With the recent release of the Trimensional app, people can now use their iPhones as inexpensive 3D scanners. Not only can users take three-dimensional images of objects, but they can use those images to create actual physical models ... as long as they have access to a 3D printer. Currently, such printers tend to be large, expensive devices that are usually only found in places like universities or industrial design companies. That could soon change, however, as researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have created a prototype compact, affordable 3D printer.
The device itself was assembled by a team of mechanical engineers led by TU Vienna's Prof. Jürgen Stampfl, while the resin it uses for creating objects was formulated by a team of chemists led by Prof. Robert Liska.
The printer uses a system called "additive manufacturing technology," in which objects are formed one layer at a time. In the case of this specific device, it starts with some of the resin in a small tub. When precise areas of that resin are heated using high-intensity beams of LED light, they harden. Objects are formed by successively adding together layers of this hardened resin, each one less than one twentieth of a millimeter thick. The process results in "high resolution" finished products that can be fairly detailed, and can have complex interior structures.
So far, the researchers have got the prototype down to the size of a milk carton and a weight of 1.5 kilograms (3.31 lbs.), although they expect to be able to make it smaller and lighter. It cost EUR 1,200 (about US$1,700) to build - as opposed to the US$15,000 or up that most 3D printers cost - but they likewise expect that amount to drop. They are also looking into using other types of material, such as ceramics, instead of just the resin.
Although it reportedly wouldn't be cost-effective for large-scale production of objects, the printer could be perfect for users who want to create individual spare parts for other gadgets instead of having them shipped, physicians who wish to build custom medical devices, or home hobbyists.
There's no word as to when it might eventually become available to consumers, although if you're the handy type, you can already put together your own MakerBot 3D printer from a $1,225 kit.
Until recently a purely lab based technology, brainwave (electroencephalograph or EEG) headsets are trickling into the marketplace in a number of different guises. But what exactly do these devices do, how do they differ from each other and - with potential applications ranging from medicine to gaming and market research - who will use them and for what purpose?
There are at least four areas of applications for brainwave detection devices:
Medical/clinical applications
Assistive technology for people with disability i.e. to control, for example, a wheelchair or a mouse
Hands-free gaming
Market research - evaluating new ads or packaging by reading consumer brainwaves
Let's start with one of the latest headsets to be unveiled - the Mynd. Announced late March 2011, it is described as "the World's First Wireless Full-Brain EEG Headset". That description sounds impressive but who is it for?
The Mynd headset is primarily for market research. You can't buy one at this stage because it is the product of Neurofocus, a Nielsen backed market research company that uses Mynd to provide ad and pack testing services for advertisers. Neurofocus may decide to sell the headsets later but for the moment, the company is satisfied to claim a competitive advantage for its market research testing services.
The Mynd is wireless, uses dry, "smart" electrodes (thus eliminating the use of gels) and is claimed to provide full-brain coverage using "a dense-array" of EEG sensors, each one capturing brainwave activity at 2,000 times a second.
Number of sensors
One of the key differentiating factors in brainwave headsets is the number of electrodes or sensors. The typical, medical EEG uses 19 electrodes, that is, 19 channels of information being read from the scalp. In some cases, very high densities of 250 or more are employed. More sensors means greater brainwave information and more "thought resolution" can be achieved. This is important as we will see later as some headsets use a very limited number of electrodes. Headsets that use just one or two electrodes for example, cannot be expected to give the "thought resolution" that 19 sensors can provide.
Dry v Wet technology
Measurement of EEG brainwaves has traditionally had to use gel, paste or saline at the scalp terminals to ensure conductivity of the electrodes onto the scalp. The Mynd headset relies instead on natural skin-oils and sweat to create a sufficient connection and the company claims similar performance to that obtained by wet-based systems.
With dry technology and a Bluetooth enabled headset, Neurofocus boasts the convenience of its EEG testing for market research environments beyond the lab. That is, it can be used in consumers' homes, at movie theaters, in shopping malls as well as at outdoor venues. It enables consumer EEG data to be streamed via Bluetooth to any portable smart device, such as an iPad or iPhone.
Neuromarketing tests - are they valid?
