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Alan Wake 2 to dispatch a new game plus mode on December 11
Remedy’s Alan Wake 2 is getting a new game plus mode, complete with an updated ending. There’s also plenty of new lore, charms and, of course, a ramp up in enemy difficulty.
Apple's latest iOS 13 update fixes camera glitch and other issues
Apple already has another iOS 13 update, iOS 13.1.2. The company released the update to the public today. It fixes a bug that affected the progress bar for iCloud Backup, an issue with the Camera and another with the flashlight, glitches with HomePod shortcuts and more.
GAC's En Verge concept packs a digital dash and AR for passengers
Chinese automaker GAC is making waves at the North American International Auto Show. "We want you to give us a chance to challenge ourselves," GAC group president Feng Xingya said from the stage, before unveiling GAC's first all-electric concept, the En Verge. The En Verge is a two-door compact crossover SUV. The first thing you'll notice are those massive ports on the front bumper. While they look like they're for cooling, they're actually removable fog lamps. Called G-Torches, they double as flashlights for when you want to do some off-trail exploring. Handy!
Solar beads can make some very cool lamps and flashlights
Conventional solar panels aren't exactly the prettiest objects on the planet, which is why companies like Tesla, SRS Energy and SunTegra have been focusing on blending this technology into roof tiles. As for those who don't have a roof or land to spare, Japan's Kyosemi Corporation has come up with an alternative solution that can let windows and glass walls soak up solar power as well. The magic ingredient? Just a web of "Sphelar" solar cell beads -- each with a diameter of 1.2 mm -- lined up inside any transparent substrate, meaning it can come in any shape or form while letting light travel through the gap between beads. Better yet, due to the spherical nature of these cells, they can capture light from almost any angle -- to the point where they can deliver a higher cumulative output than their conventional counterparts, according to the company.
ICYMI: Smartest lights yet, robots on the farm and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-433187{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-433187, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-433187{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-433187").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: BeOn Home has made smart lightbulbs that recognize noises like a doorbell or fire alarm and turn on accordingly. A robot designed to check fertilizer levels and smash weeds should help the average family farmer one day. And the US Army is checking its soldier's brain waves to understand what part of an image captures their attention.
Fogo is the smart, Swiss Army knife of flashlights
There are plenty of mundane, everyday products that have little business being "smart," and at face value, the humble flashlight sounds like one of them. Ordinarily, the term "smart flashlight" would make me cringe as much as the next person, but having seen the Fogo flashlight first-hand, I'm sold. Or rather, I would be if I weren't the opposite of an outdoorsman. The folks behind Fogo call it a combination of rugged and waterproof flashlight, GPS receiver and walkie-talkie, but that's actually a simplistic description, since it's much more than an amalgam of three existing products.
Flu-fighting teenager takes home top prize at Google Science Fair 2013
Google Science Fair 2013 came to a close yesterday, as 15 young scientists aged between 13 and 18 demonstrated their projects in front of Google's expert panel. With over a thousand submissions worldwide, only four entrants were able to take home prizes, but it was 17-year-old Eric Chen who walked away with the biggest prize. By combining computer modeling and biological studies, Chen's research focused on leads for a "new type of anti-flu medicine" to help fight the spread of the influenza virus. Australian Viney Kumar and Canadian Ann Makosinski took home awards for an early warning app for oncoming emergency vehicles and a flashlight that operates without batteries or moving parts, respectively. This year, voters got the chance to affect the outcome, awarding a new prize to Elif Bilgin, from Istanbul, who showed it was possible to create plastic from banana peel. Each winner took home a trophy built from Lego, as well as prizes from National Geographic and Scientific American. Chen, however, walked away with a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos Islands and his school gets both $10,000 and a Hangout with the boffins at CERN. Well deserved, we'd say.
Panasonic's Any Battery Light isn't picky about battery size, takes anything in your junk drawer
Battery nerds rejoice: Panasonic has cobbled together an electronic torch that will play nice with almost anything in your collection. The Any Battery Light can siphon power from AA, AAA, D and C-sized batteries, lighting the dark with just a single serving of any compatible size. Loading it up with all four provides up to 86 hours of continuous LED illumination. Not all batteries are equal, of course -- a single AAA isn't going to shine as brightly as its thicker cousins, and users will need to manually flip a switch to choose what size battery the torch draws its light from. Japanese consumers will be able to pick one up for about ¥2,000 ( $23) in red or white later this month.
Explosion-proof flashlight could be the first to outlive its owner
You know the drill, walking through that mine field, only to lose another good flashlight when you drop it on one of those puppies. Well if this is a concern of yours, the EXP-LED-51 from Larson Electronics should see you right. The latest in its like of hazardous location devices, the rugged LED torch is rechargeable, has 180 lumens of output and rated for 50,000 hours of service in the (dark) field (480 hours on one charge in the lowest power mode). For the man (or woman) on the move, the EXP-LED-51 also comes with a 12V car charger, as well as the standard VAC outlets. How much for this level of resilience? That'd be 320 bulletproof dollars.
