Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are everywhere in today’s world. Air bag sensors, G-Tech vehicle performance systems, inkjet printers and DLP TV’s are just some of the mainstream uses of MEMS technology. The concept is, take something you know works well on a large scale, and shrink it down as much as possible. Well, MIT researchers are trying to use this technique to replace today’s concepts of personal power sources such as batteries, and more recently fuel cells, a MEMS device.
This new device is a miniature turbine engine. As with most MEMS projects, this idea is based on current “real size” technology. One of the methods employed by power plants is using large turbines to generate power for its customers. These MEMS devices will accomplish the same task, but on a much smaller scale. It will be a “Personal Power Plant” if you will. The turbines will spin at speeds of around 1.2 Million RPM (20kHz) and it has been estimated that due to the quality of the device and materials used, they should be able to achieve better efficiency numbers than the current turbines used in power plants. What does all this mean? Well, for now, not much, but for the future, this may be a step in the right direction to creating cheaper safe power for millions across the globe.
Read More 
| MIT
Bleeding Edge Byte 030: A Look At Batteries
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, Misc. Tech, Science, Videocasts,
[Download] - iPod-formatted H.264
[Download] - 1080p MP4
Advertisement
The Gear Live report on a possible Freescale buyout has just been confirmed. Freescale Semiconductor Inc., designer and manufacturer of embedded processors and peripherals, will be purchased by a consortium of private investment groups led by The Blackstone Group, and including The Carlyle Group, Permira Funds and Texas Pacific Group. At a $17.6 Million bottom line, this merger more than triples the value of the AMD-ATI merger that has been such huge corporate news thus far this year. The terms of the merger are a purchase price of $40 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 36% over Freescale’s average closing share price during the 30 trading days through September 8th, 2006.
Much like the AMD-ATI merger, the merger was approved unanimously by the board of directors, but still awaits shareholder and U.S. antitrust approvals. Freescale also has the option to shop around for a better offer from another party, but I’m guessing a 36% margin is going to be hard to beat.
Read More | Freescale
Latest Gear Live Videos
NETGEAR Skype WiFi SPH101 Phones Home
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Wireless / WiFi,
If only E.T. had waited. NETGEAR is finally shipping their new Skype WiFi SPH101 Phone to pre-ordered customers in the U.S. and Canada. With Skype you can make unlimited free calls to your other Skype buds both here and abroad without a computer. All you need is access to a WiFi network that doesn’t require a browser. You can also make calls to other cells and landline phones for a few cents a minute without a nasty monthly fee.
Preloaded with software, the Skype features wireless security through WEP and WPA-PSK, is compatible with 802.11b/g WiFi standards, has call-forwarding, and receives updates without the use of a USB cable. Weighing in at a mere .11kg and at dimensions of 110 X 46 X21mm, it utilizes a TFT screen with a menu that displays your contacts and their availability.
Skype will be available in October to Europe, Asia-Pacific, and online retailers at an MSRP of $249.99. It comes with a one-year warranty and full tech support. As a bonus prize, you get 30 free SkypeOut minutes and 30 days of free voicemail. Multiple language support will also be available later this year.
Read More | NETGEAR Skype Product Page via NETGEAR Press Release
Roulette Computer Inventor Claims Up To 100% Advantage Over Casino
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Misc. Tech, Mods / Hacks,
Inventor Mark Howe, who has been banned from casinos since the 1990’s, claims that his roulette computer can give you an advantage of 20% to 100% over a casino. The result is that the house’s normal 2.7% edge will be overturned. Because the UK gambling industry will be deregulated next year, amatuer and professional gamblers alike are scrambling to jump on the roulette bandwagon by purchasing such devices.
The UK based newspaper Guardian Unlimited reported that, “Keith Tayler, an ex-croupier and gaming inspector, says regulators are unwilling to ban predicting devices because it would amount to an admission that wheels can be biased.”
The gadget itself consists of a clicker that records deceleration speed of the wheel’s rotor and ball. You are then instructed by earphone which zone the ball will land in. In 2004, a group using this device actually won £1.3m at the Ritz Casino in London. At a price of US$5,000, the basic package includes the computer (inside a Nokia cell phone), an electronically shielded data input cable and button or switch, a DVD with footage of a wheel for practice, and an instruction manual. Let the games begin.
