We can't get enough of Sony Ericsson's PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we're guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it's running Qualcomm's Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn't seem like much -- our Nexus S, for example, just pulled off 55.6fps -- but bear in mind, this isn't the final software (or hardware probably), so there's no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Still, it's nice to get another view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can't make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week. Don't be greedy. Video after the break.
Well, would you look at what showed up on our frigid doorstep this morning? That's right, we are now the proud owners of Google's first Chrome OS laptop -- the Cr-48. Obviously, we ripped open the box and got right to handling the 12.1-inch, Atom-powered laptop. So, what does the thing feel like? How's that keyboard? And more importantly, how's Chrome OS looking? Stand by for our impressions, which we'll be adding in depth over the day. First impression: this thing is different. Here are some quick bullet points, one of our favorite formats for presenting data in a list:
Hardware
The entire body is made of a soft, beautiful matte black. It feels very Droid-like, just a little less rubberized.
Overall, it looks a lot like a black MacBook, including a magnetic latch with a split spot for getting your finger in and lifting the lid, a very similar keyboard, and a similar hinge design.
There's on of those large Envy-style clickpads. It has great multitouch scroll, and great general mousing feel (better than most Windows laptops), but it also has some of that Envy trouble of disliking a finger floating on the lower part of the pad. Basically, you have to click or mouse, you can't be doing both at once.
If you don't like the ClickPad you can always attach as USB mouse. We plugged in the Logitech Anywhere MX and have been mousing away.
The matte screen overwhelms us with gratitude. Thank you, Google. Thank you.
There's ultra-wide ctrl and alt buttons on the left side, thanks to the lack of a Windows Key.
Software
It starts up instantly, and it's actually really hard to tell if we've put it into standby or not because there are no drive noises, and we haven't hit upon any fan noise yet either.
We're having trouble installing Photoshop.
Our apps haven't synced over from our desktop's copy of Chrome, which must be a still-forthcoming feature.
You need an internet connection for the very first setup and login, but you can login to an existing user while the device is offline, and access anything that's cached or HTML5-stored on the device -- like some of those new Chrome Web Apps.
While wake from standby takes less than a second, a cold boot takes around 15 seconds to get to the login screen, and another 6 or 7 seconds to login after you've entered your password.
The remainder of our impressions will be about Poppit!.
Flash is really bad, both with general applications and particularly with video. Adobe hasn't built Flash acceleration yet for Linux, and there's not a hardware acceleration chip, either. Hulu is like a slideshow, YouTube works, but not great.
The most important thing to remember is that this product is in no way designed for the mass market, and it's up to Samsung, Acer, and other forthcoming third parties to actually build the hardware we'll end up buying in the long run. Still, there seems to be a lot here that laptop manufacturers of all sorts could take note of, and generic-ified or not, the Cr-48 is pretty striking
It's still not an actual product just yet, but upstart Snaptick has given Crave an early look at its eponymously-named internet TV system, which it says will challenge the likes of Google TV and Apple TV. The company's hook is that it simply delivers the "full web" to your TV, which can be controlled using either your phone or a laptop. In the case of the company's iPhone app, you can actually flick content from your iPhone to the TV, and even have multiple people control the same TV with their respective iPhones. Things get a bit more complicated when it comes to the actual device, though. It seems the company still isn't sure what form it will take -- it could be a separate set-top box like the prototype above, or it could be built-in into a Blu-ray player or TV. Given that state of things, it shouldn't come as much surprise that there's no indication of a price or release date, but the company is now accepting applications for a private beta, and you can get an idea of what might be in store in the video after the break.
We're seeing reports pop up that discounting -- some of it heavy -- off the full retail prices of Windows Phone 7 handsets by third-party retailers this early in the game could be a sign of trouble for Microsoft, but realistically, you can't use that yardstick for guesstimating how well a phone (or a platform, in this case) is doing. Guys like Amazon, Wirefly, Simplexity (which runs a number of mobile stores, including Walmart), and Best Buy Mobile regularly undercut carriers' first-party pricing on handsets immediately following release -- or shortly thereafter -- because it's effectively a win-win: they're given multi-hundred-dollar commissions for each new contract they bring to the network, giving them the wiggle room to apply some of that cash to the sticker price. The retailers win because they're earning sales by offering phones for less than the carriers, and the carriers still win because they're pushing on-contract units either way -- and that means they've captured another long-term revenue stream, which is where the real money's at. Popular Android devices like the Epic 4G and the Vibrant (among countless others) were handled the same way in the retail channel as these Windows Phone 7 devices are being handled.
Of course, that's not to say we know Windows Phone 7 is selling well -- Microsoft's Joe Belfiore dodged questions about numbers this week at D: Dive into Mobile, which seems shady at best for a platform that's now been on the market for a solid month. We are saying, though, that you can't use third-party discounting to steer the conversation either way. Call us when AT&T or T-Mobile starts blowing out Quantums and HD7s for a penny directly when they're not tied up in some sort of holiday BOGO promotion, because that's when you have to worry.
It's more than a little crazy to think about, but a 0.07-second power disruption in Japan yesterday may have just caused as much as a 20 percent drop in chip shipments from Toshiba. The root of the problem is that the backup system at Toshiba's Yokkaichi memory chip plant failed to kick in because the brief drop in voltage was more severe than the system was designed for, which has not only forced the plant to halt production until Friday, but may have caused irreparable damage to scores of chips in production at the time of the outage. As The Wall Street Journal reports, it's still not clear exactly how much damage was caused, but if, for instance, the systems controlling the so-called clean room were shut off, all chips inside would likely be ruined. The good news, such as it is, is that there isn't likely to be a worldwide shortage as a result of the outage -- Toshiba plans to adjust their output accordingly early next year, and it notes that demand is usually slow in January and February anyway following the holiday shopping season.
It has certainly been a longlong road for Notion Ink, but the company is finally opening the Adam tablet pre-sale gates today. Now before you run off and grab your wallet, it appears that initial pre-orders will only be open to tried-and-true fans (apparently, they exist!) -- Slashgear is reporting that at 1:30 p.m. EST registered commenters on Notion Ink's blog will be sent the pre-order links. Then, about six hours later, the general pre-order page will be launched. Naturally, along with this news NI team is revealing detailed pricing, and as expected, there are lots of models to choose from. The entry level Adam will start at $375.33 and will pack a regular LCD and WiFi connectivity. Adding 3G shoots the price up to $425.33. On the higher end there's the Pixel Qi model, which will start at $499.95 with WiFi and $549.99 with 3G. As for software, the company's also released a lot of details on the Android skin it's been working on, and we have to say it looks pretty snazzy, though we'd love to see this on a working unit. Either way, check out the screens in the gallery below.
Of course, there's one major question left: when will the Adam finally ship? Well, you won't be getting it in time for Christmas, that's for sure -- if all goes as planned, they will be landing around January 6th. With that said, the tablet still hasn't cleared the FCC and we still haven't seen any live photos of this stuff in action, so click that pre-order button at your own risk.
Looks like relief is in sight for new school MacBook Air owners suffering from display issues: you know, with the faulty logic boards, and the flickerin' and the freezin', and so on and so forth. MacBook Air EFI firmware update 2.0 comes highly recommended by Apple itself for all 2010 MacBook Air owners, with the company saying it will "resolves a rare issue where MacBook Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive." Sounds like a no-brainer to us! Hit up the source link to download this bad boy for yourself.
A visit to Sparkpad's website gives you little more than a "coming soon" teaser, but not all is lost, friends: new filings in the FCC's database today are letting the cat out of the bag. We're still not sure exactly how this stuff is going to be sold, but Sparkpad's products are looking a bit like a Bug Labs for larger displays, seemingly allowing hobbyists and companies without massive R&D budgets to throw together Linux-based interactive products that run on photo frames ranging from 7 to 10.4 inches -- and if that's not big enough, there's also some sort of option for remotely-operated displays of 15 inches and larger. The devices can be programmed using Flash, the Lua language, or -- coming soon -- using the Android SDK, making for a pretty versatile setup. Interestingly, Sparkpad's manual points out that this is the platform used by the iGala touchscreen photo frame from a couple years back, so we're guessing that the company is just now looking at opening up the underlying platform to all comers. Anyhow, yeah -- if you've ever dreamed of programming your own DreamScreen, Sparkpad might be the way to roll.
Hertz is getting serious about its about-to-launch, by-the-hour plug in car rental service Connect by Hertz. Set to launch on December 15th in New York City, the company has plans to extend the service into San Francisco, Washington D.C, Texas and London by the end of 2011. The list of cars in the fleet which will be available to rent now includes the previously announced Nissan Leaf, the Volt, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the Tesla Roadster, the Smart ED, and the Coda Sedan. The program will start extremely small, with only 20 total vehicles available to rent to begin with, but with a plan for between 500 and 1,000 by the end of 2011. The Hertz EV rental program has a fee to join up, and the cars will be rented on a first come, first served basis, but you can sign up now if you're ready to get behind the wheel of one of the aforementioned silent bad boys.
As fleshy meatbags, we tend to give off a lot of excess heat as we futilely live our lives. Fujitsu wants to help capture every last particle motion, and all the other warmth we generate through the myriad of other inane activities like driving cars, firing rockets, and trying to not freeze to death. But, it's not just happy with that, developing a new "hybrid energy harvesting device" that does double-duty by also capturing light from the sun. It's a process shown after the break but, with no hard numbers to go with that pretty picture, we're not sure just how efficient it is at doing either. Still, there are some 6.7 billion people worldwide. How efficient does it really need to be?
Show full PR text
Fujitsu Develops Hybrid Energy Harvesting Device for Generating Electricity from Heat and Light
Paves the way toward widespread energy harvesting, generating self-sufficient power from the surrounding environment
Kawasaki, Japan, December 9, 2010 - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced that it has developed a new hybrid energy harvesting device that generates electricity from either heat or light. With this single device, it is possible to derive energy from two separate sources, which previously could only be handled by combining individual devices. Furthermore, because the cost of the hybrid device is economical, this technology paves the way to the widespread use of highly efficient energy harvesting devices. The new technology has great potential in the area of energy harvesting, which converts energy from the surrounding environment to electricity. Since there is no need for electrical wiring or battery replacements, this development could enable the use of sensors in previously unserved applications and regions. It also has great potential for powering a variety of sensor networks and medical-sensing technologies. Details of this technology will be presented at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting 2010 (IEDM 2010) being held from December 6-8 in San Francisco. About Energy Harvesting Energy harvesting is the process for collecting energy from the surrounding environment and converting it to electricity, and is gaining interest as a future next-generation energy source. Conventionally, electricity is supplied by either a power plant or a battery, requiring electrical wiring and replacement batteries. In recent years, the idea of using ambient energy in the forms of light, vibration, heat, radio waves, etc. has become increasingly attractive, and a number of methods to produce electricity from these different kinds of energy sources have been developed. Energy harvesting technology would eliminate the need for replacing batteries and power cords.
Figure 1: Overview of energy harvesting Larger View Background Electrical power that can be generated by energy harvesting from surrounding light, vibration, heat, radio waves, etc. is minute compared to what is available from power plants or batteries. Thus, in order to operate ICT equipment by energy harvesting, devices that can generate more power would be needed. For example, light and vibration are not always available in the ambient environment. Therefore, there is a growing demand for devices that can efficiently derive energy from the surrounding environment at any time, thereby enabling the devices to be used at all times. Technological Challenges Since the amount of power available by energy harvesting is quite limited, there has been interest in utilizing multiple forms of external energy simultaneously - such as light and heat, or light and vibrations - in order to collect a sufficient amount for practical use. In the past, this has been achieved by combining different kinds of devices, which leads to higher costs. Newly-developed Technology Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a new hybrid harvesting device that captures energy from either light or heat, which are the most typical forms of ambient energy available for wide-scope application. This makes it possible for a single device to capture energy from either heat or light without combining two harvesting devices. In addition, as it can be manufactured from inexpensive organic materials, device production costs can remain low. Details of the new technology are as follows. 1. New structure for hybrid generating devices By changing the electrical circuits connecting two types of semiconductor materials - P-type and N-type semiconductors - the device can function as a photovoltaic cell or thermoelectric generator (Figure 2). 2. Development of an organic material for hybrid generating devices Fujitsu Laboratories successfully developed an organic material that is suitable for a generator in both photovoltaic and thermoelectric modes. The organic material features a high generating efficiency that can produce power from even indoor lighting in photovoltaic mode, and it can also generate power from heat in thermoelectric mode. Since the organic material and its process cost are inexpensive, production costs can be greatly reduced.
Figure 2: Single device featuring operation in both photovoltaic mode (left) and thermoelectric mode (right) Larger View Results Until now, photovoltaic cells - which generate electricity from light, and thermoelectric devices - which generate electricity from temperature differentials, have only been available as separate devices. This new technology from Fujitsu Laboratories doubles the energy-capture potential through the use of both ambient heat and light in a single device. In medical fields, for example, the technology could be used in sensors that monitor conditions such as body temperature, blood pressure, and heartbeats - without batteries and electrical wiring. If either the ambient light or heat is not sufficient to power the sensor, this technology can supply power with both sources, by augmenting one source with the other. In addition, the technology can also be used for environmental sensing in remote areas for weather forecasting, where it would be problematic to replace batteries or run electric lines.
Figure 3: Prototype hybrid generating device manufactured on flexible substrate Larger View Future Plans Fujitsu Laboratories will continue with further development of this new technology to increase the performance of hybrid devices, with aims to commercialize the technology by around 2015. About Fujitsu Laboratories Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Limited is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Next-generation Services, Computer Servers, Networks, Electronic Devices and Advanced Materials. For more information, please see: http://jp.fujitsu.com/labs/en.
Ever heard of Ona? Up until last week, we hadn't either. Turns out, Ona's a purveyor of "fine" camera bags and accessories, and given that it's the holiday season, we figured it prudent to have a gander at the outfit's latest and greatest -- you know, just in case you've a camera lover in your family who you've yet to buy for. The all-new Union Street ($279) is quite clearly an upscale messenger bag on the outside, but the internals are arranged in a way that the amateur photog / gadget lover would appreciate. There's room for a few pens (of the lens and / or ink variety), a smartphone, a navigation system, a 15-inch (or smaller) laptop and -- according to Ona -- a DSLR along with three lenses. The other notable aspect is the waxed canvas exterior (dubbed Waxwear), which is generally more rugged and weather resistant than your average patch of suede or leather. How's it all shake out? Join us after the break for our pair of pennies.
Truth be told, you've got a cornucopia of options when it comes to shopping for a messenger bag. Where Ona attempts to differentiate itself lies solely in the design. When we heard just how much this unit was supposed to hold, we were actually somewhat surprised to see how reasonably sized it was -- it's a large messenger bag internally, but it doesn't look bulky at a glance. In fact, it looks striking, and totally professional. It's available in a trio of hues (Ranger Tan, as seen here, as well as Smoke and Black), and it's definitely a bag that could be carried by your average suit-and-tie wearer. There's a well-stitched rear grab handle as well as an adjustable neck belt; thankfully the latter has a comfy, adjustable pad for easing the stress on your shoulder and neck.
Contrary to what you may expect, the front isn't closed by buckles; those are there to loosen the front for more bulky loads. Underneath are a pair of clips, which are far, far easier to lock and unlock with one hand. We'll just be frank with you -- this thing oozes class. As soon as you pick it up you know you're dealing with quality, and while it's shockingly light (that's a good thing!), the waxed canvas exterior really is rugged. Running through a brief rain shower? No worries -- it'll bead right off. In use, we found it quite comfortable to hoist over our shoulder. 'Course, we feel the same way about our trusty Timbuk2 messenger bag, but it's important to note that we weren't overwhelmed at any point by the size.
Internals
So, how's about the internals? There's a padded interior and a handful of dividers with velcro on each side; if you find that you'd only like to use one or two, you can rip the other out without issue. We were able to squeeze a Nikon D90 (wearing a 50mm prime lens) as well as two other lenses and a SB-600 flash inside of the bag, not to mention a 15-inch MacBook Pro. That said, the aforesaid arrangement left very little room in the zippered accessory pouch -- anything more than a smartphone, a few pens and a sleek PND simply wouldn't fit. But that's a loaded-down scenario; in truth, Ona is aiming this is at more casual users who aren't planning to take their entire rig from place to place. For that, the size of the Union Street is ideal. We will say that our MBP fit mighty snugly in the rear, but we suppose that's the point -- there's no doubt that 13- or 14-inch ultraportables would fit a lot easier. If you're looking to lug around more equipment than this, a backpack is still the best option.
Wrap-up
Is the Union Street really worth $279? If you're in the target market, it definitely is. The point of this product isn't to be the cheapest or most value-friendly; it's a luxury item through and through, and those who aren't looking for a luxury messenger bag won't be able to justify its purchase. But when you consider that a similarly sized Timbuk2 messenger bag sells for $130+, it starts to make a little more sense; this one's designed specifically to hold a full-size laptop, a small camera setup and your mobile gizmos, all while looking good enough to take to a job interview. Is it pricey? Of course, it's a luxury product. Is it well-built, well-designed and downright drool-worthy from top to bottom? You bet. If you've got the cash laying around and are in need of a new messenger bag, there's hardly a reason to look any further -- if you're still balking at the price tag, we're sure that sack you used to haul textbooks in middle school will get the job done.
A syndicate of consumer electronics titans including AMD, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, Samsung and LG announced this week that its products will collectively drop support for VGA by 2015. Saying sayonara to the 20+ year-old analog technology is pretty self explanatory to us in this day and age, but the council of doom apparently felt compelled to cite DisplayPort's and HDMI's benefits of increased energy efficiency, smaller size and support for higher-resolutions as proof the move wasn't personal -- just business. AMD plans to lead the charge by starting the VGA removal process in 2013 and even intends to go the extra mile by stripping DVI-I and low voltage differential signaling technology (LVDS) support too. We definitely side with AMD's desire to focus on cutting edge standards like Displayport 1.2 and HDMI 1.4a sooner, but if plenty of lead time and "going green" excuses help everyone else involved in the sentencing sleep better at night, then so be it.
Show full PR text
Leading PC Companies Move to All Digital Display Technology, Phasing out Analog
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2010 – AMD, Dell, Intel Corporation, Lenovo, Samsung Electronics LCD Business and LG Display today announced intentions to accelerate adoption of scalable and lower power digital interfaces such as DisplayPort and High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI) into the PC.
Intel and AMD expect that analog display outputs such as Video Graphics Array (VGA) and the low voltage differential signaling technology (LVDS) panel interface would no longer be supported in their product lines by 2015. HDMI has increasingly been included in new PCs for easy connection to consumer electronics devices. DisplayPort is expected to become the single PC digital display output for embedded flat panels, PC monitors and projectors.
DisplayPort and HDMI allow for slimmer laptop designs, and support higher resolutions with deeper color than VGA – a technology which is more than 20 years old. Additionally, as laptops get smaller and their embedded flat panel resolutions increase for more immersive experiences, the power advantages, bi-directional communications and design efficiency benefits of DisplayPort make it a superior choice over LVDS, the previous standard for LCD panel inputs.
Intel plans to end support of LVDS in 2013 and VGA in 2015 in its PC client processors and chipsets.
