river

Mini-subs exploring Sacramento River

If you reel in a small sub instead of a rainbow trout from the Sacramento River this summer, don't call Homeland Security.

It belongs to a team of researchers from the University of California at Berkeley trying to learn more about the river currents in the delta.

The researchers are working with propelled 4-foot-long submarines and floating drifters equipped with GPS-receivers for positioning, GSM-modules for communication, and sensors inside for recording temperature, salinity, and currents.

"We are prototyping an infrastructure and testing it in the delta," said Professor Alexander Bayen, who leads the team at UC Berkeley'… Read more

Snackr drenches your computer in a river of news

Marshall Kirkpatrick, over at ReadWriteWeb, turned me on to Snackr with a post from earlier today. Snackr describes itself as being an RSS ticker. It provides a constant river of news on your screen. Built with Adobe AIR, it is compatible across all platforms and looks really slick.

Snackr sits on one of the four sides of your screen and scrolls through recent posts from sites which are input either by hand or by loading an OPML file. A nice added touch is that if there is an image in the post, it is included in the scrolling entry. There … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

This week's virtual console releases feature a classic beat-'em-up along with a sci-fi RPG--what do they have in common? Both games have you chasing the bad guys so you can get your girl back.

River City Ransom (1989, NES, 500 Wii points): River City Ransom is a classic beat-'em-up action game that takes you into the fictional town of River City. A dude named Slick has taken your girlfriend and the rest of River City hostage. Take him on solo or with a friend. Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1990, Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points): In … Read more

Iriver refuses to give Mickey a rest

We know about the whole obsession with kawaii (translation: cute) in Japan, but how much Mickey can any culture stand? Already they've gotten silver, gold, and even Swarovski-diseased 1GB "Mplayers," and now Disney and Iriver Japan are introducing "Season 2" of the eared one in even more colors, patterns, and designs, according to Dvice. Between this and High School Musical, we may need a set of blinders as well as earplugs.

Radiohead's green promise must not apply to Seattle

Earlier this year, Radiohead singer Thom Yorke explained to the AP that the band was going to take concrete steps to minimize its contribution to global warming, including traveling by airplane only when necessary and using solar-powered generators. But the biggest contributor, by far, to the band's global carbon footprint are its fans, who drive by the millions to its shows every time Radiohead tours. Hence, Yorke said that the band would play only "in places that have municipal transport systems in place or that we can persuade promoters to put on transport."

Apparently this dictate doesn'… Read more

iRiver's scuba-friendly MP3 player

Waterproof MP3 players aren't novel anymore, but this iRiver iFP-380T system caught our eye not just for its rather unusual design but because it can go scuba diving with you. This device lets you take your music not just into water, but up to 200 feet deep in it.

The full kit comes with the player as well as its waterproof case and headset. A removable clip helps keep the single headphone securely fastened to the strap of the scuba mask. It's a pity that this can store only about 30 songs with its limited 128MB storage, but … Read more

iRiver Europe breaking into the cell phone biz

In the United States, iRiver is more well known for its MP3 players and PVPs, but in Europe, it's hoping to break into the cell phone market. With a small booth at GSMA Mobile World Congress, iRiver showed off its first GSM handset. Though a bit mysterious with no official name (it bears a striking resemblance to the iRiver W7, one of the company's PVPs) and spec list, we do know it features a 3-inch touchscreen and Linux-based operating system. iRiver also showcased its GPS capabilities and multimedia functions, which was one of the better highlights--not surprising considering … Read more

MPlayer gets Midas--and assassin's--touch

Most any other day, this gold-plated MP3 player would likely be subjected to a good measure of disgust and ridicule. But compared with the horrendous Valentine's version that assaulted our senses recently, it actually looks decent.

This limited-edition collaboration of iRiver and Disney is oddly described as an "'assassin's mace' of a device," according to Engadget. Whatever that means, it's double the price of the regular 1GB MPlayer at about $123. ("Assassin's mace"?)

iRiver B20: First-gen Clix redux

The iRiver B20 may be new, but it looks awfully familiar. In fact, it looks eerily like the first-generation Clix--not that that's a bad thing. The most obvious cosmetic difference is the telescoping antenna attached to the back of the device for receiving DMB content (no word on whether the antenna will attach to the models sold in the U.S.). I'm actually kind of fond of the antenna: it makes the B20 look even more like a cute, mini TV. The other major difference between this player and the Clix is the microSD card slot, which allows … Read more

Musical Mickey Mouse

Among the overflowing handful of MP3 players that iRiver is bringing to the U.S. is the Disney-branded MPlayer (Season II), a supersmall and cute MP3 player shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. Although the MPlayer has been floating around the Web for some time now, I've never seen it for sale in the States. The latest version will come in a rainbow of colors and is set to hit a virtual retail shelf near you in Q1 of 2008. The player is screenless and supereasy to use--it's an obvious choice for introducing your little ones to the … Read more