August 8th, 2008
Weekend Gadget Guidance: Share, compare gas mileage
New web app Fuelly tracks your car’s mileage per gallon (MPG), shares it with friends and compares it to the mileage of other Fuelly users.
Sign up for Fuelly and specify your car’s make, model and year. The app will display the EPA’s MPG estimates for your car (average, city, and highway). Each time you fill the gas tank, use Fuelly to record the number of gallons you’ve purchased and the number of miles you’ve driven since the last fuel-up (an iPhone-friendly version exists, to make it easier).
Fuelly will track your MPG over time, as well as your friends’ and other members — even going so far as to track which user has had the “best tank” on a per model basis.
What’s the point, you ask? (After all, can’t you just do this on a piece of paper, like you’ve been doing for decades?) I suppose it’s to make saving fuel more fun by collecting and comparing your stats with your friends’.
It’s like Facebook for your car. And if you’re looking for a nice pick-me-up, you can always check out the neighbor’s stats for his Hummer.
UPDATE: Fuelly seems to be down, probably from too much traffic. Stay tuned.
August 7th, 2008
UPDATE: MIT team working on $12 NES, not Apple II
Looks like the Boston Herald got it wrong.
The MIT group that was researching how to make a $12 computer for developing nations was actually working on a machine that’s more Super Mario than Steve Jobs.
Computerworld’s Eric Lai discovers the truth:
The Herald and other reports interpreted Lomas’ comments as meaning that the TV Computer, apparently made by a company called Victor, was an unbranded knockoff of some member of the Apple II family.
But according to pictures and a wiki partly maintained by Lomas, the Victor-70 is an 8-bit machine that so closely resembles the original Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as the Famicom, that it accepts its cartridges.
So all those comments about basing a machine on Apple II technology were moot. But the beloved Famicom? That’s a whole ‘nother story. Let ‘er rip in TalkBack.
August 6th, 2008
Glaucoma-monitoring contact lenses engineered at UC Davis
There’s nothing I love more than a great tech development from the lab.
Researchers at UC Davis have engineered a new material that could make “smart” contact lenses that measure pressure within the eye and dispense medication accordingly possible.
Crafted into lenses with a “pattern of conductive silver wires, which could be used to measure pressure inside the eye,” the material, dubbed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), could enable scientists to better study glaucoma — with antimicrobial properties to boot.
The biomedical engineers behind the project are expected to apply for approval to begin testing the lenses in humans here shortly. As with any such developments, a pair of these won’t hit the market for several years.
But, you know — keep your eyes peeled.
August 5th, 2008
MIT team working on $12 ‘Apple II’ desktop
Developing nations, listen up: a computer is headed your way, and it costs less than two Value Meals at your nearest McDonald’s.
Today’s Boston Herald has a great story about a new project underway at MIT to create a $12 computer, the same university that spawned the One Laptop Per Child non-profit laptop. The machines will be loosely based on Apple 2 machines, first unveiled more than three decades ago.
The Herald’s Jerry Kronenberg reports:
He and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology symposium hope to soup up the systems - which are based on old Apple II computers - with rudimentary Web access and more.
“My generation all had Apple IIs that we learned to type and play games on,” the 27-year-old said. “If we can get buy-in from programmers, we can develop these devices and give (Third World) schools Apple II computer labs like the ones I grew up with.”
A six-member team at the MIT conference is working on writing improved programs and hooking the devices to the Web through cell phones. The group also wants to add memory chips - which the devices currently lack - to allow users to write and store their own programs.
Even better, the team is actively recruiting enthusiasts of the retro computer to help develop the new PC. Fake Steve Jobs, this Apple’s for you!
August 4th, 2008
Multi-core Intel chips to be used in handhelds and supercomputers?
Intel’s “Larrabee” family of multi-core chips, originally aimed at the personal-computer graphics market, may now see action in “an increasingly broad spectrum of the computing world, from Windows and Macintosh desktop personal computers to handhelds and even supercomputers,” reports the New York Times.
Larrabee is slated to have between 16 and 48 processor cores aboard, all compatible with the x86 instruction set, and Larrabee’s chief designer places the new chip architecture “on the level of the 432 or the Itanium,” according to the report.
Larrabee will be competing against next-gen chips from Nvidia and ATI, which will have between 256 and 800 cores, so Larrabee is relying on its “high speed ring” that interconnects cores more efficiently than current offerings. The focus is on ray tracing, which if you might recall, can help add realism to games and animation products.
The Larrabee family be available in late 2009 or early 2010. If Intel’s strategy succeeds, it could capture as much as a third of the graphics add-on market in 2010, which might be worth $4.6 billion.
Think Intel will win this battle? Tell us in TalkBack.
