CrunchGear |  |
- RRAM: Panasonic Wants To be The First Company To Roll Out “Next-Gen” Memory Chips Next Year
- Toshiba Protoypes Ultra-Thin, Rollable OLED
- Daily Crunch: Pastel Objects Edition
- Want To Get Your Arduino On, But Don’t Want To Solder? Check Out Teagueduino
- Casio “Diver-Inspired” Baby-G Watch Is A Jam For The Ladies
- Samsung Brings Its LED Lighting Line To The US
- Tiny Artificial Eardrum Could Make Your Headphones Safer And Better
- Sony Bringing Thunderbolt To Notebooks With USB-Style Connector?
- Happy Birthday, Color Photography! You’re 150!
- Sony CEO Goes On The Defensive In Face Of PSN Outage Criticisms
- Car Makers Ponder What To Make Electric Vehicles Sound Like
- Intel Promises x86 Phones In 2012
- This Chain Gun Does Not Want To Be Your Friend
- Asus Transformer, Acer Iconia Tab A500 Getting Android 3.1 In June
- Best Buy And Nintendo Teaming Up To Serve 3DS Games Via Wi-Fi
- OMG/JK: Chromebooks And Droided Out Lightbulbs
- Swedish University Testing Wheelchair That Maps Its Surroundings
- Developers Prefer GPL, Enterprises Prefer Apache
- Wait? The Nerf Nuke Isn’t Real?
- Kineo School Slate Now Shipping In The U.S.
| RRAM: Panasonic Wants To be The First Company To Roll Out “Next-Gen” Memory Chips Next Year Posted: 18 May 2011 05:04 AM PDT
Resistive random-access memory (RRAM) is something various electronics companies have been working on for years, but now Panasonic seems to be ready to be the first to start mass-producing the next-generation memory chips, according to a report in Japan’s biggest business daily The Nikkei. The new memory type can retain stored data over time even when it’s not powered, it’s much faster and more eco-friendly than flash memory chips, for example (using up to 90% less power). Panasonic says that the energy consumed by TVs operating in standby, for example, could be cut by 66% or more when using RRAMs. The company plans to ship samples of 2Mbit RRAMs for use in TVs and Blu-ray players by the end of this year, followed by mass production in 2012. Sorry, but Panasonic hasn’t shown pictures yet (the one above shows random, conventional RAMs).
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| Toshiba Protoypes Ultra-Thin, Rollable OLED Posted: 18 May 2011 04:02 AM PDT
It’s not the first flexible screen we have covered in recent years, but it’s the first one from Toshiba. The company has developed a 3-inch OLED panel that’s 0.1mm thin and weighs just 1g (pictured). Apart from the size and weight, the main selling point of the OLED is that it can retain picture quality over a long period of time, according to a recent report in The Nikkei (Japan’s biggest business daily). Toshiba didn’t specify what they mean with “long”, but they did say how they created the display: apparently, the OLED is built by attaching an oxide semiconductor TFT to a plastic substrate at 200 °C (instead of a glass substrate that has to be handled at 320 °C). As a consequence, the new display is 90% lighter than comparable ones using a glass substrate. Even though the TFTs were handled at a lower temperature than usual, Toshiba claims the display can be used over time without experiencing screen burn-ins, loss in contrast and other problems. The company hopes to use the new production method for super-thin (and larger) displays than can be rolled up and carried around by 2014 or 2015.
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| Daily Crunch: Pastel Objects Edition Posted: 18 May 2011 12:00 AM PDT |
| Want To Get Your Arduino On, But Don’t Want To Solder? Check Out Teagueduino Posted: 17 May 2011 07:28 PM PDT
No soldering is required, for one thing. I like solder in theory, but in practice it always freaks me out. What if I get molten metal on me. So that’s one barrier removed. It also has a sweet graphical feedback system for understanding your inputs, outputs, modules, and so on, making the language of hacking a little more accessible.
It’s kind of like the Duplo to Arduino’s Lego. The same principles are in action, but in larger, more coarse form, and you can’t choke on them. And of course it’s all open source, so you can modify or remix as you please. Lots more info on this cool system at Teague Labs. If I had space in my apartment for a workbench, I’d totally check out one of these kits. [via Hacker News]
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| Casio “Diver-Inspired” Baby-G Watch Is A Jam For The Ladies Posted: 17 May 2011 06:20 PM PDT
Ahem.
