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Amazon Kindle dual-screen e-reader patent granted, Barnes & Noble Nook potentially in trouble
Looks like the battle for e-reader dominance between Amazon and Barnes & Noble could soon expand beyond the recent spate of price drops and into the courtroom as well: the USPTO just granted a 2006 Amazon patent on e-readers with secondary LCD displays (like the original Kindle’s scroller-navigation panel ), and several of the claims are potentially broad enough to cover the Nook and many other devices with both electronic paper and LCD displays. What’s more, Amazon agreed not to file for any corresponding foreign patents during the four-year approval process and thus wasn’t required to publish the patent application — meaning this is likely a complete surprise to the entire industry
Opera 10.6 hits Windows, Mac and Linux with faster Javascript, WebM video support
Four short months after Opera 10.5, the Scandanavian potato boilers are back for more — the latest version of their lightweight web browser features not only claims to be the fastest, but the first final browser with WebM video support . While we actually noticed a variety of web videos felt choppy with the Windows version, there’s no denying it’s a speedy little hummingbird; Engadget felt snappier on Opera than Chrome or Firefox by far
NASA successfully tests autonomous lunar lander navigation system, codename GENIE (video)
Robonaut2 may have fantastic biceps , but raw muscle won’t put a man humanoid on the moon — that takes rockets. Rockets like the one in this RR-1 prototype lander, recently outfitted with a Guidance Embedded Navigator Integration Environment (GENIE) system to let the craft safely descend to the lunar surface. On June 23rd, NASA and partner Armadillo Aerospace put the system to the test, hoping it could figure out the complex algorithms necessary to process volumes of data from the laser altimeter, GPS and inertial sensors, and quickly enough to steer the rocket engine accordingly..
OnStar users now sending Google Maps directions to their cars, definitely living in the future
July is upon us — do you know what that means?
Early Windows 8 features to include startup performance boost, visual login, and improved graphics (Update: Windows Store app store, too?)
Sure, Microsoft might be selling seven copies of Windows 7 a second , but that doesn’t mean Redmond isn’t planning for the future: the software giant is purportedly beginning to prep ODMs on Windows 8, if these leaked slides are to be believed. It doesn’t look like anything is nailed down just yet, but some interesting larger themes are being discussed, like improving startup and and wake-from-sleep times to be nearly instantaneous, the addition of higher-speed interconnects like USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0, hard drive encryption, ambient light sensitivity, and facial recognition login / out.
Crapgadget: frightening party favors edition
There are a few things in life you can count on. And we mean really count on
