The Inquirer

Real life iron man suit tips up

Sylvie Barak — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:55:54 GMT

Sylvie Barak the Inquirer, Friday 16 May 2008. 19:40:00

Exoskeleton duffs up Jackie Chan's tuxedo

A ROBOTICS COMPANY IN Utah have come up with a working "Iron man" suit, which is able to multiply a person's strength and endurance by up to 20 times when wearing it. The exoskeleton is being produced by a company called Sarcos, located in Salt Lake City, Utah and has already landed itself a lucrative $10 million contract from the US military, to come up with something that will make future generations of soldiers look like and have the strength of transformers. The 70kg mechanical suit has a computer "brain" that is able to sense the movement of the person wearing it, and then amplify those movements almost instantaneously through a series of hydraulic valves mimicking the tendons in the human body....

LG Blu-Ray writer burns 4x media at 6x speeds

Rob Kerr — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:30:19 GMT

Rob Kerr the Inquirer, Thursday 15 May 2008. 12:09:00

First INQpressions LG GGW H20L

Product: LG GGW H20L Website: Lge.com/GGWH20L System Requirements: Intel Pentium D 3.2GHz or Higher, Windows Vista (x86, x64), Windows XP with SP2, RAM 1GB, HDD 30GB or more, 60GB for Blu-ray Disc Authoring, Serial ATA Price: $399.99, £152.94 - research price, Ebuyer UK A FEW MONTHS back Toshiba officially pulled out of the HD-DVD market - all hail our Sony overlords - we now hear you cry. Prior to that LG had already successfully produced TV set-top boxes capable of playing both High Def media formats, along with optical drives of a similar nature for the PC. We reviewed one of these wonders way back in June of 2007....

Tomtom revamps sat-nav range

Rob Kerr — Sat, 10 May 2008 22:53:50 GMT

Rob Kerr the Inquirer, Saturday 10 May 2008. 23:19:00

Tomtom clubbed

CAR GUIDING outfit Tomtom has announced the availability of its new x30 series in the UK. These new sat navs tip up in the form of the GO 930 traffic, 730 and 530 models - with the last two having traffic options available. These are set to replace the GO 520, 720 and 920 devices, along with their RDS-TMC receivers. TomTom x30 - 930T The trio was unveiled to the world at Cebit this year, with new features being that of the IQ Routes technology and Advanced Lane Guidance. Tomtom IQ Routes claims take into account situations that may delay the journey, such as traffic on roundabouts, speed bumps or traffic lights....

Concorde's interior designer framed by Parrot

Rob Kerr — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:22:01 GMT

Rob Kerr the Inquirer, Friday 2 May 2008. 16:09:00

At a price

PARROT HAS launched a range of LCD digital frames, designed by the acclaimed French designer Andrée Putman. The frames are created by the leading lady of French design, with a black and white toned themed approach keeping with her style sought-after worldwide from New York to Tokyo. "I would like to pay tribute to Parrot for daring to think that this wonder of technology could be coiled up inside a beautiful wrapping," gushed Andrée Putman Parrot/Putman Digital Photo Frame "The Parrot frame by Andrée Putman is the first in a series of artistic dedications for our range of wireless audiovisual products,"said Henri Seydoux, CEO and founder of Parrot....

Wistron buys Lite-On's digital display business

Sylvie Barak — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:32:17 GMT

Sylvie Barak the Inquirer, Wednesday 30 April 2008. 13:09:00

$300 million for flat screens

TAIWANESE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS manufacturer, Lite-On Technology has said that it will flog its Digital Display sector to ODM laptop manufacturer Wistron for the equivalent of about US $302 million. The deal is set to go through by Q3 of 2008. Lite-On said that it would be selling off all inventory, machinery and IP belonging to its Digital Display unit, but that Wistron would be building its own structures to house the equipment in. In the meanwhile, Lite-On will lease its infrastructure to Wistron while it builds the new factories, which should be ready in about two years time. Wistron specialises in system assembly....

Sony, Samsung expand eighth generation LCD glass line

Mike Magee — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:37:50 GMT

Mike Magee the Inquirer, Friday 25 April 2008. 09:31:00

Fat panels are them

SAMSUNG AND SONY said they will build a further eighth generation TFT-LCD production line as part of their joint venture called S-LCD. S-LCD already has an eighth generation glass line but says more capacity is necessary to meet increased demand for LCD TVs. The production line will cost nearly $2 billion, with production slated for the second quarter of next year. The line, called 8-2, and based in Tangjeong, South Korea, will initially churn out 60,000 glass TFT LCD sheets a month, with dimensions of 2,200mm x 2,500mm. S-LCD currently has one seventh generation line, banging out 100,000 sheets a month at sizes of 1,870mm x 2,200mm....

