Daily Bits

Atari’s Asteroids on the iPad

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asteroidsThere is something to be said about retro consoles and games. While this sector has made leaps and bounds, and consumers are demanding more (graphics, game play, etc.), a trip back to the past is always a welcome change every now and then.

Ion – that manufacturer responsible for “high tech turntables” – has come up with a new dock that will satisfy the nostalgic feelings of every gamer out there. The dock is meant for the iPad and will turn this ultramodern gadget into a console reminiscent of the past. It will allow you to play Atari’s Asteroids and even give you realistic buttons and knobs.

Just to refresh your memory, Asteroids was released as a video arcade game in 1979. The two dimensional game has a simple premise that it easily caught on and soon became the best selling game of all time. The idea is that the player controls a spaceship that flies through fields of asteroids. Flying saucers also come into the screen. The player has to shoot at the asteroids and flying saucers with the aim of destroying them without crashing into them.

Drooling now? Watch the demo video below, and I am sure that you will be wanting the dock for your iPad.

Teens’ Brains, Technology, and Multitasking

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brain-mriMultitasking is a skill that not everyone possesses, and there is even this saying that men can’t multitask if their lives depended on it. (Now that is definitely something that is up for debate nowadays.) For teenagers, though, multitasking is an inherent part of their lives. Indeed, they might suffer if they are not able to multitask.

News Hour science correspondent Miles O’Brien took a look at this phenomenon and how technology plays a crucial role. What did he find out?

Basically, I think he just confirmed what many of us already acknowledge: multitasking and technology go together. At any given time that you are online, you probably have at least five windows open. You probably have at least one instant messenger account on. Add to that Facebook, e-mail, and your mobile phone (which you check every so often).

So what’s there to talk about?

What I found pretty interesting about O’Brien’s report is the “brain science” behind it. He took a look at how the brain lights up during an MRI when one multitasks. Yes, the lights are bigger and there are more of them – the brain gets more taxed with more input. No surprise there.

The significant point is the effect of these activities on a teenager’s brain. At that stage in a person’s life, his or her brain is still developing. It continues to learn and to improve according to how it is used. O’Brien’s question is one that should be considered by everyone: are the teenagers of today benefiting from the use of technology in such a way that their brains are being hardwired to perform better?

Watch the video report below and tell me what you think.

Photo via Dangerous Intersection

TRENDnet Launches GREENwifi Technology

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trendnetThe Consumer Electronics Show always grabs the attention of tech enthusiasts the world over, and this year is no different.  While not everything that is showcased is worth noticing, one can’t deny that some of the most interesting things can be found at the CES.  Take TRENDnet’s newest technology dubbed GREENwifiTM for example.  It holds the distinction of being the first embedded green wireless technology.

GREENwifiTM is part of TRENDnet’s already existing environment-friendly solutions, GREENnetTM. This networking technology is a wired switch-based solution that saves considerably on energy consumption by determining and providing the right amount of power to each connected device. When calculating the amount of electrical power to supply, the technology takes into consideration things such as the length of the Ethernet cable.

The new wireless technology is based on the same principles being used in the wired set up, with a few specific differences. The allocated power is significantly reduced in the following cases.

  • When the wireless device is not connected to another device (such as a wireless router not being connected to a laptop)
  • When the wireless device is connected but idle

Another consideration is the wireless signal strength.  For example, if a laptop is very near the router and is receiving a strong signal, the router will reduce its power consumption.

Based on tests that TRENDnet has conducted, the whole system can offer up to 50% on savings.  This is quite a feat, especially considering the amount of time that the average person spends on the Internet these days.

New Intel Chip to Disallow Copying of Movies

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Yeah, I hear you. News like this does not sit well with a lot of people, but what with copyright issues being at the forefront these days, you really cannot say that it is unexpected can you?

Yesterday, Intel announced a new feature on their next-generation Core chips. Dubbed Insider, the feature offers studios the incentive of providing access to more high definition movies via online streaming. The main issue of studios with regard to high definition movies and online streaming is the fact that users can copy the movies. Of course, once a movie has been copied onto one’s hard drive, so many complicated questions arise.

Insider is Intel’s answer to the concerns of the studios – the feature has an end-to-end protection layer that will ensure that streaming movies will not be copied. Tomorrow, January 5, we will be hearing more about this new generation of Intel Core processors with Insider as Intel conducts the official launch.

On the one hand, this is good news. With such measures in place, studios will be more comfortable offering their premium quality movies online. This means one thing: the choices that we have will only become more varied, and for those who are nitpicky when it comes to visual quality, then HD streaming will only sweeten the pot. On the other hand, I will not be surprised to hear grumblings here and there about how restrictive this move is.

On to less controversial news: the next generation of Intel chips are going to have seriously beefed up graphics features. Now who can complain about that?

XToaster360: Putting That Old Toaster to Good Use

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Got an old toaster or two that is merely collecting dust in the corner? If you are a candidate for that reality TV series The Hoarders, then you might want to put one of those toasters to good use – just like what this guy who calls himself ncarouso11 did.

Basically, he got a four-slice toaster, took out its innards, and then replaced (carefully, I bet) them with the stuff that you find inside of an Xbox360. Here’s how it looks.
xtoaster360

In case you’re wondering how you get the game CD in, here’s the answer.
xtoaster360_2

Here’s a video of the toaster slash Xbox360 in action in case you need more convincing that it is for real.

You have to admit, there is something to be said about the boxy thing with glowing blue lights coming out of it. It may not be as sleek and sexy as the Xbox360, but not everyone can say that they own something like this and actually play games on it, can they?

If you can’t be bothered to create your own XToaster360, or you simply do not have the skill to do so, then prepare a couple of hundred dollars (US) and bid on this cool mod on eBay. The starting bid is $150 and as of this writing, there are 6 days 12 hours left to bid. If you win, you get the following:

  • XToaster360
  • Power cable/brick
  • AV cable
  • Ethernet cable
  • Xbox360 Controller
  • Xbox360 Headset
  • (Only has 256MB internal memory card but can easily be improved with the use of a thumb drive)

iPhone Skype Video Calling App Now Available!

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The guys at Skype have got a nice Christmas present for iPhone users – albeit a belated one. Skype just announced the availability of a new app for the iPhone that will allow users to do video calls – something that many people have been waiting for for a while now. There is FaceTime for the iPhone, yes, but that only works when both users are on Wi-Fi and not 3G. With this new Skype app, though, iPhone users do not need to connect to Wi-Fi and can use 3G to make video calls!

While the app does have its limitations, such as video calls only working with Skype-to-Skype calls, it seems to be ahead of FaceTime in many different aspects. For one, the amount of data used by Skype video calls is much less than FaceTime. Skype does recommend that the app be used over Wi-Fi for “best results”.

More good news – the app will work on the following devices:

  • iPhone 4
  • iPhone 3GS
  • 3rd generation iPod touch
  • 4th generation iPod touch
  • iPad

Of course, the other party will not be able to see you if you’re using the iPad, but with rumors about the iPad 2 coming soon, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

You ought to be aware that additional charges may – and probably will – apply when the app is used over 3G.  Still, it should not be too bad since the data usage is not supposed to be that high.  Then again, you might want to take it easy when you first use it so as to avoid unpleasant surprises when your phone bill arrives.  For more information, visit the Skype Help Page.

Photo via Unwired View