Month: January 2012

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From Coolest Gadgets: Amped Wireless – up to 10,000 Sq. Feet of Wi-Fi Goodness

I used to spend a lot of time tied to my desk computer, then finally we had wireless routers and laptops, so I was at least able to make it into the living room. I always dreamed of the day I could be out by the pool, in the wine cellar or over in the East wing and still be able to access the internet on my trusty laptop or iPad.

Well, dreams have become reality (almost) as Amped Wireless begins shipping the Premium Series, long range, High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Router capable of up to 10,000 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage for large homes, backyards or offices.

Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high-power, long-range wireless communication products for the home and office, announces the nationwide availability of the R10000G High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Router.

Through the use of a high-speed 620MHz processor, premium dual high-power Wi-Fi 600mW amplifiers and dual high-gain 5dBi antennas, the Amped Wireless Premium Series gigabit router delivers up to 10,000 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage. The R10000G features gigabit wired ports for connecting additional wired network devices and includes smart features, such as, guest networks, adjustable Wi-Fi coverage controls, parental controls, website blocking and support for the latest Wi-Fi security, including one touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

So I guess I’ll be spending much more time in the East wing… Jeeves? Bring me my laptop.

The R10000G has a retail price of $149.99 and is available nationwide from major retailers and resellers like  www.amazon.com

source:  www.ampedwireless.com

 

from Coolest Gadgets

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From Ars Technica: Researchers boycott publisher; will they embrace instant publishing?

Interesting…

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Many scientists were miffed by the introduction of the Research Works Act, which would roll back the US government’s open access policy for research it funds. Some of that annoyance was directed toward the commercial publishers that were supporting the bill. That, combined with a series of grievances about the pricing policies of one publisher, Elsevier, has now led a number of scientists to start a boycott—they won’t publish in or review for journals from that publisher.

At the moment, the site where the academics are organizing the boycott is down, but the signatories were heavily biased towards math and the physical sciences.

This wasn’t the only news from the publishing world, however. The Faculty of 1000 is a site that organizes what’s been termed “post-publication peer review.” Instead of reviewing publications prior to their being published, the Faculty of 1000 comments on papers in their areas of research after they’ve been published, adding an additional layer of quality and sanity checking (something that, unfortunately, is often needed).

Read the rest of this article...

 

from Ars Technica

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From Ars Technica: Is it legal to stop people from selling their used games?

I hope this won’t happen!  I will boycott whoever does this!  [Hint/Rumor: Microsoft]

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Recent stories about potential technical efforts to limit the future playability of used games, as well as commercial efforts to limit the content included with used copies, got us wondering: is it actually legal to hinder someone from reselling a game (or piece of a game) that they legally bought in the first place?

Read the rest of this article...

 

from Ars Technica

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From Ars Technica: Kinect tech built into laptop prototypes

This will be bringing “Minority Report” to laptop level!!!
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Kinect’s vision and depth perception technology could soon be integrated into laptops. The Daily has seen two prototypes, believed to be from Asus, that incorporate an array of sensors above the top of the screen, replacing the traditional webcam. Below the display are a set of LEDs. Sources at Microsoft confirmed to The Daily that the laptops contain versions of the Kinect sensor.

Asus has dabbled with Kinect-like systems before. Its Xtion PRO PC peripheral uses sensor and software technology licensed from PrimeSense—technology also found in Microsoft’s Kinect sensor.

What the sensor might be used for is anybody’s guess. The Kinect for Windows—a version of the Xbox 360 accessory with revised firmware to support close-up operation—will be released in February, and with that, third-party applications that use the sensor will start to arrive. Windows 8 might even include direct support for Kinect-powered features: documents leaked in 2010 hinted at Kinect integration with automatic user switching using face detection.

 

from Ars Technica

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From Droid Life: Flash Video Browser Brings You Full Hulu Just Like on Your PC

All I can say to this app is “Wow.” If you have grown sick of waiting for Hulu to release some sort of non-membership app or to add your device to their supported list, you may want to check out Flash Video Browser. Using this app, you can watch all the Hulu you could ever dream of, just like you do through a PC browser. No subscription required, just free web-only content that for whatever reason, has been blocked from mobile devices.

And here’s to hoping that this doesn’t get shut down in the next couple of days now that it has started to get some attention.

Market Link ($0.99)

Cheers Ted!

from Droid Life

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From Technology Review RSS Feeds: In the Developing World, Solar Is Cheaper than Fossil Fuels

Advances are opening solar to the 1.3 billion people who don’t have access to grid electricity.

The falling cost of LED lighting, batteries, and solar panels, together with innovative business plans, are allowing millions of households in Africa and elsewhere to switch from crude kerosene lamps to cleaner and safer electric lighting. For many, this offers a means to charge their mobile phones, which are becoming ubiquitous in Africa, instead of having to rent a charger.

 

from Technology Review RSS Feeds

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From MAKE: Build the Tiny Wanderer from MAKE Volume 29

Tiny Wanderer from MAKE Volume 29

Looking for a great starter robot project? Doug Paradis is an active member of the Dallas Personal Robotics Group, and last year, they were looking for a way to help their beginner members strengthen their robot-building chops. Thus, the Tiny Wanderer was born.

We produced a series of lessons covering 5 topics needed to make a simple, programmable robot: making PCBs with the toner transfer method, programming ATtiny microprocessors, laying out circuit boards using KiCAD, using Inkscape to design robot parts, and programming state machines.

The Tiny Wanderer is the starter DIY robot model we designed to support the series. It uses the unintimidating ATtiny85 chip, which is less complex than larger chips, and the new kit version lets you easily swap in an Arduino. The chassis, inspired by the now-discontinued Oomlout SERB, has benefited from constant modification and tweaks by DPRG members. Its two IR LED/sensor proximity “feelers” were originally designed to let the bot wander around a tabletop without falling off, but they can be repurposed for obstacle avoidance and line-following.

Doug documented the step-by-step Tiny Wanderer build and shared it with us on the pages of the newest issue of MAKE, Volume 29 (on newsstands now). We took it a step further and shared the whole build with you on Make: Projects. And the Maker Shed has put together a complete Tiny Wanderer kit for folks who’d rather get to building than searching for components. And Make: Labs engineering intern Eric Chu shared details and video of their Tiny Wanderer build last week.

Plus, here are two videos from Doug showing Tiny Wanderer’s tabletop and line-following tests:

From the pages of MAKE Volume 29:

We have the technology (to quote The Six Million Dollar Man), but commercial tools for exploring, assisting, and augmenting our bodies really can approach a price tag of $6 million. Medical and assistive tech manufacturers must pay not just for R&D, but for expensive clinical trials, regulatory compliance, and liability — and doesn’t help with low pricing that these devices are typically paid for through insurance, rather than purchased directly. But many gadgets that restore people’s abilities or enable new “superpowers” are surprisingly easy to make, and for tiny fractions of the costs of off-the-shelf equivalents. MAKE Volume 29, the “DIY Superhuman” issue, explains how.

BUY OR SUBSCRIBE!

from MAKE