Slashdot Mirror
Domain: techjapan.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to techjapan.com.
Stories · 26
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How the Nintendo 3DS Might Handle 3D Display
itwbennett writes "Blogger Peter Smith weighs in with some possibilities for how the new Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system will provide 3D gaming without the need for 3D glasses. The DSi has cameras, which means the 3DS will have to have them too if it's going to be backwards compatible. We've also heard rumors that the 'next DS' will have tilt-sensors better than the iPhone. With either the camera or tilt-sensors either of these 'faux 3D' systems would work. But since we've seen the DSi do this already, it doesn't seem likely that the new hardware will rely on the same old trick. Enter our friends at Engadget, who uncovered some details from Japanese newspapers. If they're right, the Nintendo 3DS will incorporate parallax barrier LCD screens from Sharp (see also this explanation of dynamic parallax barrier screens). This is the same technology used in a few '3D Laptops.'" -
Fujitsu's HOAP-3, Programmable Linux robot
zmcnulty writes "Fujitsu Automation announced their "HOAP-3" robot yesterday, a 60cm (24in.) robot with a dash of open-source goodness. The robot contains a Pentium M 1.1GHz processor and runs RT-Linux, but Fujitsu also said they'll be releasing the internal interface info for programmers to take a stab at. The original Japanese press release is available here, and at my site we have a translation of the Japanese ITmedia article covering it. No price until it actually hits stores." -
Fujitsu's HOAP-3, Programmable Linux robot
zmcnulty writes "Fujitsu Automation announced their "HOAP-3" robot yesterday, a 60cm (24in.) robot with a dash of open-source goodness. The robot contains a Pentium M 1.1GHz processor and runs RT-Linux, but Fujitsu also said they'll be releasing the internal interface info for programmers to take a stab at. The original Japanese press release is available here, and at my site we have a translation of the Japanese ITmedia article covering it. No price until it actually hits stores." -
Sony Admits to PSP Button Flaws
Apparently despite the original company line, there are indeed problems with the buttons on the PSP handheld. Sony has announced that they will repair the small number of units affected for free, and Tech Japan has the details. From the article: "The defect occurs in part of the initial shipment of PSP units and is caused by excess plastic not being completely removed during the molding and manufacturing process of the outer cabinet. As a result, when a button is pressed, it can become caught on the excess plastic and not return fully to its default position." -
Battery-Powered USB Enclosure
An anonymous reader pointed us to a story about a battery-powered USB disk enclosure. It operates on AA batteries. It's aluminum, and is sorta meant to offload data from cameras. It's only 2.5 inches, so that's not totally unreasonable, but I'm still struggling a bit with the 'Why' part of the equation. -
1.6TB In a Shoebox, If You've Got the Money
zmcnulty writes "While not exactly a technological marvel in itself, IO Data Device's new 'HDZ-UE1.6TS' exemplifies the recent trend towards demand for higher storage capacities -- it's an external hard drive setup offering a total capacity of 1.6TB. Not much larger than four 3.5" hard drives, the HDZ-UE1.6TS goes to show that any (rich) consumer can now easily have a boatload of storage space. Here's the Japanese press release." (At current conversion rates, this would cost nearly $2,900.) -
1.6TB In a Shoebox, If You've Got the Money
zmcnulty writes "While not exactly a technological marvel in itself, IO Data Device's new 'HDZ-UE1.6TS' exemplifies the recent trend towards demand for higher storage capacities -- it's an external hard drive setup offering a total capacity of 1.6TB. Not much larger than four 3.5" hard drives, the HDZ-UE1.6TS goes to show that any (rich) consumer can now easily have a boatload of storage space. Here's the Japanese press release." (At current conversion rates, this would cost nearly $2,900.) -
Halflife 2 Coming to an Arcade Nowhere Near You
Phill Proud writes "Arcade board manufacturer Taito is set to begin sales of an arcade version of Halflife 2, including a multiplayer mode, in the Summer of 2005 (Japan) "Taito will develop an arcade version for their original "Type X" circuit board. The Type X is an arcade game circuit board running Windows XP Embedded that can use the Windows game development environment. The arcade game will be a customised version of the Windows software and will allow 3 game modes - a "Story mode" for single-player play, a "Battle mode" for players country-wide to compete in real-time and a "Mission mode" for players to collaborate tactically."" -
PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced
zmcnulty writes "The day has finally come: Over at TechJapan, we've got a translation of a Japanese BB Watch article stating that Sony has announced the Playstation Portable will cost 20,790 yen (about $195 USD) and is to be released on December 12th. Also, the battery life is quoted as being 4 to 6 hours. Not exactly what I'd call fantastic, but at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition. Free your doubts about software too, as Sony has announced 21 titles will be released in December as well. Here's the official Japanese PDF press release regarding the PSP's release." -
PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced
zmcnulty writes "The day has finally come: Over at TechJapan, we've got a translation of a Japanese BB Watch article stating that Sony has announced the Playstation Portable will cost 20,790 yen (about $195 USD) and is to be released on December 12th. Also, the battery life is quoted as being 4 to 6 hours. Not exactly what I'd call fantastic, but at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition. Free your doubts about software too, as Sony has announced 21 titles will be released in December as well. Here's the official Japanese PDF press release regarding the PSP's release." -
PSP Pricing, Battery Life Announced
zmcnulty writes "The day has finally come: Over at TechJapan, we've got a translation of a Japanese BB Watch article stating that Sony has announced the Playstation Portable will cost 20,790 yen (about $195 USD) and is to be released on December 12th. Also, the battery life is quoted as being 4 to 6 hours. Not exactly what I'd call fantastic, but at this price, looks like Nintendo is in for some serious competition. Free your doubts about software too, as Sony has announced 21 titles will be released in December as well. Here's the official Japanese PDF press release regarding the PSP's release." -
PSP Developer Interview
zmcnulty writes "Over at TechJapan, we've finished our three part translation of Game Watch's interview of Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, one of the PSP's lead designers. New details revealed include a few about the USB interfacing (with both PS2 and PC), a small hint about the elusive battery life, and best of all, that game saves can indeed be copied from Memory Stick to PC by using the PSP's USB interface. Here's part one, part two, part three, and the original Japanese interview." -
PSP Developer Interview
zmcnulty writes "Over at TechJapan, we've finished our three part translation of Game Watch's interview of Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, one of the PSP's lead designers. New details revealed include a few about the USB interfacing (with both PS2 and PC), a small hint about the elusive battery life, and best of all, that game saves can indeed be copied from Memory Stick to PC by using the PSP's USB interface. Here's part one, part two, part three, and the original Japanese interview." -
PSP Developer Interview
zmcnulty writes "Over at TechJapan, we've finished our three part translation of Game Watch's interview of Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, one of the PSP's lead designers. New details revealed include a few about the USB interfacing (with both PS2 and PC), a small hint about the elusive battery life, and best of all, that game saves can indeed be copied from Memory Stick to PC by using the PSP's USB interface. Here's part one, part two, part three, and the original Japanese interview." -
PSP Developer Interview
zmcnulty writes "Over at TechJapan, we've finished our three part translation of Game Watch's interview of Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, one of the PSP's lead designers. New details revealed include a few about the USB interfacing (with both PS2 and PC), a small hint about the elusive battery life, and best of all, that game saves can indeed be copied from Memory Stick to PC by using the PSP's USB interface. Here's part one, part two, part three, and the original Japanese interview." -
PSP Developer Interview
zmcnulty writes "Over at TechJapan, we've finished our three part translation of Game Watch's interview of Mr. Izumi Kawanishi, one of the PSP's lead designers. New details revealed include a few about the USB interfacing (with both PS2 and PC), a small hint about the elusive battery life, and best of all, that game saves can indeed be copied from Memory Stick to PC by using the PSP's USB interface. Here's part one, part two, part three, and the original Japanese interview." -
