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Saturday, January 28, 2012

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Company turns to bribery for 5 star Amazon reviews

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:03 AM PST

In a world where word of mouth and the judgment of the hive mind is worth more than any ad or the ruminations of many professional reviewers, companies will do just about anything to ensure a strong rating on outlets like Amazon. It's clear that dummy accounts simply aren't the way to go, but what about bribing your existing customers? Apparently VIP Deals thought that route was perfectly acceptable and offered rebates to people who rated their products on Amazon. Now, the offer letter (which you can see at the more coverage link) doesn't explicitly ask for a five star review, but it is strongly suggested that the company expects one in exchange for receiving the product for free -- in this case, a leather Kindle Fire case. VIP's reviews and its products have all since been booted from Amazon, but it certainly raises plenty of questions about the ease with which some companies are able to game the system and how a reputable outlet can protect its customers from ratings scams. Hit up the source for the full story.

MOTU sneaks in MicroBook II post-NAMM, ships this Spring for $269

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 08:32 AM PST

HP Envy 15 review (early 2012)

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST

If there's one thing we took away from our jaunt at CES, it's this: consumers' appetites for mainstream laptops haven't waned all that much. Even in the Ultrabook category, Intel expects half of the models to go on sale this year will have 14- and 15-inch screens -- as strong an indicator as any that lots of folks aren't yet ready to give up their slightly larger screens, their discrete graphics, their (gasp!) optical drives. While HP recently announced its first Ultrabook for the consumer market, the Envy 14 Spectre, it's fully fleshed out its premium Envy series to include two additional models for people who crave more oomph.

The Envy 15 is the medium-sized member of the crew, with a 15.6-inch screen and the same overhauled design you'll find across the Envy lineup. Delightfully, too, it marks the return of HP's eye-popping Radiance display, and also comes with a generous two-year warranty and full copies of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. And with a starting price of $1,100, it sharply undercuts the 15-inch MacBook Pro, while taking direct aim at other high-end 15-inchers, like the Dell XPS 15z and Samsung Series 7 Chronos. So how does it stack up? Meet us after the break to find out.
HP Envy 15 review (early 2012)

Look and feel


As a rule of thumb, saying a laptop looks like a MacBook Pro is akin to a reviewer falling back on adjectives like "cool," "fun" and "crappy": it's imprecise, and not particulalry helpful to our readers. Besides, "It looks like a Mac!" is often shorthand for "it has a chiclet keyboard!" or "it's painted silver!" Usually, we're talking about overarching similarities, at most. Does the XPS 15z bear a resemblance to a now-discontinued Mac? Kind of. Would you ever mistake that keyboard lettering and embellished hinge for Jony Ive creations? No way. And until the suits over in Cupertino start suing rival PC makers for their flattery, we're going to assume Apple understands this too.

Still, it's painfully obvious where HP drew its inspiration for its newest Envy laptops. It's not because of any single design choice, like the aluminum unibody chassis, island-style keys, glowing logo or giant clickpad; it's all of the above! HP's latest 15-incher is the most flagrant Mac imitation we've seen in some time, and the resemblance is close enough that you could, at first glance, mistake the interior for an MBP. Of course, HP threw in some flourishes that keep it from being a total facsimile: the lid and underside are black, not silver, the keyboard area has a thin red ring around it and there are Beats-branded volume controls on the laptop's right side. HP also rounded the edges so that they feel more like a butter knife than a steak utensil. Even so, tacking on an analog volume dial feels like the PC-making equivalent of Honda adding wings to the Civic and calling it the Civic Type R. What we're saying is, the Envy 15 is hardly identical, but HP doesn't deserve points for originality either.


In any case, the Envy 15 is attractive, uncluttered and well-made. The hinge feels sturdy, and the metal used in the palm rest seems less vulnerable to scratches than the aluminum casing on the MacBook Pro. Thanks to HP's CoolSense technology, the laptop also does a marvelous job of shifting heat off the bottom side of the laptop, so that you can rest it on your legs for hours without fear of first-degree burns. Still, you might hear some creaking when pressing your fingers against the right side of the palm rest. This is hardly a deal-breaker, though, especially since the laptop's too unwieldy to lift with one hand anyway.

