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ICYMI: Head injury alert, zombie killing centers and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-604354{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-604354, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-604354{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-604354").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google is putting its glut of satellite imaging data to good use with the "Sunroof" database, which helps people check their homes and figure out if they get enough sun to install solar panels. University of Pennsylvania researchers made a polymer that changes color depending on the depending on the amount of force used against it. They're hoping to make helmets that quickly signal the degree of a possible brain injury. And Australians beat the Americans to the virtual reality laser tag fun zone finish, building a VR zombie killing gaming center ahead of the U.S. one slated to open next year.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 shows up for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk, ships August 11th
Back when we got word of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 making its British debut on August 4th, Samsung told us that our UK brethren could expect its elusive younger sibling, the 8.9, "later in the year." Well, if its recently minted Amazon page is correct, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will land across the pond just one week after its big brother, on August 11th. The 3G-sporting Android tablet carries a £605 price tag. Considering its stop off at the FCC in June, and the recent appearance of the Retail Mode app, we hope to see the 8.9 stateside sometime soon. Otherwise, it'll be off to the UK for you die-hard Galaxy fans. [Thanks, Jules]
NYU medical center goes sci-fi, scans patients' palms
NYU's Langone Medical Center is getting a jump on that whole 21st-century medical care thing by ditching the clipboards and paperwork for palm scans and digital databases. On June 5th the hospital threw the switch on an electronic patient-tracking program from Epic Systems and paired it with biometric identification technology from PatientSecure, which scans the veins in persons hands using near-infrared light. Instead of being forced to fill out forms with your insurance info and social security number every time you visit, you simply place your hand on a scanner and -- ta-da! -- your records come right up. By combining the vasculature scans (which are even more unique than fingerprints) with patient photos, NYU should be able to minimize misidentification and cut down on duplicate records. Rather than go out on some cheesy pun about palm reading, we'll leave the predictable word play to the folks at ABC news -- check out their coverage after the break alongside PR from the Langone Medical Center.
ECS to show off four new laptop series at Cebit
This month's Cebit show will mark Elitegroup Computer Systems' first new launch since its recent merger with Taiwanese manufacturer Uniwill Computer. ECS will bust out with 4 new laptop ranges, simply named the S, L, H, and G series. Each series is targeted towards a specific user and all four support both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Detailed specs are vague but we'll spit what we've got: The slim-design S series, with LCD displays ranging from 12.1-inches to 14.1-inches, sounds like ECS' standard fare for the everyday user. The 12.1-inch S20II packs in a Core 2 Duo processor, Bluetooth, and a built-in 1.3 Megapixel camera. For all you penny pinchers, L Series notebooks will be priced for the value shopper (so probably no monster performance or sweet innards here) and will sport screens from 14.1-inches up to 17-inches. Next, the mobile presentation crowd might fancy the adjustable swivel-necked G200 (pictured), which will kick off the G series. And finally, ECS will launch its new UMPC H series with the H70, boasting a 7-inch touch screen display (with stylus input), 4-in-1 card reader, and 1.3 Megapixel camera. Apparently, ECS' basket's been full with this new breed of lappies, so we certainly hope it isn't dropping the ball on its Classmate PC plans. [Via Pocket-lint]
Lenovo announces Y-series notebooks and flashy Q / H-series desktop systems
Lenovo is busting out a bevy of new notebooks and desktops today in the Asia Pacific realm. Its Y-series laptops and Q / H-series desktops were unveiled, each diverting from the traditional paths previously taken on (the admittedly bland) IBM-branded counterparts. The yet-to-be-priced 13-inch widescreen Y300 touts discrete NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 graphics, a built-in webcam that automatically recognizes its owners face to log them in, and weights just 4.85 pounds. The Y400 maintains the "same design theme" on the Y300, but packs a 14-inch LCD, a "flush-mounted" touchpad, and swaps in a two-watt "subwoofer" for the uber-snazzy webcam. On the desktop side, the Q lineup starts at $1,017 and offers a stylish, trendy design, detachable swivel webcam, multimedia jog dial, tower speakers, ATi Radeon X1300 graphics card, VGA / S-Video outputs, Sonic Gear HS555 headset, and an optional 19- or 20-inch LCD. If you're scouting a design-focused PC on the cheap, the H series hits at just $699, offers an optional 17- or 19-inch widescreen display, touts an "anti-bacterial keyboard," and boasts its ability to be a "basic, family-friendly computing system." While Levovo certainly spruced up its latest offerings, warranty lengths were slashed right along with prices (just 30 days of free phone support and one-year of coverage), and while the desktop systems will begin shipping anytime, the fancy new notebooks won't hit shelves until mid-December.Read - Lenovo Y Series notebooksRead - Lenovo Q / H Series desktops
