Author: James Mowery

You have got to love the Japanese. They come up with the coolest tech gadgets, and they also come up with the insanely weird stuff that has to make you think. Robots that look exactly like humans? That is another one that the Japanese are close to perfecting. Hiroshi Ishiguro, one of Japan’s most famous robotic engineers, can make you your own robot that looks almost exactly like you. It will only set you back over $100,000, but if you are willing to pony up the cash, you can own a robot that is so lifelike and so similar to yourself that it can become creepy. Granted, there are still some hints that these…

While some of us here at Techi and around the blogosphere want an iPad, some don’t. Some even go as far to believe that a person is a “tool” for thinking that the iPad changes anything (harsh, Mr. Thurrott). However — no matter what the critics are saying — people are buying the iPad, and they are buying a lot of them. An analyst at Kaufman Brothers believes that iPad does change everything:  ”We believe iPad has potential to become a high volume device as it could revolutionize publishing and gaming markets, not to mention mobile computing itself.” Now a few hotshots on Wall Street are predicting…

The Spanish government is quite unique as far as copyright laws are considered: it is completely legal to upload and download copyrighted material as long as it is for “personal use.” This means that every single Spaniard can download the latest Timbaland track, rip the latest Avatar movie, and acquire an unlimited amount of content through file sharing, for free. They got it good, don’t they? However, there is pressure on the government to change. Most countries that participates in international trade would like it if Spain would conform to copyright infringement laws. To the MPAA, RIAA,…

The folks over at Six Revisions have posted some very interesting materials that reveal the greatness that is Firefox. The numbers are, for the most part, really impressive. However, when you get to the “security” section, it raises questions. Is Internet Explorer more secure than Firefox? The infographic clearly depicts that many people love Firefox, as over 1.3 billion people have downloaded the browser since 2004. The graphic also points out that — as far as vulnerabilities are concerned — Firefox has some serious flaws. The number of vulnerabilities that Firefox has had over…

(Image Credit: “Evolution of Storage” by Curtiss Spontelli | CC) We consume an amazing amount of data, but we also store an equally impressive amount of data as well, and if you think back to not too long ago, we were having to deal with floppy disks and zip drives and who knows what else. Oh how the times have changed. We should appreciate how far we have come with regards to data storage, and this article is dedicated to displaying a bit of a graphical homage to storage mediums of the past, present, and future: Punchcard Magnetic Tape Floppy Disk Hard Drive Laser Disc CD/DVD Blu-ray Solid State Drive…

All of us tech geeks recall Minority Report, right? Well, for those of you who do, you’ll love what the geniuses over at MIT have come up with: it’s a pointing device. But this one is different, and, unlike a traditional mouse, this pointer is controlled by your hands. MIT students Tony Hyun Kim and Nevada Sanchez decided to work on this project in 2009, and, impressively, they managed to acquire all the necessary parts for under $100. Similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch, the gloves allow interactions like pinching, grabbing, zooming, and other familiar interactions you have with touchscreen devices….

We love cool things here at Techi: bikes are cool, right? But not every bike is created equally, and some, unfortunately, are not created at all. This is one of those that has yet to have been created. But trust us, it should be. The designer — Andi Klug — calls this concept CYOOO, and it is an assisted electric bike. If you need a bit of a boost or are just worn out from pedaling, this bike is great in that context. Yet as great as that is, it is only half of what makes this bike cool. The other half is that this concept also allows for the bike to be folded down into a more compact form that is easier for transportation…

Is it art? Is it science? Is it pointless? We don’t care! We just think it’s freaking cool! It’s a “Rotating Kitchen”, and it was the vision of Zeger Reyers, a Dutch artist. You’ll want to check out the video for this to make any sense, but, essentially, the exhibit starts off with a cut-out kitchen — dressed up with all the typical kitchen furnishings —that slowly begins to rotate, and as the rotation increases, the carnage does so as well. It starts off slow, but the mesmerizing details are there to be viewed. This little display took place in Germany’s Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. Unfortunately,…

First the HDTVs, then the Nintendo 3DS, and now mobile phones? All of them are getting 3D! However, the mobile phone is the most interesting target — not only does it pose challenges with a smaller screen, but the fact that everyone has their cell phone with them throughout the day makes it a tricky medium to deal with. Sharp wants to dominate this. When we think of seeing three-dimensional media, we typically treat this experience as a one-off occasion — it is not something you’d imagine viewing all day long or several times throughout the day. However, that could change in the future. Sharp…

The iPhone isn’t getting much attention — thanks to its XXXL-sized sibling — and that probably isn’t going to change for awhile. However, the n933 is making the news because it has a few conspicuous similarities to the iPhone, primarily with the software interface. It is coming straight out of a China from a manufacturer that we can’t even find, so that should tell you something. The n933 has a fairly mediocre set of features, with the exception of one: 320 x 240 display VGA camera FM radio Dual SIM slots 2GB external storage An interface quite similar to the iPhone I can already imagine the look…