The Newest Kindle DX with New E Ink Technology

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Gadgets

The Kindle DX is the gadget that combines being a bookworm and tech savvy at once. Gone are the days when one has to bring thick books with them to read anywhere. With Kindle DX, all books are saved on one small device.

Read various books in style with the 9.7 inch display that uses the latest technology in E-ink Pearl generation (providing 50% better contrast). There are also smaller Kindle’s if you prefer, but this DX version gives you the largest screen. With 1200 x 824 pixel resolution, read books in better contrast. Reading books, PDF, magazines, and newspaper has never been this stylish. Rotate the screen just by flipping the Kindle DX and have a landscape full width view of the display. Weighing only 18.9 ounce, the Kindle DX is the book on the go.

Get rid of bringing all loose documents and replace them with the Kindle DX. Save all files in PDF format and have access to any document you wish. The 4GB of internal memory of Kindle DX allows you to store as many as 3,500 books; it is like having a library in one small gadget.

Also, connect with the internet using the free 3G wireless connectivity and download latest e-books to your Kindle DX in no time.

The built in PDF reader software lets the user read stored e-books anytime and anywhere. Use the 5-way controller which lets the user select text and even highlight words. Look up words just by using the 5 way controller. Transform the conventional way of reading with Kindle DX. No more carrying of thick books. Get rid of the clutter of bringing piles of papers and documents. With just one small gadget, bring all the files anywhere you go. Whether it is work related, research, or leisure materials, it can be stored in Kindle. There is no need for a computer to install all the e-books and files in the Kindle DX. With the wireless application, send files from another computer or any device with wireless application directly to the Kindle DX.

The battery life can last up to 1 week with just single charge even when the wireless application is on. Turn off the wireless application and the Kindle DX can last up to two weeks. Charging the Kindle up only takes 4.5 hours using the power adapter which also supports USB 2.0.

Users not only read books in Kindle DX, one can also listen to audio files. With the built in speaker and 3.5 mm audio stereo jack, listening to music and reading book at the same time has never been this convenient.

Never get outdated of the latest news because Kindle connects you on the World Wide Web in an instant. Get updated with the latest happenings in the world wherever you may be. Download e-books, audio books and the like on the internet and receive the file in an instant. Read with style with the newest Kindle DX with new E ink technology.

You can also subscribe to blogs and have the content automatically delivered to your Kindle DX (using wifi), including our Curious Cat Management Blog.

Japanese Wind Power Breakthrough Could Double or Triple Wind Energy Effectiveness

Posted on August 30, 2011 by gadgets

Ok, these “windmills” are a bit big to think of them as gadgets but there cool technology so I am including this. These “wind lens” turbines produce up to 3 times the energy of conventional wind turbines. They plan on running a test generation facility next year.

The breakthrough and research are being done by the Wind Engineering Section at Kyushu University in Japan. Strong vortices are created by the diffuser and the brim of the Wind Lens producing low pressure region behind the turbine. This increased pressure difference that helps the wind to flow more into the Wind Lens. It is amazing, to me, that it has such a huge impact.

Wind power generation continues to grow very rapidly, with many different breakthroughs, though it still only producing about 2% of global electricity. It was only 2007 that wind power surpassed 1% of global electricity generation.

Raspberry Pi: $25 Computer

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Gadgets

Raspberry 1 circuit board diagram

One great thing about technology is all the great disruptive innovation it makes possible. And while some gadgets cost a large amount of money it is also great how many really cheap but nevertheless extremely cool gadgets we get to choose from. The folks at Rasberry Pi are creating this computer (alpha boards have been sent to the manufacturer), that just a bit larger than a credit card, and is designed to plug into a TV or be combined with a touch screen for a low cost tablet. The expected price is $25 for a fully-configured system.

The ICs used in the design are an ARM-based application processor (center) and an SMSC LAN9512 USB 2.0 hub and 10/100 Ethernet controller (right and down from center). The SDRAM is mounted on top of the application processor in a PoP configuration.

Following the example of the BBC Micro, we intend to launch both a Model A device (lacking the LAN9512, and with 128MB of RAM) at the $25 price point, and a Model B device (including the LAN9512, and with 256MB of RAM) for a $5-10 additional cost. We remain confident of shipping before the end of 2011.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK registered charity which exists to promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing.

They are developing, manufacturing and distributing an ultra-low-cost computer, for use in teaching computer programming to children and expect the computer to have many other applications both in the developed and the developing world.

Provisional specification
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Wearable Computer with Projection and Gesture Recognition

Posted on December 28, 2010 by gadgets

Pattie Maes presentation at TED shows a very cool prototype for wearable, useful computing spearheaded by Pranav Mistry (who received a standing ovation at TED). It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment.

The prototype of the system cost only $350. The software, created by them, obviously is the key, but how amazing is that, $350 for the hardware used in the prototype! There is a useful web site on the Sixth Sense project.

The SixthSense prototype is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera. The hardware components are coupled in a pendant like mobile wearable device. Both the projector and the camera are connected to the mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and physical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes and tracks user’s hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based techniques.

The software program processes the video stream data captured by the camera and tracks the locations of the colored markers (visual tracking fiducials) at the tip of the user’s fingers using simple computer-vision techniques. The movements and arrangements of these fiducials are interpreted into gestures that act as interaction instructions for the projected application interfaces. The maximum number of tracked fingers is only constrained by the number of unique fiducials, thus SixthSense also supports multi-touch and multi-user interaction.

Droid Incredible

Posted on December 19, 2010 by gadgets

The Droid Incredible really is a great gadget. I am too cheap to get it but if I were to use a cell phone much I think this is the one I would get. I personally prefer more open software like Android (which the Droid Incredible uses) to Apple (though Apple’s user experience is great, I admit).

The Droid Incredible by HTC features a body design that measures 4.63 x 2.3 x 0.47 inches (HxWxD), making it easy to slip into your pocket. A large, 3.7-inch HD screen with 480×800 resolution graces the front of the device. The responsive OLED touch screen features rich colors and is easy to use.

With a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal flash memory, the Droid Incredible delivers incredible performance, letting you run multiple applications. It includes an 8-megapixel camera with auto focus and 2x power LED flash, and also Google Maps Navigation, which provides GPS-based turn-by-turn voice guidance to get you where you need to go.