MSI promises compact 3D computing solution

Taking the singular design solution of the iMac and then adding in powerful graphics and a modern interface, component manufacturer MSI is planning to bring an all-in-one 3D-ready PC to the market in the near future.

The firm has recently announced that it will be using 24 inch screens which have the benefit of LED backlighting and refresh rates of 120Hz, as well as a native resolution of 1920×1080, or full HD as it is otherwise known. The screen will also be touch sensitive, allowing for some finger-friendly interaction with your programs and games.

Most impressive will be the screen’s ability to display full 3D images using a pair of polarised specs, which will presumable be bundled with the retail package once it comes out of development. This will allow users to watch 3D movies and play 3D games when they are made available, which will be sure to attract many eager early adopters.

MSI will be using the CeBit electronics conference next month to unveil the 3D computers and it also plans to draw further attention with the launch of a brand new gaming laptop.

The MSI GT660 will use Intel’s new i7 quad-core CPU and could feature a whopping 12GB of RAM if you have the cash to splash out on the triple channel kit with sticks packing 4GB each. The GT660 will also sport USB 3.0 ports along with an nVIDIA graphics solution for high end graphics and high definition video playback.

Tabbed plug adaptors in the pipeline

If you have plethora of cables snaking down from the back of your TV cabinet or computer desk, all leading to a single multi-socket adaptor, it can often be difficult to tell which electrical device is being powered by which plug.

As such you can often root around before eventually finding what you believe to be the right plug, only to find out that rather than unplugging your Xbox you have in fact turned off your set top recorder, almost invariably in the middle of an important recording!

One low-tech option would be to label the plugs yourself, but a new concept design for an extensible, customisable multi-plug adaptor that sorts out the labelling for you could make every gadget lover’s life a lot easier.

The tabbed power adaptor concept is beautiful in its simplicity. You choose how many cubes you want to buy, with each one being added to a single power module to fit your requirements and then you can apply stickers with icons to indicate what type of device each tab is powering.

It would be easy to add extra cubes with their additional sockets at a later date and it would not only making choosing the right item to unplug that much easier, but also reduce the level of clutter you have to keep hidden away.

Sadly the concept design is not even into the prototype stage yet and it looks as though the US market is being targeted to start off with. However, if it does ever make it to market here, there would certainly be a huge demand for something as convenient and cool-looking as this.

Avatar 3D planned for November 2010 Blu-Ray launch

James Cameron has confirmed that his hugely profitable 3D flick Avatar will be coming to home cinema users with all three dimensions intact, but you will have to wait until November this year until it finally arrives.

Some had hoped that Avatar would be one of the first movies to arrive on Blu-Ray when the 3D revolution kicks off in the summer of this year, but the film’s landmark technical achievements will not be completely available to consumers until the winter.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cameron said that standard definition DVD and high definition Blu-Ray versions of Avatar would be released in April for US customers. However, by the time the 3D version arrives later in 2010, titles such as Cloudy, With A Chance of Meatballs will already have made their debut in 3D.

Some observers have expressed their annoyance at the decision, as it means that many consumers will pick up Avatar in 2D when it first makes an appearance and will then have to buy it again a few months later when the 3D version is released. Creating special collectors’ editions of movies is not particularly unusual, especially since the dawn of the DVD and the arrival of multiple endings, special features and director’s cuts.

However, Avatar will still be one of the first 3D Blu-Ray releases. It should be able to really show off the capabilities of the technology and hopefully generate enough interest to finally give Blu-Ray its killer app.

Wall-crawling technology invented

A team of researchers from Cornell University in the USA have come up with some very clever gloves which allow the wearer to traverse vertical surfaces in Spider Man fashion.

However, it is not a spider that is the inspiration behind the technology, but rather a Palmetto tortoise beetle, which can be found in the US state of Florida.

The gloves have an adhesive area that covers just the palms of the hands and the bond that it forms between glass, wood or brick surfaces is quickly reversible, allowing for speedy ascent and descent. Funding for the project has been provided by the US military, which suggests that there are some tactical advantages to allowing soldiers to scale obstacles like superheroes.