As you'd expect, it's easy enough to shuttle the Envy 15 around the house, or to and from the office. At 5.79 pounds / 1.1 inches thick, it's bulkier and heavier than the 5.54-pound Dell XPS 15z as well as the 5.6-pound MacBook Pro, though it's more in line with the Sony VAIO SE series, which clocks in at 5.77 pounds. It's also about as wide as its competitors, save the MBP, which means you shouldn't have a problem toting it in a backpack or some over-the-shoulder bag. Basically, unless you have the dough to drop on the 15-inch Samsung Series 9 and can do without that optical drive, this is more or less what you can expect from a laptop this size.
HP Envy 15 vs. the MacBook Pro

Continuing our tour around the Envy 15's imposing frame, the bottom side has a reasonably clean look, but still gives you access to the battery and hard drive. A long vent takes up the back side, with the left and right edges consumed by a wide selection of ports, including three USB ports (one 2.0 and two of the 3.0 persuasion), HDMI, DisplayPort, an Ethernet jack, a memory card reader, Kensington lock slot, a microphone port and dual headphone jacks. A slot-loading DVD drive lives on the left side (sorry, no Blu-ray option on this model.) In terms of the layout, HP did Apple one better, stacking the ports on two sides instead of one, with the two USB 3.0 sockets on the left edge, and the lone 2.0 port on the right. Good news for anyone who hates the sight of all their peripherals growing out of a tightly packed cluster of USB ports.

Keyboard and trackpad


When we first got hands-on with the Envy 15 back in the fall, we came away impressed by its deep, pillowy keys. Having used them for almost a week, though, it's clear the keyboard suffers from the same fundamental problem as a lot of its shallower brethren. Which is to say, despite having lots of travel, it feels sticky, and we got used to typing with concerted effort in order to ensure every letter registered. If, like the Engadget crew, you get paid to write thousands of words at a time, this could be an occupational hazard, but perhaps it won't be as annoying for pecking out short web searches. In the grand scheme of keyboads, it's eminently usable, but we recall a more natural typing experience on rival machines like the Dell XPS 14z / 15z.

The keys sure are pretty, at least. Like other laptops in the Envy lineup, the 15 has a backlight underneath each individual key, allowing for a brighter glow than what you'll find on most other laptops. If you'd rather save your battery power, you can press F5 to deactivate this feature, in which case only that function button will glow white -- a helpful reminder of how to turn it back on again.


While we muddled through with the keyboard, though, we never did make peace with the trackpad. For starters, the surface offers a bit too much friction, and even dragging the cursor across the screen can feel like a two-step process. Two-fingered scrolling requires a good deal of pressure, and even then, we often found ourselves pawing at the trackpad in vain. Pinch to zoom doesn't demand as much pressure, but the pad is so sensitive to this gesture that it's easy to overshoot and accidentally scale text so that it's too large or too small. Worse, the touchpad often mistook right clicks for left ones, and dumped the cursor on random spots in the page. Sometimes this happened even while we were typing, and our palms happened to graze the pad. Even if HP and Synaptics could cook up a driver update to make for a smoother experience, there would still be one lingering pain point: as with the Folio 13, the clickpad mechanism here is stiff, and difficult to press. You can avoid the button somewhat by tapping to left click, but who wants to have to re-learn how to interact with a PC?

Display


Though the base Envy 15 comes with a humdrum 1366 x 768 panel, you can upgrade to a 1080p Radiance Display for an extra $150. And really, you should. Not only is the screen worth it, but we'd go so far as to say this is one of the more likely reasons you'd choose this over any of the other umpteen 15-inch laptops on the market. It's not just the 1920 x 1080 pixel count (though that's certainly welcome); it's the deep blacks, the rich colors and that bright backlighting. Not to mention, those versatile viewing angles. Whether you're pounding away at a Word document or going on a Netflix bender, you won't spend too much time futzing with the screen angle before going about your business. While the contest remains consistently balanced, though, that reflective finish can get in the way of easy viewing if you dip the lid forward, or watch a movie from an off-kilter position. It wasn't a constant annoyance, but use the machine long enough and you'll eventually catch the display at the wrong angle, in the wrong light, and find yourself staring down pockets of glare. This varies depending on the brightness level, as you'll see in the gallery below.
HP Envy 15 review (display)

