devices

If you're planning to hop on your Harley and travel the globe, you're not going to want some wimpy little GPS device attached to your hog. You're going to want something rugged and water-resistant, with a tough name like "Crocodile."

That's just the nickname of the Traffic Assist 100, from Becker. It's meant to evoke the stylized reptile skin finish on the mobile navigation system, which has a turn-by-turn view optimized for motorcycles.

The device, which Becker is unveiling this week at the IFA electronics fair in Berlin, is a rubber-coated, water-resistant version … Read more

Intel Corp. has acquired Opened Hand, a London-based company which specializes in mobile Linux development and services.

Opened Hand will focus on participating in the Moblin Software Platform community, which is developing a Linux software stack for Intel's Atom processors. The software will be optimized for low-power Netbooks and "mobile Internet devices."

"Opened Hand brings great expertise and technology in the area of user-interaction frameworks, improving Intel's ability to address the unique challenges of enabling cutting edge UIs for these new class of devices," a spokesperson for Intel told ZDNet.co.uk.

Intel will … Read more

For the last couple of months, I have been trying to find the source of an intermittent glitch with my notebook PC's wireless connection. I would often lose Internet access when waking the system from sleep mode: the network icon in the system tray indicated "Local only."

Restarting the machine restored the wireless link, but then why use sleep mode at all? After a little trial-and-error (mostly the latter), I decided to check the age of the device driver for the notebook's wireless adapter. Not surprisingly, the driver was slightly older than the machine itself, which … Read more

This week, not one but two reader questions. Woo--getting crazy up in here. I kid, but hopefully, you're finding these posts helpful, and if you've got a question about your own, feel free to hit me up at bonnie.cha@cnet.com. That said, on with the show.

Q: Starting to look at GPS navigation devices, and don't know much about them. One of the vehicles that I may be using it in, does not have cigarette lighter. Since I have seen handlebar mounts for bicycles, I am wondering if these units are like cell phones and … Read more

Alpine Electronics has made a name for itself with its in-car audio/video and speaker solutions, but when it comes to portable navigation devices, the company has a little ways to go. However, it's hoping that will change with the new Alpine PND-K3.

The in-car GPS sports sleeker design than the company's previous PND, the Alpine BlackBird II, and features new map visuals and an updated user interface. The PND-K3 also comes preloaded with Navteq maps of the United States and Canada, text-to-speech functionality, and integrated Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

Other notable features include a 4.3-inch touch … Read more

Inhalers may not just be for asthma sufferers anymore. If an Israeli start-up called Aespironics has its way, small, cheap inhalers could soon deliver all sorts of other medications, as well.

Aespironics has developed a novel disposable dry-powder inhaler that it says has the attributes of the highest-performing inhalers but only costs a fraction of the price. The patient's breath activates a tiny turbine inside the device that scrapes or brushes micronized particles into the airflow, quickly and evenly delivering the dose to the lungs without leaving particles sticking to the inside of the mouth.

Because the turbine is … Read more

Toyota Motor on Friday showed off a new stand-up scooter that could one day be seen zipping alongside the Segway on the personal-transporter superhighway.

The "Winglet" has a body the size of an A3 sheet of paper that houses an electric motor, two wheels, and internal sensors that constantly monitor the rider's position and make adjustments in power to ensure stability.

A parallel link mechanism lets riders go forward, backward, and turn by shifting body weight, making the Winglet potentially useful for maneuvering in tight spaces or crowded urban environments.

Riders can cruise around at a leisurely … Read more

Think it's tough coming up with memorable yet secure letter/number combo passwords? Wait until you have to think of something to draw.

A system devised by computer scientists at Newcastle University in the U.K. uses human-scribbled doodles in lieu of traditional passwords.

Don't worry. One need not be the next Picasso for the graphic passcode system to work.

The Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) system, developed by Jeff Yan, a computer science lecturer at the School of Computing Science at Newcastle University, and graduate student Paul Dunphy, lets people choose from a selection of base images.

The image … Read more

Insisting that they have "repeatedly found them to be detrimental to Linux users, businesses, and the greater Linux ecosystem," today the Linux kernel community has started petitioning for open-source modules and open-source drivers for the Linux kernel.

The Linux Foundation, led by Jim Zemlin, has issued a statement in favor of the Linux kernel developers' position. It's unclear why the kernel developers decided to speak out now, though the Linux Foundation indicates that the developers have been subjected to a steady barrage of questions on the topic for years. Apparently, they finally got sick of it.… Read more