OK, 2009 is over and you guys have been leaving tons of comments in the
past year. Want to see who’s been talking the most? We’ve compiled a
couple of top 50 lists for you. The first is for comments on
Instructables and the second is for comments on the forums. Enjoy. Top
50 Commenters on Instruct…
By: fungus amungus
What, is Vizio trying to make all the other HDTV makers look bad? First it throws down the gauntlet with a $3500 72-inch HDTV, and now look: this 58-inch beast has a 21×9 aspect ratio, perfect for watching most movies with no black bars on the top and bottom.
The Cinema Wide TV smacks you with 2560×1080 rez, rocks the wireless HDMI and throws in built-in Wi-Fi. Wow. No word on when it will become a real product, though. Just ship the thing, Vizio. Make them all look bad.
Via Vizio
We can think of better things to do with a spectacular 7-inch OLED screen, but Samsung decided to make a digital picture frame out of it. What else would the company do after snapping up Kodak’s OLED business? The model pictured here sure seems to like the idea.
If you must have a digital picture frame, this would be the one to covet. It snags pics from a cellphone with its Bluetooth 2.0 interface, storing them on its 4GB of on-board drive space. And just look at that swanky design!
Any OLED screen we’ve seen has bedazzled us; maybe we could get used to this fave gadget of grandmas everywhere. We’ll wait for the price to come down to $100.
Via OLED Display
Poor little Sparky is sad and confused to be parted from his loving owner. He’s a sweet old lad who just wants a potter around the garden and a snooze by the fire. Please can you help Sparky?
We already thought the Eye Fi Wi-Fi SD card was so good it seemed like it was dropped upon us by an advanced alien civilization. Now the company’s made it even better, speeding up the new Pro X2 with Wireless N connectivity. Take your pics, blast them even faster from camera to PC with no wires in sight — we like.
Beyond that refinement, there’s now a clever capability called Endless Memory, erasing pics once they’re safely transferred to a PC, making it seem like the little 8GB SD card is limitless. If it didn’t cost $150, we’d get two.
Via Eye-Fi
Jim is a cheerful, affectionate 2 year old lad who loves a cuddle. He’s blind but he doesn’t let this stop him living life to the full. Perhaps he knows how lucky he is to be alive.
Western Digital just rolled out the world’s first USB 3.0 external drive. This My Book external drive can transfer files at least five times faster than today’s USB 2.0 drives, yet will still be backward compatible with those ubiquitous ports.
Look for the 1TB model now — including a USB 3.0 card you install in your computer, it’ll be $200. A 2TB unit is on the way, pricing on that one isn’t announced yet. Soon, all USB will be like this.
Via Gizmodo
On video calls with friends or relatives using free internet calling service Skype, we’re dying to see every mole and zit in HD resolution. That’s why we’re so happy about Skype’s announcement of Skype for Windows 4.2, a Beta service that supports 720p webcam calls, rocking the 1280×720-pixel resolution at 30 frames per second.
It’s all free, but there’s a couple of catches: Skype advises you to bring along a “1 Mbps symmetrical connection,” counting us out because of Time Warner’s stingy 30Mbps down/780kbps up “turbo” service. And, you’ll need one of the upcoming 720p webcam optimized for Skype — we love this one from Microsoft, but it’s not clear if it will work with Skype 4.2 in 720p or not. See the press release linked below for details
Skype’s touting new TVs from LG and Panasonic that will be also happy to oblige. Panasonic’s upcoming Vieracast HDTVs and LG’s 26 new LCD and plasma HDTVs with NetCast Entertainment Access (one of which is pictured above) roll out in mid-2010 with Skype capability built in.
Via Businesswire
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Caroline Fraser’s book Rewilding the World .
Over the years, coyotes ate many of Michael Soulé’s cats. For most people, this might have been the end of the story, a nasty reminder of nature’s darker proclivities. But Michael Soulé is not most people.
Do you take your MP3 player with you when you go to work out? If you do, you probably have a mix you like to run to, or a certain song that gets you pumped. Well, Philips wants all of that to be automatic, and inspire you with vocal encouragement to boot.
Yep, Philip’s upcoming Activa MP3 player will actually encourage you based on your performance, and change what song is playing to match your rhythm. The company’s proprietary TempoMusics software, loaded on the Activa, analyzes a few different traits of songs in your library — such as the tempo — and will player slower songs when it looks like you’re cooling down, or quicker ones to match your hard run. It’ll even ask you to select an inspiring song (we’re all picking Eye of the Tiger, right?) for those arms-in-the-air finishes.
No hard details on specs or the technology behind it, but the Activa launches in April for $130.
Activa, via Electronista
While the unemployment rate in the U.S. climbed to more than 10 percent in December, the job market could be gaining strength for green leaders. Already companies such as Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola Co. and FedEx Corp. have reportedly carved out executive positions for so-called sustainability officers. But, as two professors at New York University (N.Y.U.) recently discovered, there are scant programs to ready future green executives working in urban environments. [More]
Little Sally is an eight year old greyhound girl and she’s quite a timid little soul. She’d like someone to provide her with a quiet and relaxed home environment where she can feel safe and secure.
If you live in the Bay Area, this is your chance to see behind the
scenes of a live television broadcast! ABC Channel 7 invites you to be
in their studio audience, on Monday, January 11, 2010 when local
celebrity, Instructables member, and sewing powerhouse, Sandra Betzina
will be appearing on “The…
By: scoochmaroo
Just minutes ago, Google officially christened the Nexus One with a list of the phone’s features. The Nexus One is the company’s first foray into the Android hardware market, and Google is hailing its handset — which it built with HTC — as the “next evolution of Android,” and is categorizing it as a “superphone.” Up front, we’d say the craziest thing the Nexus One has going for it is the fact that Google has enabled voice control for any text field. That means, if you want, you could forgo the virtual keyboard for a “voice keyboard,” which will allow you to dictate to the phone, perform searches and give commands.
The Nexus One has an 3.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels (which is plenty crisp for a screen of that size), a speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5MP camera with an LED flash and it’s got two mics: one on the front and another on the back, which work together to eliminate background noise. It’s also got plenty of bells and whistles under the hood that app developers will be able to take advantage of, such as light and proximity sensors, a compass, GPS and an accelerometer.
It’s running Android 2.1, the latest version of the mobile OS, so it’ll be able to take advantage of all the apps and widgets you’d enjoy on another handset such as the Droid. Google has beefed up the phone’s interface, though. You’ll control it with a multicolor virtual trackpad, and the Nexus One will offer 3D, interactive wallpapers and an improved app store interface. Google Earth is also on the phone — and compatible with the voice search functionality — and thanks to the Nexus One’s 3D framework, you can perform fly-arounds, as if you’re flying over the three-dimensional terrain.
So is it an iPhone-killer as Google hopes? Only sales will tell. Here’s something Google has on Apple, however: you can buy a $530 unlocked Nexus One straight from Google’s new webstore, which the company plans to expand to include other Android handsets. Or you can get the Nexus One for $180 with a T-Mobile contract today, with Verizon and Vodafone planning to carry the phone later this spring.
Nexus One, via Gizmodo and Engadget
Audiophiles simply love vacuum tubes, devices that give audio a warm, analog sound. The problem is, they’re insanely expensive, meaning they’re usually only available to the craziest and most well-heeled of enthusiasts. But this MiniWatt is a vacuum tube amp that you can actually afford.
For a relatively reasonable $229, the MiniWatt is a diminutive little amp, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch. The geeks at ToneAudio magazine hooked it up to a pair of $3,500 speakers and it blew them away. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to give your setup a big boost, this could be right up your alley.
In August, Vizio will start selling the first announced HDTVs with both full 1080p 3D and wireless HDMI (WiHD) HDTVs.
There’ll be three Vizio XVT Pro-series TruLED LCD 3D/wireless HDMI models, a 72-inch ($3,500), a 55-inch ($2,500) and a 47-inch ($2,000), all running at 480Hz to deliver the dual 1080p images necessary for stereoscopic 3D.
Both 3D and wireless HDMI are extra, though. For 3D, you’ll have to buy the ![Add to digg]("http://dvice.com/archives/2009/12/3d-hdtv-comes-i.php">XpanD 3D glasses</a> separately (such much for the bundling we were told about), and you’ll still need to buy the separate WiHD connecting box, to which you jack in your HDMI gear. No pricing on the WiHD box was announced. </p>
<p>Presumably, with an <a href="http://dvice.com/archives/2009/12/no-new-blu-ray.php">updated 3D HDMI 1.3 Blu-ray player or cable/satellite set-top box</a> you’ll be able to get 3D over the WiHD connection, but the whole 3D-over-wireless HDMI is still an open question. Both WiHD and the competing WHDI wireless HDMI standards currently do only HDMI 1.3, not HDMI 1.4.</p>
<p>All three XVT Pro HDTV models also include built-in 802.11n WiFi built in to access Vizio’s VIA (Vizio Internet Apps) TV Internet widgets.</p>
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<p><a href="http://ringtone-3g.com/2010/01/05/vizio-first-hdtvs-with-both-3d-and-wireless-hdmi/" title="Vizio: First HDTVs with both 3D and wireless HDMI" class="more-link">Continue reading...</a></p>
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<h2><a href="http://ringtone-3g.com/2010/01/05/genetically-modified-tobacco-could-smoke-other-crops-as-energy-source/" title="Genetically Modified Tobacco Could Smoke Other Crops as Energy Source">Genetically Modified Tobacco Could Smoke Other Crops as Energy Source</a></h2>
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<div class="info">Posted by <a href="http://ringtone-3g.com/author/scientific-american-energy-sustainability/" title="Posts by Scientific American - Energy & Sustainability" rel="author">Scientific American - Energy & Sustainability</a> on 5 January, 2010</div>
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<p> Tobacco plants produce abundant biomass in more than 100 countries and could — with certain genetic modifications — be used to produce abundant biofuels, researchers say.</p>
<p>Researchers at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, have successfully tested genetic manipulations to increase oil accumulation in the leaves of tobacco plants, according to a paper published online in Plant Biotechnology Journal .</p>
<p> <a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=tobacco-plant-biomass-biofuel-genetic-modification>[More]</a><br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/><br />
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After a long process of on-again, off-again pseudo confirmations of potential sites, Norwegian EV company Th!nk has officially chosen Elkhart, Indiana, as the location of its U.S. electric car manufacturing facility. For a company that, as recently as a year ago, was swirling in the flushed toilet bowl of failed EV startups, this marks a major turning point.
Cinderella might have had her glass slippers, but they were in no way as trippy as these “invisible” mirrored shoes. Created by Brazilian designer Andreia Chaves, they appear to almost disappear into their surroundings, using mirrors as a lo-fi way to turn your feet invisible. Something I know you’ve always dreamed of doing.
Yatzer via Book of Joe
Last year’s TTGXP, was a huge success, with electric motorcycle manufacturers from across the world taking the trip out to the Isle of Man for the single lap race. Agni Motorcycles walked away with the 2009 crown, but many electric motorcycle manufacturers sat out the inaugural race. 2010 is going to be a much different year as the TTGXP expands its series to several different countries. The first race is scheduled to take place at the Infineon Raceway in California.
Throwing their hat into the ring with the likes of Mission Motors and Brammo is Roehr Motorcycles. They are promising to bring their an eSuperbike to the TTGXP that has more torque than most family sedans. Sweet!
If there is any single success story of 2009 in the automotive world, it is Hyundai. They have really stepped it up a notch across their lineup, and cars like the Genesis sedan and coupe have been universally hailed for both their quality and value. Hard to believe this is even the same company. Yet for all their progress, Hyundai is a bit behind other manufacturers in the hybrid game. Their first hybrid, the Sonata, won’t hit showrooms until later this year.
But Hyundai’s engineers have been hard at work, and the fruits of their labor are quite good looking indeed. The Blue-Will plug-in hybrid concept car will make its North American debut at the Detroit International Auto Show next week. Is that a menacing grin or what?
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