|  |  |  | | | | | Engadget | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As it turns out, Apple too used to announce products at trade shows... only to never actually ship them. Back in the halcyon days of the early '90s, Apple revealed the WALT (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone) at Macworld Boston, touting a fairly amazing feature set. Things like a touchscreen, handwriting recognition, fax support, an address book, caller ID, online banking and a speakerphone set it apart from the landline devices of its day, and being that it was co-developed with Bell South, it's pretty clear that your pops had his eye one at some point. Those looking to relive the corporate boom of one-nine-nine-to-the-tres can plunk down $8,000 of 2012's dollars at the eBay link below; just don't expect it to work out of the box, okay?
[Thanks, TS]Apple WALT prototype hits eBay, reminds us of a life with landlines originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  eBay | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from is from Paul who is looking for a handset for his tethering needs. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "Hello! Can you help me decide if I should take my freshly available upgrade on AT&T or hold on for a while. In the past I've made some rash decisions that led to immediate regret and two years of gadget envy. If I had to choose today, I'd pick a Samsung Focus S, because of the overall feature set of Mango and its small size. It'd be nice to have a mobile hotspot for syncing my Kindle Fire while I'm camping and a camera should Bigfoot happen across my path. Please help me, Engadget gurus!" If you asked us, we'd advise keeping our powder dry for a month or two, because there's a whole slew of handsets that were announced at MWC we'll be seeing in Q2 of this year. But heck, what do we know? There's a river of eager commenters below this post all desperate to help, so help away! Ask Engadget: Best AT&T smartphone for occasional tethering? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | We're still waiting to see where HP goes with webOS, but according to the New York Times it will officially launch a cloud computing service that competes with Amazon Web Services in the next couple of months. HP Senior VP and General Manager Zorawar Singh is quoted saying the currently in beta service projects as an alternative to what Amazon has built with a focus on personalized sales and service and additional tools for third party developers, as well as a system of small data centers around the world. Throw in analytics based on technology it's obtained by purchasing Vertica and Autonomy, and maybe Meg Whitman's ship has something here, but we'll wait until the next Netflix is running its operations from this cloud before declaring it on the same level. HP readying competitor for Amazon's cloud computing, plans to launch soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | New York Times | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Toshiba gave us an early glimpse of its glasses-free 3D Satellite P855 a few days ago and has now revealed a little more about the rest of the P8-series. The company still isn't talking processors or GPUs, beyond saying that the line-up will use the "latest" hardware from Intel and "next-gen graphics from NVIDIA." Without getting breathless about it, this hints at what we'd already hoped: some Ivy Bridge action coupled with the possibility of Kepler graphics -- after all, these new Satellites won't start shipping til the next quarter. Regardless, here's some stuff we know for sure: The full line-up includes a second 15.6-incher (the P850) and two 17.6-inchers (the P870 and P875) which will do away with the lenticular 3D display but keep the metallic finish, LED backlighting, backlit keyboard, Slip Stream audio for playing music while in standby, four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, WiDi and BlueTooth 4.0, while also offering the options of a Blu-ray drive and hybrid hard-drive (8GB solid, 750GB spinning). No official word on pricing yet, but we've already reported that the range will likely start at £599 ($940). So, breathless is too much, but breathy is okay. Continue reading Toshiba outs Satellite P8-series laptops, treads line between enigmatic and annoying Toshiba outs Satellite P8-series laptops, treads line between enigmatic and annoying originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  Netbook Italia | | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | While there's an array of unofficial third-party keyboards willing to pair up with your 7-inch RIM slate, an approved peripheral is likely to be the better option. At least, it's what the BlackBerry-authorized add-on aims to accomplish. Dubbed Mini Keyboard, which also doubles as a "convertible" case, it's said to start shipping on March 23rd for $120, packing a multitouch trackpad and claiming up to a month of juice on a single charge. Additionally, the device features 128bit encryption to put your paranoia at ease when you're using that shiny OS 2.0. We've yet to hear an official word from RIM about price and availability, however, the source below seems to be taking pre-orders now. Official BlackBerry PlayBook Mini Keyboard coming on March 23rd for $120? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | N4BB, TheSource.ca | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | With great purchasing power apparently comes great affordability for Marvel Comics fans. Starting this June, folks who purchase any Marvel super hero comic priced at $3.99 will also get a free digital copy for Android or iOS. Examples of Marvel titles that will come with free codes include the Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Mighty Thor and Invincible Iron Man. The new program continues the trend of comic book publishers invading the digital space like famished planet-eaters -- Dark Horse, for instance, recently made a deal with Barnes & Noble. Similarly, DC Comics inked an agreement with Amazon, a move that got some DC titles sent to the Phantom Zone by B&N. Judging from the positive response to digital codes included in the Ultimate Comics line and Avenging Spider-Man, Marvel expects the expanded code program to act like a radioactive spider bite for comic book stores, boosting repeat visits. Feel that tingling? That's your own Spidey sense telling you to swing past the break for Marvel's official PR. Continue reading Marvel Comics greets true believers with free digital copy for select print titles Marvel Comics greets true believers with free digital copy for select print titles originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TechCrunch | Marvel Comics | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The headline sums it up nicely but really, those photographic acrobatics account for only part of the story. Starting from the beginning, a research team led by Louis DiMauro of Ohio State University used an "ultrafast" laser to knock an electron out of its orbit, which scattered off the molecule as it fell back toward its natural path. That ripple effect you see in that photo up there represents any changes the molecule went through during the quadrillionth of a second that transpired between laser pulses. Yes, that's the kind of rare, psychedelic shot that's sure to earn DiMauro and team bragging rights, but the scientists also say this technique could have practical implications for observing -- and ultimately manipulating -- chemical reactions at an atomic level. Of course, it could be a long time yet before scientists analyze complex proteins in such detail: for the purposes of this experiment, the researchers stuck with simple nitrogen and oxygen molecules, with which chemistry scholars are already quite familiar. In fact, the researchers don't elaborate at all on specific studies where this technique might be useful, but you might want to hit up the source link nonetheless for some of the more technical details of how they pulled off this experiment in the first place. Researchers capture first-ever images of atoms moving inside a molecule originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PhysOrg | Ohio State University | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Have you ever noticed that there is a serious amount of lag between when you move your finger on a touchscreen and when it actually registers that input? Perhaps you haven't, but most panels and controllers out there suffer from about a 100ms delay. For taps and slow swipes that's not an issue but, as you wing your finger around the screen faster and faster (say, while quickly doodling in a painting app), the lag becomes quite apparent. The powerful minds over at Microsoft Research have figured out a way to get that delay down to a measly 1ms. Of course, there's no guarantee this tech will ever make it into a product, and the video after the break shows little more than a glowing box following a finger. Still, it's always enjoyable to see where we are now versus where we could be. Continue reading Microsoft cuts touchscreen lag to 1ms, makes other panels look silly (video) Microsoft cuts touchscreen lag to 1ms, makes other panels look silly (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 05:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TechCrunch | Microsoft Research (YouTube) | Email this | Comments | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
