Your tech feed [Gizmag]

smallHD launches external HD monitor for DSLRs

No matter how big Nikon and Canon make their rear body LCDs, you can never quite beat the control you have when shooting tethered. SmallHD’s DP-SLR external monitor for DSLRs offers up a good solution for previewing 1280 x 800 resolution images on a hotshoe-mountable, hand-sized screen which boasts the title of the world’s smallest HD monitor. Priced at US$1199 for the model with all the bells and whistles, it will also be available without the 3G/HD/SDI inputs to keep the cost down to $899. Read More

‘Sound bullets’ aim to improve on ultrasound imaging

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have built a device that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic signals dubbed "sound bullets." Called a nonlinear acoustic lens, the device could produce acoustic images superior to conventional medical ultrasound imaging, probe for damage in the interior of nontransparent objects like bridges, ship hulls, and airplane wings, and be used to develop non-invasive scalpels – although there’s no word on whether it will enable the development of sonic screwdrivers. Read More

New rust sensor could lead to safer bridges

According to the Neil Young album title, rust never sleeps. In construction, rust damage can be insidious – especially in infrastructure like concrete bridges where rust can have fatal consequences if the steel in bridges fails. But detecting rust before it’s too late has been an ongoing challenge for engineers and scientists. Experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS have developed an early-warning system for rust. By installing sensor-transponders into in the concrete to measure the extent of corrosion, engineers are being given a vital heads-up. Read More

Whole lotta shakin' NOT goin' on: the roll-n-cage seismic isolator

With the devastation in Haiti still fresh in our everyone’s minds a team at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) is working on a system to better protect buildings, infrastructure and sensitive equipment from seismic activity. The roll-n-cage (RNC) is an anti-vibration device that is positioned between the building and the ground so that when the ground moves, the supported building doesn’t. Read More

New US$100 bill includes enhanced security features

The U.S. Government has unveiled the new design for the $100 note. Due to enter circulation on February 10, 2011, the note includes two new security features to combat counterfeiting - a blue 3-D Security Ribbon and a "Bell in the Inkwell" which changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted. Read More

More details on Bluetooth v4.0

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has unveiled more information about its forthcoming Bluetooth Core Specification 4.0 that is expected to start appearing in devices late this year or early in 2011. Central to the new spec, which will replace the Bluetooth v3.0 + HS standard

that was officially adopted on April 21, 2009, is a low energy mode designed to enable the expansion of Bluetooth technology into a range of low power devices, such as watches, remote controls, and a variety of medical and in-home sensors. Read More

Mint automatic floor cleaner prepares for kitchen duty

Robot floor cleaners

designed to free us from the drudgery of keeping the house clean are nothing new. Robotic vacuum cleaners, such as the Roomba

, Electrolux Trilobite

and Neato XV-11

, have already found a place patrolling the carpet in many homes, and now the Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner that was first announced at CES in January is nearly ready to report for duty on hard surface floors. Read More

MiLi's sleek Power Skin doubles iPhone battery life

MiLi has added to its iPhone accessory

line-up with the release of what it bills as the "world’s thinnest external battery and protective case for iPhone

3G and 3GS." The slender MiLi Power Skin has a 1,200 mAH battery capacity which can provide up to double the battery life of the iPhone, a pass-through USB/mini-USB for syncing and charging without removing the case and is designed to be easily removed for docking. Read More

Consumer goods can't buy you happiness - experiences can

They say money can't buy you happiness, but if your money is spent on 'experiential purchases' and not consumer goods, then perhaps it can. Research from Cornell University has found that spending money on material goods only brings short term happiness, while experiences provide greater satisfaction long term. Read More