There's no doubt this is one of the most arresting displays you'll find in a laptop, and we're glad HP came to its senses after discontinuing the Radiance panel offered on the last-gen Envy 14. Still, it's worth noting that the VAIO SE series starts at $1,000 with a 1080p display and it has a matte finish. The XPS 15z is also offered with a 300-nit, 1920 x 1080 screen, though in all fairness we weren't enamored with the contrast or viewing angles. And though the MacBook Pro's standard 1440 x 900 display leaves room for improvement (a bump in brightness and wider viewing angles on the glossy panel top our list), it's at least offered with an anti-glare finish, giving fans of matte screens yet another option.

We should also warn you that we're hearing complaints from early adopters who say their Radiance panels are showing some inaccurate color calibration -- specifically, that shades of red appear more orange than crimson, while violet looks more blue than purple. In a statement, an HP spokesperson told us, "We are looking into this. We'll get back to our customers because we're committed to earning their satisfaction." In the meantime, then, we'll offer the gallery below as a sampling of what you'll get on the Envy 15 versus other laptops. We'll admit: the hues here skew more red-orange than red, though the pink-reds you'll see elsewhere aren't necessarily pitch-perfect either. We'd be willing to concede the color reproduction here is different, to say the least, and likely in need of some fine-tuning. We're guessing a lot of folks will notice the vibrant, saturated colors first, and the orangey reds second, if at all. Then again, once you know what to look for, it's impossible to ignore.
HP Envy 15 review (Radiance display calibration)

While we're on the subject of the Envy 15's dense, sprawling screen, the laptop comes loaded with Intel's Wireless Display technology for mirroring your desktop and streaming 1080p movies to a monitor or HDTV. To do this, you'll need to spring for an adapter like this. Once you've procured that, you'll find the setup easy and the streaming fluid. Just be sure to keep the laptop outside your peripheral vision, as playback between the laptop and monitor tends to be slightly out of sync.

Sound


Though HP's Beats-branded laptops occasionally fall into gimmick territory, we've generally found the bass-rich sound lives up to Dr. Dre's marketing hype. The Envy 15 is no exception, with six speakers and a miniature subwoofer that deliver some of the best audio you'll find on a laptop. Sure, we might still prefer a dedicated set of speakers to do our old Roots records justice, but that said, it's a clear step up from the tinny, metallic sound we've encountered on most other laptops.

We were also pleased with the volume on this guy -- so much so that we rarely felt the need to push it above the lowest setting, which equates to the 12 / 100 mark in the Windows volume slider. We also like that there's a dedicated mute button next to the volume dial; we just had to get used to the fact that it was there, and not hidden among the other multimedia controls built into the Function keys.

In a cute touch, the Beats volume dial is shaped like a disc, which you can spin like a record by running your finger over the top surface. Sometimes, though, when you do that the computer won't register your touch; we found that rolling the dial built into the side of the laptop is much more reliable. Press down on that spinning disc, and a dashboard will pop up, allowing you to make some minor tweaks to the settings. Suffice to say, it would seem that users aren't meant to do a deep dive in customizing the EQ profiles; that's Dre and Company's job, of course.
Performance

PCMark Vantage
3DMark06
HP Envy 15 (2.4GHz Core i5-2430M, AMD Radeon HD 7690M 1GB) 7,210 8,839
Dell XPS 15z (2.7GHz Core i7-2620M, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M) 8,023 7,317
15-inch Samsung Series 7 Chronos (2.2GHz Core i7-2675QM, Intel HD 3000 / AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1GB) 7,824 8,891
Sony VAIO SE series (2.4GHz Core i5-2430M, Intel HD Graphics 3000 / AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB) 5,632 6,898
2011 15-inch MacBook Pro (2.2GHz Core i7-2720QM, Radeon HD 6750M / Intel Graphics 3000) 8,041 10,262
Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402 (2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M) 6,475 5,330
Dell XPS 14z (Dell XPS 14z (2.8GHz Core i7-2640M, Intel HD Graphics 3000 / NVIDIA GeForce GT520M 1GB) 7,982 5,414
2011 HP Envy 14 (2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, Intel HD Graphics 3000 / AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB) 6,735 7,214
Notes: the higher the score the better. For 3DMark06, the first number reflects score with GPU off, the second with it on.

