Gadgets

Wireless TV just got a whole new meaning. Sony has just announced a new short-range, intra-gadget technology that clocks a 11Gbps transfer speed. The tech, known as millimeter-wave, allows electronics innards to communicate wirelessly with one another, which could allow for slimmer designs and fewer wires--that means fewer connections to sever, and potentially more reliable gadgets.

It wasn't that long ago that the T1i first brought 1080p video to an entry-level digital SLR--albeit at a pokey 20 frames per second. Today, Canon's latest digital Rebel, the T2i borrows the video capabilities of the far more advanced 7D in a sub-$1,000 package.

Advertising the Chinese origin of a toy can be as successful as saying a watch is "Swiss Made", if the marketing is done right, a Queensland University of Technology researcher says. Professor Brett Martin, from the Faculty of Business, found that promoting a product's country of manufacture could help it to sell, even if it was made in a country associated with lower quality.

Think that 9.7-inch iPad display is all the touchscreen you need? Portuguese company Displax would like to challenge that notion. The company says it is bringing to market a multitouch capable, super-thin polymer "skin" that can be applied to any material -- flat, curved, opaque, transparent, you name it -- creating a digital muli-touch surface virtually anywhere, from a wristband to a desktop to a pane of clear glass.

It wouldn't be the Olympics without distractions; the 2006 Winter Games in Turin had their Austrian doping scandals, and the most recent Summer Games in Beijing were punctuated by an epic opening ceremony followed by rampant media censorship. Not to be outdone, Canada's Bright Ideas installation will allow visitors to the upcoming Vancouver Games the chance to control lighting installations at major landmarks in faraway Ontario using only their thoughts.

Although Apple’s live announcement is over, details are still pretty scant on what’s under the hood of the new Apple iPad. However, considering may tech-heads are already placing orders for the product without seeing the specs, we thought we’d point out some of the immediate failings that might cause you to think twice before following suit:

Military simulators that resemble video games have obvious training benefits for warfighters, but U.S. Navy scientists also say that video games can boost brainpower and produce cognitive improvements that last up to two and a half years.

Steve Jobs Unveils the iPad:  John Mahoney

Starting at 10 AM PST (1 PM EST), we'll be covering Apple's tablet unveiling event from San Francisco, with reality distortion field shielding equipped. Check back here shortly before then for words and pictures from the event, updating live.

In 2001, two significant things happened in the realm of public education. Both houses of Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act to set standards for classroom learning, and a group of foundations recommended that the government set up a multibillion dollar fund to research advanced learning technologies. No Child Left Behind became policy, but the fund stalled, leaving behind an opportunity to place the best advanced learning tools in classrooms. Nine years later, the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies has finally received funding and could be investing in a new, tech-savvy brand of education by fall.