May 5, 2006, 7:31 PM CT

Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone For Verizon

It seems that Pantech, the second largest manufacturer in Korea really wants to get a piece of the US market share - we've already showed some of its low and mid-level models targeted to Verizon and Cingular (CDMA and GSM) and a high-end phone for Helio (MVNO that launched yesterday). Now the FCC pages reveal information on a Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone in clamshell design, which is manufactured by Pantech and is targeted to Verizon Wireless.

The PN-820 (PC-8200N) combines high-end functionality and stylish design, has 1.3-megapixel camera with flash, memory expansion via miniSD (I/O) cards. The device has also powerful connectivity features, including WI-FI (not sure) and Bluetooth. The FCC pages do not reveal information on its display, but we guess it is a QVGA 240x320, 65k color TFT one, and secondary unit is located on the front shell for caller ID functionality.........

Posted by: Ashley      Permalink         Source

April 30, 2006, 11:46 PM CT

Laser Trapping Of Erbium May Lead To Novel Devices

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used lasers to cool and trap erbium atoms, a "rare earth" heavy metal with unusual optical, electronic and magnetic properties. The element has such a complex energy structure that it was previously considered too wild to trap. The demonstration, published in the April 14 issue of Physical Review Letters,* might lead to the development of novel nanoscale devices for telecommunications, quantum computing or fine-tuning the properties of semiconductors.

Laser cooling and trapping involves hitting atoms with laser beams of just the right color and configuration to cause the atoms to absorb and emit light in a way that leads to controlled loss of momentum and heat, ultimately producing a stable, nearly motionless state. Until now, the process has been possible only with atoms that switch easily between two energy levels without any possible stops in between. Erbium has over 110 energy levels between the two used in laser cooling, and thus has a number of ways to get "lost" in the process. NIST scientists discovered that these lost atoms actually get recycled, so trapping is possible after all.

The NIST team heated erbium to over 1300 degrees C to make a stream of atoms. Magnetic fields and six counter-propagating purple laser beams were then used to cool and trap over a million atoms in a space about 100 micrometers in diameter. As the atoms spend time in the trap, they fall into one or more of the 110 energy levels, stop responding to the lasers, and begin to diffuse out of the trap. Recycling occurs, though, because the atoms are sufficiently magnetic to be held in the vicinity by the trap's magnetic field. Eventually, a number of of the lurking atoms fall back to the lowest energy level that resonates with the laser light and are recaptured in the trap.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 29, 2006, 7:23 AM CT

Altec Lansing XM3120 Speaker System

Altec Lansing has just launched another speaker system who architecture has been exclusively designed for Radio's Delphi Roady XT and Audiovox Xpress receivers. The new XM3120 speaker system promises to deliver state of the art sound and users can now enjoy their favorite satellite radio stations almost anywhere without compromising on the sound.

The speaker system sports a highly stylized form factor and the specially engineered drivers and codec's result in crystal clear audio. To further provide an enhanced audio experience Altec Lansing incorporates the latest digital audio technology like bass enhancement technology which results in top notch bass without a sub woofer. The compact and sleek design makes it almost portable and the 20-foot home antenna provides extraordinary reception. The XM3120 is available in stores and online at www.alteclansing.com at a MSRP of $99.95.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 28, 2006, 0:03 AM CT

Software For The Next Generation Of Net Surfers

With an estimated 12 billion websites online, it's not always easy finding the exact site you want. However, University of Alberta computer researchers have developed software they believe will make surfing the Web faster and easier.

The software uses machine learning technology to predict the information needs of web surfers by refining search engine queries and filtering out irrelevant search results based on surfers' past surfing results.

WebIC is a "complete Web recommendation system" says one of its creators, Tingshao Zhu, a doctoral student in the U of A Department of Computing Science. "Surfing the Web can be time-consuming and frustrating, but this product can simplify things a lot."

The software can be incorporated with search engines (e.g. Google) or be downloaded directly onto to individual computers. It works by anticipating users' info needs; users can click on an icon that leads to suggested sites the user may be looking for, which is a step beyond the usual search engine index retrievals. It can also be used to filter emails and find specific articles online (not simply direct you to related sites).

"On most search engines the order of the keyed words is very important as the associations are made sequentially," Zhu said. "But our software uses machine learning to transfer human inquiries into the type of inquiries a computer can fully understand. Our system can point you directly to the sites that you want and not just to sites that are correlation to your keyed words."........

Posted by: Ethan      Permalink         Source

April 26, 2006, 6:58 PM CT

Water and Nanoelectronics Will Mix to Create Ultra-Dense Memory Storage Devices

Excessive moisture can typically wreak havoc on electronic devices, but now scientists have demonstrated that a little water can help create ultra-dense storage systems for computers and electronics.

A team of experimentalists and theorists at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Harvard University has proposed a new and surprisingly effective means of stabilizing and controlling ferroelectricity in nanostructures: terminating their surfaces with fragments of water. Ferroelectrics are technologically important "smart" materials for a number of applications because they have local dipoles, which can switch up and down to encode and store information. The team's work is published in the recent issue of Nano Letters.

"It is astonishing to see that a single wire of even a few atoms across can act as a stable and switchable dipole memory element," Jonathan Spanier, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Drexel, said.

Spanier and colleagues successfully demonstrated the benefits of using water to stabilize memory bits in segments of oxide nanowires that are only about 3 billionths of a meter wide.

"We have been interested in how water sticks to oxides," Alexie Kolpak, Penn graduate student in theoretical physical chemistry, said. "We are especially excited that water is the key ingredient in making these wires 'remember' their state".........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 25, 2006, 7:04 PM CT

Network Of Digital Cinemas

The Ireland will be the first European country to equip itself of network much extending of knows them cinematographic reconverted to the digitalis them. Avica Europe, the AVICA branch (office) Technology - Californian society specialized in technologies and services for the digital cinema them - will subject 515 very knows them cinematographic Irishes to the digital transformation them, replacing the floodlights from 35mm and realizing the network to satellitare for the distribution connected to the serveur in ciascuna it knows it, where the films come "unload to you digitally" and reproduced.

The cinematographic contents (audio and video) are protect from multiple levels of criptazione and every floodlight is equipped of the own "key" of decryptation. When the film exits from the programming of knows it, it can be cancelled from the producer or the manager of the theatre.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 25, 2006, 6:44 PM CT

DVD On A Plotter, Not Bad

I tried plugging a regular household DVD player into two video capable plotters last week, and the results were quite viewable, confirming the value of helm stereos that can also play video discs. That's a Standard Horizon CP1000 10" above and a Raymarine E120 12" below. Both have some control over picture brightness, contrast, and color saturation, though the E's is easier to find and use.

he E also has a choice of aspect ratios, but I still couldn't get the picture to fill the full width of the screen. And yes, that is the actor from Friends who now mocks his acting career on the TV show Joey. This particular job, Lost in Space, must have been inspirational. I have no idea why the DVD is lying around my house.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 25, 2006, 6:37 PM CT

Hella Expensive Blu-Ray Drives

IO-DATA has announced pricing and performance data on their new internal and external Blu-Ray drives. The biggest thing that jumps out at me from looking at the specs over at ExtremeTech is the cost.

How much it the thing you ask? The external USB version goes for slightly under $1000 USD and the internal version is a bit less than that price. While the drives are compatible with DVD specifications as well, speeds are not too fast. BDE and BD media is written at 2X DVD+RW is 8X, DVD-RW is 6X, DRD-RAM is 5X and plain old DVD-ROM discs are only read at a paltry 8x speed.........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source

April 23, 2006, 11:31 PM CT

Nokia Research Center Cambridge Opens

Advancing the vision of mobility while developing real-world applications, MIT and Nokia today announce the opening of the Nokia Research Center Cambridge.

The joint research facility, a collaboration between Nokia Research Center and MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), brings scientists and researchers from MIT and Nokia together to develop high-impact research to create the state of the art in communications technologies.

"Our mission is to explore and develop technologies that will be available in the marketplace in five to 10 years - not just novelties, but technologies that will see mass market demand from consumers and enterprises," said Bob Iannucci, head of Nokia Research Center. "With MIT's academic and research expertise, Nokia's mobility and technology leadership, and the fusion of some of the world's brightest minds, the Nokia Research Center Cambridge will provide a platform for delivering compelling new innovations."

The center is currently focusing its research on several projects, each part of a larger vision in which mobile devices become elements of an "ecosystem" of information, services, peripherals, sensors and other devices. These projects revolve around enhancing people's lives and productivity by enabling more intuitive interaction between individuals, machines and environments, and range from developing the underlying computer architecture to leveraging and extending the Semantic Web. Eventhough not commercially available today, projects like those under way could likely become real-world applications within the next decade.........

Posted by: Ashley      Permalink         Source

April 21, 2006, 0:37 AM CT

Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Attacked By Robots!!

There is this security robot called "Artemis", made by Tmsuk and designed to attack criminals with smoke and fluorescent-ink balls. They received the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and even made a web page about this visit on their website.

The only glitch is that the robot took the PM for a bad guy and started using its.

smoke on him. Amusing.

Watch the video here. ........

Posted by: Ryan      Permalink         Source