Adafruit modder builds Captain Jack's Vortex Manipulator / Leela's wrist-lo-jacko-mator for real
This impressive wrist / forearm cuff is the brainchild of Adafruit forum member and modder Stephanie, who has built a sensor platform into the fashion accessory. The device can monitor the exposure value, track your movements over GPS, measure your galvanic skin response, tell you the temperature, humidity and even doubles as a watch and flash-light. It was built around Sparkfun's Pro Micro development board and a boatload of sensors purchased from Adafruit. We might just build one ourselves with a radiation detector, so that we can live out our Pip-Boy fantasies down at the mall. %Gallery-156412%
Flashlight XS claims instant-on technology
The developers of the Flashlight XS app ($0.99) claim their app offers a performance breakthrough, turning an iPhone's light on instantly. This is predicated on "taking advantage of iOS 5 improvements and tuning to the latest hardware." I offered to give it a try based on the passionate excitement of the developer's pitch letter. If a dev can get that excited about a flashlight app, then I wanted in. First, I downloaded a handful of free flashlight apps and launched them. They all did what they promised, enabling the onboard LED for instant flash light access (there is some sample code in my latest cookbook if you want to roll your own.) Then I tested out Flashlight XS. Like the other apps, it switched on the LED. Did it do so noticeably faster or better? Er, no. Did it provide a "10x improvement in launch time"? No, again. The latency was pretty much exactly the same as every other flashlight app I tried. As to the app's merits, I think it has a pretty icon. If you're looking for a Flashlight app, you may want to consider any of the free alternatives available on the App Store. TUAW gives Flashlight XS a sad thumbs down down for promises beyond what it can deliver -- the light does turn on, but no faster than the myriad of similar free apps we've used. It's our considered opinion that the developers might not want to charge to do the exact same thing free apps do.
Way-Go flashlight uses lasers to light your path, GPS to tell you where to go
We love just about anything involving lasers or robotics here at Engadget, so naturally, we're intrigued by Sriranjan Rasakatla's Way-Go flashlight that combines the two. It's comprised of a laser pico projector, GPS module, altitude and heading reference system (AHRS) to not only light your path but also tell you which way to go. It can be used strictly as a flashlight, but users can also input starting and destination points to have the Way-Go guide them. There's also a wander mode that displays info about your surroundings as you stroll around -- though naturally, such information must be pre-programmed into the device. Because it displays stuff that needs reading, the projector's connected to servos that can keep it locked on a projection point to keep it readable no matter how much you move the Way-Go around. Rasakatla sees the device being useful in search and rescue, backcountry trekking, and campus tour guiding -- odd, 'cause in our day, kids walking around campus at night were trying to find out where the party was at, not learn about the architecture of the academic buildings. Regardless, you can see the Way-Go in action after the break.
Lost hiker saved by iPhone flashlight app
One time when I was day hiking Mount Washington, I took a wrong turn at the top and went down the wrong way. I raced down the mountain, but still had to navigate some rough terrain for a few hours in the dark. This was the late nineties. I had a phone, but it didn't get coverage and phones back then didn't have a flash for light. That was then, and this is now. Today, hiking in the woods is much safer thanks to improved cellular coverage and smartphones with apps. Based on this story from Jonathan Anker of HLNtv, I'm sure Christopher Tkacik of Maryland would agree. Mr Tkacik was out walking his dog on New Years Eve when he got lost in the woods surrounding Catoctin Mountain. After several hours of wandering around, he used his iPhone to call for help. He was instructed to stay where he was and wait for rescue. To help the rescue team find him, he didn't start an old-fashioned fire; he used a flashlight app as a beacon to attract them to his location. Tkacik and his dog made it out of the woods without injury, and he was home in time to keep his New Year's Eve plans.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone utility app
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your votes for the best iPhone utility app of 2011. Since a majority of nominations were from the wrong categories, and some were even for the wrong platform, a straw poll of favorite iPhone utilities was taken with a sampling of Web luminaries and makes up our list of candidates. The nominees are Flashlight (sale priced at US$0.99, regularly $1.99), Apple's Airport Utility (free), Skyfire Web Browser ($2.99), 1Password for iPhone ($5.99), and the app that has saved a lot of iPhones, Apple's Find My iPhone (free). And now, let the voting begin! The results will be announced on December 26, 2011. %Poll-72269%
SureFire's UB3T Invictus flashlight is super-bright, not quite incendiary
SureFire first announced its blindingly UB3T Invictus torch back in 2010, but it took until now for the company to get its 800-lumen flashlight out the door. As a point of comparison, the massive (almost as good a weapon as light) six D battery MagLite only spits out about 160 lumens -- so, yeah, the Invictus is pretty dang bright. Of course, pumping out that much illumination takes quite a toll on the three 123A cells inside its military-grade aluminum body. At maximum brightness the UB3T lasts just 1.7 hours, though, at the lowest 2-lumen setting it can keep (dimly) lighting your path for up to 150 hours. Unfortunately, you'll need to shell out $695 for the privilege of owning one, which seems a bit pricey when compared to the $150, 4,100 lumen Torch -- after all, you can't cook breakfast with the Invictus.
