generator

Thermoelectric generator powered by sun's heat

There are solar panels that generate electricity and those that absorb heat for hot water. And now researchers at MIT and elsewhere say they've made progress on using the sun's heat to make electricity.

In a paper published in Nature, the researchers describe the progress they've made on a nanostructured material that improves on the heat-to-electricity conversion rate over existing thermoelectric devices.

The researchers envision that this solid-state material could be packaged either as a stand-alone thermoelectric generator or added onto existing solar hot water systems to make electricity. "Our work opens up a promising new … Read more

E Ink: No successor to Pearl this year

Sri Peruvemba, vice president of global sales and marketing at E Ink, recently stopped by our New York offices and talked displays and reminded us just how thin the e-ink screen for the Kindle and other e-readers is.

While he was showing off a "Triton" color e-ink prototype that's been making the rounds and piqued the interest of textbook publishers, we were more interested in what's up next for monochrome e-ink. Peruvemba couldn't speak about any new e-readers from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but he did say that the company's latest and greatest e-ink display, which goes by the name Pearl and was released last year (it's in the Kindle and Sony Readers but not the Nook), would be it for now; we shouldn't expect anything new in 2011.

"We're generally on a two-year cycle with our e-ink technology," he said. "It takes some time to develop and test the next generation." … Read more

preGame 49: Call of the Dead; PSN outages; L.A. Noire

What a week for video game news! As PSN outages continue to plague PlayStation 3s, Sony has finally declared the incident a "compromise of personal information" and a "malicious act." Does this mean our credit card info has been tossed into the Internet void? Nevermind that, we just want to be able to play Mortal Kombat online again.

Last night's Tribeca Film Festival screening of L.A. Noire marked the first time a video game was spotlighted at the big event. Jeff was there for the screening and Q&A that preceded; plus he'll give us some thoughts on an entire case he played a few weeks ago.

Since Nintendo has confirmed that the successor to the Wii will debut at E3 2011 and go on sale next year, we'll play an interesting voicemail that speculates on how players will interact with the new console.… Read more

Calif. highways could be source of green energy

It might seem a little ironic, but automotive traffic could be the next source of green energy. A bill for a pilot program that will harness road vibration and convert it to energy passed 6-1 in the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee yesterday. It will move to the Assembly Transportation Committee for voting next week.

California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) first introduced bill AB 306 in February.

Piezoelectric generation captures energy that cars, trains, or people generate as they move across surfaces and cause vibrations. These vibrations can be harnessed and converted to energy using piezoelectric materials … Read more

New Dell Alienware M11x, M14x, M18x laptops: Small-, medium-, and large-scale gaming

Despite leaked product announcements dampening the impact of the streamed Webcast today, Alienware added to its product lineup with additional Alienwares at the extreme small and large ends of the laptop spectrum. The M11x, M14x, and M18x cover the size gamut. We've already reviewed the M14x: check out the hands-on video below for a look at the M14 close-up.

Last year, we loved the Alienware M11x, particularly for its combination of size and power. During today's Alienware Webcast, the successor was announced--and it's got the updated Sandy Bridge specs we expected.

The new Alienware M11x R3 starts … Read more

Next iPod Nano to get camera?

Some people were disappointed when Apple chose to shrink the iPod Nano, give it a smaller 1.5-inch multitouch display, and lose the built-in video camera. Well, if this photo from the Taiwanese Mac Blog Apple.pro--which has been fairly reliable with Apple "spy" pics in the past--is any indication, Apple may be bringing the camera back while retaining the current-generation Nano's tiny form factor.

It would be interesting to speculate how you'd shoot with such a small camera, but one obvious method would be to clip it on lapel-style, turning the Nano into sort … Read more

How to resist your iPad 2 craving

I won't name names, but we have an editor here in the office, who, every time a new Apple product comes out, says he isn't going to get it. He had the iPhone 3GS and said he was going to wait for the iPhone 5 and not get the iPhone 4. Two weeks later, he had the iPhone 4 and had given his 3GS to his wife.

I said, "Dude, where's your discipline?"

"I know, I know," he replied sheepishly. "But I wanted it. I couldn't resist."

He's got an iPad, the original. I know he's going to get an iPad 2, even though he says he isn't. How do I know? Because the moment Steve Jobs got up on stage and showed his first slide, he said, "Gee, that looks pretty nice." He had him at hello.

The iPad 2 didn't look any different from what we expected it to look like--and it didn't look all that different from the original iPad. But suddenly there on stage in the flesh it had taken on a new, irresistible sheen. Not the Charlie kind of Sheen. Just the Apple kind. … Read more

Hacking Whac-A-Mole

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook asks permission to change its privacy policy

Skype tweaks Skype To Go, letting you make international calls as local ones

Sony drops the price of the PlayStation Portable to $129.99

A Chinese version of Groupon is announced

Motorola sues TiVo for alleged patent infringement in its DVRs

Motorola is sued for using the name Xoom on its new tablet

New York Sen. Charles Schumer wants HTTPS to be the default security setting on major Web sites

A man in Florida is arrested for allegedly planting viruses in Whac-A-Mole arcade games

A … Read more

How much will the iPad 2 weigh?

Update, February 26: to reflect the announcement of the iPad 2 on March 2.

Weight. It's something our society tends to dwell on when it comes to physical appearance, but it's also a big factor in today's mobile products.

Like a lot of people, the first time I saw the iPad my eye was drawn to its vibrant screen and those sleek lines that are the signature of Apple products. Yet the one overwhelming thought I had when picking it up for the first time was, "Damn, this is kind of heavy."

No, at around 1.5 pounds, it's not that heavy. And it's obviously lighter than every laptop on the market, including Apple's own MacBook Air, which comes in at 2.3 pounds for the 11.6-inch model (the new $299 HP Mini 1103 Netbook weighs 2.8 pounds). But the iPad ostensibly is a handheld device, and for a lot of folks, holding up a 1.5-pound weight for extended periods is a challenge.… Read more

Miniaturize your world and play an RTS remake: iPhone apps of the week

Among the news items this week from the world of Apple, the folks over at AppleInsider uncovered a rumor that Apple may be having a launch event next week for a new line of MacBook Pros. According to the story, this would put the launch event a week ahead of schedule.

As usual, Apple remains tight-lipped about what features will be unveiled in the new laptops, but the one sure thing is that it will include Intel's latest generation Sandy Bridge processor.

Whatever is introduced next week (if the rumor turns out to be true), you can bet we'll have all the details here. Make sure to check back on launch day for photos, specs, and everything else about Apple's latest devices.

This week's apps include an image enhancement tool that produces cool-looking shots and an RTS game that closely resembles one of the most popular strategy games of all time.… Read more