Technology - SlashGear

‘technology’ Stories

Google developing a paid version of Translate API

Shane McGlaun, Jun 6th 2011 Discuss [3]

One of the best Google APIs and one of the few services I use is the translation service. A lot of the press releases that I run across during the day are in a different language and need to be translated so I can understand them. I think we can all agree that often the translations leave more than a little to be desired and can be confusing, but it is certainly better than not being able to read them at all. Google had said on Friday that it was killing off third party access to its translation engine. Read The Full Story

Robot jugglers are cooler than creepy clowns

Shane McGlaun, Jun 1st 2011 Discuss [0]

Robots can do all sorts of things today that are very impressive. I am partial to the video of the industrial robots I posted up last month that showed the bots having a lightsaber duel. I can have a fake lightsaber battle, but I can’t juggle at all. A couple juggling robots have turned up on video and they are really cool and take completely different tracks to juggle the balls. Read The Full Story

Researchers from around the world collaborate on world’s smallest transistor measuring 2nm

Shane McGlaun, Jun 1st 2011 Discuss [0]

Transistors might not seem like that big of a deal to some people. Geeks know that the more transistors that can be crammed into a processor, the more performance the processor will offer. That also means the smaller a transistor can be made, more of the transistors can be put inside a processor and the more performance a processor of a given size will offer. The photo you see below is a very enlarged image of the world's smallest transistor that measure 2nm. Read The Full Story

World’s smallest 3D printer is the size of a milk carton

Shane McGlaun, May 18th 2011 Discuss [1]

One of the coolest inventions in the tech world is the 3D printer. This is so cool because it can take any design you can dream up in your favorite drafting application and then print it in the real world for you to touch and use for whatever you need. Generally, these 3D printers are very large devices that take up lots of space. A team of researchers at Vienna University of Technology has announced that it has built the world's smallest 3D printer. Read The Full Story

Marshalltown High School to use wakeup calls for tardy students

Shane McGlaun, May 17th 2011 Discuss [5]

I can remember having to get up to get ready for school each day. It really sucked. Actually, it was no worse than having to get up for work each day only now, I don't have to study. If you are a high school student at Marshalltown High School that is chronically tardy, you will get wake up calls courtesy of your school. MHS has a new program to help kids get up on time and make it to class. The program will have the school sending automated wake up calls to students. Read The Full Story

Artisan creates jewelry from old tech

Shane McGlaun, May 10th 2011 Discuss [0]

Over the years, I have seen some interesting things made from old tech products that are no longer useful. I have always particularly liked the geeky clocks and coasters that I have seen made from the old mainboards and circuit boards from inside computers and other gear. Thick and inflexible mainboards and other rigid items don't lend themselves well to shapes other than flat surfaces though. That means that making something like a ring out of a circuit board is very hard to do. Read The Full Story

Experimental airplane and student pilot need only tens of feet to takeoff

Shane McGlaun, May 9th 2011 Discuss [5]

I've never been to Alaska, but I have watched enough Discovery Channel to know that if you live in some of the remoter areas of Alaska, everything you get has to be flown in by airplane. These aren't the big commercial jets that we see flying everywhere in most states. The aircraft used in Alaska tend to be of the smaller variety, and they are designed to be very rugged and to take off and land in only a few feet. Read The Full Story

Sharp develops new small and medium LCDs with oxide semiconductor tech

Shane McGlaun, Apr 21st 2011 Discuss [0]

When it comes to your smartphone, the thing that consumes most of the battery power inside the device is the LCD screen. The LCD is also one of the thicker components of the smartphone and has a lot of impact on how thin the device can be made. The brighter the screen is, the better you can see it in the outdoors or other bright locations. With all that said, the thinner and brighter our screens of smartphones and tablets can be, the smaller and easier to read the devices can be as well. Read The Full Story

Brain Waves Harnessed To Play Music

Rue Liu, Mar 25th 2011 Discuss [0]

Using the power of the brain has long been a science fiction staple. Eduardo Miranda, composer and computer-music teacher, has created a system where someone can play music with their mind. The brain-computer interface tracks and picks up neural impulses from your brains and translates them into musical notes. The type of technology is not entirely new as other types of brain-computer interfaces let people control prosthetic limbs and even type on a computer with their thoughts. Read The Full Story

Paranga gives eBooks the feel of real books

Shane McGlaun, Mar 25th 2011 Discuss [0]

The big problem with most touchscreen devices is that there is no tactile feedback. For some users this makes the touchscreen hard to use. There are all sorts of touchscreen gadgets that use various methods to give the user tactile feedback using things like screens that click when pressed. If you are an eBook reader that misses the feel of flipping pages researchers from Osaka, have a new device you might like. Read The Full Story

Apple Wins American Brand Excellence Award

Rue Liu, Mar 24th 2011 Discuss [1]

Apple has won the American Brand Excellence Award as the company that best meets the needs of small to medium-sized businesses. Apple also won the award in the Technology category. Read The Full Story

Microsoft Research shows off augmented drawing, natural UIs and more at TechFest 2011

Shane McGlaun, Mar 10th 2011 Discuss [0]

Microsoft Research (MR) is set to show off some interesting new tech at TechFest 2011. Among the things that will be seen at the show are smart pens, augmented drawing and natural user interfaces. MR is also showing off an interesting pen that makes for computer aided freehand drawing along with some other stuff. Read The Full Story