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Prototypes
Since my last iBook went belly up last year, I've been holding out for the perfect mobile computer. But for all of the netbooks I've seen, and the Apple tablet rumors I've read (with as much anticipation as those about "Star Trek XI"), I remain tethered to the iMac, with the busted screen, under my desk.That's because what I want is the lightweight, sophisticated, touch-sensitive, tablet that Geordi LaForge used to monitor his engines in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Moto Development Group (labs.moto.com/scalable-multi-touch) has a new, multitouch tablet, which comes close, by combining the best of the iPhone with the Microsoft Surface - or so they say.
Moto says its multitouch prototype (multitouch because you can use as many fingers on it as you've got), can be made much larger than Apple's iconic device, and lighter than the Surface, a device so immense that it functions as little more than a novelty at hotels. (Whenever I see the Surface, I recall the tabletop version of Ms. Pac-Man I used to play at the racquetball club.)
If Apple were to use its existing iPhone screen technology in a larger version, the new device's screen size would be limited to about 8 inches, according to Moto. (Note: Moto is not connected to Motorola.)
As for the Surface, and the "Minority Report"-inspired screens from Jeff Han (www.perceptivepixel.com), those systems require too much imaging hardware, and money, to be made widely available to business people and classroom teachers.
Moto's multitouch does not seemed destined for hand-held use, however. Rather, Moto sees its very thin, very large, multitouch screens taking the place of easels and whiteboards. Marketing folks, in the heat of one of their crazy, collaborative efforts, could paw all over a wall-mounted screen. Or you and your mates could gather around a gaming table that you can actually put your legs under.
SUBURBAN SURVIVAL
Robo-mowers learn their way around
It's about time for my seasonal rant about robotic lawnmowers - those heavy, high-maintenance energy suckers whose only redeeming value is that they look less asinine than some schnook driving a tractor over his quarter-acre lot.Kyodo America's new LawnBotts (www.lawnbott.com) address many of my concerns, however. They all carry new chassis and motherboards, making the robots smarter, easier to program, and more energy-efficient. The LawnBotts also have additional blade guards and other safety features.
The new mowers cost between $1,400 and $3,500. That's a big upfront cost. Your reward is an emissions-free robot for the lawn, which trims your grass to the height you specify, at the time you want, and returns to its home base for recharging, automatically.
One of the new LawnBotts does not even require a wire to be buried around the perimeter of your yard. The LB1200 Spyder has sensors that detect grass, and the robot trims only the grass that needs it. The Spyder will not scalp your lawn.
Another LawnBott model, the LB3250, uses two lithium-ion batteries for longer runs between charges. And the LB3500 has an electronic compass that keeps the robot going in a straight line, even as it winds its way over sculpted landscapes.
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