Tether
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MIT gurus propose asteroid tether
Taking a stroll across the moon is one thing, but trying to get your footing on an asteroid is apparently an entirely different beast. Due to the low gravity and granular covering present on such space rocks, the professionals have been unable to get up close and personal, but MIT researchers have devised a method for roping one in so that astronauts can partake in "an in-depth exploration of its composition." Essentially, a "lightweight rope" would be wrapped entirely around a given asteroid after being launched from a "remote-controlled rocket," which would then enable the space walkers to work on the delicate surface without too much fuss. Sounds like the perfect gizmo for the wannabe space cowboy, no?[Via CNET]
Tether your iPhone to get online with EDGE
Who cares whether Apple or AT&T might shut down your account or slam you with an exorbitant data bill - cre.ations.net figured out how to tether your iPhone to get web access with... well, EDGE. It may not be Wi-Fi or even EVDO, but EDGE should be able to save the day in a pinch, but none of us make any guarantees as to how long AT&T will permit this or what this hack could do to your bill. Proceed at your own risk.That said, the cre.ations.net hack isn't exactly for the faint of heart either. You'll have to run some utilities, tinker with the command line and stand on your head to get this all set up properly, but once it is, the trick apparently works pretty well. Also, it appears the author wrote this so users across Mac OS X, Windows XP and Vista can play along, so you can take liberties with that work notebook and get hacking.Of course, I would chalk this feature up as yet another that would be great if Apple made far easier by building into the iPhone's software. Many, if not most, smartphones (and even regular phones) can be used for tethered web access, and a software update down the road would make a lot of mobile users happy.[via MacRumors]Thanks Will and Kender
Ted and Gadget weep as MAST tether project fails to deploy
While a number of recent space-based experiments have proven quite successful, it must not have been Ted nor Gadget's day. The daring duo that made up the MAST project was supposed to "test the survivability of a thin, braided tether in space," but due to a glitch in the restraint system that "kept Ted from pushing away hard enough to keep unreeling the tether from its spool," the once hopeful mission has come to an ill-fated close. Rather than reaching a full kilometer, the tether was only able to reach a few meters before coming to a stop, but the team at Tethers Unlimited aren't calling it quits just yet. They did admit to not knowing precisely what caused the costly mishap, but the crew also suggested that they'll try to use the small amount of data they did gather to analyze "how a short tether behaves in microgravity." Don't worry fellas, there's always next time.
MyGuide Splash S navigation system shows off at CeBIT
Joining the array of GPS systems showing off at this year's CeBIT is MyGuide's Splash S, which doesn't really strive to be different outside of its tethering abilities, but gives us all one more option in the saturated 3.5-inch GPS market if nothing else. Encased in a rugged enclosure that can purportedly resist shocks and extreme temperatures, this navigation system touts a 320 x 240 resolution screen, 300MHz Centrality Atlas II processor, handsfree Bluetooth capability, 64MB of built-in RAM, integrated RDS / TMS traffic information receiver, an SD / MMC card slot, rechargeable Li-ion battery, music / video playback, an image viewer, and a copy of Windows CE to run the show. Per usual, no details regarding price or availability were divulged, but feel free to click on through for a few more snapshots.[Via NaviGadget]
How To: Tether a Samsung BlackJack to get your Mac online
About a month ago I swallowed the poison and picked up a Cingular BlackJack, a new Windows Mobile Smartphone (I know, I know). I had been looking to step up to some sort of a PDA phone so I can surf and keep on top of WIN/TUAW business without having a MacBook sewn to my head, and so far it's been working out well. The one thing I haven't been able to figure out yet is how to use this cutting-edge HSPDA phone (a new high-speed wireless data network) as a modem - until now. While cruising Smartphone Thoughts (a good resource for other WinMo5 users in the audience) and their forums, I found this post at Mobility Today by David Ciccione that describes how to use a BlackBerry 3G Driver (of all things) to tether a BlackJack to a Mac for getting online. It isn't a simple process, but I just went through the paces and can confirm - it works. Now before you run off and start tethering your BlackJack to your Mac all over the place, I want to add a few things to Mr. Ciccione's awesome work so everyone in our diverse audience knows what they're getting into. First off: if you don't have the proper data plan with Cingular, I have no idea if or how much they'll charge you per KB or MB for connecting, even if you're just testing this out. Try this at your own risk - we can't be responsible if you connect and start downloading movies from the iTunes Store, only to get a $300 bill for data next month. Call Cingular, like I did, before you goof around with this to make sure you have the right data plan. For what it's worth, I have the $20/month Smartphone unlimited data plan, which gets to fly under the radar of their ~$50 PDA data plan since it's a 'Smartphone' instead of a full-blown Pocket PC phone or data card for a notebook.Continue reading after the jump for some add-on tips and gotchas to make this a smooth and worthwhile process.
Pulse for BlackBerry cuts the tethering cable
Sure, tethering 8700s to Macs is a neat trick -- but how about cutting the cable entirely? "Pulse" by Brain Murmurs aims to do exactly that, trading that pesky USB cable for the more convenient Bluetooth connection (and yeah, it's Mac compatible, to boot). Pearl users might have no concept of what we're talking about (on account of RIM's latest goodness coming with DUN in the box) but Pulse should be big news for 7130, 7290, and 8700 owners looking for a moderately less conspicuous way to pipe hot data from their phones into their PCs. Be sure to give us the down-low in comments if you get the chance to give this a whirl, eh?
Bounty makes Mac-BlackBerry tethering a reality
It seems almost criminal that Mac users have been thus far denied the basic human right to tether the immensely popular BlackBerry 8700 series devices to their Macbooks, but thanks to a little elbow grease, determination, and nearly $700 in cold, hard cash, the world's wrongs have been righted. An intrepid character by the name of Daniel Pasco has claimed the bounty offered by Alex King, challenging folks to come up with a solution for using an 8700 as a Mac OS X compatible modem. So far, Mr. Pasco's solution has apparently been verified with the 8700g on T-Mobile and the 8703e on Verizon and Sprint, though we imagine Cingular's would work just the same. In the short term, it looks like the rough cut of the software will be available only to people that had contributed to the reward, but the solution will hopefully find its way into the public domain down the road.[Via TUAW]
BlackBerry OS X tethering a reality
This should please all you BlackBerry toting OS X users out there. Alex King has been on a mission for some software that would allow him to tether his Mac to his BlackBerry, enabling him to take advantage of the BlackBerry as a modem. He went so far as to collect a bounty of $700 for the first person to get this working.Daniel Pasco got it working, and he has also gotten himself the bounty. Alex has tested it, but Daniel is still working out some of the kinks. It has been tested on the 8700g and the 8703e.And remember, if you're a BlackBerry junkie you should be reading BBHub where BlackBerry is king![via jkOnTheRun]
