Go on and file this one away in the folder of “awesome things that could, but won’t ever happen.” As the brilliant minds around the world figure out how to solve vicious diseases, move motorcars with peanut oil and send engineers to fix a telescope in outer space, we still can’t purchase a pack of AA cells that last longer than a month or two in our favorite toy. Some call it a limit of physics, some deem it a conspiracy. Whatever the case, we’ve no doubt whatsoever that a new silicon-containing carbon material — designed by Dow Corning Toray to double the capacity of existing Li-ion batteries — won’t ever have a real impact in our lives. Of course, it’s not like any consumer would actually benefit from having a netbook battery good for 16 hours, nor would wedding photographers enjoy being able to shoot 1,000 indoor shots without cracking the battery door open on their SB-600. No — that’s just absurd. C’mon Dow, prove us wrong here.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Science

More scientific black magic promises to double Li-ion battery capacity originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 May 2009 23:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s just been a few short months since a proposed bill called for the creation of a National Cybersecurity Advisor, but it looks like there’s now not one but two new positions in the offing, with both the Pentagon and President Obama himself announcing plans for some newly elevated offices charged with keeping the nation’s networks secure. While a specific “Cybersecurity Czar” hasn’t yet been named, the White House position will apparently be a member of both the National Security Council and National Economic Council and, in addition to coordinating U.S. response in the event of a major attack, the office will also be tasked with protecting privacy and civil liberties. Details on the new Pentagon office, on the other hand, are expectedly even less specific although, according to The New York Times, it’ll be a military command that will work to coordinate efforts now scattered across the four armed services, and will apparently serve as complement to the civilian office in the White House.

Read - Reuters, “Obama to name White House cybersecurity czar”
Read - The New York Times, “Pentagon Plans New Arm to Wage Cyberspace Wars”

[Thanks, Ryan]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Networking

White House, Pentagon announce plans for new cybersecurity positions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Might 2009 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor has Sony announcing a slimmer PS3 at E3. Given the economic hard times, it might seem unlikely, but the word is that Sony will unveil a slimline version of the PS3 at E3 . According to Playstation Lifestyle : “When we caught wind of this, the More

A The PlayStation 3 and many other Blu-ray players can play AVCHD video directly from memory cards. Simply plug a high-speed SDHC card reader into a PS3 USB port and insert the card directly from your camcorder. The card will show onscreen as a video More

This week we’ve the mole giving us some solid information about what to expect in Sony’s future with both the PS3 and PSP, the cracks in GameStop’s armor, and we present a few tips on how to be an effective PR professional in the world of gaming More

Classic first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D is heading for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, ID Software and Activision have confirmed. Originally released for the Personal computer in 1992, the game is considered to be one of the most influential titles More

The PSP handheld is no longer the only piece of Sony gear with Remote Play functionality up its sleeve. Sony Ericsson has revealed that the new Aino touch-screen mobile phone can be used as a remote control with the PS3 video game console. The phone More

Sony Ericsson Aino features PSP-like XMB hook-up, due this holiday season. One of the more interesting features on Sony’s integrated hardware front is the PSP-to-PlayStation 3 Remote Play functionality. With it, gamers can access media stored on More

Editor’s note: Next week is the large E3 gaming expo. Sachin Agarwal, president of Chicago-based gaming e-commerce startup Dawdle , will be covering it for us. This is going to be one of the biggest E3s in years — mainly because it’s back to its roots More

Don’t anticipate the PS3 Trim at E3! According to website Ars Technica, it won’t be there. A “very well-informed mole” states that there won’t be a PS3 Slim announcement next week at E3, and that the console won’t be in stores until late summer or early More

Using the Remote Play feature designed for the PSP, Aino can pull nearly any content off your PS3, including music, videos, and pics. What about games, you ask? Sorry, HD video and games are not syncable, but like I said, this isn’t the fabled PSP More

While not yet officially announced, GameStop locations are receiving duplicates of the Blu-ray movie based on Final Fantasy VII with instructions to stuff them inside PlayStation 3 boxes. Priced at $399.99 USD, the bundle is designed to move existing PS3 More

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We see boatloads of solar charging gizmos around here, but they’re usually not so… large. What we have here is a massive sunning umbrella, for use outdoors (obviously), which has large flexible solar panels made by Konarka on top. The solar collecting panels store the energy in the stem of the Powerbrella as it’s called, and it’s got outlets at its base for charging your phone, PMP, etc. The ‘brellas have already been tested in Florida, and are set to be manufactured by Sky Shades, for release sometime this summer. No word on pricing yet — but there’s one more shot after the break.

[Thanks, The Gadgets Weblog]

Continue reading Solar paneled umbrella will charge your gadgets while you hang in the sun

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Solar paneled umbrella will charge your gadgets while you hang in the sun originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 May 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a Nike+iPod kit laying around but not doing much exercising with it? Then you might want to follow the lead of SparkFun’s Nate, who took the device and turned it into a decidedly non-exercise minded wireless key fob — or iFob, as Nate has dubbed it. That, as you might anticipate, isn’t exactly a completely straightforward process, and also involves putting an Arduino Pro Mini into the mix, not to mention a bit of minor surgery to both your automobile and your car’s original key fob. If that doesn’t scare you off, however, you can find the complete instructions and plenty of helpful photos at the link below, although you’re on your own if you want to build something that actually starts your car.