Eazo peasy is Intel lemon cheesy

Charlie Demerjian in Shanghai — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:46:21 GMT

Charlie Demerjian in Shanghai , Wednesday 2 April 2008. 03:54:00

IDF Spring 2008 Far too cheap for chips

ALL OF THE boutique PC builders are wimps, $5000 computers are far too cheap for the really wealthy. They buy things like this $70,000 hand made Eazo PC. It is entirely hand made, no, hand crafted, and quite unique. This is not a case mod, it is a ground up hand made case, it looks like a polished stainless steel and hardwood sculpture. The hinges are insanely well crafted and solid, and all the details are machined in. As you might have guessed, there is not a production run per se, they are each original and unique. The computer itself is a water cooled Skulltrail box, fully kittted out....

Wiimote knockoffs hit the market

Charlie Demerjian — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:46:21 GMT

Charlie Demerjian , Sunday 6 April 2008. 14:31:00

IDF Spring 2008 Ugly and ungainly

CHINA IS FULL of knock-offs and questionable homages to products that would get you sued in a country where IP lawyers own government. One of the most humorous of these seen at IDF was the 3D iJoy, aka the Wiimote. It is a shameless knockoff in every way. The button placements, the shape, the strap, all close to the original. Close, but not really close enough. The iJoy is clunkier and far less ergonomic, but it probably is much cheaper, perfect to disappoint the kiddies with. Close, not close enough There were a bunch of small PCs using it at IDF, and from what wecould see, the Wii has nothing to fear....

Intel flogs off optical kit to its old mate

INQUIRER staff — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:46:21 GMT

INQUIRER staff , Thursday 10 April 2008. 14:45:00

Emcore swaps shares for kit

INTEL SAID it has agreed to sell the enterprise and storage bits of its Optical Platform Division and its Connects Cables business to Emcore. The deal includes intellectual property, bits and bobs relating to tunable lasers, tunable transponders, 300-pin transponders and integrable tunable laser assemblies as well as optical cable interconnects for high-performance computing clusters, the firms announced today. The transaction is subject to regulatory review yet is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, If we understand the deal correctly, Emcore will hand Intel 3.7 million shares of restricted stock for the acquisition, depending on what the outfit is worth twelve months after the closing of the transaction....

Flat panel shortage to hit notebook shipments

Mike Magee — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:46:21 GMT

Mike Magee , Friday 18 April 2008. 10:22:00

Things will be tight in the second half of this year

THE TAIWANESE Market Intelligence Center (MIC) said that a shortage of large TFT-LCD panels will hit notebook sales in the second half of this year. The quango said that during the first and second quarters of this year, the panels have been and will be in oversupply. But during the third and fourth quarters of this year a seven per cent shortage of the panels will affect sales, particularly in the 12.1-inch and 15.4-inch sizes. The situation is expected to ease in 2009, according to analyst Linda Lin, because supplies of fifth generation panels will begin to come onstream. Total shipments for notebook panels will hit 131 million during 2008, she said....

Flat panel shortage to hit notebook shipments

Mike Magee — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:49:02 GMT

Mike Magee the Inquirer, Friday 18 April 2008. 10:22:00

Things will be tight in the second half of this year

Intel flogs off optical kit to its old mate

INQUIRER staff — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:40:05 GMT

INQUIRER staff the Inquirer, Thursday 10 April 2008. 14:45:00

Emcore swaps shares for kit

Wiimote knockoffs hit the market

Charlie Demerjian — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:43:24 GMT

Charlie Demerjian the Inquirer, Sunday 6 April 2008. 14:31:00

IDF Spring 2008 Ugly and ungainly

Eazo peasy is Intel lemon cheesy

Charlie Demerjian in Shanghai — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:49:31 GMT

Charlie Demerjian in Shanghai the Inquirer, Wednesday 2 April 2008. 03:54:00

IDF Spring 2008 Far too cheap for chips

Apple launches smallest 11n base station

Stewart Meagher — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:29:20 GMT

Stewart Meagher the Inquirer, Monday 17 March 2008. 13:57:00

Teeny weeny wifi meanie

APPLE HAS RELEASED a more powerful 802.11n specced airport express base station today. At a wallet-pleasing $99, the new shiny white box delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of the previous incarnation. And measuring up at about the size of a dozen or so beermats stacked on top of each other, the new version is the smallest 11n capable portable base station in the world, according to our fruity friends in Cupertino. Compatible with both Macs and those other cheap boxes that children and secretaries use, the 188 gram device will allow you to beam music throughout your home or business, share/extend your internet connection and print wirelessly....

Apple launches smallest 11n base station

Stewart Meagher — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:12:18 GMT

Stewart Meagher , Monday 17 March 2008. 13:57:00

Teeny weeny wifi meanie

Here's the sexiest ATM at CeBIT

Charlie Demerjian in Hannover — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:51:20 GMT

Charlie Demerjian in Hannover , Wednesday 12 March 2008. 13:57:00

CeBit 2008 And it can count

HOW SEXY CAN a cash machine be? If you look at the Keba KePlus X6, you will immediately realise that the answer is very sexy.(1) Yes, when you walk up to a KePlus K6, you know you can bank in confidence. It has all the features you want from a modern ATM, it will take deposits, dispense both notes and coins, and on top of that, recycle bills. Take that Diebold. Keba's extremely cool KePlus K6 Yup, if you put in bills, they are checked not once but twice for fitness before being put back out. On the KePlus X6, you are assured that you won't get wrinkled or smelly bills, only the best come from this baby....

Here's the sexiest ATM at CeBIT

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:24:09 GMT

Charlie Demerjian in Hannover the Inquirer, Wednesday 12 March 2008. 13:57:00

CeBit 2008 And it can count

Logitech denies Microsoft takeover speculation again

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:16:08 GMT

Andrew Thomas , Monday 10 March 2008. 09:09:00

'an operation without sense'

MARKET-LEADING MOUSE MAKER Logitech has denied it is the subject of a takeover bid from its number one rival, Microsoft. Logitech's chairman Guerrino De Luca told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera yesterday that it would be "an operation without sense". In January, when analysts dismissed rumours of an $8 billion takeover bid, Logitech director Daniel Borel, the company's largest shareholder, said he saw no reason to sell his stake, adding that without competition Logitech would 'lose the great pressure to innovate' and that there would inevitably be problems with antitrust authorities as the two companies would have an effective global monopoly in mice and keyboards....

Logitech denies Microsoft takeover speculation again

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:00:29 GMT

Andrew Thomas the Inquirer, Monday 10 March 2008. 09:09:00

'an operation without sense'

Tech firms line up to consult the tarot cards

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:44:27 GMT

Nick Booth , Monday 21 January 2008. 18:22:00

Crystal balls up

TECHNOLOGY moves so fast these days. We're all looking at an uncertain future. So how do nervous decision makers at multinational enterprises plan for the next few years? Nobody really knows what's coming next. Or do they? The INQUIRER got a clue when it visited Brighton recently. This Tarot card reader (See pic) on Brighton Pier promises to read your cards and predict your future. You'd think his customers would be mostly simpletons - fans of Princess Diana or drunken chavs. But no, a notice on the side of his 'office' suggests he's got some pretty prestigious clients who take his opinions very seriously indeed....

Customer service robot trundles into view

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:44:27 GMT

Nick Booth , Wednesday 23 January 2008. 09:55:00

Inhuman face of customer service

BOFFINS IN JAPAN have developed a humanoid customer service robot. The Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International said it designed the thing to 'respond flexibly to the needs of customers', reports Nikkei.net The robot is being displayed at Universal Citywalk, in Osaka Japan. The first humanoid sales representative - dubbed Robo-Rep - should be available to retailers in June. Robo-Rep receives data from 30 cameras and sensors installed on-site. The robot can monitor up to 20 people at one time and serve them. Or ignore them, if programmed for the UK market. The firm claims the machine can pinpoint the locations of passers-by to within inches and identify 10 patterns of human activity, such as waiting, running or walking briskly, with 90 per cent accuracy, based on their gait and speed of movement....

Virus writer done for copyright

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:44:27 GMT

Nick Farrell , Friday 25 January 2008. 17:23:00

Lack of hacking law in Japan

A JAPANESE virus writer has been charged with copyright theft because Inspector Knacker of the Kyoto Yard found there was a grave shortage of hacking laws. Masato Nakatsuji, 24, a graduate student at Osaka Electro-Communication University is believed to have embedded a computer virus behind a Japanese animation film called "Clannad". Apparently he arranged it so that when a woman walked amid falling cherry blossoms the victim downloaded the "Harada virus". There are grave perils involved with cherry blossoms. They tend to make you write haikus. However Kyoto coppers could not find anything in the law books they could charge him with, other than nicking and distributing the Clannad flick....

DVI begins to DVDIE

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:44:27 GMT

INQUIRER staff , Monday 28 January 2008. 15:40:00

All things must come to pass. Gulp

THIS YEAR MARKS doom, aye doom, for the DVI standard, market research firm In-Stat has warned. The firm said that DVI faces hellish competition from HDMI and Displayport and will show "a steep decline" during the year of Our Lord 2008. 112 million devices shipped in 2007 but by 2011 that will drop to three million. Brian O'Rourke, a senior analyst at In-Stat, said: "HDMI's success continues to be enormous." He reckons 90 per cent of digital TVs used HDMI in 2007. The DVI demise is partly due to several large multinationals, including HP, Sony and Toshiba, cruelly ditching DVI and favouring the new kid on the block....

Blizzards hit mobo shipments – report

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:44:27 GMT

INQUIRER staff , Tuesday 29 January 2008. 09:30:00

Ice, ice baby

HEAVY SNOW in the People's Republic of China is causing drifts preventing motherboard makers from making as many printed circuit boards as they would wish. According to Digitimes, the heavy snowfall in Changshu and Kunshan have caused some manufacturers to be running at only 30-40 per cent capacity. The snow is causing the authorities to ration power and while some have their own generators, this problem is compounded by workers being unable to battle through the blizzards. Just as well the Taiwanese manufacturers don't have plants here in Blighty. A snowflake falling in England is enough to cause instant transport chaos here....