Cornell University’s Professor Paul Steen is the man behind the idea. Professor Steen discovered that forcing water through minuscule holes on a flat object would create enough surface tension in the water to stick the object onto walls.

By altering the electric field within the device, it is then possible to reverse the effects and detach the object from its sticking place.

Prof. Steen said that a single 8cm square pad powered by the adhesive water technology could hold a weight of around 127kg. This would be more than enough to keep a 20 stone human suspended indefinitely.

It is believed that the applications of the technology could be used across industry and in the armed forces, allowing larger objects to be quickly attached to a surface and subsequently removed without delay whenever they are needed.

Concept cooker makes pans obsolete

A brand new cooker designed by manufacturer Electrolux has been showcased in a concept video, with the device having the ability to make frying pans and woks a thing of the past.

Electrolux says that it will not be turning its Heart of the Home gadget into a reality quite yet. In fact it believes that most consumers will have to wait about 40 years to see one in their own homes.

The device itself is an all-in-one cooking solution, consisting of a single malleable surface that responds to the user’s touch commands. You should be able to mould the surface with your hands to create the shape of the receptacle that you desire and panels will appear next to active surface areas in order to adjust the heat levels and set a cooking time.

In the promo video, which is animated and completely conceptual, it looks as though the user will be able to access recipe information on the surface as well via a touch sensitive screen, presumably with internet connectivity built-in.

A sink unit is also integrated into the Heart of the Home device and it should be able to boil water and even allow you to transfer it over to a pan for rice or pasta cooking. Since the surface acts as the cooking, preparation and possibly even the eating surface, the washing up will be minimised.

The one thing that Electrolux does not seem to have factored into its concept cooker is Shrove Tuesday, as it will presumably make the flipping of pancakes impossible due to the lack of utensils.

US University students invent spokeless bicycle

A group of mechanical engineering students at Yale have come up with a bike that has a spokeless design, leaving a disturbing gap in the middle of the back wheel that looks suitably futuristic.

The students had to use existing technology and good old fashioned mechanical knowhow to create the bike and in its current state the design still relies on having a front wheel that is identical to the basic technology used on bikes around the world.

The back wheel is not driven by a central gear connected to a chain and then the pedals. Instead the pedals drive a second, smaller wheel which transfers its energy to the main wheel and causes forward motion.

According to the students, the only reason that they did not create a spokeless design on the front and back was the limitation of time. They had just a single term to work on the bike and this restricted them to creating just one spokeless wheel rather than two.

The students said that although the prototype requires the user to pedal in order to move forward, there is enough flexibility in the design to allow for the integration of an electric motor in future versions.

As with all good inventions, the design of the spokeless bike is relatively simple and does not require the basic shape and size of a bicycle to change in any way, so we could well see some commercial versions of this invention coming to the market in the future.

Gadget unleashes mobile broadband

The Wi-Reach Classic from Connect One is a clever little gadget that has just arrived to help spread the mobile broadband connections that many people use to more than one person via battery-powered Wi-Fi.

Originally most people would pick up mobile broadband via a single USB dongle that meant only one laptop could use the connection at a time. Then Mifi devices turned up, replacing dongles and allowing multiple users to share a mobile broadband connection, but leaving those with dongles in the lurch.

However, dongle users can now use the Wi-Reach Classic to solve this problem, as it is a portable router that accepts USB dongles of all types. You simply plug in your dongle of choice and then the Wi-Reach broadcasts the connection wirelessly to any nearby computer or mobile phone with Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Wi-Reach Classic has a built in rechargeable battery that its creator claims will last for 5 hours on a single charge. Once it is out of juice you can recharge it via USB, which means it could be powered from your laptop in emergencies.

Connect One has said that although the Wi-Reach Classic supports 3G networking for the time being, when LTE Mobile Broadband and WiMax arrive it will take a simple software update to make its device ready for the mobile broadband dongles of the future.

