Yellow Tubes

Gigabyte introduces BRIX, a customizable mini PC powered by Ivy Bridge CPUs

The mini PC market isn’t exactly a crowded one, but it’s never a bad thing to have options. Well, if you’re into the idea of adding an ultra-compact to your setup, Gigabyte’s just announced its highly customizable BRIX. The palm-sized PC appears to be the very same one we saw back at this year’s CES, but it’s now taken on a more polished, ready-to-hit-shelves look. Gigabyte’s providing interested parties the ability to load this itty-bitty thing with a vast selection of Ivy Bridge chips (Core i3, i5 and i7), plus their own SSD / RAM combo and operating system of choice. Ports-wise, there are two USB 3.0 sockets, HDMI and a Mini DisplayPort — Gigabyte notes it can power up to two displays simultaneously. Naturally, the cost depends on the specs you choose, and the company only goes as far as to say that the BRIX covers “a range” of price points.

Filed under: Desktops, Misc

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Via: Fareastgizmos

Source: Gigabyte

By Edgar Alvarez via Engadget RSS Feed
http://engt.co/16eH2vk

Handheld SDR Transceiver runs Linux on ARM/FPGA SoC

Epiq Solutions announced a handheld software defined radio (SDR) device with an RF transceiver that tunes from 300MHz to 3.8GHz, plus a built-in 1PPS GPS. The Matchstiq Z1 is built around a Linux-ready iVeia Atlas-I-Z7e computer-on-module equipped with a Xilinx Zynq Z-7020 SoC, which integrates dual ARM Cortex-A9 cores along with FPGA circuitry. The Matchstiq […]

By Eric Brown via LinuxGizmos.com
http://bit.ly/10Y88lD

World’s smallest Android powered HDMI stick is only $35

Cramming an HDMI-compatible computer into something the size of a USB stick continues to be a popular trend, but would you rather have a smaller HDMI stick or a more capable one? Smartvote…

By Russell Holly via Geek.com
http://www.geek.com/android/worlds-smallest-android-powered-hdmi-stick-is-only-35-1556370/

Lynxmotion Servo Erector Set V1.1 & FlowBotics Studio V2 Released

The long-awaited Lynxmotion Servo Erector Set V1.1 is now available for immediate purchase!

SES stands for “Servo Erector Set”, a versatile set of servo brackets and mechanical parts used as modular building blocks for hobby servo motors. The Servo Erector Set mechanics are made up of durable black aluminum brackets and sturdy black Lexan. You can build an entire assembly using just these components, then populate it with servos and electronics to bring it to life.This makes it surprisingly quick and easy to design and build rugged, complex robots and systems. Unlike many other modular robotic building kits, the Lynxmotion SES brings you closer to making truly custom robotics as it allows you to integrate third party sensors and products.

The SES V1.1 includes online instructions on how to build five very different types of robots: a simple 2WD rover, the popular AL5D robotic arm, a fun BRAT biped, an advanced quadruped and a versatile hexapod.

How do you program the robots?

We are proud to introduce FlowBotics Studio V2. This new version is a great step forward in robot-programming and allows roboticists, from novice to expert, to easily create robotic behaviours using a combination of graphical and text-based programming.

By linking modules and components together it is possible to create advanced robotic behaviours that interact directly with the robotic hardware. Events and data then flow between the links as the application executes the program on-the-fly without need of compilation. This make development and testing seamless and extremely fast and avoids lots of the usual headaches of developing robotic behaviours.

FlowBotics Studio V2 was created in conjunction with DSP Robotics and uses the powerful FlowStone graphic programming engine (a feature never before included in a hobbyist-centric software). Out-of-the-box, it supports the SSC-32 servo motor controller, a selection of Phidget modules, and some standard sensors.

Since this software is also included with the SES V1.1, it is preloaded with highly-detailed sample programs capable of driving and simulating each of the five robots included in that set. You can see a glimpse of those projects, in the screen captures included in this page.

You can download FlowBotics Studio right away by purchasing it at RobotShop.

By RB1 via Robot News from GoRobotics.net
http://bit.ly/13Q4KHi

Video Friday: AR Drone Stunt, Real Transformer, and Futurama Justice

What better way to kick off the weekend than with a flaming flying robot?

