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Nilay Patel

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Researcher to Use GPS to Study Asthma Triggers

by Nilay Patel on April 13, 2009 at 09:15 AM

You wouldn't expect GPS tech to have an impact on asthma research, but the University of Wisconsin-Madison's David Van Sickle says it will -- he's planning on tagging sufferers so he can learn when and where they reach for their inhalers. The data will hopefully make sorting out environmental triggers of the disease much easier -- it took scientists eight years to prove that soybean dust near the Barcelona harbor caused a massive asthma outbreak in the '80s, a timeline that might have been dramatically shorter if location information had been available from the start. The plan's still in the early stages, but would-be participants can sign up already -- let's just hope the tracker is slightly more attractive than Kogan's enormous watch unit.

[Via CNET]
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Nintendo DSi Debuts to iPhone-like Sales in US and Europe

by Nilay Patel on April 10, 2009 at 10:18 AM

It wasn't the most hyped launch ever, but Nintendo's DSi had itself a fine little opening weekend, with 300,000 units moving in the US and Europe each. Not bad at all, considering that the first DS only sold 500,000 units in its first entire week in the US -- we're guessing the DSi will manage to meet that mark when the final numbers all come in. So, anyone out there pick one up?
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Amazon Now Selling Xbox Live Arcade Games

by Nilay Patel on April 10, 2009 at 07:58 AM


Amazon.com might still make most of its money by shipping physical items to your door, but it's clear that the online retail giant knows the future of media is digital -- not only is it pushing the Kindle and services like Amazon Video On Demand, it's expanding its downloadable video game catalog to include Xbox Live Arcade games today. The process seems a little clunky at the moment -- you buy a code from Amazon that you have enter into your Xbox -- and it's not exactly easy to compare prices, since Amazon charges you real money instead of Xbox Live points, but we're not going to complain too much about anything that increases gamer choice. (Using real money actually seems like a benefit to us -- we've never really loved the idea of points.) The service is live now, anyone going to do a little shopping?

[Via Joystiq]

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Proposed Bill Would Create National Cybersecurity Advisor

by Nilay Patel on April 6, 2009 at 04:21 PM

It hasn't gotten a lot of traction yet, but Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snow have jointly introduced a bill that would create an Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor, a new White House position designed to beef up the nation's information security policies. The new office goes hand-in-hand with the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, another proposed bill that would create an entire panel of security experts brought in from the government, private sector, and universities.

All together, the two pieces of legislation would require that government networks and software meet a set of security standards and vulnerability tests -- and, more controversially, that private networks deemed "critical infrastructure" by the President meet these standards as well.

What's more, El Presidente can order the disconnection of those networks during a "cybersecurity emergency" or national security emergency if needed, and security professionals will need to be licensed by the government to work on them.

Yeah, it's a long way from BlackBerrys loaded with presidential campaign information being sold at yard sales, but we'd bet some of these ideas get tamer as the bill moves through the process -- we'll see how it goes.
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New Flat-Speaker Tech Could Make Public Places Even Louder

by Nilay Patel on April 5, 2009 at 04:47 PM


Flat-panel speakers are nothing new, but a new version of the tech could one day replace boomy public address systems with hidden speakers that produce easier-to-hear audio in large spaces. Under development at the University of Warwick, FFL ("flat flexible loudspeaker") speakers are actually a thin laminate made of layers of conducting and insulating material that resonate when electricity is passed through them -- the crisper, clearer audio is a result of the entire surface creating sound in phase at once, which allows it to produce highly directional audio. Since they're so thin and flexible, FFL speakers can be hidden nearly anywhere -- behind signage, in the ceiling, or even painted and hung directly on the wall.

Of course, this'll all come to nothing if the sound quality isn't up to snuff, but we'll find out more when the first commercial FFL product goes on sale later this year.

[Via PhysOrg]
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Apple and Stanford Offering iPhone App-Making Classes Online

by Nilay Patel on April 4, 2009 at 02:45 PM

Would-be iPhone developers struggling to make their apps do more than fart and crash take note: Apple and Stanford have partnered to offer videos and course materials from Stanford's undergraduate iPhone app development course through iTunes. The course is being taught by two Apple engineers, and it sounds like videos will go up regularly -- the first is scheduled to post on Friday. Alright, let's all practice together: "Yeah, I took a class at Stanford." Sounds good, doesn't it?

[Via Wired]
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Apple Adds HD Video Purchases to the iTunes Store

by Nilay Patel on March 20, 2009 at 07:16 AM


Apple's flood of announcements this month continues apace today with the addition of high-def movie purchases to the iTunes Store. Although HD TV shows were previously available to buy, HD movies were rental-only until now. HD flicks will cost you $19.99, and we're guessing they're the same H.264 compressed 720p quality as usual, so videophiles will probably want to stick to Blu-ray. Purchases will come with both an HD file and an iPod / iPhone-ready SD file, which is a nice touch, and Apple's also promising that HD rentals will now be on the store within 30 days of retail release -- better, but not perfect. It's all going live today with exclusive pre-orders of 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Twilight,' but honestly, we're still wondering when Apple will implement subscription video and really take it to Netflix.
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Hands-On with the World's Cheapest Laptops

by Nilay Patel on March 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM


We were ready to fall in love with the Impulse NPX-9000 as soon as we heard the words "World's Cheapest Laptop," but now that we've got a review sample in our hands, the bloom might be off this rose -- especially since the $199 wholesale price isn't even as cheap as the Dell Mini 9 on sale.

