Archive for the ‘Headline’ Category

Now You Can Download My Head!

Good news, everybody! My head, scanned at Makerbot Industries by artist Jon Monaghan with a high-resolution laser scanner, is now a Thing, available for everyone to own, covet, and place into terrible places.

That’s right: I’m now 3D-printable.

This 3MB file is all you need to download and print my head on your own rapid prototyping machine. Why not add rabbit ears or a longer nose? Why not give me pustules or place me on the hood of your old Ford Fairmont. Why not use me in a puppet play that is a weird and obtuse commentary on the banality of human existence. Why not use me as a sex toy? I’m game.

I’m not sure how I feel right now about this, but it’s a fascinating exercise. To think that my profile can eventually be printed in life size and/or an android mask can be made in my visage is humbling and a little scary. Why me? Why now? Why am I so puffy?

I can’t answer these questions, friends. But the future is here.

Sony And Toshiba To Merge OLED And LCD Businesses

The consolidation process in Japan’s electronics industry continues: Toshiba and Sony are in talks to combine their OLED and small LCD businesses, various Japanese news sources are reporting. The plan is to find synergies in the production for small LCD panels for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in order to catch up with Sharp, which currently holds the biggest share in the world market in this segment.

What’s interesting is that neither one of the companies but a government-backed investment fund will take a major stake in the new entity, which is expected to be established by the end of this year. That fund, Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, will likely control 70-80% of the entity, according to Japanese business daily The Nikkei (the rest will be shared between Sony and Toshiba).

Toshiba Mobile Display and Sony Mobile Display will cease to exist, and the yet to be named entity will compete with Sharp, the Hitachi-Foxconn alliance, and others in the global small LCD panel market.

Another interesting point is that the Sony-Toshiba move is aimed at getting both companies ready for a post-LCD future: the new entity is supposed to streamline all future R&D in OLED technology by the Sony and Toshiba. So far, big S and big T have been developing OLEDs separately, but they are far behind Samsung, the current global leader in that market.

Acer Introduces Aspire TimelineX 3830T, 4830T, And 5830T Notebooks

Acer today announced the addition of three new notebooks to its Aspire TimelineX family of products: the 13.3-inch 3830T, the 14-inch 4830T and the 15.6-inch 5830T. All three notebooks tout Dolby Home Theater v4 audio, and are powered by second-gen Intel Core i5 and i3 processors with Turbo Boost. Models with integrated graphics should see up to nine hours of battery life, and those with integrated graphics will get up to eight hours. Acer claims that the batteries in these notebooks have a life-cycle of up to four years.

Watching movies, TV, and video on these bad boys should be a treat, thanks to the addition of Dolby Home Theater v4 audio and the notebooks’ built-in 3DSonic Stereo speakers, as well as support for HDMI 1080p output. Or, if you opt not to use an external source, you can still get pretty good video quality over the TimelineX models’ HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit display at 1366×768 pixels of resolution.

In terms of hardware, the Acer Aspire TimelineX notebooks measure about an inch thick across all three models, and sport a USB 3.0 port for quick and easy transfers. Plus, that USB port can charge any USB-supported devices without the notebook ever booting up. The new Acer notebooks also feature an HD webcam with 1280×1024 resolution, with a built-in digital microphone for clear video chat. All three new models have 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi support, and many configurations of the hardware include Bluetooth support.

The 13-inch model (3830T) weighs 4.12 pounds, where as the 4830T and 5830T weight 4.88 pounds and 5.6 pounds respectively. However, the 14-inch and 15.6-inch models sport integrated DVD drives and feature a dedicated numeric keypad.

Software pre-loaded on the hat trick of new technology from Acer includes Windows Home 7, along with extras such as Nook for PC, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Reader, WildTangent Demo Games, Skype, and Norton Online Backup. Microsoft Office 2010 will also come pre-loaded on the notebooks, but will require online purchase before use.

The new Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830T, 4830T, and 5830T are available now at U.S. retailers, with models starting at $599.99.

Limited-Run Solar OLED Lamp From Toshiba Distributed In Japan’s Quake Zone

Toshiba is distributing a little OLED lamp they designed to quake-stricken areas of Japan. The device is powered by either four AAA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack that can be powered up with solar or USB power. It produces 53 lumens of light at 100% and will last two hours on AAA batteries, twenty if you take the brightness down, and several times that if you use the battery pack. A perfect disaster light, right?

Unfortunately, Toshiba is only making 100 of them, and they’re already reserved for disaster victims. They don’t expect to sell them to consumers, I’m guessing because they’d actually be quite expensive. Bright OLED panel, high-capacity battery pack, solar charging? This ain’t your daddy’s desk lamp.

Too bad, but good for Toshiba. By the way, if you want to donate, you still can.

[via CNET]

Amazon Fires Back With $164 Kindle 3G With Offers

Amazon is now offering the Kindle 3G, originally $190, for $164 with “offers.” This new version integrates 3G wireless alongside Wi-Fi, something the new Nook pointedly does not have. This new version will also include offers aka advertisements, allowing you to see a bit of flimflammery with your regularly scheduled ebook.

The Kindle Wi-Fi with offers costs $114, twenty dollars less than the Wi-Fi Nook. Both are available now.

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