Creeper2 spider pumpkin bot
Want to creep trick-or-treaters this Halloween? If only you had the technical know how to make the Creeper2 robot that is actually a spider pumpkin bot, moving around with a Jack-O-Lantern on its back to literally cause real screams from its unsuspecting victims. Running on an Axon microcontroller, it relies on all digital servos with the ability to lift over twice its body weight. The software enables six synchronous degrees of motion, while future additions will probably include foot sensors and a remote control option.
Permalink: Creeper2 spider pumpkin bot from Ubergizmo | Hot: Zune HD Review
Review: The Motorola Droid
A few days ago we got Motorola’s Droid in the mail. The device is quite awesome. Beyond being offered on Verizon’s network (which consistently squelches AT&T in coverage and speed) the phone is forged from super-solid (and stylish) hardware. Plus it runs freaking Android 2.0 as its OS. From reviewer Priya Ganapati:
The Droid runs Android 2.0 (aka Éclair) as its OS. It feels more refined than the first version of Android on T-Mobile’s G1 and it’s certainly better than the muddled interface on Motorola’s Cliq.
The Droid’s 5-megapixel camera has up to 4x digital zoom. It produces photos that aren’t too noisy and it does well even in low light, thanks to the built-in LED flash.
The most exciting feature of the phone, though, is the Google maps app — with built-in turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation. Replete with text-to-speech features, the maps are layered with traffic data and a satellite view. But here’s the best part. It’s free! Hear that? You don’t have to pay $10 a month as subscription or buy a pricey $100 TomTom app. You can just zip around with the Droid and Google Maps.
$200, motorola.com
8/10
You can, of course read the full review of the Motorola Droid on our reviews website.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Posted: October 30th, 2009
at 9:01pm by Daniel Dumas
Topics: Android, Motorola, Reviews and First Looks, Smartphones, droid
Toshiba announces new sensitive 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor
Toshiba has announced a 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor for mobile phones and digital cameras which it says will boost light sensitivity and absorption by up to 40 percent. Whereas conventional sensors have multi-layer wiring sandwiched between the lenses and light receiving substrate, Toshiba has moved the wiring out of the way and placed the lenses and the photodiodes together…
Tags: CMOS sensor,
Digital Cameras,
Mobile Phone,
Toshiba
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- 4.0GB from Toshiba’s 0.85-Inch Hard Disk Drive
Asus’ U3S6: First USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card
Not that USB 3.0 will be useful anytime soon—how long did it take manufacturers to finally get behind USB 2.0?—but Asus’ U3S6 should be, provided it’s not cancelled, the world’s first USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card. Better news: it’s only $30.
The card comes with two USB 3.0 ports and two SATA 6.0 ports. And if I’m doing my maths right, so long as you have a free PCI-E slot you’re good to go.
Like I said in the beginning, the card will mean little in the immediate future, given the lack of USB 3.0 products. That’s not to say I wouldn’t mind being able to sync my Zune HD using the zippy awesomeness of USB 3.0, but it’s going to be a little while before we see that. Never mind that that scenario would never happen, considering the Zune HD’s insides don’t know a darn thing about USB 3.0, but you know what I mean: a future media player that works with USB 3.0 would certainly be handy, especially as we move toward moving higher and higher resolution video to and from our various components.
It should be out “soon.” Nice and vague, yes.
iPhone Apps That Bloggers Need
Most bloggers are going to do the majority of their speedy writing in front of a computer. But occasionally there will be instances — breaking-news scenarios — where all we can rely on is our trusty phone to do our jobs.
Gadget Lab’s friends at WP Beginner, a WordPress enthusiast blog, has compiled a list of 10 must-have iPhone apps for bloggers: mobile software that could help bloggers while they’re on the run, or on an everyday basis in general. The list includes a blogging app, a Twitter client, note-taking utilities and others.
The WordPress app [iTunes] for iPhone is a good suggestion: It’s a slick app that works well with WordPress blogs in a friendly way. (Yes, Wired.com uses WordPress.) So long as you’re a decent typist with the iPhone’s virtual keyboard, posting one or two paragraphs of a breaking news story on the scene with the WordPress app should be no sweat.
Another app mentioned is Evernote [iTunes] a popular cloud-based note-taking service — one I’ve personally found very useful as a writer who does his work on multiple gadgets. My contacts list, for example, is saved on Evernote, so I look up sources’ phone numbers and e-mail addresses on any computer or phone so long as I have an internet connection.
Twitterific [iTunes], a free Twitter client, also made it to the list, which makes sense: Twitter certainly helps bloggers stay plugged in to the news. However, we’re big fans of Tweetie 2, a Twitter app we think has a superior interface, so we’d suggest getting that instead. It just costs $3.
Visit WP Beginner for the full list of apps. What iPhone apps would you add to this list of must-haves for bloggers? Add your apps in the comments below. To give you some ideas, here are some more of Gadget Lab’s suggestions: News Feed, a $1 news content aggregator; and Scanner 911, a $1 police radio scanner for bloggers and journalists chasing down crime scoops.
See Also:
- 10 Most Awesome iPhone Apps of 2008
- iPhone 3.0 Wish List: Accessory-Powered Apps We Want
- 22 iPhone Apps for Science Geeks
- Apple Promotes All-Time Top iPhone Apps
Photo: johanl/Flickr
