The Web Page of Kristopher Linquist

Filed under: Announcements

Remember how when we launched Engadget Poland a couple weeks ago we said that we were just getting started rolling out new international versions of the site? Well, today we're announcing two exciting new Engadgets we've waited for years to get started: Korean and German! They're both in beta, so to speak, so try not to mind the sawdust as we work out the kinks. Big ups to Brian, Jason, Manfred, and everyone at our international teams that made these new sites possible. Oh, and if you're waiting for Engadget in your language of choice, don't worry, Korean and German aren't the last we'll be rolling out!

Read - Engadget Korea
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Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

In case you didn't get the message, Sony's due sooner-rather-than-later 27-inch OLED is going to be priced for the Mark Cubans, Bill Gates' and other people not you of the world, at least for the next couple of years. Even with recent massive investments, U.S. head Stan Glasgow tells CNET OLEDs in the future could be seen as a premium alternative to LCDs, but don't expect Sony to jump on smaller screens while they wait for the technology to catch up, HDTV is the focus. As for the upcoming standard def-streaming Hancock experiment? The first of many, if things go well, while at the same time he acknowledges format war winner Blu-ray may not penetrate to the same level as DVD since "a lot of people may be happy with an upconverting DVD player" -- which would be music to Toshiba's ears.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CNN reports that a third of companies offering health insurance to employees also provide a wellness program, including fitness, weight-loss, and stop-smoking programs. The article focuses on...

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Though the Sprint version is the most well-scooped CDMA variant thus far, Telus is actually becoming the first carrier 'round these parts to announce the Touch Diamond imbued with a little EV-DO for your data-consumption pleasure. The phone will run $149.99 CAD (which is just about a wash in US dollars) on a three-year contract, accompanied by data plans ranging from $15 for email and instant messaging to $30 for email, IM, and web browsing. Sprint, Verizon, we anxiously await your press releases.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax's K200D has been out and about for a little while now, but if you're still undecided about taking the plunge on the mid-range DSLR, you may want to pay a visit to Photography Blog, which has just put the camera through its paces. On the whole, they seem to have come away pretty impressed with it, saying that it offers a "substantial number of improvements" over the previous K100D, which they say was already an excellent camera to begin with. In addition to the bump to 10-megapixels, the site seems to have been particularly impressed by the camera's new Sv shooting mode, "greatly improved battery life," and some new dust and water-resistant weatherproof sealing. On the downside, there's still no Live View mode, but considering the price (around $600 street), it seems like this one is a solid bet. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Scientists may have discovered a new way to combat the global energy crisis -- and they're calling it the "Anaconda" (we'll give you a moment to purge your mind of any J. Lo films). The system works by utilizing the power of the ocean and long, black rubber tubes (hence the name). The rubber "snakes" are laid just below the sea's surface where they're pounded by the ocean's waves. That movement creates "bulge waves" inside the water-filled tubes, which are then carried up through the devices to a turbine, which in turn sends the energy it produces to shore via cables. So far scientists have only tested the system on a small scale, though they say the full-size devices could be 200 meters long and seven meters in diameter. That's one giant, deadly snake.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The plastic card cable organizer manages cords under or behind your desk and keeps cords—like your iPod charging cord—from falling off your desk when unplugged. The idea behind the card...

Filed under: Laptops

While some of the benefits of SSDs may be in question these days, it looks like those still itching to take the plunge on an SSD-equipped Macbook Air can now at least save a few bucks, as the premium add-on has just received a much needed price cut. At $599 for the upgrade option on the 1.6GHz model and $2,598 for the pre-configured 1.8GHz model, however, it still isn't exactly a no-brainer, especially considering some of the prices we're seeing now for larger drives. Slightly more palatable though, is the 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo upgrade option on the base model, which is now $100 cheaper at just $200.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

July 4 was the date, but hey, what's the harm in opening up the floodgates just a handful of hours early? Get past the lack of 3G, EDGE, camera, and a rock-solid set of tested, commercialized apps, and open-source phoning nirvana can now be yours for $399 on the plastic.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ever walk through Times Square and wonder how much electricity all those flashy billboards are soaking up? No? Well, Ricoh has, and now they're doing something about it. Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo is erecting a 47 x 126-foot billboard at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street that will be completely powered by the sun and wind. Fueled by 45 solar panels and four wind turbines, the billboard won't even need a backup electric generator. On days that the sun and wind aren't enough to power it, it will simply go dark. In the end, the billboard is said to reduce carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. The billboard will go live in December, or just in time for the sun to go dark.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mac OS X only: Freeware application Organized is a Dashboard widget that integrates with your system notes, events, and to-dos, providing you with quick access to all of your activities. Made by the...

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While it's not nearly exciting as their Space Cycle (but really, what is?), the National Space Biomedical Research Institute's new brain scanner here looks to fill in a niche of its own nonetheless and, if the institute has its way, it could actually find its way into space. Described as a "brain breathalyzer," the device promises to monitor astronauts for signs of brain injury, depression and mental fatigue, which could allow mission control to determine if they're capable of carrying out a mission or not. That's done with the use of an optical scanner that sends weak pulses of near-infrared light into the brain, which gets reflected back to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood. While NASA isn't fully sold on the idea just yet, it apparently is interested enough to shell out $400,000 to further the development of the scanner, which it hopes will also eventually be able to monitor other vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

Fired up to capitalize on some of the hype Sprint has managed to drum up for the Instinct down in the States, Samsung's taking its iPhone fighter north of the border for a promised intro later this summer. Bell Mobility is the lucky partner (seriously, Telus, you probably should've hustled Samsung a little harder for this one), launching at price points ranging from $149.95 up to $449.95 for a three-year contract all the way down to zero commitment. Features and software look like they're all carrying over from their stateside cousin, although the UI's looking just a little bit less Sprint-ified (read: no yellow tinge). Nice.

[Via MobileSyrup]

Update: There are rumors that Telus is slated to pick it up, too, but we haven't seen anything solid just yet. We'll let you know.

Update 2: Yep, Telus is down with it -- exclusivity be damned! Thanks, howi!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/software/Apple_accidentally_ships_MobileMe_to_Mac_customers'; Apparently someone at Apple HQ got a little trigger happy on shipments of MobileMe. According to reports, the company mistakenly mailed boxes of the all-syncing, ever-loving software to at least a couple of current .Mac users ahead of schedule. When Apple was alerted to the gaffe, the user was told that a courier would be by to pick it up the next day. One question: why would you tell Apple?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Storage

Nanowires being used for memory is hardly a new idea, but a group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania seem confident that they've found a way to leapfrog the competition, and shake up storage devices as we know them. Unlike other nanowire-based memory methods, their system employs a non-binary form of nanowire memory, which makes it possible to store three bit values (0, 1, and 2) instead of the usual two (0 and 1) -- crazy talk, we know. That, the researchers say, allows for a "huge increase" in memory density, with fewer nanowires needed to store the same amount of information as a binary nanowire-based memory system, which'd also make the actual devices smaller. Of course, that's assuming any of this stuff actually gets out of the lab, which seems to be a long ways off at best.

[Thanks, Dwight]
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Filed under: Cellphones

It's been a long, long time since we've heard from Germany's "Future Store" -- the ultra-futuristic German grocery store that might have sprung directly from the Sprawl trilogy -- but they've got a new feature we thought you might be interested in. Shoppers in the store can now use camera-equipped cellphones (i.e., cellphones) to snap pictures of item barcodes, and then download the information at the checkout when they're finished shopping. The system totals all of your purchases into one big, nasty barcode which you then scan and pony up cash (or cards, or fingerprints, or magical rainbow juice) for. It's unclear how to store handles shoppers who don't scan everything they've got in their cart, but if it's anything like our favorite books, it's not pretty.

[Via PHONE Magazine]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: gameboy hacks, handhelds hacks

Fresh off the tips line, [Jake] sent in his portable NES project. We've seen quite a few portables, but we love that the entire thing is built into an old NES cartridge. It's got 99 games and some clever control placement. Three N cells nestled in the former connector slot power the system. You can see more pic over at [Ben Heck]'s forum.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: misc hacks

Bleep Labs' Thingamagoop is a small synthesizer packed with wacky controls for generating unique sounds; you can now build an expanded version yourself with the ThingamaKit. Made "because there are not nearly enough beeping, zapping, bixxerfouping, anthropomorphic synthesizer monsters in the world," it generates sounds of different pitches depending on the type and intensity of light hitting a photocell on the front panel. It's most unique feature, is its LEDacle, which is something like a tentacle with an LED on the end. This can be pointed towards the photocell to modulate the sound. Output is through a 1/4" audio jack.

Bleep Labs sells fully assembled Thingamagoops for $100, but the new DIY kit is available for half price. The kit version of the Thingamagoop has more controls, two photosensors, and two LEDacles. You can buy it with or without the case, and it doesn't require any complex wiring. Look after the break for video of some Thingamagoops in action.
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You download, create, delete, and move around countless files and endless piles of data on your PC every day. While your PC would ideally handle all of this data for you, it doesn't take long before...

Filed under: Storage

If you were shaken to your very core at the recent report that SSDs may not be as power-friendly as you'd been led to believe, drive-maker STEC wants to talk you down from the ledge. According to the company's Patrick Wilkison, the Tom's Hardware article which benchmarked (and gave failing grades) to power-consumption of the non-mechanical drives was flawed because, "They are using legacy drives, none of which will be used by any major PC OEM." According to Patrick (whose job, you might note, is to sell SSDs), new versions of the drives will / do have intelligent power management which circumvents the issues that report shed light on. Wilison goes on to say that, "Drives will need to have very intelligent power management systems. Some of these SSDs will have them, and those (that) do not have such power intelligence will not be used (by PC makers)." So it's sort of like saying a car you buy in the future will get better gas mileage than the one you own now, provided the automaker cares about fuel efficiency. Small solace, we'd say.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments