Mashin

      Betaenglish: mashin

      English: machine

      Spanish: máquina

818. Steve Jurvetson: AI, nanotech and the future of the human species

Steve Jurvetson discusses development of smart AI and the possible cultural impact of machine intelligences and genetic enhancements that surpass human capabilities in a podcast. He also offers his views on how nanotechnology, molecular electroni...

841. Memories can be erased, scientists find

Weizmann Institute neuroscientists have discovered that long-term memories are not etched in a "clay tablet"-like stable form as once thought. The process is much more dynamic, involving a miniature molecular machine that must run constantly to k...

849. Israeli Researcher Develops New Theoretical Model of Time Machine

Technion Israel Institute of Technology researchers have developed a theoretical model of a time machine based on the principles of curvature development in the theory of relativity. It could possibly enable future generations to travel into the past...

854. Translation Tools: New Approaches to an Old Discipline

Hybrid translation systems, which combine translation memories and machine translation based on rules or statistics or both, are the wave of the future, researchers say, and they are becoming more sophisticated and complex....

894. Microsoft Software to Control Giant Robot!

I told you in April, 2004, and February, 2006, about the giant T-52 Enryu robot from the Japanese company Tmsuk (pronounced "schmuck") -- I also linked to amazing video of this monster machine tossing cars around. Now, Tmsuk is TEAMING UP WITH MICROSOFT to develop a common development and control environment for robots, which Tmsuk hopes to use across all its robots -- including T-52 Enryu (which can crush your skull between thumb and forefinger).

899. Google Wins Patent for SMS Payment System

Google has been granted a patent for its SMS PAYMENT SYSTEM. They could be planning alliances with vending machine and point-of-sale makers based on the technology enabling everyone to pay for stuff with their cell phones. (props to The Boy Genius Report)

1710. State of Play: Man versus machine

Computers playing computer games may sound odd, but it's an example of the ongoing man versus machine debate. It's a vibrant, but idiosyncratic, world, from the man who's hoping his genetic algorithms will eventually evolve into Dr Mario masters, ...

2007. An Oracle for Our Time, Part Man, Part Machine

Internet algorithms are increasingly incorporating people, with their special skills, as volunteer components of the Net, blurring the boundary between human and machine and amplifying both biological and electronic intelligence. Examples include ...

2283. Super Geek Modified Gaggia Espresso Machine

Nash Lincoln Mods a Gaggia Expresso Machine adding an LCD with buttons and programming an OS for the machine. It can keep the coffee a specific temperature and can even store different brew temperatures for your various favorite beans.

2348. OLPC Give One, Get One shipping information gets posted

Filed under: Laptops We know quite a few of you out there have participated in OLPC's Give One, Get One program, but if you've been sitting around all uneasy like waiting for some official shipping information, open wide. According to new information posted to the Laptop Giving website, only those in the US who made their purchase / donation by November 12th can expect their machine before Christmas, and any orders placed beyond that date have varying scheduled delivery ranges. Of note, OLPC does say that it's trying to ship out as many laptops as possible before the holidays, but alas, no promises are given out either way. Also, the donated lappies will reported be headed to children in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia or Rwanda in early 2008. Keep check on the read link for updated time frames as well as Canadian shipment estimations. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2374. Vertipod aims to be "Segway of the sky"

Filed under: Transportation
This one's been making the rounds lately, but we'd be remiss if we didn't take a moment to acknowledge any invention that boasts to be the "Segway of the sky," which is just what upstart Air Buoyant claims its so-called "Vertipod" could one day be. According to Danger Room, this flying machine employs a gasoline or ethanol powered 440-cubic-centimeter engine to propel one brave along individual at speeds up to 40 miles per hour while hovering 15 feet off the ground, with a propeller, naturally, spinning perilously close to your feet. What's more, Air Buoyant's Pete Bitar says the contraption could even have consumer appeal, with a $10,000 kit planned that "can be assembled in a weekend."