"Modern digital display interfaces like DisplayPort and HDMI enhance the consumer visual PC experience by immersing them with higher resolutions and deeper colors -- all at lower power -- to enhance battery life for laptops," said Eric Mentzer, Intel's vice president of Strategy, Planning and Operations for the Visual and Parallel Computing Group. "By moving to these new interfaces, Intel is able to focus investment on new innovations to enhance the PC experience rather than having to solve challenges of supporting legacy analog interfaces on our latest silicon process technology and products."
AMD plans to begin phasing out legacy interfaces, starting with the removal of native LVDS output from most products in 2013. The company also plans to remove native VGA output starting in 2013, with expansion to all AMD products by 2015. This would mean DVI-I support will be eliminated in the same timeframe.
"Displays and display standards are rapidly evolving, with new features such as multi-display support, stereoscopic 3-D, higher resolutions and increased color depth quickly moving from early adopter and niche usage to mainstream application," said Eric Demers, AMD's chief technology officer, Graphics Division. "Legacy interfaces such as VGA, DVI and LVDS have not kept pace, and newer standards such as DisplayPort and HDMI clearly provide the best connectivity options moving forward. In our opinion, DisplayPort 1.2 is the future interface for PC monitors, along with HDMI 1.4a for TV connectivity."
While the large installed base of existing VGA monitors and projectors will likely keep VGA on PC back panels beyond 2015, leading PC makers are in strong support of this transition. The DisplayPort connector interface provides backwards and forwards compatibility by supporting VGA and DVI output via certified adapters, while also providing new capabilities such as single connector multi-monitor support.
Moving to the latest digital standards like DisplayPort enables customers to preserve backwards compatibility with installed equipment while taking full advantage of the latest advances in display capabilities, configuration options, and features," said Liam Quinn, chief technology officer, Dell Business Client.
"We live in a digital-rich world and display technology must keep up with the explosion of digital content," said George He, chief technology officer, Lenovo. "By transitioning to digital display technologies like Display Port and HDMI customers can not only enjoy a better computing experience, they get more of what's important to them in a laptop: more mobility, simplified design with fewer connectors, and longer battery life."
Leading display panel manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics LCD Business and LG Display also are in strong support of this transition.
Samsung Electronics LCD Business is already supporting this transition with embedded DisplayPort notebook panels, which we have been shipping since March of this year," said Seung-Hwan Moon, vice president of engineering, LCD Business, Samsung Electronics.
"LG Display is fully prepared for this future transition. We already have different sizes of LCD panels with eDP out in the market to fulfill various needs of customers." said Michael Kim, vice president of IT Product Planning Department at LG Display.
The strong value proposition of scalable and low power digital display interfaces for PC users coupled with industry innovation around these interfaces should accelerate overall adoption of the newer display technologies for PCs.
About AMD Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit AMD.
About Dell Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to its customers and uses that insight to make technology simpler and create innovative solutions that simplify daily activities and help people stay entertained, connected and in touch. Learn more at www.dell.com.
About Intel Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
About Lenovo Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
About LG Display LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220] is a leading manufacturer and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. The company provides TFT-LCD panels in a wide range of sizes and specifications for use in TVs, monitors, notebook PCs, mobile products and other various applications. LG Display currently operates eight fabrication facilities and five back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China and Poland. The company has a total of 44,000 employees operating worldwide. Please visit www.lgdisplay.com for more information.
About Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
The Earthlings here at Engadget HQ are still patiently awaiting their own Cr-48s, but it looks as if those who were quick on the trigger have just received a Chrome OS laptop to cuddle with. If you'll recall, Google opened up a Chrome OS Pilot Program Tuesday, and for those who registered early (and got awfully lucky), they're being treated to a Cr-48 on their doorsteps. One gracious tipster has already sent over a trio of unboxing shots (while another provided the video after the break), and we'll be sure to give the low-down (you know -- video, impressions, etc.) once our own arrives. Anytime now, FedEx...
Jonesing for a new point and shoot before the holiday break? Don't go lookin' for BenQ's newest unless you're camped in Asia, as this orange delight won't hit other nations until the first of 2011. Sporting a 14 megapixel sensor, a metallic casing and a seemingly robust implementation of optical image stabilization technology, the S1420 also touts a 26mm wide-angle lens, a 5x optical zoomer and ingrained HDR II technology that tosses a little pizazz on top of your otherwise ho hum photograph. There's also a smattering of "creative shooting modes" that you may or may not ever touch, though the 720p movie mode and ISO range that reaches to 6,400 should both prove quite useful. There's nary a word spoken on pricing, but something tells us it'll be situated halfway between dirt cheap and perfectly affordable.
Show full PR text
BenQ's New S1420 O.I.S. Camera – The Most Powerful Technology for Anti-Shake
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, December 6, 2010 – BenQ announced the expansion of its S-series digital camera lineup today with the 14 Megapixels S1420 digital camera. Stylishly encased in a vibrant orange-coloured metallic casing, the S1420 is designed for those who pursue high image quality whilst also values compact and mobility of their cool camera.
The O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) feature on S1420 prevents blur on shots and it is the most powerful technology for anti-shake. This amazing feature works automatically and compensates for unintended camera movements or slow shutter speeds to deliver crisply rendered, sharp and crystal clear images which without might ruin an otherwise perfect shot.
S1420 is the ideal camera companion with the flawless combination of the 26mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom. The wide-angle lens give allows expanded field of view needed for group shots, ensuring everyone is in frame even in a close-up shot whilst the powerful zoom makes it possible to capture detailed photos even when the subjects are of a distance.
BenQ's HDR II image enhancement technology is a magical feature that lets users get great shots of high-contrast scenes that are usually so difficult to photograph well. HDR II depicts the scenes in the photograph exactly how it is seen by the eye, with all the details in both dark and bright areas intact. Furthermore, HDR II allows previews on the bright 3.0" LCD with HDR applied, so users know exactly what kind of shots they will be taking.
BenQ's S1420 comes bundled with a full range of creative shooting modes which includes "LOMO", "Fisheye" and "Color accent". The "LOMO" adds effects like dark-corners, off-kilter exposure, and over-saturated colors to snapshots turning the photographs into gallery-worthy artworks. Apply the "Fisheye Lens" to get a wide-angle hemispherical view of the photographic subjects, adding a new source of fun and intriguing creative possibilities to photos. The "Color accent" effect allows users to keep one selected color in the photo whilst having the rest converted into black and white, heightening the ambiance and imbuing the photographs with mood and personality.
When even a great photograph cannot capture the action desired, S1420's 720p HD movie recording capability comes into play, allowing users to record the actions in crisply detailed, brilliant and vivid HD videos. The highlights of one's life can now be preserved in big, beautiful movies.
