RfidReader
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GammaTech rugged T7Q launches at $2k and up, promptly steals your iPad's lunch money
For people out there doing actual work (like tech blogging, for instance), there's the need for a tablet like the GammaTech T7Q Windows slate, starting at $2,000. Standing out like an M9 tank among the daily driver tabs, the sealed magnesium unit meets military specs for environmental nasties -- while packing a 7-inch resistive-touch TFT WSVGA LCD, Intel Atom N2600 or N2800 processor, 5MP camera with geotagging, compass, gyroscope and an mSATA SSD. It can also be accessorized to the nines with items like RFID, magnetic stripe readers and GPS through an assortment of connectors and expansion slots. To top it off, there's three different lock-down methods for your your data: TPM1.2 security, built-in BIOS safeguards and a Kensington lock connector -- plus Computracing ability piled on, for good measure. Sure, this guy is intended for oil rigs and desert archaeological digs, but hauling one out at Starbucks might give you a whole new level of shabby-chic cred -- if you've got the cash.
New York Times' magic mirror helps you get dressed, puts the 'wall' in 'paywall' (video)
Forget crosswords and Krugman, because the New York Times has created a new bathroom companion that looks infinitely more entertaining than either of them. Like some of its Snow White-style predecessors, the Times' "magic mirror" prototype uses Microsoft Kinect to detect and follow your movements, while deploying voice recognition technology to execute your commands. With this omniscient slab affixed to your wall, you can surf the web, flip through your wardrobe and send reassuring e-mails to your teenage daughter, whom you should have driven to school a good 30 minutes ago. An RFID reader, meanwhile, can recognize tagged pharmaceuticals or other products, allowing you to instantly access information on your prescription meds by placing them in front of the reflective LCD. You could also use the mirror to browse through the Times' full slate of articles and video content, meaning you can read about extravagant weekend getaways and urban gentrification from the standing comfort of your sink. Unfortunately for all mankind, the magic mirror is still in the prototype phase and the NYT's Research & Development Group has yet to offer a timetable for its release -- but you can see it in action for yourself, after the break.
RFID-enabled vending machine ditches coinage, gets Mario Bros. tone (video)
A Twitter-enabled kitty door it is not, but this RFID-equipped soda machine is by far one of the most practical DIY projects we've seen in sometime. A Canadian tinkerer picked up this pop pusher a few years back, and has been using it to sling drinks in his building ever since. Unfortunately, finding the right change to feed the machine proved an issue for his neighbors, so he did what any logical hacker would do, and built in a contactless payment system. Using an Arduino, an Ethernet shield, an LCD screen, and an RFID reader, he created a system that allows customers to swipe a card and easily add funds from an online account. Best of all, every time you press that little blue button you get a Mario Bros. sample. Big ups, PopCARD. Video after the break.
IDEO constructs RFID turntable, hearkens back to mixtapes of yore (video)
Once upon a time, you could touch your music -- or at least caress a 7- or 12-inch vinyl disc -- but these days the cool kids stream MP3s (and OGGs, and APEs) off the internet. However, design studio IDEO recently decided to see if they could get back in touch with their audio roots, and -- taking a page right out of the industrial design treatise I Miss My Pencil -- they built the above machine. To put it simply, what you're looking at is a box filled with specially-angled Arduino Pro Mini boards constantly searching for RFID tags on top, and a set of cards each with two RFID tags, with each tag representing one song. When you drop one on the turntable, it begins playing within a second, thanks to the clever array of Arduinos underneath, and you and your High Fidelity soulmate can leave multiple cards on the table to create an impromptu mixtape, or, presumably, flip one of the "cassettes" to play Side B. It's a good thing IDEO isn't selling the device and packs of cards, because we're afraid we'd be compelled to collect them all, and our poor wallet doesn't need any more heartbreak. Don't miss the video below!
Apple patent applications offer glimpses of haptic screens, RFID readers, fingerprint ID
Alright, so you know the drill by now. A patent application doesn't necessarily mean an actual product is on the way -- but it's always fun to speculate, right? And this latest trio of applications from Apple certainly provides plenty of speculation fodder. The most notable of the lot is an application for a "multi-touch display screen with localized tactile feedback," which Apple seems to be at least considering as a possibility for the iPhone (or iPod touch). Like some similar systems, Apple's application covers a screen that uses a grid of piezoelectric actuators that can be activated at will to provide vibrational feedback when you touch the screen. Apple even goes so far as to use a virtual click wheel on an iPhone as an example. Other patent applications include a fairly self-explanatory RFID reader embedded in a touch screen, and a fingerprint identification system that could not only be used for security, but to identify individual fingers as an input method -- for instance, letting you use your index finger for play/stop and your middle finger to fast forward.
