Gadget Train

It’s hard to tell from the absolutely riveting two minute and seven second video (hosted up after the break, just so you know), but somehow or another, the gurus at Macpod Software managed to get a T-Mobile G1 to control a robot. Actually, the code used to pull it off is hosted up for download, but a fair bit of robotics knowledge is necessary to pull it all together. The best part? Forknife just loves cupcakes — sorry, we couldn’t resist.

[Thanks, Corey]

Continue reading Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes

Filed under: Cellphones, Robots

Video: T-Mobile G1-powered Forknife robot goofs off, eats cupcakes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the netbook sector is good and saturated, Acer is carving out a spot for itself in the entirely less crowded MID market. Or, at least that’s the impression we get from its most recent patent application. The image you see above is about it for details, though it’s fairly safe to assume that an Atom (or similar low-power CPU) will be housed within. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a peek of this critter for real at CeBIT — you can bet we’ll be looking.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Handhelds

Acer patent application reveals a MID-filled future originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Before you get all riled up, remember, this is just a man in a suit speaking his mind. Got it? Good. On AMD’s most recent earnings call, CEO Dirk Meyer casually confessed that “the distinction between what is a netbook and what is a laptop is going to go away,” and he continued by saying that there would be “a continuum of price points and form factors.” Now, we’re not about to believe that the whole netbook category will simply dry up and vanish in the near future — much to the chagrin of Psion Teklogix, we assume — but it’s not like we haven’t heard equally odd remarks from the CEOs of Intel and RIM. On second thought, shove a Core 2 Quad CPU, twin GPUs and 4GB of RAM into a Mini 10 chassis while nixing any and all heat issues, and you can call it whatever you damn well please.

Filed under: Laptops

AMD sees distinction between netbooks and laptops vanishing originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that? That’s what could be on your netbook later this year. Out of nowhere, one Tariq Krim has crafted the Jolicloud operating system, which is an OS designed specifically for those miniaturized laptops that rely on underpowered CPUs and less RAM than any PC should be booted up with. In essence, Jolicloud is a modified flavor of Linux that promises faster boot times than other alternatives, and judging by the shot above, it’s pretty heavily reliant on icon-based navigation. Hit the read link to keep tabs on its release date.

[Via Engadget German]

Filed under: Laptops

Jolicloud: the OS your netbook has been screaming for originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check it, Pacific Northwest — Seattle, Washington was just named Forbes‘ most wired city for 2009, followed closely by Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Orlando and Boston. Of course, having Amazon and Microsoft within spitting distance probably didn’t hurt matters, and the eleventy billion Starbucks WiFi hotspots likely pushed it over the edge. There are 25 other locales in the top 30 that we’ve yet to mention here, so head on down to the read link to see if your hometown made the cut. Oh, and way to represent, Raleigh — numero fifteen ain’t too shabby.

[Via cnmoody]

Filed under: Networking

Seattle crowned most wired city in America: where’s your town? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We haven’t heard a peep out of Dell in ages about the 12.-1-inch Latitude XT2 convertible tablet, but it’s suddenly showed up in an absolute downpour of documentation — great news if you didn’t have any light reading for the weekend. We did a nice heavy skimming of the material for you, and spec-wise, you’re looking at an 800 MHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV CPU, up to 4GB of DDR3 SODIMM, an Intel SFF Chipset, and integrated Intel GMA X4500 Graphics. Still no solid word on availability or pricing yet.

[Thanks, Johnny]

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Dell Latitude XT2 shows up in a flurry of documentation originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Datto dropped a few details about its Box 2 Box peer-to-peer network attached storage device at CES earlier this month, but it’s only now actually dished out the complete specs for the device, and the all-important pricing details. As we had heard, the P2P NAS is available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB versions, which’ll set you back $350, $380 or $480 if you pre-order them now, or $620, $660 or $850 if you go for the twin-pack of each (non pre-order prices are a bit higher). Each of those are effectively computers in their own right, and come equipped with a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, four USB 2.0 ports, 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch hard drives with up to 32MB cache, and a Linux-based OS of some sort. Hit up the link below to get your order in, and look for them to start shipping in the first week of March.

[Thanks, Austin]

Filed under: Storage, Networking

Datto gets official with Box 2 Box specs, pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After arguably the biggest hype-fest of late 2008, HP’s Firebird with VoodooDNA was revealed as Rahul Sood’s ambitious little secret. The miniaturized gaming rigs began shipping out during CES, and we’ve no doubt that a few of you with space constraints and a lust of high frame rates have already chomped on the bullet. So, does the machine live up to the hype? Is it worth the asking price? What features weren’t included that should have been? Has it handled your gaming demands with ease? Feel free to sound off below — who knows, maybe Mr. Sood will tune in and hear you out.

Filed under: Desktops

How would you change HP’s Firebird gaming rigs? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were all decently hyped to see NASA’s lunar rover rolling down the street in the Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C. the other day (remember that?), but now, thanks to a really awesome new NASA buddy of ours, we’ve gotten a much closer look at it. Hit the gallery after the break for a bunch of views, and — if you were wondering — the rover’s running Windows XP.

Gallery: A closer look at NASA’s electric lunar rover

[Thanks, Cade]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

A closer look at NASA’s electric lunar rover originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not the only group toying around in the 60GHz frequency range, but a team of researchers from Georgia Tech’s Georgia Electronic Design Center seem to be a bit further along than most, and they say that their new 60GHz RF chip could pave the way into a whole host of new, speedier wireless devices. Apparently, the chip is the first 60GHz embedded chip designed for multi-gigabit wireless use, and the researchers have already pushed it to some pretty impressive lengths, reaching speeds of 15Gbps at a distance of 1 meter, 10Gbps at 2 meters, and 5Gbps at 5 meters, while also maintaining the lowest “energy per bit” to date. What’s more, while it’s been flying a bit under the radar, the industry group Ecma International has already announced a new standard for chips capable of sending RF signals in the 60GHz range, which is apparently expected to be published as an ISO standard later this year.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Wireless

Researchers tout new 60GHz RF chip for high-speed wireless transfers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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