WiFi is something that on paper is fantastic, but in practice is less fun then being hit around with a hammer. It is slow as all hell, it gets interference from my underpants in the right weather conditions, and beats my phone battery like it had a bad childhood. As usual the Australian are here to rescue us from our wireless nightmares with a technology they call GiFi.
The promise of GiFi is high, with it offering data speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second over a 10 meter distance. It does all that and still manages to use only 2 watts of electricity. It isn’t expensive either, with the researchers at Melbourne University believing it will cost as little as $10 to add the component to your device. The price is kept down due to the chip being designed using existing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, and measuring 5mm (add 1mm for the antenna). Ohh, did I mention it used the 60Ghz range, which just so happens no other device uses.
The technology won’t be ready for consumers till 2009, and could exist in any magnitude of consumer device, from cell phone to television. 2009 is going to be the big year for wireless USB, but with a little help from the aussies, we may see a new format war starting.
For more info, transfer over to PMPToday.
It’s too bad that the good concepts never become reality, and these Lightway OLED shutters will no doubt fall under that category. The concept is so simple, it is almost laughable, with the shutters collecting the light all day, and then using that stored power to create beautiful lights at night.
The design itself was made by Damian Savio, a 23-year-old industrial design student at University of Western Sydney. It uses OLEDs and advance transparent Photovoltaic Nanoscale technology to does what it does. Due to it using solar power, no plugs are needed, so installing them is as easy as installing any sort of shutters.
Unfortunately the technology to make this mainstream would be way to expensive for peons like me. It’s always good to hear of an Aussie coming up with something brilliant.
For more info, click over to Swongled.
The guys over at CarAdvice got news of a Nissan GT-R fresh off the boat, on Australian shores. They also got snap shots of the second GT-R to arrive here. Apparently there is an importer bring them in for a sweet $165k. Though the GT-R can’t be registered, man it would be nice to own one of these budget super cars.
For the shots and more info, race over to CarAdvice.
For all the Apple fanboys (and girls) in Australia, there is now another reason to visit Sydney city (other then to show off your iPhone). Soon a new Apple official retail outlet will be located on the corner of King Street and George Street (where the old Westpac use to be), which should be opening around the middle of 2008.
Also you might like to know that they are already advertising for staff, so if you don’t mind sitting around another 9+ months then it might be a decent career path. You would also be located next door too a McDonalds, which closes the deal for me.
On a unrelated note, the location they chose is close to the centre of Sydney city, making it a great location. The only issue I find is that I know the owners of the electronic shops along that road very well, and they all sell Apple gear (Georges Electronics, CCC Camera House, Paxtons etc). Me wonders if this will hurt there says or create more interest in the area. What do you think?
For more info, click over to the SMH Website.
Again there is more speculation, but this time a little closer to home (for me at least). While you lucky Americans get the 80GB PS3 for $US600, it seems we will get the new cut down 40GB for around the same price! Does Sony not know about the US Dollars dropped at the moment or something? The Australian price for the possibly cut down, possible cheaper, possibly real PS3 is $699. Wait a second, isn’t there a deal currently that gives you the 60GB PS3 with 2 games and a extra controller for $AU999 (or a little less)? Isn’t that like over 200$ worth of value anyway? Barrr Sony, give us the cut down for the $US399 ($AU452) like you are giving the freaking Americans! Apparent release date is October 11th.
For more info, and less rambling, click over to the Kotaku Blog.