Someday humans and computers will meld to create cyborgs. But instead of waiting for it, Martin Magnusson, a Swedish researcher and entrepreneur, has taken the first step and created a wearable computer that can be slung across the body. Magnusson has hacked a pair of head-mounted display glasses and combined it with a homebrewed machine based on an open source Beagleboard single computer. Packed into a CD case and slung across the shoulder... 

A digital book reader could bring information to students in developing countries using a technology that is long past its prime: 8-bit computing. The Humane Reader , a device designed by computer consultant Braddock Gaskill, takes two 8-bit microcontrollers and packages them in a “classic style console” that connects to a TV. The device includes an optional keyboard, a micro-SD Card reader and a composite video output. It uses a... 

A prototype tablet from India that looks similar to the iPad but costs a few hundred dollars less than the magical device is on its way, according to the country’s government officials who showed the device at an event Thursday. The Linux-based tablet from India is priced at $35 with the potential to drop it to either $20 or $10. The tablet will support video conferencing and wireless, have open source software on it including Open Office,... 

> The fabric of the future won’t be just plain chiffon, silk or cotton. Instead electroluminescent material, microprocessors and LEDs may be woven together with clothing fibers to create smart textiles. “Clothing can be considered a second skin and by implementing technology in it, you are bringing it into your intimate space,” says Nicky Assmann, an e-textile designer whose work was part of a…  Read More →

Interacting with your computer by waving your hands may require just a pair of multicolored gloves and a webcam, say two researchers at MIT who have made a breakthrough in gesture-based computing that’s inexpensive and easy to use. A pair of lycra gloves — with 20 irregularly shaped patches in 10 different colors — held in front of a webcam can generate a unique pattern with every wave of the hand or flex…  Read More →

Researchers at MIT have demonstrated the first laser that uses the element germanium. The laser, which operates at room temperature, could prove to be an important step toward computer chips that move data using light instead of electricity, say the researchers. “This is a very important breakthrough, one I would say that has the highest possible significance in the field,” says Eli Yablonovitch, a professor in the electrical…  Read More →

Along with the figure skating, ice hockey and snowboarding, another event will compete for attention at the Winter Olympics in Canada this month. A Canadian company has created what it calls the “largest thought-controlled computing installation.” It’s an experiment that lets visitors to the Olympics use their brainwaves to control the lights at three major landmarks in Canada, including Niagara Falls. “When people put... 

A breakthrough in wearable computing lets researchers change ordinary cotton and polyester into electronic textiles that can double as rechargeable batteries. That means powering an iPod or cell phone could become as easy as plugging it into your tee shirt or jeans and charging the clothing overnight. “Textile-based power will boost the development and application of of wearable electronics,” say Liangbing Hu, Yi Cui and other researchers...