S1420's highly sensitive sensor can take realistic-looking, detailed photographs in a low light scene. An ISO 6400 exposure index ensures that photographs in a dance-club or a romantic candle-lit restaurant are not compromised.
BenQ's vibrant orange-coloured S1420 will be available in China and Asia Pacific in December, Latin America and Europe in January 2011. For more information, please visit www.BenQ.com
Why, it's another robot-themed hotpot restaurant! This time we're looking at Jinan -- once famous for demolishing a whole stash of illegal arcade machines -- up in north China, where a ballsy robotics manufacturer started trialling a robot-themed eatery. While there are still human chefs working back in the kitchen, some near-hundred customers will be served by six robots (about ¥40,000 or $6,000 each to build) that follow a white line to seat diners and deliver dishes. Oh, and don't expect any slapstick comedy here -- these bland-looking droids will only stop if you dare stand in front of them. You'll have to hurry up, though, as this venue closes in about 16 days; but for those who can't make it, we've got a video right after the break.
If you've never experienced the joy of conveying four precisely-played tracks onto a single, rattly plastic cassette tape, prepare to see what you've been missing. The iconic Tascam Portastudio is coming to iPad in a very virtual way, a $10 app that presents a simplified replication of the original's decidedly more tactile controls. You can mix four inputs to stereo output, which is stored on a pretend cassette -- and can then share via iTunes or Soundcloud, which is rather more useful than a picture of a tape. It's available right now for the iPad only, with no plans for a release on any other platform. Yeah, boo.
Counting dollars and cents on the checkout counter really makes you feel the weight of every expenditure. Swiping a credit card or waving an NFC device over a sensor? Not so much. Enter the Proverbial Wallets from the Information Ecology group at the MIT Media Lab, three separate devices that use three haptic techniques to curtail your spending. First is the Bumblebee, which buzzes and vibrates whenever money comes into or goes out from your account. Next is Mother Bear, which becomes harder to open as you get closer to your spending goal. Finally is Peacock, which swells proudly as your bank balance does the same. Sadly none of these are actually available yet, but we have a feeling if they were they might put a bit of a hurting on our very real and very strict budgets.
Not to denigrate the numerous fine hacks that Kinect's undergone since its launch, but it's always nice to see the professionals come in and shake things up a little. A crew from MIT's brain labs has put together a hand detection system on Microsoft's ultra-versatile cam, which is sophisticated enough to recognize the position of both your palms and fingers. Just as a demonstration, they've tied that good stuff up to a little picture-scrolling UI, and you won't be surprised to hear that it's the closest thing to Minority Report's interactive gesture-based interface that we've seen yet. And it's all achieved with a freaking console peripheral. Video after the break.
Apple will use Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs in its future laptops, no surprises there, but what's interesting about these forthcoming machines is that some of them might rely solely on Intel's chip for both general and graphical processing tasks. That's the word from the usual "sources familiar with Apple's plans," who expect "MacBook models with screen sizes of 13 inches and below" to eschew the inclusion of a discrete GPU and ride their luck on the improved graphical performance of Intel's upcoming do-it-all chip. There are currently no sub-13.3-inch MacBooks, so the suggestion of one is surely intriguing, but the major point here seems to be that NVIDIA's being left out of the Apple party, because MacBook Pros are also predicted to switch up to AMD-provided graphics hardware. All these changes should be taking place with Apple's next refresh, which is naturally expected at some point in the new year. Although, as CNET points out, this could all be just a massive negotiating ploy to get NVIDIA to play nicer with its pricing, we're inclined to believe Intel has finally gotten its integrated graphics up to a level where it pleases the discerning tastemakers at Apple.
If you've decided to use a full-fledged Steadicam in your next indie blockbuster you'd better make sure you have the budget -- they can run upwards of $45,000. Sure, there are cheaper options out there, some more sophisticated than others, but none are quite as amazing as this. It's the Chicken Powered Steadicam from Pennywhistle Productions and it is, quite simply, a chicken with a camera on its head, making use of the bird's stabilizing vestibulo-ocular reflex. In the video, embedded for your enjoyment below, you can see that version 1.0 didn't go so well. So, our intrepid barnyard cinematographer quickly advances to version 2.0 -- "a much bigger rooster." While the video quality is low the effect is actually quite well done, but it's the ending that really makes it all come together. Just watch the video, we won't ruin the surprise.
You have a phone, you have a DSLR, yet although you love them both equally, the two pretty much never speak. This failure in capturing synergistic value is now at an end, however, thanks to the BlueSLR Bluetooth dongle and its accompanying iOS app. Compatible with iPhones (down to the 3G model), iPod touches (second generation and above), and iPads, this remote control system will let you manually trigger your Nikon's shutter release from a distance of up to 300 feet. There's also GPS tagging, if you're into that sort of thing, and a toggle in the app for adjusting exposure length. The app itself's free, though the dongle will set you back a mighty $149. At least it communicates via Bluetooth, which won't require line of sight like Nikon's own IR remotes. Compatibility is set to expand to include Canon DSLRs and Android and BlackBerry smartphones in the future, but if you've already got a D5000 and an iPhone 4 lying around looking wistfully at one another, you can pre-order your BlueSLR at the source link below.
How big is the Notion Ink Adam's screen? Well, it depends on what time you looked at the company's site today. If you were one of the unlucky folks who saw the image titled "preordernow.jpg," the screen's a tiny bit smaller and the bezel a tad larger than it is for all the fortunate peeps pre-ordering from the "preordernow1.jpg" pic that's currently gracing the site. Now's your chance, guys -- go grab yourself the truly magical and revolutionary tablet whose specs change with the wave of a Photoshop airbrush.
[Thanks, Andrew]
Update: To be clear, we don't know which of the two 'shops is the real deal -- technically, neither is, they're both renders -- but earlier prototypes have shown some pretty slinky bezels. It'll be on Notion Ink to demonstrate just how slim the Adam's screen surround is when it finally unveils the real deal.
If the Nexus S is basically a Galaxy S in Gingerbread disguise, you'd think Samsung would be bursting at the seams to offer a software upgrade for all the phones it's already sold from that family. Okay, you really wouldn't, but you'd hope that would be the case, right? Well, Pocket-lint prodded Samsung on just that point and managed to finagle the following response from a local UK contact presumably speaking on behalf of the mothership:
"In case a new version of Android operating system is publicly announced and released, Samsung will review the possibility of implementation of such new version to the existing Samsung products with Android operating system ("Update").
Such a review will be based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors".
