optics

Google patent application reveals broadband dreams

Apparently Google has put some thought into this idea of bringing super-fast fiber-optic broadband to Kansas City.

The company has applied for a patent for "general edging systems and methods," which the application bills as "a low-impact, convenient, time-efficient and cost-saving optical fiber deployment technology."

The application describes a flat, perhaps bendable strip of "edging" that carries fiber-optic lines or coaxial cables tucked within. The edging could be slipped into a shallow slot, perhaps along a fence or driveway or dug into a lawn, or it could be camouflaged to fit into the garden … Read more

Samsung Optical SmartHub review: Almost genius

If you want to watch a DVD movie on your smartphone, you generally need to encode the DVD's content to a video file, which is not exactly a quick and easy task. But what if you didn't have to do that?… Read more

Google points to Iowa for sowing satellite antenna farm

Google announced earlier this month that it was gearing up to start laying fiber-optic lines in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., to deliver very high-speed Internet access to residents. Now, the Web giant is setting it sights on Iowa, according to Data Center Knowledge.

"We are building a very small earth station project that is right next to our data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa," says Google spokesperson Jenna Wandres.

If all goes according to Google's plans, the antennas would receive feeds from broadcast networks and even be bundled with the high-speed fiber service, according … Read more

Why it's time for the 13-inch MacBook Pro to go away

October 2008. I remember eagerly buying Apple's newly designed and sleekly beautiful unibody MacBook. My son, now 3 1/2, was just born. The last presidential election was just wrapping up. "Avatar" hadn't even come out yet. The iPhone was in its second iteration. The iPad was still a year and a half away.

A long time has passed since, yet the 13-inch MacBook Pro, in terms of just sheer design, has barely changed at all. Sure, under the hood it's a completely different computer: fast Intel processor, Thunderbolt, integrated long-life battery, better screen. Yet, I can line up that 2008 13-incher (then just known as the MacBook) next to the latest 13-inch Pro and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. … Read more

Tokyoflash optical illusion watch will make your eyes cross

Remember those Magic Eye posters that were popular back in the '90s? You know, the ones where you'd focus your eyes on a 2D image and then boom, out of nowhere, a 3D image would appear? Well, that's the inspiration behind a new watch by Tokyoflash.

The Kisai Optical Illusion watch is the latest geeky accessory from Tokyoflash, and at first glance, the face of the watch just looks like a dizzying maze of lines. But of course, there's more than meets the eye.

As with the Magic Eye images, after staring at the display for a bit, you should be able to make out the hour and minutes presented in digit form. Tokyoflash says the time will be easy to see once you've trained your eyes, but if that's not the case, you can simply tap the touch screen to reveal the time. … Read more

Hands-on with the Samsung Series 5 Ultra: Like a Series 9, but affordable

For those who have been craving a more affordable Samsung ultrabook, here's your savior: the Series 5 Ultra.

Last year, the Samsung Series 9 nearly stole the show as one of the must-have laptops at CES, but the thin 13-incher--an ultrabook before the name ultrabook was coined--cost more than a MacBook Air.

This year, the Series 9 survives, in an even sleeker yet still expensive iteration. The Series 5 Ultra, which comes in both 13 and 14-inch varieties, starts at $899. That's the price we've come to expect from a Windows ultrabook, and surprisingly enough, the Series 5 Ultra looks like it hasn't made too many concessions to get there.… Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions on text highlight color turning gray, memory running low on a Macbook system, an optical drive no longer reading some discs, and iTunes unable to locate original song files. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Text highlight color turning gray MacFixIt reader Emory asks:

When I use the spell-checker, the words are highlighted by … Read more

Pioneer intros smallest, lightest Blu-ray burner

Pioneer's new BDR-XD04J contains a mind-numbing array of disc burning and playback options that should cover you for the next several years.

Perhaps the biggest highlight is support for BDXL BD-R discs, which means you can burn those fancy triple-layer 100GB and quad-layer 128GB Blu-ray discs in a tiny package. This is supposed to be the world's smallest BDXL-compatible portable drive. … Read more

Recon Mod Live: A dashboard in your ski goggles

The ski and snowboarding season is upon us, and there are a number of tech products out there that let you track your runs, keep in touch with buddies, and listen to music, but the Recon Mod Live just might be one of the coolest gadgets for skiers and snowboarders yet.

Developed by Recon Instruments, the Mod Live uses a micro-optic display (hence, Mod) to project real-time information about your run, such as distance, speed, altitude, and vertical drop, right inside your ski goggles. The product consists of a mini computer on the right side that includes a GPS chip, accelerometers, a mini LCD, and 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, which is connected to a battery on the left side through a single cable. Users then insert the Mod Live into their goggles to view a virtual dashboard of stats. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud: Introducing iPhone Not-Five! (Podcast)

Missed the big Apple announcement Tuesday? Re-live it with the Buzz crew as we recap the live feeds of Apple's iPhone presentation. Spoiler alert: there's no iPhone 5.