11:22AM "Thank you for coming out -- we're going to take some questions. And, um, that's what we've got for you today."
11:21AM "You can take any product area and rethink it to be social, and have it grow virally, and remake whole industries."
11:21AM "So I think that was enough for today. What do you think? The big takeaway is there is a revolution happening in the social space."
11:21AM "I just want to make a point about the velocity of this. We just launched Places a few weeks ago!"
11:20AM Zuckerberg's back! "Everyone who worked on this stuff, can you stand up? Not a lot of people built all this stuff!"
11:20AM "This is just a sampling of the 22 premium partners we're launching with." Chipotle, McDonald's, American Eagle, 49ers, H&M, JCPenney all on the slide, along with others.
11:19AM Golden State Warriors: people who check in will get access to a VIP event with a player.
11:18AM Palms in Las Vegas: Third night free, maybe get a room upgrade.
11:18AM The North Face: charity checkin for National Parks.
11:17AM Alamo drafthouse cinema: when people go to the movies, you get a free pint glass, and the theater with the most checkins will show a free movie to Facebook fans.
11:17AM Partners launching this week / month: Gap is giving 10,000 free pairs of jeans in the future, and if you're late, you get 40 percent off. "We're all going to be walking around Facebook wearing Gap jeans."
11:16AM "I'm walking down the street and I have four friends with me -- I might go to the place that has free apps for four people."
11:15AM Individual, loyalty, friend, charity. Those are the deal types.
11:15AM "To set up the deal I have one page. I give two lines of description -- people are reading this on mobile, I have to keep it simple. Let's talk about deal types."
11:14AM "The deals platforms allows businesses to turn fans and views and eyeballs into dollars." That doesn't sound like a terrifying vision of the future at all.
11:13AM "The discovery method is on the phone, and that's where it'll principally deal. But we're also excited about being able to claim a deal and for deals to show up on Facebook.com." Emily out to demo something else. "So we all know what Tim likes to do in his spare time."
11:12AM "But really, I'm just alone and I want to hit a coffee shop. I look, two clicks, and I get 50 percent off a cup of coffee."
11:12AM "Let's say I'm out with friends -- with location and deals, I can look at this view and see nearby places with deals. Or I'm home alone and depressed -- I can see bars with free beer. Or maybe a few beers."
11:11AM "The basic idea with deals is that we're enabling merchants to push deals out to their customers and hopefully attract proximate new customers."
11:10AM "Let's talk about a new way to use this stuff: deals."
11:10AM "Big apps, little apps, medium apps -- they can all build mobile social local things using these fundamental tools in the platform. We don't even know what they're going to look like!" Homeboy is seriously pumped about this API.
11:09AM "With this search API what we're doing is building a toolkit to do this mobile social local stuff that all these startups are into."
11:09AM "If this were just about the checkin API, all we'd be saying is that we have partnerships with big players. But this is about you guys who don't have big checkin datasets -- that's where search comes in."
11:08AM "Here's the code -- I guarantee this slide won't break."
11:08AM David Fetterman back up. "I was going to show some more of this stuff -- this is what the Loopt app looks like when it's running. It's cool."
11:07AM Backup iPhone not working so well. "We're really excited about this, you'll have to trust me on this -- it's really cool." Laughter.
11:06AM Switching phones now. "What we've found is that users want a social first experience -- rather than look at reviews, people care about where their friends go."
11:06AM "Can I have that backup iPhone, by chance?"
11:05AM "This may be a tough demo."
11:05AM "We're launching single sign-on on Android right now, and here's a preview on the iPhone." And... it crashed! Oops.
11:05AM Sam Altman, CEO of Loopt up to demo. "We integrated Facebook places about a week ago into our iPhone app, and users loved it. We believe that data wants to be unified, and it's better for users if it's all in one place. Facebook is great place for that."
11:04AM "There's a lot of things that show up in your newsfeed, but there's not a lot of location stuff. And that sucks. And when you check in on the iPhone, you only see the people using Facebook places -- not Yelp, or Loopt, or any other great service. This is the future, we should be able to tie it together."
11:02AM "Today, we're opening all three APIs -- the read API, the write API, and the search API." You can read the graph, and write back into graph, get that feedback cycle going. You can also search -- I'm rolling down El Camino, looking for trouble, looking to make something happen. I open Yelp and check into Starbucks." Oh, that's trouble alright.
11:00AM "Location is more than a node in the graph, it's the key of the graph."
11:00AM "I think the real revolution happens when you add new data to the draft. This happened to Facebook in 2007, but we're beyond the desktop now -- we're in the mobile world now. Mobile doesn't have to be a shadow of the desktop -- especially with location."
10:59AM Dave, the manager for the location team up now. He's excited about location!
10:58AM "Today we're launching an update to the Android SDK, and soon we'll update the iPhone SDK. Keep in mind we have 200 million users who really love social."
10:58AM Erick's back. "It's important to call out some of the other companies that we're working with. I'd like to thank them all." Loopt, Yelp, Flixster and more on the screen, and a lot of them will be on Android Market today, and coming to the iPhone soon.
10:56AM He logged in by clicking the login with Facebook button. Audible gasps.
10:55AM "At any moment, 90,000 players are going all in on Zynga poker."
10:55AM Zynga Poker will be the company's first Android app. We're just going to assume he's about to log in to it with a click on the Facebook button. We're wild dreamers, we know.
10:54AM Justin Cinicolo from Zynga up for a demo now.
10:54AM Erick's back! He bought some jeans from the Gap using Groupon last weekend, he says.
10:54AM "This is even more exciting for new users -- they don't want to sign in, they don't want to do any work." Took three lines of code to make it work.
10:53AM He just hit the "login with Facebook" button to log in instead of typing his password.
10:53AM "Take our Android app: a consumer gets a notification for a daily deal, click on it, buy it, and take it to the merchant for a bar code scan. Single sign-on makes that frictionless."
10:52AM "The point really is to introduce consumers to great businesses and services, and we deliver customers in a really effective way. The mobile apps make it a lot easier."
10:51AM Mihir Shah from Groupon up to demo single sign-on.
10:51AM "An improved login experience leads to happier users, who log in more, which leads to better apps. And that's a good thing."
10:51AM Developers can add single sign-on with just one click, and it uses the same permissions system as other apps.
10:50AM "You open Groupon, and click "log in with Facebook" and you're logged in." Sounds great, but we're definitely concerned about security there.
10:49AM "All this is really terrible, but individually we tolerate it for apps we care about. But pain is cumulative. The more friction you add to the login experience, the more users will not log in at all. Single sign on solves that problem -- you never have to log in again."
10:49AM "Even worse, how often have you tried logging in but discovered you've forgotten your password?"
10:48AM "I think it's fair to say no one enjoys logging in, even on a PC. But the experience is ever worse on a phone."
10:48AM "Today really is about pivoting Facebook mobile from being an app to being a true mobile platform. The first thing is single sign-on."
10:47AM Erick Tseng up to talk social. "Go Giants!"
10:47AM "We expect that at a deep level developers will be able to make their apps social, and that's what we're doing."
10:47AM "We're working to give deals to people who are nearby local businesses. There's a lot more details here and we'll get to them"
10:46AM "The second is location APIs. The read API has been open, but the write API has been whitelisted. Today we're going to open up the write API, and any app can build on top of this -- any app can write to the location of Facebook and read on top of that. We think that location will be a fundamental platform element of mobile development."
10:45AM "Right now you sign on and you get a popup, it looks like you're being phished, and then you have to type a password, which sucks. We're making it possible so you can login once, click a button, and be logged in. It's simple if you think about it, but it's actually a fundamental shift."
10:45AM "First thing is single sign-on. Making it so that you have the Facebook app and you're signed in, and once you do that you don't have the hassle with any other app on the phone."
10:44AM "This is the approach that we have, and this is what we're going to stick with for a while. We're a really developer-heavy company, and we don't think everything will be built by us."
10:43AM "Our goal is to make everything social, and we've built this platform. Over the next few years our few is that we'll see other industries become more social... our view is that no matter what environment you're building on, you'll have people there, and it'll be social."
10:42AM "Now I want to talk about some of the platform stuff we're doing. There's been this rumor that Facebook is going to build a phone. What a novel idea, but... no!"
10:42AM "But now we're back to parity, we think." Places and Groups also coming to Android.
10:41AM "Last year we had this idea that because we couldn't put together a full team to put the app together, we'd hire an outside shop. And right before we launched, Google bought the company! So that set us back a bit."
10:41AM "We're also refreshing the Android app, which has traditionally been a little behind." We'll say!
10:41AM "The other things that we're doing with Places is now when you check in you can add a photo -- really easy to do."
10:40AM "The big things we're working on is improving tagging. It's one thing to say where you are, but it's more interesting to say where you are and who you're with... Tagging is a core way to get mainstream adoption of this location software."
10:39AM "Before we get through the platform stuff, we're refreshing some of our apps. First, the iPhone. The iPhone app is on most iPhones, we do some of our updates first there." They're adding Groups, and Places is getting an update.
10:38AM "Our approach isn't to build a specific platform for Android or iPhone, but to go to all these places."
10:38AM "So where are we now? Facebook just hit this milestone where there are 200 million people using Facebook mobile platforms. If you think about that compared to Android or iPhone, that's good. The only bigger platform is the mobile web itself."
10:37AM "Today we are going to talk about the mobile platform we're all building. We have a bunch of stuff to talk about -- I'm going to go through some of it and then invite some of the teams up."
10:36AM "Every morning I walk to work, and this morning this old lady came up to me and asked, 'hey, what are you launching today?'" That was a good moment."
10:36AM And Zuckerberg is up! "Good day to launch some stuff!"
10:35AM They just announced that we're starting in five minutes, and started running a video featuring adorable people doing adorable things in San Francisco with Facebook. Awww, they got pie together.
10:33AM Okay, we're here and sitting down. Facebook is holding this in what appears to be a college library study room -- instead of regular seats, there's a hodgepodge of couches and tables. We do not see Justin Timberlake.
We're in the holding area here at Facebook's "mobile event" in San Francsico, and so far we've seen reps from the GSM Association and LG -- in other words, we could very well see some hardware. The event starts at 10:30AM PDT, check back at the times listed below!
07:30AM - Hawaii 10:30AM - Pacific 11:30AM - Mountain 12:30PM - Central 01:30PM - Eastern 05:30PM - London 06:30PM - Paris 09:30PM - Moscow 02:30AM - Tokyo (November 4th)
So apparently the hidden island of Lilliput has cellular coverage, but who cares -- it's still gonna be another crap movie. Way to ruin Gulliver's Travels with Jack Black.
Joe: "Finally, Angry Birds the way it was meant to be played." Darren: "That's a big iPhone." Josh T.: "The monolith taught the monkeys to kill, also, how to make conference calls." Paul: "Time-traveling Jack Black plants hidden iPhone reference in Jonathan Swift novel." Thomas: "It's holding you wrong." Tim: "Eighteen months ago, the first evidence of intelligent life off the Earth was discovered. It was buried forty feet below the lunar surface, near the crater Cupertino." Vlad: "It's just a jumbo iPhone, I don't see what all the fuss is about." Sam: "What does this mean? It's so bright, so vivid." Sean H.: "And so did the tiny scholars toil for decades to unravel the mysteries of the blue block, and the significance of its question marks." Richard Lai: "Paul Miller makes a cameo appearance in this scene, tut-tuts at the low pixel density." Myriam: "I'm crushing your head! I'm crushing your head!"
Hello, future! We had an inkling that glasses-free 3D was the next big thing when we had a gaze at Intel's display back at CES earlier this year, but it seems that AUO is out to overcome the largest hurdle when dealing with lenticular lens 3D technology: viewing angles. Today, the outfit has revealed the world's first deadzone-free naked eye 3D notebook panel at FPD International 2010, and as the lengthy title indicates, this solution will enable you to view 3D content sans glasses and without positioning yourself carefully in front of the screen. Purportedly, AUO's tapping into SuperD's naked eye 3D wizardry to create a 15.6-inch laptop (1080p) and 10.1-inch tablet (WXGA) panel, and there's even an eye-tracking mechanism that's baked in to capture viewers' eyeball movements. Zanier still, both 2D and 3D modes can operate concurrently on the same display, and the viewer can switch back and forth between the two modes without having their brain implode. The company's pushing a mass production date of Q3 2011, which means that the last CES this planet ever sees should be quite the interesting one.
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AUO Showcases the World's First Deadzone-Free Naked Eye 3D Panel
HSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (taiex:2409) /quotes/comstock/13*!auo/quotes/nls/auo (AUO 10.18, +0.06, +0.59%) announced today that the Company will showcase the world's first deadzone-free naked eye 3D notebook panel at FPD International 2010. AUO combines lenticular lens 3D technology with SuperD's naked eye 3D solution to create deadzone-free 15.6" notebook and 10.1" tablet PC 3D panels that do not require the use of special glasses. This technology will provide consumers with a more convenient and comfortable 3D viewing experience.
With an eye-tracking system that captures viewers' eyeball movements, AUO's deadzone-free naked eye 3D technology overcomes the confined viewing angles of conventional 3D displays. Regardless of location, the viewers will be able to perceive 3D images of equally high quality. Not only will there be better 3D images to see, the audience will also feel much more comfortable not having to be confined by viewing angles.
The new 3D panels deliver high brightness and Moire-free image quality. Both 2D and 3D modes can operate concurrently on the same display, and the viewer can switch back and forth between the two modes while retaining high resolution. The audience can still read clearly the text as they enjoy the visually stunning 3D images. This development satisfies an essential need felt by all users of 3D information displays.
At this year's FPD International 2010, AUO will showcase the world's first deadzone-free naked eye 3D displays, including the 15.6" Full HD and 10.1" WXGA panels. They will be suitable for notebook and tablet PC displays and will be expected to be mass produced beginning in the third quarter of 2011.
AUO has dedicated itself fully to the development of 3D display technologies. The efforts include the early deployment of patents, such as the acquisition of lenticular lens 3D display solution from Ocuity. In addition, AUO has collaborated with SuperD, the leading naked eye 3D solution provider, to introduce SuperD naked eye 3D solution in 3D panels. AUO will invest HK$60 million in SuperD and acquire 10% of its shareholding. Together, AUO and SuperD will work to enhance 3D display technologies and to improve production capabilities for the advancement of naked eye 3D information display technology. The naked eye 3D technology will be applied to PC and other display panels to readily deliver clear and vivid 3D images, with no special glasses needed to enjoy a lifelike 3D world.
Based on our experience with relationships, we've learned that it takes two to tango. It also takes two to produce co-branded wares, and with ASUS already withdrawing (respectfully, of course) from the ill-fated Garmin-Asus smartphone partnership, this here is more a formality than anything else. That said, those worried that Garmin would try to loop in another handset maker in order to manufacturer yet another Garminfone that 3.4 people would consider buying can rest easy. In the company's Q3 2010 earnings, it confirmed that it is "winding down" its smartphone efforts, and rather than continuing on a path to doom and destruction, it'll be ramping up marketing efforts in the aviation and maritime sectors. As for quarterly results, the company did see net income rise to $279.5 million (up from $215.1 million a year ago), but shares fell as it issued a depressing outlook for Q4 amid weakening demand for standalone PNDs. Hate to say we told you so...
Early adopters typically run into weird issues when putting their first generation gadgetry to use, and owners of the new MacBook Air models are no exception. Indeed, on the day of its release Apple had to push out a software update to stop the system from locking up while in iMovie -- but that wasn't the end of the woes. Thanks to a YouTube video, we've seen for ourselves evidence of a display flickering in a most unappealing manner, and we're hearing tales of other display issues, kernel errors that occur when the machines are trying to come out of sleep mode, and more. There's not been an official response from Apple yet, we're not sure how widespread the problems are, and we haven't experienced these issues first hand on our devices -- but we'll let you know as soon as we hear something. Promise. In the meantime, it looks like some of you might have a date with the Genius Bar. Video after the break.
The official Bluetooth headset for the PS3 has been around for a few years, still rocking the same $49.99 price point, still wearing the same "Wow, look at me, I'm a Bluetooth headset" design while others have gotten fancier, artsier and, well, better. Now Sony looks to finally be making an update, whittling the sides down make the new model look a bit more modern -- while not actually going too far. The price is said to stay the same and overall the design looks much the same too, just pointier and featuring a daintier clip that should be somewhat less taxing on your ear as you spend hour after hour screaming at your SVER teammates who insist on staying back and sniping while you throw yourself at the Valor lines. If only they could see your cool new headset, maybe then they'd listen.
Surely you've heard of Qik by now, right? It's most closely linked to Sprint's EVO 4G, but it looks as if the video calling service is now siding with another "4G" carrier: T-Mobile USA. Shortly after T-Mob tossed off the gloves and proclaimed to be "America's largest 4G carrier," Qik has come forward with an interesting tidbit about the newfangled myTouch 4G. According to it, the "integrated T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik will be the first to offer integration into the native Android address book with the benefit of indicating live presence allowing customers to connect with friends and family through live video conversations and video messaging over T-Mobile's network and WiFi." We're even assured that T-Mobile Video Chat will offer "dramatically improved video quality and frame rates compared to other video calling solutions on the marketplace through deep hardware integration," and users can even see if folks in their contact book are able to video chat at a glance -- no trial and error necessary. We'll be testing this stuff out in our upcoming myTouch 4G review, but be sure to let us know how it's treating you in comments below. You know, if you're an "early adopter."
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T-Mobile and Qik Launch Breakthrough Mobile Video Chat Service
First to Offer Native Android Address Book Integration with Video Chat including Presence, and Industry-Leading Performance through Deep Hardware Integration
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qik and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced details of the next generation live video communications, sharing and messaging service to be available to consumers across with the U.S. through the upcoming availability of the T-Mobile® myTouch® 4G. The integrated T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik will be the first to offer integration into the native Android™ address book with the benefit of indicating live presence allowing customers to connect with friends and family through live video conversations and video messaging over T-Mobile's network and Wi-Fi.
The deployment of new higher speed networks, like T-Mobile's 4G mobile broadband network, together with the introduction of devices like the new T-Mobile myTouch with 1GHz CPU and 720p video capability, now makes possible a new social video experience providing consumers with new ways to communicate and share using video with their friends, family, and through social networks.
T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik offers dramatically improved video quality and frame rates compared to other video calling solutions on the marketplace through deep hardware integration. Further, this is the first video communications service that is integrated directly into the native Android address book including live presence indication. From the device address book, users can view if their contacts are available to engage in a live video session, and can directly initiate a session from the native device user interface.
Unlike existing video calling solutions, T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik allows users not only to conduct live two-way video conversations from their mobile device, but also allows users to leave video messages. Similar to leaving a voice message when a recipient is not available for a voice call, users are demanding the ability to leave video messages when they attempt to share an irreproducible moment with their friend or family member.
The service also allows friends and family members to receive video messages on over 200 supported phone models, and also allows users to share moments through social networks, to stream live to the web, and to archive their important memories through a dedicated video management site at www.qik.com.
"Qik is proud to bring this game-changing new service to market specifically for T-Mobile customers," said Vijay Tella, CEO of Qik. "We have answered the need for both live and asynchronous capabilities, which is the hallmark of any complete consumer video communications service, and we have done it at a level of quality and performance that simply needs to be experienced to believe."
