Author Archives: sergioc

Need a Tuneup? Become a Hacker

Posted on October 25, 2006 by sergioc

[New York Times] Brawn beat brains in the old days of automobiles. To make cars faster, people bolted bigger air intakes, carburetors and exhaust pipes onto giant muscle car engines. Tuning adjustments were simple, requiring only screwdrivers and wrenches. In … Continue reading →

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Get Your Daily Plague Forecast

Posted on October 19, 2006 by sergioc

[Wired] The new Healthmap website digests information from a variety of sources ranging from the World Health Organization to Google News and plots the spread of about 50 diseases on a continually updated global map. It was developed as a … Continue reading →

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Picking a Picture

Posted on September 14, 2006 by sergioc

[New York Times] In the old days of digital television, a year or two ago, choices were simple. If the screen measured under 37 inches diagonally, it would be a liquid-crystal-display panel. From about 37 to 43 inches, it would … Continue reading →

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New Tech for Hyper Color TV

Posted on September 1, 2006 by sergioc

[Wired] Researchers in Switzerland are developing a new nano technology they claim will double the range of colors that future TVs can produce — displaying every hue the human eye can see. By comparison, most of today’s TVs — be … Continue reading →

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3-D TV That Actually Works

Posted on August 22, 2006 by sergioc

[Wired] A new line of 3-D televisions by Philips uses the familiar trick of sending slightly different images to the left and right eyes — mimicking our stereoscopic view of the real world. But where old-fashioned 3-D movies rely on … Continue reading →

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Lasers Project the Big Picture

Posted on June 6, 2006 by sergioc

[Wired] Tiny, laser-based projectors could transform these pocket-size devices into full-blown entertainment systems by shining images onto walls, tabletops or the backs of airplane seats. In a bright room, the handheld projectors would produce images about as bright and big … Continue reading →

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Dell’s Quest for Cool

Posted on April 10, 2006 by sergioc

[Slate] Before last month, Dell had made only one attempt to look cool in its 22-year history. I don’t need to tell you that the “Dell dude” wasn’t the coolest guy on the planet. Dell’s second attempt to win street … Continue reading →

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Here we are now, entertain us

Posted on April 1, 2006 by sergioc

[Laptop Magazine. No online version.] Profile of (subsequently failed) mobile startup Amp’d. Article available only as a 1MB big image!

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A Cellphone and a Plan for Just About Any Situation

Posted on December 29, 2005 by sergioc

[New York Times] Shopping for a mobile phone can quickly become bleary-eyed drudgery, as I discovered after my beloved Samsung SPH-i500 (a flip phone with Palm organizer) died from age and neglect. Phone makers are spawning a confusing array of … Continue reading →

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Is It Time to Upgrade?

Posted on June 9, 2005 by sergioc

[New York Times] A new study by the Consumer Electronics Association shows that American homes spent $1,250, on average, for electronics last year. Though it may sound like a lot, that is barely enough for a medium-size flat-screen TV. So … Continue reading →

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