Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

With the increasing use of computers in vehicles today, Toyota has stepped up plans to have teams ready to work on code for a operating system that will be used in its cars. Toyota claims it wants to “boost efficiency and safety, cut software development costs, and trump the competition.”

According to Reuters, “Companies now develop software from scratch for each control function and vehicle model, driving up costs. Standard in-vehicle software, similar to the operating systems in personal computers, would vastly boost efficiency and speed up development.” The development will significantly slash costs, Toyota says.

Read [Wired] Via [InformationWeek]

In a previous news story, we reported that Razer was coming out with the first keyboard to have an integrated iPod dock. Additionally, there were reports last August (before the Zune was announced) that Razer may have a keyboard with an integrated dock for the Zune.

Thanks to a tip sent to our tip line, Gadgetell has new information which points to Razer coming out with a keyboard that incorporates a dock for the Microsoft Zune. Right now, it appears that the keyboard is still in a developmental phase, but we will let you know of any more information regarding this product.

[Thanks Stephen]

A leaked document from Myspace’s parent company, Fox Interactive Media, has confirmed what many people have been predicting: Myspace News. According to the leaked Powerpoint Presentation, Myspace News will collect news pieces from numerous websites and blogs. Then, like Digg, users will be able to comment and discuss each story and give the story a rating. Stories will change position based on their popularity with Myspace Users. Wired.Com found a job opening for a software engineer at Fox Interactive Media, who could become responsible for creating the code for Myspace News.

Read [Wired.Com]

LG has lifted the sheets off of its GGW-H10N DVD drive. What makes this news is that this drive special, nicknamed “Super Multi Blue”, is that it is a combination internal Blu-Ray and HD-DVD drive, all in one. Blu-Ray discs will be burned at 4x, while other DVD formats will be burned at 6x and 10x. The device will formally be unveiled at CeBIT at the end of this month.

Priced at $1,200, the drive will be available for the general public to buy this May. The price will undoubtedly decrease in the future, but for people who want to stay on top of the DVD market, this is a drive for you.

Read [Gizmo Watch] Via [Wired]

Are you tired of having every picture you take ruined by that one person who has to blink or close their eyes RIGHT when the picture is being taken? You are in luck, then, because Canon has come up with Blink Shot Technology. The technology in the camera reportedly won’t let the camera take a picture if even one subject’s eyes are closed.  They are also supposedly working on a Smile Shot Technology. There is no time frame as to when and if this technology will make its way into Canon cameras, but it will definately be a timesafer so we don’t have to use Microsoft’s new Groupshot software in Vista.

Read [New York Times] Via [Gizmodo]

Are you tired of constantly getting your legs burned by your laptop? In a few years, that problem may be eliminated with the help of Intel. Under a recently filed patent, Intel plans to use “light to sense when a computer casing is getting too hot, and automatically throttles back the power” in order to cool the laptop. The light sensor would sense when particular spots of the internal case are hot, and then signal the processor to slow down for a little bit until the temperature falls to an un-painful level.

Read [Engadget] Via [NewScientistTech]

Has it been a while since you bought your last video card? If you’re looking into buying a new, top of the line video card that will be antiquated in five years, ATI has a video card you should look at. When released, the OEM version of ATI’s R600 will measure a whopping 12.6 inches in length, while consuming 270W of power. Thats correct, 270 Watts. ATI will release two versions of the video card. The XTX version will have 1GB of DDR4 Ram, while the XT version will have 512MB of GDDR3 Ram. The XTX and XT versions, unlike the OEM version, will use 240W of power and will be 9.5 inches in length. Following the release of the XTX and XT, an XL version will be released that is less power-hungry and cheaper.

Read [Vr-Zone] Via [Engadget]

Are you tired of listening to the loud whirring noises that come from your Xbox 360? Have money to spend? Well, then you’re in luck, for Microsoft will be releasing an updated, quieter version of the most popular gaming console.

What did they fix? The hard drive. The old Hitachi-LG and Toshiba-Samsung hard drives are being replaced by a new, quieter hard drive manufactured by BenQ-LiteON-Phillips.

Read [CrunchGear] Via [X-Box Scene Forums]

A report was released today that’ll be good news for all the gamers out there that have significant others telling them to stop gaming. Besides past studies that have proven that gaming improves hand-eye coordination, a new study has come out saying that playing video games helps improve vision by up to 20%. More specifically, the study lists action games, such as Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 2142, and Counter-Strike as the games most likely to improve a person’s vision.

The study tested two different games, the classic Tetris game, along with Unreal Tournament. Tetris had almost no effect on the eye sight of its players, while Unreal Tournament gave its players a 20% boost in eye sight. The test was conducted at the University of Rochester.

Read [Gizmodo] Via [University of Rochester]

Have you been licking your lips just waiting to buy one of those new DirectX 10 compatible graphics cards, but without having to use up a month’s pay just to buy one? Well, you’re in luck, because Nvidia has just released the prices of its soon-to-be-released GeForce 8600 Series. The 8600 GT will cost around $150, while the 8600 Ultra will set you back $180. The 8600 GT will have 256MB of Ram, while running at 350mhz. The Ultra will have 512MB of Ram, while running at 500mhz. 

These graphics cards are the cheapest DirectX 10 compatible cards to come to market yet. Other DirectX 10 video cards currently on the market retail for over $400, which means these cards will be swept up off the shelves as soon as they go on sale.

Read [Engadget] Via [Guru3D]