"T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik is the ideal showcase for the capabilities of our network and is an example of our focus on providing innovative new solutions to enrich the lives of our customers," said Andrew Sherrard, vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA.
More information on Qik can be found at www.qik.com or www.qik.com/blog. For press inquiries please email press@qik.com or call +1-650-279-8619.
Customers can visit http://mytouch.t-mobile.com for more information about the myTouch family of smartphones including the myTouch 4G.
T-Mobile and the magenta color are registered trademarks of Deutsche Telekom AG. myTouch is a registered trademarks. Android is a trademark of Google, Inc.
We've seen the awful, terrible, hideous things that an iPad can do to an otherwise respectable car interior, and now it's time to see what horrors Android can unleash. Superchips, makers of chips and flash units to summon a few extra ponies under the hood, has announced the creation of the Vivid "vehicle performance programmer" -- an Archos 43 Internet Tablet that's been... augmented with some software. Thanks to this, and a Bluetooth ODB-II module, the car can monitor car performance in real-time and display data while also acting as a G-meter and even a back-up camera. No word on what any of this will cost when it ships in early 2011, but those who already have a little Android buddy will be happy to know that a standalone Bluetooth dongle called the AVID will be releasing in the summertime, enabling all the same functionality without the need for another device. What'll we stuff in our headrests then?
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The Superchips VIVID, Powered by the AndroidTM Operating System, Satisfies Your Need For Speed and A Whole Lot More
Superchips VIVID Performance Programmer Delivers More Tuning Capability, Vehicle Data, and Entertainment - All on a 4.3" Touch Screen
SANFORD, FL. – Superchips, Inc., the industry leading aftermarket tuning company, today unveiled the Superchips VIVID vehicle performance programmer at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV. The new in-cabin device includes a Bluetooth-enabled vehicle interface module coupled with the new ARCHOSTM 4.3" internet tablet powered by the Android 2.2 operating system.
The state-of-the-art Superchips Vivid is the first device of its type to successfully integrate today's popular personal electronics with a full-featured performance tuning solution. The key is the combination of Superchips' tuning features and the Android operating system opening up a whole new world of possibilities. With the addition of a few inexpensive accessories, the Superchips VIVID will work as a GPS unit, backup camera monitor and much more.
"Just about a year ago, we recognized a technology convergence and made a commitment to bring the flexibility of Android to the automotive aftermarket industry," said Tom Bennett, division president for Superchips. "The Superchips VIVID is the first truly integrated performance device that delivers vehicle performance, power, information and entertainment. We're taking a huge leap forward incorporating Superchips' tuning in an exceptional touch screen LCD delivering a user experience beyond anything available in the market today."
The LCD hardware supply partner was another key to making this happen. ARCHOS, innovators in portable personal entertainment, was the best choice for the next generation of tuning products. Bennett noted, "VIVID delivers tuning, gauges, diagnostics, web connectivity, data acquisition, and entertainment in one platform. The user experience has to meet extremely high consumer expectations and that's why ARCHOS was selected as the preferred LCD partner. There is nothing else in the tuning market with the Superchips VIVID's capabilities."
The Superchips VIVID comes with a Bluetooth-enabled OBD-II module, a.k.a. dongle, connecting the LCD to the vehicle allowing the user to tune for additional horsepower, torque or fuel economy. The dongle also makes it possible to use any of the pre-installed Superchips automotive apps, set advanced tuning features, and monitor internal engine parameters and display them in real time using the gauge suite. The Superchips VIVID automatically recognizes your vehicle and will only show the features and options available to you.
Derek Catterfeld, new product development lead for Superchips added, "We designed the Superchips VIVID to leverage the Android Operating System's innovation for an automotive application -- to enable you to do even more with your car, truck or Jeep. We are breaking down barriers so that consumers can experience automotive performance tuning and monitoring the way it was meant to be, while enjoying the vast entertainment and software application benefits of the Android Operating System."
Superchips VIVID is the most powerful device in the industry with a 1GHz processor and does more than tuning including high-speed web browsing; e-mail; social media integration; wireless connectivity; loads of memory; apps for pictures, music and video along with a host of unique Superchips apps such as Performance Tuning, Gauge Set, Maintenance Minder, Driving Coach, Inclinometer and G-Force Meter.
Superchips VIVID LCD is an industry leading 4.3-inch high-resolution screen for viewing gauges in clear detail, viewing videos or watching your favorite movie. The music and video capabilities let customers enjoy their favorite songs or capture spontaneous fun. The device combines a camera, HD camcorder, as well as HDMI connectivity to download, stream and share personal content online via Facebook, YouTube, Picasa or Flickr or just enjoy them at home on your TV.
Pricing and Availability Superchips VIVID will be available through local and chain automotive stores as well as through online retailers in Spring 2011. Customers can also opt for the Superchips AVID which will be available in Summer 2011. The Superchips AVID is a stand-alone dongle and software suite that installs on third-party Android devices including smart phones and web tablets.
For information about Superchips products, visit a Superchips authorized MVP Dealer or call 407.585.7000 or go to www.superchips.com.
To download a high resolution image of the new Superchips VIVID, click here.
# # #
Android and Google are trademarks of Google, Inc. All brands and product names are registered trademarks and the property of their respective owners.
About Superchips Inc. Superchips offers a complete line of hand-held programmers for almost 1,000 domestic late-model cars, trucks, and SUVs and some import truck and SUVs. All Superchips programmers are available for purchase in retail stores and online wherever automotive performance products and accessories are sold. Superchips, Inc. is located at 1790 E. Airport Blvd, Sanford, FL 32773. For more information call 407-585-7000 or visit www.superchips.com.
Superchips, Inc. 1790 E. Airport Blvd Sanford, FL 32773 Ph: 407-585-7000 www.superchips.com
You may not be able to build an HRP-4C fembot in your average garage, but the programming would practically take care of itself -- not only does the AIST humanoid sing using off-the-shelf Yamaha Vocaloid software, its dance moves are click-and-drag, too. Roboticist Dr. Kazuhito Yokoi gave IEEE Spectrum an inside look at the HRP-4C's motion trajectory software, which works much like 3D animation tools: you position the limbs where you want them to start and when you want them to end up using keyframes, and the software takes care of the rest. The system's intelligent enough to generate a 6.7 second sequence from just eight keyframes, and it compensates for hazardous instructions, too -- if your haphazard choreography would tip her over or send limbs flying, it'll automatically adjust her moves. See how it works in a video after the break and hit up our source link for the full interview.
3D Printers are getting ever more advanced and, apparently, ever bigger too. Proof to that is the Urbee Hybrid, the result of a partnership between transportation company Kor Ecologic and Stratasys, who we've already seen shamelessly rebranding its 3D printers as HP Designjets. Kor provided the concept and the underpinnings of the thing, a design that amazingly has its roots in the early '90s but has been given a new, teardrop body 100 percent printed by Stratasys. Underneath is a plug-in hybrid powertrain that manages up to 200mpg on the highway and 100mpg around town running on ethanol or plain 'ol gasoline. No, there are no plans for the three-wheelin' Urbee to actually see production, and beneath that luscious shape rolls something that looks rather more like a work in progress, which you can see in an early video below.
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Stratasys is Development Partner on Urbee Hybrid – the First Car to Have Entire Body 3D Printed Hybrid can run solely on renewable energy or get over 200 mpg at highway speeds
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ:SSYS - News) Stratasys today announced its development partnership with Winnipeg engineering group, Kor Ecologic. The engineering group is creating one of the world's most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. Code-named, Urbee, it is the first car ever to have its entire body 3D printed by additive manufacturing processes.
The electric / liquid-fuel hybrid reaches more than 200 mpg, highway and 100 mpg, city in U.S. gallons with either gasoline or ethanol (250 mpg highway /125 mpg city, Imperial gallons).
The car is charged overnight for just pennies from any standard home electrical outlet. Alternately, it can be charged by renewable energy from a windmill or a solar-panel array small enough to fit on top a single-car garage.
For combined city and highway use, the Urbee gets about 150 mpg and costs only 2 cents per mile. This is only about 10 percent of the fuel consumed by a typical SUV. And on the highway, it costs about 1 cent per mile, or 95 percent less than that same SUV.
"Other hybrids on the road today were developed by applying 'green' standards to traditional vehicle formats, says Jim Kor, president and chief technology officer, Kor Ecologic. "Urbee was designed with environmentally sustainable principles dictating every step of its design.
"Urbee is the only practical car we're aware of that can run solely on renewable energy," says Kor. "Our goal in designing it was to be as 'green' as possible throughout the design and manufacturing processes. FDM technology from Stratasys has been central to meeting that objective. FDM lets us eliminate tooling, machining, and handwork, and it brings incredible efficiency when a design change is needed. If you can get to a pilot run without any tooling, you have advantages."
Urbee is the first prototype car ever to have its entire body 3D printed with an additive process. All exterior components – including the glass panel prototypes – were created using Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems at Stratasys' digital manufacturing service – RedEye on Demand.
The Urbee competed in the 2010 X-Prize Competition, and its development has been chronicled by the Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, for future broadcast. A full-scale Urbee prototype will be displayed for the first time in the U.S. at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nov. 2-5 at technology partner, Tebis, booth number 10204. A 1/6 scale finished model will be displayed at the Stratasys booth number 23821.
Urbee is just one example of FDM being used for ecologically friendly initiatives. In the UK, Gordon Murray Design, used Fortus 3D Production Systems to help create its avant-garde T.25 city 'eco car,' which was unveiled this July.
For more details on Stratasys FDM systems and services, visit the Stratasys Web site at www.stratasys.com, or call 1-800-480-3548.