If you have signed up for a mobile broadband contract and feel as though you are a little bit restricted by the USB dongle that lets you get online, then the arrival of the Wi-Reach Classic could be a significant benefit.

Windows Phone 7 Series unveiled

The Mobile World Conference 2010 (MWC) is getting underway in Barcelona this week, but media attention has also focused on the latest announcement from Microsoft pertaining to the arrival of its brand new mobile operating system.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is to be put out to pasture at some point in 2010, to be replaced by a brand new platform called Windows Phone 7 Series. Perhaps Microsoft is attempting to ditch the negative associations with the older Windows Mobile brand by tweaking the name a little.

Windows Phone 7 Series has been in development for what seems like an age, although according to Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer this is entirely consistent with the efforts his team have been going to in order to create something that can compete with Android and the iPhone OS.

The result is a platform that relies on big screens, touch sensitive interfaces, multitouch support and business functionality. High resolution displays supporting 800×480 will be the minimum requirement for Windows Phone 7 Series-based smartphones and resistive touchscreen technology will not apply, as capacitive interfaces are to be standard of future mobiles running this platform.

Although productivity and power will be the calling cards of Microsoft’s next mobile software, compatibility with Xbox Live has also been confirmed, allowing keen gamers to unify their profiles across PC, home consoles and mobile phones.

Cloud computing is being harnessed to offer live widgets on a large homescreen, making the fiddly menus a thing of the past. Windows Phone 7 Series is still very much in development and the finished product, it is hoped, will be a strong competitor in this growing market.

PS3 to go 3D

It looks as though Sony is planning to upgrade the PlayStation 3 to make it compatible with the 3D games of the future according to an official announcement. Thankfully current PS3 owners will not have to trade in their existing hardware for a brand new model, as the update will come in the form of a firmware patch.

Speaking in an interview with Pocket Lint, Sony’s John Koller said that his firm was readying the 3D firmware update for a summer 2010 launch. This deadline has been set as Sony is also planning a range of 3D televisions for simultaneous release, allowing for Sky’s 3D broadcasts and the PS3′s 3D games to look their best.

Mr Koller said that Sony had been working on a few 3D titles using the stereoscopic technology for a little while now and that it was confident the planned launch would not be delayed.

In addition to playing 3D games, Mr Koller revealed that the PS3 would offer playback of 3D BluRay movies, although he added that a completely separate software update would be required to enable this feature. According to Mr Koller, no other home console gaming platform will be able to match the PS3 when it comes to 3D for the foreseeable future.

Bringing games into the third dimension is not an entirely new concept, but the current technology is certainly more impressive than any of the more basic techniques that were employed in the past. Sony will be relying on 3D TV taking off in a big way if its 3D games are to make any headway.

Sausage used as capacitive touchscreen stylus for iPhone

A number of enterprising South Korean residents have started using meaty snacks to interface with their iPhones. The news comes after it was discovered that a certain brand of sausages, created by the CJ Corporation, possess the correct electrostatic charge to allow for the iPhone’s capacitive screen to register them.

It may seem a little odd to use a sausage as a prosthetic finger, but the main motivation behind the switch has been the cold weather, which leaves people wearing gloves unable to use the iPhone unless they first remove their unwieldy but warming hand-wear.

At the moment there is no real way in which to use the iPhone, or indeed any other mobile that has a capacitive touch screen interface, without getting your fingers out. However, both Apple and Taiwanese manufacturer HTC are in the process of patenting special styli that will allow for precision input on capacitive screens.

According to reports, the sale of the snack sausages in question has risen markedly since their iPhone compatibility was discovered, leading many western media outlets to label them as the ‘meat stylus’. It is certainly a low-fi way of getting around the iPhone’s capacitive interface.

Sadly the sausages are not sold over here in the UK and it looks as though you will have to wait for some brave souls to spend a few hours smearing their iPhone’s with local sausages to see if there is any brand available over here that can achieve the same results.

The hygiene factors at play here are, of course, another matter entirely!

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