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Donald Melanson Year:by , posted Feb 20th 2008 at 6:31AM Source Site:engadget
Hondas already made more than a few attempts at energy efficient vehicles, but it looks like the company is far from running out of options, with it now touting a new so-called "heat harnessing hybrid" that it says can recapture more lost energy than conventional hybrids during highway driving. The key to that is a so-called Rankine cycle engine, which captures waste heat from the cars exhaust and puts it back to work to heat water, which gets converted to steam to power an electric generator, which in turn charges the cars battery pack. That basic idea, as you may have deduced, is hardly a new one, but Honda appears to have pushed things farther along than most, with its current prototype (a Honda Stream) boasting a 3.8% increase in efficiency when motoring along at 62 miles per h...
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Darren Murph Year:by , posted Feb 20th 2008 at 6:31AM Source Site:engadget
Weve always heard that theres no need in regretting, and apparently, Toshiba is following said mantra after the collapse of its beloved high-definition movie format. In an interview with TechRadar, Toshibas deputy general manager of HD DVD Olivier Van Wynendaele stated that it "wouldnt change anything that it did," and continued on to say that "circumstances saw to it that [Toshiba] had to make the decision not to continue, but that doesnt mean [the company] did anything wrong." Just in case you couldnt already sense the inability to swallow ones pride, Mr. Van Wynendaele also proclaimed that its format was "a finished standard, unlike Blu-ray," and concluded by noting that HD DVD was still "better than Blu-ray." Maybe he really didnt get the memo?
[Image courtesy of Bexhuff, tha...
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Donald Melanson Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Its been quite a while since we saw the first less-than-stellar renders of Toshibas Scaleo home server, but it looks like the device is now finally nearing an actual release, with just about all the details you could want now out in the open. As previously announced, the server will be available in two varieties, with the Scaleo Home Server 1500 boasting a single 500GB hard drive and room for three more, and the Scaleo 1900 boasting two 500GB hard drives and, apparently, room for three more drives as well (although, as Slash Gear points out, that may be a typo given that the two are the same size). Otherwise, you can expect a Celeron 4xx processor in each, along with 512MB of RAM, 256MB of flash memory, gigabit LAN, four USB ports, and two eSATA. Theres still no official word as to wh...
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Darren Murph Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Shortly after Samsung stated its intentions to focus on Blu-ray in the future, along comes LG looking out for those guinea pigs whove already started building up a respectable HD DVD library. Reportedly, the firm stated that it felt it "necessary to provide a player which supports both formats and therefore creates simplicity and convenience for the existing HD DVD consumer." Furthermore, Daniel Aziz, marketing manager for LG Electronics, was quoted as saying that Toshibas announcement "does not rule out HD DVD immediately, as there are still a number of consumers who have chosen HD DVD and begun to build a HD DVD collection." Course, we wouldnt try to read between any lines here -- it seems that LG wont be yanking its combo players anytime soon, but theres no doubt it understands th...
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Joshua Topolsky Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Tokyo University engineer Tsuyoshi Horo has developed a novel system for controlling robots (or in this case, a moving stool) using a simple set of hand and body gestures. The researcher is utilizing a circular array of cameras to track and detect body movement within a controlled environment, and then translate those movements to actions for an automaton. The cameras are used to create a real-time, 3D, volumetric model of objects or people in the space, which is then converted into a psychedelic stack of virtual cubes which are read and processed as data. Viewed movement allows a user to control something like the direction of a bot simply by pointing which way theyd like it to go. Sure, thats all well and good, but were more interested in getting ourselves Tron-ed into a highly com...
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Nilay Patel Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Weve certainly seen our share of devices to bring your computer and TV together, but the HDTV Suite-HDMI from Asus brings it back the other way, providing a TV tuner and a variety of TV-oriented inputs for your computer monitor. The box accepts a host of inputs from HDMI to coax, converts, finesses and upscales the signal up to 1080p, and outputs over DVI or VGA, turning your old display into a viable television. The multiple inputs and TV tuner support PIP, and theres also a bundled remote to control the on-screen menus, completing the TV makeover. Sadly, theres no word on price, but PAL and NTSC support hints that we might see this box hit our fair shores -- looks like its time for a monitor upgrade, eh?
[Via PCLaunches]...
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Joshua Topolsky Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Clearly not wanting to seem unhip in this fast-paced, modern era of all-you-can-eat cellphone plans, T-Mobile has announced that it will begin offering a -- wait for it -- $99.99 unlimited calling and text message plan starting February 21st. Now the magenta team can join the ranks of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and, er... Helio, in giving customers almost exactly the same plan, though unlike AT&T and Verizon, this includes all the text messages you could possibly type. For those with happy fingers and a whole slew of friends, that might be the deciding factor in this war of nearly-identical calling deals. Can unlimited Faves be far away?
[Thanks, Pete]...
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Nilay Patel Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
The mothership has already started slapping Penryn chips in lappies, so it was only a matter of time before Alienware followed suit -- yep, heres the Area-51 m15x laptop, now with your choice of T- and X-series Core 2 Duo processors. Stick with the standard 2.5GHz T9300, upgrade to a 2.6GHz T9500 for $275, or throw caution (and $650) to the wind with the 2.8GHz X9000 Core 2 Extreme option. No word on whether that edge lighting is actually enabled on these bad boys, but hey -- youve still got
those Penryn bragging rights, yeah?
Update: Alienware just told us that, as of February 8, all m15x laptops have the sidelights enabled -- rock on.
[Thanks, Alienwarez]...
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Nilay Patel Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Weve already seen Microsofts upcoming Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, but surely you cant have mismatched peripherals on your desk -- it would interrupt your flow, your aura, your feng shui. Fear not, for the kind suits at the FCC have seen the panic in your eyes and released these dingy photographs of the upcoming Microsoft Wireless Laser Keyboard 7000, averting your budding crisis of aesthetics. Its actually kind of a looker, with that slick glass frame and dedicated Flip3D button next to the right Alt key -- looks like theres another fine answer to the eternal question of "Which keyboard should I buy?"
[Via istartedsomething]...
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Ryan Block Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
Just in case you missed the big news earlier this morning, after more than two years on the market HD DVD finally rolled over. Heres everything you need to know:
Official: HD DVD dead and buried, format war is over
Toshiba: "no plans" to adopt Blu-ray
HD DVD casualty report: over 1m players, recorders, and drives lost to the format war
Paramount and Universal to publish films on Blu-ray
More
Live from Toshibas HD DVD press conference in Tokyo
Top ten things to do with your now-defunct HD DVD player
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Darren Murph Year:by , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:06PM Source Site:engadget
We were warned that Elmo Live was pretty much a full-fledged robot, but we cant say we envisioned this. This critter sings, dances and does a decent job of freaking us out with his innate intelligence. Seriously, youve got to see it to believe it -- good thing the videos just one click away....
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