EEG is only one form of what is called "neuromarketing" evaluation testing ... but an important one. This type of testing has been attracting growing interest but it also has its critics who see it as junk science and suspect market research. Indeed, whether such studies produce valid, reliable, market research results is a question that is currently being addressed by a well-respected, independent body, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). Last year, the ARF gathered a number of TV commercials and asked the various neuromarketing suppliers, like Neurofocus, to apply their technology to testing the same commercials. The ARF was then able to compare the conclusions and recommendations produced by the tests from the individual corporations.
Notably, Neurofocus was one of two key suppliers that declined to take part in this independent review process. Notable also is the fact that the other major company that declined to take part also uses dry headset technology. This is the Emband, a product of Emsense (a company partnered by the global market research giant, Millward Brown). Neither the Mynd or the Emband headset is available to buy at this stage, and you can draw your own conclusions as to why these two companies declined to take part. But since the dry technology players were missing, one has to conclude that dry technology is as yet unproven in the market research space.
If you are interested in what the ARF found, you can watch the presentation of its first-phase findings from March 2011 here. There is little detail except for one commercial tested - the Colgate Total toothpaste commercial. Most of the neuromarketing suppliers agreed the ad was good, but the detailed findings between the companies were disturbingly different. "Across eight vendors, there was not a whole lot of consistency," according to Colgate's director of strategic insights. Some companies, for example, said the characters in the ad were "inviting" while others thought the same characters did not resonate with the target audience. The ARF is expected to release a more extensive "white-paper" on this study around September 2011. But for now the review offers a very conservative position that neuromarketing testing has promise but is, at this stage, a supplement and not a replacement for more traditional market research.
Beyond neuromarketing
EEG headsets for other uses, especially gaming, represent a somewhat less complex problem than market research testing. The emphasis here is on mapping a thought to an action. So for example, gross motor thoughts like imagining you are "pushing a ball away from you" can be mapped to moving a game character forwards, or a facial expression like raising your eyebrows can be mapped to firing a gun in the game. For this sort of purpose, there are a couple of dry technology headsets emerging that are quite cheap and seem to work OK for rather limited gaming application.
Neurosky's technology is making its way onto the market in products like the Star Wars Force Trainer and its US$100 headset called MindWave is aimed at gaming and simple video applications. It is a mass market version of the company's Bluetooth enabled, $200 MindSet. This headset has only one electrode (reading from the forehead where the signal is easier to detect because there is no hair). This single electrode is mainly designed to detect how attentive versus how "meditatively" relaxed the user is feeling as they interact with games, video and learning applications. As mentioned earlier, one electrode cannot give the "thought resolution" of 19 sensors so gaming applications like this have their limitations.
The Neural Impulse Actuator is another dry headset marketed primarily as a game controller and again uses very limited channels (it is not clear how many channels but it looks like 2 or 3). The sensors seems to be focused heavily on detecting facial movements as much as brainwaves. OCZ Technology sells the Neural Impulse Actuator for around US$100 but clearly, even for gaming, it is early days in the state of development for dry technology headsets.
The alternative to dry
If you want a serious headset with adequate electrode channels to provide for a broader range of applications, what alternatives are there?
The least invasive and most convenient alternative to dry technology is to use terminals with pre-moistened saline pads. After extended use, the sensors require re-hydration with new saline fluid but the technology is nevertheless, low cost and very usable.
An attractive and comparatively low-cost offering here is the EPOC headset by Emotiv that was demonstrated at TED in August 2010. It has 14 sensors plus an inbuilt two-axis gyroscope that also allows tracking of head movements.
If you only want it for approved games or applications designed specifically for the EPOC, the headset costs US$299. If you are a developer and want to use it more fully, the cost is $500 for the Developer headset.
The Developer version comes with a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) that while fairly simple, is nevertheless an order of magnitude cheaper than anything else comparable. On the basis of the 14 channel input, the EPOC BCI is easily able to translate brain activity to enable it to be mapped onto a wide variety of computer commands. For people with disability, I think Emotiv's corporate tagline says it brilliantly: "you think, therefore, you can."
This EPOC headset is currently being piloted for various gaming applications and disability enablement applications around the world. If a person cannot speak or cannot speak clearly, as is the case with many cerebral palsy sufferers, speech recognition technology to control smart devices is just not an option. Various organizations (like Thought-Wired for example) are exploring the potential of low cost headsets like this to enhance the lives of those suffering from a profound disability.
As well as attracting the attention of disabled gamers, by linking the headset and a BCI to smart-home appliances it can enable people to do things like control room lights, curtains, room temperature or alert carers to their needs. Eye tracking technology can do the same thing, but this turns out to be cheaper.
Emotive seems to be winning considerable respect for its Epoc headset as its claims have been cited by no less than the highly respected British Royal Society.
The EPOC headset can also detect a variety of facial expressions including smiling, laughing, and smirking as well as eyelid and eyebrow positions. This enables a user's facial expressions to be communicated in online communication through an avatar or converted into email in the form of emoticons.
What does the future hold?
EEG headsets have broken out of the laboratory into the wild and while their numbers are still sparse, they can be expected to develop rapidly.
In the next few years we can expect some exciting applications to emerge, particularly in disability applications. In relation to gaming, they seem to be a solution looking for a problem at the moment, but they undeniably have novelty appeal. So the jury is still out. as it is in the market research arena where it will take some time to sort out the substance from the hype - as applies to neuromarketing more generally.
Improv Electronics has announced some new additions to its Boogie Board LCD writing tablet brand. The original digital contender to the note book is being joined by a new bigger-screen version, and one that includes a binder-friendly casing. There's also a new accessory for the original 8.5-inch device that can be attached to a fridge door, wall or almost any other flat surface to act as a slide-in home for a Boogie Board.
The new Boogie Boards, like the original, are temporary note-takers intended to be a digital replacement for note pads and scraps of paper. There's no permanent storage of what's written on the screen (which is erased at the press of a button), but the device is able to retain the scribblings without needing to power the display. All of the new additions will ship from July 1.
Offering almost twice the available writing surface than the original, the new 10.5 LCD Writing Tablet sports an integrated stylus holder and an erase lock button, and runs on two AAAA-sized user-replaceable batteries. It weighs 8.1 ounces (229 g), has 10.50 x 6.88 x 0.45-inch (267 x 175 x 11 mm) dimensions and costs US$59.95.
Improv Electronics is also about to release a new version of the 8.5-inch model, housed in a special casing that includes holes for clipping into two, three and four ring binders and a holder for the included stylus. The 0.25 x 7.50 x 0.27-inch (260 x 191 x 7 mm) 8.5 LCD Writing Tablet for Binders weighs 5.5 ounces (158 g) and is priced at US$44.95.
The new Boogie Board Message Center allows a user to slide in an original 8.5-inch Boogie Board for stationary mini-white-board-like display and includes a reversible cork/metal insert underneath the main tablet area for push pin or magnetic paper notes. This 9.13 x 8.87 x 0.63-inch (225 x 232 x 16 mm), 9.2 ounce (261 g) accessory will cost US$19.95.
Tablet owners looking for some quality sounds from their multi-touch mobile device may soon be able to get hold of covers containing new flat speaker solutions from HiWave Technologies. The SoundSleeve incorporates a pair of 2W audio exciters mounted on a lightweight honeycomb panel and is designed to be hidden behind the lid of a tablet computer sleeve.
Even though my tablet computer includes a pair of modest stereo speakers, if I want to listen to audio I tend to plug in some earphones rather than listen to the often tinny reproduction offered by the onboard drivers. I could plug in some external speakers but that would just add to the bulk of accessories I already carry (Bluetooth keyboard, solar charger, wireless mouse, extra storage and so on). Now HiWave has announced that both soft and hard tablet covers sporting its new SoundSleeve speaker (HIAM-SS2S) should be available in time for this year's festive season.
Within the 13mm (0.5-inch) thin protective shell, the company has mounted two low-profile electromagnetic audio exciters that output up to 2W each. HiWave is reported to be working on integrating its Audium amplifier chip into the design which can optimize the audio quality using its own onboard processing core and be tweaked to take different configurations into account, but designers' own amplifier and interface boards - together with battery packs - can also be incorporated as required.
The weight of the unit will vary depending on module size but we've been informed that a 7-inch wide speaker would be 195g (6.8 ounces), including drivers and cables.
"With tablet computing led by Apple's iPad now finding a place in so many people's daily lives, there is a rapidly growing market for protective sleeves that also deliver top quality audio for entertainment and conferencing to the tablet user on the move," says HiWave's James Lewis. "HiWave's flat speaker technology is the ideal solution to take tablet audio to the next level."
Hi-Wave is currently sending out a limited number of samples to select manufacturers ahead of more widespread availability in September, in time for consumer products to start appearing before Christmas.
Created by New Zealand-based designer Richard Clarkson, the Rotary Mechanical Smartphone is a one-of-a-kind device that has all the features of a regular smartphone, but it resembles a vintage rotary dial telephone. It represents an attempt at combining digital technologies and physical, mechanical systems, thus making cutting edge technology more tangible. The phone comes with two interchangeable brass dials (a rotary one and a numeric keypad), along with a copper body and a small LCD screen. Richard did not confine himself just to the concept, but actually built a prototype of his invention.
Richard Clarkson is an Industrial Design student at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. "The design of the phone references both steampunk and minimalistic genres to combine and contrast the different forms and surface finishes," Clarkson says. In some respects, it is similar to Amid Moradganjeh's Rimino concept, especially because of the attempt to add more human nature to an electronic device.
The brass dials are hand finished, and the act of changing them "is inspired from changing the lenses on a camera." The smartphone's electroplated body was created using a 3D printing process, and is finished with a paint that's supposed to "improve aesthetically" over time, increasing the vintage look.
"Rotary Mechanical is a question not only about the ever increasing 'digital take-over' of everything in our lives but also what is lost when this happens," Clarkson explains. The smartphone would, therefore, be a perfect match to Datamancer's Steampunk Laptop. Unlike the Datamancer's masterpiece, however, the Rotary Mechanical Smartphone is not yet for sale.
Huawei today unveiled its 7-inch MediaPad, which the company says will be the first to use the previously unannounced Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS (specifically optimized for 7-inch tablets) and the first to use Qualcomm's 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor. All the specs look to be on the mark but no pricing was announced. The release date is slated for Q3, 2011, so that could be any time between the end of next week and September 31.
I must admit to watching the release of iPad competitors with a the same fascination I have only once experienced before, while watching soldiers waiting to go into battle - I admire their bravery and commitment, but fear for the worst. Motorola, Samsung, HTC, RIM and LG have already proven that having equal or better specifications than the iPad won't steal many sales - the total buying experience and the longevity of the line, and the comforting knowledge that Apple will produce an iPad 3, and an iOS5 and 6 and 7, all weigh heavily in the mind of the consumer. As in love and war, the incumbent usually wins.
The MediaPad does look a treat though, as plays full 1080P video, has a very high pixel density (217 PPI compared to the Apple iPad2's 132 PPI) and has no shortage of processing power considering the powerhouse dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor.
In terms of creating media, it sports a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video calling and 5 megapixel, auto-focus, rear-facing camera with HD video recording capabilities.
It's thin (10.5 mm = 0.4 inches) and light (390 grams = 0.86 pounds) and will be supported by Huawei's Hi-Space cloud solution and Google Android market.
With HSPA+ 14.4Mbps and high-speed WiFi 802.11n connectivity, the MediaPad will not be available in wWiFi-only form.
The MediaPad supports HSPA+ data services, Flash 10.3 videos and comes pre-installed with applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Let's Golf and Documents to Go.
Synchronizing data between a computer and a mobile phone has generally required connecting the two devices via a USB cable. For simple tasks many people even resort to manually typing text from one device onto another. Apple's iCloud is designed to take the hassle out of this task by automatically syncing data between your various devices over Wi-Fi, but MIT graduate student Tsung-Hsiang Chang and Google employee Yang Li have developed a system called Deep Shot that makes it possible to transfer simple computing tasks between devices simply by taking a photo of the computer screen with a smartphone's camera.
Designed to work with Web applications, Deep Shot exploits the fact many Web apps use a standard format called the uniform resource identifier (URI) to describe their current state. URI's are those long links that contain extra information, such as the start and end points and geographical coordinates in Google Maps, for example.
While these links can be copied and pasted and emailed, Deep Shot simplifies things by sending the URI between two devices over Wi-Fi via software installed on both the phone and all the computers with which the phone will interact.
The camera comes into play when uploading data to the phone by identifying the application open on the screen using existing computer vision algorithms. It is also used to identify the specific computer the camera is trained on - work or home, for example - when downloading data from the phone to a computer. The system will also resize the application window to match the framing of the photo.