Stratasys, Inc., Minneapolis, is a maker of additive manufacturing machines for prototyping and producing plastic parts. The company markets under the brands Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, a digital manufacturing service for prototypes and production parts. According to Wohlers Report 2010, Stratasys supplied more additive manufacturing systems in 2009 than any other manufacturer, making it the unit market leader for the eighth consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the process known as FDM.® The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 285 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business & industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com.
Stratasys, Dimension, and Fortus are registered trademarks, and RedEye On Demand is a trademark of Stratasys, Inc.
Where there's smoke, right? Just days after hearing that Panasonic's newest Micro Four Thirds camera was on the way later this week, along comes this -- an event poster in Paris that leaves little doubt about what's to come. As the story goes, this shot was taken over in France, and it's detailing an event that'll actually take place tomorrow. If we had to guess, we'd say the world's smallest mirrorless camera kit will be officially unveiled within the next 24 hours. We mean, wouldn't you?
You inhale deeply and step onto the middle rung of the corporate ladder. You return home dazed, alimony unpaid, dishes piled up like a pie in the sky that turned out to be miles too high. You grab a bag of chips and pull up a seat in front of the Xbox Infinite 360 mod. You crawl inside. Lost in a haze of alcohol soft middle age, you exhale.
Tired of going at it alone, eh WiGig? The aforesaid Alliance has just teamed up with yet another organization -- a mere six months after doing likewise with the Wi-Fi Alliance. For those unaware, WiGig's 60GHz multi-gigabit technology has already begun to penetrate the higher-end AV market, particularly in devices that shoot 1080p from source-to-display sans cabling. But as we've seen, the adoption rate there isn't anything to write home about, and it seems as if the entity is branching out in an effort to broaden its potential profit portfolio. The newest partnership is with VESA, and the most important aspect of it (from a consumer standpoint, anyway) is summed up here: the two will be working to create a certification program for wireless DisplayPort products. The goal, as you may imagine, is to create a new spate of products that'll connect PCs and handhelds to monitors, projectors and HDTVs, all without wires and with gobs of bandwidth. Sadly, no time table is being revealed just yet, but we'll be cautiously expecting a few prototypes at CES. Right, dudes?
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WiGig™ Alliance and VESA® to Collaborate on Next Generation Wireless DisplayPort
WiGig Announces Feature Complete Application Specifications to Provide WiGig Display, Bus and Serial Extensions
SAN JOSE, Calif. and NEWARK, Calif. – November 3, 2010 – The Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig Alliance), the organization advancing the worldwide adoption and use of 60 GHz wireless technology, and the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), an industry leader in global display standards, today announced a cooperative agreement to define the next generation standard wireless display technology. VESA and the WiGig Alliance will share technology expertise and specifications to develop multi-gigabit wireless DisplayPort capabilities. A certification program for wireless DisplayPort products will be developed in parallel.
The ability to connect PCs and handhelds to monitors, projectors and HDTVs wirelessly is highly desired among consumers and IT users. The WiGig-VESA collaboration will deliver a wireless display capability with image quality and I/O experience equal to that of wired interfaces. This agreement will spur the development of a new ecosystem consisting of interoperable wireless display products, providing an effective wireless alternative to cables, docking stations and adapters.
"As a high-quality content creator in Hollywood, it is exciting to see the innovative solutions being offered by advanced wireless technology to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for anywhere, anytime content consumption," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation.
"WiGig technology is a perfect match for DisplayPort since it provides the multi-gigabit bandwidth, packet architecture and bi-directional I/O capabilities needed to support the DisplayPort v1.2 feature set and beyond," said Bruce Montag, VESA chairman. "Wireless DisplayPort will enable new connectivity options in a wide range of devices, from lower-power handhelds to tablets, notebooks, monitors, projectors and HDTVs. We are thrilled to begin defining the specification and certification program for wireless DisplayPort products."
"With many proprietary wireless A/V technologies on the market, our vision is to standardize a wireless display interface, and we are excited to partner with VESA to extend multi-gigabit wireless functionality to DisplayPort technology," said Dr. Ali Sadri, WiGig Alliance president and chairman.
"Combining our wireless technology and VESA's display expertise enables a high quality user experience with a certification program, enabling interoperability across CE, PC, tablets and handheld devices."
Feature Complete WiGig Application Specifications Announced
WiGig Alliance today announced the feature completion of the WiGig version 1.0 A/V and I/O protocol adaptation layer (PAL) specifications. The organization is planning to publish its specifications in early 2011. The application specifications have been developed to support specific system interfaces, including extensions for PC peripherals and display interfaces for HDTVs, monitors and projectors.
The WiGig A/V PAL (WiGig Display Extension) supports wireless transmission of audio/visual data. This implementation enables wireless DisplayPort and other display interfaces that include the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 2.0 feature. This PAL offers key A/V applications, such as the transmission of compressed or uncompressed video from a computer or digital camera to an HDTV, monitor or projector.
The WiGig I/O PALs (WiGig Bus Extension and WiGig Serial Extension) define high- performance wireless implementations of widely used computer interfaces over 60 GHz. These PALs enable multi-gigabit wireless connectivity between any two devices, such as connection to storage and other high-speed peripherals.
The WiGig Wireless Standard Gains Momentum
The WiGig Alliance continues to expand its roster of industry-leading technology companies with new members. AMD has elevated its WiGig membership level from Contributor to Board of Directors, and CSR and Nitero have joined WiGig as Contributors. For a list of WiGig Alliance members, visit http://wigig.org/membership/.
"AMD recognizes the growing trend for wireless display connectivity in consumer electronics. We joined WiGig to contribute our display expertise to the organization, and to help the Alliance deliver innovative solutions that can meet new market demands in a timely manner," said David Cummings, director, Technical Marketing, AMD Graphics Business. "With the momentum behind this innovative wireless technology and the potential we see in the organization, we view the WiGig Alliance Board of Directors position as strategic and are eager to help lead the organization's efforts."
For more information, visit www.wigig.org and www.vesa.org.
About the WiGig Alliance The WiGig Alliance was formed to establish a global ecosystem of high-speed and easy-to-use wireless devices that seamlessly work together to connect people in the digital age. WiGig technology enables multiâ€gigabit wireless communications among consumer electronics, handheld devices and PCs, and drives industry convergence to a single radio using the readily available, unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum.
The organization brings together the world's leading manufacturers of semiconductors, personal computers, consumer electronics and handheld devices. For more information, please visit www.wigig.org.
About VESA The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is an internationally leading non-profit standards organization, representing a global network of hardware, software, PC, display and component manufacturers committed to developing and promoting the electronics industry. VESA's established track record of creating and supporting simple, universal and cross product solutions for today's video and electronics industry, such as DisplayPort, provides consumers with the confidence necessary to explore new technology standards such as multi-monitor streaming, direct drive capability and full HD 3D support without confusion or difficulty. For more information about VESA visit www.vesa.org.
Wireless Gigabit Alliance and WiGig are trademarks of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. VESA and DisplayPort are trademarks of the Video Electronics Standards Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
We're calling Samsung's Galaxy Tab the best Android tablet of the moment, but curiously the company seems intent on planting a seed of doubt in the minds of early adopters, announcing what may very well be the next Tab's display. Early (and likely baseless) rumors on the current Tab indicated it would be fronting a Super AMOLED panel, but of course that didn't come to pass. Now Samsung Mobile Display is set to debut a new 7-inch Super AMOLED panel at the FPD-International exhibition in Japan in two weeks, ahead of full production in mid-2011. Its 1200 x 600 resolution is a bit odd, wider than the Tab's current 1024 x 600, but more pixels in the same space are generally a good thing. That's all we know at this point, and of course there's no confirmation that this will indeed find a home in a next-generation tablet, but don't let that stop you from speculating in comments about what else the OLED Tab might offer.
It may look like a toy, but as ma always said, it's what's underneath that counts. It's not often that those old adages prove true in consumer electronics, but such is the case with Pentax's newest entry-level DSLR. The K-r ($800 in kit form) is positioned between the K-x and K-7, and according to PhotographyBLOG, it fits perfectly there. They felt that the compact design was a boon for newcomers to the field who wouldn't be keen on lugging around anything of size, and most importantly, the image quality was said to be "excellent." Of course, low light performance began to suffer at ISO levels north of 800, so those interested in ditching the grain and blur after dark will still need to spend a bit more on a prosumer model like the Nikon D7000. The wide range of manual controls were also a hit, but considering that the HD video mode is identical to that on the lower-end K-x, you'll be forced to deal with a less-than-stellar UI. We'd suggest hitting the source link for the full skinny, but we'll go ahead and spoil the ending: it managed a Highly Recommended badge.
Want some specificity about LG's super-duper tablet roadmap? Last we heard from the Korean tech giant, it was canning plans for a Froyo slate and looking forward to a more suitable iteration of Android, which a senior official at the company has today clarified to mean Honeycomb, describing it as the "tablet PC-version" of the OS. He's even gone beyond the call of PR duty in placing a release schedule for the 8.9-inch LG Pad in the first quarter of 2011, boasting that it'll come with a dual-core Tegra 2 chip inside. That sounds terribly delicious to us, as does the note that LG has worked hard to accommodate the needs and wants of European and North American consumers -- the release window is explicitly said to be for both domestic and overseas markets.
Update: We've just heard back from LG on the matter and the company says it has nothing official to tell us. It'd seem whoever the cited official in this piece is, he was dishing details that LG doesn't want the world to know yet. LG's PR team has also pulled a tweet about this story, ostensibly to cover its tracks.