BodyGuard stun-glove leaps out of comic books, into the arms of LA Sheriff's Department
What's better than a seasoned crime fighter? How about a seasoned crime fighter packing a 300,000-volt punch? A new prototype stun-glove is poised to make such Robocop-inspired dreams a reality, integrating a non-lethal taser, LED flashlight, and laser guided video camera into a fetching piece of futuristic armor. Activated by pulling out a grenade-like pin and palming an embedded finger pad, the Armstar BodyGuard 9XI-HD01 sparks a loud and visible arc of electricity between its wrist-mounted taser spikes, a sight that inventor David Brown hopes will encourage would-be crooks to surrender. The gauntlet's hard plastic shell is even roomy enough to add GPS equipment, biometrics, chemical sensors, or other embedded additions, as needed. The first batch of pre-production superhero gloves will hit the streets of LA later this year for testing and evaluation. Need more? Check out the via to see Kevin Costner (what field of dreams did he walk out of?) take the edge off this shocker in a surprisingly dull video.
NintendoWare Weekly: Bit.Trip Fate, My Planetarium
It's new Bit.Trip day! Wii owners who enjoy trippy, pixelated visuals, dubstep music and tears can download Bit.Trip Fate today and learn a whole new way to be punished by Gaijin Games! In a good way. But if you'd rather substitute calm contemplation of the sky for rage, My Planetarium is there for you too. Actually, the two might make good companion pieces -- when you can no longer handle seeing Commander Video fall out of the sky, you can read about the stars that have managed to stay up there for billions of years. And then you can go outside, guided by your DSi and Flashlight, and find a spot to look at the real sky. We're kidding, of course. Don't buy Flashlight.%Gallery-105917%
Joby goes slim with Cree-equipped Gorillatorch Blade LED flexi-light
Joby broke out of its mold last year with its first-ever flexible flashlight, but frankly speaking, the bulb on the end of it was downright bulky. A year later, we're looking at a far slimmer and far sexier model -- one that relies on Cree's XLamp XP-C LED bulbs in order to output 130 lumens of light in a pocket-friendly package. The Gorillatorch Blade is a rugged, tripod-equipped flashlight that boasts a rechargeable internal battery (USB or AC adapter) an aluminum chassis and an adjustable beam. She's also water and drop-resistant, but we aren't certain we'd be eager to push the boundaries there; at any rate, it's on sale now for $59.95, and yes, the DIY mechanic in your life could definitely use a couple. %Gallery-104401%
Hand-crank flashlight +soldering + Ben Heck = man-powered HTC EVO 4G charger
Batteries die, and when your phone has a WiMAX antenna plus dual cameras and a gigantic screen, well, those batteries tend to meet their maker sooner than later. Enter hacker extraordinaire Ben Heck with a simple and cheap solution: a hand-powered charger. Ben took an inexpensive flashlight with a crank on it, disassembled it, and ran the leads from the internal motor to his HTC EVO 4G. The exciting (or at least excited) video below is proof that it works, but we're wondering which would die first: the 4G's battery, or your arm after cranking on this thing for an hour or two.
Apple approving LED light flashlight apps for iPhone 4
It was questionable whether Apple would approve LED flashlight apps. After all, having used the LED as a flashlight recently, I can tell you it will drain the battery faster than not having a big honking LED burning brightly. Using the camera app as your LED flashlight was problematic too, because I set my iPhone to lock after 5 minutes, and had to keep tapping the screen to reset that timer. The App Store is currently flooding with freshly approved LED flashlight apps. Let us know in the comments if you find any gems. But let's face it, the only task these are asked to do is turn on a simple LED. The differentiation is hilarious, at times. I've got a short list below. LED-Flashlight: Free. This is the app I use. So far I haven't had a problem and the app starts quickly, automatically turns the LED on and provides a white screen. The LED turns off if you move to another app. LED Light for iPhone 4 Free: The free version of this app. It has iAds. Seriously? Because what I want to do after crawling through the underground of post-apocalyptic New York is see an ad about insurance. LED Flashlight, only for iPhone 4: Catchy title aside, this one makes some fantastic marketing claims like other apps don't always work, or that they will continue to update and improve the app and that it looks gorgeous. As I said, it can be tough to differentiate yourself in this market. It costs US$.99. Actual LED Flashlight: Hey this one adds a strobe feature! It costs $.99 LED-Torch: You have to double-tap the screen to turn the LED on/off, preventing light disasters. Also $.99 Power LED Flashlight: I haven't the foggiest how this is different than anything else aside from the icon and interface. But it is $.99 LED Strobe: And finally, an app that is just a strobe light. Also $.99, seemingly devoid of any actual flashlight setting... There are easily a dozen more in the store right now, no doubt dozens more to follow. What have we learned from this tiny sampling? Well I wish there were video demos in the store, and you're likely going to have to spend a buck if you want anything more than an app which triggers the LED light -- even then you're not getting that much more.
