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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

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Alienware M18x shipping now, hernia threat level set to high for American delivery men

Posted: 03 May 2011 10:54 AM PDT

Alienware M18x
Here it is tinfoil hat gaming enthusiasts, the Alienware M18x laptop. Sure, you've been told it existed and even seen some photos of a purported prototype, but a savvy person such as yourself wants to see the proof with his or her own eyes. Now Dell is willing to deliver one of these 16-pound beasts to your doorstep for the starting price of $1,999. Let's be serious though, you're not interested in that pedestrian 2GHz Core i7 that ships with the base model. You want the intergalactic speed delivered by that Core i7 Extreme overclocked to 4GHz and dual 2GB Radeon 6970m graphics cards. Top it off with a pair of 256GB SSDs and 32GB of RAM and you're looking at a $6,000 laptop. Nobody said this thing was gonna be cheap -- besides, it's gonna cost some serious dough to cover up the disappearance of the M15x.

[Thanks, Nicklas]

Android apps on PlayBook eyes-on (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 09:47 AM PDT



We knew it was coming, but today at BlackBerry World 2011 we were treated to a demo of Android apps running natively on the PlayBook. The end result isn't too far removed from what we saw with Myriad's Alien Dalvik at Mobile World Congress. Android's menu and home buttons are emulated using the standard PlayBook gestures, and the back button is replaced with an on-screen softkey. Of course, you'll have to visit App World to download Android apps for the PlayBook when the Android Player (as it's called) finally becomes available. And speaking of Android apps, the wildly popular Angry Birds is coming to the PlayBook as a native game - no cross-platform trickery required.

LG Optimus Black vs. Galaxy S II and Xperia Arc... fight!

Posted: 03 May 2011 09:30 AM PDT

It's time for us to welcome yet another contender in the battle for world's slimmest Android phone: the LG Optimus Black. This 9.2mm-thick handset made its debut to oohs and aahs of admiration at CES earlier in the year, and is now on the very precipice of a global release. Admittedly, it's not quite slender enough to knock the 7.7mm-thick NEC MEDIAS N-04C off its perch as the absolute thinnest, but it is sufficiently slender to give Samsung's Galaxy S II and Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc a good fright. That pair of smartphones offer thinner proportions on the spec sheet, but when rested on a flat surface they sit ever so slightly higher than the Optimus Black. This is because, unlike its tricky contemporaries, the Optimus Black keeps to the same thickness along its full length (don't laugh), which, technically speaking, makes it the thinnest Android handset on the European market. Check it out in the gallery below or video after the break -- and hold tight, we'll have a full review for you in the coming days!
LG Optimus Black vs. Galaxy S II and Xperia Arc... fight!

Apple iMac hands-on, with dual 30-inch displays! (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 08:53 AM PDT

One Thunderbolt port on your new MacBook Pro? Pah. The new 27-inch iMac has twice that many -- two. When we got ours out of the box we just had to do the natural thing: fire up as many pixels as possible. Two 30-inch Dell displays and a couple of dual-link DVI display adapters later and we have what you see above: a wide swath of LCD covering covering 11,878,400 pixels. Sure, any average desktop can do this, but how many all-in-ones can push that many dots? The iMac's 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440, LED-backlit IPS panel is definitely a highlight, but flanked by another two monsters the combination is, honestly, a little overwhelming. We tried working this way but only made it about 30 minutes before retreating to smaller fields of view.

Other tid-bits we've learned about the updated iMac: those who'd rather swipe than drag can now choose to order theirs with a Magic Trackpad instead of a Magic Mouse, though we're sure Apple would surely be happy to sell you both. Additionally, the 21.5-inch model can now be configured with a 256GB SSD, just like its big bro. The bigger news, of course, is what's on the inside, with updated Radeon HD graphics featuring GDDR5 memory and Sandy Bridge processors all-round. We'll be back with a full review later to get a feel for just how powerful this thing is, but until then dig all those pixels in the video below.
27-inch iMac unboxing and triple-display config




[Big thanks to Brian and Pedro in IT for the help]

Microsoft's home of the future lulls teens to sleep with tweets (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 08:22 AM PDT

Microsoft Home
Microsoft Home is a sort of "world of tomorrow" for the computer nerd set where Surface takes the place of video phones and dinner pills. The only difference is that, unlike those World's Fair staples, Redmond's vision of the not-so-distant future isn't open to the public. This is a private testing ground where researchers can try out concepts, like a watch that records health data and syncs it with your home network or a media center that can analyze video and identify products and locations featured on screen. You might not be able to swing by the campus and visit, but you can catch a glimpse of suburban life in 2025 -- populated by touchscreen wireless charging trays and interactive walls -- in the video after the break. We'll take it all, except the wallpaper -- we don't need #winning tweets floating overhead while we try to get some shut-eye.

[Thanks, Vygantas]

Stolen Camera Finder promises to find your camera with EXIF data, probably won't

Posted: 03 May 2011 07:40 AM PDT

Stolen Camera Finder is a site that promises to find missing cameras, as long as they've been stolen by cooperative criminals. All you have to do is drag and drop a JPG photo taken with your lost camera, and Stolen Camera Finder will hunt for any matches on the web, using the image's EXIF data. To find matches, the site consults a database of photos posted on Flickr and elsewhere, though, without only one million images to its name, this database is still very much a work-in-progress (the tests we conducted came up dry). It's a nifty idea, but one that would probably pay dividends only under certain circumstances. For instance, the thief would have to take pictures with the camera (rather than selling it) and post the images online without wiping the EXIF data. In other words, he'd have to be someone willing to steal a camera purely for the sake of sharing undoctored self-shots on Flickr. We're not sure those people exist.

BlackBerry to integrate Bing services at the OS level

Posted: 03 May 2011 06:51 AM PDT

Steve Ballmer made an appearance today at BlackBerry World 2011 and after briefly pimping Windows Phone live on stage, announced a partnership between Microsoft and RIM to integrate Bing into BlackBerry products. In addition to making Bing the default search and map provider for all BlackBerry devices going forward, the services will be added at the OS level instead of being bundled as a series of apps. This will provide features ranging from voice and location-aware search to panorama stitching. It also suggests that we'll likely see another iteration of the BlackBerry OS beyond version 7 -- based on QNX, perhaps? -- sometime before the holidays.

Australia trialing new emergency finder system with centimeter accuracy

Posted: 03 May 2011 06:27 AM PDT

This year has seen the evil doings of many powerful natural disasters around the world, and while the capable organisations are doing their best to provide relief, many lives could've been saved if the stranded victims were able to provide their precise positions for quicker rescue. Having seen the number of recent floods and cyclones in Queensland, Australia, Ergon Energy started trialing a new emergency tracking system earlier this year, which utilises pole-mounted mobile GPS stations to pinpoint cellphones equipped with special but cheap location-based chips -- Samsung and Nokia are said to be participants in this project. Over the next 12 to 18 months, said energy firm will be deploying 1,000 of these stations to cover 95 percent of the state, in order to let emergency services track down calling victims within centimeters -- that's a huge leap from conventional GPS devices' 10 to 20 meters, though an updated land database with matching accuracy is still required before the system reaches its full potential. Regardless, here's hoping that this brilliant project will be brought over to many more disaster-prone areas sooner rather than later.

[Thanks, Justin]

Wheego needs more cash to produce LiFe EVs, 'living hand-to-mouth' for now

Posted: 03 May 2011 06:19 AM PDT

Oh, how the winds of fortune can swirl. Just a few weeks after finally selling its first LiFe electric car to a happy couple in Atlanta, Wheego appears to have suddenly fallen on hard financial times. Very hard times. Speaking to Automotive News, CEO Mike McQuary claimed that his startup's coffers are bare enough to jeopardize future production of Wheego's flagship, battery-powered two-seater:
"My constraint is primarily capital. We'll be living hand-to-mouth as we try to get the first cars built. The next 200 will creep out as we raise money."
McQuary didn't say how far behind schedule Wheego is at the moment, but part of the problem seems to be finding enough money to buy parts for its $32,995, 100-mile range EVs. The company's plant in California was supposed to produce 200 vehicles a month starting in January, in the hopes of eventually churning out 60,000 a year. Those plans, however, were soon derailed, due to unexpectedly delayed approval from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration -- a setback that also hurt the company's capital raising campaigns. The company is hoping to raise some $15 million with the help of a VC firm in Connecticut, but until it does, Wheego may not be going anywhere.