Sony PC/DVR Incorporates 7 Tuners & 1TB HD
GFD writes "TechJapan has an article on the 'Type X' Viao PC/DVR that will have 1TB and 7 tuners - allowing the recording of 7 shows at the same time. It also has a very cool look." -
Sony PC/DVR Incorporates 7 Tuners & 1TB HD
GFD writes "TechJapan has an article on the 'Type X' Viao PC/DVR that will have 1TB and 7 tuners - allowing the recording of 7 shows at the same time. It also has a very cool look." -
100GB, 9.5mm thick HD from Toshiba
zmcnulty writes "Toshiba has announced their new hard drive today with a 100GB capacity. It's a 2.5 inch drive, is only 9.5mm tall, and supports ATA/100. The (Japanese) Impress Watch article I translated offers a couple more details, though not many. The OEM sample price is about $1,092 USD...but don't ask me what that means for consumers. The previous capacity title was held by IBM with their 80GB Travelstar." -
100GB, 9.5mm thick HD from Toshiba
zmcnulty writes "Toshiba has announced their new hard drive today with a 100GB capacity. It's a 2.5 inch drive, is only 9.5mm tall, and supports ATA/100. The (Japanese) Impress Watch article I translated offers a couple more details, though not many. The OEM sample price is about $1,092 USD...but don't ask me what that means for consumers. The previous capacity title was held by IBM with their 80GB Travelstar." -
NEC Develops Linux Tablet/PDA Hybrid
zmcnulty writes "I've translated today's PC Watch article (Japanese) about a new tablet/PDA device from NEC - it has an 8.4" (640x480) touchscreen LCD, and a CD-ROM drive. It's also suprisingly affordable; about $645 USD. However, don't expect to be able to buy one soon, as production is limited to only 4,000 units for the first year. Still, this is an interesting prospect, and it's good to see major Japanese corporations interested in Linux." -
NEC Develops Linux Tablet/PDA Hybrid
zmcnulty writes "I've translated today's PC Watch article (Japanese) about a new tablet/PDA device from NEC - it has an 8.4" (640x480) touchscreen LCD, and a CD-ROM drive. It's also suprisingly affordable; about $645 USD. However, don't expect to be able to buy one soon, as production is limited to only 4,000 units for the first year. Still, this is an interesting prospect, and it's good to see major Japanese corporations interested in Linux." -
Epson's Female Printer
zmcnulty writes "I finished translating the K-Tai Watch (Japanese) article about a new printer in the Colorio line from Epson. It's not only being marketed at women, it was completely designed by 'Team8' - an all-female project team created within Epson specifically for making a printer 'easy for women to use.' Here is the original Japanese press release." Apparently they've been reading these studies. -
Epson's Female Printer
zmcnulty writes "I finished translating the K-Tai Watch (Japanese) article about a new printer in the Colorio line from Epson. It's not only being marketed at women, it was completely designed by 'Team8' - an all-female project team created within Epson specifically for making a printer 'easy for women to use.' Here is the original Japanese press release." Apparently they've been reading these studies. -
Cell Phone with Camera = Scanner
An anonymous reader writes "TechJapan has posted a translation of an Impress Watch Article regarding a new technology developed by NEC and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, that lets people use their cellular phones with cameras as scanners. It says all you have to do is move your phone over the surface of the piece of paper while recording a movie, and the technology (some sort of software I presume) will construct a high resolution image from the individual frames of the video. Here is the original (Japanese) NEC press release." I'd love to see before and afters to see how well this works. -
Cell Phone with Camera = Scanner
An anonymous reader writes "TechJapan has posted a translation of an Impress Watch Article regarding a new technology developed by NEC and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, that lets people use their cellular phones with cameras as scanners. It says all you have to do is move your phone over the surface of the piece of paper while recording a movie, and the technology (some sort of software I presume) will construct a high resolution image from the individual frames of the video. Here is the original (Japanese) NEC press release." I'd love to see before and afters to see how well this works.
