(Credit:
Peking University and Tsinghua University)
That tiny, plastic-looking black cube up there can absorb up to 180 times its own weight in toxic waste without absorbing any water. How? As with just about every amazing and/or inexplicable scientific breakthrough nowadays, the answer is spelled N-A-N-O.
Researchers at Peking and Tsinghua universities, both in Beijing, have adapted carbon nanotubes into a sponge-like material that can be squeezed dry, which sounds like extremely exciting news for the infomercial cleaning product industry. One minor detail:
Since carbon nanotubes are hydrophobic, there's no modification required to make them not absorb water.
For the record, that includes mysteriously blue infomercial demo water, so there goes that. If not absorbing 20 times as much water as its leading competitor, what exactly is this new type of sponge good for? Environmental cleanup, evidently. See, instead of just dropping dispersants into the middle of an oil or chemical spill--which forces the spill to simply absorb into the water--these light and porous nanosponges could float in water and be used to sop up the spill, after which they could theoretically be wrung dry and reused, like so:
The scientists detail their findings in Advanced Materials. It's an amazing idea, but I get the feeling that carbon nanotube sponges, riskily abbreviated as CNT sponges, won't exactly be cheap.
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.
For many smartphone manufacturers and carriers, the Apple iPhone is the great, white elephant in the room. Though they might not want to acknowledge it, the iPhone has certainly changed the game and for better or worse, it's become the gold standard to which a lot of people compare other touch-screen phones.
While most of the competition might be content to let their products speak for themselves, Verizon has made a bold move by single-handedly calling out the iPhone and AT&T in its iDon't and "There's a map for that" TV commercials. The ads are certainly entertaining to watch, but are they actually true? Did Motorola really create an earth-conquering smartphone in the Droid?
Well, we decided to find out in our own Motorola Droid vs. iPhone 3GS Prizefight and while we won't spoil the ending here, we will say it was our closest smartphone Prizefight ever. Check it out for yourself and be sure to take advantage of our new commenting system right on the Prizefight page to leave your remarks. Apple, Android fanboy/girl alike, we're sure you'll have plenty to say. It all goes down right here.
One of many cases for the iPod Touch.
(Credit: Speck)So you've managed to get your hands on one of the world's most sought-after MP3 players, the Apple iPod Touch. This sleek and innovative device will keep you plenty entertained for sure--especially with new music apps from Pandora and AOL adding Internet radio capability--but you'll soon realize that a little extra investment can help you get the most out of your player.
For one thing, those stock Apple earbuds aren't the best-sounding--or most comfortable--headphones to be had. The first step is to upgrade, and our top headphones list is an excellent place to start. Pay special attention to models with built-in mics, such as the Klipsch Image S4i, which not only allow you to take advantage of the player's voice apps but also include an inline remote with playback controls.
Once you get your music piping through some decent headphones, check out some other add-ons that can help you protect and enhance your player. Also, don't overlook the player's value in terms of home audio and be sure to check out our top iPod speakers.
Meet Yeti, a very real USB mic due out in December.
(Credit: Blue Microphones)From the company that brought you the Snowball, and the Snowflake, comes the Yeti--a $150 USB microphone destined to ravage and plunder desktop-recording studios this December.
The Yeti marks many firsts for Blue Microphones. It's the company's first THX-certified USB microphone. It's also the first time we're seeing a budget-priced microphone from Blue built around three 14mm mic capsules, allowing four recording patterns (omni, cardioid, stereo, bidirectional). Also, unlike the company's famous Snowball microphone, the Yeti offers a direct headphone connection for zero-latency audio monitoring.
The Yeti's USB connection gives it plug-and-play compatibility with both Mac and PC, with recording resolutions up to 48kHz at 16 bits.
Aside from a USB cable, the Yeti also includes a cool Yeti-shaped desktop stand to add some Abominable-Snowman design flare to your recording rig.
Don't like something about an app? Don't just sit there--pitch a fit.
(Credit: CNET)Want great software for your mobile phone? Keep up the complaints. That was the message at a Tuesday session of the BlackBerry Developer Conference here in San Francisco aimed at developers. But it's a dictum that applies to all smartphone owners.
In the symbiotic relationship between the application developer and the user, a well-placed critique is key to a good programmer improving their mobile application. The motto of the squeakiest wheel getting the most grease may seem obvious, but the importance of user feedback becomes even clearer when articulated in dollar signs and numbers.
A single-star rating for an application on a review site or storefront can severely limit its chances of getting downloaded, and therefore of making money.
"This is the curse of the one-star," said session speaker Stephen King (not that Stephen King), CEO of app testing company Mob4Hire.
His company's research suggests that the bulk of users feel comfortable downloading new mobile software that gets four stars or above. With 69 percent of people discovering apps based on rankings, reviews, and friend recommendations, and the mobile app industry growing 26 percent year over year, according to Juniper Research, there's real money to be made or lost. Addressing peoples' complaints isn't just a best business practice; it may directly affect the bottom line.
... Read more
The entry hall in my house has been a test bed for home monitoring cameras for years. I like to be able to record people coming into the house and see what's going on around the front door. Anyone with a family and occasional babysitters will understand. So I continue to look for simple, robust video-monitoring solutions, and vendors keep obliging by improving the state of the art in home remote cameras.