By Evan Ackerman via IEEE Spectrum Robotics Channel
http://bit.ly/18bW5Wm

USA:”Tolling of the Boats” Ceremony Held to Honor Fallen Submariners

More than 200 Sailors, veterans and civilians attended the “Tolling of the Boats” ceremony hosted by members of the U.S. Navy Bremerton Base Submarine Veterans (SubVets) at the Naval Undersea Museum’s Jack Murdock Auditorium, May 23.

The ceremony honors the memory of the submariners who lost their lives in the line of duty, especially those during World War II. In the ceremony, the names of every U.S. submarine lost, along with the fate of its crew, are read aloud as a ship’s bell is tolled for each in turn.

Cmdr. Jeffrey S. Smith, commanding officer of USS Kentucky (SSBN 737), delivered the opening remarks at the ceremony and said to everyone in attendance, “Why do we remember?”

 ”This ceremony is a glimpse into the soul of the submariner … courage, sacrifice, duty, honor, humility,” said Smith. ” We remember because it would be shameful beyond words not to. We will remember … we who dive the ocean depths, who brave its icy grasp, who silently guard our nation’s freedom.”

Presently, the Navy has 72 submarines operating around the world, around the clock, performing missions to protect and defend American at all times.

 ”The fact remains that our brothers and sisters in the submarine force, just as in the days past, are ready to make sacrifices in the defense of our nation,” said Smith. “The young women and men proudly wearing their dolphins today have inherited the legacy of our ancestors. To our submarine fathers, you taught us well, we have the watch and rest assured it’s in good hands.”

In attendance were several Sailors from submarine commands stationed at Naval Base Kitsap Bangor.

 ”If we ignore our past, we are doomed to repeat it,” said Command Master Chief Kevin F. Staub, Submarine Group 9. “If we understand who we are and where we come from, we can better understand our role. Just as our submarine fathers passed history on to us, we need to pass the history on to the younger generations.”

Submarine Veteran Richard Litscher, a member of the former Balao-class submarine USS Trumpetfish (SS 425) attended the ceremony to remember his friends and shipmates who passed away.

 ”We are the only ones who know what we did behind enemy lines, so we can be there for each other,” said Litscher. “Everyone leans on everyone for help.”

At the end of the ceremony, the names of the 52 submarines lost during World War II, along with the fate of its crew were read by retired Chief Electrician Robert Paul followed by a ceremonial bell rung by retired Master Chief Machinist’s Mate Harry Gilger.

 ”These boats are forever on patrol,” said Paul.

The “Tolling of the Boats” ceremony has been held on Memorial Day weekend since 1977.

Press Release, May 24, 2013; Image: Wikimedia

By Naval Today via Naval Today
http://bit.ly/16T21Dt

High School Student Builds Working Submarine: Possibly Wants to Defect

A high school sub usually means your teacher’s sick and you get a free period to screw around. But for one student, its meaning is a little more literal. Eighteen-year-old Justin Beckerman could be considered the reincarnation of Thomas Edison. In his brief life, Justin’s created a remote controlled cleaning machine, a helmet home theater, and now a fully functional one-man submarine that can dive as deep as thirty feet. It kind of puts your baking soda volcano to shame.

Read more…

By Andrew Liszewski via Gizmodo
http://gizmodo.com/high-school-student-builds-working-submarine-possibly-509689782

AUV Manufacturing a Growth Industry Says New Report

Strong revenue growth will continue over the next five years as AUV’s (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) are increasingly used in commercial scenarios predicts IBISWorld’s market research.

By (author unknown) via Maritime News - Maritime & Shipbuilding News
http://bit.ly/10XLffb

Xi3′s Unique Architecture Brings New Possibilities to the Desktop

The desktop is generally a boring place, stuffed with thick, noisy, energy-sucking devices that sit all day and take up valuable desktop space.  Of course, without these devices, business across the world would come to a standstill as just about everything in business relies somehow on people sitting behind their keyboards and interfacing with their individual devices.  In recent years, CIOs, intent on bringing down desktop-related costs while also improving the ability to manage the sometimes chaotic desktop environment, have seriously explored the world of VDI.  Many have found great success in their virtual vision while others have been met with something less than complete success.

At the same time, there are any number of small desktop devices out there and even the fat desktop systems have plummeted in price, victims of the “race to the bottom” approach that desktop PC vendors have taken, resulting in some major players simply exiting the desktop market altogether.  Even as PCs have become commoditized, organizations everywhere continue to adhere to desktop replacement cycles, often for warranty and support reasons; it can become expensive to continue to support unsupported machines.  However, some companies still need to be able to add new features and processing power every so often at the desktop, so there is often technical justification for these replacement cycles, too.

Fortunately Xi3 Corporation has made it their mission to “re-imagine the traditional computer to a completely new, universal, energy efficient, cost-effective modular computer design.”  Their system is actually a conglomeration of three separate modules that come together to complete the whole.

• Processing module.  Each system has a module that holds the processor and system memory.  By separating this module, companies can very easily upgrade just the processor and RAM at a later date.
• Two I/O board module slots.  These modules handle all of the devices I/O connectivity needs.  You will see some example modules described below.

With this modular architecture, Xi3 indicates that the company can help organizations save money in upgrade costs and can also create customer architectures for specific vertical needs, such as those that might be found in the world of healthcare.  You can see the results of the company’s efforts in the image at the top of this post. They’ve created a cube-shaped full-features desktop PC with solid state storage, plenty of USB ports, DVI, Ethernet, audio, and more and jammed it into a cube that’s 4.0 x 3.656 x 3.656 inches square.  In this model, dubbed the “5 series”, the unit contains:

• A single or dual core processing module.
• An I/O board with 2 x eSATA 2.5 Ports, 6 x USB 2.0 Ports (root hubs), 3 x Reconfigurable Audio channels, and a 16 GB flash drive, which can be expanded up to 128 GB.
• A secondary I/O board sports a gigabit Ethernet port, a DVI display port, and a power connector.  An HDMI port is optional.

Depending on the processor selected the Model 5 uses anywhere from 8 to 20 watts of power, which isn’t bad at all.

As for pricing, the X5A starts at $499.  For a reasonably equipped machine with a 64 GB SSD and Windows 8 Pro preinstalled, you’re looking at a list price of $756.

This is just one model in the Xi3 family of products.  The company also has a higher end desktop cube named the X7A, which boasts a 3.2GHz quad-core x86-based CPU, a Radeon 7000 series GPU w/384 programmable cores, up to 1TB of SSD storage, triple monitor support: 2 Mini DP, 1 HDMI/DisplayPort combo and 12 I/O ports (four eSATAp III, four USB 3.0, and four USB 2.0).  That’s not bad for a space so small.  Pricing for the X7A will start at $999 for a unit with a quad core CPU, a 64 GB SSD and Linux.

In my discussions with the company at Interop, I was shown a full custom rack of their cube-shaped machines.  At such a small size, it’s possible to achieve high levels of density, which can make Xi3’s products a good fit when scale out needs are supreme.  In fact, in their marketing materials, Xi3 indicates that they “…allow for multiple processing cores to be linked together as one powerful supercomputer.”

Personally, although the unit is not bottom of the barrel when it comes to pricing, I see it having a unique niche for a number of different uses:

• Education.  Computer labs where space is a premium and VDI is not an option.
• Home.  Small computer, quiet.
• Home theatre.  Again, small and quiet.
• General desktop use.  Regain some desktop space by ditching the huge tower and moving to these little cubes.

The pricing for the units is certainly not terrible, especially since these are list prices; it’s almost certain that there is some discount to be had.  For more information about Xi3 and their products, visit here.

By Scott Lowe via SiliconANGLE
http://bit.ly/16dk7k5

5-Pound UAV Flies For 50 Minutes, Streams HD From Over 3 Miles

An anonymous reader writes “Looks like those guys from Aeryon Labs are at it again. Today they announced the SkyRanger a bigger brother to their Scout drone (the one that the Libyan rebels used back in 2011). This one claims flight time of close to an hour, streaming 1080p30 HD video, a range of over 3 miles and a camera that can shoot 15 Megapixel stills and thermal video simultaneously. Not only that but it pops out of a backpack and is ready to fly instantly. It ain’t cheap, but it can fly at 40 mph!”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

By timothy via Slashdot
http://bit.ly/10nMZSq