FireWire Speed Boost Is Coming in October
FireWire, i.Link, IEEE-1394 — whatever you like to call it, the high-speed data transfer interface is getting a boost. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced Tuesday that it has approved two new FireWire specifications — S1600 and…

FireWire, i.Link, IEEE-1394 — whatever you like to call it, the high-speed data transfer interface is getting a boost.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced Tuesday that it has approved two new FireWire specifications — S1600 and S3200 — capable of data-transfer rates of 1.6 Gbps and 3.2Gbps, respectively. To put it more simply, 3.2Gbps translates to an actual transfer rate of about 400 megabytes per second when moving data onto a FireWire S3200 hard drive. By way of comparison, you can move data onto current FireWire 800 hard drives at about 90MB per second.

What’s also cool is that both S1600 and S3200 interfaces will be compatible with current FireWire 800 cables, so you won’t need to add to your cable clutter.

We’ll have to wait and see which manufacturers select to adopt the new-and-improved FireWire standard when it becomes available October. The upgrade is in direct competition with USB 3.0, which will have a 4.8Gbps transfer rate and be available by end of 2008.

IEEE approves 3.2 Gb/s IEEE 1394 high-speed serial bus specification [TG Daily]

(Photo credit: Shanghai Daddy/Flickr )

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Sure it’s an ad, but taking over your office building’s lighting system en masse with an army of thirsty friends as an homage to every Irishman’s favorite stout is a pretty refreshing dream while you’re pinned inside your cubicle. Now if we could just do this with a huge INSTEON installation—then we’d be set. Check out the flashmob-inspired ad after the jump. Now I’m thirsty and it’s barely even noon.

[Space Invaders via Not Cot]

Via [gizmodo]

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Classic Nickelodeon Creeps into iTunes [Nickelodeon]

True story: we weren’t going to post that iTunes was to begin selling classic Nickelodeon shows. And then a discussion started—a lively discussion in which we listed our fond memories of You Can’t Do That On TV, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts and Clarissa Explains it all. Eventually, Adam posted a picture of Alex Mack (age 10 or so) into our chatroom and made us all feel a little weird…especially when Benny countered it with a shot of Clarissa who Jason authoritatively affirmed “was hotter.”

But what I’m trying to say here is that although all of our favorite Nick shows aren’t on iTunes yet, quite a few of them are—episodes that were never available before on DVD. Here’s the full list, with more on the way, hopefully:

•Aaahhh Real Monsters–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Aaahhh Real Monsters focuses on three barely competent, adolescent monsters trying their best to learn the ropes of monsterhood.

•The Amanda Show–Best of, Vol. 1 (Five Episodes): Starring Amanda Bynes, this show features comedy sketches as well as short animated segments, TV commercial parodies and short films.

•Angry Beavers–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Daggett and Norbert are beaver brothers adapting to life on their own and perpetually torn between their sibling rivalry and undying love for each other.

•As Told by Ginger–Season 1 (13 Episodes): As Told by Ginger focuses on 12-year-old Ginger Foutley’s experiences in Junior High School as she tiptoes between two worlds: the cool and the uncool.

•Clarissa Explains It All–Best of (Seven Episodes): This series examines life as seen through Clarissa Darling’s (Melissa Joan Hart) eyes. Clarissa is an imaginative and very contemporary teenager who makes no bones about detailing her likes, dislikes and fantasies.

•Doug–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Doug deals with the life and imagination of 11-year-old Doug Funnie, his dog Porkchop, and good friends Skeeter Valentine and Patti Mayonnaise, and Doug’s reaction to various situations in his life.

•Hey Arnold–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Hey Arnold stars Arnold as a city kid with problems like any other 4th grader, except Arnold’s got a unique way of solving them.

•Hey Dude–Season 1 (13 Episodes): Hey Dude follows the lives of the Bar None Dude Ranch owner, his son, and five teenage employees and the predicaments the teens get themselves into while on the ranch.

•Rocket Power–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Rocket Power is the story of four friends- Otto Rocket, and his sister Reggie, and their pals Twister and Sam-who are addicted to action and extreme sports.

•Rocko’s Modern Life–Best of, Vol. 1 (Six Episodes): The animated series chronicles the hilarious antics of Rocko, a wallaby on his own in the United Says for the first time, and his beloved brain-dead dog, Sparky.

•Rugrats–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Rugrats stars Tommy, the one-year-old hero; his ideal friend Chuckie; his baby brother Dil; the twins from next door, Phil and Lil; and Tommy’s bratty cousin Angelica. As the pals wobble through life, we see the world from a baby’s point-of-view.

•Wild Thornberrys–Best of, Vol. 1 (Seven Episodes): Wild Thornberrys follows the adventures of girl hero—Eliza Thornberry, a courageous 12-year-old who can speak to animals-and her quirky family who travel the world in search of exotic, endangered animals to star in their nature documentaries.

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Asustek, maker of the Eee Computer, is planning to repair the biggest problem with its littlest computer: battery life. The company will introduce “whole day” battery life, which we take to mean a larger, better battery. It could also mean…

Asustek, maker of the Eee Computer, is planning to repair the biggest problem with its littlest computer: battery life. The company will introduce “whole day” battery life, which we take to mean a more massive, superior battery. It could also mean that there will be other hardware changes which would simply sip less juice, but the report from Digitimes doesn’t make this clear.

To be sure, the Eee isn’t the only mini-notebook suffering from battery woes. The little form-factor of these ultra-mobiles makes it hard to squeeze enough cells in to keep a computer running for more than a few hours, despite the lower powered processors and the smaller, less thirsty displays.

If Asus isn’t planning on just cramming more watt hours into it’s mini-notebook line, then — and this is pure speculation — it could be toying with lower powered chips or even dual mode displays like those found in the OLPC XO. A daylight readable screen not only uses less power, it’s also pretty well suited to the kind of always-everywhere use these tiny Computers are meant for.

What we know for sure is that Asus is knocking out new models and accessories at a tremendous rate, so hopefully we’ll soon see that Holy Grail of mobile computing: a mini-notebook that lasts as long as a cellphone.

Asustek to extend battery life and storage capacity for Eee PCs in 2H08 [Digitimes via BBGadgets]

Photo credit [Fimb/Flickr]

Via [wired.com]

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Palm Treo 800w Gets Bluetooth Voice Dialing Via Software Update [Treo 800W]

Treo 800w users can finally do voice dialing over their Bluetooth headsets with this software update pack. One caveat is that you’ll need to have the TREO800w-1.03-SPNT as your current “Software Version” under your About screen, so if you don’t, you’ll have to update to that first. What’s the point of using your Bluetooth headset in the vehicle for safety reasons when you’ve to look down at your phone to dial anyway? [Palm]

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This is a US Navy Spruance-class destroyer sinking in mere minutes after being hit by the latest version of a Mk 48: a heavyweight torpedo which, as you can see in this video, can wipe a whole ship out of the water in a single strike. This version, developed by the US and Australia, has new sonar enhancements that make it an “effective weapon in shallow water and in a countermeasure environment.” The footage was taken to demonstrate its abilities during the Rim of the Pacific 2008 naval exercise. Obviously, with frightening success (at least for someone who is looking to go to NYC in a freighter ship soon.) [Ares and BBC]

Via [gizmodo]

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If you thought Red Bull Racing was crazy, you won’t believe the Rocket Racing League. Think NASCAR, but in the air, using planes powered by solid-state rockets flying simultaneously. The racers take off in pairs, separated by minutes, competing against the clock at the same time. That means that they will have to maneuver around the competition, following a 3D track projected in their head-up displays. You know it would be spectacular just with the description, and watching this video of one the $1 million racers in action at the 2008 Air Venture in Oshkosh.

The Rocket Racing League® is an aerospace sports and entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry. The RRL was established by X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis and two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner Granger Whitelaw to advance the technology and increase public awareness of space travel. The NASCAR-style racing league features rocket-powered aircraft that’ll be flown by top pilots through a ‘three-dimensional track way’ at venues throughout the world. With millions of fans who enjoy racing and air shows, and an even wider audience enthralled with humanity’s next step into space, rocket racing is destined to become the future of racing!

There are six teams already. If I was a test pilot, I would apply this day. Head to Flight Global for an exclusive interview with Granger Whitelaw, CEO of Rocket Racing, explaining what the whole thing is about. If you’re going to be at the show, go on Friday or Saturday, when they’ll fly it again. [Rocket Racing League and Flight Global]

Via [gizmodo]

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Apparently hidden in the code of the 2.1 firmware we’re anxiously awaiting to make our iPhones less laggy and crashy (and maybe add copy and paste!) is a reference to a new iPod touch model. The current iPod touch designation is “iPod1,1″ but there’s a string in the code for an “iPod2,1″ which points at a brand new iTouch.

For historical comparison, the original iPhone is “iPhone1,1″ while the iPhone 3G is “iPhone1,2″ as we found out during the 2.0 update madness, so there’s definitely a case to be made. And late summer is new iPod season. What new whiz-bang features do you think would be in a whole new iPod touch? [iPhone Atlas via Mac Rumors]

Via [gizmodo]

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An amazing photo gallery over at Seed Magazine shows the insides of science laboratories after they have been abandoned for the day, populated only by racks of sterile machinery, colored blinking lights and small, darting science-fish. Whenever they were taken,…

An extraordinary photo gallery over at Seed Magazine shows the insides of science laboratories after they have been abandoned for the day, populated only by racks of sterile machinery, colored blinking lights and small, darting science-fish.

Whenever they were taken, Noah Kalina’s eerily still photographs would be a great look inside the birthplaces of gizmos and gadgetry. But knowing that the labs were empty at the time lends another, creepier dimension. We half expect Nico, the baseball-capped robot from the Social Robotics Laboratory to come to life, glance at himself in the mirror and begin some experiments of his own, Sorcerer’s Apprentice-style.

Gallery [Seed Magazine via Kottke]

Pic Credit [Noah Kalina]

Via [wired.com]

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SimSail Land Sailing Simulator Offers Full-Sized Boats For Landlubbing Wannabes [Sailing Simulator]

Philippe Kahn and his ambitious Pacific Cup sailing trip from San Francisco to Hawai’i got me all inspired this week to go sailing, but there’s one problem: I suck at sailing. In fact, the last time I went sailing was in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where I nearly got smashed on the reef that protects the beach there. So you’ll excuse my excitement this day over the SimSail, a full sized “land yachting” simulator for two. It’s not quite the same thing as sailing on the water, and it’s certainly not even remotely close to what Kahn’s up to these days, but for me, at least, it’s a begin.

SimSail offers custom locations, weather and, yes, those land yachts are full-size. A roughly 7′x5′ screen displays the virtual course for the two “sailors” and the two or three people gathered to watch. [SimSail via Born Rich]

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