[Via Tech Digest]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2450. Linutop v1.2: low-power Linux desktop Revisited

Tech reviews are very much a snapshot process, making a decision after a relatively short period of time and of a single incarnation of the product. Useful, yes, but not an exact facsimile of living with something day in, day out that you’ve bought yourself. If you’re lucky - and assuming that no manufacturer ever pushes out a product so perfect there are no possible improvements - you get a company that’s constantly tweaking and augmenting; if you’re really lucky, you get an opportunity to revisit their product and ring the changes. Back in May I spent some time with Linutop’s fanless, Xubuntu-based micro-PC, framing my review from the perspective of a Linux-naive home user, to see if the compact device would make a decent alternative to a low-end Windows PC. At the time I criticised how tricky, for a fledgling user, it was to add functionality beyond what was preinstalled; since then, Linutop have released v1.2 of their software package, and asked if we’d like to check out the changes. Linutop Linux-based compact PC The hardware is unaltered from when I last reviewed the Linutop, so you still get an all-aluminium case measuring 3.66 x 1.06 x 5.9-inches and weighing just 9.9oz (280g), containing an AMD Geode LX700 processor, non-upgradable 256MB of RAM, 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA-out, 10/100 ethernet and audio in/out. Aside from the RAM, there’s no internal memory; instead, Linutop provide a 1GB USB memory stick containing the modified Xubuntu OS, preinstalled software and room for your own files. What’s been fettled, then, is the software: Linutop quote boot time has been halved, improved media playback including digital TV capabilities added (via online stream or a hardware DVB-T dongle), PXE boot (simply add a single line to the startup config file to boot from the network) and more. Linutop connectivity If you’ve read my original reviewthen you’ll know that boot time was a significant issue for the Linutop: it took around two minutes, and there were no ’sleep’ or ’standby’ options to avoid that. Thankfully whatever OS changes have been made have almost halved that; v1.2 takes around 1m6s from plugging in the power (there’s no switch, you have to yank the power cord) to the desktop being ready to use. Not exactly instant-on, but far more comparable to the sort of low-end systems users may be used to. You’re still presented with the settings screen, but now there’s more choice in display resolution, including catering for widescreen displays, and this time changing resolution and keyboard layout (then restarting) worked as it should. Similarly, running multiple programmes or switching between settings is quicker and seems to stall the CPU far less than when I tried it last. There’s a pause loading programmes, yes, but only a minor one and well within expectations. Linutop software Firefox, the Gaim instant-messenger and AbiWord word processor are still preinstalled, but they’re joined by the VLC media player which can handle just about any media format thrown at it. Video can be played full-screen, another improvement in v1.2, and you’re able to stream video and audio files from external storage, Web TV or shared Windows folders across the network. The Linutop is also compatible with Skype, although - I’m told for reasons of keeping down size - it’s not preinstalled; you need to download the installation script from the Linutop Wiki yourself. Straightforward, yes, but you’ll only know about it if you visit the Linutop blog. There’s a useful readme file stored on the USB key that outlines DVB-T use, network boot, system recovery and more, but again no link to it - it really needs to show up on the desktop, or even better automatically open when you boot the Linutop for the first time. Without it, you’d easily be at a loss as to how to access the digital TV functionality, which would be a shame because it works relatively well despite the system’s Spartan specs. There’s no dedicated software; just plug in the USB tuner (Linutop supplied me with a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T, complete with tiny aerial) and type ’scandvbt’ in a Terminal window. You need to tell it your country and then, confusingly, identify your nearest regional broadcast tower (for which I had to look online), but after that it automatically scans the available channels and loads them as a playlist into VLC. You can then reorder and delete them, but you have to remember to save the playlist before exiting as the software won’t do it automatically. Linutop DVB-T digital TV Like all TV tuners, your mileage will vary more with signal quality than anything else; needless to say, when supplied with a reasonable signal (through an installed aerial rather than the portable one included) the Linutop managed both window and full-screen playback with no problems. One issue with the lack of dedicated software is the absence of a signal-strength gauge; there’s no way of telling whether moving the portable aerial around would have a beneficial effect on image quality. I tried using a Freecom USB tuner but the Linutop would not recognise it; there is a scant list of compatible hardware on the project Wiki. With VGA-out the only way of connecting a display, you’re limited if you want to hook the Linutop up to a TV or other large display. It’s a shame, because it would make a compact and functional alternative to a normal DVB set-top box. When I asked Linutop about this, they pointed out that most flat-panel displays have VGA among their connections and as such they’ve no plans to add S-Video or similar. However, I was told that HDMI “could be interesting” as a future development. There has also been some interest in the PVR community as to using it as a MythTV frontend, although consensus is that the hardware would only support standard rather than high-definition media. There’s no option to record DVB-T TV directly on the Linutop. Of course, the home market is only one area Linutop are aiming at; the silent, low-power (no more than 5-6W) device is ideal for digital signage and presentations. There are new options for looped webpages, photo presentations and Flash, and you can set these to automatically run on boot so as to minimise user involvement. Linutop - supplied with Firefox browser Documentation remains a thorny issue; the Linutop Wiki remains the first signposted port of call, but it lacks the sort of “new user” information so necessary when dealing with an unfamiliar OS. The same NAS problem I experienced in May remains - searching the Wiki results in no guidance, the readme file details accessing Windows shares on other PCs but didn’t work for my LaCie NAS, the Xfce desktop environment support didn’t help and I was again left to the mercy of Googling for answers. Is it too much to ask for a simple “type in your username & password” script to make common setup issues like these straightforward? My request from last time still stands: a few bookmarks to basic Linux tutorials would go a long way in rescuing new users. Linutop tell me that they’re in the process of re-examining their Linux documentation to better cater for those new to the platform, but that they also prize the fact that the OS implemented is “standard” so as not to require changes from more adept users familiar with Xubuntu. Linutop Despite all that, the upgrade to v1.2 is a significant one, and it certainly broadens the Linutop’s scope as a home PC. It’s interesting to look at the state of competition; in my initial review I compared the Linutop to a cheaper Dell Dimension desktop which far exceeded the former’s specs (albeit consuming many times the power even when idle), and the past few months have seen ASUS release it’s Linux-based Eee laptop. Although ostensibly aimed at significantly different markets, the Linutop and the Eee could both be viewed as basic home computers and here the Eee laptop (priced from $299) could edge ahead with what’s supposedly a particularly user-friendly GUI and battery-of course its battery-powered portability. When I put this to Linutop they confirmed that their target is more professional than home, and it’s true that in school, library and business settings the Linutop undoubtedly makes more sense than the Eee. It’s smaller and likely more robust, consumes less power and - most importantly - has access to the UBUNTU software library. Would I still recommend the Linutop for a home user? Again, it’s a qualified yes. Just as some are buying an ASUS Eee as a second machine for when their kids are wanting to go online but the main PC is occupied, the Linutop makes for a great, low-maintenance system that, out of the box, can quickly get up and running. It’s also a decent Linux learning platform, with the backup that most mistakes can be erased with a simple restore of the USB stick (which you can do from an optional boot menu on restart). For a home looking for their first computer, I’d still lean toward a full, traditional PC, if only for the flexibility it brings, but anyone else - particularly business or library/public service users - should certainly consider Linutop’s offering. Thanks to Linutop for the loan of the unit; it’s available now for €280, while the v1.2 OS can be downloaded from the site by existing owners. Rating:

