Author Archives: Anthony Verrecchio

FAA grants Virgin Galactic permit for powered tests, becomes Sir Richard’s BFF

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/31/virgin-galactic-faa-permit-powered-test/

Virgin Galactic is one step closer to relieving WhiteKnightTwo of its babysitting gig. The FAA has given the Branson bunch permission to switch on SpaceShipTwo's rocket-powered motors mid-flight. The upcoming trials could open up the doors to getting at least 500 lucky people total ballers out of the Mojave Desert and into the weightless environment of suborbital space. Current regulations call for more testing than back in 2004 when SpaceShipOne first achieved manned spaceflight, but they're worthwhile if past problems are prevented. What do you think will come first: frequent space-flyer miles, or Virgin Pure T6s and T7s in every home?

FAA grants Virgin Galactic permit for powered tests, becomes Sir Richard's BFF originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phys.org  |  sourceVirgin Galactic  | Email this | Comments

Outspoken Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain to head FCC’s open internet advisory panel

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/31/jonathan-zittrain-harvard-fcc-net-neutrality/

The FCC has created a new forum for corporations, experts and activists to scrap over web laws: The Net Neutrality Advisory Committee. Members have been tasked with "tracking and evaluating the effects of the FCC's Open Internet rules," as well as making policy recommendations. The new group is to be led by Harvard professor and long-time defender of an open internet, Jonathan Zittrain, whose appointment echoes that of Tim Wu -- another expert in a senior advisory position over at the FTC. Harvard University is no stranger to what can go wrong when open access is stifled, so perhaps the good professor can shake things up a bit.

Outspoken Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain to head FCC's open internet advisory panel originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

Anodizing aluminum and titanium explained and demonstrated in less than five minutes (video)

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Anodizing aluminum and titanium explained and demonstrated in less than five minutes (video)

Many of us use gadgets that sport gleamingly refined, anodized aluminum or titanium cases -- but have you ever wondered exactly how the process works? Bill Hammack, at it again after explaining to us how the CCD, LCDs, and hard drives work, breaks it down (pun intended) for us -- in less than five minutes. He talks about, and even shows us how the surface of titanium is meticulously rusted using electro-chemicals to grow an oxide layer, changing the color based on its thickness. He follows that up with some commentary on how a similar reaction gobbles up and transforms aluminum, creating a much thicker, porous oxide layer that can be filled with any color dye. So, just to be clear: controlled corrosion is good for your Mac, border control -- maybe not so much. You can watch the video right after the break.

Continue reading Anodizing aluminum and titanium explained and demonstrated in less than five minutes (video)

Anodizing aluminum and titanium explained and demonstrated in less than five minutes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 00:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virgin Pure water purifiers launch offensive against tap and bottled water in the UK

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Virgin Pure water purifiers launch offensive against tap and bottled water in the UK

English entrepreneur and chairman of The Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson thinks that your tap water is dirty. So much so, in fact, that he's partnered up with Strauss Water to get one of his new purifiers into your home and onto your countertop. The colorful Virgin Pure T6 (£299, $466) can dispense 1.3 liters of chilled H2O per minute, or 1.4 liters of hot water that's stored internally. The T7 (£379, or $591) delivers a bit more swagger to your crib with its minimalist, tapered design that offers 50 percent faster cold water flow. It even gets a small power bump to heat your hot water more quickly than its less-expensive sibling. It all sounds well and good, but we'll really be impressed when Virgin crams one of these into its seatbacks in first class.

Virgin Pure water purifiers launch offensive against tap and bottled water in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 23:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple I up for auction: buy a bit of Apple history for the bulk of your net worth

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/30/apple-i-sothebys-auction/

Attention Apple lovers: here's your chance to get your hands on an original piece of company history, but the past has proven that you better have a lot of extra cash lying around. Sotheby's auction house is offering a working Apple I computer, which is the original design that was built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak back in 1976 -- by hand. It's expected to fetch between $140,000 - 180,000, and those dollars buy you a mobo, cassette interface and the original BASIC manual to get you programming partying like it's 1979. This isn't the first Apple I to hit the auction block, but with only 200 of the things in existence, the winning bidder will join the upper echelon of Apple enthusiasts. So, if you've got cash to burn and fancy yourself the ultimate fanboy, head on down to the source link for the full details.

[Thanks, Deepa]

Apple I up for auction: buy a bit of Apple history for the bulk of your net worth originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Luxury Launches  |  sourceSotheby's  | Email this | Comments

Olympus to settle with ex-chief exec over misconduct, may involve mountains of cash

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/30/olympus-settlement-ex-chief-exec-michael-woodford/

As Olympus' recent accounting scandal finally begins to wind down, the guy who blew the whistle on the financial wrongdoings might actually be the one to make out like a bandit. Michael Woodford, former chief executive of the company, has settled out of court with his former employer over his unfair dismissal that occurred just two weeks after his appointment. The settlement still has to be approved by the mostly new board (read: the other guys got arrested), but the Financial Times speculates that it'll result in £10 million ($15.5 million) being awarded to Woodford, or what's left on his contract. Company stock prices are around half of what they stood at before the scandal. Suddenly all those Facebook shares you jumped on don't look so bad.

Olympus to settle with ex-chief exec over misconduct, may involve mountains of cash originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mind-reading robotic teachers are more… Anyone? Anyone? Attention-grabbing

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Mind-reading robotic teachers are more... Anyone? Anyone? Attention-grabbing

You'd have thought that replacing a human teacher with a swanky robot would be enough to keep the kids interested, but apparently not. The University of Wisconsin-Madison found that supplying a robot teacher didn't in itself max out concentration. In one trial, they put a Wakamaru robot instructor in the classroom with only mediocre results. But then they switched it out for a robot that could read students' EEG signals to tell when they were enjoying Matthew Broderick daydreams, and which could then change its intonation or wave its metallic hands in response. That second robot resulted in far better scores when the students were subsequently quizzed about their lessons, proving once again that teaching is about more than preaching.

Mind-reading robotic teachers are more... Anyone? Anyone? Attention-grabbing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 06:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments

Insert Coin: Modkit Micro asks us if we’re ready for six-year-olds coding Arduino boards

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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/29/insert-coin-modkit-micro-graphical-programming/

What does microcontroller programming have in common with Tetris? Quite a bit if you're doing it with Modkit Micro from a Kickstarter project out of Cambridge, MA., which allows almost anyone to visually set up their hardware using graphical blocks to write the code. The partially-hooded trio behind it promises that the software is ideal for use with prototyping boards from Arduino, Evil Mad Science, Lilypad, Seeed Studio, Wiring and SparkFun, and they even claim that elementary school students have used it to "take their projects from concept to reality in just a few hours." Purists should have no fear either: you can still get into a code view to see what's going on behind the scenes. A web-based Modkit Micro is being offered online starting June 1st for $25, and there'll be a desktop variant for Windows, OSX, and Linux as early as July if they reach their funding target. Check out the video after the break and then try to get your kids to wait for college before inventing version 2.0 of this.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Modkit Micro asks us if we're ready for six-year-olds coding Arduino boards

Insert Coin: Modkit Micro asks us if we're ready for six-year-olds coding Arduino boards originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing  |  sourceKickstarter, Modkit Micro  | Email this | Comments

Solid state solar panels are more affordable, say researchers, don’t leak

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http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/northwestern-university-solid-dye-solar-cell/

Researchers at Northwestern University have found one way to stop a leak: get rid of the liquid. A new variation on the Grätzel solar cell replaces a short-lived organic dye with a solid alternative. The molecular dye the solid substance replaces was corrosive, at risk of leaking and only lasted about 18-months -- by replacing it, researchers plan to pave the way for a more affordable (and less toxic) alternative. Northwestern's new design flaunts a 10.2-percent conversion efficiency, the highest ever recorded in a solid-state solar cell of its type -- but that's still only half of what traditional sun collectors can do. Researchers hope to improve conversion in the long run, but expect that the cost reduction alone will be enough to get the party going. It may not be the greenest solar technology we've ever seen, but who are we to judge?

Solid state solar panels are more affordable, say researchers, don't leak originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmag  |  sourceNorthwestern University  | Email this | Comments

MIT’s needleless injections help you get drugs faster, doesn’t even hurt (video)

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Afraid of needles? You may not have to be if a team of MIT scientists get their way. Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering are developing a jet-injection device (similar to this one) that allows professionals to pump you full of meds without poking you with a needle. The key to puncture free pharmaceuticals is pressure -- the device uses a Lorenz Force actuator to push medicine out of an opening about the diameter of a mosquito's proboscis. The nozzle pulls liquids out just as fast and efficiently as it administers them, researchers say, and can even deliver powder-based drugs as if they were a liquid, thanks to a bit of supersonic trickery. This tech could be a boon to healthcare workers who get pricked on the job or patients who get daily insulin shots. Promises of painless inoculations piquing your interest? Hit the video after the break to see how its done.

Continue reading MIT's needleless injections help you get drugs faster, doesn't even hurt (video)

MIT's needleless injections help you get drugs faster, doesn't even hurt (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 04:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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