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Soft manta ray robot could watch over coral reefs
It looks like Harvard's octopus robot is going to have some stiff competition. Chinese researchers have crafted a soft manta ray-inspired bot that could surveil the seas without harming nature in the process. Rather than rely on stiff metal or plastic for its body, the artificial swimmer is made out of a combination of flexible polymer (for its muscles) and silicone (for most everything else) that shouldn't damage sea life. And importantly, there's no motor -- the ray gets around using a lithium battery whose cyclic voltage causes the muscles to bend, flapping fins in the process. Electromagnets help steer the tail.
HP Palm Broadway, Manta and Topaz name-dropped in casting call
All the pieces, they're a-comin' together. If you'll recall, we spotted a smattering of HP Palm codenames in webOS 2.0 code early last month, and now, those very names are popping up elsewhere. Over at DirectCast, a couple of casting calls have emerged for HP Palm, with both of 'em seeking young, carefree hipsters with lovely hands. They're willing to pay a solid grand if you fit the profile, presumably to hold one of these impending devices on camera for some sort of advertisement. A PreCentral reader actually signed up, and then received some even more interesting information -- he was informed that the shoot will involve the HP Palm Broadway, Manta and Topaz. The Broadway was indeed one of the devices spotted in the aforementioned code, and while Manta wasn't there, "Mantaray" was. Topaz, of course, looks to be Palm's forthcoming tablet. This is all just expanded speculation for now, but if you were holding out hope for new HP Palm products, feel free to let your imagination run wild.
New Palm device codenames revealed in webOS 2.0 code?
Had any doubts that HP would deliver multiple new phones? Here's a little something that should make you slightly less unsure. Homebrew hub WebOS Internals spent last week digging through SFR's webOS 2.0 build for the Palm Pre 2, and surfaced with the names Broadway, Windsor, Mantaray and Stingray, as well as the Roadrunner you're likely already familiar with. More telling, these five codenames appeared in a string designed to display the message "temporarily not restoring logs for newer devices," meaning they're all very likely as fresh as can be. Let's hope we can pin them to some fancy new hardware before the year is through.
Franz K's iTar transforms your iPad into a keytar, puts shame in your game (video)
You can say that we're a sucker for a ridiculous video -- such as the one recently provided for us by a certain VJ named Franz K. The unholy spawn of Jerry Only and that ShamWow! guy, his latest creation is called the Mantaray iTar. Essentially it's an iPad dock with a shoulder strap, but wait -- there's more! You can also mount effects processors (such as the Korg Kaoss pad), essentially transforming your tablet into a kludgey keytar. As our man says, "gadget music is the new punk rock!" But seriously, Franz -- do you expect us to pay $225 for the privilege of performing with iElectribe? Either way, this video must be seen to be believed. Peep for yourself after the break.