Right, so the Gingerbread launch and that whole new handset that's coming in a week's time, not public enough? And what's "the overall effect" of a Gingerbread update beyond a group of very happy users? Samsung seems to be matching its country-mate LG in taking an evaluative approach to Gingerbread, though Google's own Android lead developer is pretty definitive about the software, saying that "Gingerbread hardware needs are similar to Froyo." So if your handset can run version F, it should have no trouble handling version G... no trouble other than its own maker.
Update: And now, in typical Samsung fashion, we're getting mixed messages as its Indian mobile arm has come out and confirmed that "Gingerbread will be available to Galaxy S users." Thanks, Shrinikketh!
We've always wondered why former Microsoft CTO Nathan Mhyrvold was stockpiling patents at his new company Intellectual Ventures, and it looks like we're starting to find out why: in addition to licensing the entire portfolio to HTC and Samsung, IV's just filed its first three patent lawsuits against nine tech companies. Details are sparse, but the first suit is against Symantec, McAfeee, Trend Micro, and Check Point Software, the second names Elpida Memory and Hynix, and the third is against Altera, Lattice Semiconductor, and Microsemi. We'd assume the patents in question are all super-technical in nature, but it's really not the specifics we're interested in -- it's more the fact that IV is starting to flex some muscle in the tech world, and that means a lot of money could change hands real fast. We'll see what happens.
Apple's flipped the switch on extending iTunes preview clips to the totally revolutionary length of 90 seconds. Only songs that last for two and a half minutes or longer and a limited number of artists are benefiting from this change -- which seems to be of Apple's unilateral doing -- and it's only effective in the US iTunes Store. Trust us, we checked our UK accounts and were met with those mediocre, entirely unsatisfying 30-second previews on everything. We reckon there's still a little more intrigue left in this tale, particularly when it comes to propitiating the record labels and securing international deals, but we'll leave those negotiations to the well shaven dudes in expensive suits -- for you and us, there's a whole load of Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West stuff to go and preview.
Cast your mind back to the ancient time that was this August and you'll recall Eric Schmidt telling you, with no lack of pride, that 200,000 Android phones were being sold each and every day. Skip past Steve Jobs' snide remarks about what's included in that tally, and fast-forward to today, where Andy Rubin is blowing minds with the latest, very nicely rounded, total: 300,000 daily activations. Yes, in spite of being the most fragmented thing this side of our 10-year old hard drives, the Android OS just keeps growing at an exponential rate. So Steve, any comment on today's data? Were they counting it wrong?
Calm down, everyone, please take your seats. Now, no one here is saying arsenic-bred life is impossible -- they're not saying that, so your science fiction novel (which should be beyond the outline phase and in rough draft form) is conceptually fine. But, as you might have heard, there are a number of scientists -- including some that co-authored a 2007 paper that called for such arsenic-based research -- who are calling into question the paper behind NASA's big astrobiological announcement, noting what they see as "fatal flaws" and errors in methodology. Frankly, this kind of thing happens with most-to-all science papers, but given all the self-made hooplah surrounding the unveil, a public opposition seems poetically appropriate. Expect this toxic fight to propagate throughout an assortment of scientific journals, the initial test trialed numerous times over in hopes of recreating (and further verifying). Make no mistake, someone'll be bringing a beaker to the test tube fight.
Much like graphene, carbon nanotubes seem to be hitting on all cylinders in the lab. Of course, we can count on one hand finger how many instances we've seen them making a difference in "the real world," but we aren't giving up hope just yet. Researchers from a cadre of universities have come together to solve one of the most nagging issues when dealing with carbon nanotubes -- in prior studies, the bundling of these tubes resulted in a marked decrease in strength, which in turn led to a profuse outpouring of tears. But thanks to a new approach, which mixes in a nondescript polymer, they've managed to conjure up a "a high performance fiber that is remarkably tough, strong, and resistant to failure." More specifically, the resulting material is said to be "tougher than Kevlar, meaning it has a higher ability to absorb energy without breaking." Notably, this material isn't stronger than Kevlar, as it's resistance to failure isn't quite up to snuff, but you can bet the gurus working on this won't stop until it is. And then, friends, we will have officially arrived in The Future.
New Zealanders have been enjoying Epic Games' visual stunner for a few hours now, as per usual, but the past has caught up with the present, so to speak. Infinity Blade is now available on the US iTunes store for both the iPad and the iPhone. Drop the gun, give the mutants a rest, and pick up the sword -- cost of entry is $5.99 and the file size is a whopping 318.3MB. What are you waiting for?
Graphene. We hear of your achievements so often, but feel your benefits in our everyday lives so infrequently. We'd be remiss if we didn't point out how unhealthy of a relationship this is, but hopefully Bor Jang and co. have a mind to mend it all. Bor, along with a number of colleagues at Nanotek Instruments, have just uncovered a graphene advancement that could put conventional Li-ion cells in a world of hurt. Of course, we've been hearing about so-called "battery breakthroughs" for the better part of our lives, but few have involved progress with ultracapacitors. For those unaware, ultracapacitors are energy storage devices that can "absorb and release charge in minutes," and they're pegged as cheaper / safer alternatives to batteries for electric vehicles. The only problem? Mainstream versions today hold just five percent of the energy held by Li-ion batteries. Nanotek's crew has figured out that the use of graphene electrodes "could lead to ultracapacitors with more than five times the energy density of commercial devices," but as these things always go, no one's coming close to producing a hard release date. We'll just assume it's undergoing lab tests for now, and in 2022 we can all weep at what could've been. Prove us wrong, whiz kids.
Sebastian Merchel, the same bloke responsible for the SweetSpotter, is back, and he's out to invade your SO's stocking. The above pictured AR-Tee is exactly what it purports to be: a t-shirt with ingrained augmented reality superpowers. Simply pop one on (in your size, naturally), connect your webcam, and visit the link down there in the source. With a couple of mouse clicks, you'll be watching content on your chest, becoming the star of this year's holiday party and blowing grandma's mind. Simultaneously. Grab yours today for the tidy sum of €27.90, or around 37 of America's strained, deflated dollars. Demonstration vid is just past the break, just so you know.
OK, this might not be much to look at -- a page full of Dingbats, essentially -- but the premise behind the Noun Project is sound and, in this increasingly complex world, important: by creating a visual collection of downloadable public domain symbols representing things like escalators, fast food, and customs checkpoints, the website hopes to promote a visual language "that can be understood by all cultures and people." And since we're sticklers for good, clean design, projects like this are especially dear to us. Hit up the source link to see for yourself.
It's been a long, hard road for Intel in the mobile space, but it looks like things are about to get brighter: speaking at the Barclay's Capital Global Technology Conference today, CEO Paul Otellini said that some 35 Moorestown tablets running a mix of Windows, Android, and MeeGo would arrive in 2011. (No wonder the company just formed a tablet and netbook division.) What's more, he provided a handy chart showing the OS breakdown by vendor: Toshiba, Dell, Fujitsu are going Windows-only, while Asus and Lenovo are building both Windows and Android products, and Acer's going straight MeeGo. (Remember, Acer's using AMD in its Windows tablet.) That's pretty much right on schedule, and we'd expect to see several of these at CES, but not all the news is so rosy: Otellini also said that Medfield-based smartphones won't arrive until "mid-2011," which is a bit of a delay from the "first half of 2011" we'd been told in June. Sure, it doesn't sound like the end of the world, but ARM-based competitors like Qualcomm, TI, and NVIDIA continue to push ever farther ahead with multicore designs, and Intel can't very well catch up with delayed parts. Then again, if Intel can really deliver the performance and efficiency it's been promising it might not matter -- we'll see what CES has in store.
You might remember yesterday's brouhaha over LG's seemingly false claim that Android 2.3 Gingerbread requires a 1GHz processor or better, using it as a justification for keeping an official upgrade out of the hopes and dreams of Optimus One owners around the globe -- but the good news is that it appears to have been a misunderstanding. Here's the official statement from LG:
"LG released information prematurely regarding the minimum processor upgrade requirements for the LG Optimus. Google recently announced the Gingerbread platform and has not yet published the Gingerbread Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) or the public branch open source code. Once the CDD and the source code is public, LG will evaluate the upgradability of the Optimus Series. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding. We will alert you as soon as more information on this topic is available."
So they're taking responsibility for jumping the gun and have committed to "evaluating the upgradability" of the Optimus line once Google's published Gingerbread's official requirements and turned loose the source code. Of course, it's possible they'll ultimately find another reason for keeping the phones stuck on Froyo -- but for now, we've got a sliver of hope.
How many different ways can a wristwatch display the time? So many ways, as fully evidenced by the ever-inventive folks at Tokyoflash Japan. Their latest offering is the Kisai Satellite, a USB-rechargeable watch that relies on three flashing "halos" to display the time in a manner that's slightly less confusing than some of the company's other watches, but still confusing enough to confound anyone asking you for the time. What's more, unlike some of Tokyoflash's concept watches, this one is actually available (for just over $90), and in your choice of black or white with either blue or green LEDs. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and head on past the break for a video.
It's official, Wave fans: the Apache Software Foundation has accepted Wave for its incubator program. What's this mean? Well, the group will oversee future development of the Wave Federation protocols and the Wave In A Box product -- and those of you who absolutely cannot live without your Waves won't be left out in the cold. Rounding out support from Apache and Google are representatives from Solute, Novell, SESI, University Duisburg-Essen, and Wikileaks (OK, we made that last one up). Best of luck to ya!
We can't tell, is this (and by "this" we mean the entertainment machine that is Disney / Daft Punk / Tron / Jeff Bridges, melding with the monster that is Monster, and creating a pair of $350 ultra-glossy headphones) the ultimate payoff of our childhood hopes and dreams, or their ultimate ruination and desecration? Both?
High-Tech Daft Punk™-Inspired TRON: LEGACY™ Product Unveiled Just in Time to Rock the Holidays
Premium Headphones from Monster and One-of-a-Kind Figures from Medicom Toy with Unique Daft Punk Styling Will Dazzle TRON: LEGACY Fans
GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney Consumer Products (DCP) today announced its collaboration with electronics powerhouse, Monster Cable, and specialty toy maker, Medicom Toy, for new Daft Punk-inspired TRON: LEGACY electronics and toys. The Grammy Award-winning musical duo Daft Punk have composed the much-anticipated soundtrack – released Tuesday, December 7 from Walt Disney Records – for Walt Disney Picture's TRON: LEGACY, opening nationwide December 17, 2010 in Disney Digital 3D™.
The stylish and specially lighted Daft Punk Edition TRON headphones by Monster, a leader in manufacturing and design of high-performance headphones and A/V accessories, are designed as the ultimate headphones for gaming, music and home cinema and will be released beginning today at major electronics retailers with a special surround-sound mix of the TRON: LEGACY original motion picture soundtrack. Known for its signature KUBRICK and BE@RBRICK figures, specialty toy maker Medicom Toy will release in late December the Series 21 BE@RBRICK assortment, followed by the 400% BE@RBRICK two-pack and KUBRICK two-pack in mid-January, both designed to match the TRON: LEGACY suits which appear in the film during a musical cameo featuring Daft Punk.
"To complement the futuristic TRON: LEGACY soundtrack created by Daft Punk required cutting-edge products that utilize the most innovative technology and high-end design," said Chris Heatherly, vice president of toys and electronics, Disney Consumer Products. "We sought out true industry leaders to bring to life Daft Punk-inspired merchandise that will take the TRON: LEGACY experience to a whole new level for fans."
Daft Punk Edition TRON: LEGACY Headphones by Monster (SRP $349.95)
Monster design engineers worked closely with DCP to create the new Daft Punk Edition TRON: LEGACY over-ear headphones inspired by the robotic costumed duo. Available beginning today at Amazon.com and regional electronics retailers, the sleek and brightly lighted headphones include Monster's latest cutting edge sonic technology to provide the ultimate electronic music listening experience. Created by Monster's groundbreaking headphone engineering team, the new Daft Punk Edition TRON: LEGACY headphones immerse users in the world of TRON: LEGACY with a special surround-sound mix of the Daft Punk-engineered soundtrack that comes included with the headphones.
Head Monster Noel Lee noted, "Monster is proud to have played our part in creating headphones that live up to the breakthrough musical experience offered by Daft Punk in TRON: LEGACY. These special-edition headphones not only reflect the design sensibilities of Daft Punk, they enhance both gaming and home cinema, with a 'higher definition' experience, and all the power and potential of the ultimate electronic music listening experience and the first headphones ever designed to be optimized for both stereo and fully immersive headphone surround-sound experience."
