To do this, the researchers adapted a device known as an atomic-force microscope.

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Like its predecessors, the newest PalmPilot, the Palm III, is one of the best-designed bits of consumer electronics ever made. 3Com's proprietary operating system, the Palm OS, is amazingly intuitive and perfectly adapted to a device that most users turn on for mere seconds at a time.

FORBES: Small and beautiful

In order to help dog owners manage the health of their pets using ICT, Fujitsu has leveraged its sensing technologies for humans gained in the development of the company's mobile phones and other technologies, and has adapted them for a device that can monitor a dog's activity levels.

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The first was the graphical user interface, using a mouse as a pointing device, which Jobs adapted (some might say stole) from Xerox PARC and SRI to make the Macintosh.

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With a bit of work, Teusink reverse engineered the communication protocol that Logitech device used to send commands to the PC, and eventually adapted it to the more modern R400 Logitech controller.

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The whole device is printed out on a 3D printer, allowing it to be adapted easily to suit different needs.

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