We suspected T-Mobile's new advertising campaign would ruffle some feathers, but we weren't ready for quite such brazen trash-talking right off the bat. Of course, it's trash talk dressed up in a pretty white and Magenta dress and delivered in the most angelic of voices, but T-Mobile makes its point to AT&T subscribers loud and clear: we got 4G, you don't. Whether you consider the network's current 21Mbps theoretical max a true representation of 4G or not, we'll leave up to you; just make sure to join us past the break for the Apple-scented commercial, which also teases the myTouch 4G, a HSPA+ handset that T-Mobile happens to be launching today.
What do you know, someone's been busy working in Microsoft's labs while we've been waiting for the company's Kinect motion control peripheral to launch itself into our living rooms. The highly sophisticated webcam has undergone some algorithmic optimizations and now Alex Kipman, lead software developer for what used to be known as Natal, tells us that its processing overhead for the Xbox 360 console will be no greater than a "single-digit" percentage. That contrasts very nicely with the last number Alex gave us, which indicated there'd be a 10 to 15 percent penalty for using Microsoft's new motion controller, and should mean your petting sessions with Kinectimals will be running smooth as butter when Kinect hits stores tomorrow. Great news, eh?
Ubuntu may be the Linux distribution of choice for many these days, but it's hardly the only game in town, and one of the other big players has now gotten an update that might just sway some folks back to its team. That comes in the form of the Red Hat sponsored Fedora 14, which is aimed specifically at "developers, system administrators and open source enthusiasts." If that includes you, you can expect to get a slew of mostly behind-the-scenes updates, including a new software framework for Spice desktop virtualization, a range of new debugging features, an updated tech preview of the GNOME shell environment that will be part of the upcoming GNOME 3.0 release and, of particular note, some software from the MeeGo community that promises an "enhanced experience on netbooks and small devices." As with previous Fedora releases, it's also available in a number of different "spins" to suit your tastes and needs and it's, of course, completely free. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up the link below to download the OS.
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Fedora 14 Evolves Leading-Edge Open Source Technologies in Free Distribution
The Future of Open Source Emerges in Fedora With Compelling Features for Developers, System Administrators and Open Source Enthusiasts
RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fedora Project, a Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration, today announced the availability of Fedora 14, the latest version of its free open source operating system distribution. The Fedora Project leads the advancement of free and open source software with a new distribution released approximately every six months.
"I'm very proud of the work that has been put into Fedora 14," said Jared Smith, Fedora Project Leader. "A myriad of contributors have helped to make free and open source software more pervasive with this release."
Fedora 14 includes several new features for developers, system administrators and open source enthusiasts including:
* Framework software for Spice, a rapidly advancing infrastructure for desktop virtualization * New debugging features for developers, such as support for dynamic/unplanned memory usage tracking and faster launch thanks to pre-generated indexes * Powerful remote and out-of-band management capabilities with Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) support * Updated tech preview of the GNOME shell environment, part of the upcoming GNOME 3.0 release * A subset of new and innovative software from the MeeGo™ community for an enhanced experience on netbooks and small devices * OpenSCAP, an open-source framework for the Security Content Automation Protocol, which provides a framework and approach to maintaining system security backed by NIST standards * Support for emergent programming languages like D, and refreshed versions of popular languages such as Python 2.7, Erlang R14, and the Rakudo Star implementation of Perl 6
A complete list of Fedora 14 features is available on the Fedora community's release announcement. Watch the Fedora 14 release video here to learn more about new features and the Fedora community.
Premiering alongside Fedora 14 is a new re-design of Fedora's community-supported website, fedoraproject.org. The new site is a culmination of work completed within multiple areas of the Fedora community including the Design, Websites, Marketing, Translation and Infrastructure teams. The new website showcases the capabilities Fedora offers for many different types of users, including developers, designers, general productivity users and more. It was designed and created entirely using free and open source software that is available in the Fedora repository, and maintained and translated by a team of contributors, collaborating from around the world.
Fedora is used by millions of people globally, with each release of Fedora accumulating several million Internet (IP) addresses checking in for updates. Some systems and users stay on a single release of Fedora because of its stability and functionality, while some upgrade when new releases become available. The total of unique IP addresses across Fedora releases since tracking was initiated at Fedora 7 is more than 25.5 million addresses. Information about Fedora's statistics and collection methodology is open and transparent to the public on the following wiki: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Statistics.
The Fedora Project's record of open, transparent collaboration with the community continues to attract participants, with more than 22,000 currently registered contributors. The global Fedora community also continues to grow with around 700 Fedora Ambassadors. These are members of the Fedora community who spend time as volunteers representing the Fedora Project at community and trade events, and speaking to public and private institutions about Fedora and free and open source software.
For more information about the Fedora Project, visit www.fedoraproject.org. For more news about Red Hat, visit www.redhat.com. For more news, more often, visit www.press.redhat.com.
About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions and an S&P 500 company, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with over 65 offices spanning the globe. CIOs ranked Red Hat as one of the top vendors delivering value in Enterprise Software for seven consecutive years in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value survey. Red Hat provides high-quality, affordable technology with its operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, together with virtualization, applications, management and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, including Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and JBoss Enterprise Middleware. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to delays or reductions in information technology spending, the effects of industry consolidation, uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements, the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; the ability of the Company to effectively compete; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company's growth and international operations; fluctuations in exchange rates; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MeeGo is a registered trademark of the Linux Foundation.
Get ready G2 owners because it looks like an OTA update will begin distribution on November 3rd (yes, that's today) to flip the switch on WiFi tethering and T-Mobile's WiFi Calling for Android feature. The anticipated update lets G2 owners make voices calls and send SMS messages from WiFi networks without a femtocell thus conserving their monthly contractual network allotments -- something that could prove very beneficial at home. It also includes WiFi hotspot tethering (a native part of the Android 2.2 Froyo OS) although T-Mobile won't have data plans ready at the same time. In other words, enjoy your free WiFi tethering while it lasts.
Ah, now we're talking. Over the years, HomePlug and wireless HD / HDMI haven't exactly "taken off." Routing internet signals over a home's power network has been hampered by subpar transmission rates, and using wireless in the home for anything other than basic web duties has shown to be either too costly or too much hassle. Now, however, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance have seen the light, and they're joining hands in order to jointly push their technologies to homeowners. Focused primarily on " facilitating interoperability of smart grid applications," these organizations are fixing to enable SEP 2.0 applications to operate across a diverse mix of wireless and wired networks, and hopefully they'll reach out to product manufacturers while they're at it. Here's hoping they'll be able to nail it -- the demand is certainly there, but the execution thus far has been downright depressing.
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Wi-Fi Alliance® and HomePlug® Powerline Alliance Collaborate on Connected Smart Home
Global leaders in Wi-Fi® and Powerline networking cooperate to facilitate interoperability of smart grid and connected home applications
AUSTIN, Texas and PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wi-Fi Alliance and the HomePlug® Powerline Alliance have entered into a liaison agreement to facilitate and promote the adoption of HomePlug powerline and Wi-Fi networking technologies in smart grid applications. The agreement enables cooperative efforts for joint technical review of Wi-Fi Alliance and HomePlug specifications and standards that facilitate interoperability of smart grid applications. The organizations will also engage on joint outreach to promote the adoption of wireless and powerline technologies for smart grid applications.
Both the Wi-Fi Alliance and HomePlug are participating members in the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP). SGIP is a forum for industry stakeholders and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to participate in the ongoing coordination, acceleration and harmonization of standards development for the smart grid. The Smart Energy 2 Applications Profile (SEP 2.0) was selected last year by the U.S. Department of Energy and NIST as an initial interoperable standard for smart energy management with home area network (HAN) devices. The Wi-Fi Alliance and the HomePlug Powerline Alliance are collaborating to enable SEP 2.0 applications to operate across a diverse mix of wireless and wired networks.
"Both Wi-Fi and HomePlug solutions will play key roles in energy management and connecting home systems and appliances to the smart grid," said Rob Ranck, president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. "HomePlug and Wi-Fi devices represent a large share of installed nodes worldwide, and ensuring seamless interoperability is critical for broad scale smart grid deployment," continued Ranck.
"Working with the HomePlug Powerline Alliance will facilitate interoperability between Wi-Fi equipment and devices connected to powerline home networks," said Edgar Figueroa, chief executive officer of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "This collaboration will help bring about a great user experience with smart home technology," continued Figueroa.
The Wi-Fi Alliance launched the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi enabled products deliver the best user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 8,000 product certifications to date, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets.
The HomePlug family of powerline networking specifications includes HomePlug AV for broadband applications, the recently completed the HomePlug "Green PHY" (GP) specification for smart energy /smart grid applications, and the forthcoming HomePlug AV2 broadband specification due for completion in Q1 2011. These HomePlug specifications are fully interoperable with each other and the new IEEE 1901 powerline standard, and cover the spectrum of home networking demands. HomePlug has an installed base of over 60 million devices.
The liaison between the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance is effective immediately.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies devoted to the proliferation of Wi-Fi technology across devices and market segments. With technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-Fi Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi worldwide. Learn more and search for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products at www.wi-fi.org.
Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance®, WMM®, Wi-Fi Protected Access® (WPA), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, the Wi-Fi ZONE logo, and the Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance; Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, Wi-Fi Direct™, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, Wi-Fi Multimedia™, and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
About HomePlug® Powerline Alliance
Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative with 70 member companies that creates specifications and certification logo programs for using the powerlines for reliable home networking and Smart Grid applications. The Alliance accelerates worldwide adoption for HomePlug technology by collaborating with international standards organizations such as the IEEE and through market development and user education programs. Sponsor members include Atheros Communications (ATHR); Cisco (CSCO); Comcast (CMCSK); Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK); GE Energy, an affiliate of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Gigle Networks; Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723); SPiDCOM Technologies, and STMicroelectronics (STM). Contributor members include Arkados (OTCBB: AKDS). For more information on the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, please visit www.HomePlug.org.
