Filed under: Wireless, Networking

DARPA’s latest initiative is far from revolutionary — we’ve seen a number of installations aimed at improving communication in times of war — but the Wireless Adaptive Network Development (WAND) project looks to “exploit commercial radio components, rather than custom ones,” to “keep soldiers linked with each other on the battlefield.” Essentially, soldiers would be equipped with $500 handheld radios that would form far-reaching ad hoc networks that could “shift frequencies and sidestep interference” to make communications more pervasive and more reliable. Interestingly, WAND is reportedly set to be demonstrated as early as January of next year, but there’s no telling how long it’ll take for the project to become fully operational.
[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of SOCOM]
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Onda’s not exactly known for its originality, and even though the VX888 doesn’t do much to buck the trend, it’s not a half bad media player on paper. Aside from featuring an oh-so-trendy chrome backside, a glossy face and a strange connection with Absolut, this unit boasts a two-inch LCD, 1GB of storage, an FM tuner, photo viewer, built-in equalizer and support for XviD / AVI / FLV / APE / FLAC / WMA / MP3 files. Additionally, this player reportedly utilizes Microsoft’s PlayFX for 3D headphone effects and volume normalizing, but we’re not entirely sure we believe the claim. Nevertheless, those in China can press their luck for just 299 CNY ($40).
[Via PMPToday]
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph