Those Harvard boys are at it again, this time creating the world's first robotic fly that actually took flight for the first time. This sophisticated machine is made of tiny laser-cut pieces of carbon fiber, parts so small they're nearly invisible and molded to outlandishly tight tolerances of within 2 micrometers. There have been other attempts at building robotic insects, but this tiny bot-bug is the size of a horsefly with a wingspan of just over an inch, and uses the same flight technique as those everyday, filthy varmints flying around your garbage can.
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There are iPod docks, and then there are iPod DOCKS. The Shanling MC-30 Music Center is the latter, sporting old skool tube technology to make this one of the better looking docks around. Alongside the iPod support, it’s a CD player, AM/FM tuner and a tube power amplifier. Inside the brushed aluminium chassis, the MC-30 sports a number of decent audio technologies to justify its £500 price tag. The general specs are:
Features:
• The top caps of the front pair of feet are in fact, an input selector and a volume control.
• Combining high quality CD player, tuner, dedicated iPod input and tube power amplifier in one chassis.
• Philips VAM-12 pick-up mechanism coupled with CD-7II servo system for low jitter tracking
• D/A conversion is accomplished by Burr-Brown PCM1738 DAC chip
• High-quality FM/AM tuning system
• 2x6P1 single-ended tube output stage
• Mini multi-functional lever, concealed input selector and volume control
• All aluminium chassis with cylindrical support and internal screening
It’s cute, but for just over half the money and great reviews, I prefer the retro looks of the stunning Fatman iTube Valve Dock. See a photo after the jump.-Martin Lynch
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As eBay auctions goes, this one’s a doozy. A widower in the US has just managed to sell her late husband’s collection of Transformers toys and gadgets for $1 million.
That’s around 274 toys in all, comprised of 101 Autobots, 81 Decepticons and 92 licensed products. Many have never been out of the box and anyone – like the fat guy in Toy Story 2 – who knows anything about toy collecting will know just how anally important that can be.
There’s a great, if somewhat sad, story to the creation and disposing of this collection but it makes for a good read. Jump now and bring a hankie.
If a million dollars is too rich, you can always opt for the animated Transformers t-shirt. -Martin Lynch
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Epson is not what you’d call ‘big’ in the consumer home cinema market but the company is hoping to change all of that with its new cinema-in-a-box approach.
The company best known for printers and projectors, has teamed up with Atlantic Technology to launch the Epson Ensemble 1080 Home Cinema System, promising everything you need to get the big screen thrills in one package.
The product comes in two flavours with a 720p and 1080p set-up costing around £2,500 and £3,500, respectively. The company thinks there’s a gap in the market between mainstream, entry-level home cinema kit and high-end, bank-breaking custom installations. It could be right. The 1080 system comprises:
• Epson 1080p High Definition Projector (or Epson 720p projector for Ensemble HD model)
• 100in Motorised Screen [with remote control] offers movie theatre-sized image
• Powerful 5.1 surround sound system custom designed by Atlantic Technology
– 10-inch subwoofer with all channels of amplification
• Audio/Video controller with dual HDMI inputs and 1080p up-conversion
• Built-in progressive-scan DVD player
The neutral colouring is deliberate to allow it to fit in with most living rooms although it will take a professional around four hours to install it all. It starts shipping in November.-Martin Lynch
home cinema hi-fi epson movies
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