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| Samsung Brings Its LED Lighting Line To The US Posted: 17 May 2011 05:48 PM PDT
With luck that means they’re targeting a lower price point. We all know how great LEDs are for saving power and so on, but nobody wants to pay $40 for a bulb. Get on that, Samsung! Samsung Injects Digital Expertise into U.S. LED Lighting Market The World's Largest Technology Company Focuses Its Consumer Electronics Proficiency at Rapidly Innovating the Lighting Industry; Aims to Take LED Lighting Solutions Beyond U.S. Early Adopters PHILADELPHIA, May 17, 2011 – Long recognized in the United States as a high-tech powerhouse, Samsung has set its sights on becoming a new leader in the U.S. lighting market as the industry shifts into the digital age. The company announced today it is making its first LED lamps available in the U.S. as the company couples its technological prowess in LED with its deep marketing knowledge in consumer electronics to launch LED lighting solutions into the mainstream professional and consumer market. Samsung LED Co., Ltd. www.samsungLED.com was established globally in April 2009, channeling the company's proven expertise in the electronics and electro-mechanics fields into the production of cutting-edge LED lighting. As a leader in LED technology from chips to TV displays, Samsung already possesses some of the largest LED production facilities in the world, helping ensure quality and reliability across the entire line of products. An American center of operations has been established in Atlanta, Ga., to support the company's expansion into the U.S. market. "The lighting industry has finally caught up with the digital revolution, with microchip technology powering lamps enabling longer lifetimes, more environmentally-friendly designs and less energy consumption," says Philip Warner, Vice President of Samsung LED America. "The Samsung brand is practically synonymous with consumer electronics. As more and more people recognize the future of home and commercial lighting lies in this amazing digital technology, we are confident Samsung will take a leading position in the market." Samsung's initial line-up ranges from omni-directional incandescent replacements to fluorescent and PAR replacement lamps for homes and businesses. Samsung's vertically integrated supply chain allows the company to produce all aspects of LED lights, including chips, PKGs, modules, light engines and lamps. The company is also a technology leader in areas of thermal management, optics, power supplies and lighting controls. Philip Warner, Vice President, added that Samsung will put its full research and design might into developing the next generation of LED lamps. "We will not dilute our offerings with high-efficiency incandescent or even CFLs, as these are yesterday's technologies. Our focus is 100-percent on LED," he said. LED lamps create light by running an electrical current through a microchip. They are increasingly replacing light bulbs in both indoor and outdoor settings due to their higher energy efficiency and longer lifespans compared to traditional incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs, while providing warm pleasing light. Attendees of the International Light Fair Show in Philadelphia on May 17-21 may inquire for a private showing of Samsung's LED lights by attending the Samsung hospitality booth at Light Fair.
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| Tiny Artificial Eardrum Could Make Your Headphones Safer And Better Posted: 17 May 2011 05:30 PM PDT
It’s essentially a second eardrum, made of an incredibly thin polymer and placed inside the headphones (not in your ear canal, don’t worry). What it does is reduce “static” pressure (a result of the ear being sealed off) while dutifully transmitting the sound pressure. Popular Mechanics found it an improvement, though like any audio technology, it’s going to be a subjective experience. They would be purchasable separately from your headphones and installed at home, so you’re not getting roped into a whole new system here. Ambrose hopes to sell the “Diaphonic Ear Lens” in a few weeks, though if it works, we may see it licensed into new headphone designs after that. Lots more information at this NSF page about the project. Sound and Vision Magazine has some hands-on pictures, as well. [image: Dan Bracaglia/Sound and Vision]
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| Sony Bringing Thunderbolt To Notebooks With USB-Style Connector? Posted: 17 May 2011 05:00 PM PDT
When Thunderbolt was Light Peak, it actually used a USB-style connector, so this isn’t unprecedented at all. But is it good for consumers? This combo port may be more practical, since it can be used with far more devices, but as Engadget notes, the USB connector isn’t something you can just copy and paste. Sony may have worked something out with them, or the story could be even more complicated than that. We’ll have to wait for Sony to clear things up on this one. It’s all speculation for now, unless of course a few other companies show off some USB-style Thunderbolt ports, in which case it’s all confirmed and Apple is in the minority. Ah well, you didn’t really think this was the end of adapters and multiple port standards, did you?
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| Happy Birthday, Color Photography! You’re 150! Posted: 17 May 2011 04:45 PM PDT
It was presented at the Royal Institution on May 17th, 1861 by Clerk Maxwell, who worked with Thomas Sutton to produce this image of a ribbon. It was actually three black and white pictures, each taken through a different color filter, then recombined by layering projections. It’s actually more like our modern digital cameras than like the color techniques that ruled photography for decades. It’s been 150 long years since that presentation, and photography is still as fascinating and vital as it was then, if somewhat easier. Here’s to another century, photography.
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| Sony CEO Goes On The Defensive In Face Of PSN Outage Criticisms Posted: 17 May 2011 04:30 PM PDT
The main issue seems to be in the first week, when it seems that Sony failed to notify its users that there was a serious breach and their data may be at risk. Stringer told the Wall St Journal:
It’s true that once they knew for the extent of the breach for sure, they were quick about saying so, and that’s to their credit. But the burglar analogy misses the mark, because in this case it’s not Sony that’s at risk here, it’s the users. And Sony absolutely, positively should have taken the bull by the horns within a day or two of the breach (the potential extent of which must have been known early on) and said “We got hacked. It’s serious. We don’t know how serious just yet, but serious enough that you might have to get a new card and change your password. We’ll have more information soon, but keep an eye on your accounts and let us know immediately if you see anything suspicious. Sorry for etc. etc. etc.”
Stringer was honest about Sony’s limited knowledge of the origins and intent of the hack, though he does put it at Anonymous’ door, which is playing with fire. But they have found no evidence of identity theft or credit card abuse, and are working closely with law enforcement, in addition to offering complimentary protection against those crimes. It’s up to posterity to judge, of course, but I think the general consensus on this will be that Sony acted quickly and authoritatively, but by not inoculating themselves against the worst by being up front with their consumers, they allowed the news to get out by other means, and appeared to be afraid of the truth.
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| Car Makers Ponder What To Make Electric Vehicles Sound Like Posted: 17 May 2011 04:00 PM PDT
The question is whether you make EVs sound like other cars by simulating engine noise, or do you take this chance to give them an entirely new and perhaps more practical and customizable noise? Some cars, of course, have a distinctive noise that results naturally from the mechanics of the engine and exhaust. Car designers can make their own noise now, even make your Leaf sound like an old Mustang — but should this noise be regulated, and if so, on what level? Manufacturers and designers are testing out different sounds, from a UFO noise to the sound of a baseball card flapping against bike spokes, attempting to suss out which exactly produces the most awareness without becoming grating. The BBC has a nice video here with some of the noises being looked at by UK researchers. They’re even simulating intersections with dozens of such vehicles and seeing how certain sounds would interact. Hey, you don’t roll something out to ten thousand vehicles without doing a little checking around, right? I’m torn on the subject. Obviously there’s a line that needs to be walked between good taste and safety, but there are lots of unanswered questions as well. What about special sounds for certain types of vehicles, or user-selectable sounds? I want mine to sound like a Transformer transforming, all the time.
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| Intel Promises x86 Phones In 2012 Posted: 17 May 2011 03:06 PM PDT
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| This Chain Gun Does Not Want To Be Your Friend Posted: 17 May 2011 02:31 PM PDT It’s not every day you see a massive BAE Systems Mk 38 chain gun firing off the bow of a Naval vessel, but here you go. This thing is completely remote controlled and features infrared sights and laser aiming systems so you can pick off booby-trapped boats from miles away.
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| Asus Transformer, Acer Iconia Tab A500 Getting Android 3.1 In June Posted: 17 May 2011 02:08 PM PDT
<quick story> Did you read the headline? Yep, that’s the story. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Acer Iconia Tab A500 are reportedly getting Android 3.1 next month via an OTA update. </quick story>
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| Best Buy And Nintendo Teaming Up To Serve 3DS Games Via Wi-Fi Posted: 17 May 2011 01:58 PM PDT
While it’s certainly magnanimous of Best Buy to open their Wi-Fi to the masses, I wonder how much of this will end up being an upsell? “Pair your 3DS with Wi-Fi for $15,” anyone?
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| OMG/JK: Chromebooks And Droided Out Lightbulbs Posted: 17 May 2011 01:49 PM PDT
In this episode of OMG/JK, my colleague MG Siegler and I do an in-depth look at what happened at Google’s annual developer conference, which saw the launch of Google Music Beta, Android’s @home project, and the first Chromebooks. Don’t worry, we’ll talk about the Skype acquisition next time, there was just too much material to pack into one show. And, yes, this episode is a bit retro — we shipped out the better cameras to New York in preparation for TC Disrupt next week, so we had to shoot this one in SD.
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| Swedish University Testing Wheelchair That Maps Its Surroundings Posted: 17 May 2011 01:23 PM PDT
It was tested this week by a grad student hopeful who is himself visually impaired, and he pronounced it solid. The system looks quite bulky, however, and is limited to detecting objects within a narrow plane, so it wouldn’t pick up, say, a curb or overhang. Still, it’s interesting research, and could be the start of a new kind of intelligent wheelchair that could let blind and partially sighted people get around their neighborhoods a bit easier. [via Gizmag]
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| Developers Prefer GPL, Enterprises Prefer Apache Posted: 17 May 2011 12:00 PM PDT
It’s important to remember that the GPL is a “viral” license: if you use substantial amounts of GPL code in your project, you’re obligated to license the whole thing under the GPL. There has been much gnashing of teeth over specific corner cases to the GPL’s applicability, and it hasn’t been tried much in courts of law, but most folks agree: the GPL license “taints” your work in such a way that the whole thing must be GPL’ed. (Yes, I’m simplifying a bit. I’m not an attorney, and the specifics of the GPL are not the main thrust of this post.) Developers may not actually prefer the GPL license, but there is so much GPL licensed code available for (re-)use that it often seems silly to reinvent the wheel. If you can use a GPL library to do much of the heavy lifting for your application, it’s often easier to go with the flow: use that library and license your whole work under the GPL. The Apache Software License does not “taint” your project in the same way that the GPL does. The original version 1 of the Apache Software License was the same as the BSD license, which essentially says “Here, take it.” The Apache Software License version 2 is a substantially more complex document than the BSD license (4 pages versus 1) which explicitly declares each right granted or restricted. Some developers despise the Apache Software License, for a variety of reasons. I’ve been told, anecdotally, that the reason OpenBSD continues to ship Apache 1.3.33 is because they hate the ASL that much. Enterprises — and the legal teams at enterprises — find the legalese in the ASL to be more to their tastes. It makes it clear what is and is not permissible in standard legal language. There are obviously exceptions to enterprise aversion to GPL, but they’re few and far between. As open source becomes even more mainstream in software development, we may see a shift in license preferences.
You can read the full press release on OpenLogic‘s site.
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| Wait? The Nerf Nuke Isn’t Real? Posted: 17 May 2011 10:57 AM PDT I think there’s a deep message somewhere in here….I just want a Nerf Nuke.
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| Kineo School Slate Now Shipping In The U.S. Posted: 17 May 2011 10:56 AM PDT Another day, another slate aimed at the education market. The Brainchild Kineo is an education-only device aimed at grade-school kids. It runs Android, sure, but the whole thing is locked down like Gitmo and the teacher has full control over the lessons displayed on the screen. The device is now shipping to ten states and 5,000 first units are hitting Texas and other states with lots of school board clout. It seems this solution – a locked down version of Android Eclair that allows no unsavory browsing on a simple tablet – may be the best solution for cash-strapped grade schools. I’m still against active use of tablets in the classroom, but this solution makes a lot of sense.
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One of the problems of in-ear headphones, though they often have excellent sound, is that they block all movement of air inside the ear canal, the better to control the sound environment — but potentially fatiguing or damaging to your eardrum. Audio researcher Stephen Ambrose has a solution that may improve the sound and protect your ears.
The picture above is of 
What you see here is 
Howard Stringer, 
During investment presentations, Intel CEO Paul Otellini admitted that the company's old strategy for mobile needed a makeover, but was optimistic about their prospects come 2012.
From Google I/O to Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype, last week was a huge one for tech news.
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