The new iPod Touch features an iPhone-like touch screen with Wi-Fi capabilities, also included is the Safari Internet browser and, like the iPhone it will play YouTube videos. it comes in two capacity’s 8GB or 16GB which is an improvement over the iPhone which only has 8GB for storage at the moment. The size of the iPod Touch is slightly smaller and weighs a little less than the iPhone but the screen size is exactly the same on both models, except the iPod Touch beats the iPhone by 3 dpi.
Specs:
iPhone
iPod Touch
Height: 4.5 inches (115 mm)
Height: 4.3 inches (110 mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (61 mm)
Width: 2.4 inches (61.8 mm)
Depth: 0.46 inch (11.6 mm)
Depth: 0.31 inch (8 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (135 grams)
Weight: 4.2 ounces (120 grams
Display: 480 by 320 pixel at 160 dpi
Display: 480 by 320 pixel at 163 dpi
Maximum capacity: 8GB
Maximum capacity: 16GB
Along with announcing the iPod Touch, apple also announce a number of updates to the current iPod line. Both the Nano and the current 80GB iPod models have been upgraded with new metal casing. And the Nano, now has a larger & brighter screen with the ability to play videos. while the current 80GB iPod has been re-branded as the iPod classic, and has had its capacity doubled form 80GB to 160GB. The only member of the iPod family that didn’t get upgraded was the iPod shuffle. I was actually hoping for the shuffle to be upgraded to something slightly bigger say 4GB. Anyway Apple should begin shipping the New iPod Touch this month, so it looks like it’s just in time for Christmas.
Dean Kamen & the Norwegian company ‘Think’ are working together on a project that sounds extremely similar to the Mr Fusion engine from Back to the Future. Over the last 10 years Kamen has spent around $40 million developing the Stirling engine, which can use virtually any fuel source to heat a sealed container containing a fixed quantity of gas – most commonly hydrogen or helium – that expands and contracts to drive a piston and produce electricity.
These engines are already being used in developing countries, but Kamen started to realise that the engines would never be economical until they were mass produced.
That’s where the Norwegian ‘Think’ car comes in. By combining the two together, you could basically use any combustible material, for example: Diesel, vegetable oil, paper, fast food, timber, cow manure etc.. to help keep the batteries charged. So instead of throwing your rubbish away, you would just use it to power your car. Not only would this extend the Thinks range by hundreds of miles, it would also turn the car into a mobile generator. When electricity demand peaks during the day, thousands of ‘Thinks’ plugged in at office parks could feed power back to the grid. If you have enough ‘Thinks’ out there you would literally change the architecture of the grid, says Kamen
At the moment the Stirling electric hybrid prototype only generates around 1Kilowatt of power unfortunately that’s nowhere near the 1.21 Gigawatts required for time travel.
Graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon, eluded scientists for years but was finally made in the laboratory in 2004 with the help of everyday, store-bough transparent tape. This research is an important first step, For developing a way to mass produce metallic graphene that could one day replace copper as the primary interconnect material on nearly all computer chips.
I know, I know its a few days late but I thought I would post about it anyway, by now am sure every one on the Internet has heard that Apple have launched 4 iPhone ads (Never Been an iPod, How To, Calamari & Watered Down) announcing the iPhone launch date on the 29th of June.
The iPhone will have 2 versions the 4GB version that will sell for around $499 (£250) and the 8GB version for $599 (£301). unfortunately the June release is not a global release and is only intended for the US, So still waiting for the UK release date to be announced I’ve heard it could be in October or at the very latest not until early next year.
Sony recently revealed their new 2.5-inch Flexi-OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) display, made from a glass substrate it has a resolution of 120 x 169 pixels, weighs a mere 1.5 grams and is only .3mm thick. The flexible display has the capability of being bent in any direction.
The great thing about OLED displays is that the pixels emit there own light so no additional light source is required, making the display consume less power compared to current displays that require back-lighting. Because OLED pixels directly emit light, OLED pixel colors appear correct and unshifted, even as the viewing angle approaches 90 degrees. This technology is also less expensive to produce over the current LCD display technology.
Dean Kamen and DEKA Research are working with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), in an attempt to create the next-generation robotic prosthesis for soldiers wounded in battle, and it looks like they have succeeded. At a recent conference in Honolulu, Hawaii As part of his presentation Kamen gave a little background information on the project and showed a short video clip of the arm in action.
Titled “Gen X – Separate Exo Control” two team member demonstrated the robotic arm grasping a water bottle, & preforming delicate tasks such as picking up a pen and scratching a nose. weighing less than nine pounds this is a really impressive piece of technology and a needed leap forward for prosthetics.
Johnny five has to be one of the coolest robots of all time first appearing in the movie Short Circuit in 1986 then again in Short Circuit 2 in 1988. so when I saw this excellent replica of number five I had to post it, created by Daniele Benedettelli using LEGO Mindstorms NXT parts, named the JohnNXT.
I cant believe how neat this is the way it moves, stands & even its shoulder Lazar moves in the same way minus the deadly Lazar beam. The only thing it doesn’t have is the on-board radio remote control, so no taking over small air crafts just yet. Daniele Benedettelli did some dimensional study on the real Johnny Five in order to obtain the most precise replica possible.
Microsoft have recently unveiled an impressive Work Touch-Desk concept at the Convergence 2007 conference in San Diego, California. It seems like the present is finally catching up with the future through this device. After Microsoft’s unimpressive attempt at bringing 3D visual effect to the Vista desktop with Aero the Touch-Desk is slightly more impressive, with its ability to transform paper documents to digital format with a nice degree of interactivity with the newly converted digital document, voice seach & Star Trek like touch interface this could possibly revolutionize factories and warehousing around the world.
Researchers from the IBM Almaden research lab and the University of Nevada have created a simulation that was as big and as complex as half of a mouse brain on the BlueGene L supercomputer. Half a real mouse brain is thought to have about eight million neurons each one of which can have up to 8,000 connections. Using the BlueGene L supercomputer the researchers created half a virtual mouse brain that had 8,000 neurons & had up to 6,300 connections.
In other smaller simulations the researchers say they have seen characteristics of thought patterns observed in real mouse brains. In these other tests the team saw the groups of neurons form spontaneously into groups. The researchers say that although the simulation shared some similarities with a mouse’s mental make-up in terms of nerves and connections it lacked the structures seen in real mice brains. For future tests the team aims to speed up the simulation, and make it more neurobiologically faithful, by adding structures seen in real mouse brains
Ever think about getting a dog to protect your home, but think against it because you just don’t have the time? Well fear no more, the Virtual Dog is here designed by Obscura Digital. Combining high-definition media; this dog can be projected on to almost any surface. It looks real, except for the fact that it is transparent and seems to glow in the dark. However, the technology isn’t exactly mainstream yet, so don’t expect to see this in stores any time soon.
