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01/20/12--06:31: Human Birdwings project takes flight... on video! (chan 1317236)



Just now catching up with the Human Birdwings project? Nice timing. The human flight machine -- built by Jarnos Smeets to rely on a Wiimote and Wildfire S, among other niceties -- has just enjoyed its first moments of liftoff. In essence, the wings were strapped onto a willing Earthling, and as he began to flap his arms... well, it's a sight you need to see to fully appreciate. We'll confess that the "flight" didn't last long, but Jarno himself told us that it was but a first "test run." Promising? Oh, yes. Head on past the break for the vid.

Update: The project here has been underway since at least August of last year, but we've requested raw footage of the test flight here to further justify concerns. We'll report back shortly!

Continue reading Human Birdwings project takes flight... on video!

Human Birdwings project takes flight... on video! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/20/12--19:39: Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Association's eerily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated (chan 1317236)



Yuval Koren is not pleased. For those unaware, he's the CEO of Eye-Fi, the company that has practically written the rules on embedding WiFi into SD cards. If you blinked last week, you probably missed the SD Association's announcement that it had created a new Wireless LAN SD standard that would effectively give just about anyone the ability to add Eye-Fi abilities to their SD cards. As it turns out, Eye-Fi's none too pleased about it, and Koren has gone so far as to publicly admit that the standard is seriously infringing upon highly valuable Eye-Fi technology. To quote: "As [the SDA's standard is] currently written, essential Eye-Fi patented technology would be violated by anyone implementing this draft specification." Bold.

He goes on to explain that his company has invested "tens of millions of dollars and several years to create unique technology that lets people wirelessly transfer photos and videos directly from their camera and mobile devices," and calls the SDA protocol "flat out misrepresentation." He's effectively calling for the SD Association to either pony up and license Eye-Fi's tech, or scrap the "standard" and rewrite it using something else altogether. The full letter is posted up after the break, with absolutely no elation to be found.

Continue reading Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Association's eerily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated

Eye-Fi CEO slams SD Association's eerily similar Wireless SD card standard, says his IP is being violated originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/22/12--17:28: RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10 (chan 1317236)



After months upon months of investor backlash, RIM's making some significant changes. And by "significant," we mean the co-chief executives (and founders) are out. As of tomorrow, both Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will be stepping away from the top posts, enabling "a little-known company insider" to take over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Purportedly, this is all part of "a board and management shuffle," with COO Thorsten Heins (seen above) to step into what many expect to be an impossible role to thrive in. The Globe and Mail asserts that he'll be immediately seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to polish up the company's severely damaged brand, and he "will not rule out licensing RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other handset manufacturers." In an interview with the outlet, he stated that he'll be executing "flawlessly" and with vigor -- not unexpected, but still, bold words.

Startlingly, Heins also asserted that he's "confident" in the existing lineup of BlackBerry handsets and the software update recently made available for the PlayBook; call us crazy, but he'd be wise to just spout out reality and make clear that RIM's existing lineup is nowhere near competitive in the grand scheme of things. As for Mike and Jim? The former will become "vice-chair of the board with special duties to examine innovation," with the latter becoming a traditional director. In an interesting move, outgoing co-CEO Lazaridis stated the following: "I think it's that unwillingness to sacrifice our long-term value for short-term gain. That's why we didn't choose Android. That's why we decided to build the future on QNX." So wait, RIM had the chance to choose Android... and didn't? No time like the present to reach back and shake things up, Mr. Heins.

Update: Catch an introduction video to the new CEO just after the break!

Continue reading RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10

RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Peter Rojas (Twitter)  |  The Wall Street Journal (1), (2), The Globe and Mail, RIM  | Email this | Comments


01/22/12--19:54: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy box points to first paid DLC for Nintendo 3DS (chan 1317236)

3DS owners have been waiting (and waiting) for a chance to take advantage of a downloadable content market, and while Nintendo already accomplished the tough part (read: launching it) a few days back, there's still been no word on when paid content would make an appearance. Pushing those freebies aside is Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, which is seemingly destined to be the first 3DS title in existence to offer up enhancements in exchange for a few yen. The box here is actually an "early retail dummy unit," though the verbiage on the back makes quite clear that downloadable material will be available at a cost. Furthermore, there's a heretofore unseen Nintendo Network badge on the front, which may be a new look for the existing Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. At any rate, the game is scheduled to ship on February 16th in Japan, after which all of this will-it-won't-it drama will presumably be cleared up.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy box points to first paid DLC for Nintendo 3DS originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/22/12--20:32: Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed (chan 1317236)



For a brief moment, I had hopes that RIM had made a move that would unseat it from the funk it's been sitting in for years. And then I watched the introductory video of newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins. Anyone who assumes that a simple CEO swap is the answer to all of RIM's issues is woefully misinformed, or worse, just blinded by false hope. Sure, removing Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis -- both of which have been rightly criticized for not responding to market pressures quickly enough -- is a start, but it's not like they're gone. In fact, the two are still situated at a pretty fancy table within Research in Motion's organizational chart.






RIM, we've been here before

RIM seems to be as lost as my BlackBerry

Dear RIM, I'm your customer and I don't wear a suit

Have a listen at this: Mike is hanging around as the Vice Chair of RIM's Board and Chair of the Board's new Innovation Committee. You heard right -- the guy who has outrightly failed to innovate at anything in the past handful of years is now championing an innovation committee. Sounds right up his alley, no? Jim's staying put as an outright director, and if you think anyone at RIM is going to brush aside the input of the founders, you're wrong. Jim and Mike may have new titles, but they're still here, and I have no reason to believe that they'll act radically different going forward than they have in the past. Oh, and about Thorsten Heins? Let's go there.

Continue reading Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed

Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/23/12--03:58: RIM's Thorsten Heins formally introduced: liveblogging the media call (chan 1317236)



If you missed it, RIM attempted to interrupt the Giants vs. 49ers matchup last night by dropping a wee bit of news: it's co-CEOs are gone, and taking the solo CEO badge is former COO Thorsten Heins. The new head honcho will be formally introduced in a media call slated to begin at 8:00AM ET on January 23rd, 2012, and we'll be liveblogging every moment of it for those who can't tune in. We've already learned a fair amount about the gentleman's plans courtesy of an introductory video, but we'll be listening in for any hints as to future QNX plans, PlayBook ambitions or BlackBerry wizardry. Join us after the break for the play-by-play!

January 23, 2012 8:00 AM EST

Continue reading RIM's Thorsten Heins formally introduced: liveblogging the media call

RIM's Thorsten Heins formally introduced: liveblogging the media call originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/29/12--04:13: Lenovo's 14-inch IdeaPad Y470p launches with Radeon HD 7690M GPU (chan 1317236)



Who knew a "p" packed so much punch? Just weeks after Lenovo cut loose with a boatload of new machines, the outfit has quietly slipped out an even newer model tailored for gamers. The 14-inch IdeaPad Y470p looks just about like the existing Y470, but swaps out the middling NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M for a far more potent Radeon HD 7690M. (For those wondering -- yep, that's the same chip in HP's new Envy 15.) There's also a 2.2GHz quad-core Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, an optional 1TB HDD, JBL speakers and a native 1,366 x 768 screen resolution. The unit tips the scales at 4.85 pounds with a six-cell battery, which is supposedly good for up to four hours of usage (in presumably ideal conditions). Other specs include a Blu-ray Disc drive, a two-megapixel webcam, HDMI out and USB 3.0. For now, at least, it looks as if eager beavers can get one headed their way for as low as $799, but the more specced-out models are reaching well over $1,200.

Continue reading Lenovo's 14-inch IdeaPad Y470p launches with Radeon HD 7690M GPU

Lenovo's 14-inch IdeaPad Y470p launches with Radeon HD 7690M GPU originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/29/12--10:12: Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon (chan 1317236)

Nokia already came clean about the Lumia 800 battery bug, but evidently that just wasn't enough to appease the masses. A community manager in the outfit's own forums has just responded to pages upon pages of comments regarding the most recent update, partly to (re)set the record straight regarding the battery, and partly to address more fixes that are just around the bend. The latest update (1600.2483.8106.11500) was meant to "enhance standby time as well as to bring an improvement to the issue reported by some customers in December," and according to Nokia, said update does indeed address those problems. However, folks that still have concerns regarding audio and camera settings aren't being ignored; those quirks will be worked out in "a series of future updates." Eager to learn more? The full reply is embedded just after the break.

Continue reading Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon

Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/29/12--13:28: Quantum speed limits within reach, present moves ever closer to future (chan 1317236)

Got your wire-rimmed spectacles on? Had a full night's rest? Eager to get those synapses firing? Here's hoping, because Marc Cheneau and co. are doing everything they can to stretch the sheer meaning of quantum understanding. The aforesaid scientists recently published an article that details a method for measuring quantum particle interaction in a way that has previously been considered impossible. Put simply (or, as simply as possible), the famed Lieb-Robinson bound was "quantified experimentally for the first time, using a real quantum gas." The technobabble rolls on quite severely from there, but the key here is realize just how much of an impact this has on the study of quantum entanglement, and in turn, quantum computing. For those interested in seeing what lives in a world beyond silicon, dig into the links below. You may never escape, though -- just sayin'.

Quantum speed limits within reach, present moves ever closer to future originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/30/12--03:46: US government rules three Barth patents invalid, sends Rambus scrambling (chan 1317236)



Suing's easy. It's the "winning" that trips folks up. Such is the case with Rambus, who has been relying oh-so-heavily on the so-called trio of Barth patents to actively pursue just about every technology company on the planet. For those unaware, Rambus has christened itself as a "technology licensing company," but with the last of three patents used to win infringement suits against NVIDIA and HP being declared invalid, it's probably scrambling for new tactics. According to a Reuters report, an appeals board at the US Patent and Trademark Office declared the patent invalid a few days back, with the previous two being knocked back in September. A couple of months back, Rambus' stock lost 60 percent of its value after a court decision led to the loss of a $4 billion antitrust lawsuit against Micron and Hynix, and we're guessing things won't be any happier when the markets open back up on Monday. The company's next move? "We're evaluating our options," said spokeswoman Linda Ashmore.