Because URIs use a standardized set of codes, the system can also transfer data between different applications - from one map application running on a computer to another installed on a mobile phone, for example.
While it is easy to extract information from some Web applications, such as Google Maps, others can be more difficult but the developers say the system should work with any application that reveals its state through URIs with minimal additional coding. In theory, it could also work with off-the-shelf software with some minimal modifications to their code by the software developers. Currently the system works with several common Web applications, including Google Maps and Yelp.
Because Deep Shot was developed when Chang was doing an internship at Google, the search giant owns the rights to it. Google hasn't made the system publicly available yet but Chang expects it to and says he'll be among the first to install Deep Shot when it does.
We've been looking forward to this ride for a looooong time; this is a truly significant motorcycle. Ducati has stamped its authority on the Adventure bike segment in the only way it knows how. The new Multistrada 1200 S is vastly more powerful and exciting than anything else in the segment. In fact, it's more powerful and exciting than an awful lot of pure sportsbikes. What's more, with its traction control, ABS, fly-by-wire throttle mapping and electronic suspension adjustments it boasts the most technologically advanced computer system we've ever seen on a streetbike - while still being marvelously simple to ride. Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan strap the boots on for the latest in our HD Video Road Tests. Enjoy!
The big bore "Adventure" touring segment is starting to look pretty crowded at the moment - you've got grandpa Beemer, the big KTM, the viciously ugly but practical V-Strom, Yamaha's proto-beemer Super Tenere, Triumph's Tiger, Guzzi's Stelvio ... each with its own mix of off-road capability versus on-road touring practicality.
Ducati's Multistrada has always sat just outside this category, somewhere on the fringe. Chunky-looking, comfy, quick and almost entirely road focused, the old Multistrada really sat better under the naked or sports touring umbrellas. You'd probably do just about as well in the dirt on, say, an FZ1 - and you'd be substantially less worried about scratching the paint.
The new Multistrada 1200 S has paint just as shiny as the old model, but it's a complete rethink of the Multistrada concept from the engine out. The old bike made a useful, if not sprightly, 92 horsepower from its 1100cc, 2 valves per cylinder L-twin engine. The new one rips tarmac with a gigantic 150 horsepower out of a lightly revised 1198 superbike engine with 4 vales per head.
This figure alone tells you where the MTS sits in its class - it's the bully. Half as much power again as a KTM 990 Adventure, and a healthy 40 ponies over the much heavier BMW. It's an absolute monster on the road, revving like crazy and throwing the front wheel skyward every time you jerk the throttle in the lower three gears.
With its powerful, radial Brembo brakes, Ohlins TTX suspension and relatively light weight at 189kg (420lbs), the Multistrada has taken a gigantic leap forward from its predecessor as a roadbike. In fact, it steers so fast and true in the twisties, and explodes so violently out of apexes, that there's very few bikes on the road that will get away from one if it's well ridden. If it wasn't for some minor ground clearance issues, this would make a pretty convincing sportsbike - and it'll take a heck of a rider to find its limits at the racetrack.
But 150 horsepower is a recipe for disaster in the dirt, and the firm suspension that you need for maximum traction on a smooth twisty road would rattle your teeth out on a bumpy dirt road - and this is where the true genius of the 1200 S comes into play.
Riding mode switches have been popping up on fuel injected motorcycles since the 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000, as manufacturers realized that the stratospheric horsepower of today's performance bikes is simply too much for some riders under some conditions. Early efforts like the 07 Gixxer simply offered different fuel maps, restricting the bike to lower horsepower.
The Multistrada takes the mode concept to unprecedented levels, and allows Ducati to fit an incredibly broad electronics package into a bike that's still dead simple to ride.
The MTS mode switch (built into the indicator cancel button) toggles between 4 riding modes: Sports, Touring, Urban and Enduro. Each mode has a custom (and customisable) setup that includes peak engine output, throttle response, intervention level from the Ducati Traction Control system, ABS settings, and even electronic suspension setup.
In Sports mode, for example, the suspension is set quite firm, with added preload, compression and rebound damping at both ends. The power output is set to the full 150 horses, and the throttle mapping is similar to the track mode on Aprilia and BMW sportsbikes - that is, power comes on strong and immediately with minor throttle movements. Traction control is set to allow a reasonable degree of powersliding out of corners. It's a tough mode to ride in - your throttle control has to be godlike to avoid jerky spikes of power, so you need to be concentrating 110% to get the most out of the bike.
