Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
Australia

Australian Crackdown On Console Modchips Likely To Continue 89

angry tapir writes "Late last week an Australian court issued an injunction against a handful of retailers selling or importing hardware — commonly known as 'mod chips' — that allows unauthorized software to run on Sony's PlayStation 3. The court also required that the four parties that were the subject of the injunction actually hand over to Sony any PlayStation modchips they have. Sony's PlayStation 3 mod chip lawsuit could be just the first of many such cases in Australia, according to a lawyer who defended a client against Nintendo in a similar case earlier this year."
Biotech

Miniaturized DNA Sewing Machines 75

Roland Piquepaille writes "Japanese researchers have found a way to build long threads of DNA using miniaturized hooks and bobbins. In fact, they've demonstrated how to manipulate delicate DNA chains without breaking them. They've designed these laser-directed microdevices to pick up and manipulate individual molecules of DNA. The scientists have used optical tweezers to catch and move these microdevices, which could be used in the future to detect genetic disorders such as Down syndrome." Here's a link to the journal article.
Handhelds

Dark Alex Releases 4.01 M33 Firmware For PSP 58

Croakyvoice writes "Dark Alex, the PSP hacker from Spain, and his Team M33 have released a new version of the custom firmware for the PSP, which now supports the very latest official firmware from Sony. Benefits for the end user include the ability to play the many hundreds of games, demos, applications and emulators written by the homebrew community for the PSP."
Input Devices

Touch Screen Tech Comes of Age 78

pottercw writes "Good summary of today's touch-screen technologies on Computerworld — the obvious Apple iPhone and Microsoft Surface, plus projected touch screens (nothing for users to break), handheld devices that you control from the back (so your fingers don't obscure the screen), and of course giant multitouch walls a la Minority Report. Anyone got $100K?"
Robotics

Monkey's Thoughts Make Robot Walk 146

geekbits writes "For all those who have at one time or another been too lazy to get up off the couch and go to the fridge and get a beer, heat up some pizza, or change the channel when the remote is missing, we may be one step closer to being able to keep our tushes parked just a little while longer. There may also be some slightly more noble implications here. According to an article in The New York Times, in an experiment at Duke University, a 12-pound, 32-inch monkey made a 200-pound, 5-foot humanoid robot walk on a treadmill using only her brain activity. She was in North Carolina, and the robot was in Japan."

Online Cartoonist Finds Financial Success Offline 268

destinyland writes "The first collection of Perry Bible Fellowship comics has racked up pre-sales of $300,000 due to its huge online following. Within seven weeks the volume required a third printing. Ironically, the 25-year-old cartoonist speculates people would rather read his arty comics in a book than on a computer screen, and warns that 'There's something wonderful, and soon-to-be mythic, about the printed page...' He also explains the strange anti-censorship crusade in high school that earned him an FBI record!"
Communications

Sony Announces Skype For PSP, Homebrewers Respond 77

Croakyvoice writes "Sony has finally officially announced that Skype is coming soon to the PSP. The VoIP service is slated to hit the company's handheld at the end of January. The application will be available via a firmware update and is only compatible with PSP Slim & Lite Consoles. After the announcement the PSP homebrew scene released a new application called Furikup which will allow you to make phone calls with your PSP and is compatible with the original phat PSPs."
The Military

Army Opens New Office of Videogames 174

An anonymous reader writes "For the first time, the Army has set up a project office, just for building videogames. The military has been training troops with games for decades, of course. But this is the first wing of the armed forces dedicated exclusively for gaming. One of the first projects: a tool kit that would let soldiers "build and customize their own training scenarios — just like the Marines' did, adapting Armed Assault for military purposes."

Feed Engadget: Windows CE 6.0 R2 to support videoconferencing (engadget.com)

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Although Windows Mobile generally gets all the attention, a whole spectrum of PMPs and GPS units run Windows CE (also known as Windows Embedded) with great results, so the feature list for Windows CE 6.0 R2 is a little sneak peek at what we might see in the next year or so. Microsoft isn't actually officially announcing R2 until Thursday at an event in Japan, but the changelog and a download have already appeared on the web for your eager eyes -- revealing the big addition of video over IP calling in addition to bolstered VoIP features and other obvious-but-welcome tweaks like SDHC support and Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0. No word on when OEMs will start rolling any of this out, obviously, but that's not stopping you from checking the whole list at the read link and dreaming of your own personal super-PMP, now is it?

[Via eWeek]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


Slashdot Top Deals

Quantum Mechanics is God's version of "Trust me."

Working...