The Gadget Geek

Western Digital Nomad case protects your My Passport drive from falls, spills, and curious lizards

It’s possible — likely, even — that you’re reading this while jumping out of a plane, wrestling a mountain lion, or having some equally hardcore adventure. If so, you’re just the type of active consumer Western Digital’s courting with its Nomad case. Designed for the My Passport external hard drive line, it combines a hard polycarbonate exterior with an elastomer interior that keeps the drive snug and secure, and provides another option if you’d rather upgrade your existing drive than spend the clams on a rugged one. It includes a USB port, making your data accessible even when the case is closed, and will set you back $30 according to WD. Lizard not included.

Continue reading Western Digital Nomad case protects your My Passport drive from falls, spills, and curious lizards

Western Digital Nomad case protects your My Passport drive from falls, spills, and curious lizards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar train tunnels, refillable battery goop, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

This week green transportation left fossil fuels in the dust as Inhabitat reported that a record-breaking electric VW Bug rocketed from 0-60 in 1.6 seconds and Team Steam unveiled a space age vehicle that is vying for the title of “fastest steam car on earth.” We also spotted the world’s first natural gas-powered supercar, while a team of Cambridge students unveiled a sleek solar racer that will attempt to travel 1,800 miles in the World Solar Challenge. Oil fuels also lost more luster as GM’s CEO called for a $1 gas tax increase in the US, while MIT unveiled a new type of liquid flow battery that could refuel electric vehicles in a snap.

As the summer sun hits its stride groundbreaking solar power projects are lighting up left and right – this week Google unveiled a new solar patent that could make solar energy cheaper than coal, while QSolar rolled out an array of rainbow-hued Kristal panels that can replace windows and walls. Photovoltaic gadgets also had their moment in the sun as Pixel Qi pulled back the curtain on a cheap, efficient solar-powered tablet and a wave and sun-powered seafaring robot received $22 million in funding.

Speaking of solar power, this week we applauded the opening of a two-mile-long photovoltaic train tunnel that will provide power to the Paris-Amsterdam high-speed rail line. We were also wowed by Steve Jobs’ vision for Apple’s new spaceship-shaped clean energy campus, and our Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition is really heating up, so be sure to vote for your favorite green lamp before the contest ends next week. Finally, we shared 6 great green Father’s Day gifts for tech-savvy dads, and as summer gets set to begin we brought you exclusive photos of the recently opened section 2 of New York’s High Line park, a beautiful suspended swimmer’s oasis in Denmark, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar train tunnels, refillable battery goop, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI Wind Netbook Notebook
MSI Wind Netbook Notebook
Google s Web-Only Chromebook Now Available for Pre-Order
Google announced on Thursday that its web-only laptop, the Chromebook, is now available for pre-order in the United States via Best Buy or Amazon websites. Google’s Chromebook hardware is currently offered by two manufacturers — Samsung and Acer — with two different product designs. Both manufacturers are offering Wi-Fi only and 3G versions of the device. “Nothing [...]
One Arm Food Prep

ASUS slipping Eee Pad Slider and Transformer 3G into UK hands this August

Oh, ASUS — what a teaser. Especially when it comes to the release dates and exact prices of your latest keyboard-packing Eee Pad 10.1-inch Android tablets. The word remains mum regarding final pricing, but the company’s UK division recently announced via its Facebook page that the Transformer 3G and Slider tabs will be available in the region during August; and sadly, that’s about all. It’ll be letting out more details on how to snag one just before they’re out, and hopefully you’ll get a chance to before they sell clean out. For now, you can re-skim our review of the UK Transformer and additional Slider coverage — just think of it as a consolation prize.

ASUS slipping Eee Pad Slider and Transformer 3G into UK hands this August originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES 2011: Nokia E7 demo
CES 2011: Nokia E7 demo
Some Compelling iOS 5 Features You May Have Overlooked
By Chris Foresman, Ars Technica Apple only mentioned 10 of the promised 200 new features for iOS 5 during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. The first developer preview has been released to developers, and while specifics are covered under an NDA, new details have been leaking out like oil from an ‘87 Plymouth Horizon. We decided to [...]