US government rules three Barth patents invalid, sends Rambus scrambling originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/30/12--07:31: Visualized: futuristic AMELIA aircraft (theoretically) soars through NASA wind tunnel (chan 1317236)



It's the Advanced Model for Extreme Lift and Improved Aeroacoustics, and it's the brainchild of many, many intelligent beings planted at California Polytechnic State University. The aircraft has been in design courtesy of a grant from NASA, touting engines above the wings and the ability to achieve shockingly short takeoffs and landings. And did we mention it looks sexier than a freshly-washed 787? Yeah.

Continue reading Visualized: futuristic AMELIA aircraft (theoretically) soars through NASA wind tunnel

Visualized: futuristic AMELIA aircraft (theoretically) soars through NASA wind tunnel originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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01/30/12--10:18: Introducing 'Follow The Saga': the whole story, regardless of where you jump in (chan 1317236)



Over the years, stories have become more than just single bursts of information. These days, there's as much drama in the consumer technology world as there is sports, politics or your average episode of Days of our Lives. Take SOPA, for example. We'd be remiss of our duties here if we simply reported on what it was, without ever following up on protests, delays, judgments and other vitally important developments. In fact, it's tough to think of too many stories covered today that don't correspond with some sort of saga -- even the departure of RIM's co-CEOs represents just a single slice of a far larger tale. For those that follow this stuff 24/7, jumping in at any point in the story is no issue; piecing together the past with the present is second nature. But if you're actually working during the day, hopping aimlessly into an ongoing saga mid-stream can be downright disorienting. Painful, even. We've been working hard to come up with an unobtrusive solution, and we think we've found it.

We've actually had our Follow The Saga functionality since January of last year -- we quietly debuted it with the launch of Verizon's iPhone 4 -- but today's iteration is far more interactive. We've been testing these out over the past few weeks, and today we're happy to officially introduce them. If you see the badge shown after the break in any post that pops up here at Engadget, just give it a click to be taken to the full saga, and scroll up and down to see related stories before and after the one you happen to be looking at. We're hoping it'll be particularly helpful to those who happen to stumble upon a saga somewhere in the middle, but want to get caught up on what happened prior and where we stand now. As with everything we do, we'll be continually tweaking and evolving the tool in the months ahead. Enjoy!

Psst... want to see it in action? Have a look under the body of this SOPA post to see how we got to where we are today.

Continue reading Introducing 'Follow The Saga': the whole story, regardless of where you jump in

Introducing 'Follow The Saga': the whole story, regardless of where you jump in originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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02/14/12--05:00: Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic brings a slice of tilt-shift to your life (sample photos) (chan 1317236)



C'mon, admit it -- if you won one of many lotteries, you'd be purchasing a legitimate tilt-shift lens right after picking up a new Ferrari and buying a chocolate factory. Given that said scenario is highly unlikely to pan out, Lensbaby is stepping in to make the letdown a bit easier to stomach. The Edge 80 Optic is the latest in the outfit's growing Optic Swap system, which is compatible with the Composer Pro, Composer, Muse, Scout and Control Freak, and it's capable of transforming those bodies into "a tilt lens that delivers a slice of sharp focus through an image that falls off to a soft blur." There's a 12-blade adjustable aperture (f/2.8 through f/22), and when not shifted, it's fully capable of taking flat (read: standard) photographs. As the name implies, there's an 80mm focal length, but macro lovers should be aware that you'll need at least 17-inches to focus on your subject(s).

We've been toying with one on our D3S over the past few days, and it certainly does what it says; moreover, it's far easier to justify at just $300. (For those unaware, dedicated T-S lenses can easily top $1,500.) And if you're already invested in the Optic Swap system, it makes even more sense. Granted, it takes some work to compose a shot. You'll need to rely on manual mode, and you'll need to tweak your ISO to match your desired aperture and available light. Leaving the ISO too high while using f/2.8 in broad daylight will result in white captures, while not boosting the ISO enough after dark will leave your shot murdered out. Once you've got your settings right, though, the lens couldn't be easier to operate, and the shift + lock mechanism is as smooth as butter. We threw together a gallery of our favorites taken recently in Hawaii and French Polynesia, so dive in below to see if this piece of kit is deserving of your attention.

Gallery: Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic sample shots [O'ahu, Hawaii]



Gallery: Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic sample shots [Moorea, French Polynesia]



Continue reading Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic brings a slice of tilt-shift to your life (sample photos)

Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic brings a slice of tilt-shift to your life (sample photos) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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