Touring mode is a softened version of Sports mode - you get all 150 horses, but the throttle mapping is backed off to a softer delivery. This means you have to twist the throttle a little further to get big power down, but it's much smoother, less aggressive and easier to ride hard. Traction control is brought up to allow less wheelspin, and the suspension is softened off so that your freeway miles are more comfortable.
Urban mode cuts peak power to 100 horses, and retains Touring mode's gentler throttle response. Traction control is maxed out, and the suspension setup feels similar to Touring mode, or perhaps a little more comfort focused. One-hundred horsepower sounds like a cruel neutering of the 1200cc powerplant, but in all honesty Urban mode still feels brutally powerful when you twist the throttle round far enough. The bike still leaps forward, wheeling with ease and obliterating traffic and speed limits.
Enduro mode sets the suspension long and soft, gives you the same soft 100 horsepower throttle map as Urban mode, and backs off the traction control so you can steer the thing with the rear wheel a bit in the dirt.
The new Multistrada (especially the Ohlins-equipped S model) feels much more capable in the dirt than its older brother. It's quite light and nimble, not uncomfortable to ride standing up, and while the fairings rattle a bit, the suspension does a fairly good job dealing with ruts, holes, tree branches and other light offroad debris. You wouldn't go too hard with it - ground clearance is much more roadbike than dirtbike, and if you tip it over you're risking the cost of four regular dirt squirters, but for gravel and light trails it handles itself pretty well.
The Bosch-derived ABS system is excellent on the road, and surprisingly effective on dirt or gravel. It's actually quite shocking to see how quickly it will stop you when traction conditions are low.
Of course, Ducati sells the traction control and ABS systems as safety additions - but we riders know otherwise. Armed with the ability to brake right at the limits of traction from extreme speed, you tend to charge into corners harder and brake later. Safe in the knowledge that you're not going to highside, you feel morally obliged to wind it out to the throttle stop as soon as you see a corner exit. Finesse be damned, you can ride this thing like a neanderthal if you want - it just pays to remember that traction control and ABS can't save you if you run into a corner too hot - and with the cataclysmic grunt of that 1200cc engine firing you from one corner to the next, your braking points are going to be further back than you're used to. So beware!
In terms of complaints, well, the Multistrada does give us a few niggles. Centrestands are magnificent things, but the Multi's centrestand is the first thing to drag in a corner, and this isn't helped by the fact that when you put your toes up on the pegs, your heel bumps into it and pushes it down further. So when the pace really starts heating up, it becomes a bit of an issue.
The screen, while adjustable, is absolute garbage. It forces a concentrated stream of wind straight into your helmet wherever you set it. You're best off leaving it wherever you leave the winter liners for all your jackets.
There's no option for cruise control, which is just about the only thing stopping the MTS from being a top flight tourer. It's comfy enough for big miles, you can get 400km from a tank if you're cruising, and you can key in suspension adjustments for pillions and/or luggage in each mode with a few prods of the left thumb. Cruise control is sadly absent, which is surprising because the bike is so overwhelmingly electronically governed. Surely with this many sensors, fly by wire throttle and all the other computers, cruise would be an easy thing to add.
And the panniers, which are lockable, waterproof and free with the S Touring model, are in my view poorly designed. They do a great job on the bike, but when you take them off, you need to rest them on pillows if you don't want them to scratch. Hard luggage on a bike needs to be able to take a beating - it needs to be able to be treated like a suitcase. We treated it like fine China, and we still managed to scratch it enough for a horrific repair bill to come our way. Be warned!
The gearbox, straight from the 1198, seems to have picked up a gremlin or two in its new home. Shifts don't feel as solid or precise as they should, and false neutrals happen semi-regularly even if you shift with a firm boot. It's a disappointing flaw.
But it's not a deal breaker. When you've got a bike so overwhelmingly capable in so many different capacities, you're onto a real winner. The Multistrada can genuinely out-sports a lot of sportsbikes on the road, it's blisteringly fast. But it's also comfortable, practical, simple to ride and endlessly flexible. It feels like one of the great standards of old, a Swiss army knife of a thing that will handle itself admirably in all sorts of conditions. "All-rounder" might be a dirty word in this day and age, but I'm breaking it out here as a big compliment. The Multistrada 1200 S is probably one of the most exciting, practical and capable motorcycles on the market right now. It's a beauty.