Digital games distribution earned $3.8 billion in 2010, a quarter of entire video game market

Alright, so technically all video games are digital, but what we’re talking about here is the stuff that you don’t buy on physical media — downloadable games, add-on content, mobile apps, subscriptions, and gaming on social networks. That market has grown to account for 24 percent of all video game revenues in 2010, or $3.8 billion, according to the Entertainment Software Association. The ESA is the body running the currently ongoing E3 shindig, and its data comes from the NPD Group, which likes to keep a cold robotic finger on the gaming industry’s pulse. Other findings in the latest ESA study include the average age of gamers (37!), the best-selling genres (action with 21.7 percent, followed by sports at 16.3 percent), and the highest-grossing games of 2010 (no prizes for guessing the warmongering winner of that one). Give the source link a bash to immerse yourself in even more gaming trivia from yesteryear.

Digital games distribution earned $3.8 billion in 2010, a quarter of entire video game market originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: Left 4 Dead 2
E3 2009: Left 4 Dead 2
Acer Notebook With Detachable Trackpad
Acer’s new Aspire Ethos laptops sinks into the faceless morass of PC notebooks, with one notable exception: a detachable trackpad. The humble mouse-replacement pops out of its place below the keyboard and becomes a media remote. And that’s not all. The pads have LEDs embedded beneath the shiny surface so you can read track numbers or [...]
Doing Dishes the Non-Electric Way

RED Scarlet captures Hollywood-style street scene at 120fps (video)

The bad news is that the RED Scarlet is a still a prototype two and a half years after it was announced. The good news is that the folks at RED have shot some stunning test footage with the 8x fixed lens version to show off the Scarlet’s prowess at 120 frames per second. Remember, every one of those frames is a 3072 x 1620 RAW masterpiece — and while the video after the break obviously can’t deliver that resolution, it can nevertheless give you a feel for the slow-mo power of this thing. Prepare yourselves.

[Thanks, Jarred]

Continue reading RED Scarlet captures Hollywood-style street scene at 120fps (video)

RED Scarlet captures Hollywood-style street scene at 120fps (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audioengine 5 Speakers
Audioengine 5 Speakers
Looxcie 2 Personal Camcorder May Add iCloud Support
Remember the Looxcie? It’s a low-resolution, wearable video camera that beams footage to your Android phone or iPhone. Now comes the Looxcie 2, a smaller, lighter version which also comes with a bunch of new attachment options, as well as compatibility with Apple iCloud. The old Looxcie was ear-mounted, and looked like an oversized Bluetooth earpiece. [...]
Your Next Charger Could Be A Ball of Yarn

Apple patent app sheds light on wireless charging dreams, NFMR love affair

Apple threw quite the wireless party by introducing PC Free and iCloud at yesterday’s WWDC keynote, but it seems that the engineers in Cupertino may have even more tricks up their sleeve. Judging by a recently filed patent application, the company’s hoping to add charging to its list of cord-cutting services. Specifically, the patent describes building a NFMR (near-field magnetic resolution) power supply directly into your iMac so it can charge your iPhone, iPad, or even peripherals — such as a keyboard or mouse, when equipped with a special antenna — without the assistance of your ol’ trusty charging cords or batteries. Sporting a somewhat mature iMac that’s operating sans NFMR? Pop a special USB dongle in that bad boy and presto, you’re good to go. The patent points out that the range is limited to one meter, though there may be ways to install repeaters in peripherals to extend that distance further. Of course, patents won’t guarantee we’ll be grabbing the scissors to cut our cords anytime soon, but at least we won’t have to rely on these things for the rest of eternity.

Filed under: Wireless

Apple patent app sheds light on wireless charging dreams, NFMR love affair originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2009: Aliens vs. Predator
E3 2009: Aliens vs. Predator

Droid X2 review

Would a Droid X by any other name smell as sweet? When we reviewed that phone last year we found it to be a solid performer in a solid chassis. In short: a very good phone. Now it’s back with a new name, or a revised one at least, the Motorola Droid X2 offering the same basic design as its predecessor but packing a lot more heat on the inside — a dual-core dose of Tegra 2, to be specific. Will it tickle your olfactory sensors just like the first X?

Continue reading Droid X2 review

Droid X2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E3 2010: In-Game Footage of Rush n Attack: Ex-Patriot
E3 2010: In-Game Footage of Rush n Attack: Ex-Patriot
Pentax GPS Unit Sees Stars Literally
Pentax has announced a new GPS geo-tagging turret for its SLRs. Called the O-GPS1, it connects to the camera and also communicates via the hotshoe. The unit does the usual satellite tracking thing to record your latitude, longitude, altitude as metadata in the image file, but then it gets fancy. Pentax has added a digital compass [...]

Google admits sensitive email accounts have been hacked, some users knew months ago (update: US says no government accounts compromised)

The Contagio security blog posted evidence back in February of targeted attacks against government and military officials on Gmail. Today, nearly four months later, Google has finally admitted this is true: hundreds of personal accounts have been compromised by hackers it believes to be working out of Jinan, the capital of China’s Shandong province. The accounts include those of “senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists.” The hijackers’ aim appears to have been to spy on their targets using Google’s automatic forwarding function. But unlike the PSN fiasco, Google insists its internal systems “have not been affected.” Instead it seems the hackers used a phishing scam, possibly directing users to a spoof Gmail website before requesting their credentials. Google says its own “abuse detection systems” disrupted the campaign — but in a footnote right down at the bottom of their official blog page they also credit Contagio and user reports.

Update: And in comes China’s response, courtesy of Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei. “Allegations that the Chinese government supports hacking activities are completely unfounded and made with ulterior motives.” Ok then, that settles that.

Update 2: And the saga continues… According to an AP story published earlier today, the Obama administration has stated that the FBI is looking into allegations that hackers broke into Google’s email system, but denied that any official government accounts were compromised. A White House spokesman went on to say that government employees are free to use Gmail for personal purposes, and can not be sure who in the administration might have been affected by the attack. Let’s just hope they know how to leave the sensitive stuff at the office.

Google admits sensitive email accounts have been hacked, some users knew months ago (update: US says no government accounts compromised) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate FreeAgent Go
Seagate FreeAgent Go
Arcade-Button Light Switch Will Make Your Home Awesome
Who wants a boring old light switch on their wall when they could have a pair of classic arcade machine buttons to bash instead? The extremely boringly-named Working Arcade Light Switch is a straight swap-in replacement for your current, super-lame light-switch, and you can wire it yourself. The switch comes from Etsy maker Aleph Design, and [...]

Turtle Beach announces PX3 and Z6A gaming headsets, set to debut at E3

Continue reading Turtle Beach announces PX3 and Z6A gaming headsets, set to debut at E3

Turtle Beach announces PX3 and Z6A gaming headsets, set to debut at E3 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GTA’s Liberty City recreated in Google Street View, reveals your nearest Ammu-Nation

Type “Liberty City” into Google Maps and it whisks you to some place east of Wichita, Kansas. Yup, Wichita, for Pete’s sake. No self-respecting Grand Theft Auto fan can stand for an omission like that, and thankfully now they don’t have to. Those hardcore Niko-lovers at gta4.net have not only recreated the real fictional Liberty City using the Google Maps API, they’ve even cobbled together 80,000 screenshots to provide full-blown Street View too. Man, we haven’t seen this much Gay Tony passion since the Trashmaster. Oh, wait a minute — apparently this so-called Street View leaves out a couple of ramps that gta4.net considered to be “not very interesting.” Hush, and you call yourselves fans?

GTA’s Liberty City recreated in Google Street View, reveals your nearest Ammu-Nation originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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