3.5 out of 5 stars
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2545. Birmingham, Alabama schools getting 15000 OLPC XOs

Filed under: Laptops If you (or your kiddo) just happens to be a first through eighth grader in Birmingham, Alabama, you (or your offspring) will soon be playing with an XO during regularly scheduled class time. Mayor Larry Langford has recently announced that a $3 million deal was signed in order to bring in one laptop per child for the aforementioned grades, or 15,000 XOs in total. Apparently, the schools will become the first in the nation to receive heaps of the low-cost lappies, which were sold to the district at $200 a pop. As for logistics, students can expect to receive their machine on April 15, 2008, and while pupils will be allowed to take 'em home, the school system can and will disable any that inexplicably "disappear."

[Image courtesy of OLPCNews] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2674. EVE-Online Patch Makes XP Unbootable

Nobo writes "CCP's latest major patch to the EVE-Online client, Trinity, comes with an optional DX9-enhanced graphics patch that dramatically improves the visual quality of the in-game graphics through remade models, textures, and HDR. It also has an unfortunate bug: the incredibly stupid choice of boot.ini as a game configuration file, coupled with an errant extra backslash in the installer configuration. The result is that anyone who installs the enhanced graphics patch overwrites the windows XP c:\boot.ini file with the EVE client configuration file, bricking the machine on the next boot. Discussion in a couple of forums threads is becoming understandably heated."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

2717. ES&S e-voting machine fails epically at withstanding hackers

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets We're going out on a limb here and assuming that precisely no one is surprised, but yes, another e-voting machine has proven totally incapable of resisting even the most unsophisticated of hacks. Not long after California Secretary of State Debra Bowen okayed the use of systems that failed prior security audits provided they make a few last minute attempts to appear invulnerable, a security penetration team revealed that an ES&S test system was no better than the rest. Reportedly, Red Team researchers were able to circumvent physical blocks with little effort, and they were even able to access internal files by making a quick and dirty change to the BIOS and booting it up with an external memory device. Needless to say, this deceased horse has been bludgeoned quite enough, but if you're interested in seeing a dozen pages of epic failure, the read link has got you covered. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via ArsTechnica, image courtesy of USA Today] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2739. Star Wars Millennium Falcon Joystick for gaming

So the base is the Millennium Falcon, and the actual joystick is the hilt of a lightsaber, the only thing that could make this joystick controller cooler is a Yoda bobble-head on the top of the joystick. This is one of those games that you connect directly to your TV and the games are all preloaded inside the controller. Such and awesome controller wasted on one of those generic gaming systems, it makes me sad. Regardless, the games are Lightsaber Duel, Assault on Hoth, Red Leader and the Battle of Endor, not a bad collection for such a small console. You plug this little sucker directly into your TV and you are off and running, its that simple, although I am sure some form of power comes in somewhere be it from batteries or an AC cable I do not know. If you want one, or if your kid wants one, it will cost you $25, totally worth it for the awesome. Millenium Falcon joystick [via ubergizmo] Relevant Entries on SlashGear

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2741. Design Town Vintage Style Radio looks old

It has a handle on top, like the ones that used to come on your lunchbox, and it has a telescopic antenna. To make matters worse, it only plays AM/FM radio, seriously, who listens to that crap anymore? So you get three knobs, one for changing between AM and FM, and one for the changing the station. The last is the Volume knob so you can “crank that soulja boy” and then “superman that ho” or whatever it is you do. It measures 6.9×4x2.6 inches and probably uses some hideously large batteries to power itself, or (gasp!) it has to be plugged in. you can get it in sky blue, or apparently some shade of pink or salmon, whatever you want to call it, it will cost you $15 and appears to be available now. Vintage Style Radio [via GeekAlerts] Relevant Entries on SlashGear

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2752. J!NX’s gift list is fun for both sexes

As a female geek I often notice situations that are strongly leaning toward the male geeks. In all fairness sometimes it does get exaggerated a bit by some, but it still does get obnoxious from time to time. Especially when suggested gift lists for girls suggest jewelry and clothes; then the guys is full of Palm Pilots and all kinds of cool toys. Which makes it highly refreshing when I saw this year’s Jinx gift list for both girl and guy geeks. After looking over the links for the always entertaining geek fashion from J!NX, I noticed that both sides have plenty of gift ideas for geeks of either sex. I now have a Christmas list a mile long thanks to J!NX. Of course I don’t go for those subtle messages such as leaving a magazine clipping here and there for your significant other to find. I just make a list and tape it to their forehead, I tend to date guys so intelligent subtle hints somehow go right under the radar. J!NX also has a few key chains, hats and stickers just in case you have your fill of geek t-shirts. I love that they not only have a gaming section, but a WoW gaming section on top of it. It just goes to show how much of a cult WoW has become, just don’t drink the kool-aid. J!NX’s WoWmas stuff [via wonderland] Relevant Entries on SlashGear

Star Wars Millennium Falcon Joystick for gaming

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The Voyager Arcade Machine features 36 vintage games

2753. The Voyager Arcade Machine features 36 vintage games

voyager arcade machine Every geek in the world has at least the occasional wet dream about having a basement full of arcade machines. Especially the older more accomplished gamers who can’t go out into the arcade and play their favorite game. No one seems to carry Pac-Man anymore. This Voyager Arcade Machine has plenty of vintage games to keep you occupied for hours on end. This arcade cabinet is designed with the classic 70’s and 80’s arcade machines in mind. They have also kept in mind how much of a beating those machines got from frustrated gamers and therefore made their machine sturdy enough to stand up to a bit of abuse. Each cabinet comes with 36 different games, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Wonderboy. It features a modern PC operating system, a lockable coin box, 8 way joystick, and on certain games a 2 player function. The arcade cabinet is being sold for $3,675. Voyager handcrafted arcade machine – with 36 games [via retrotogo] Relevant Entries on SlashGear

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2858. Trigem's El breaks into GPS with style

Filed under: GPS, Portable Video
We're not going to pretend to fully understand the machine translated text we've been given. However, we know this, that's one sexy SatNav and in-car entertainment device for S.Korea up there. In what looks to be TG's first GPS device, the "El" (the "the"?) features dual-channel terrestrial DMB broadcast television, real-time TPEG traffic broadcasting, dual-SD cards for maps and media, an internal battery, and a biggie OLED display for taking it all in. We'll update you with more details as they trickle in. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2869. Dell Latitude XT tablet hands-on

Filed under: Features, Laptops, Tablet PCs
We spent a few minutes with the brand new Dell Latitude XT and we have to say, as far as tablets (and especially Dells) go, this thing is top-tier. Some thoughts:

machine

Gallery: Dell Latitude XT tablet hands-on

Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2870. Dell Latitude XT tablet is official, sexy

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/Dell_Latitude_XT_tablet_is_official_sexy'; It's absolutely no secret that Dell's been working on a tablet PC -- we've been hearing about the damn thing since as far back as mid 2004 (no joke!) and the company did promise it in 2007, which it's almost not. What took them so long to get it out the door we've no idea, but it's hard to deny the appeal of this little ThinkPad-esque bugger. Here are those specs which you've absolutely never seen before:

supposed multi-touch

Okay, we'll hand it to these guys, alongside the M1330 the Latitude XT is the sexiest machine Dell's ever produced -- and the addition of a capacitive touchscreen totally blew our minds. But $2500 for the most stripped down option? Dell just priced itself right out of the game, if you ask us. Hands-on coming right up.

Gallery: Dell Latitude XT tablet is official, sexy

Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2887. Toshiba unveils the Portege M700 tablet with touch capabilities

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
Toshiba joined the rugged, touch-capable laptop party this morning with the launch of the Portege M700, an LED-backlit 12.1 convertible tablet that intelligently switches between pen and finger input. Apart from that, the 4.4-pound machine also features a modular drive bay with dual-layer burner, spill-resistant keyboard, latchless lid, and a shock-absorbing magnesium frame. Nothing too exciting going on internally: the M700 is a pretty standard Santa Rosa-based machine, with processor choices ranging from a 1.8GHz T7100 Core 2 Duo to a 2.4GHz T7700, integrated X3100 graphics, memory expandable to 4GB, Bluetooth and WiFi. Available now in configurations priced from $1699 and going up from there.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2968. ATI demonstrates hybrid-chip CrossFire graphics tech

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops We've already seen laptops like Sony's Vaio SZ include integrated graphics alongside much more powerful (and power-hungry) dedicated chips, but AMD's looking to make such setups all the more commonplace with new chips capable of hybrid CrossFire. AMD recently demoed the tech to PC Perspective, showing off a 2.2GHz Phenom machine with both unreleased RS780 integrated graphics and a RV620-based card labeled HD Radeon 3450. Running games like Call of Duty 4 and Unreal Tournament 3, frame rates jumped from 30-35fps to around 55fps when hybrid mode was enabled. That's pretty respectable, although the system is limited to speedups of the slowest chip times two, so bigger gains are probably not in the offing. However, there can still be benefits to using chips of drastically different horsepower: the integrated chips can power down the heavy hitter to save power when not needed, and totally switch over when required. That's a pretty solid compromise, we think -- and with AMD aiming for the initial batch of hybrid CrossFire-capable cards to be priced around $50, it looks like we'll be seeing these setups a lot when AMD starts shipping these early next year. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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