On the other hand, there's something just delightfully janky about our Windows XP-powered unit, now labeled the TNX-9500 -- it beeped continuously for several minutes when we first turned it on, the 1GHz no-name processor seems less willing to run Internet Explorer than Richard Stallman on a bad day, and it took us several minutes to figure out that a loud howling sound was being produced by the always-on microphone feeding back through the speakers. Yet for some reason we were all smiles the whole time -- what can we say, we're suckers for cheap.

Hopefully Impulse will stake a bolder claim to the title of "world's cheapest laptop" when production ramps up, since prices are expected to fall, but this particular unit actually can't get any cheaper for you -- we'll be giving it away soon. Check some shots in the gallery at Engadget!
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New iPod shuffle Only Usable with Apple-Authorized Headphones

by Nilay Patel on March 17, 2009 at 07:10 AM


Sigh, it looks like Apple's habit of squeezing iPod accessory manufacturers for license fees has now extended to freaking headphones -- iLounge is reporting that the new iPod shuffle can only be controlled by headphones with a special hardware authentication chip. That means that third parties will have to pay Apple for the privilege of making shuffle-compatible accessories, and you can bet they'll just pass that cost right on to consumers -- we wouldn't expect any cheap headphone adapters or inexpensive replacement headphones for the littlest iPod. iLounge calls this a "nightmare scenario" for iPod fans, and we're inclined to agree -- it's one thing for Apple to require the Made For iPod certification for accessories that interface with the dock connector, but trying to lock down headphones is a sad new low, and it makes the lack of physical controls on the shuffle seem even more ridiculous. Anyone still planning on buying this thing?
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Will the Next iPhone Software Update Include Copy and Paste?

by Nilay Patel on March 16, 2009 at 09:35 AM


Digg's Kevin Rose has a solid (but far from perfect) track record when it comes to Apple rumors, and he just drove the nerds of SXSWi crazy with his latest gaze into the crystal ball: he says the iPhone 3.0 will have copy and paste. Kev says that the interface is much like the magnifying glass -- you use two fingers to select the text you want, and then you can cut or copy. Sure, that's great, but we think the bigger news is that Rose says 3.0 won't have support for background apps -- which makes his claim that that 3.0 will bring the iPhone "up to speed with the Palm Pre" a little suspect. We'll find out what's what in just a few days, but in the meantime check the video of Rose after the break.

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New Philips LED Light Bulb Lasts for 45,000 hours

by Nilay Patel on March 10, 2009 at 02:22 PM

Philips has been hitting us with some out-there lighting concepts lately, but the company's Master LED light bulb is actually already on sale in Europe and is set to brighten up Stateside lives around July. The 40W-equivalent bulbs should run between $50 and $70, and expected lifetime is set at 45,000 hours -- just slightly more than a CFL's 10,000 or a standard bulb's 750 hours. The Master is ... Read more »
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Amazon Launches on Roku Player

by Nilay Patel on March 3, 2009 at 10:45 AM

Amazon Video on Demand has been in private beta on the Roku Video Player for about a month now, but now everyone can stream rentals and purchases to their TVs. The free Roku update enabling the service will roll out this week, and once it's installed, you'll be able to browse, rent, and purchase any of Amazon's 40,000 movies and TV shows. The interface is an extension of the familiar Netflix ... Read more »
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A $41,916 E-book?

by Nilay Patel on February 26, 2009 at 05:24 PM

Either Amazon's $41,916 list price is a mistake or Malcolm Barnes is finally about to buy that BMW. At $137 a page, we'd recommend you read and re-read the sample for Practical Variable Speed Drives and Power Electronics a few times before pulling the trigger, Sparky. ... Read more »
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Apple Working on 15-Inch MacBook Air?

by Nilay Patel on January 20, 2009 at 08:01 AM

Sketchy rumor Sunday, people -- Chinese site Apple.pro is saying there's a 15-inch MacBook Air in the works. That would certainly be an interesting compromise between portability and screen real estate, especially since the Air's new NVIDIA-based internals are actually somewhat capable, but we wouldn't bank on big brother making an appearance just yet. Although Apple.pro was right on the money ... Read more »
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Mac Mini Update Rumors Flare as Apple Sales Dip

by Nilay Patel on December 16, 2008 at 03:35 PM

Although Apple just posted some ridiculous quarterly numbers, it doesn't seem like it's going to escape the current economic conditions in the US unscathed -- like pretty much everyone else, monthly sales are down in Cupertino, according to the NPD Group. The drop is only one percent total, but it's against a two percent rise in overall PC sales, which could indicate that Apple's premium pricing ... Read more »
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