UPDATE 8/5/08: Fellow ZDNet blogger John Morris offers the lowdown on Larrabee.
August 1st, 2008
Weekend Gadget Guidance: Navigate phone trees automatically
Imagine this: you have to make a phone call, but you don’t want to sit through the umpteen-level phone tree awaiting your poor ear.
“Press one to hear your balance. Press two to pay your balance. Press three to open a new account.”
By the time they get to ‘0′ — which, tragically, isn’t the operator, sending a wave of anger through your very soul — you’ve had enough.
Fonolo.com promises to fix all that. Magically, the company has mapped out companies’ entire customer service phone trees just for you. So the next time you need to climb the dreaded phone tree, just go online and click on a chart to where you want to go. Fonolo does the work for you, calling the company, navigating to that point, then calling you on your phone when the call is ready for your sensitive ears.
It’s like music to your ears — without the endless loop of Kenny G’s greatest hits. It’s also free.
Appropriately, Consumerist reports that a forthcoming feature will allow users to record calls and publish them online at the click of a button.
Right now Fonolo’s in closed beta, so enter your e-mail address on their front page for updates as they head toward release. Happy calling.
July 31st, 2008
FireWire 1600, 3200 approved: Now, USB 3.0 or FireWire?
In today’s news, the IEEE has approved the new FireWire 2008 specification, which will include the S1600 and S3200 standards, running at 1.6Gbps and 3.2Gbps each.
The new IEEE 1394 standards will use the same connectors as FireWire 800 and will be fully compatible with the previous standard. TG Daily’s got the scoop:
Down the road, it is expected that IEEE 1394 will scale up to 6.4 Gb/s.
Firewire and i.Link desperately need the upgrade in order to remain competitive with USB, which will receive an upgrade to 4.8 Gb/s in version 3.0.
The IEEE says the IEEE 1394-2008 spec will become available in October. The USB 3.0 spec is expected to be published by the end of this year.
Which leaves only one question: USB 3.0, or FireWire? Make your case in TalkBack.
July 30th, 2008
External HD cases turn your drive into Samuel L. Jackson
There are a lot of odd customized products in the gadget world, but this one takes the cake for the most potential.
Meninos Design Studio offers acrylic cases wrapped in customizable vinyl, turning your favorite silver drive into a can of Red Bull, a bottle of Heinz Ketchup, a Pringles can, Samuel L. Jackson circa Pulp Fiction…the possibilities are endless:
The 7200RPM drives range from 250 to 500GB and aren’t cheap: the case alone costs $250 USD, with drive combos starting at $400 for the 250GB and ending at $620 for the 500GB. But hey, style ain’t cheap.
Tell us, Toybox readers: what would you turn your external HD into? Leave ‘em in TalkBack.
July 29th, 2008
Report leaked: 23 (yes, 23) Eee PC models in the pipeline
The fine people over at Engadget have discovered a leaked image showing the ASUS Eee PC roadmap.
Normally, this would be cause for only slight excitement — until you count just how many of them there are.
Go on. I’ll wait.
…that’s right: twenty-three. Twenty-three Eee PCs in the pipeline, some of which ZDNet Toybox readers have already become acquainted with (and loved).
Note the “extreme slim and light” S101 and S91 models, or the “Ultimate” series additions, which the ‘Gadg says “should compete nicely with the Dell E Slim.” Fascinating stuff.
Sure, ASUS is big on new models rather than just new configurations, but this should bode well for anyone who’s got an Eee PC on their wishlist. (Image courtesy Engadget, of course)
July 28th, 2008
‘World’s Most Eco Friendly External Drive’ released
Released today and draped in bamboo and aluminum casing, Fabrik’s SimpleTech [re]drive claims its title as “World’s Most Eco Friendly External Drive.”
Why?
Well, for starters, it’s a low power hard drive with an energy star power adapter and lack of fan (the aluminum acts as a heat sink). Is it really the world’s greenest? You’ll have to decide for yourself. But with 500GB of space and Turbo USB 2.0 connection, it should elicit smiles either way (no word on how many carbon credits that smile will cost you, though.)
More info, below:
Total power savings could equal up to 90 percent when compared to traditional external drives* or the equivalent of reducing approximately 475 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the drive**.
In addition, the [re]drive’s simplified, 100 percent recyclable package contains just the bare essentials to reduce waste – there’s no extra bags or inserts, and the backup software and user guide are saved digitally on the drive. For added convenience, the quick set up guide is printed on the inside of the box.
Fabrik includes its Ultimate Backup, with 2GB of online storage for free, or unlimited storage/transfer for $5 a month. The [re]drive is available right now for $160.
Andrew J. Nusca is an assistant editor for ZDNet.com. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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