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Hacking free-for-all relieves crypto bridge users of $200 million
The cryptocurrency bridge Nomad lost $200 million as part of a wild hack that let virtually anyone swipe money.
The best USB-C cables and adapters
By Sarah Witman This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to USB-C cables and adapters. If you have a device with a USB-C port—like a MacBook or Android phone, or 2018 iPad Pro—you're going to need some cables. Unfortunately, when it comes to USB-C, even cables that look identical can perform very differently. Your MacBook's charging cable, for example, has the exact same connectors at each end as a top-speed Thunderbolt 3 cable, but it's different internally; it transfers data at a snail's pace, and it can't send a video signal. To make sure you get the right cable for your needs, we've tested 36 cables and 16 adapters to find the best ones for charging, data transfer, video, and more.
Ariel's electric supercar promises 1180 horsepower
No sooner had rumors started circulating that car manufacturer Ariel had something special in the works than the company came out and confirmed it was true. An electric supercar with more than 1000 horsepower is on its way, and fittingly for a vehicle capable of such impressive speeds, it'll be arriving soon, unveiled fully in 2019 and on sale in 2020.
USB-powered Sega Nomad gives you near-endless game time
Sega's Genesis Nomad was always something of a compromise (it was running 16-bit console games on mid-1990s handheld tech), but the battery life was a particularly sore point: it took six AA batteries just to get 3 hours of play time. Wouldn't it be nice if you could use modern hardware to play without constant (and sometimes expensive) battery swaps? The Sega Holic (aka Catch22 on NeoGAF) thinks so. He just teased a homebrew Nomad modification that lets the portable system run on USB power. You could play for hours on end with the same external battery you use for your phone, or rely on your laptop's power to keep playing in between meetings.
NomadPlus turns your iPhone's wall plug into an external battery
If you're tired of lugging around both an external battery pack and a power adapter to keep your iPhone running, today's your lucky day. Nomad (the company behind the ChargeCard) has started taking pre-orders for the NomadPlus, a 1,500mAh external battery that takes advantage of the Apple's official power plug to save space. Slide the charger in and you can top up your iPhone (or other low-power USB devices) with one peripheral, whether or not you're anywhere near a wall outlet. Logically, it will also recharge its own battery when plugged in. The gadget doesn't provide much energy on its own -- it will only bring an iPhone up to 70 percent -- but it should be enough to get you through a typical day.
Desktop construction gets a boost from the compact Nomad CNC machine
Desktop 3D printers have offered makers their building chops for some time now, and Carbide 3D is looking to do the same with a highly capable CNC machine. This is the Nomad 883: a mill that takes building beyond ABS and PLA plastics to wood, brass, aluminum and more. The unit wields a brushless DC spindle motor that routs designs on an 8 x 8-inch machining area. Sure, we've seen compact CNC options before, all with varying degrees of utility and durability. Here, a solid aluminum frame is enclosed on the sides with either bamboo or plastic and there's a polycarbonate lid to keep noise and dust to a minimum -- key downsides to most CNC equipment. In terms of exact size, the Nomad ticks the tape at 19 x 17 x 16in. (around 48 x 43 x 40cm) and weighs in at a somewhat hefty 50lbs/22.68kg (for comparison, a MakerBot Replicator 2X is 39.25lbs/17.8kg). If you're looking to snag one, you'll have to wait for the fourth production run (set to ship in November) and be willing to part with $1,999. That's a $500 discount for Kickstarter backers, and the price tag includes a smattering of building materials and two software options to get things started.
Tiny ChargeKey for iPhone 5 is always handy and ready to go
Charging cables that are at your fingertips all the time just keep getting smaller and smaller. Back in March of this year, TUAW reviewed the ChargeCard, a USB to 30-pin Dock Connector charging cable the exact size of a credit card. Now there's the ChargeKey for iPhone 5 (US$25), an even smaller emergency charging cable that's the size of a house key. Not surprisingly, both products are made by the same California company, Nomad. The design of the ChargeKey makes it a snap to attach to your keychain or to remove it for a quick charge. On one end is an open-faced USB connector, while a Lightning connector sits on the opposite end. If you're anywhere that there's an open USB port, you can plug in your iPhone (or iPad -- the ChargeKey is designed to withstand up to 3.1 A of current) to top it off. At $25, you're really paying for the convenience of having a cable you can attach to a keychain. Apple's Lightning to USB cables run $29, but other manufacturers sell short 4-inch cables for as low as $11.90 each. The company is doing an initial production run of 10,000 ChargeKeys, and plans to ship them to purchasers on November 30, 2013.