Price is an eye-watering AU$29,990 for the Multistrada S Touring or S Sport (which ditches the panniers and heated grips for a few bits of carbon fibber) - or you can lose the electronic Ohlins suspension and trade down to the standard MTS1200 for AU$23,990. It's a lot of money, but take one for a test ride and it'll be obvious where the money has been spent.
The world's most poorly organized technology tradeshow, Computex Taipei, finished on the weekend, and one of the many wonderful products lost amongst the clutter caused by the dysfunctional organization was the Kingston Wi-Drive, a rugged Flash-based portable storage solution with built-in wifi that allows three Apple device users to stream different file types simultaneously without any performance disruption.
The additional 16GB (US$130) or 32GB (US$175) storage and convenient file sharing make it a perfect companion device for the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.
There's no doubt the Wi drive can add significantly to the usefulness of your iPad or iPhone, particularly if you're limited for space compared to the media you wish to use or share. This video explains the tiny (121.5 x 61.8 x 9.8 mm) Wi Drive which will be available later this month.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference today, Apple officially unveiled iOS 5, the latest version of its mobile operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The new system reportedly includes over 200 new features, one of the more noteworthy of which is the iCloud online data storage service. iCloud includes 5GB of internet-based memory space, and it automatically syncs all of a user's iDevices whenever new files are added to any one of them. iOS 5 will be available to consumers as of this Fall (for Northern Hemisphere readers, or this Spring for those in the Southern Hemisphere).
Apple's press release touches on some of the highlights of iOS 5, stating:
Notification Center provides iOS 5 users with an innovative way to easily access all notifications―text messages, missed calls, calendar alerts, app alerts and more, all in one place, from anywhere in iOS 5. When they arrive, notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen without interrupting what you're doing. With one swipe you can see all your notifications, and a simple tap will take you right to its app for more detail. Notifications also appear on the lock screen, with the ability to be taken to the notifying app with just one swipe.
Newsstand is a beautiful, easy-to-organize bookshelf displaying the covers of all your newspaper and magazine subscriptions in one place. A new section of the App Store features just subscription titles, and allows users to quickly find the most popular newspapers and magazines in the world. If subscribed to, new issues appear in the Newsstand and are updated automatically in the background so you always have the latest issue and the most recent cover art.
Safari is the world's most popular mobile browser, and with iOS 5 it's now even better. New features include Safari Reader, which gets all the clutter out of the way and sets the right font size on a web page, so you can easily scroll and read through a story; Reading List, so you can save articles to read later and they automatically show up on all your iOS devices; and Tabbed Browsing, which makes it easy to flip between multiple web pages on iPad.
iOS 5 includes built-in Twitter integration, so you can sign in once and then tweet directly from all your Twitter-enabled apps, including Photos, Camera, Safari, YouTube and Maps with a single tap. New APIs give third party developers the ability to take advantage of the single sign-on capability for their own iOS 5 apps.
iMessage in iOS 5 brings the functionality of iPhone messaging to all of your iOS devices―iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Built right into the Messages app, iMessage allows you to easily send text messages, photos, videos or contact information to a person or a group on other iOS 5 devices over Wi-Fi or 3G. iMessages are automatically pushed to all your iOS 5 devices, making it easy to maintain one conversation across your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. iMessage also features delivery and read receipts, typing indication and secure end-to-end encryption.
The new Reminders app helps you manage your tasks; create and group related tasks together; and set time or location-based reminder alerts, priorities and due dates, so you can be reminded of a task as its deadline approaches, or when you arrive or depart a given location. Reminders can also be viewed in iCal and Outlook and are updated automatically.
iCloud, however, should prove particularly popular. Instead of having to physically connect your various devices to your Mac or PC in order to keep them on the same page, the service will make all mail, contacts, calendars, photos, apps, books, music and other files accessible to all devices, as soon as they're added via any one of them. Should you download a song to your iPod touch, for instance, it will automatically become accessible to your other devices.
Full details on iOS5 and iCloud are available on the Apple website.
