Crave

The new Pogoplug: more USB ports for extra hard drives, very pink.

(Credit: Cloud Engines)

Just recently we reviewed Cloud Engines' Pogoplug, a very affordable $99 solution that effortlessly turns any USB hard drive or memory stick into an online-connected makeshift server. We really enjoyed playing with the original, although its blocky white look wasn't exactly eyecatching. We take that back--and perhaps even long for the minimalism--with Cloud Engines' new Pogoplug, available in December.

Full of funky curves and lots of pink, the new Pogoplug is clearly designed to be more of a desktop or shelf-based companion as opposed to its predecessor, which adopted more of an Airport Express plug-in brick solution. Now, it almost looks like an iMac peripheral from 1999. While the last Pogoplug had just one USB 2.0 port but could support plugged-in USB routers, the new Pogoplug has four built-in USB 2.0 ports for direct connection of hard drives, and new software tweaks more easily allow global search across all drives, as well as better category organization and even the creation of slideshows, set to music, that can be launched directly from the Pogoplug's browser interface.

The original Pogoplug: far more minimalist.

(Credit: Cloud Engines)

The new version jacks up the price a little to $129, but the added ports and more prominent base could be appealing for those who want to build a little home-made server. The original Pogoplug is more of a one-stop portable shop that's ideal for travel and for one USB device, or for those who want to save thirty bucks. We're a little surprised the new Pogoplug didn't simply offer an enclosure to slot a hard drive (or drives) in directly, but it does offer a nice solution for a variety of USB devices.

Other new features include syncing with programs such as iTunes, iPhoto and Windows Media Center, a built-in updating address book for file sharing, and video streaming from within the Pogoplug browser or on the iPhone, a feature that was supposed to be available in the last Pogoplug but never really worked for us. Most cameras and video formats are supposed to be supported. Pogoplug supports NTFS, FAT32, Mac OS Extended Journaled and Non-Journaled (HFS+), and EXT-2/EXT-3 formats.

Read our original Pogoplug review, or if you're curious as to how the Pogoplug works, check out the hands-on gallery below.

Pogoplug hands-on

(Credit: Volkswagen Group of America)

If you're a person who would gladly relinquish the task of parking your car to a computer, there may be a Volkswagen in your future.

Last weekend, Volkswagen Group of America and Stanford University's School of Engineering hosted a dedication ceremony on the Stanford campus for the new Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL) that included the "first ever" autonomous parking demonstration by a driverless car.

(Credit: Volkswagen Group of America)

The car, a VW Passat called Junior, was developed jointly by VW and Stanford and is the same one that finished second in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. Driverless cars have come a long way since the first DARPA race in 2004, when not one contestant made it over the finish line, much less parallel-parked itself.

VW donated $5.75 million for the new laboratory, which it called "the next step in the evolution of the two organizations' commitment to drive innovation in automotive development."

"When the new building opens early next year, VAIL will provide a home on campus for faculty and students from around the university to work on advanced automotive research," said Jim Plummer, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering.

The company also unveiled the Pike's Peak Audi TT-S, the latest iteration of driverless vehicles developed through the VW-Stanford partnership.

(Credit: University of Leeds)

Engineers in England have come up with a product to save a few bob for those who work in semi-dangerous occupations--cement body armor.

The vests combine "super strong" cement with recycled carbon fiber, making the vests tough enough to withstand most bullet calibers, according to researchers at the University of Leeds' School of Civil Engineering.

Currently, top-of-the-line bulletproof vests are made with alumina plates--the raw material used to make aluminum--through a costly process called sintering, which involves heating the material for up to two weeks at 1600 degrees Celsius to harden it.

The cement vest, on the other hand, would offer a cost-effective level of protection for people in semi-risky occupations short of full-on combat.

"By using cement instead of alumina we are confident we can deliver a cost-effective level of protection for many people at risk," said research team leader Philip Purnell. "It should be good enough for people like security guards, reporters, and aid workers who are worried about the odd pot shot being taken at them."

