Compu-Tech Intl.

Insert Coin: CordLite illuminated iPhone cable (video)

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:29:00 +0000

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line. On average, North American consumers will spend a lifetime total of five days on failed attempts to pair their dock connector cable with an iPad or iPhone . Yeah, that’s not true, but we can certainly sympathize with frustrated device owners — fitting a tiny connector to any gadget can be a chore, especially in the dark. Scrap Pile Labs’ CordLite sets out to point the way to a successful connection with its built-in LEDs. The illuminated cable is quite simple to use — with no buttons or switches to fuss with, the connector lights up when you touch the aluminum plates, and powers off the moment it’s secured to your device. There’s really not much else to it — CordLite functions identically to an Apple-manufactured cable, though the dock connector itself is significant larger than the OEM variety, at least in its current prototype form. The design team has turned to Kickstarter to get their project funded, with a $70,000 goal.

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Insert Coin: CordLite illuminated iPhone cable (video)

Dish warns the FCC its 4G LTE might come in earnest as late as 2016

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:13:00 +0000

Dish has been tranquil about facing a longer FCC review period for its planned LTE-based 4G network , and now we might have an idea as to why. The satellite TV giant is telling the FCC that it only expects coverage to reach up to 60 million potential customers “within four years,” or about 2016 — six years after MetroPCS and Verizon first flicked their respective 4G switches. This is also assuming that the 3GPP cellular standards group clears the AWS-4 frequency band for LTE use. There’s speculation that Dish is giving the extra time so that it can sell the spectrum later, but we’d take the safe road and assume Dish is serious. After all, AT&T wouldn’t be trying to set tough conditions for Dish’s LTE if it didn’t think there was possibly significant competition on the way. Dish warns the FCC its 4G LTE might come in earnest as late as 2016 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 May 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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Dish warns the FCC its 4G LTE might come in earnest as late as 2016

Doodle 4 Google winner cashes in with ‘Pirate Times’ drawing, finds a Chromebook in the treasure chest

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:46:00 +0000

Avast ye! Google has announced the national winner of its fifth annual Doodle 4 Google competition, and we’d like to congratulate second grader Dylan Hoffman of Caledonia, Wisconsin for his fine work. As a response to this year’s theme, “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…,” Dylan created a pirate scene doodle that features a vibrant parrot, a rotund swashbuckler and a treasure chest full of loot to form the Google logo. According to Dylan, he’d ideally, “Sail a pirate ship looking for treasure, have a colorful pet parrot and enjoy beautiful sunsets from deserted islands.” Sounds quite nice — especially without the scurvy. For his creativity, Google has awarded Dylan with a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook computer and a $50,000 technology grant to his school. Later this fall, Dylan’s artwork will grace a special edition 64-count box of Crayola crayons. No doubt a fine plunder for an excellent work of art. Doodle 4 Google winner cashes in with ‘Pirate Times’ drawing, finds a Chromebook in the treasure chest originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 22:46:00 EDT.

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Doodle 4 Google winner cashes in with ‘Pirate Times’ drawing, finds a Chromebook in the treasure chest

Dell Precision R5500 lets four graphics pros work on one PC, we wish it did gaming

publisher — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:02:00 +0000

Workstations aren’t normally our focus, but when Dell shows off a new Precision system that lets four media pros share its graphics hardware at once, you can be sure the company has our attention. If your IT chief springs for a Precision R5500 with four Quadro 2000 cards, each of those cards can take advantage of a graphics pass-through in Citrix’s virtualization to render 3D models at speeds much more like what you’d get if the Quadro were sitting in your own PC. Before you have visions of four-player Modern Warfare parties after-hours at work, the inherent barriers of distance and the virtual machine itself will likely rule out any game sessions. We’d add that the Quadro, Xeon processor and the $2,742 minimum price make it an expensive proposition. That engineering simulation will finish a lot faster, though, giving you a bit more time to play back home. Continue reading Dell Precision R5500 lets four graphics pros work on one PC, we wish it did gaming Dell Precision R5500 lets four graphics pros work on one PC, we wish it did gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 22:02:00 EDT.

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Dell Precision R5500 lets four graphics pros work on one PC, we wish it did gaming

Xiaomi Phone gets a Youth Edition, a less powerful, cheaper alternative for students

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:05:00 +0000

Many of you are already familiar with the Xiaomi Phone and its reverence in the MIUI community, but now the Chinese manufacturer has introduced a less expensive counterpart to the original, which is aptly known as the Youth Edition. Priced at 1,499 yuan ($237), this smartphone will sell for a full 500 yuan less than its elder and will retain many of its components, which include a 4-inch, 854 x 480 display, an 8-megapixel camera, 4GB of ROM and a 1,930mAh battery. In fact, the only significant changes are the dual-core 1.2GHz CPU (which is down from 1.5GHz), and 768MB of RAM instead of the original 1GB. Xiaomi will produce 150,000 Youth Edition handsets, which seems like a healthy number, but if you want to stake your claim to one, you’d best join in the pre-registration process, which runs now through May 18th. Xiaomi Phone gets a Youth Edition, a less powerful, cheaper alternative for students originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:38:00 +0000

In its ongoing battle against internet bottlenecks — or let’s face it — techie bragging rights, Netgear has launched two more devices with that sweet, sweet 802.11ac data flow. Joining its recently announced R6300 router , is the R6200 model, which supports a combined WiFi speed of 1200 Mbps, has a USB port for networking devices, and of course also rides the a, b, g and n waves too — if you don’t have any 802.11ac kit just yet. Well, as it happens, Netgear thought of that, and has also announced the A6200 dual band USB WiFi adapter to, literally, bring your existing kit up to speed. If you want in on the action, you’ll need to spend $179.99 and $69.99 respectively when they launch in Q3 this year. Full specs in the PR after the break. Continue reading Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family Netgear adds R6200 router and A6200 USB adapter to its 802.11ac family originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:00PM ET

publisher — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:31:00 +0000

It’s Monday, and we’re on our regular day, but not our regular time. We’re still going to let you listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3, but at 9:00 PM . Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat as you listen in. Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:00PM ET Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 9:00PM ET originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Flat-front dive housing for GoPro cameras available now, ready for your Memorial Day diving trip

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Anyone looking to capture their next deep-sea adventure in high-definition video is in luck, because GoPro’s new dive housing is now available to buy at its online store. We got a peek at this one during NAB 2012 a few weeks ago and were told its flat lens should cut down on vignetting and blurring. Compatible with all of its HD Hero family, the casing will set you back $50 and also up for grabs in the bricks-and-mortar likes of Best Buy, Sports Chalet and several specialist sports stores. All that remains is to recall where we left that robot submarine . Gallery: GoPro @ NAB 2012 Continue reading Flat-front dive housing for GoPro cameras available now, ready for your Memorial Day diving trip Flat-front dive housing for GoPro cameras available now, ready for your Memorial Day diving trip originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Arduino mechs learn RobotC, plot assimilation with Lego Mindstorms

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:41:00 +0000

Arduino boards have smoothed the creation of lots of eccentric thingamajigs , but robotics and controllers are still not for the faint of heart . Luckily, RoboMatter is coming to the rescue of would-be roboticists with a public beta version of its C-based RobotC language for Arduino. Joining Lego Mindstorm and other bots, Arduino will get RobotC’s straightforward sensor and motor controls, along with a debugger and sample program library, while still keeping its native Wiring language. So, if you want to be a Kickstarter magnate , or just out-weird everyone else, rolling your own droid is now a bit easier. Arduino mechs learn RobotC, plot assimilation with Lego Mindstorms originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 04:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

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Arduino mechs learn RobotC, plot assimilation with Lego Mindstorms

Fry’s stocks unlocked Nokia N9, is slightly misinformed about its specs

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 06:16:00 +0000

Sure, Nokia’s Lumia 900 and 808 PureView may have garnered much of the spotlight lately, but lest we forgot about its flagship MeeGo handset. If you’ve been anxiously hoping to somehow score an unlocked N9 in the US sans gray-market importers , apparently Fry’s Electronics has you covered. Phone News spotted a listing for the phone in the store’s latest weekly ad — although upon closer inspection, it appears that the retailer isn’t too sure about its actual specs. Aside from describing the 3.9-inch slab of polycarbonate as a 4.3-inch device, it’s also flubbed on the OS, calling it “Mego.” Perhaps the most interesting error, however, is that the handset’s ClearBlack AMOLED display is listed as Super AMOLED — Samsung’s competing technology. Assuming these are merely copy errors, you’ll be able to pick one up for a spendy $600. Hit up the source link below to view the full ad. Fry’s stocks unlocked Nokia N9, is slightly misinformed about its specs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 02:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds