Gadgets Future

It’s been a little while since we have heard anything from Samsung about their new blu-ray players. The Samsung BD-P2550 blu-ray player made an appearance on Best Buys website before any offical announcement by Samsung. According to the specifications the new BD-P2550 looks very impressive, and adds a number of “missing” features to the popular BD-P1500. Two of these news features are true 7.1 analog audio outputs and the highly sought after Silicon Optix HQV video processing engine for professional quality processing and upscalling of standard DVDs to full 1080p HD.

I’m sure these two features alone will tempt a/v fans along with most of us who already have a collection of DVDs and want to get the very best quality out of them. One feature that some might notice is BD-Live support, but we are sure this will be added at a later date via the Ethernet port to bring Internet firmware updates. The Samsung BD-P2550 features 10-bit/108MHz video digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion and 24-bit/192kHz audio digital-to-analog (D/A)converter. Outputs include HDMI 1.3, component, and optical digital audio. Inputs include Ethernet for updates and network connection and a USB 2.0 port.

Well, the Samsung BD-P2550 seems to offer a great deal, looks great, and will set you back $499. As a side note, looking through the pre-IFA informatiuon from Samsung, I noticed a ” Samsung BD-P2500″, either is either a model slightly lower down the chain, or the European version of the BD-P2550. We will update you as we learn more.

T-Mobile will be offering the Sony Ericsson TM506 3G handset to the masses, just in time for folks who live in areas where 3G service is available from T-Mobile. The TM506 might not be a high-end handset, but it already comes with an UMTS antenna along with the following specifications :-

• 2 megapixel camera
• Media Center
• Integrated aGPS
• TeleNav Navigator
• RSS Feeds
• MyFaves-enabled
• Audio Postcard
• Quicksend
• Mobile Backup (T-Mobile Address Book)
• Bluetooth 2.0/A2DP/Stereo streaming
• Tri-Band GSM (850/1800/1900)
• Dual-Band UMTS (1700/2100)
• GSM/GRPS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA

You can pick up the TM506 from early next month onwards, but there is no word on pricing yet.

If Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak were stranded on a desert island and he could only bring one item, it would probably be a Segway.

The retired engineer, who helped design the first Apple computer, spoke at the International Developer Forum on Thursday morning, where he shared his love for engineering and subsequently gushed about the Segway — the device that offers an alternative to walking.

"The Segway gets me around so well in all the places I go to," he said. "I’ve brought two in my car for this trip."

San Franciscans, keep an eye out: You might spot Wozniak on a Segway! And then maybe you can stop him and get his autograph. If you’re nice enough, you might even get to test ride one of his Segways. And then you can roll — not walk — into the 7-11, or ride into the BART station, or Segway your way into Taqueria Cancun; I’m sure nobody will care. Besides, all those jerk pedestrians are a detriment to the environment, with their heavy feet eroding the sidewalks.

Wozniak said he loves his Prius, too, for its "efficiency."

"I’ll tell you, a hatchback is a really efficient car," he said. "You want things smaller but you want them to do a lot."

(Photo credit: Robot Skirts/Flickr)

I think I need a USB-powered vacuum for my notebook keyboard, what with my late nights in front of the computer and all, along with a steady diet of pizza and other pastries which tend to leave plenty of crumbs in between my keys. Henry the Hoover looks like a pretty nice guy to help me out in my crumbed predicament.

Now in a mini desktop size, this Henry the Hoover is your desktop crumb buster. Pop in the batteries, press on and get vacuuming up the remnance of your tea break. Empty your crumbs by unscrewing Henry’s hat and tipping the contents into the bin. Silly yet practical, this cheeky chappy deserves a space on any self respecting biscuit fan’s worktop.

Powered by a couple of AA batteries, Henry the Hoover will retail for £9.99.

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When Electronic Arts decided that they needed a “global quality assurance center,” they had a pretty easy task. Find a place where lots of people play video games. So what did they do? Well, they found a nice, big state university and they’re setting up shop.

Today, EA and Louisiana State University announced the gaming giant’s commitment to create more than 200 jobs with an annual payroll of around US$6 million for kids to test new EA Sports titles. While only 20 of those jobs will be full-time, the government of Louisiana is hoping that this facility is just the first of many. Stephen Moret, Louisiana economic development secretary commented:

That’s kind of the dream —thinking of them as the anchor tenant of a new research-based complex cultivating the digital media industry

See, the state has been courting video game and digital arts companies looking to make Baton Rouge a new center for the industry (look out, Silicon Valley). The first step was the introduction of a video game design degree program at Baton Rouge Community College. That was started with help from game developer Nerjyzed Entertainment.

Since then, the city has been able to bait a few other little-known gaming companies, but now comes the big fish in the form of EA. If they keep this up, I think that I could actually be convinced to move back there.

Read more at the Electronic Arts press release, found via The Baton Rouge Advocate and Kotaku

Considered as the world’s most compact super-telephoto camera, Nikon COOLPIX P80 delivers amazing color and razor-sharp images. Its incredible LCD comes fitted with an electronic viewfinder. Capturing and sharing photos is truly fun on the new Nikon COOLPIX P80 Camera.

Features

• 10.1 mega pixel
• 18x Optical Wide-Angle Zoom-NIKKOR Lens
• Bright 2.7-inch High-Resolution LCD
• Optical Vibration Reduction Image Stabilization
• New EXPEED Image Processor

Nikon COOLPIX P80 Camera allows you to shoot up to 13fps with its new sports continuous scene mode. This camera can auto adjust up to ISO6400 enabling you to shoot even in lower or dim light. Apart from this, Nikon COOLPIX P80 Camera feature shutter-priority, aperture priority and manual exposure modes.

Price and Availability

Nikon COOLPIX P80 Camera is available at a price of $ 399.95.

Source: Nikon

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FROM APPLETELL - Real Racing is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an accelerometer controlled car racing iphone game that looks fantastic.
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We reported earlier this month how the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) had taken out a restraining order against three MIT students. The reason being they had found vulnerabilities in the CharlieTicket system and were going to present their finding at the Black Hat conference.

The action taken by the MBTA stopped the talk from happening and the students from discussing the issues with the system any further. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been representing the trio and a judge has now decided to lift the gag order.

Cindy Cohen, legal director for the EFF argued that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the act used by the MBTA to help get the restraining order, refers to transmission of data to computers not other people and therefore did not apply in this case. The students had also informed the MBTA that important information that allowed the vulnerabilities to be used was not going to be revealed.

The MBTA have been trying to get an extension to the restraining order of 5 months to allow the CharlieTicket system to be fixed. The Judge in the hearing, District Judge George O’Toole decided in favor of the students and the restraining order will cease.

Read more at InfoWorld.com

Matthew’s Opinion
Although the MBTA will not be happy with this decision I don’t think they have anything to worry about. The students were never going to reveal the key information required for the hack. They told the MBTA this and the document that appeared online did not contain this detail either and so backed up their intentions.

I’m sure the students are annoyed/angry at what the MBTA did, but probably releaved that it wasn’t any worse and that they won’t be stuck in court for a long period of time.

Hopefully the MBTA will see sense and actually ask the students to help them solve the issues with the system. It would be good experience for the students and would ensure the system was fixed properly as they know the system well from figuring out the vulnerabilities.

In a bid to make using our credit cards as safe as possible Visa are trialling a new service that allows customers to receive information on account transactions in real-time.

The system works as follows. Visa, through relationships with different banks, will send data on any purchases made on a specific credit card to the owner of that card. The information will be delivered via text message or e-mail. The owner can limit when these alerts are sent, for example, don’t send a message if the purchase is under US$50.

By providing this service Visa are allowing customers to receive information of potential frauds very quickly. A phone call to their bank can then halt the card and limit the losses.

This initial trial of the system by Visa includes several banks including PNC Bank, SunTrust Bank, US Bank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo for the U.S. In Canada participants include Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group and Vancity.

Read more at SecurityProPortal.com

Matthew’s Opinion
This sounds like a good idea to me if it is a free service. If you have to pay to receive the text messages then Visa will find it difficult to get people to use it. A freebie on the other hand will go down well and should make people feel more secure about their card/s.

I think I would leave my account set to report all transactions. At least then I know they have gone through and been accepted when I buy an item. It would also be good to have an e-mail transaction chain to compare to my statements just to make sure everything was right.

Is this a service you would welcome?

Is there anything that lasers can’t do? The answer, if you need it, is “No”. They’re even useful in the kitchen. Here we see two cooking hacks which are so perfect in their synergy between nerds and their favorite foods that we wonder why we haven’t seen them before.

The ingredients

Pizza

Coffee

Geeks

Lasers

Method

Take one pizza, place on an industrial laser line cutter and stand back. You pizza will be divided into slices so perfectly accurate, you will never have to argue about who gets the biggest.

Next, place three cups of foul instant coffee powder and cold water into a the chamber of a 2KW laser. Spin into position and briefly zap, until you have a steaming but tasteless brew. If you are feeling fancy, also boil some water for tea.

Serving suggestion: Pour the coffee away, and buy beer. Enjoy.