A speedy Internet connection is what everyone wants these days - after all, you get to download the latest movies and music (try not to get caught in the process if you’re doing it illegally) in the blink of an eye, and at the very least you don’t have to worry about having your online banking transaction experience a time out, leaving you with beads of sweat wondering whether that $10,000 wire has gone through or not. Roll up your sleeves and be prepared for a new dedicated 10Gbps optical link, as long as your office is a member of Internet2. This research network has already completed a major upgrade to its national infrastructure, operating at speeds of up to 100Gbps at this moment while allowing researchers to provision their own dedicated links for limited periods of time.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Post A Phone is your Snail mail phone backup
With Europeans using cellphones more than a conventional landline these days (and in our mobile global culture, it makes sense), what happens if your phone dies, gets stolen, trashed or merely lost? Concept designer Priestman Goode noticed a need and sought to fill it. Enter POST A PHONE. The idea is that users can order a temporary phone and have it delivered in the mail right away. Made out of recycled cardboard, plastic, and no doubt printable circuits, the phone fits in an A4 envelope and measures a mere 4mm thick. But here’s the weird the part. In a culture where mobility is practically worshiped, the Post A Phone is a conventional landline telephone.
Levitating Balls - Sports Balls, of course!
Here’s a new levitating deco gadget. Instead of the usual Earth globes or other planets, this one’s more mundane. Actually, it’s quite a nice present for any sports buff.
Whether it’s that snobby boss of yours, or your kid you’re pitching to on Saturday morning, you’ll find one for any of them.
There’s a golf ball floating above a mini pitch, and a baseball that levitates above a base.
Click on for some bigger pictures and for the little extra info you need to know about these.
Mr. Clock Radio
The Mr. Clock Radio looks like a creation from some science fiction movie, holding the distinction of being the first robot radio in the world. It does not come with any body, but is more of a technological bust featuring a head and a clock as its base. Getting you up is not restricted to a mere buzz - Mr. Clock Radio will be able to whisper in a gentle voice or shout like a drill sergeant, and this normally happens once you hit the snooze button one too many times. Other features include speaking out the current time, reacting to light and motion by winking and blinking, an integrated AM/FM radio, and the ability to connect your iPod or MP3 player to it. Mr. Clock Radio retails for $80 a pop.
Samsung shows off new handsets
Samsung has gone on from strength to strength where cellphones are concerned, and this time their new line up will cater specifically for music lovers while attempting to offer an alternative to Sony Ericsson’s line of Walkman cellphones. This trio of handsets will place more weight on music compared to other phones from Samsung’s stable, and hopes to strike a balance between a cellphone and a music player. The three phones in question are the Samsung SGH-i450, the Samsung SGH-F330 and the Samsung SGH-F210. For more details on each individual handset, kindly head on after the jump.
The Samsung SGH-i450 will occupy the position of top dog among the three, boasting an amplifier that was developed by high-end audio specialists Bang & Olufsen. This will definitely grab the attention of anyone around whenever you play back your favorite tunes, and chances are you won’t miss any more incoming calls in a crowded and noisy environment. The SGH-i450 will be powered by the Symbian S60 operating system and comes in a dual slider design format - sliding the handset up will activate the smartphone features, while sliding it downwards will see music player functions make an appearance on its 2.4″ LCD display. Unfortunately, the 35MB internal memory doesn’t do a music phone justice, but thankfully there is a microSD memory card slot that can hold up to another 4GB worth of music.
As for the SGH-F330, this is a HSDPA slider handset that comes with music control keys on both front and sides of the phone. Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, 24MB of internal memory, and a microSD memory card slot, all packed into a form factor that measures just 13.5mm thin. Last but not least, the SGH-F210 features a swivel design where the bottom half reveals a keypad whenever the top part is swiveled around. It is equipped with an FM radio, 1GB of internal memory, and a microSD memory card slot. The SGH-i450, SGH-F330, and SGH-F210 will retail for approximately €360, €260 and €280 respectively when launched in Europe sometime this month.
Source: PC World