Another Intel processor platform that sounds like a campground? Of course it is! This one is pretty far out -- like 2012 far out -- but if Digitimes is to be believed Intel's actually gearing up to reveal its Chief River laptop platform at CES in January. Said to be based on the 22nm Ivy Bridge processors and have native support for USB 3.0 (finally!), the platform would follow Huron River / Sandy Bridge, which is set to start shipping in laptops in early 2011. (Side note: Digitimes also mentions that we should start seeing Sandy Bridge laptops at this year's CES, which lines up with what we've heard from our own sources.) The word from motherboard manufacturers is that Chief River wouldn't actually go into mass production until September 2011 and start shipping in systems until January 2012, which makes quite a bit of sense given Intel's annual timing on these things. Either way, we should be finding out more in a couple months in Vegas -- heck, you never know, Intel may even tell us a bit about its 2013 laptop platform. Shall we give them a hand with potential names?
It's all up there in black and white, but we'll be happy to spell it out again here -- it seems that Apple has decided to extend the length of iTunes song previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. Sounds just fine to us, but not to the recipients of this letter, who are told the change is happening whether they like it or not and it's for their own good. "We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases," the document reads, but without giving the music labels any way to say no. We don't actually know the origin of this particular document, so we're not saying this is a done deal by any means, but if the letter's legit you're looking at the world's largest online music store telling the labels to put up and shut up -- or else peddle their tunes somewhere else.
Update: It's worth noting that CNET reported that iTunes song previews might double in length about two months ago.
Archos wasn't going to settle for shipping a single Android device out today, no sirree -- the French PMP specialists are pumping out these 7-inch Archos 70 Internet Tablets effective immediately. $279 buys you a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 8GB of flash storage, and Android 2.2 running on an 800 x 480 capacitive multitouch screen, with an OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a front-facing VGA camera in an 11oz, 0.43-inch thin package that screams to be held. Sadly, you still won't find Android Market on here, though we'll give Archos credit for ditching most of the proprietary connectors and ports, which should make sideloading your own apps somewhat less of a chore. (There's also a microSDHC card slot.) Expect a 250GB hard-drive model to debut any day now for $350... along with our full review.
Midterm elections are upon us and of course CNN has new technology to deliver every result, after the holograms and multitouch display madness (lampooned brilliantly by Saturday Night Live) of 2008, Wolf Blitzer and crew have gone to iPads and augmented reality. Check the video after the break to see how Ali Velshi uses his tablet to make non-diegetic stats and graphs appear right in the studio with him, Fringe/Panic Room style. We can't imagine life without the yellow first down marker during football games, but watching anchors play hide-and-seek behind bar graphs is either taking things a step too far, or just the thing help us stay interested in politics a little longer.
It was introduced way back in June, but it looks as if ASUS has just now gotten its ducks in a row with regard to this speedster. The 12.1-inch Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 is now shipping across the pond, offering an Intel Atom D525 processor, NVIDIA Optimus graphics and Bang & Olufsen audio. It's available from a host of retailers for £499 ($798), and there's precisely zero doubt that you'll be buying one. Because, you know -- nothing goes together quite like bargain basement hardware and elitist branding, right? Bonus vid is after the break, if you're so inclined.
ASUS-Lamborghini Eee PC VX6: Stylishly Fast by Name and Stylishly Fast by Nature
ASUS launch ASUS-Lamborghini VX6 ultraportable with Dual Core Intel Atom D525 processor, NVIDIA Optimus graphics and audio designed by Bang & Olufsen ICEPower
ASUS have today started the engines on their latest must-have gadget – the ASUS-Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 ultraportable 12.1" notebook, co- designed by Lamborghini and inspired by the superstar Murcielago LP640 Roadster.
With the brand new, high performance dual core Intel Atom D525 processor, next generation NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics and NVIDIA Optimus technology it delivers breathtaking graphics and audio at incredible speeds. The desirable combination of style and performance plus a multitude of connectivity features including USB 3.0 and Express Gate, make this miniature machine the perfect accessory for travelling in style.
Priced £499 inc VAT (SRP) and available from a range of retailers including www.pcworld.co.uk, Micro Anvika, www.ebuyer.com and www.laptopsdirect.co.uk.
Add a touch of style to your travel from car to computer with the Lamborghini-inspired design:
Co-branded with Lamborghini, the stunning Eee PC VX6 ultraportable takes inspiration from the Murcielago LP640 Roadster and epitomises the magnificence and power of the automotive star through a combination of sleek lines, an elegant glossy exterior in black or white and the Lamborghini badge adorning the lid. With a high-end design inside and out, the Eee PC VX6 commands attention and is a covetable accessory for enthusiasts of the iconic supercar who want to turn heads both on and off the road.
Satisfy the need for speed with the latest generation Dual Core Intel Atom D525 processor: The ASUS-Lamborghini Eee PC VX6 boasts a Dual Core Intel Atom D525 processor – two 1.8 Ghz cores each with Hyper-Threading Technology that will be sure to leave rivals at the starting line. The four parallel processing threads deliver a boosted performance within multi-threaded software and lightening fast response times within more demanding applications.
Drive graphics and games into the smoothest dimension with next generation NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics:
Next generation NVIDIA Ion 2 brings eye-popping graphics to the Eee PC VX6's 12.1" high definition screen, with performance up to 60% faster than that of previous-generation NVIDIA Ion graphics. The result is super- smooth gaming that will keep pace with even the fastest player once the heat is on.
What's more – onboard hardware decoding promises silky smooth 1080p HD video playback for staggeringly crystal clear visuals, making this ultraportable a true winner for relishing good movies on the move.
Enjoy sound as impactful as the real Lamborghini with audio by Bang & Olufsen Icepower: Every motoring fan can appreciate the ferocious sound of a revving Lamborghini – and the ASUS-Lamborghini VX6 has equally outstanding audio to boast about. With stereo speakers by Bang & Olufsen ICEPower and SRS Premium surround sound, the tiny machine unleashes a mind- blowing resonance which will blow your ears away whether you are enjoying music, movies or games.
Keep on the road with up to 6 hours of battery life thanks to the energy efficient NVIDIA Optimus technology:
The ASUS-Lamborghini wields NVIDIA Optimus – a highly intelligent technology which automatically optimises graphics performance to suit the applications being used – creating a balance which improves energy efficiency and maximises battery life to delivery up to 6 hours of uninterrupted computing.
Super-fast transfers, charging and boot-up with a host of software and connectivity: The ASUS-Lamborghini VX6 is packed full of software and features to make computing life effortless. With USB 3.0, data transfer speeds via USB are up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and allow it to re-charge mobile devices in almost half the previous times – even when the netbook is switched off.
Bluetooth 3.0 support facilitates low power wireless data transfers from compatible devices at speeds up to 24Mbit/s - perfect for speedy music, video and photo synchronisation with mobile devices.
For users who live life on the go, the dual-operating system Express Gate offers the perfect way to boot up in record time to access a range of applications including the Internet, email, music and instant messaging.
How does the as-yet-unannounced Samsung Continuum stack up against Verizon's pack of Droids, not to mention its Galaxy S brethren? That's what we're finding out for the very first time in a set of allegedly leaked charts. Performance-wise we're looking at a fairly familiar beast with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 384MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM, plus 2GB of on-board flash storage and a preloaded 8GB microSD card. Where it gets interesting is that secondary display, which measures 1.8 inches with a 96 x 480 resolution, which will indeed act as a status update, RSS feed and weather report stock ticker that you activate (even when the handset is asleep!) by gripping the bottom of the phone. You're also getting a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and 3G mobile hotspot for up to five devices, but it's not all peaches and cream -- the whole shebang uses Bing for search, and runs on Android 2.1. Here's hoping Samsung intends to provide us a Froyo rollout date when it finally announces this phone. Find the full spec sheets at our source links.
T-Mobile is announcing this evening that it's now got 75 live HSPA+ markets online, with coverage for roughly 200 million Americans up and running by the end of 2010. That footprint will start off at a theoretical max downlink of 21Mbps, but the carrier will be looking to scale that to 42Mbps in 2011 with the capacity to upgrade to 84 and 168Mbps down the road -- all without ever worrying about LTE. The veracity of T-Mobile's insistence that this is a "4G" network remains debatable -- particularly in light of the ITU's ruling that only LTE-Advanced and WiMAX 2 qualify -- but then again, that same ruling would mean that neither Sprint, Verizon, nor T-Mobile really have 4G up and running in the strictest of terms, and it's hard to argue that these guys are pushing speeds that meet or exceed what either LTE or WiMAX can offer today.
To that end, the carrier is kicking off a new television ad campaign today where it proudly boasts that it's operating the nation's largest 4G network, which is sure to ruffle some feathers and set the stage for some drama-filled mudslinging among the big boys as they ramp up their next-gen networks across the country. New markets include Chicago, Colorado Springs, Ft. Wayne, Louisville, Raleigh-Durham, and Wilmington, NC, and new devices include the myTouch 4G -- officially launching tomorrow -- and the Dell Mini 10 4G, which as you can probably guess is a garden-variety Mini 10 with HSPA+ compatibility on the AWS band. Follow the break for T-Mobile's full press release.
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T-Mobile 4G Service Now Available in More Markets and on New Devices
T-Mobile HSPA+-Enabled 4G Network Now Reaches Over 75 Metropolitan Markets
New T-Mobile myTouch 4G and 4G Netbook Take Advantage of Blazing-Fast Wireless Broadband Speeds
BELLEVUE, Wash. - Nov. 2, 2010 - T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the expansion of its 4G mobile broadband network to six additional metro areas, and introduced two new products designed to tap into its 4G service. Tomorrow marks the national retail availability of the T-Mobile® myTouch® 4G and T-Mobile's first 4G netbook, the Dell™ Inspiron™ Mini 10 4G. With typical download speeds that are on par with or faster than competing 4G technologies, and service availability in 75 metropolitan markets throughout the United States, the T-Mobile network now offers a super-fast, next generation mobile broadband experience to more people than any other wireless network in the country.
