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NEC develops solar-powering system for LCD monitors
Apparently being green is the "in" thing this year (no complaints here), as no sooner than a group of Swedish researchers concoct a green-routing navigation system, NEC has teamed up with Carmanah Technologies to kick out an energy saver of its own. While other companies are just throwing down new displays, NEC is offering up a new way to power them, as its solar-powered battery package gives its LCDs a renewable source of power to rely on when the sun's shining in. The system is designed to produce "approximately 293 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or 800 watts per day," and can store up solar energy to continue powering the monitor after the sun checks out. Notably, NEC claims that "saved solar energy can last for days of normal usage when running a typical LCD monitor," and the package can even be used to juice up multiple monitors simultaneously. Although we're not sure how NEC plans on fetching for each electricity-saving kit, they're being primarily marketed at large corporations who churn through kilowatts like it's going out of style, so you can probably expect a fairly large markup when pricing these out.[Via TGDaily]
Ultra Products unveils 2000-watt X3 ATX power supply
We're all about watching new "world's (insert adjective here)" gizmos become a reality, and we certainly don't mind the occasional dash of overkill, but Ultra Products' forthcoming power supply takes "insane" to another level. In what's presumably the world's largest, most powerful PSU to call an ATX case home, the 2000-watt Modular X3 comes in at 10.25-inches in length and will reportedly fit "wherever a PC Power & Cooling 1000-watt version will". The +12V rail alone is rated at 1800-watts, which means that it can purportedly handle a 150A load, and just might cause some sort of small disaster if actually achieved. Nevertheless, the smorgasbord of connectors allow for more power connections that most could even fathom needing, but Ultra believes that this PSU should remove all worry over whether or not your rig "has enough juice." While it's easy to brush this off as completely absurd, the latest AMD scorchers combined with a few NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX or ATI R600 cards could easily eat up a good bit of the supplied power, so if a ginormous power supply was the only thing missing from finishing up your energy-sucking rig, Ultra's X3 should be available sometime this quarter for "less than $499."[Via Digg]
Apple receives patent for hybrid low-power Bluetooth mouse
Although it took Apple quite awhile before taking its Mighty Mouse to the Bluetooth realm, it looks like Cupertino could have yet another mousing device up its sleeve, this time requiring a few less AA cells to keep that cursor moving about. In a recent patent granted to the company, plans for a "hybrid low-power computer mouse" were laid out, including mention of the Bluetooth protocol. In a presumed attempt to please environmentalists and cut down on battery requirements, the new device would sport both an accelerometer and an optical tracking engine (hence the "hybrid" moniker), and wouldn't activate the latter until the accelerometer's "tracking information is deemed inadequate," hopefully reducing the power usage in its optical mouse. Of course, we've no idea if (or when) Apple plans on implementing this snazzy new design into their current mice, or if it plans to kick out a different animal altogether, but Mr. Jobs would probably love nothing more than for regulators to grab hold of this and force other mice breeders to lay down royalties for the sake of Mother Earth.[Via SlashGear]
Battery-free pacemaker on the horizon
Having one surgery is plenty, and having some foreign object implanted in your being is really pushing things, but knowing you're going to be under the knife every ten years or so to get a new battery is just absurd. Thankfully, a group of researchers in the UK feel the same way, and are well on their way to developing a battery-free pacemaker. Reportedly, the device would use a microgenerator producing electricity every time the patient moves, effectively eliminating the need for an internal battery. The cost of the £1 million ($1.96 million) project is being shared by the Department of Trade and Industry and private companies, one being Zarlink Semiconductor who has a large role in the device's development. Other teams around the globe are also seeking to create such a unit, with ideas spanning from tiny generators that receive power from heat right onto "biological pacemakers" that would correct heart problems without the need for a mechanical device. While there's no estimate as to when these gizmos will even hit the testing and approval phase, it seems that things are moving along quite well, but we have to stop and wonder how well a pacemaker powered by motion will function when you, well, cease moving.[Via MedGadget]
Smaller 360 CPU delayed until mid 2007
Microsoft has been planning on reducing the chip size of the 360's CPU since inception, but it looks like it's going to be a while longer before that actually happens. Digitimes reports that the large 90nm chip that's currently in the 360 will be shrunk down to a nicer 65nm, but not until mid 2007 because of a delay. The benefits of shrinking a CPU are not only cost reduction, but less power consumption, and less heat is generated. When a gaming console's innards get smaller and cost less, that can only mean good things for consumers and a possible price reduction may be in the distant future. And since the new smaller chip will need less power maybe we can finally reduce the size of that huge power brick.[Via Joystiq]
University of Tokyo develops expansive plastic power sheet
It seems this whole "wireless power" phenomenon is just getting warmed up, as we've got yet another creation that promises to rejuvenate our gadgetry without forcing us to hunt for those easy-to-misplace AC adapters. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have demonstrated a prototype which consists of "plastic and flexible electronics" that can wirelessly provide power to "any device that touches its surface." Of course, gadgets would need to be equipped with "a coil and special power-harvesting circuitry" to receive the energy, but it still beats lugging around half a dozen adapters on every outing. While this flexible sheet still relies on electromagnetic induction like the one's that have come before it, this particular rendition features a dual-sheet design that allows it to intelligently divert power to objects touching any part of the sheet, while not wasting energy on parts not being occupied. Takao Someya, professor of engineering, estimates that there's still "about five years" before the sheet will overcome the current "reliability issues," but hopes to one day "power flat-screen panels without ever needing an electrical outlet."
Wii-chargable batt....no. No, never mind.
If you're like us, you've essentially forestalled any and all social responsibilities as of November 19th, 2006. That also means that, if you're like us, you've spent an additional bazillion dollars on those accursed double-A alkaline batteries. Where, Nintendo, are our rechargeables?Well, it seems as if Nintendo won't man up and get the job done, another company is gonna step up to the plate. Joytech, perpetual manufacturer of all things accessory, will release a recharging/docking station for two Wiimotes sometime early next year. Just insert the included rechargeable pack into the Wiimote, and place them into the vertical dock ... we prefer to think of them as thrones of power ... and you'll be ready for another 25ish hours of gaming.It's about time.
Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl confirmed for Spring! [update 1]
Pokemon: Diamond/Pearl is, beyond doubt, the most anticipated release in the American market for the wonderous and fancy DS. Despite runaway sales in Japan and critical success, however, Nintendo has remained extremely tight-lipped about its eventual release date, with nothing more than a "TBA 2007" showing up in their catalogs.The latest Nintendo Power, however, seems to have mention of a Spring release; those trusty soldiers at NeoGAF seem to have their heads on straight. Furthermore, Nintendo's official Pokemon website is now claiming an April 22nd release date, and despite Nintendo's penchant for delaying games till all nine eight planets align, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. We won't lie ... we want this game, stigma be damned. The Pokemon franchise, if nothing else, has repeatedly demonstrated engrossing gameplay and attention to detail, and the new Wi-Fi trading system just makes it all the sweeter.Wanna know what else? Nintendo Power gave the upcoming Phoenix Wright: Justice for All a 9 out of 10. Awesome. If David didn't mention that you have to love Phoenix Wright to come work here, then consider this an amendment of epic proportions.[via GoNintendo][Update 1: Trusty commenters. More information from Pokemon.com added, and fixed a typo.]
OLPC's pull-string power system going commercial
While some of the parts of the OLPC's XO laptop are still coming together (like the UI), other parts are ready to rock, commercial-style. As we previously saw in a slide showing NickNeg's pull-string power generator (pictured), the theory is that kids will be able to juice up their lappies with the tug of a string, ideally 10 minutes of use for every one minute of pulling. While no laptop with this generator is available yet, that hasn't stopped new startup Potenco from commercializing the power supply, even before the XO is ready to hit the global streets. The company recently claimed at the NEXT2006 conference in Copenhagen that a minute of pulling will yield an hour of light, 25 minutes of talk time on a cellphone, 230 minutes of iPod shuffle use, or 45 minutes on a Nintendo DS. But, as OLPC News points out, no one's really sure how many minutes of XO use that will translate into. We'll let you know how much they cost and when you can get one to charge every gadget in your life once Potenco actually starts selling 'em. Until then, you might want to start practicing with your nearest yo-yo or salad spinner. [Via OLPC News]Read - We Make Money Not ArtRead - Potenco
Hacking the dead: Power Glove for the Wii
Ah, yes, the Power Glove. Many of us still remember the peripheral emerging onto the scene during our childhood, not to mention its prominent role in the spotlight of the movie The Wizard. Well, now that the Wii has released, a Japanese hacker has decided to incorporate the Wiimote and Power Glove together into a kind of Voltronesque mechanical monstrosity.[Via Joystiq]
WildCharger charges your gadgetry sans wires
While it's taken Wireless USB quite awhile to gain its footing, we're hoping wireless charging will follow suit – and soon. While we've seen snippets of charging solutions using wind, bicycles, sunlight, and other oddities, charge-by-contact pads have a real shot at practicality. Aside from Splashpower's often overlooked offerings, and DoCoMo's "contactless" recharger, we haven't seen too much action on the wire-free charging front in quite some time. Thankfully, WildCharge is apparently stepping to the plate, and hopes to show off its WildCharger pad at CES; the device requires a single AC power cord, and then can reportedly recharge any device you lay atop its surface, be it cellphones, PDAs, or awkwardly-shaped headphones. While we presume a special module will need to be installed on each battery that hopes to receive its share of electromagnetic induction, we're still down with the idea. With "initial reports" suggesting that pricing will be somewhere in the $40 to $100 range, this may not be too bad a deal if it'll rejuvinate our Dell M2010 as well.[Via Textually]
Nintendo Power January issue details leaked
In getting all the news that's fit to print in the January issue of Nintendo Power, Codename Revolution has dropped several delicious morsels onto our plate. In an effort to save you the trouble of reading our paragraphs of text here, we'll just consolidate all of the important news into bullet points below. WarioWare: Smooth Moves is to utilize a 'pass-the-Wiimote' 12-player multiplayer mode and Mii support (which we already knew). The Wii Play bundle everyone else is getting has finally been confirmed for a January release in North America and will be bundled with the Wiimote. A new baseball game has been revealed in The BIGS, which is set to release in Q3 2007 and will support online gameplay. It is being handled by 2K Sports and Big Castle Games. The issue has an interview with Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, where he claims that the Wiimote is too gimmicky for a Castlevania title.
Apple investigates heat-to-electricity chip from Eneco
Apple Insider reports that a new chip that could convert heat into energy. The new "solid state energy conversion generation chip" is under development by chip maker Eneco. It works by grabbing electrons from a hot metal plate, passing them across a vacuum to a cold metal plate and capturing the resulting electronic charge. Or something like that.(We're not physicists, so don't sue us or anything.) The article says that Eneco is in talks with Apple (as well as Dell) to use this technology to harness the waste heat given off by CPUs to power fans and other electronic components.
Zelda goodies in Animal Crossing
Much to the surprise of, well, just about every person we come in contact with on a regular basis, we still play Animal Crossing: Wild World. Perhaps we aren't alone though, because word on the street is that Nintendo is issuing out another free goody to celebrate the launch of some game called Zelda on the Wii. We're going to be keeping a close watch on this situation due to our continued support for the game and love of all things free.For those who would like to join us, the time to log into Wi-Fi Connect is during the week of November 17th through the 24th. Upon connecting, players will receive the rare gift enclosed in a letter, which will be patiently awaiting them in their mailbox outside of the house. It's totally legit information, originating from the 210th volume of Nintendo Power magazine.[Thanks to all that sent this in!]
Magsafe airline power adapter released
Ok, we're not gonna lie, $59 is a hefty amount of scratch for what's effectively a Magsafe plug on the one side, and an EmPower power with a standard 20mm power plug. But it's also one of the most effective ways to power -- not charge -- your MacBook or MacBook Pro (Core Duo or C2D) while in flight that we've yet seen. So at least you don't have to feel unnecessarily guilty about watching The Office in DiVX while on your trans-continental since now you won't dip into that reserve power before landing and putting back on that business cap. Just make sure you're seated in a row with power, though -- we've found other fliers are generally pretty unruly when you try and bogart their juice mid-flight.
A battery for gamers? Puh-leeze
Most gamers probably don't give two seconds of thought to the batteries behind their wireless controllers, but that hasn't stopped Panasonic from trying to market their new line of Oxyride Extreme Power batteries as "extreme power for every gamer's needs". A recent public relations entreaty promoting the batteries asks wary gamers to picture a Halo match with friends that suddenly goes awry when "all of sudden the battery in your wireless controller runs out of juice. BANG! Instant kill." Sorry, but with Xbox 360 wireless controllers lasting up to 40 hours on a set of standards AAs, this is far from a major concern for most players. For the paranoid player that's really concerned about a dead-controller kill, there's always the play-and-charge kit, which is more environmentally friendly than disposable batteries and pays for itself after only a few charges. With the PSP, DS and even the PS3 wireless controller all sporting built-in rechargeable batteries, the years of gamers throwing away their power sources are on the way out. Now if Nintendo would only announce some sort of official recharger kit, the Wii remote gamer's dreams of a battery free future might be complete. Until then, there's always the USBCell.
Is the Wii too much, too late?
IGN's Matt Cassamassina seems to think so. In a recent entry on his IGN blog, he said, "I believe Wii is $50 too expensive and three weeks too late." It's too expensive, he says, for the mainstream consumer to really pick it up and run with it, and gamers think it's too expensive because it's not enough for them. So what do you think? Set aside the fanboy love for a moment and consider the grand scheme of things. Is it wrong for Nintendo to sell their console for a profit just because Sony and Microsoft choose to take a hit? And considering everything the Wii can do -- instead of focusing on what it cannot -- is it really priced too high? The mainstream media doesn't seem to think so; the console has been called the bargain choice for the holiday season already. And what is really important in gaming? Is it about power -- or is it about functionality? Look at the DS and the PSP. The PSP is incredibly powerful, and it's incredibly powerfully collecting dust for many gamers, while their DS enjoys a healthy workout. And while we would love it if the Wii were to come out earlier, but is it really too late? Or will the Wii be there, bright and shining, when the PS3 sells out? Tell us what you think.
USBCELL batteries feature built-in USB plug
There seem to be so many goofy USB-enabled products these days that we barely even notice when a genuinely useful one nearly slaps us in the face, and such was the case with the new USBCELL, a AA battery whose positive terminal flips off to reveal a USB plug all ready to feed it some juice. As long as you bring your laptop everywhere, this solves the problem with most other rechargeable batteries: the fact that you need to carry around a separate charger with you wherever you go (unless you happen to travel with Thanko's NB-mate speaker / hub / power source), and if you forget to bring it, you're forced to shell out for more disposables -- negating the main reason you bought rechargeables in the first place. Although the AA NiMH models will be first to hit the market (about $24 for a two-pack), other batteries with built-in USB plugs are scheduled to be released in the near future, including 9V, AAA (with either a mini- or folding full-size USB attachment), C and D converter shells for the AAs, and even packs for cellphones, digital cameras, and other portable devices. The only downside we can see here is that certain people (including ourselves) already have eight devices fighting for seven available USB ports, so unless you're willing to spring for yet another hub, charging these at home could turn into somewhat of a hassle.
Check your PC for Blu-ray & HD DVD compatibility
We understand if you're just a bit confused about Blu-ray and HD DVD playback on your PC. Forgetting unreleased operating systems for the moment, if you want to check your current Windows XP PC for compatibility and get more information on what you can expect from next gen discs, Cyberlink has a FAQ up and also an automated tool for you to download and run, that will let you know if your computer is HD DVD and/or Blu-ray-ready. While the specs aren't guaranteed yet, it is obvious that on top of HDCP for any digital outputs, compatible disc player and plenty of memory, they think you'll need either a Intel Core Duo, Pentium EE/D or AMD Athlon 64 processor and plenty of memory to power those next-gen codecs without a problem. You'll also need a recent graphics card from ATI or NVIDA, PureVideo HD support should ensure the power necessary. As you can see from the picture above, this PC is going to need quite a bit of work, maybe revision two will include an automatic calculator to figure out the cost of the necessary upgrades.[Via CDRinfo]
Electronic House Mag deems Tripp Lite's AV Digital UPS product of the year
Ask any audio/videophile what the most important accessory for their gear and they will tell you their power conditioner; Electronic House Mag agrees and so, they named their product of the year Tripp Lite's AV Digital UPS HTRL15UPS. This device may look like a glorified surge protector, but we are here to tell you that they are so much more. A quality power condition can make such a noticeable difference in the audio and video quality that you will wonder why you ever ran the equipment without it. But then on the other hand, some people won't be able to tell the difference thanks to their electrical wiring. This power condition includes an uninterrupted power supply to allow your HDTV time to cool off and hopefully extend the life of that pricey lamp, plus, it can run your DVR when the power is off so you will never miss a show. For a modest $349, a person gets the UPS system, an LCD status screen, voltage regulation, and eight outlets. They deemed this the top product because they view it as "the most capable, cost-effective power protection solution available for a wide range of A/V applications."Does anyone have this power condition? Why did you choose this one?