DirecTV GenieGo takes the fight to Sling, brings TV streaming anywhere on PC and iOS
DirecTV recently switched the name of its Nomad transcoding device to GenieGo to match its new DVRs, a change we first noticed on its Android app. On Windows PC and iOS the apps are about to get a new update that changes the name and lets users stream video from their DVRs over WiFi even when they're away from home (Mac and Android support is due later in the year.) Previously, it allowed users to stream live and recorded TV, or download recorded TV to a mobile device for viewing offline, but Slingbox-style streaming of live or recorded TV anywhere is new, and brings it closer to the device we thought it could be when it launched. Solid Signal and DBSTalk report the incoming update (not live yet, but it should pop up tomorrow) is easy to use, letting users stream recordings, start a recording so it can stream or remotely setting up the transcoder to make a mobile copy users can download once they get home. Satellite TV competitor Dish has brought deeper integration of Sling into its new Hopper DVRs, and now DirecTV has its own in-house solution, anyone thinking of switching sides? Update: The updated app is now available, check it out at the source link below.
DirecTV GenieGO DVR streaming app arrives on Android
DirecTV subscribers with a penchant for travel have long had access to the Nomad (now GenieGO), a box that packages their DVR recordings for viewing on PCs and iOS devices. They haven't had an Android app, however, until now. Like its iOS peer, the new GenieGO client (which is new, despite the version number) can either directly stream recorded shows or download them for offline catch-up sessions. Don't expect just any old Android hardware to work, though -- DirecTV can only vouch for compatibility with a small roster of devices that focuses mostly on Motorola, the Nexus line and Samsung. Nonetheless, any customer who has both a GenieGO and a Google inclination can give the app a shot at the source links. [Thanks, Alex]
Digital artists take the spotlight at the Nomad Brush booth
Mike Schramm looked at the Nomad Flex in October, and he liked it as a tool for aspiring artists to use. I stopped by their booth at Macworld/iWorld 2013 on Thursday, and a bunch of those aspiring artists were clustered around iPads to try the brush out. The US$29.99 Flex is the star of the booth, as it has a synthetic soft brush tip and comes in five colors. Along with all of the demo units, Nomad has also recruited a number of iPad-based digital artists to discuss their work this week in the booth. I spoke with Sumit Vishwakarma, who led a tech talk on Thursday about creating art on the iPad. Vishwakarma is also offering classes that teach artists how to integrate digital techniques with traditional art. They're also giving advice to booth visitors, which is really a nice bonus for anyone who stops by. If you're heading to the expo on Saturday, take a moment to go hands-on with a Nomad Brush and get in touch with your inner artist.
The Nomad Flex paintbrush stylus will let you paint on a touchscreen (as well as you already can)
We've talked about the Nomad Brush before -- it's a capacitive paintbrush stylus that's designed to be used on a touchscreen canvas, letting you paint across your iPad's (or iPhone's, though the size of that screen makes it a little tougher) touchscreen with your favorite art-making app. Now, Nomad has introduced a new brush they call the Flex, which has a new synthetic brush tip to use, and comes in what seems to me like a slightly longer size (though that may just be my bad memory). The Flex is available to the public starting this week, and Nomad kindly sent a couple along to TUAW for us to try out and review. In short, the verdict is that this is just another tool for aspiring artists to use. If, like me, you can't draw much more than a stick figure with a smiley face, a house and some of those M-shaped birds, then the Flex won't make you a much better artist. It might make you feel like one, at least, because the brush's capacitive tip does respond quite well to the iPad's screen. I used the Autodesk Sketchbook app to do some test painting, and when I first started, I mashed the brush down on the screen like a standard stylus, pressing it in and then swiping it around. With a little bit of practice, though, I found that the brush would register on the screen at even the slightest touch, so that when I stopped thinking about it as a stylus and started thinking about the interaction as paint on a canvas, it actually worked fairly well. Again, I have zero experience with real painting outside of what I did in kindergarten, but I do get the impression that in the hands of someone who knows how to wield a paintbrush, the Nomad Flex would be very useful. As I discussed with the Nomad's makers earlier this year, there are a few drawbacks to a brush like this. First, Nomad itself doesn't make a painting app to work with the brush: They recommend a few, but you're essentially using third-party apps of your own choice, and those each come with certain issues and features of their own. Painters used to blending colors and the physical properties of paint may obviously find problems with digital painting apps, and the paint on screen may not move around they're used to seeing paint on canvas move. For someone already used to holding a paintbrush while making art, however, the Nomad Flex seems like an excellent tool. I do have one hitch, actually. In Sketchbook, you will sometimes need to just touch on the screen for the app's UI, in order to change around the brush's color, for example, or switch up your brush's width. I instinctively turned the Nomad brush around, thinking that there'd be a capacitive stylus on the opposite end of it. But no dice -- the brush ends in what seems like a metallic stub that could tap on or even crack your screen if it hits hard enough. It seems to me like a no-brainer to turn the other end into a standard stylus, but Nomad hasn't done that for some reason. Just for the heck of it, I also tried using the Flex for something it's not designed for: Playing the great line-drawning game Jack Lumber. I scored fairly well in the level I played, but I have to admit that by the end of it, I preferred the familiar feeling (and responsiveness) of dragging my finger across the screening. Painting with the brush allows you to be a little more expressive, but games, it seems, are designed for a good old hand-attached digit. That silliness aside, the Nomad Flex is a great stylus paintbrush, and if you're a painter who prefers swiping some fibers across the screen rather than your own finger, at $29.99, I would definitely recommend trying it out for sure.
