E-Z Life

As many a nomadic modern road warrior knows all too well, while you can get Internet access, juice for your laptop, and phone service on-the-go, privacy is at a premium. Thankfully, an Australian Design Science student named Kerry Jia Yi Lin has developed a little something called Hermit — an “experimental interactive shell” that uses RFID tags to know when you’ve crossed your arms and set your head down for a nap. Once you’ve assumed the position, the felt shell closes above you, providing “a personal refuge in a communal environment.” Sounds nice and peaceful, no? If you’d like to see it in action, we’ve got a video for you after the break. If you prefer a low-tech version, we suppose you could just throw a coat over your head.

Continue reading Hermit nap station provides peace and quiet for bloggers on the move (video)

Hermit nap station provides peace and quiet for bloggers on the move (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know it’s a really busy week, but we wanted to take a moment and remind all of you that there’s still time left to nominate your favorite gadgets of last year for the 2009 Engadget Awards!

For your voting (and nominating) pleasure, we present the sixth annual Engadget Awards! The premise is simple: 2009 may have slipped through our fingers, but all the memories of gadgets-past are still with us (some in a more favorable light than others). Here’s your chance to sound off on what you loved in 2009, and tell us what you’re psyched about for 2010.

This year we’ve got 24 categories up for grabs, with 48 total awards to be decided. All finalists for Engadget Awards are reader-nominated, and the editors of Engadget will then select the best of those nominations (usually somewhere between 4-6 devices or technologies) as finalists.

There are two awards per category, Reader’s Choice (voted on by you!), and Editors’ Choice (selected by us). The vote will take place in a few weeks once the nominees are picked, and winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

You can find all the info and nominees on a landing page we’ve built this year which should make it easier to get all your selections in (and vote once we’ve picked the finalists). Just click right here.

You’ve got until 11:59PM ET on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 to get your entries in. Now, go nominate, or use the handy list after the break!

Continue reading Reminder: nominate your favorite gadgets in the 2009 Engadget Awards!

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Reminder: nominate your favorite gadgets in the 2009 Engadget Awards! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, Acer’s on the warpath. The world’s second-largest PC manufacturer seems hell-bent on radically changing the status quo, telling Bloomberg today that it’s “aggressively pursuing” Chrome OS “so there’s a change to the Microsoft-Intel environment,” with plans to be among the first to ship in Q3. That’s somewhat ahead of Google’s own schedule for reaching v1.0, so yeah, it’s definitely aggressive — and it also sounds like a strong hint towards an ARM-based Chrome OS machine in our future, but Acer wouldn’t confirm anything. Still, those are basically fightin’ words, especially since Acer’s framing the future as a choice between “either” Windows or “Google’s defined OS space.” Acer also promised to fully detail a 6-inch monochrome e-reader by June with an initial focus on European markets, and we’re also informed of a forthcoming free / cheap application store that will be compatible with Android, Windows Mobile, and, obviously, Chrome OS. And lest you thought Acer was ignoring the Apple tablet madness that permeates our world, we’re told that an Acer tablet is in the works, accompanied by the candid admission that the Taiwanese giant is waiting to see what Apple has in store before finalizing its own plans. Yep — things are getting a little nuts.

Acer to launch e-reader, app store, and Chrome OS netbook this year; wants to ‘change the Microsoft-Intel environment’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Incorrect tax codes may have been sent by HM Revenue & Customs because of a new computer system.

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Samsung NC10 hacked to accommodate second mini PCI-e slot originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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