device

Miss your pets when you're away on vacation or those long, dull business trips? Well, there may now be a way to keep in touch with your little critters. PetChatz is a two-way video system that can also be used to dispense scents and treats. ... PetChatz, which is about half the size of a desktop computer tower, plugs directly into an electrical outlet -- preferably one near ground level, where dogs, cats, iguanas, and other domesticated animals can access it. In the middle of the device is a screen the size of a smartphone display. When plugged in and remotely connected through WiFi to a home ... (view more)

Norwegian firm Elliptic Labs is employing ultrasound technology to improve existing gesture controls. As with medical ultrasound scans, the gadget sends out soundwaves at frequencies humans cannot hear. The device then measures how long these ... soundwaves -- which are affected by the position and distance of any objects in the way -- take to return. This allows it to track any movements, such as somebody gesturing with a wave or a swipe of the hand. Sound Allows Easier Control Than Light Samsung uses a similar gesture control system with its Galaxy S4 smartphone, but that works through infrared ... (view more)

Not willing to compromise when it comes to your home router? For those of us who stream a lot of music and video content or play demanding video games online, reliable and fast networking equipment is a necessity. That's why it's hard not to be ... impressed with Netgear's new Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router (Model R7000), which appears to be the fastest router on the market right now. Serious Hardware for Serious Streamers The Nighthawk is part of Netgear's attempt to establish an in-demand piece of hardware using the new 802.11ac wireless networking standard. This device is powered by ... (view more)

A Japanese phone company is working on a pair of spectacles that can automatically translate text. The device works even if the user is looking at a language with a different alphabet system. The device is produced by NTT Docomo and is known as ... 'Intelligent Glasses'. It's only a prototype at the moment, but was recently shown off at an electronics show in Japan. The glasses feature a frame-based camera and a transparent lens that can display information to the user. Among the main uses: translating text from documents before a user. Unlike some visual translation tools, the system can ... (view more)

The US Air Force (USAF) has signed a deal to develop a new platform that could solve the problem of unreliable global positioning system (GPS) tracking in densely populated urban areas. It could also help drivers, but through cars rather than mobile ... devices. While a sophisticated technology, the principle of how GPS works is remarkably simple. A fleet of satellites orbit the Earth at a consistent speed, meaning their precise location at any particular moment is known. Each satellite is constantly beaming signals to the ground, with each signal bearing a timestamp. As soon as a device on the ... (view more)

Sony is launching its own version of the Google Chromecast plug-in stick for televisions. But Sony's 'Smart Stick' will be substantially more expensive than Google's device and may only work with some TVs. Google's Chromecast launched this past ... July. It plugs into an HDMI port on a TV set and lets users play virtually any online videos using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The Chromecast uses WiFi to connect to the Internet and stream the video. Ironically, Sony's device actually uses Google technology -- in this case, features taken from Google TV, a range of set-top boxes that aimed to ... (view more)

Maintaining a secure PC isn't just about downloading and installing antivirus and antimalware programs. It's also about being careful about the USB devices, including smartphones, thumb drives and external hard drives, that you plug into your ... computer. Now, a new product promises to protect your devices against malware by providing an additional layer of protection. It's called the 'USB Condom'. The product, which is the creation of int3.cc, is being marketed as a way to prevent infections from spreading between a USB device and a computer. That means an infected PC won't infect a thumb drive ... (view more)

Fingerprint scanners, like the one included with Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S, present us with a convenient way to secure our smartphones. But there may be another way to protect your favorite touchscreen device. Illinois Institute of Technology ... researcher Cheng Bo recently unveiled 'SilentSense', a technology that uses a touchscreen smartphone's built-in sensors to identify you. Simply put, SilentSense uses these sensors to learn how you use your touchscreen device. That means it carefully measures pressure patterns, touch duration, and even fingertip size and position to determine if the user ... (view more)

Microsoft will be hoping the second time's the charm for the firm's Surface line of tablet computers. New reports say the Redmond, Washington-based company will unveil the Surface 2 at a September 23, 2013 media event in New York City. It's not yet ... clear what Microsoft has planned for its second version of the Surface. However, early reports suggest the device will, like its predecessor, come in two different versions. New Surface, New Hardware Specifications That means a Surface 2 Pro will come equipped with Intel's new 'Haswell' Core processor, while a cheaper and less powerful version will ... (view more)

Samsung, maker of the extremely popular 'Galaxy' smartphone, is reportedly planning to announce its very own 'smartwatch'. In fact, that announcement could come as early as this September. South Korea-based Samsung is planning to reveal details for ... its new smartwatch at a Wednesday, September 4, 2013 event, reports Bloomberg News. A likely setting for such an unveiling: Germany's IFA consumer electronics trade show. Like the Galaxy smartphones, the rumored smartwatch device will feature a special version of Google's very popular Android operating system. It's also been suggested that the new ... (view more)