Read More | Roulette Computer Product Page via The Guardian
Hitachi Bot Sports Sensory Laser
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Science, Toys,
It just keeps getting scarier. Hitachi’s EMIEW (Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate) is now equipped with a sensory laser for navigation. The new bot will make its debut at the 2006 WAC (World Automotive Congress) in Japan which begins October 23.
The EMIEW keeps its balance using internal gyroscopes. It can locate its owner by voice recognition and can perform basic household chores, such as retrieving items from other rooms. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t aim that laser on the cat.
Read More | JapanCorp via engadget
Canon Recalls Copiers Due to Fire Hazard
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: Corporate News, Misc. Tech,
Wait! Don’t push that button just yet. Within weeks of the Dell and Apple laptop battery dilemma, there is another huge recall in the midst from another Japanese company, but to the relief of CEO Idei, it’s not Sony this time. Apparently these Japanese companies have lost their touch with keeping the magic smoke inside electronics because Canon announced yesterday that it would recall more than 140,000 personal copiers because they could produce smoke and catch fire. The recall will cost the company somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.7M.
About 2 million of the copiers have been produced, but Canon estimates only 270,000 of the devices are still in use and only about 141,000 are affected by the recall. If that ratio holds, it means of these 1.7 million retired units, over 800,000 would have been affected by the recall. I wonder how many of them went out in a blaze of glory.
Read More | Reuters
Bang and Olufsen Medicom’s Helping Hand Aids Patients
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science,
In a 2005 survey, nearly two-thirds (64%) of patients who were prescribed regular medication reported that they had forgotten to take their meds. You don’t have to be one of them. The intelligent Helping Hand reminds its owners when to take meds and keeps track of how well they have been doing. Pop a blister pack into it and it will send a signal to your computer or cell phone to remind you by use of a red, yellow, or green visual signal. It can also rat on you to your physician by uploading the information to him/her.
Specifically designed for the treatment of depression, hypertension, osteoporosis, and immuno-depressants, Helping Hand is not currently available directly to patients, but is instead distributed through Bang and Olufsen’s Medicom. Contact your them or your physician for price and availability.
Read More | Helping Hand Product Page
So the big corporate news around the tech world right now is of course AMD’s acquisition of ATI. When the second biggest developer of PC processors acquires one of the biggest video processor developers in the world, that’s some big news. Well, equally as big a deal, but flying slightly below the radar, is a private buyout in the works for Freescale Semiconductor. Freescale, a former unit of Motorola, is one of the largest stand-alone makers of embedded chips and recently became the first semiconductor manufacturer to produce and sell magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) which has theoretical speeds well beyond current flash technology. Since they spun-off from Motorola in July 2004, they have grown 137%. Now, Freescale’s embedded devices are used everywhere from devices you use every day like cellular phones, TV’s, PDA’s and copy machines, to more specialized advanced devices like ECU’s and flight control systems.
The 16 billion dollar deal is being split amongst a group of private investment companies including Texas Pacific Group, Blackstone Group and Permira, according to the report. It is possible that the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital may also jump on the bandwagon. If this deal goes through, it will be the largest leveraged buyout in the tech sector to date.
Read More | CNN
If you are a pet owner, this new product is definitely up your alley. The Hear Now is based on a 2-way radio communication system that you control with a handheld walkie-talkie. Place The Hear Now around your dog’s neck and you can communicate with Fido from as far away as 12 miles. It also has LED that is visible up to 2 miles.
This pet-tracking and communication device was created by Simon Wilby in Calgary, who is also company president. “Lost pets in the urban and rural areas is a substantial problem. The Hear Now will help facilitate a quick recovery.” Future models will include instant GPS and GPRS tracking capabilities that could be sent directly to your palm, blackberry, or voice mail. Also in development is geo-fencing (invisible boundaries for your pet) which will alert you if Fido decides to visit the poodle down the block.
The HearNow also comes in a harness model for cats, a halter model for horses, and can be attached to a wheelchair. Greg Miller, who is in charge of worldwide distribution, told Gearlive that can be pre-ordered on line and will be available in about 4 weeks in retail outlets. Prices range from $199.99 to $259.99. We think that this is a much better solution than zapping Fido every time he tries to leave the yard or fitting him with a nasty electronic implant.
Read More | The Hear Now Home Page