E Ink dashes hopes of a next-gen display in 2011, but pencils in full-motion video for 2012

Posted: 03 May 2011 06:03 AM PDT

E Ink Holdings is brazenly making us wait until 2012 before producing a successor to its popular Pearl electronic paper display. One of the company's VPs dropped into CNET's offices to spill the bad news: developing and testing a next-generation display "takes some time", apparently, and it is sticking to a two year product cycle. Perhaps E Ink has shifted its focus to the LCD screen in Amazon's rumoured tablet. Or maybe it's still working on the Triton color e-ink display that left us so underwhelmed at CES. Either way, the monochrome Pearl has been knocking around in the Kindle and other e-readers for a while now and although it has better contrast than earlier iterations, it is still ripe for a revamp -- especially a faster refresh rate. But the E Ink VP did hint at some brighter news: the next-gen display, when it does finally arrive, could sport full-motion video. So far e-ink video has failed to go beyond a slightly jittery 10-15fps, so full-motion 24fps or 30fps could definitely be worth the wait.

Apple iMac refresh official: Thunderbolt and next gen quad-core processors

Posted: 03 May 2011 05:30 AM PDT

The last time Apple updated its iMac line we were treated to Intel Core 2010 processors. So it's no surprise -- really, no surprise at all -- to see Apple refreshing the lineup today. Prices start at $1,199 (as usual) for the 21.5-inch (1,920 x 1,080 pixel IPS panel) model with new 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor and 512MB of AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics. Prices soon jump to $1,999 for a 27-inch (2,560 x 1,440 IPS) model with 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 CPU and 1GB of AMD Radeon HD 6970M graphics, or optional 3.4GHz quad-core Core i7 proc and 2GB of HD 6970M graphics if you so desire. We're talking Intel Sandy Bridge, of course, but Apple never goes into specifics. New owners will also be treated to a Thunderbolt jack (one on the 21.5-inch model and two on the 27-incher) and FaceTime HD camera with 24 hours shipping. Yeah, it looks the same, but it's the insides that count.
Apple iMac with Thunderbolt
Show full PR text
Apple Announces New iMac With Next Generation Quad-Core Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology

CUPERTINO, California-May 3, 2011-Apple® today updated its signature all-in-one iMac® with next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, groundbreaking high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Starting at $1,199, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster and new graphics deliver up to three times the performance of the previous generation.*

"Our customers love the iMac's aluminum enclosure, gorgeous display and all-in-one design," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we've made the world's best desktop even better."

The new iMac features quad-core Intel Core i5 processors with an option for customers to choose Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz. These next generation processors feature an integrated memory controller for an amazingly responsive experience and a powerful new media engine for high-performance video encoding and decoding. With new AMD Radeon HD graphics processors, the new iMac has the most powerful graphics ever in an all-in-one desktop.

iMac is the first desktop computer on the market to include groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. The 21.5-inch iMac has a single Thunderbolt port while the 27-inch model features two ports for even greater expansion. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on an all-in-one computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire® and USB consumer devices, and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.

iMac includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera and Apple's innovative FaceTime software for crisp, widescreen video calling the whole family can enjoy. The new camera supports high definition video calls between all FaceTime HD-enabled Macs and standard resolution calls with iPad® 2, iPhone® 4, the current generation iPod touch® and other Intel-based Macs. The iMac continues to feature its signature aluminum and glass design, gorgeous IPS LED-backlit high resolution display, SD card slot and comes with Apple's innovative Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, Apple's desktop line is a leader in green design. The iMac meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold rating.** iMac features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iMac uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants, uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple's innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes the Mac App Storeâ„  for finding great new apps for your Mac. iLife '11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.

Pricing & Availability
The new iMac is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 21.5-inch iMac is available in two configurations: one with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US); and one with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US). The new 27-inch iMac is available in two models: one with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US); and one with a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US).

Configure-to-order options include faster Intel Core i7 processors up to 3.4 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 2TB, a 256GB solid state drive, additional DDR3 memory and AppleCare® Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/imac.

*Testing conducted by Apple in April 2011 using preproduction iMac configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/imac/features.html.

**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of April 2011. EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Strandbeests birthed from 3D printer pop out ready to walk (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 05:02 AM PDT

While designer Theo Jansen's dreams of a race of independently multiplying Strandbeests is more than just a little bit out there, it seems he has found a way to streamline production of the rather fascinating self-propelled creatures. In language that is unique to Jansen's relationship with the things, he explains the impact of 3D printing on the Strandbeest production process as such: "Strandbeests have found a way to multiply by injecting their digital DNA directly into the Shapeways system." The 3D printed versions of his strolling mechanisms, known as Animaris Geneticus Parvus, are now available in the Shapeways store, and require zero post-printing assembly. Check out the video after the break for more of Jansen's eyebrow-lifting take on reality.

Electronic House crowns iOS-equipped dwelling 2011 Home of the Year

Posted: 03 May 2011 04:28 AM PDT


Electronic House just announced its pick for 2011 Home of the Year, and from the look of things, this iOS-enabled abode has the stuff to put your robotic butler out of work. The mammoth craftsman's interiors, designed by OCD poster boy Jeff Lewis, were automated by HD Media Systems using the Savant app. Everything from lighting to shower temperature are controlled using wall-mounted iPads or a series of unencumbered iOS devices. A pre-programmed "party button" immediately adjusts lighting and temperature, and bumps music to the 15 different Sonance in-ceiling speaker zones while displaying a slideshow on monitors dispersed throughout the house. Among the extravagant extras at work here are a switch in the master closet for flipping on the iron in the laundry room, a chandelier that flickers when it's time to switch out the toilet paper, and a virtual butler that warns of impending visitors. Looks to us like Rosie the Robot's days are numbered. Check out the source link for more automated overkill from this year's runners up.

Laser steering system uses liquid crystal to destroy the enemy on the cheap (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 03:49 AM PDT

It might look like a poor man's game of Pong now, but a new laser steering system coming out of North Carolina State University could make blowing things up Star Wars-style cheaper and more efficient. The setup enlists a series of "polarization gratings" through which a laser beam passes. Each of these gratings, made of liquid crystal applied to a plate of glass, are configured to redirect the light in a particular direction, thus simply steering the laser beam without significantly decreasing its power -- with each grating comes a new "steerable" angle. The system's creators point out its not only hyper accurate, but also less expensive than existing arrangements due to the use of liquid crystal. Apparently the US Air Force is already using the stuff, but don't expect them to go all Death Star anytime soon.

Vodafone lets Londoners pay for taxis via text message, charge their phones in transit

Posted: 03 May 2011 03:14 AM PDT

Mobile payment systems may be gaining only gradual steam in the US, but over on the other side of the pond, Vodafone UK has launched a broad new campaign to integrate smartphone technology where Londoners may need it most -- in the back of taxis. As of today, many cab passengers will be able to charge their smartphones in transit, thanks to a wide range of chargers that the mobile carrier has installed in more than 500 of London's iconic black vehicles. Vodafone is also rolling out a new payment scheme today, whereby cash-strapped travelers can text their cab's license number to a specific code, allowing any owed fares to be charged directly to their phone bills. The system certainly doesn't sound as elegant as some of the NFC-based operations we've heard about, but it still beats having to navigate your cab driver to the nearest ATM, with the meter tick-tocking away.

Apple store goes down, iMac refresh on high alert

Posted: 03 May 2011 02:42 AM PDT

Details are spotty but Apple special forces have apparently swept into its data center, temporarily disrupting the company's ability to sell anything online. We're expecting official word of the operation from company CEO Steve Jobs, at about 08.30 Eastern Time. With any luck, a new iMac will emerge unscathed by the Nehalem menace, sporting a brand new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture -- or as we like to call it: freedom.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Tiny CrazyFlie quadrocopter piloted by Playstation controller, does not run Doom (video)

Posted: 03 May 2011 02:19 AM PDT

While autonomous quadrocopters are quietly evolving into Hunter-Killers, there's still one who just wants to be your friend and playmate. Meet CrazyFlie, a tiny (so tiny!) chopper you can hold in the palm of your fleshy, human hand. Built by the trio of hackers at Daedalus Projects, on a printed circuit board that weighs just 20 grams and spans eight centimeters, it's piloted using a Bluetooth Playstation controller; the onboard Cortex-M3 CPU keeps it flying stable by monitoring gyroscopes and accelerometers and adjusting rotor speed accordingly. Enjoy its adorable, gnat-like whirring in the video after the break, and the source link includes a detailed build diary for the truly ambitious.