Nomad brushes with wide strokes at Macworld | iWorld 2012
Don Lee, CEO of Nomad Brush, was kind enough to meet with us for a few minutes on the floor of Macworld | iWorld 2012 last week to chat about his creation, which is one of the nicer brushes available for virtual painting on Apple's devices. Nomad's got a few different makes and models for various uses, but Lee says his goal for them is all the same: To provide a "good bridge between analog and digital painting." The brushes all do that -- they're solid brushes that respond well to the iPad's screen. But what they don't do is what all brushes and styluses can't yet do, and that's invoke pressure sensitive information onto Apple's glass screen. Lee says that it's actually a choice on Apple's part. He says that the software can determine the size of a touch on the screen -- in other words, if your finger touches it only slightly, that's a smaller screen space than if your finger (or a capacitive brush) is completely pressed up against the glass. But Apple doesn't allow developers to take advantage of that information with their apps. "If they were to let that open," says Lee, he'd obviously be able to sell more useful brushes, but until then, brushes are basically finger substitutes, not the full tools they could be. Now developers, being developers, have come up with lots of little tricks to get around this lack of pressure information. The app Zen Brush, which Lee says makes a nice example for his brushes, actually uses the speed of your finger swipe (along with "projected" virtual ink on the screen) to make a more realistic representation of how the brush would interact with an actual page. Nomad doesn't have its own app, but Lee says the company "would love to talk to some developers" about possibly making an app built to work with its brushes. In the meantime, of course, they work just fine with almost any drawing app. As for the brushes themselves, Lee says the biggest difference between them is basically just the size of the tips -- some are wider and better used at painting bigger strokes, and some are better for closeup work (only in the feeling, of course -- again, the size of the brush's contact on iOS' surface doesn't really matter, and all of the various brush settings have to be worked on in the actual software). But one thing Nomad is thinking about doing that customers have asked about is creating brushes with interchangeable tips, so that users can customize their handles with whatever brush they'd like to use. There are a few different choices in terms of brush styli for the iPad and iPhone, but Nomad seems like a good option, and it was interesting to talk to Lee, who's actually an architect by trade. All of Nomad's brushes are available on its website now.
DirecTV adds more subscribers than ever, will push live streaming, HD UI, and multiroom DVRs
The numbers are in for DirecTV's third quarter and it looks like Deion Sanders isn't just a HOF shutdown corner, he's also an excellent pitchman. The satellite company had a net addition of 327,000 subscribers in the US, which it credited to offering free NFL Sunday Ticket for the first year as a lure. Going forward, CEO Mike White says the company plans to maintain momentum with "DirecTV Anywhere" bringing live-TV streaming and VOD to customer's mobile devices (as seen in its iPad app), as well as the launch of a new HD UI and HR34-based home media center. Not mentioned? The DirecTiVo. Check out the rest of the details in the press release after the break, we'll listen in on the earnings call shortly to see if any other gems are dropped.
DirecTV Nomad is ready to launch, transcodes DVRed shows for mobile viewing
It was just about a year ago that we initially heard rumors of the DirecTV Nomad, and after some lengthy intrigue it is finally ready to launch. While its product page on the company's website isn't live yet, the folks at DBSTalk have been testing it and already posted one of their detailed walkthroughs, revealing the box as a TiVoToGo-style transcoder. Plug the $149 box into your whole home DVR network and it snags recorded programs and prepares them for viewing on other devices. Currently that list includes PCs with 1.2GHz processors or higher (no Atom powered netbooks invited to this party) and iOS devices, although an app for Android is apparently on the way. Compared to Dish Network's Sling-powered TV Everywhere streaming approach, DirecTV's sideloading has the distinct benefit of offline viewing, but without access to live TV on the go. The iPhone app is already available in iTunes and some forum posters report they've already been able to preorder the unit, but check DBSTalk for their breakdown and the device's manual in PDF form before making a decision on your placeshifting future.
DirecTV working on 'Nomad,' may provide streaming to iOS
Engadget recently found a teaser page on the DirecTV website that speaks about a "Nomad," a little box that promises to take your movies and TV from your home DVR out to the rest of the world (no relation, supposedly, to my favorite portable game console, the Sega Nomad). Details are slim, but it sounds very much like the Slingbox, in that it will take all kinds of signals from DirecTV, and send them out to all kinds of other mobile devices. In other words, DirecTV subscribers may soon have a way to watch their television service from anywhere right on their iOS device. Gizmolovers has a whole bunch of information on the service, including that the box might possibly cost as much as $150 on its own. And unfortunately, there's no official word on this at all, which means no actual date to wait or even hope for just yet. But stay tuned, DirecTV subscribers -- you may end up watching TV on your iPad through that service sooner than you think.
More DirecTV Nomad info uncovered, but details are still fuzzy
Even though DirecTV's website is ready to start doling out the information on its elusive Nomad TV box, a post on Gizmo Lovers digs through the available information to show just how much there is to know, and how much is still unknown. Between on a DirecTV satellite installer training video, a suggestive press release by fellow RVU member Morega and the long running rumor thread over on DBSTalk, the technology in play is certainly capable of both Slingbox style streaming and TiVoToGo sideloading, but what will actually be enabled is unclear. Once it rolls out, the Nomad will connect to multiroom capable satellite boxes via a wired network connection and transcode the video streams it pulls in for other devices like PCs and mobiles. All the other details are shrouded in rumor, regarding its use of h.264 and how much internal storage is available, but if you're wondering whether the long delayed DirecTV will really be able to compete with Sling, Monsoon and the flood of TV-streaming iPad apps available in 2011 then hitting the source link below is a good way to get started.
DirecTV's Nomad teaser page suggests a Slingbox competitor, but little else
It's been a while since we heard anything solid about the DirecTV Nomad unit, but a teaser page recently went live on the satellite company's website showing the device. The tiny pic isn't incredibly revealing, but other than "coming soon" the page also displays a laptop, phone and tablet -- likely targets for viewers to watch their TV broadcasts away from the satellite box. That MDR1R0-01 remains scarce, but hit the source link and keep your eye peeled on that URL for more information about DirecTV's competitor to the Slingbox / iPad apps being offered by other TV providers. [Thanks, Tyler]
Western Digital Nomad case protects your My Passport drive from falls, spills, and curious lizards
It's possible -- likely, even -- that you're reading this while jumping out of a plane, wrestling a mountain lion, or having some equally hardcore adventure. If so, you're just the type of active consumer Western Digital's courting with its Nomad case. Designed for the My Passport external hard drive line, it combines a hard polycarbonate exterior with an elastomer interior that keeps the drive snug and secure, and provides another option if you'd rather upgrade your existing drive than spend the clams on a rugged one. It includes a USB port, making your data accessible even when the case is closed, and will set you back $30 according to WD. Lizard not included.
Trimble enhances its Nomad 900 series rugged computers, takes WinMo further into the field
Windows Phone 7 may be the talk of the town, but good 'ol Windows Mobile is still gettin' 'er done in industrial devices around the country, gadgets like the Trimble Nomad 900 series. These rugged and suitably yellow handhelds are now even better at finding their way through the wilderness with improved GPS circuitry to decrease the time it takes to pull coordinates from the heavenly bodies above. Also new is a 5 megapixel camera with flash, paired with the same 806MHz processor, and 3.5-inch VGA display, 128MB of RAM, and 6GB of flash storage. Not enough for you? CompactFlash expansion is on offer, and you know how cheap CF cards are these days.
DirecTV's Nomad might satisfy our thirst for content on the go
We're always looking for ways to get one step closer to the content dream we just have to believe we are destined for -- anything, anywhere, anytime -- and a recent DirecTV survey about mobile viewing habits might be one of those things. To add to the clues, DirecTV recently trademarked the name mentioned in the survey, DirecTV Nomad, and has even gotten it UL certified with the model number MDR1R0-01. If you believe everything in the survey, you'll believe that Nomad will let you consume DirecTV on your portable device while you travel from place to place. What isn't clear is if this a streaming device like a Slingbox, or if you can copy the content onto your device and consume it on planes and trains, but with rumors just now surfacing, more than likely it'll be months before we know for sure.
