geckos

On the surface, the 8.9-inch Gecko EduBook is just another boring blip in the history of Netbooks. However, the true beauty of this device lies under the hood.

Instead of an Intel Atom chipset, which has become the de facto standard for this category, the EduBook sports an Xcore86 chip based on the SOC (system on chip) architecture. SOC combines a 1.0GHz processor, RAM, and mainboard onto a tiny module small enough to fit inside a handheld. Sipping only 1.2 watts, this allows the Netbook to run off eight NiMH AA-size batteries for up to four hours, … Read more

The much-anticipated Firefox 3.1 beta 2 is out and about for Windows and Mac users, incorporating the faster JavaScript engine TraceMonkey as the default setting and introducing Private Browsing, which has been in development for years. There are other improvements, of course, but the big one is the ability to turn off the cache and other private data settings with a single click.

Private Browsing works similarly to Google Chrome's Incognito, or Safari's setting of the same name. Go into Tools on the Menubar and click Private Browsing, and all your movements on the Internet will not … Read more

Firefox 3.1 alpha 2, code-named Shiretoko, adds functionality for Web developers with very little eye candy for users.

Johnathan Nightingale of Mozilla described Firefox 3.1 as having more refinement than new features. This alpha release is intended for developers and testers only and should not yet be for general-purpose use.

The most visible enhancement in this alpha release is a feature that allows you to drag and drop tabs between two open Firefox browsers.

There are considerable under-the-hood enhancements here. Built on a pre-release version of the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering engine, Firefox 3.1 alpha 2 … Read more

The initial release candidate of Firefox 3 is ready for download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It's a public preview of the new Firefox code, available in 45 languages, aimed at developers and early adopters to test out the new features. It has an extensive list of known bugs.

Among the major improvements are changes in the look and feel on the various operating systems, major security enhancements, and increased performance and stability. It is based on the Gecko 1.9 rendering engine, which includes 14,000 updates to the code.

On the performance front, the documentation states that … Read more

From their hands and feet all the way down to their tails, the gecko is inspiring all sorts of robotics technology.

Researchers around the world are trying to mimic the adhesive qualities of their hands and feet to develop robots that can climb walls or navigate rough terrain. New studies have also shown that the gecko's tail acts as a fifth leg and helps stabilize the animal as it climbs.

News.com's Kara Tsuboi finds out that this discovery could help build more agile robots in the future. Click the image to see the video.

Science teachers everywhere have had always had to face the question, "Dr. T., when are we going to use this?" In pop culture, it has always seemed to me that the general public is science-phobic, unless they are shopping for beauty products. Then it's "bring on the polypeptides," no matter how dubious the product's claims are.

But a new discovery has promise to deliver a genuine benefit, and brings nanotechnology into real life. Last week's edition of NPR's Science Friday explained that geckos use nanotubes to stick to glass surfaces. Now researchers … Read more