| Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video) May 2nd 2012, 19:19  We here at Engadget are always fans of brain wave experiments, and so we were delighted when two Cornell University electrical engineering students, Chuck Moyes and Mengxiang Jiang, wrapped up a final project using brain waves in the best way possible: playing Pong. Their experiment links a baseball cap full of EEG-scanning electrodes to a computer, letting the cap wearer control a paddle using Alpha or Mu waves. Depending on the waves you use, you can move the paddle either by changing your concentration level or by thinking about moving your feet. You won't rack up a high score while napping (or with a teammate narrating over your shoulder), but with a budget under $75, it's hard to find fault. You can grab the source code below, and check out a video of Jiang and Moyes' handiwork after the break. [Thanks, Chuck and Mengxiang] Continue reading Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video) Cornell students steer Pong using brain waves, can't quite play during naps (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  BCI, source code (GitHub) | Email this | Comments | | Nikon D3200 now shipping from Best Buy, unboxing video gets personal with new features May 2nd 2012, 18:59  Nikon promised us a "late April" shipment of its D3100 replacement, and sure enough, it looks to have met that self-imposed deadline. The black D3200 kit is now shipping from Best Buy warehouses, and while a litany of other reputable e-tailers have the unit listed (check our links below), we're seeing it backordered elsewhere. That said, these things are obviously trickling into the places that matter most, and determined to-be buyers can almost certainly call around to find one in stock. If you're still on the fence, have a look at our hands-on here, and head on past the break for a lovely unboxing video tour. Continue reading Nikon D3200 now shipping from Best Buy, unboxing video gets personal with new features Nikon D3200 now shipping from Best Buy, unboxing video gets personal with new features originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Duncan33303 (YouTube) | Best Buy (1), (2) | Email this | Comments | | RunCore's Mini DOM packs single-chip, SATA-based SSD into tiny places May 2nd 2012, 18:47  Fitting a truly quick solid-state drive into a small space isn't easy, and for that reason RunCore's new Mini DOM (Disk On Module) stands out from the crowd. It's billed as the first single-chip SSD to use a SATA interface (SATA II, to be exact), giving it that much more bandwidth than the pokey IDE and PATA DOMs of old while remaining under half the size of a regular mSATA drive. RunCore's own tests show it hitting about 113MB/s sequential reads and 47MB/s writes. Neither figure will knock the socks off even a mainstream budget SSD like Intel's SSD 330, but they're more than brisk enough for embedded gear. The drives can survive brutal conditions, too: an Industrial Grade trim level can survive temperatures as chilly as -40F and as scorching as 185F. So, the next time you pry open some military equipment and see one of these sitting inside, in three different formats and capacities from 8GB to 64GB, you'll know exactly what you're looking at. Continue reading RunCore's Mini DOM packs single-chip, SATA-based SSD into tiny places RunCore's Mini DOM packs single-chip, SATA-based SSD into tiny places originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Google badmouths HTTP behind its back, proposes SPDY as a speedy successor May 2nd 2012, 18:19  If there's anything that Google doesn't like, it's things that collect dust. The company is famous for its annual spring cleaning efforts, in which the firm rids itself of redundant and dead-end projects, along with more bullish moves, such as its push to overhaul the internet's DNS system. Now it's looking to replace HTTP with a new protocol known as SPDY, and to that end, it's demonstrating the potential speed gains that one might expect on a mobile network. According to the company's benchmarks, mean page load times on the Galaxy Nexus are 23 percent faster with the new system, and it hypothesizes that further optimizations can be made for 3G and 4G networks. To its credit, Google has already implemented SPDY in Chrome, and the same is true for Firefox and Amazon Silk. Even Microsoft appears to be on-board. As a means to transition, the company proposes an Apache 2.2 module known as mod_spdy, which allows web servers to take advantage of features such as stream multiplexing and header compression. As for HTTP, it's no doubt been a reliable companion, but it seems that it'll need to work a bit harder to earn its keep. Stay weird, Google, the internet wouldn't be the same without you. Google badmouths HTTP behind its back, proposes SPDY as a speedy successor originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Google Developers Blog | Email this | Comments | | Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here! May 2nd 2012, 18:00
 Is that Galaxy S II feeling a bit stale? It's just about time for Samsung to name a successor to the massively popular smartphone, live at the company's Mobile Unpacked event at the Earls Court Olympic venue. We'll surely see a brand new mainstream handset make its debut, but what's not quite as clear is what other gadgets Samsung plans to show off in London. With defined divisions, the Korean device maker's "Mobile Unpacked" event title implies that Android phones will steal the show, so it's unlikely that we'll see an updated Tab or two. We have 24 hours and change to find out for sure, however, so bookmark this page to stay abreast of the news as it happens in our liveblog. The show kicks off at 2PM ET tomorrow (7PM local time in London) -- you'll find your local time translation just below. May 3, 2012 2:00 PM EDT Continue reading Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here! Samsung unpacks the Galaxy tomorrow, we'll be liveblogging the London event right here! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Google Play adds carrier billing for music, movies and books May 2nd 2012, 17:47  Don't feel like having media purchased through Google Play billed directly to your credit card? Well, now you can have those charges simply added to your monthly phone bill, provided you're on T-Mobile here in the US, or NTT Docomo, KDDI, or Softbank in Japan. According to Google's posting about the move, Sprint will soon be offering the option to pay for movies, books and movies purchased through Big G's market along side your voice and data plan. For T-Mobile subscribers that means both apps and content can simply be added to your tab, while AT&T is sticking with carrier billing for apps only at the moment. Conspicuously absent from the whole shebang, however, is Verizon, which has been one of the more prominent Android pushers here in the US. For a complete list of carriers with at least some direct billing features check out the more coverage link. Google Play adds carrier billing for music, movies and books originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Verge | Google Play (Google+) | Email this | Comments | | Verizon's HomeFusion LTE to the home now available nationwide May 2nd 2012, 17:44  Verizon is trying to put the final nail in the coffin of its DSL service. Of course, that's still a long way off but, for those outside of reach of its FiOS tentacles, Big Red is pushing HomeFusion. The LTE to the home solution, which started rolling out in early March, is now available nationwide... provided your definition of "nationwide" jibes with Verizon's. Still, with a claimed two-thirds of the US population covered by 230 distinct 4G markets, VZW is hoping to expand its residential broadband footprint without running those costly and ugly wires. The five to 12 Mbps down, and two to five Mbps up speeds aren't going to beat a fiber to the home connection, but it should run circles around your average DSL line. One thing it wont do, though, is save you money. With plans starting at $60 a month for 10GB of data and climbing to $120 for 30GB (not to mention the $10 per GB overage fees) HomeFusion isn't exactly a bargain. For more info check out the PR after the break. Continue reading Verizon's HomeFusion LTE to the home now available nationwide Verizon's HomeFusion LTE to the home now available nationwide originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