To create the futuristic headphones, Monster leveraged both its existing leading-edge sonic technologies and incorporated a variety of new innovations and technologies including:
Monster's advanced studio driver design for ultra-precision surround-sound clarity Extra-large over-ear drivers to deliver deep bass and thunderous low-end effects LED Light Drive System used for the first time in Monster headphones to recreate TRON: LEGACY animated lighting effects Advanced noise isolation technology that blocks external sound so users can remain immersed in music, movies and games Removable boom microphone that can be placed on either side, giving gamers a useful edge while playing and conversing hands-free with opponents Monster ControlTalk™*, which enables easy and clear hands-free calling The Daft Punk Edition TRON: LEGACY headphones complement the extended electronics line by Monster which is designed to appeal to discerning gamers and audiophiles and features dark finishes, neon lighting and the cyber aesthetic of the film. The Monster TRON: LEGACY T1 over-ear headphones feature Advanced Noise Suppression Technology and ControlTalk™, for easy and clear hands-free calling (SRP $349.95). The TRON: LEGACY audio dock is inspired by the iconic data disk from TRON: LEGACY ($249.95) and delivers a world-class listening experience. TRON: LEGACY fans that have downloaded Disney Mobile's free TRON app (www.itunes.com/app/tron) will be able to use the TRON: LEGACY audio dock to unlock a special TRON-themed alarm clock feature.
We'd all like our tables to be a little smarter, and anyone who works for a company would surely like their meetings to have a bit more intelligence, too. Pioneer is hoping to kill two birds with one rather sizeable piece of furniture: the Discussion Table, due sometime next year. Interestingly it's simply a Core i7-based PC running Windows Embedded Standard 7, with minimal custom coding on top of that. Users can bring their mobile PCs nearby and share documents to the table or remote desktop right into their machines from it, showing their docs and displays in scalable and rotatable windows. The Windows underpinnings handles the multitouch details, also offering what must surely be the biggest virtual keyboard ever seen in the wild. The Table has a single-sheet scanner built in the side and even offers TransferJet, so that everyone can download pictures of Boss's drunken holiday party antics wirelessly.
Took 'em long enough, don'tcha think? After talking things up for years (and getting dangerously close to pulling the trigger in mid-2008) NASA has finally ejected a solar sail into space. But that's not the kicker -- it managed to eject NanoSail-D from a microsatellite, dubbed FASTSAT. We're told that this "is the first time NASA has mounted a P-POD on a microsatellite to eject a cubesat," and sure enough, things have gone swimmingly ever since the mission began on Friday. Aside from giving NASA the ability to test out the effectiveness of using a solar sail in orbit, this also proves that FASTSAT is a "cost-effective independent means of placing cubesat payloads into orbit safely" -- that's according to Mark Boudreaux, FASTSAT project manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Moreover, the NanoSail flight results could lead to new methods of de-orbiting space debris in the future, not to mention get more and more of 'em there to begin with at a lower overall cost and with far less hassle.
Intel's full unveil of the next-gen Sandy Bridge processor line isn't due until January, but the products are already starting to leak out. The M17x is our second 17-incher (HP's dv7 being the first), and this time we've got in-the-wild shots and benchmarks to chew on. In 3DMark06 a 2GHz Core i7-2630QM machine running Intel's integrated graphics scored 15,940, while a 2.2GHz i7-2720QM with AMD Radeon HD 6900M graphics nailed a 20,155 mark, and a 2.3GHz i7-2820QM chip paired with a GeForce GTX 460M GPU did 16,957. Of course, these numbers are supremely preliminary, but it sounds like Intel's integrated graphics are (finally) starting to pull their weight, just like Intel keeps promising. Otherwise, the M17x looks to be mostly unchanged, which is probably good news for gamers, bad news for anyone hoping Alienware would pursue some new sort of "understated" design language in 2011.
Apple will use Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs in its future laptops, no surprises there, but what's interesting about these forthcoming machines is that some of them might rely solely on Intel's chip for both general and graphical processing tasks. That's the word from the usual "sources familiar with Apple's plans," who expect "MacBook models with screen sizes of 13 inches and below" to eschew the inclusion of a discrete GPU and ride their luck on the improved graphical performance of Intel's upcoming do-it-all chip. There are currently no sub-13.3-inch MacBooks, so the suggestion of one is surely intriguing, but the major point here seems to be that NVIDIA's being left out of the Apple party, because MacBook Pros are also predicted to switch up to AMD-provided graphics hardware. All these changes should be taking place with Apple's next refresh, which is naturally expected at some point in the new year. Although, as CNET points out, this could all be just a massive negotiating ploy to get NVIDIA to play nicer with its pricing, we're inclined to believe Intel has finally gotten its integrated graphics up to a level where it pleases the discerning tastemakers at Apple.
We've always wondered why former Microsoft CTO Nathan Mhyrvold was stockpiling patents at his new company Intellectual Ventures, and it looks like we're starting to find out why: in addition to licensing the entire portfolio to HTC and Samsung, IV's just filed its first three patent lawsuits against nine tech companies. Details are sparse, but the first suit is against Symantec, McAfeee, Trend Micro, and Check Point Software, the second names Elpida Memory and Hynix, and the third is against Altera, Lattice Semiconductor, and Microsemi. We'd assume the patents in question are all super-technical in nature, but it's really not the specifics we're interested in -- it's more the fact that IV is starting to flex some muscle in the tech world, and that means a lot of money could change hands real fast. We'll see what happens.
Much like graphene, carbon nanotubes seem to be hitting on all cylinders in the lab. Of course, we can count on one 
Graphene. We hear of your achievements so often, but feel your benefits in our everyday lives so infrequently. We'd be remiss if we didn't point out how unhealthy of a relationship this is, but hopefully Bor Jang and co. have a mind to mend it all. Bor, along with a number of colleagues at Nanotek Instruments, have just uncovered a graphene advancement that could put conventional Li-ion cells in a world of hurt. Of course, we've been hearing about so-called "battery breakthroughs" for the better part of our lives, but few have involved progress with ultracapacitors. For those unaware, ultracapacitors are energy storage devices that can "absorb and release charge in minutes," and they're pegged as cheaper / safer alternatives to batteries for electric vehicles. The only problem? Mainstream versions today hold just five percent of the energy held by Li-ion batteries. Nanotek's crew has figured out that the use of graphene electrodes "could lead to ultracapacitors with more than five times the energy density of commercial devices," but as these things always go, no one's coming close to producing a hard release date. We'll just assume it's undergoing lab tests for now, and in 2022 we can all weep at what could've been. Prove us wrong, whiz kids.
It's official, Wave fans: the Apache Software Foundation has accepted Wave for its incubator program. What's this mean? Well, the group will oversee future development of the Wave Federation protocols and the Wave In A Box product -- and those of you who absolutely cannot live without your Waves won't be left out in the cold. Rounding out support from Apache and Google are representatives from Solute, Novell, SESI, University Duisburg-Essen, and Wikileaks (OK, we made that last one up). Best of luck to ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment