd like to see this turn into a trend...I think. [Modding.ru via Technabob]
Mail this post 
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.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mail this post 