[Via GadgetReview]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Nike+iPod gets repurposed as wireless key fob originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Might 2009 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s nothing really new here ‘cept maybe a design inspired by the union of two fleshy buns. Nevertheless, cable clips are one of those great ideas we just never get around to purchasing. So here’s your chance. CableDrop adheres to your desk surface or wall to keep cables from dropping to the floor after you grab your laptop to go. Convenient as hell and just $10 for a pack of 6.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

CableDrop: the aspirational cable clip originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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‘Sacred 2′ is console action-RPG done right - Charleston Gazette
“Sacred 2″ features a huge gameworld and hundreds of quests. If you’re an Xbox 360 or PS3 owner looking for a solid action-RPG, look no further than “Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.” The hack ‘n’ slash role-playing game has long been a staple for Computer

New Phone offers PS3 Remote Play - Gamespot News
Sony Ericsson Aino features PSP-like XMB hook-up, due this holiday season. One of the more interesting features on Sony’s integrated hardware front is the PSP-to-PlayStation 3 Remote Play functionality. With it, gamers can access media stored on

Arkham Asylum Dated - PS3 Playable at E3 - Spong
Batman Arkham Asylum is indeed to going to appear at the very end of the summer this year. Eidos has confirmed that, “The game will be available in North America August 25th and throughout Europe August 28th.” Eidos also says that, “playable for

The PS3 Trim and PSP Go! Are Real, Might Be Revealed at E3 - Softpedia
The gaming industry is filled with secrets, unannounced plans and ambitious but unrevealed projects. That’s why there will always be rumors and speculations flying around the Internet and landing on related websites depending on how true they’re or

Sony Ericsson Unveils PS3-compatible Cell Phone - Personal computer World
Using the Remote Play feature designed for the PSP, Aino can pull nearly any content off your PS3, including music, videos, and photos. What about games, you ask? Sorry, HD video and games are not syncable, but like I stated, this isn’t the fabled PSP

PSP Phone Hint? Sony Ericsson Phone Speaks to PS3 - Spong
Follow us on Sony Ericsson is set to release a phone that’ll communicate with the PlayStation 3, marking the biggest step yet toward a PlayStation phone. The handset, dubbed Aino, will make use of the Remote Play functionality already available

Sony Ericsson unveils the PS3-friendly Aino - T3.com
We never did see the much talked-about PSP phone, but we now have just about the next best thing, the newly-launched Sony Ericsson Aino. Ok, it’s not a PSP phone in the gaming sense, but it does interact with your PlayStation 3 and Computer wirelessly, the

Game Review: inFamous - PS3 - News Shopper
Possibly one of the most anticipated titles on the Playstation 3 this year, inFamous sees you take control of the creepy superhero/villain Cole MacGrath. The story takes off with a big explosion in Empire City. At the centre of this explosion is

A New, Slim PS3? - Digitaltrends.com
Rumor has Sony announcing a slimmer PS3 at E3. Given the economic hard times, it might seem unlikely, but the word is that Sony will unveil a slimline version of the PS3 at E3 . According to Playstation Lifestyle : “When we caught wind of this, the

PS3 can handle memory cards - Minneapolis Star Tribune
A The PlayStation 3 and many other Blu-ray players can play AVCHD video directly from memory cards. Simply plug a high-speed SDHC card reader into a PS3 USB port and insert the card directly from your camcorder. The card will show onscreen as a video

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It’s not every day you see fine jewelry that looks this… blurry. Stolen Jewels are the creation of Mike and Maaike, who did a Google for low-resolution images of various famous, priceless pieces of jewelry — such as a ruby and diamond necklace made by Van Cleef and Arpels for Imelda Marcos — and then made them even lower-res before transferring them to leather. The result is what you see above: stunning, and arguably much, much preferable to their original, heavy counterparts. There’s one more pic after the break — hit the read link for the whole, beautiful line.

[Via Neu Black]

Continue reading Pixel jewels not made of real jewels, still likely unaffordable

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Pixel jewels not made of real jewels, still likely unaffordable originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 02:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not exactly news that the Department of Defense is looking at ways to make hacking a more practical weapon, but it looks to really be stepping up its game with its latest project, which promises to make complicated attacks as easy as a few button presses. That would apparently be possible thanks to a slightly mysterious device that’d be small enough to carry around in a backpack, but powerful enough to do everything from breaking into a wireless network to hacking into SCADA (or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems (used at power plants, nuclear facilities, and the like). While complete details are obviously a bit light, the system would apparently be able to, for instance, map out the nodes in a wireless network, cause them to disconnect, and watch them come back on the internet to identify weak spots. It would then present the “hacker” with various attack attributes that could simply be adjusted using sliders on a touchscreen. No word if the soldiers will also be rewarded with Accomplishments.

[Via Softpedia]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Networking

Defense Department developing portable hacking device for soldiers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 May 2009 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you do when your cellphone-smuggling carrier pigeons get caught on their way to the huge house? Why, you go higher tech, of course. Those texting-crazed Brazlian ultra-max prisoners hatched a new plot to fly a radio controlled helicopter up over the wall of a prison, dropping diaper-swaddled handsets into the awaiting hands of criminal non-masterminds on the inside. Unfortunately for them, police foiled the plan when they pulled over the accomplices on the outside, confiscating the chopper, a suite of phones, and arresting the four who were paid just $5,000 to get the plan airborne. Our suggestion for their next attempt? Jetpacks.

[Photo courtesy of AP]

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

Brazilian RC helicopter cellphone delivery service busted originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Might 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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