Many of us iPhone 3G owners came to accept limited battery life as a trade-off for all the amazing things it did. So cheers erupted in offices nationwide from those of us eagerly following tweets and live blogs when Apple announced the new incarnation.

We’ve seen plenty of tiny UAVs (or NAVs — Nano Aerial Vehicles — as they’re also known), but none quite like the robo-hummingbird that’s been in development at DARPA-contractor AeroVironment for the past couple of years. While we haven’t heard much about it during that time, the company recently completed its most advanced prototype to date, dubbed Mercury, and it’s taken advantage of the opportunity to show off all the progress it has made. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to fly about and hover in place by mimicking the wing movement of a real hummingbird and, of course, be controlled completely untethered. What’s more, the firm says that the final version will actually look like a real hummingbird as well, and be able to be controlled from up to a kilometer away — even inside buildings, where a hummingbird won’t look at all out of place.

[Via Danger Room]

Continue reading DARPA contractor shows off tiny robo-hummingbird UAV

Filed under: Robots

DARPA contractor shows off tiny robo-hummingbird UAV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The sale of The Pirate Bay probably ranks as the week's biggest news for those of us who obsess about copyright issues, followed by the ruling that Usenet.com's newsgroup-access service infringed on the major record companies' copyrights and the Supreme Court's decision not to take Hollywood's appeal of the Cablevision network DVR ruling. But two other developments in U.S. courts seem more important to the average music fan because of the potential they have for disrupting digital services.

The first is the latest lawsuit

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Sang-Jung, who is desperately in search of the perfect cordless critter to take some of the strain away from that trackpad.

“I’m heading to university next year, and I’ve purchased a MacBook. I’m also taking my four year old desktop, just in case I’m left with no computers when the MacBook is being repaired or whatnot. With only two USB ports on a MacBook, I want a Bluetooth mouse. Budget is about $100, and of course, it needs OS X support. Thanks for the help!”

Alright folks, it’s time to get serious. Do you own a Bluetooth mouse that you can recommend? Recommend against? Be sure to spill your thoughts in comments below, and feel free to send in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Peripherals

Ask Engadget: Best Bluetooth mouse out there? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This new Mushroom Kingdom Fusion clip “shows off a Contra-themed level in a future version of the game, called “The Energy Zone) — made by MKF development team member Obreck2.” Continue reading to watch.

View original here:
When Mario Enters the World of Contra

Available next week (July 9th) on the 360 / PS3 / PC, Battlefield 1943 takes place during World War 2 and has players siding with either the US Marines Corp or Imperial Japanese Navy. Continue reading to see the latest trailer.

Read the original here:
Battlefield 1943 Guadalcanal Trailer

With the abundance of gadgets people have these days, it’s no wonder you have more items than USB ports. That’s why the USB hub was invented. And if you’re going to get a USB hub, why not get one that’s in the shape of an octopus.

The Octopus USB Hub features four separate USB ports, one on the end of each of the hub’s “tentacles.” Really, this is pretty practical, and you don’t have to worry about your gizmos being cluttered all together on your desk.

The arms look to be pretty long and will keep your items at a decent distance from each other. You can get the Octopus USB Hub in black, white or purple for about $10.

• Octopus reinforces environmentalism in youngsters
• Turtle USB 2.0 Hub sports hidden compartment
• Vintage Tech Jewelry
• Octopuses love HDTV but lack personality, claims Australian researcher
• Motorola Cute Phone concept is only sort of cute

More here:
Octopus USB Hub is cute and practical

With CableCARD enabled HDTVs being a complete bust and the crazy popular trend of mounting HDTVs on the wall, many wonder what they can do with their DVR or cable box. As you might expect, the crew over at Engadget HD is more than familiar with the options and lucky for you they actually wrote them down in an easy to digest format. So if you are the do-it-yourself type and are looking to relocate your HD DVR or noisy Xbox 360, then by all means what are you waiting for, click on through.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Engadget HD explains: Where to put your DVR when you wall-mount your HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s what Facebook for iPhone 3.0 looks like—pretty nice. Besides the new giant button home screen, you’ll be able to actually RSVP to events and create new photo albums. No push yet, but here’s the full list:

1. The “new” News Feed
2. Like
3. Events (including the ability to RSVP)
4. Notes
5. Pages
6. Create new photo albums
7. Upload photos to any album
8. Zoom into photos
9. Easier photo tagging
10. Profile Pictures albums
11. A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
12. Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
13. Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
14. Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
15. Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call

I’m sure Jesus will love being able to finally zoom in on photos. It’s coming “soon,” but no exact date yet. Later this summer, 3.1 will finally bring push notifications. [Facebook via Inside Facebook]

See original here:
Facebook 3.0 for iPhone Adds Events and Photo Albums, But No Push (Yet) [IPhone Apps]

Well this is an interesting little device. Made by Kerchoonz, the K-box allows you to listen to music without external speakers as it turns any surface you set it on into an audio output device.

So, you just plug your iPod into the K-box using the 3.5mm audio jack and set it on a solid surface. As soon as you press play, the surface will resonate with sound and you’ll get to hear the music just like that.

It uses something called Gel Audio Technology to change surfaces into speakers. Interesting idea, and might just be worth checking out. It’s small, about as big as a phone and recharges via USB for up to 20 hours of playback. You can get the K-box now for $74.50.

Relevant Entries on SlashGear

• I-Dog Soft Speaker is cuddly way to listen to music
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Kerchoonz K-box turns any surface into speaker