"4G is about performance and today T-Mobile's HSPA+ network is delivering 4G speeds that match and often beat WiMAX and are comparable to what early LTE will deliver. Our 4G network is capable of theoretical speeds up to 21Mbps and we have seen average download speeds approaching five Mbps on our myTouch 4G phone in some cities with peak speeds of nearly 12 Mbps. Further, independent reviewers have seen average download speeds on our webConnect Rocket between 5 and 8 Mbps with peak speeds up to 8-10Mbps," said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile USA. "The footprint of our 4G service is not something that competitors are going to match anytime soon, and starting today, we will begin marketing our network advantage with TV commercials advertising 'America's Largest 4G Network' from T-Mobile."
The "America's Largest 4G Network" message will be communicated in an iconic, arresting and memorable way through national TV and digital advertisements that will begin airing today on major TV networks and cable TV stations, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and TNT, and appearing on websites, including AOL, MSN, Amazon.com and easily viewable on T-Mobile's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/tmobile.
T-Mobile expanded the availability of its 4G network to six additional metropolitan areas, including Chicago, Ill.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Louisville, Ky.; and Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington, N.C. T-Mobile customers with 4G devices in 75 metropolitan areas can now enjoy faster Web browsing, uninterrupted video streaming and quicker downloads at no additional cost.
"Consumers do not understand the technical alphabet soup of technologies involved in 4G, but for our purposes we define WiMAX, LTE and HSPA+ as 4G technologies," said Chris Nicoll, distinguished research fellow, Yankee Group. "HSPA+ is evolving a far more ambitious and long-term road map than was originally envisioned. T-Mobile is using an upgrade to HSPA+ to deliver faster 4G speeds today and is quickly bringing a number of HSPA+ devices to market that greatly enhance the mobile data experience for its customers."
In addition to the network expansion, T-Mobile continues to broaden its lineup of products that tap into its 4G network. Available today is the stylish and powerful T-Mobile myTouch 4G smartphone. Designed to access faster speeds on T-Mobile's 4G network, the myTouch 4G also includes a front-facing camera for Video Chat through Yahoo! Messenger or QIK, HD Camcorder with Screen Share by Twonky™, 5-megapixel camera with flash, Android 2.2, and additional exclusive T-Mobile features such as Genius Button™, powered by Dragon Dictation from Nuance Communications, myModes and Faves Gallery™. The myTouch 4G is appearing in a national ad campaign beginning today and will be the featured device at T-Mobile retail stores nationwide this holiday season. Also available today is the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 4G, T-Mobile's first netbook to feature built-in access to T-Mobile's 4G mobile broadband network. It also includes Windows 7 Starter Edition - Microsoft Corp.'s latest operating system - and a fast processor for easy Web surfing, communication, photo sharing and multimedia playback in one small, ultraportable device.
"With an upgrade path that continues to provide room for considerable speed enhancements, T-Mobile's 4G network is purpose-built for continued growth. We are now on pace to increase our 4G footprint - reaching 200 million people by the end of this year - with plans to offer 42Mbps theoretical speeds in 2011," added Ray. "As customer demand for wireless data increases, T-Mobile is well-positioned to compete based on the speed, breadth and evolution path of our mobile broadband service."
Additional 4G products already available from T-Mobile and designed to take advantage of the faster 4G service include the T-Mobile webConnect® Rocket™ 2.0 laptop stick and the high-powered T-Mobile G2™ with Google™ smartphone. T-Mobile's 4G smartphones, the myTouch 4G and the T-Mobile G2, are powered by the Android 2.2 operating system, which provides tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing capabilities. Beginning this holiday season, T-Mobile will offer a Tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing service plan that allows customers to use their smartphone as wireless modem for connecting laptops and other devices to the Internet through the T-Mobile mobile broadband network. Customers can add the Tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing plan to their Web – Unlimited $30/monthly plan for an additional $14.99/month.
Product Availability T-Mobile plans to offer a selection of affordable data plans for both smartphones and broadband products, with smartphone data plans starting as low as $10/month. T-Mobile customers do not pay a premium for access to its 4G network. For more information on T-Mobile products, services, pricing and promotions, visit http://www.t-mobile.com.
The myTouch 4G is available nationwide tomorrow through T-Mobile retail stores, online at http://www.t-mobile.com, at select third-party dealers, and at leading national retailers including Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam's Club and Target. Customers can visit http://mytouch.t-mobile.com for more information about the myTouch family of smartphones including the myTouch 4G.
The Dell™ Inspiron™ Mini 10 4G is available tomorrow at http://www.t-mobile.com.
We still don't know what Facebook has in store for us tomorrow -- deep Android integration? Branded custom phone? 20-minute Zuckerberg guitar solo? -- but we'll be there live to give you the full scoop as it happens. Here's the page to bookmark for all the action and the event times -- see you then!
Looking for a pinch of adorable, a taste of augmented reality and a shiny new peripheral for your PSP? Look no further, mate. Sony's EyePet title is now shipping in the US of A, and a required camera will come bundled in with each UMD. Amazon and friends have it listed for $39.99, and if you're hoping to avoid the otherwise unavoidable "sold out forever" sign during the final week of December, we'd recommend getting that order in now. Oh, and PSPgo owners need not apply -- this one's too cute for NAND.
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EyePet™ Delivers Creative, Interactive Augmented Reality Gaming, Now Available for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) System
Raise and Nurture EyePet and Watch Him Come to Life Via the Camera for the PSP® system
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) announced today the release of EyePet™ available exclusively for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, London Studio, EyePet for PSP system takes the digital pet out of the living room and virtually brings it to life in the real-world environment by incorporating a camera for the PSP system (included with the game). Following the success of EyePet for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and the second title to use the new camera for the PSP system, EyePet for PSP system enables players to nurture, personalize and interact with a virtual pet anywhere on the go for a unique portable augmented reality gaming experience.
Players interact with their new best friend only on PSP 1000/2000/3000 systems by pointing the camera for the PSP system and laying down a Magic Card (included with the game). Players create drawings in the real-world such as airplanes and cars and watch them transform into three-dimensional toys for EyePet to play with on screen. With hundreds of outfits, accessories, and fur styles to choose from, players customize their EyePet and look after him by feeding, bathing, and playing with him.
"EyePet for PSP is perfect for kids and we are excited to add this handheld camera-based PSP game to our robust software library," said Scott A Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. "EyePet truly demonstrates PlayStation®'s innovation in augmented reality gaming by the way players use the new camera to interact with their virtual pet in the real-world environment."
With EyePet for PSP system, players become virtual pet owners by adopting an egg from the Pet Center and watching it hatch into their very own best friend. In-depth customization tools allow players to CREATE an unusual and one-of-a-kind EyePet by applying different designs and colors and trying on different apparel options.
By petting, tickling, and playing fetch with EyePet, he will react to the player excitedly and respond to special actions such as talking and blowing into the built-in microphone on the camera for the PSP system. From fishing to tennis to drawing toys that magically spring to life as three-dimensional objects within the game, players participate in various fun games with their magical friend. In addition, EyePet offers a Treasure Hunt mode that encourages players to explore their environment to discover new toys and activities. The camera for the PSP system also enables players to build up a unique collection of photos to personalize their in-game Pet Carrier and save EyePet moments.
Available on UMD (Universal Media Disc) beginning November 2, 2010, EyePet for the PSP system includes the camera for the PSP system and a Magic Card. EyePet will be available at retailers nationwide, delivering everything one needs to experience the PSP platform. EyePet for the PSP system is not compatible with the PSP®go system.
The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating for EyePet for the PSP system is "E" for Everyone. For more information about the ESRB, visit www.esrb.org.
Revue owners, have you been frustrated by some of the framerate issues? We hear ya, as do Google and Logitech. The latter said in an official post earlier today that an over-the-air update would arrive to fix such an issue, and like that, our Google TV box prompted us to download a 163MB file denoted update 39953. We've heard from a number of tipsters, too, who claim to have received the patch. Will this fix all the stuttering? We're hearing mostly yeas in that regard, so don't be shy, give the set-top another go -- and let us know if you see anything else that's new or improved.
Hard to say if this is the direct (or indirect) replacement to the Creative X-Fi2 we toyed with 13 months ago, but the new Zen Touch 2 has snuck out behind the cover of two ZiiO touch tablets. This here PMP sports a 3.2-inch touchscreen, Android 2.1 underneath, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, an accelerometer, inbuilt speaker, two megapixel camera, microSD card slot, GPS, digital compass, FM radio tuner and a run-of-the-mill plastic enclosure. That last bit is according to Pocket-lint's brief hands-on with the device, noting that the touch panel is of the resistive variety and the user interface was jumpy and problematic to say the least. It'll be landing soon in 8GB and 16GB sizes for S$279 ($216 in Greenbacks) and up, but we get the impression that price and availability may not matter much in the grand scheme of things.
We've been waiting on this one for quite awhile... and well, we've got awhile longer. Fender has come clean with the price and release date of its Squier-branded Stratocaster for Rock Band 3 will hit the road on March 1st for just a penny shy of $280. The six-stringed warrior -- which also serves as a MIDI controller and a real instrument -- has far and away been our favorite method of playing the rhythm game's new pro guitar mode, and though the button-laden Mustang is available now for just over half the price, it really doesn't compare to the real thing here. Even the January 1st pre-order seems a ways off -- guess we'll be brushing up on our keytar skills in the meantime.
Sure, N-Trig's DuoSense combined pen / capacitive touch technology has become a household name when talking about Tablet PCs, and most recently has popped up in the HP Slate, but as you may expect the company is planning on pushing into other tablet territories. N-Trig's VP of Marketing Gary Baum told us earlier today that the Israel-based company will certainly support other operating systems (flavors of Linux, such as Ubuntu, etc.) and is in fact working with hardware partners on Android tablets. That means those latter slates would have capacitive touchscreens that support both pen and finger input -- something we haven't yet seen on any other non-resistive Android tablets. It's certainly a differentiator, and Baum wasn't shy about stating that "the most useful Android slates will be pen-enabled." (Funny enough, he told us the guys at N-Trig call the other contenders out there "JAAS," or "just another Android slate.") However, like us, you're probably thinking: what about the apps? Considering there are very few (if any) Android apps that take advantage of pen input, it's an question mark, and though Baum wouldn't comment on any specific upcoming stylus-optimized programs / software, he hinted that they'd come. Curious about availability and partnership? We hear ya, but unfortunately, that part of the equation is still missing.
February 2010 has come and gone, and we're still not seeing a heck of a lot of traction with regard to CFast. Hailed as the next major leap in the CompactFlash standard, CFast cards rely on the SATA interface versus UDMA / IDE, with Transcend's latest expected to boast transfer rates of 108MB/sec. As with other CFast cards, these too are shaped exactly like existing CompactFlash units, and while it seems as if the company is pushing these towards enterprise and industrial applications right now, it's just a matter of time before they make the jaunt to your local camera shop. Expect four sizes (2/4/8/16GB) to pop up in the next few months, and feel free to let your imagination run wild with respect to prices.
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Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in memory and storage products, today released a brand new Flash Card product line, CFast cards. The revolutionary new CFast cards integrate the rapid, more robust SATA interface into the existing CF card form factor, offering improved performance and convenience for a variety of industrial applications.
As with the SD card and its enhanced versions, SDHC and SDXC, CFast is the latest specification for CF cards, developed by CompactFlash Association (CFA) as a removable high-speed storage solution for industrial use. Compared to current CF cards based on the slower ATA/IDE interface, Transcend's CFast cards use the more modern SATA interface, delivering incredible transfer rates of up to 108MB/s. With the CFast card installed, users of industrial PCs or SATA 3Gb/s compatible devices will be able to store and access information at faster rates as a result of the enhanced communication between the card and its host device.
Measuring 42.8mm x 36.4mm x 3.3mm, Transcend's CFast cards have the same physical dimensions as traditional CF cards. Featuring a combination of enhanced speed and portability, the CFast cards are designed to perform like solid state drives, and as such are extremely capable when used as bootable drives. Thanks to built-in StaticDataRefresh and EarlyRetirement technologies, the CFast cards are able to correct data errors, ensure data reliability, and extend the lifespan of their flash memory cells.
Now offered in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, Transcend's CFast cards are the perfect storage choice for users looking to obtain the desirable features of speed, compact size and reliability.
Oh PALRO, you'd already won our hearts with that dirty dancing routine you learned over the summer, and heaven knows you're cute as a button. Now, though, you have the brains to match those looks. Fujisoft has upgraded PALRO's software to version 2.0, which comes with some impressive face, body, and object tracking. The little guy can now identify a face and track it even if someone turns their head, and likewise can identify a person's body at a distance while walking through a crowded room. With a quick scan of its dome-shaped head PALRO can locate all the objects in a room and, when told to walk to one, will start swinging its arms and strut right to it, dodging wayward keyboards and mice along the way. It's as impressive as it is adorable, and while PALRO still isn't available for sale to the world at large, a price of roughly $3,300 makes means he's well out of our league anyway.
Yeah, kind of a good news / bad news type of situation here: the user's manual for the rumored Android-based LG enV Pro for Verizon has leaked, showing off the latest incarnation of the long-running QWERTY clamshell line in all its dual-screen glory. That's the good news. The bad news, though, is that Android and Me is reporting that it's apparently been pulled from the launch roadmap for failing to wow the folks testing it. At a glance, we can't say we'd blame them -- it certainly doesn't look like anything special, but then again, canceling a device at the last second is probably a small-scale contractual and financial nightmare for Verizon and LG alike... and we're guessing it's a situation they'd both like to avoid. Could it be sent back to the shop for retooling, or is it toast? And more importantly, does the Android-buying public care?
We've already seen that living tissue can be printed using what amounts to a bio-inkjet printer, and some researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine now say they've made some considerable progress that could bring the technology one step closer to use on the battlefield. Specifically, they've been able to speed up the healing of wounds on mice using a "printed" swath of tissue and completely heal the wound in three weeks, whereas an untreated wound did not heal itself in the same time period. Of course, there's no word on any plans for tests on humans just yet, but the researchers do plan to take one more step in that direction by moving on to tests on pigs next.
Just when a Tokyoflash watch has reached the pinnacle of unreadability, it looks like the company has scaled things back slightly -- very, very, very slightly. Kisai's Wasted watch makes "your senses [come] alive" by turning the time display into a sort of psychedelic light show, one that it would take a modern day Timothy Leary to decode. It's apparently supposed to simulate some sort of hallucinatory state, although we're guessing that it's much more likely to give you a migraine. Rechargeable via USB, and available now for $85 plus shipping. Turn on, tune in, and click the source link to get started -- or peep the video after the break if you're uncertain, man.
It's a modern day dilemma, really -- you'd love to hang that flat panel on your wall, but the wireless technologies available to mere mortals in the year 2010 just aren't up to snuff. Wireless power is a pipe dream, and even wireless HDMI has its drawbacks. Case in point: ASUS' new WiCast media streaming solution. Introduced last month in conjunction with Amimon, this high(er)-end streamer is theoretically capable of transmitting 1080p material over the air, with 3Gbps at its disposal. Trouble is, critics at AnandTech found that there were gobs of wires to connect before anything started to stream "wirelessly," and moreover, they noticed significant artifacting in Iron Man 2 even with just five feet separating the receiver and transmitter. The good news is that the WiCast isn't platform / machine-specific, but that luxury comes with a price -- you'll have to connect three cables (two USB and an HDMI) to your laptop and a receiver box to your HDTV. In the end, there seems to be just one real winner: Monoprice.
Hello, future! We had an inkling that glasses-free 3D was the next big thing when we had a gaze at Intel's display back at CES earlier this year, but it seems that AUO is out to overcome the largest hurdle when dealing with lenticular lens 3D technology: viewing angles. Today, the outfit has revealed the world's first deadzone-free naked eye 3D notebook panel at FPD International 2010, and as the lengthy title indicates, this solution will enable you to view 3D content sans glasses and without positioning yourself carefully in front of the screen. Purportedly, AUO's tapping into SuperD's naked eye 3D wizardry to create a 15.6-inch laptop (1080p) and 10.1-inch tablet (WXGA) panel, and there's even an eye-tracking mechanism that's baked in to capture viewers' eyeball movements. Zanier still, both 2D and 3D modes can operate concurrently on the same display, and the viewer can switch back and forth between the two modes without having their brain implode. The company's pushing a mass production date of Q3 2011, which means that the last CES this planet ever sees should be quite the interesting one. 
Tired of going at it alone, eh WiGig? The aforesaid Alliance has just teamed up with yet another organization -- a mere six months after doing likewise with the Wi-Fi Alliance. For those unaware, WiGig's 60GHz multi-gigabit technology has already begun to penetrate the higher-end AV market, particularly in devices that shoot 1080p from source-to-display sans cabling. But as we've seen, the adoption rate there isn't anything to write home about, and it seems as if the entity is branching out in an effort to broaden its potential profit portfolio. The newest partnership is with VESA, and the most important aspect of it (from a consumer standpoint, anyway) is summed up here: the two will be working to create a certification program for wireless DisplayPort products. The goal, as you may imagine, is to create a new spate of products that'll connect PCs and handhelds to monitors, projectors and HDTVs, all without wires and with gobs of bandwidth. Sadly, no time table is being revealed just yet, but we'll be cautiously expecting a few prototypes at CES. Right, dudes? 
It may look like a toy, but as ma always said, it's what's underneath that counts. It's not often that those old adages prove true in consumer electronics, but such is the case with Pentax's newest entry-level DSLR. The K-r ($800 in kit form) is positioned between the K-x and K-7, and according to PhotographyBLOG, it fits perfectly there. They felt that the compact design was a boon for newcomers to the field who wouldn't be keen on lugging around anything of size, and most importantly, the image quality was said to be "excellent." Of course, low light performance began to suffer at ISO levels north of 800, so those interested in ditching the grain and blur after dark will still need to spend a bit more on a prosumer model like the Nikon D7000. The wide range of manual controls were also a hit, but considering that the HD video mode is identical to that on the lower-end K-x, you'll be forced to deal with a less-than-stellar UI. We'd suggest hitting the source link for the full skinny, but we'll go ahead and spoil the ending: it managed a Highly Recommended badge.
February 2010 has come and gone, and we're still not seeing a heck of a lot of traction with regard to CFast. Hailed as the next major leap in the CompactFlash standard, CFast cards rely on the SATA interface versus UDMA / IDE, with Transcend's latest expected to boast transfer rates of 108MB/sec. As with other CFast cards, these too are shaped exactly like existing CompactFlash units, and while it seems as if the company is pushing these towards enterprise and industrial applications right now, it's just a matter of time before they make the jaunt to your local camera shop. Expect four sizes (2/4/8/16GB) to pop up in the next few months, and feel free to let your imagination run wild with respect to prices. 
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