Mobile Devices

Plug your PC into a wall electrical outlet, and that’s all your need to surf the web at high speeds. Tell the cable and DSL service providers where they can stuff their plugs, while you ride the wave of yet another next-generation technology at cheaper prices.

Well…not yet.

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the concept of broadband over power line (BPL), which the Federal Communications Commission has been touting since 2003 as possible pricing competition for cable and DSL providers. It’s only a pilot program in a handful of cities, but the FCC commissioned studies on the technology and wanted an accelerated rollout of the program. Now you can scratch one of those cities off the list, while the FCC studies themselves are being attacked by amateur radio operators.

Some two million internet customers in Dallas will not be getting BPL after all, according to the Dallas Morning News. Current Communications, which was providing Web service to DirecTV customers in the North Texas city, will sell its lines and equipment to Oncor for $90 million. And Oncor tells the paper it has no desire to get into the BPL business.

This comes on the heels of an April 25 federal judge’s ruling that sided with the Amateur Radio Relay League, the advocacy group for home-based radio operators. The group sued the FCC; it claims BPL, which relies on radio waves, will interfere with its part of the spectrum. The ARRL doesn’t like the way the FCC is conducting itself (so to speak) with its power line study findings, and a judge agreed.

The lesson so far? Fight the power, not the power technology. No one should fear new technologies or competition, especially if they can offer convenience and affordability at the push of a plug into an outlet. But the spectre of cutting corners won’t help consumers or the small yet vocal minority of amateur radio enthusiasts who help out their neighbors during emergencies.

Read [Dallas Morning News] Read [Amateur Radio Relay League] Read [Utilities Telecom Council]

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Microsoft and Yahoo could not come to terms with an agreement, and hence the former has walked away from the idea of purchasing the latter to end months’ long speculation and drama amongst tech watchers. I think the biggest winner from all of this would be Google, as they will still see their two competitors as fragmented camps who won’t have the fight in them to overhaul the Palo Alto startup in the long run. Show’s over, folks, and everything remains to status quo until one of them folds up due to competitive pressures.

Although Microsoft has always denied a Blu-Ray equipped Xbox 360 is in the works, an OEM order placed over the weekend has proved otherwise.

The Chinese-language Economic Daily News newspaper has reported company Pegatron Technology has won an order to manufacture Xbox 360 consoles with a BD-ROM drive. The order sees the first consoles sporting Blu-Ray shipped in the 3^rd quarter of this year.

Up until now Microsoft has stated it will be focusing on digital content and Xbox Live; never mentioning an intention to switch to a Blu-Ray equipped model. With news of the order Microsoft will have to talk about it and let us know their reasons why.

I think even with a Blu-Ray drive Microsoft are in an awkward position when it comes to games. They can’t start shipping games on Blu-Ray disc as millions of existing owners would be unable to play them. On the other hand, shipping on Blu-Ray could possibly cut costs due to less discs being required for the games.

So what do you think Microsoft will do with Blu-Ray and games? Will it be like the current transition between DVD and Blu-Ray where films are released on both versions? Also, what do you think Microsoft will call the new console? Xbox 360 BLUE? My bet is on Xbox 360 ULTIMATE.

Read more at Tom’s Hardware and DigiTimes

Capella Microsystems has announced a revolutionary, never seen before chip that promises to extend the battery life of cameras, notebooks, phones and anything else with a screen.

How does it perform this wonder? The chip measures both proximity and ambient light, dimming a display when it is dark and switching it off when the user’s head obscures the screen. You know, like the iphone has done for a year, and my Nikon D60 has done since I bought it. And the keyboards on MacBook Pros have done for several years.

To be fair to Capella, this is the first time that both functions have been combined in a single chip, but the tone of the press release sounds like something from Apple. Remember Apple? The company which made the iPhone, the first device to combine a phone, a music player and a web browser?

Press release [Reuters]

Photo [Mike Caine/Flickr]

Motorola has gone all soft on us with the H680 Bluetooth headset which features a floral pattern covered in a “frosty” color. It comes with an 8-hour battery life with multiple ear cushions in order to fit just about anyone’s ear, featuring a charging case, travel charger and carrying case. It will retail for $69 a pop.

What you see here is truly a work of art - the SKDubs Gold Boombox. Rarely has music and sculpture met in a whirlwind romance, but this one definitely ranks pretty much up there in terms of aesthetics as well as performance. It is but a boombox that has been built right into a body of a double bass, courtesy of artist David Ellis. Features include a 4-way stereo speaker system, a couple of vacuum tube preamps, a Crown power amp, and a Behringer equalizer for some serious sound. The only thing missing for this generation? An integrated ipod dock - having that would make the SKDubs Gold Boombox score full points in my book, but that glaring omission leaves it at a 9 out of 10. There will only be three of these available, retailing for a jaw-dropping $15,000 each.

Source: DVICE

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Last year, we broke the news that Nikko Electronics had created the ultimate home theater bot in the R2D2 Projector DVD player, a plucky well put together droid that not only provides comedy relief, but can help you relive that “help me Obi Wan Kinobi” fantasy. Well, now Nikko announces that R2 has gotten an upgrade …

Controlled by a Millenium Falcon remote (which is quite a handful to operate in an of itself), the new R3-D2 sports the ability to project a screen up to 260 inches wide, features 1800 lumens brightness and an amazing 1800:1 contrast ratio. Users can plug in anything from an ipod to a flash memory card, USB drive, and even a game console for those late night Star Wars Force Unleashed forays online in full HD.

R3 is also completely motorized, so users can watch their favorite Scifi movie from just about anywhere inside or outside of the house. It can even tilt the image up to the ceiling for those late night movie dates in bed. R3 even comes with built-in virtual surround sound but can also broadcast on an FM channel so users can take advantage of the HiFi stereo system they recently bought with their stimilus package refund. The cost is @2,900.00/€2,799.00 but you better hurry as it’s currently only available in Europe and in limited quantities (about 4000).

Death Star plans not included. But you can still check out this awesome video of R3 in action.

Hat Tip: The Ferret

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The Emoe garden shower certainly has nothing emo about it, and would definitely fit in your pad perfectly if you happen to have an outdoor swimming pool as well. It is a green product as it uses a cylindrical sensor to accumulate heat from sunlight to let the water within reach its desired temperature. The Emoe garden shower comes with a reservoir of 25 liters, which ought to be more than enough for a family of four to enjoy consecutive showers without shivering out in the open, unless you’re one who spends at least an hour in the shower per session.

SAN MATEO, California — Attach a set of wheels to a saw’s motor, set it between a pair of wood guides, and you’ve got a drag racing power tool!

Based on this simple idea, Jim Mason and Charles Gadeken started the original Power Tool Drag Races seven years ago.

The rules are simple. A sign outside the tracks read, "Finish your machine before you arrive. Stay away from the liquor. Go faster than everyone else. Make good looking machines. Don’t crash. Win prizes and money."

Their creation has since metastasized across the world from Amsterdam to Seattle, largely due to their innovative franchising business model.

"We license the event out for a six pack of beer," said Gadeken. "But it’s hard to collect, so I desperately need a lawyer who will sue for half a six pack of beer."

Gadeken said he started the event to get more people involved in mechanical and kinetic sculpture by combining "the gear head racing thing" with art.

"I like the idea of doing very dangerous things in a responsible way and promoting that concept," Gadeken told Wired.com. "People should be more encouraged to do that."

As the Power Tool Drag Racers put the finishing touches on their contenders, we snuck behind the fence to bring you some exclusive video of the competitors test runs before an errant saw sent us packing. Look for the mohawked cabbage patch doll’s excellent flame-out.