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In braille, a character is made up of six dots laid out on a two by three matrix — not something that can really be conveyed using capacitive touchscreen technology. Working with a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, researchers in Finland have developed a method for piezoelectric touchscreen devices that uses a single pulse of intense vibration to convey a raised dot, and a longer vibration made up of several weaker pulses to represent a missing dot — spelling out letters that can be easily read by touch. It took a while for volunteers to get used to this method, but once they had they were able to read a character in as little as 1.25 seconds. Now that they have letters down, the team is moving on to words and sentences — with an eye towards developing text-to-braille software sometime in the future.

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Science

Researchers develop braille for vibrating touchscreen devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AP – The Conficker worm, a nasty computer infection that has poisoned millions of PCs, will start ramping up its efforts Wednesday to use those machines for cybercrimes. It’s unclear whether everyday PC users will even notice, but this is as good an excuse as any to make sure your computer is clean.

Excerpt from:
Don’t fret about Conficker: Here’s what to do
(AP)

Finally, we can stop playing hide and seek with Samsung’s 2009 lineup of edge lit LED HDTVs, now that its loosed official pricing and availability details for screens hitting shelves between now and June. They’ve already been busy popping up everywhere — around the world, in stores near you, on Best Buy’s website, and Samsung’s made sure to mention how eco friendly the LED scheme is compared to the old power munching CCFLs and local dimming methods in other manufacturer’s screens. The list appears to match up with earlier leaks, so if the 8000, 7000 and 6000 series are screens you’ve just gotta have, click the read link for all details currently available.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Samsung’s latest LED-packing HDTVs get official prices, availability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen Samsung’s Q2 and U5 media players out and about, but just today the company has made the pair official here in the US of A. Starting with the YP-Q2 PMP, you’ll find both 8GB and 16GB variants with 50 hours of battery life, a 2.4-inch QVGA display, black and white color options, DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement technology, FM radio / recorder, a text viewer and a Smart Button that allows the user to designate a specific function for quick access. The YP-U5, on the other hand, was tailor made for gym rats; said audio stick sports a touchpad, 1-inch OLED display, USB connectivity, up to 20 hours of playback, an FM radio module and 2GB of internal storage. Check ‘em this April for $99.99 (8GB Q2), $129.99 (16GB Q2) and $39.99 (U5).

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Samsung officially intros YP-U5 and YP-Q2 media players originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, everybody loves a tough notebook — but there are all sorts of gadgets that can benefit from the tough treatment. Adding to the list of electronics suitable for dropping, kicking, and spraying with water, Medtronic’s LIFEPAK 15 — which just received FDA approval, by the by — is a portable heart monitor / defibrillator equipped with all sorts of fun features, including an audible CPR Metronome, a dual-mode color LCD with a high-contrast mode for use in bright sunlight, up to six hours of operating time, and energy dosing for difficult-to-defibrillate patients. Just make sure it’s nice and dry before you plug the paddles in. For reals. Video after the break.

[Via Medgadget]

Continue reading Medtronic’s LIFEPAK 15 defibrillator for extreme conditions, or extremely clumsy paramedics

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Medtronic’s LIFEPAK 15 defibrillator for extreme conditions, or extremely clumsy paramedics originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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