TE makes first DIY Styrofoam turntable.

(Credit: Teenage Engineering)

Swedish product design studio Teenage Engineering's credo is to create products built with "functional design, superior quality, and top-class engineering," but they should probably add "environmentally irresponsible" to that list. A low-cost DIY turntable kit is a clever idea, and I'd probably buy one, but it's made out of Styrofoam. Styrofoam? Really? Does it come with a case made out of batteries and aerosol cans too, guys?

All environmental issues aside, this turntable deserves serious design respect: the base of the player as well as the arm are made out of CNCd Styrofoam to accept the belt underneath. The turntable also works as a standalone player with a built-in amplifier and speaker, and it even sports a USB connection for converting vinyl into digital audio.

Unfortunately, Teenage Engineering currently has zero plans to put the Styrofoam turntable into production, but you're welcome to check a box on the Web site and submit your e-mail address for possible updates in the future. More pictures after the break.

Silverman at the controls.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Mastering engineers, like Alan Silverman of Arf! Mastering, make music sound better.

Of course, by the time the mastering engineer gets to hear the music, it's already been recorded, mixed, and fussed over by at least one recording engineer, record producer, and the band for weeks, months or even years.

The mastering engineer brings a fresh set of ears to the project and (hopefully) the necessary skill set to eke out the very best from the music. Silverman has mastered music by Norah Jones, Keith Richards, Dolly Parton, and Rufus Wainwright.

When I visited Silverman a few weeks ago, he was finishing work on Medeski, Martin, and Wood's upcoming CD, "Radiolarians 2." I'm a big fan of MM&W's free-form funk jazz, and these guys always make great-sounding recordings. It figures Silverman is involved with the upcoming CD.

I heard from friends that Silverman's newly updated playback system is not only super accurate, it sounds like an audiophile system. That sort of truth and beauty are a rare combination so I brought along some of my reference recordings and was thrilled by the sound. Silverman uses Revel Ultima Studio2 speakers and a McIntosh MC252 power amplifier.

Of course, in the real world just a handful of people are listening over a system like that. So for Silverman, "It's about how the music 'translates.'" A great mastering engineer knows how to make the music sound the best it can over all sorts of systems, played back in differing environments: headphones, car audio, plastic computer speakers, and high-end audio systems.

That's why Silverman hopes he will soon be doing multiple versions of a recording: a highly compressed mix for iPod or car, an uncompressed CD quality version for home listening, and a high-resolution one for audiophiles.

But now that so many bands are recording themselves mastering engineers play an even more crucial role in making the most of the music. When I asked if recordings ever come in that are so awful Silverman turns them away, he said "No, not at all, although in rare cases one of the best things you can do for client is advise them to do a remix. In general, though it's easier to make a poor recording sound better than improve a recording that's already really great. With those you worry if you're really making them better or just different. In those cases sometimes even the smallest tweaks add extra dimension and life to the music." Toby Wright, 3Doors Down's producer, uses Silverman and raved about his work: "So much better, it's silly."

I haven't seriously played America's Army in about three years. By "seriously," I mean I was once obsessed, played as much as I could, and felt like I couldn't get enough. It was kind of a precursor to World of Warcraft for me.

I remember one week coming down with a really bad case of the flu and staying home from work for five straight days. That week was a highlight for me with this game, and it was then that I fell in love with levels like Pipeline and Bridge.

As good as the setting looks, I'm much more excited about how new and creative the level design may be.

(Credit: U.S. Army)

Since then, I've only played every few months when a new patch releases. But news released this week could bring me back more frequently. The U.S. Army announced that the much-anticipated America's Army 3 would be released sometime this year, however it hasn't stated exactly when.

America's Army is a free, downloadable, first-person shooter for the PC and Mac. The game was first released in 2002 using the original Unreal engine. Since then, the game has received numerous updates and upgrades, including new levels, weapons, and gameplay features.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Wausau, Wis., company have come up with a 37-inch, bullet and bomb-proof Humvee tire based on a polymeric web so cool looking there's no need for hub caps.

Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison's Polymer Engineering Center are creating a "non-pneumatic tire" (no air required) that will support the weight of add-on armor, survive an IED attack, and still make a 50 mph getaway. It's basically a round honeycomb wrapped with a thick, black tread.

The military wants an alternative to the current Humvee "run flat" tires, which despite the name, still need a minimal amount of air pressure to roll and can leave troops stranded after being shot or blown out.

"You see reports all the time of troops who were injured by an IED or their convoys got stranded because their tires were shot out," said Resilient's General Manager Mike Veih. "There's all sorts of armor on the vehicle, but if you're running in the theater and get your tire shot out, what have you got? You've got a bunch of armor in the middle of a field."

In developing the design, the Wisconsin team studied other airless tires, like the Michelin "Tweel," but in the end settled on lessons learned from nature.

The patent-pending design mimics the precise, six-sided cell pattern found in a honeycomb and best duplicates the "ride feel" of pneumatic tires, according to the developers.

"The goal was to reduce the variation in the stiffness of the tire, to make it transmit loads uniformly and become more homogenous," said mechanical engineering professor Tim Osswald. "And the best design, as nature gives it to us, is really the honeycomb."

This particular geometry also does a great job of reducing noise and heat levels while rolling-two common problems with past models.

Costs per tire are expected to be the same or less than current units. Delivery is anticipated for 2011.

In the past few years, as companies like Dell and Sony have been making a big deal about releasing laptops in a rainbow of colors, Fujitsu has seemed content to stick with the traditional black, white, or silver. That all changed on Wednesday, when the company released the LifeBook A1110, a 15.4-inch laptop with a distinct, eye-catching patterned lid.

Even better, the lid incorporates a swappable exterior panel, so if you become bored with the default green pattern, $20 buys you pink butterflies, or an ornate blue pattern, and potentially other colors in the future. Fujitsu has engineered the lid so that it can easily snap on and snap off the LCD cover for countless wardrobe changes. Cool, no?

The LifeBook A1110 includes one other small innovation that's not as obvious as a snazzy changeable lid. A removable dust filter sits in front of the vents; it works like the lint trap on a clothes dryer, catching dust particles before they clog up the vents and computer interior. The removable part can easily be cleaned out every once in a while, which should help keep the laptop's temperature down.

Fujitsu lets you configure the LifeBook A1110 to order with either the Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 or T5800 processors on a Centrino 2 platform, up to 4GB of 800MHz RAM, 32-bit or 64-bit Windows Vista, and either 250GB or 320GB hard drives. The laptop weighs 6.3 pounds with the DVD burner and six-cell battery; the company projects a battery life of 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Pricing starts at $799; the LifeBook A1110 is available at Fujitsu's Web site and various retailers. And depending on the popularity of this model, we could potentially see swappable lids move to other Fujitsu laptops in the future.

Today, your eyes might not deceive you. But soon, they very well might.

Some extremely clever people at Cal (the one at Berkeley) have created a material that can control the direction in which visible light travels.

Apparently, this mystery material, some details of which might be revealed in Science and Nature magazines this week (People and OK weren't interested), deflects light around an object as perceived by an insouciant eye.

"In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock," the leader of the Cal researchers, Xiang Zhang, told London's Times newspaper.

(Credit: CC dogbomb)

In essence, you are looking at, say, the Empire State Building or a John Malkovich-piloted Boeing 747 full of nasty missiles. If these objects are coated with the material, your eyes will see light from behind them, hence creating the illusion that the object in question simply isn't there. I know that there are terrible consequences that may leap to mind in these examples.

For the more technically-minded amongst you, I can tell you that the material the scientists created had to have elements engineered to within 0.00000066 of a meter. This appears to be in a realm that might make wafers suddenly feel ridiculously overweight.