Year: 2008 (Page 39 of 52)

What’s happening in tech today? Trust Dr. Blip to find out!

Some Customers with iPhone 3G Connection Issues
Mac Rumors – There are a number of reports of iPhone 3G users having problems with inconsistent cellular connections with their new phones. CNet points to a growing discussion thread at Apple’s forums detailing the problems.

UK Researchers Give Robot a “Biological Brain”
Engadget – It looks like a group of researchers from the University of Reading are making a solid run at the title of mad scientists of the year (in the best sense, of course), with them now boasting that they’ve developed a robot that’s controlled by a “biological brain.” That’s not quite the sci-fi sight you may be imagining, however (though it’s close), with it instead made up of some 300,000 neurons taken from the neural cortex of a rat fetus, which are contained in multi electrode array that packs 60 electrodes to pick up the signals generated by the cells and, in turn, control the robot.
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What’s happening in tech today? Trust Dr. Blip to find out!

Lenovo Intros the Monstrous ThinkPad W700
Slashdot – Engadget recently got their hands on an early delivery of Lenovo’s new powerhouse of a laptop, the W700. Aimed at graphic artists and photographers this beast is designed to really pack a punch. No word on how much for the extra fusion generator to power it for longer than 20 minutes.

The Quick 10: 10 Things 300 Didn’t Tell You
mental_floss – It was, um, a lot of years ago today (480 B.C., to be exact) that King Leonidas and the Spartans were defeated by Xerxes’ army at Thermopylae. Well, that’s according to some accounts. Some historians say that we can’t be sure exactly what day in late summer the Battle of Thermopylae happened, but for our purposes today (namely, a timely Quick 10) we’ll stick with the ones who have agreed on August 11.
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What’s happening in tech today? Trust Dr. Blip to find out!

Why Shoot Down a Satellite? Analyzing an Analysis
Slashdot – Writing in the IEEE Spectrum, James Oberg analyzes whether there was, in fact a significant risk to humans from the satellite which the US military shot down on 21 February, purportedly ‘to head off the possibility of its splashing a half ton of toxic hydrazine fuel somewhere on Earth.

Scientists Closer To Invisibility Cloak
Slashdot – “Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.”
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What’s happening in tech today? Trust Dr. Blip to find out!

Published Blacklist Blocks Core Location Only?
Mac Rumors – DaringFireball.net clarifies that the published blacklist url likely only blocks malicious apps from accessing the iPhone’s Core Location functions. Core Location allows applications to detect the user’s location through GPS and Wi-Fi triangulation.

Iron Man Blu-ray Packs a Stark-Worthy Arsenal of Bonus Features
Gizmodo – The Blu-ray version of Iron Man has been available for preorder on Amazon for quite a while now, but no one knew exactly what they were buying (other than, you know, the movie itself). Now we know that the Ultimate Edition will be released September 30 and contain two discs packed with all sorts of good stuff, including the ability to check out Iron Man’s full suit in crazy-explicit detail:
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What’s happening in tech today? Trust Dr. Blip to find out!

Remote iTunes Streaming to iPhone or iPod Touch?
Mac Rumors – A new patent application (as detailed by AppleInsider) by Apple reveals that Apple has been working on the ability for iPhone and iPod touch owners to wirelessly stream content from their at home iTunes library for use on the road.

NVIDIA Uncorking PhysX Support for GeForce Cards on August 12th
Engadget – It’s arriving a month later than anticipated, but at least it’s arriving (we hope). According to a first look at PhysX on NVIDIA’s GeForce cards, The Tech Report is reporting (ahem) that the graphical outfit will dish out new drivers that add PhysX support on August 12th. Continue reading