labs

CNET Labscast 21: iPad 3 hands-on, big ultrabooks, and an 80-inch TV

Big week, or at least big gadgets and gear, on the CNET Labscast. Forget about tiny 13-inch ultrabooks, now these slim laptops are moving into 14- and 15-inch territory, and we've got a couple of examples to pass around the room. Then Ty talks up his latest acquisition, a massive 80-inch Sharp LCD TV. It's awesome for sports (or "sport" as Ty puts it), but you can't make an 80-inch LCD for $5,000 without cutting a few corners.

But before all that, we've got the new iPad 3 (yes, that's what we're calling it), and a very eye-opening comparison of text blown up on both that and the iPad 2--be warned, it's the kind of thing you can't un-see.

CNET Labscast 20: The last Netbook, Lytro demo, and gaming on the Razer Blade

This week, we kill time before New iPad Day by checking out a late straggler to the now-dead Netbook market (no, they haven't gotten any better). Josh Goldman gives us a live demo of the new Lytro camera and its magical refocusing capability, then Scott tries running some PC games on the cool-looking, but potentially underpowered Razer Blade laptop. … Read more

Hacker collective focuses on biotech (audio slideshow)

SUNNYVALE, CALIF., - When it comes to splicing genes and replicating DNA, backrooms and basements are not the most ideal labs. The next wave of home hacking appears to be in biotech, and around the country, a handful of collectives have sprung up in the past few years to accommodate these biohackers.

As the members of a loose-knit biohacking group in the San Francisco Bay Area saw the passion for their homebrew hackers club growing rapidly, they decided it was time to expand. What they eventually built opened late last year as BioCurious, the Bay Area's first hackerspace for … Read more

CNET Labscast 19: Hands-on with the Razer Blade laptop, plus Mass Effect gear

This week, watch us get hands-on with the Razer Blade, a slim gaming laptop with a unique control pad, and with Mass Effect 3 rolling out, we show off all the ME3 gear we could find, from hoodies to light-up console cases.

Yahoo Labs chief, strategist jumps to Google, report says

Yahoo has lost a key employee to Google, a new report claims.

All Things Digital reported yesterday that Prabhakar Raghavan, Yahoo Labs unit chief and the company's head of search strategy, has left the online giant. In a follow-up statement to All Things Digital, Yahoo confirmed Raghavan's departure and thanked him for his work over the last seven years.

Although Yahoo made no mention of where Raghavan was going, All Things Digital cited sources claiming he was on his way to Google to fill an undisclosed position.

Raghavan was heavily involved in a host of Yahoo projects over … Read more

Least sexy iPad 3 part re-emerges in colors, with buttons

Was last week's smoldering imagery of the front glass panel allegedly belonging to Apple's iPad 3 not enough for you? Good news, there's more.

Gadget repair service Repair Labs today (via MacRumors) posts images of a pair of digitizers, the front panel that includes the glass and the touch sensitive layer it says belongs to the iPad 3. The images represent what look like a part that's further along than the one from last week, which appeared unfinished.

Besides the black and white color options, the big takeaway here is that the front of the device … Read more

Quadrotor robots are a hit with James Bond theme song (video)

Now robots can perform live music.

The University of Pennsylvania General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab, which has attracted millions of viewers of its videos online, today released its latest demonstration of robot power.

The video shows a group of small quadcopter performing the theme song to James Bond movies. Introduced at the TED conference, the movie shows about ten of the flying robots emerge from boxes on the floor and start playing different instruments. … Read more

Lab on a chip puts the pressure on a parasite

Researchers in Canada say they've built a device that will help them study changes in red blood cells caused by the most common species of malaria parasites, plasmodium falciparum, which causes the most lethal form of a disease that claims almost a million lives every year.

The microfluidic device, which is just 1 x 2 inches, is not a diagnostic tool but rather a way to test potential treatments--a crucial step in the fight against malaria, which is constantly evolving to develop resistance to drugs.

Typically, human red blood cells squeeze through capillaries that are narrower than the cells … Read more

CNET Labscast 18: Dell's XPS 13, new PlayStation Vita apps, and the Galaxy Note

This week we show off the new Dell XPS 13, or as we like to call it, the DellBook Air. Plus, check out the latest PlayStation Vita media and social apps, and watch us play with the half-phone, half-tablet Samsung Galaxy Note.

Tobacco farms--a vehicle for growing fuel?

What if tobacco could grow fuel in its leaves?

As far-fetched as that sounds, a group of scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is testing the limits of genetic engineering to make the widely grown tobacco plant a carrier for hydrocarbons.

Scientists will be at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit this week to discuss the project, which received a $4.8 million grant over three years. The grant fits ARPA-E's mission of funding research that is high-risk but with a potential for a breakthrough.

Biofuels or biochemicals are typically made by growing plants and then converting that biomass into … Read more