Though it starts at $1,100, we tested a slightly more tricked-out $1,250 configuration with a 2.4GHz Core i5-2430M processor, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB 7,200RPM hard drive and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7690M card. Getting those benchmarks out of the way, we're off to a good start in PCMark Vantage: the 15 managed to blow past the similarly priced VAIO SE series by more than 1,500 points, even though the two have some comparable components, including 6GB of RAM, the same CPU and discrete AMD graphics cards with 1GB of video memory. On the graphics front, the Envy 15's 3DMark06 score of 8,839 bests many of the other 15-inch configurations we tested, and falls right in line with what we got from Samsung's $1,099 Series 7 Chronos.

The biggest obstacle standing between us and our productivity was that half-baked touchpad.

During our test period, we used the Envy 15 for writing stories, surfing the web, chatting in Pidgin and plugging numbers into a Google spreadsheet. When the work day ended, yours truly spent hours at a time streaming back-to-back episodes of Arrested Development over Netflix, along with the occasional YouTube video. Through it all, the machine kept pace, booting into Windows in a speedy 27 seconds (with an extra 10 until we had full control of the desktop). In the disk benchmark ATTO, it hit peak read speeds of 105 MB/s, and top writes of 104 MB/s. As we said earlier, the machine also manages heat well, even through heavy streaming sessions. Sure, the palm rest is likely to get lukewarm, but it never gets uncomfortable to touch, and that bottom side in particular stays nice and cool.

If anything, the biggest obstacle standing between us and our productivity was that half-baked touchpad. Were it not for the awkward, stiff button and its poor palm rejection, we would have been better able to concentrate on our work, instead of dwelling on why PC manufacturers give clickpads so many chances.

Battery life

Laptop
Battery Life
HP Envy 15 4:07
Dell XPS 15z 3:41 (Optimus disabled) / 4:26 (Optimus enabled)
15-inch Samsung Series 7 Chronos 5:47
Sony VAIO SE series 3:59 (stamina mode) / 8:58 (stamina mode, slice battery)
2011, 15-inch MacBook Pro 7:27
Acer TimelineX AS5830TG-6402 6:25
Dell XPS 14z 4:54
2011 HP Envy 14 3:55

The Envy 15's eight-cell (4,780mAh) battery lasted through more than four hours of video playback in our standard rundown test, which bodes even better if you want a few hours of unplugged web surfing on the couch. All told, that's slightly better than what you'd get with the Sony VAIO SE series (sans the optional slice battery that Sony sells for $150). It's also notable that the Envy 15 manages to pull slightly longer runtime than the smaller, last-gen Envy 14.

Still, as respectable as that runtime is, we can think of a handful of similarly sized laptops that last longer. These include the Dell XPS 15z, which has a 20-minute lead; the Series 7 Chronos and Acer TimelineX AS5830T, both of which hover in the six-hour range; and the MacBook Pro, which squeezed out seven and a half hours in the same test. Of course, the trade-off to the MBP's epic battery life is that its battery is non-user-replaceable, which, as we all know, can be a pain when the capacity eventually depletes.

Software

In addition to the usual suspects (read: Norton Internet Security and a trial of Microsoft Office 2010), the Envy 15 comes with full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements on board -- useful programs that OEMs tend not to throw in gratis. Other benign apps include CyberLink YouCam and Power2Go, and Windows Live Essentials 2011. As you might expect, though, HP's own tools comprise a fair chunk of the pre-installed software. These include utilities like HP Power Manager, Quick Launch, Setup, Support Assistant and Power Manager, as well as HP's own movie store. This time around, at least, these apps didn't get in our way as much as they have with other HP systems we've tested.

