Lenovo claims IdeaCentre Q190 is world's smallest full-function desktop PC

Welcome to the newsletter for Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine. These are the headlines for November the 28th, 2012. Lenovo claims IdeaCentre Q190 is world's smallest full-function desktop PC About this time last year, Lenovo made a bid for the title of creator of the world's smallest desktop PC, with the launch of the IdeaCentre Q180. Now, an equally diminutive replacement is making a grab for the very same title. The IdeaCentre Q190 is reported to offer up to 80 percent faster processing performance over last year's model, is available with double the system memory, and up to 1 TB of HDD storage. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile electree+ bonsai solar charger combines form and function Sitting somewhere between the "solar trees" erected on parking garages at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and the nanotrees developed on the same campus, the electree+ is a sculptural bonsai tree with 27 solar cells for "leaves." The tree's branches can be adjusted to catch the rays just right, and its internal battery will store enough electricity to charge an iPhone5 nine times over, a Galaxy S3 seven times, or an iPad 2 twice. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Chevrolet Spark EV to be priced under $25,000 with tax incentives Chevrolet recently announced a slew of details about its upcoming electric Spark EV, breaking down specifics of the engine and giving us a general idea of what to expect from the car. A couple of details were left out, however, most notably the price. Well, the company has now announced that, after tax breaks, the Spark EV will cost under US$25,000. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Oru "origami" kayak heading for production Just a couple of months ago, we first heard about the Oru – a prototype touring kayak made from corrugated plastic, that can be folded up and carried like an art portfolio. Designer Anton Willis and his team have since launched a crowd-funding campaign that has already far exceeded its goal ... which means that the Oru should soon be available to buy. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Nintendo reveals scaled-down Wii Mini In the wake of last week's launch of the Wii U, Nintendo has announced a redesigned version of its predecessor. After several rumors of a "Wii Mini" leaked online, the company has now confirmed that a more compact Wii will be launching this year. Set to hit store shelves in Canada in time for the holidays, the Wii Mini boasts a smaller size, lower price, and sturdier design, but also sees a couple of Wii features omitted. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile MIT Media Lab births robotic weight loss coach While earning his PhD at the MIT Media Lab, Cory Kidd wanted to build a social robot that could have a place and function in the home. One of the potential applications was a lifestyle coach – a robot that you would interact with daily as you try to lose weight. Kidd built a prototype, recruited people for a study, and found that participants using the robot stuck to the weight loss program twice as long as those who used an identical program on a laptop – and that most felt that the robot was more credible than an animated character on the screen. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile ORA iPad Sound System adds eight speakers to your iPad The success of the iPad suggests that it already functions rather well as a device for consuming movies and music, in addition to playing games. That said, even the most enthusiastic Apple fan would be hard-pressed to argue that the tablet's speakers offer optimum fidelity. This is where ORA steps in, providing a protective case and stand for the iPad, which also contains eight speakers to push out the tablet's audio. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Polymer implants could help heal brain injuries Using implants made from porous biocompatible materials, scientists have recently been successful in regrowing things such as teeth, tendons and heart tissue, plus bone and cartilage. The materials act as a sort of nanoscale three-dimensional scaffolding, to which lab-cultivated cells can be added, or that the recipient's own cells can colonize. Now, a Spanish research team has used the same principle to grow new brain tissue – the technique could ultimately be used to treat victims of brain injuries or strokes. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Spark smartens up any standard light socket The common thing amongst the various smart light bulbs we've seen recently, such as the Lumen, Philips hue, LIFX and INSTEON, is that all the enabling wireless technology is built into the bulbs themselves. This means that when the bulb inevitably fails, you're faced with replacing the whole expensive kit and caboodle. Spark overcomes this problem by separating the expensive wireless components from the bulb, thereby allowing a standard bulb to be connected to the internet. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Tretta AWD Bicycles put that lazy front wheel to work Although they're very seldom seen, 2-wheel drive bicycles have existed in one form or another almost as long as their traditional rear-wheel-drive counterparts. While most of them have been one-off experiments or short-run production models, Japanese bicycle manufacturer Arte Co Ltd has decided to give the 2WD thing a shot nonetheless, with its Tretta AWD Bicycle line-up. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile GuitarBots online learning game is played with any real guitar One of my most painful (but at the same time wickedly amusing) memories relating to the Guitar Hero and Rock Band gaming boom a few years ago was when a high-scoring king of the button/paddle guitar controller tried to show me how easy it was to play a real guitar. He soon learned that playing a real instrument can be very tough at the beginning, so much so that many would-be axe gods give up before the calluses have even had a chance to form. GuitarBots from Ovelin is a new online learning system that combines challenge and reward computer-based gaming and a real instrument to take string pickers from the tentative first steps right through to more advanced soloing and rhythm play ... and it looks like a whole lot of fun, too. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Cambridge University team to assess the risk posed to humanity by artificial intelligence A team of scientists, philosophers and engineers will form the new Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. The team will study key developments in technology, assessing "extinction-level" threats to humanity. Key among those threats is the possibility of the creation of an artificial general intelligence, an event that has the theoretical potential to leave humanity behind forever. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile SEAD identifies the most energy-efficient TVs available Size, resolution, the underlying display technology, 3D or not 3D, contrast ratio: these are all things one considers before splashing out on a television. How many of us think about energy consumption? The SEAD Initiative (Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment) is laboring under the apprehension that however many it is, it's not enough. What's it doing about? It's launching Global Efficiency Medal awards to very visibly identify the most energy-efficient flat-panel TVs (and other electronics), and last week it announced its winners ahead of an awards ceremony in January. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Belkin releases Portable Keyboard Case for iPad mini Electronics and computer peripherals company Belkin has released a new portable keyboard case for the iPad mini which promises to bring both a level of protection, and a physical keyboard to Apple's diminutive tablet. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Mizo folding "briefcase" chair set for commercial release Following the success from the Salone Satellite graduate exhibition during this year's Milan Design Week, young Japanese designer Satoshi will actually see his graduate project come to full fruition. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Game Review: Assassin's Creed III From its inception there has been a lot to like about the Assassin's Creed series. The game has always delivered jaw dropping visuals, some very cool acrobatic moves and those delightfully enjoyable sneaky kills on unsuspecting individuals. These ingredients are yet again featured in the latest installment, a game that takes the series to a new environment, as you explore the political machinations of revolutionary colonial America. Gizmag reviews the Xbox 360 version of Assassin's Creed III. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile US Special Forces seeking subsonic ammunition for covert missions Most people have experienced the sonic boom of a skillfully wielded whip, or the closely related crack of a nearby bolt of lightning. Such sounds have a character that attracts a good deal of attention, which is why the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is trying to silence them. The crack of a rifle shot is the sonic boom of a supersonic bullet, making stealthy ground missions difficult to accomplish. To address this need, SOCOM has issued a Small Business Innovation Research request for proposal (SBIR-RFP) for a feasibility study of suitable subsonic rounds. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile Best Android apps of 2012 2012 has been a good year for Android. The Galaxy S III has been a sales behemoth, the Nexus 7 proved that Android tablets can sell too, and there have been plenty of great new apps. As 2012 comes to a close, let's take a look at the year's top Android apps and games. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at http://www.gizmag.com. If you would like to switch to our weekly newsletter, click here If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. COPYRIGHT GIZMAG (C) 2012