The latest: Two interesting and very different products, Avaak's Vue and the Astak Mole. Both are very easy to get up and running, and neither require monkeying with arcane router settings to get offsite access to the video streams--something that can be a problem with the Panasonic BL-C131a cameras that I otherwise favor. (I've also tried the Logitech WiLife system, and find it quite good.)
The Vue.
(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)
The Vue
The Vue is the most unusual remote camera I've seen. The product is unchanged from my March 2 preview, but I had a chance to experiment with the shipping version recently. The big benefit of the Vue: The cameras are tiny, battery-powered and thus completely wireless, and the system is extremely easy to set up. You plug an included controller box into your router or switch and tuck it out of the way, and then you can place the cameras anywhere in your house on their clever little stick-on magnetic dome mounts. The standard kit comes with two cameras.
The Vue is great for monitoring a location but there's a big downside: The cameras don't have motion sensors. If they did, the batteries wouldn't last. So you can see what's happening when you want, or record images on a schedule, but this product doesn't work as a security camera. It is very easy to share the output from a camera with friends, though. A two-camera kit is available now for $299.
The Vue experience is simple all the way around.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)
The aptly-named Mole.
(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)
The Mole
I also recently received the Mole, from Astak. This is a single camera for $299, but unlike the Vue cameras, this unit must be plugged in for power (it has Wi-Fi as well as Ethernet for connectivity). It can be panned and tilted by remote control over the Web, so one camera can see more than two Vues in some setups.
The Mole also has infrared illuminators for low-light capability, and a microphone, so you can see and hear what's happening at all hours. Since the camera is always on and can see in all conditions, it can also watch for motion and perform actions--alerting you and recording video and stills either to the Web or to its own memory card--when it detects movement. It even has a speaker so you can talk back through the camera. It is black and industrial-looking, however, befitting its name --not so great for installation in a nice white-painted hallway.
... Read moreThis week, Donald and Jasmine discuss the firmware fix to the Zune HD, which can now count itself a feature short of one-upping the iPod Touch, thanks to a new Gigaware remote that adds HD radio to the omnipresent king of MP3 players. We also get to spend a little one-on-one time with the slick-but-confusing Cowon E2 and the boring-but-shuffletastic Haier America Video MP3 Player. Plus, we direct you to a couple of how-tos you may find worth your while, and we address some listener questions about earphones, podcast management, and iPod speaker docks.
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(Credit:
Zoink Games)
Wiimote gone missing? You might want to check inside that orange and purple stuffed monster in your kid's room. If Bobby's been playing the interactive game WiiWaa, he had to shove the controller down the monster's throat. The player bounces and slingshots the little guy around as an onscreen version moves in kind across a colorful landscape of forests and bridges. It's a cute concept, but we feel kind of bad for the puppet who's forced to swallow a gadget and then get shaken into a stupor.
WiiWaa is a creation of Swedish game developer Zoink Games, though Zoink's currently sparse site doesn't post a release date--only a video of the stuffed animal getting repeated concussions.
(Via designboom)
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
If simply playing the hotly anticipated shooter Modern Warfare 2 isn't enough, you might be tempted to shell out extra for the $149 Prestige Edition of the game (over the typical $59 standalone game disc).
Inside the oversize box, we found a copy of the game in a metal case, a small hardcover book of production art, and most importantly, a pair of plastic--but functioning--night vision goggles. Said goggles, which required five AA batteries, also came with a small plastic bust of a game character's head--perfect for storing and displaying your goggles when not using them to sneak around dark alleys or navigate poorly illuminated bars.
The goggles, while not exactly military grade construction, actually worked surprisingly well, offering two levels of light amplification, an optional green filter for the just-like-the-movies look, and an adjustable head strap. It took a few minutes to get used to the effect, which requires us to shift our focus onto the tiny screen inside the goggles, rather than trying to look off into the distance. Obviously, one's depth perception is going to be hampered by this as well, so we suggest staying off the stairs.
We snapped a few pics of the Prestige Edition box and its contents; check them out below.
> Need more? Follow me at twitter.com/danackerman.
> Games, laptops, and more every week on the Digital City video podcast.
> Read our analysis of Modern Warfare 2 here.
That's strange, I thought a V-10 engine would be a bit bigger than this...
(Credit: SoundRacer)Have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I wish I had a V-8?" Well, what if I told you that you could give your crappy car a V-8 rumble or even a V-10 scream for $40? Now, what if I told you that you wouldn't actually be getting any extra performance to go along with that sound? If you're still interested in this shady deal, then you're probably a poseur. In any case, you'll want to check out the SoundRacer.
The device plugs into your vehicle's cigarette lighter, where it uses fluctuations in the power flow to calculate your engine's RPM. It then broadcasts a fake engine note to your car's stereo via an FM transmission. The general idea is for your vehicle to sound like it's powered by a V-8 or V-10 engine, but I predict that the outcome will probably sound like a crappy, fake revving played through crappy speakers on top of your car's already crappy existing engine note. Of course, your mileage may vary.
The best part is that if you keep your windows rolled up, no one will know that you're riding around pretending to be driving a V-10 Aveo. Nice!
Once you get bored with "the thrilling sound of a powerful Super Sports Car engine," you can plug your MP3 player into an auxiliary input and use the SoundRacer as a standard FM transmitter. The SoundRacer has an MSRP of $40.
Check out the embedded video for a demonstration of the SoundRacer V-8 and V-10 in all of their goofy glory.
