Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Not even a month ago, Pioneer had announced that they had developed a 16 layer disk with 400 gigabytes of data storage. Totally amazing, right? Well, apparently those engineers at Pioneer don’t like to sit on their haunches, because they’ve just announced the development of a 500GB disk that includes extra encoding layers (I’ve read it has anywhere from four to nine extra).  I’m not even sure what I’d DO with all that space on one disk.

Although details haven’t really been given about the development of the new disk, we can probably logically theorize that they followed the same process as it’s predecessor.  With the 400GB disk, data transmission issues were minimized by lowering the amount of crosstalk and hiking high-precision signal transmissions from each respective layer.

Both of the disks will work with Blu-ray players, though Pioneer is quick to stress that their strides in these ultra-high capacity disks will see more of an impact on the industry as file formats grow past the current limitations of the Blu-ray technology used today. Don’t look to run out to your local Wal-Mart or Staples to pick one of these puppies up today though, reports show that since they are still technically in the prototype stage, they aren’t available to the general public at this time, and won’t be for the next two to four years.

Via [ubergizmo]

• Reality TV meets Symphonies and Youtube
• Panasonic makes a move for 3D Blu-ray
• Blu-ray manages to not fail as badly as we thought

Powering up a laptop with portable liquid fuel? It’s genesis is closer than you might think. The company PolyFuel, which develops fuel cell membranes, recently announced that it has developed a prototype laptop (the Lenova T40 ThinkPad), which uses methanol cartridges and a fuel cell as it’s power source.

Although the working prototype is not an actual finished product, but instead a proof of concept, the company plans to show it off to consumer electronics and PC manufacturers in the coming weeks.

MORE »

We have seen lots of leaked images for Sony Ericsson’s P5 Paris, ranging from some that were nothing more than a screenshot from a video and some that were true live pics, however this latest group is a nice and clear set of a prototype handset.

As for the specs, we can now confirm that the P5 will feature a 2.6-inch display, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera, a-GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 960mAH battery and comes pre-installed with Google Maps as well as a newer UIQ version.

Keep reading to check out a few more images below…

MORE »

Can you imagine splitting up your computer into several small devices and manipulating them individually to suit your own taste? A clever new prototype for such a device has been demonstrated by the researchers over at MIT Media Lab. Dubbed as “Siftables”, this new prototype aims to “enable people to interact with information and media in physical, natural ways that approach interactions with physical objects in our everyday lives.“ They call Siftables an “interaction platform” that gives a user entirely new ways to control data with the application of technology from wireless sensor networks to tangible user interfaces.

MORE »

Reuters had this great story and image I just had to share.  Japanese scientists from Waseda University in Tokyo demonstrated their biped robot WL-16RIII on Wednesday.  They are currently developing the two legged robot robotic chair to aid elderly and handicapped individuals climb dubious stairways.  While it may take 5 years to develop, since the current prototype is still slow, somewhat cumbersome with heavy loads, and requires the occupant to “hop up” on the nearly 4 foot high seat, the duo’s ultimate goal is to create greater mobility for those with physical limitations.

Think we can get one of this to get up the stairs at the Gadgetell headquarters?

• Mars Pheonix’s journey comes to a depressing end
• Get hopping and start shopping
• Ubisoft and Handicap International release Handigo