We just spent some time with Ryan Bidan, senior product manager for the PlayBook, who gave us a hands-on demo of BlackBerry Messenger on RIM's little tablet. It's not a native app -- it requires the PlayBook to be paired with a BlackBerry smartphone via BlackBerry Bridge. The functionality is being pushed out "tonight" with a Bridge update on the handset side, and an OS update on the tablet side. So if you and your PlayBook have been longing to get your BBM on, today's your lucky day -- assuming of course that you have a BlackBerry phone on another network than AT&T. Expect a standalone app sometime in the future, but in the meantime hit our video above for the full demo.

TCO study compares active and passive 3DTV glasses, doesn't really favor one over the other

Posted: 02 May 2011 03:03 PM PDT

The debate over active and passive 3DTV glasses has, for the most part, been riddled with biased claims (and more than a little mudslinging) from TV manufacturers on both sides of the aisle. Now, however, an independent study from TCO Development has finally shed some light on how the two glasses can actually affect a user's viewing experience -- and yes, there are some differences. When researchers tilted the passive, film pattern retarder (FPR) above or below a vertical viewing angle of 15-degrees, 3D images tended to bleed into one another at a higher rate. Active glasses, meanwhile, transmitted white images at a luminance that was three times lower than what FPR-equipped shades delivered. But because passive 3D glasses display images at different polarizations for each eye, they don't offer as much vertical resolution as their active counterparts. Unfortunately, TCO didn't look into how each pair of glasses affects a viewer's health and comfort -- which, for most of us, would probably be the deciding factor. But as soon as it does, expect either Panasonic or LG to jump all over the results. Dive into the full PR after the break.
Show full PR text
New study reveals differences in visual experience between active and passive glasses for 3DTV's

TCO Development, the company behind the usability and eco label for ICT products, has released the results of a study to compare the visual experience of active shutter eye-glasses or passive FPR (film pattern retarder) eye-glasses technology for viewing 3DTV. The study confirms that the two techniques differ in visual performance characteristics that affect the overall 3D experience.

3D functionality is becoming more common in computer displays, projectors, notebooks and TVs. The growing trend towards 3D display devices for consumers will likely extend to the workplace as well. Within the display industry the merits of active vs passive glasses has been hotly debated for some time. As an independent certification body for displays, TCO Development is in a unique position to evaluate each of these technologies from the viewpoint of the user experience.

The major findings from the study include:

1. Angular dependent cross-talk

The cross-talk (also known as "image ghosting" or "image doubling") was measured since it refers to the incomplete isolation of the left and right image channels so that one leaks or bleeds into the other when the screen is viewed from different angles. Measurements were taken up to ±30° in both horizontal and vertical directions.
Cross-talk values for the horizontal direction are low for both types of glasses. However in the vertical direction the passive glasses had higher cross talk values when tilted above ±15°. For a 3DTV that is placed at the correct height or tilted towards the viewer it is unlikely that the viewing angle will be larger than ±15° in the vertical direction. A conclusion however, is that a tilting function and correct placement are more important for a passive eye-glass 3DTV. Keep this in mind as some wall mounts may have limited tilting functionality.

2. Luminance

The centre luminance of white is about 3 times lower on an active eye-glass 3DTV compared to the passive eye-glass 3DTV due to the different transmittance of the eye-glasses. When wearing the eye-glasses the viewer will adapt to the average luminance, which means that the big difference in luminance will not be perceived by the viewer in the same degree. However, higher luminance is considered advantageous for the image quality, but other parameters are also important, e.g. black level, resolution and crosstalk, for the experienced quality of the viewer. This is true for both types of glasses but the active ones are darker than the passive ones.

3. Measured resolution through each eye-glass in 3D mode

The passive eye-glass 3DTV must sacrifice vertical resolution in order to show the images for each eye with different polarization. A passive eye-glass 3DTV with (1920 x 1080) will thus only have a measured resolution in 3D-mode of (1920 x 540) for each eye where an active eye-glass type 3DTV will have (1920 x 1080) for each eye.

Studies suggest that images with the same resolution are perceived in more detail in 3D than in 2D. This means that the perceived detail of watching both (passive 1920 x 540) and (active 1920 x 1080) in 3D will be slightly higher than watching of each eye (passive 1920 x 540) and (active 1920 x 1080).

Niclas Rydell, Product and Certification Director at TCO Development, commented on the study findings: "As a certification body with a long history in the field of visual ergonomics for displays, it is important for TCO Development to evaluate the visual ergonomics of these new technologies and to assess any possible impacts on the user experience. TCO Development will further investigate the need of a TCO Certification for 3D".

Health aspects of 3D

Viewing artificial 3D is known to cause discomfort for some viewers. This makes it a very interesting area to investigate for TCO Development. However in this first study about 3D no conclusions to the human health have been investigated.

AMD debuts first embedded GPU with support for OpenCL and six displays

Posted: 02 May 2011 02:12 PM PDT

Disappointed by the lack of support for multiple displays and OpenCL in embedded GPUs these days? Then AMD may have just made your day. It's just debuted its new "desktop level" Radeon E6760 discrete GPU, which packs both OpenCL support and Eyefinity-enhanced support for no less than six independent displays. AMD also notes that the GPU can be paired with its upcoming Llano APU for some additional graphics and parallel computing power and, while it might not wind up in many consumer devices, the company says it's ideal for everything from casino games to medical imaging. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Show full PR text
AMD Delivers First Embedded GPU Offering Support for OpenCL and Six Independent Displays

AMD Radeon™ E6760 GPU brings the latest desktop graphics performance and features to the medical, casino gaming, defense and aerospace markets

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -5/2/2011

Today at Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley 2011, AMD (NYSE: AMD) introduced the AMD Radeon™ E6760 embedded discrete graphics processor. Available now, the AMD Radeon E6760 GPU is the first of its kind to offer embedded system designers the combination of OpenCL™ support1 along with support for six independent displays.

"The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU provides customers with superior business economics through long lifecycle management and product stability," said Richard Jaenicke, director of Embedded Client Business for AMD. "Embedded system designers faced with power and density constraints now have a solution that delivers the advanced 3D graphics and multimedia features they require in this performance-driven market."

"The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU secures AMD's position as a provider of the highest performance graphics processors available today for embedded devices2," said Dan Joncas, vice president of Sales, ALT Software. "With remarkable graphics performance and video support, power management functions for resource constrained devices, and OpenCL support to unlock the GPU's parallel processing capabilities, the AMD Radeon E6760 GPU allows OEMs to differentiate their products from competitors by bringing new levels of performance and functionality to their embedded devices."

"AMD Fusion APUs and the AMD Radeon E6760 GPU provide significant advantages for our new line of intelligent industrial cameras," said Kristian Glode Madsen, managing director, Qtechnology A/S. "We are now able to provide a high-speed, real-time imaging system in the same form factor as a standard industrial camera with the flexibility and rich environment of Linux and OpenCL, normally only available on a PC."

"Tech Source has been successful in the embedded market with our Condor XMC product line that uses AMD's high performance graphics chips," said Selwyn L. Henriques, president, Tech Source Inc. "AMD technology has allowed us to really keep ahead of the curve in terms of both functionality and performance. Our tests have proven that the new AMD Radeon E6760 chip will significantly enhance our OpenCL/GPGPU solutions."

The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU enables an immersive experience with desktop-level 3D graphics and multimedia features:

* An advanced 3D graphics engine and programmable shader architecture supports Microsoft DirectX® 11 technology for superior graphics rendering.
* With an integrated frame buffer, high reliability and small footprint thermal solution, the AMD Radeon E6760 GPU enables designers of casino gaming, arcade and medical imaging systems to quickly deliver products with a compelling competitive edge.
* Support for OpenCL provides an industry standard interface to access the exceptional compute performance per Watt for general purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) applications such as ultrasound, radar and video surveillance.
* Featuring multi-display support with AMD Eyefinity technology, the AMD Radeon E6760 GPU supports up to six independent output displays3, HDMI 1.4 stereoscopic video and DisplayPort 1.2 for higher link speeds and simplified display connectivity.
* The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU comes with five years of planned supply availability. Technical support is provided by a dedicated team of application engineering experts.

The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU can be paired with AMD's upcoming high-performance A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APU) codenamed "Llano" to offer additional graphics capability and additional parallel computing power.

AMD's full portfolio of Embedded Products, including the AMD Embedded G-Series platform, will be on display in booth 1432 at the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley in San Jose, California.

Peugeot EX1 sets new lap record for electric cars at Germany's Nürburgring circuit

Posted: 02 May 2011 01:31 PM PDT

Some concept cars may just be for show, but not Peugeot's all-electric EX1. It made its debut at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and has continued to be fine-tuned by the automaker ever since -- work that has now paid off in the form of a new lap record for electric vehicles at Germany's Nürburgring circuit. Despite "unfavorable" weather conditions, the car managed to post a lap time of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds (with an average speed of 85.9 miles per hour), which handily beat the previous record of 9:51 set by a modified Mini E last year. Unfortunately, that record doesn't mean Peugeot is any closer to actually selling one of these -- the car was primarily created to celebrate the automaker's 200th anniversary.

Lenovo's LePad gets LeTeardown

Posted: 02 May 2011 01:03 PM PDT

Lenovo's long awaited LePad finally made its Chinese debut back in March, and while we may not ever see the tablet stateside -- not as LePad, anyway -- we can at least get a peak under the hood. Thanks to a teardown by IMP3, we're seeing the inside of the machine for the first time, and while there's not much in the way of surprises here, it's always nice to see what makes these things tick. As we already knew, LePad's packing the 1.3GHz Snapdragon chipset with Adreno 205 integrated graphics as well as an internal 27Wh battery. It's also appears to be rocking Toshiba flash memory and a Wolfson audio processor. So we might not have much in the way of revelations here, but at least now you know what the LePad, or Skylight, or whatever, looks like underneath its skin.

Carriers crack down on Android tethering apps, rain on our mobile hotspot parade

Posted: 02 May 2011 12:32 PM PDT

Android Tethering Apps
Well everybody, it looks like the free ride is over: carriers in the US have started to seriously crack down on Android tethering apps. Head on over to the Android Market site and try to install an app that turns your smartphone into a WiFi hotspot -- there's a pretty good chance you'll be told, "this item is not available on your carrier." We checked out a number of different tethering options and they were all blocked by T-Mobile and AT&T, which isn't entirely new. Verizon has also joined the party and, while it missed at least one that we spotted, we're sure they'll all be gone in short order. Only Sprint has decided against banning such apps... for now. It looks like you might have to finally cough up for that tethering plan you've been desperately trying to avoid.

iOS 4.3.3 rumored to be coming within next two weeks with fix for location tracking issue

Posted: 02 May 2011 12:04 PM PDT

Apple promised last week that it would address the iPhone tracking issue in a software update in the "next few weeks," and BGR is now reporting that the update is coming within the next two weeks, or "possibly sooner." What's more, the site says that it's actually been sent an early version of the iOS update, and that it does indeed no longer back up the location database to iTunes -- the size of the database is also said to be reduced, and it's apparently deleted altogether when Location Services are turned off. Somewhat notably, BGR says that the update includes some further battery life improvements as well, although it also notes that it hasn't actually tried it out just yet -- it is promising additional details, though.

EnOcean's home automation sensors communicate over TCP/IP, play nice with smartphone apps

Posted: 02 May 2011 11:39 AM PDT

EnOcean has long been on our radar thanks to its inexpensive light switches and thermostats, which harvest energy from solar cells and thermal differentials and boast peel-and-stick backs for easy installation. Now, they're getting hooked up for TCP/IP communication, which means in addition to talking to each other, homeowners will be able to control them using any garden-variety web-connected device. The setup will require a small gateway, at which point you can monitor rooms using desktop widgets and mobile apps such as Can2Go that are compatible with EnOcean's radio protocol (ERP). So far, the company's mostly made headway in retail stores and office buildings, but if it has its way, it could be coming to hospitals, college dorms, and (duh) your home.
Show full PR text
EnOcean Alliance Advances Support for IP-Based Wireless Energy Harvesting Sensor and Control Technologies
SAN RAMON, CA – May 2, 2011

The EnOcean Alliance, a consortium of companies working to standardize and internationalize energy harvesting wireless technology for green intelligent buildings, announced today that its wireless, battery-less energy harvesting sensors and associated control systems are now fully interoperable with TCP/IP. With escalating customer demand to manage and monitor building automation controls over IP networks, the EnOcean Alliance has responded, enabling building owners to fully leverage the flexibility of IP technologies that offer interoperability and convergence advantages to more effectively manage their facilities' energy consumption.

By establishing TCP/IP interoperability with its wireless, battery-less enabled end-devices and their associated IP-based control systems, the EnOcean Alliance offers a complete building management solution for maximum energy and operational efficiency. Building owners and facility managers can now monitor, manage, and control these systems centrally and from any web-enabled device, from anywhere in the world.

"This trend to centralize and converge building energy management is key, given the fact that only five percent of small and medium sized buildings (100,000 square feet or less) are equipped with a building management system," said Kirsten West, principal analyst at West Technology Research. "Small and medium-sized facilities account for 98 percent of all buildings and 65 percent of floor space, making this segment the largest underserved market in the industry by far. That's why the ability to populate a facility with sensors that can communicate over TCP/IP to a centralized building automation system is key to this Greenfield market segment."

Small-to-medium sized buildings are seldom equipped with building automation systems because of the relatively high upfront costs and longer payback periods. Up front, fixed costs, such as software and dedicated servers, are proportionally more burdensome for smaller installations. In contrast, IP and web-based solutions offer an alternative to these hurdles either through more cost-effective building management systems or more mobile and accessible interfaces.

Variable costs incurred by labor have also limited the penetration rate of building automation systems (BAS), making IP-based sensor and control technologies more attractive. EnOcean Alliance-based wireless technologies can greatly reduce labor costs related to wiring, including opening and closing walls to connect and network devices together.

EnOcean Alliance member companies such as BSC Software and SCL Elements are leading providers of EnOcean over IP, offering turnkey solutions that are poised to revolutionize the industry. SCL Elements' CAN2GO brand, offers a complete line of wired and wireless building automation controllers that are also BACnet/IP (and BACnet/Ethernet) compliant web servers. Each unit (controller) is an autonomous server, hosting a complete building management system (BMS). When connected to the same network, they "merge" to provide customers with a single, centralized management interface either locally or remotely.

Illustrating the cost advantages of IP-based building automation, the CAN2GO BMS is included with controllers so customers do not have to pay for software, licensing, external servers, or backup services.

"These savings are precisely what is opening the small and medium building market to building automation," said EnOcean Alliance Chairman & CEO Graham Martin. "By reducing the fixed costs of software with embedded web servers, and overall cost of ownership with wireless technologies, solutions like CAN2GO can provide a shorter payback for smaller projects. And for larger projects, CAN2GO wired and wireless controllers can be used with third-party BACnet IP building automation systems.

BSC, now an EnOcean Alliance Promoter member, has also developed its own bi-directional EnOcean-to-LAN gateway, capable of buffering 3,000 EnOcean sensor signals. BSC software can support EnOcean devices with switching and visualization services and provides for door, window and HVAC control. It also supports security camera capabilities as well as real-time monitoring of a facility's actual power consumption. In addition, the versatility of the BSC system makes it suitable for smart metering and smart grid purposes in both private households and public, commercial or industrial buildings.

DimOnOff, also an early North American adopter of the EnOcean principle, offers smart phone, tablet and desktop based widgets (switches, thermostats and displays) enabling bidirectional control of EnOcean products over TCP/IP (wired, WiFi or cellular) as well as integration with third-party BACnet/IP systems.

Advancing EnOcean-over-IP has many benefits, including applications such as industrial control, process automation, and commercial building control, all of which are moving away from closed proprietary protocols to embrace open international standards such as the Internet Protocol (IP). With the U.S. Smart Grid adopting IP to interconnect smart energy components such as smart meters and thermostats, which could amount to 300–500 million devices, the potential market expansion opportunities for companies like BSC and SCL Elements are considerable.
at 11:47 AM

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