Violet starts shipping Nano:ztags in the US
Like the Rolly, it's hard to say exactly why having an RFID-enabled Nano:ztag in your life will make sleeping, eating and breathing each day any easier. In fact, the jury's still out on whether these things are simply novel or primed to take over where the Tamagotchi left off. Starting now, Violet is offering a rainbow's worth of its micro Rabbit devices here in the US, with prices ranging from $6.90 to $12.90 depending on color. Now, if only you could figure out how to integrate RFID into your life, you'd be set.
Print magazine + RFID = hyperbole
Adding to an exclusive -- but growing -- list of things that were just as well off before running headlong into RFID technology, the next issue of France's Amusement Magazine is billing itself as the "first ever connected to the Internet!" The PR we received for this bad boy asks some questions: "What if a magazine... could consist of paper, ink, electronic components and digital content all at the same time? What if the contents of a magazine could go on living forever in cyberspace? What if the difference between written and digital text finally becomes one in the same?" May we add one more question to the list? How about, "why can't you just throw in a CD-ROM / DVD-ROM like everybody else?" Or maybe, "What am I supposed to do with this?" If you're a Francophone with a Violet Mir:ror laying around, hit that read link. PR after the break.
Violet brings Mir:ror to the States, let the RFID superfluity begin!
While initially enthused at the prospect of RFID tagging our objects for swipability by a home-based RFID reader -- like Violet's new Mir:ror -- we eventually came the realization that we would never use it for anything, ever. Still, perhaps that's just us: Mir:or, which retails for $59, packs two Nano:ztags (the little bunnies with a tag inside) and three Ztamp:s (adhesive tags), allowing you to specify computer functions to trigger when the Mir:ror is approached by one of those RFID tags. A classic usage scenario involves placing your keys on the Mir:ror, with the device letting your computer know if your keys are resting there or not -- something potentially achieved by looking at the Mir:ror itself, if you're into spoilers, but hopefully hackers can put this to better use. Violet also offers tagged children's books, and a set of 12 extra Ztamp:s, for $8 and $20, respectively. Demo video is after the break.
Nabaztag's Violet debuts "Mirror" general-purpose home RFID reader
While we'll always know Violet for its iconic bunnies, the company is branching out into a more direct RFID application. The Mirror RFID reader is a USB-pluggable little platter that can read RFID tags and launch an assigned action on the computer when it spots a tag it knows. Examples we saw included a tagged post card of Vegas launching a corresponding picture on the computer (lame), a tagged toy car bringing up a map (getting warmer), a tagged umbrella launching the weather forecast (now we're cooking with gas), and a cute little mini-Nabaztag figurine doing whatever it wants (en fuego / choose your own tired metaphor). We could see the reader being put to use for the computer illiterate, or children having their first go at a PC, but we're more excited to see what hackers can make of the tech -- old people and children are overrated. No word on price or release date yet, but Violet has a press conferenced planned for Monday, so we should know more then.%Gallery-30823%
New RFID readers from Alien distinguishes between tags
For airlines and cargo handling companies, the inability to know precisely where a specific item was located on a belt could (understandably) prove to be quite the limitation. Thankfully, the gurus at Alien Technology are aiming to add more functionality to a few of its readers in order to nix said quandary. The company recently showcased its Intelligent Tag Radar reader firmware in Las Vegas, which essentially provides its ALR-9900, ALR-9800 and ALR-8800 Enterprise-Class reader platform with the ability to understand "information about the velocity and position of tags, in addition to the contents of tag memory." Furthermore, the included ITR-Singulation features allows the reader to "easily discriminate amongst adjacent tagged objects on a conveyor such as items, cases or airline baggage." One less excuse for lost luggage? Where do we sign?[Via CNET]
Samsung unveils single-chip RFID reader for cellphones
Nothing too fancy here, but Samsung has reportedly developed a new single-chip RFID reader destined to hit mobile devices and cellphones in particular. Interestingly, Sammy didn't specific what it expected the chips to be used for, but we'll go ahead and assume the standard fare until informed otherwise. The new device was designed for a UHF range of 900MHz, and it weds an "analog front end, base-band modem, processor and a memory chip" on a 6.5- x 6.5-millimeter chip. Unfortunately, there's no mention of when we can expect these buggers to actually go commercial, but the outfit did note that initial batches would likely be on "card-type readers that plug into mobile handsets."