Configuration options


So what does $1,100 get you? That base model comes with a 2.5GHz Core i5-2450M processor, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB 7,200RPM drive and that Radeon HD 7690M graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Upgrade options include 2.2GHz Core i7-2670QM, 2.4GHz Core i7-2760QM and 2.5GHz Core i7-2860QM CPUs ($100, $250 and $450, respectively) and up to 16GB of RAM ($460). As for storage, you can bump to a 750GB 7,200RPM HDD for $40, or a 1TB 5,400RPM number for $80. HP's also selling a 750GB 7,200RPM hybrid hard drive for $90 and a choice of 160GB and 300GB solid-state drives ($210 and $440, respectively). To repeat, that 1080p Radiance display is a $150 add-on.

More important than any upgrade, though, is the fact that Envy 15 comes standard with a two-year warranty. A great value when you consider the industry standard is one year.

The competition


The market is absolutely stuffed with 15-inch laptops, but the field narrows somewhat when we restrict ourselves to more premium machines, with discrete graphics and higher-quality displays. Let's start with the MacBook Pro, if only because HP chose to ape its design with this generation of products. The MBP isn't cheap, and on paper, its innards are modest given the high cost of entry: for $1,800, you get a 2.2GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), a 500GB 5,400RPM hard drive, a 1440 x 900 display (glossy, by default) and a duo of graphics cards that includes Intel's HD 3000 integrated solution and AMD's Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory. The ports include Thunderbolt and FireWire sockets, two USB 2.0 ports and an SDXC slot. It also has a slot-loading DVD burner. Again, not exactly $1,800 specs here.

To its credit, though, it performs well. According to benchmarks, at least, it leads its peers in both overall and graphics performance, and its battery life is about an hour longer than what even the Acer Aspire AS5830T has to offer. It also has a more comfortable keyboard than the Envy 15 -- not to mention, a smoother trackpad. Still, the 15 bests the MacBook Pro in a host of other areas: heat management, price, overall value, audio, port layout and the ability to replace components easily. It also has a brighter display with wider viewing angles, albeit with some likely color calibration issues we haven't seen on the MBP. So there's lots to love here, though we suspect the Envy's touchpad and inaccurate color reproduction will be deal-breakers for some shoppers.

As for Samsung, the Series 7 Chronos offers longer battery life than the Envy 15, along with a matte display, but this touchpad, too, has problems, and we weren't thrilled with the overall fit and finish either. Still, for $1,099, it offers a tempting collection of specs, including a 2.2GHz Core i7-2675QM CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 750GB 7,200RPM hybrid hard drive and two graphics cards: Intel's HD 3000 and AMD's Radeon HD 6750M card.


In Sony's camp, the VAIO SE series ($1,000 and up) starts with a 2.4GHz Core i5-2430M CPU, 4GB of RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics with 512MB of video memory, a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive, a matte, 1080p display, a 4,400mAh battery and a DVD burner. As you can see in our benchmark table up there, the performance is more than serviceable, but it trails our similarly configured HP Envy 15. We also had some trouble performing multi-touch gestures on the SE Series' trackpad, though you'll of course encounter similar problems with the 15. And again, there is something to be said for the SE's lovely, anti-glare display, which comes standard with 1080p resolution, something for which HP is charging an extra $150.

We can't talk about the Envy 15, though, without mentioning another oldie-but-goodie, last year's Dell XPS 15z. The 15z is home to one of the most comfortable keyboard-and-trackpad combos we've tested, and is both thinner and lighter than its competitors, at 5.54 pounds and less than an inch thick. And though its performance scores fall short of some other 15-inch laptops we've tested, we were impressed by how effectively the system dispels heat. Some things to keep in mind while you're shopping: it's not offered with any quad-core CPUs, the four configurations are barely customizable and, as with the Envy 15, there's no Blu-ray option. And though it has discrete graphics, its performance doesn't quite match other machines, while NVIDIA's Optimus technology doesn't translate to spectacular runtime. All that said, the $1,000 base model offers similar specs as the $1,100 Envy 15, including a 2.4GHz Core i5-2430M CPU, 6GB of RAM, a 500GB 7,200RPM hard drive, a DVD burner, 64Wh battery and a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M card with Optimus.

In some ways, the 15 improves on the notebook it so unsubtly imitates.

Of all the models here, Toshiba's Satellite P750 is the most aggressively priced, with a $499 starting point. Even if you move beyond that base model, which brings a quad-core AMD A6 APU, 3GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, you could still walk home with a quad-core Core i7 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, 4,400mAh battery and a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M card for $799. Hell, you could step up to a 500GB 7,700RPM hybrid hard drive ($80), 8GB of RAM ($140) and a Blu-ray burner ($150), and still pay just $1,170 -- less than the price of our tester Envy 15. Granted, there are some things money can't buy here, including a higher-res, higher-quality display, solid-state storage and a more striking design.

At last, and not to be discounted, Acer's TimelineX series continues to be a solid choice for people who crave discrete graphics and healthy battery life. Though it's available in a host of screen sizes, we'll focus on the 15-inch AS5830, which starts at $700 -- or $780, if you want those dedicated graphics. To this day, most mainstream laptops don't come close to topping its battery life, though the trade-off for that longevity is a humdrum 1366 x 768 display, middling performance (that discrete graphics card be damned) and a plainer design.

Wrap-up


Okay, time to get it out of your system. Say it with us: the Envy 15 unapologetically copies the MacBook Pro. Feel good, getting that off your chest? Excellent. Onto the business of evaluating the laptop for what it does. In some ways, the 15 improves on the notebook it so unsubtly imitates: it has a sharper (though imprecisely calibrated display) with wide viewing angles. Its speakers and miniature subwoofer produce exceptional audio for a laptop. The laptop comes with a generous two-year warranty, Intel Wireless Display and full copies of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. It manages not to burn your legs, thanks to an effective heat management system. And at $1,100, it's more affordable than that other Envy.

But HP stumbles in several critical areas: the Envy 15 is heavier than other laptops in its class, and in exchange for toting that extra heft, you're rewarded with middling battery life. The keyboard's alright, but we did have to type in a deliberate way to ensure it recognized our every press. The display appears to have some color calibration problems. Most importantly, though, the laptop's saddled with a finicky, stiff touchpad -- a nuisance large enough to slow down your entire workflow. A shame, since this is an otherwise speedy machine. Because of these shortcomings, the Envy 15 doesn't best the MacBook Pro, though it admirably undercuts its lofty $1,800 starting price. All told, the Envy 15 offers some compelling features for the money, but before you pull the trigger we'd suggest you also check out the Dell XPS 15z, which is lighter with a comfier keyboard / trackpad, as well as the long-lasting Samsung Series 7 Chronos. If you do go for the Envy 15, we hope you have a pretty stationary setup in mind: you'll want an outlet close by and also, a mouse.

Mozilla to overhaul Firefox's default home and tab pages

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 07:05 AM PST

Despite Mozilla kicking its release schedule into overdrive, not all parts of Firefox have gotten the tender love and care they truly deserve. Take for example, the browser's default homepage, which hasn't evolved much since its humble beginnings nearly a decade ago. That'll change soon in a two pronged effort, with Mozilla first adding a function bar to version 12 (seen after the break), followed by a later and more extensive revamp (up-top) which incorporates apps, top sites and chat functionality. Also planned is a Chrome and Safari-esque Top Sites "New Tab" view and savvy URL autocompletion in the address bar. A more in-depth preview awaits at the source, or we suppose, you could live dangerously and hop aboard Mozilla's nightly release train. You decide.

Forrester: Apple makes strides into enterprises, users iWork hard for the money

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 05:31 AM PST

Forrester: Apple makes strides into businesses, users iWork hard for the money

Forrester has announced the results of its latest survey, which encompassed 10,000 enterprise computer users, across 17 countries. It looked at the degree of Apple product adoption in businesses and support for them within IT services. There's plenty to chew on, but here's the big one; over a fifth of those surveyed uses an Apple product for work. This, however, includes workers using their personal devices for work tasks, with 11 percent using their iPhone, 9 percent their iPad and 8 percent working on their Macs. Half of the enterprises included in Forrester's survey plan to increase the number of Macs used by 52 percent, while nearly half of the firms are already issuing Apple PCs to employees, gaining even more traction within IT departments in the US and Western Europe. Unsurprisingly, given its premium pricing, those using Apple gear are more likely to be higher paid, while also (paradoxically) younger and in a senior rank. More specifically, 43 percent of those making over $150,000 a year use an iPhone, iPad or Mac. No cause or effect here, ladies and gents, but we'll be putting in our expense claim for a new set of business iPads very soon.

F-BOMB $50 surveillance computer hides in your CO detector, cracks your WiFi

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 04:07 AM PST

What happens when you take a PogoPlug, add 8GB of flash storage, some radios (WiFi, GPS) and perhaps a few sensors, then stuff everything in a 3D-printed box? You get the F-BOMB (Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors), a battery-powered surveillance computer that costs less than $50 to put together using off-the-shelf parts. The 4 x 3.5 x 1-inch device, created by security researcher Brendan O'Connor and funded by DARPA's Cyber Fast Track program, is cheap enough for single-use scenarios where costly traditional hardware is impractical. It can be dropped from an AR Drone, tossed over a fence, plugged into a wall socket or even hidden inside a CO detector. Once in place, the homebrew Linux-based system can be used to gather data and hop onto wireless networks using WiFi-cracking software. Sneaky. Paranoid yet? Click on the source link below for more info.

Google tells Android devs to kick the menu button to the curb, seriously you guys

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 02:28 AM PST

If you've seen Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus in action, then it should be clear that the menu button has no future in the Android ecosystem. In order to drive that point home, Google has posted over at the Android Developer blog urging app creators to "say goodbye to the menu button." With the until now standard key getting the boot, big G wants devs to start designing interfaces that focus on the ActionBar introduced with Honeycomb. Of course, there's only so much room on the screen, and that's where the "action overflow" button comes in handy. Those vertical elipsis hide useful, but perhaps secondary options, that don't fit in the action bar. It also pops up on the far right of the navigation bar as a replacement to the menu button... basically because it behaves the same as menu, just in a different location. If nothing else at least Google is pushing Android and its apps towards a more uniform design. Check out the source for more details.

Plasmonic cloak makes objects invisble, but only in the microwave region of the spectrum

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 12:39 AM PST

Okay, so we're not up to USS Pegasus levels yet, but for the first time researchers have been able to cloak a three dimensional object. Don't start planning your first trip to the Hogwarts library restricted section just yet though, the breakthrough is only in the microwave region of the EM spectrum. Using a shell of plasmonic materials, it's possible to create a "photo negative" of the object being cloaked in order to make it disappear. The technique is different to the use of metamaterials, which try to bounce light around the object. Instead, plasmonics try to deceive the light as to what's actually there at the time -- but because it has to be tailored to create a "negative image" of the object you're hiding, it's not as flexible, but it could be an important step on the road to that bank heist we've been planning.

Tamron and Kenko bring third-party glass to the Micro Four Thirds bash

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 10:27 PM PST

The fresh trend of Micro Four Thirds shooters is on the rise, thus it shouldn't come as a surprise that more glass-makers are jumping on the MFT bandwagon. Joining the likes of Panasonic, Olympus and Kodak as part of the Micro Four Thirds Group, is a trifecta of third-party lens manufacturers: Tamron, Kenko Tokina and ASTRODESIGN. Following closely behind rival Sigma, the newcomers are looking to make a dent in the four-thirds universe. Better late than never, right? There's still no sign of these optics being available for you to stack in your camera bag, but the news just came in, so it shouldn't be too long before you can get some extra glass for your shiny new GX1.
Show full PR text
ASTRODESIGN, Inc., Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. and Tamron Co., Ltd. join the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group

Olympus Imaging Corp. and Panasonic Corporation jointly announced the Micro Four Thirds System standard in 2008 and have since been working together to promote the standard. Now we are pleased to announce that three more companies have recently declared their support for the standard and will be introducing products compliant with the Micro Four Thirds System standard.

ASTRODESIGN, Inc., a developer of advanced imaging-related equipment, such as the 4K camera system, that incorporates the latest technology; Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd., one of the world's leading manufacturers and developers of interchangeable lenses for digital and film SLR cameras; and Tamron Co., Ltd., an internationally renowned manufacturer of precision optics who has been providing powerful, high-quality lenses for a wide variety of fields for more than half a century. With the addition of exciting new products from these companies, the Micro Four Thirds lineup will become much more diverse, further increasing the potential of this advanced digital imaging system.

As the originator of the Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, Olympus Imaging Corp. will continue to develop and enhance the product lineup for both standards to meet the diverse needs of our customers.
ASTRODESIGN, Inc.

A Japanese company established in 1977 that designs and develops professional video equipment and measurement/analysis-related equipment. Well known for developing the world's first programmable signal generator and the Ultra HDTV image processor devices used at Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan.

ASTRODESIGN, Inc. Website
http://www.astrodesign.co.jp/english/
Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd.

A Japanese company established in 1957 that designs and develops a wide variety of photographic supplies and optical products. It is Japan's largest manufacturer/seller of lens filters.

Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. Website
http://www.kenkoglobal.com/
Tamron Co., Ltd.

A Japanese company established in 1950 that designs and develops interchangeable SLR camera lenses, lens units for surveillance, as well as ultra-precision optical components based on the integration of advanced optical, electronic and precision machinery engineering technologies.

Tamron Co., Ltd. Website
http://www.tamron.co.jp/en/
The outlines of the standards can be checked at the Four Thirds website

http://www.four-thirds.org/en/
http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/index.html

IBM builds 9 nanometer carbon nanotube transistor, puts silicon on notice

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 08:34 PM PST

It's not the smallest transistor out there, but the boffins at IBM have constructed the tiniest carbon nanotube transistor to date. It's nine nanometers in size, making it one nanometer smaller than the presumed physical limit of silicon transistors. Plus, it consumes less power and is able to carry more current than present-day technology. The researchers accomplished the trick by laying a nanotube on a thin layer of insulation, and using a two-step process -- involving some sort of black magic, no doubt -- to add the electrical gates inside. The catch? (There's always a catch) Manufacturing pure batches of semiconducting nanotubes is difficult, as is aligning them in such a way that the transistors can function. So, it'll be some time before the technology can compete with Intel's 3D silicon, but at least we're one step closer to carbon-based computing.

Shocker! New RIM CEO targets existing BlackBerry users for upgrades

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 06:47 PM PST

All of new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins' fresh ideas will apparently still be revealed to the company's board in a couple of weeks, but he's already dropped some gems in interviews with the Wall Street Journal and Reuters (update: and Bloomberg). First item on the agenda? Getting current users upgraded to the latest and greatest BlackBerry hardware. Citing internal statistics that indicate 80- to 90- percent of the company's customer base aren't running BlackBerry 7 hardware yet, it will work closely with US carriers to promote upgrades until the new BB10 devices hit later this year. There's no word on what the carrier deals include, but he hinted at device or preloaded app bundles. He also promised an LTE version of the PlayBook would arrive this spring, with LTE connected handsets also planned for the BlackBerry 10 lineup. Is that enough to turn around RIM's fortunes in the US, where he acknowledged the company is "a turnaround candidate"? We'll find out, but as obvious as the need to placate the already BBM-addicted may be, execution of the plan is everything.

MasterCard's QkR mobile payment system enters trial in Australia

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 05:15 PM PST

MasterCard is all over the map when it comes to mobile payments. The credit company will partner with anyone, anywhere, anytime if it means getting new customers and making a buck on the deal. Its latest offering is called QkR, an Australian effort with support from the Hoyts chain of movie theaters and Commonwealth Bank. The initial trial run will be at La Premiere cinemas, where customers will be able to order and pay for food and beverages right from their seat with the QkR app. To initiate the transaction a you scan the QR code or tap the NFC tag attached to the arm rest, and a staff member delivers the trough of popcorn and kiddie pool of coke right to your seat. Now all we need is this sort of high-end treatment in American movie theaters. Check out the video after the break to see it in action.


Show full PR text
Australia to see yet another world first in Mobile Payments
January 23, 2012

MasterCard, Commonwealth Bank and Hoyts: Industry-Leading Innovation Piloted in Australia

Sydney, 24 January 2012: Australia will be the first country to pilot QkR™ by MasterCard, a new queue-busting mobile payment application developed by MasterCard that lets movie goers at selected La Premiere Hoyts cinemas order food and drinks directly from their seats by using their smart phone.

The new QkR by MasterCard in-cinema smart ordering service will be piloted by the Commonwealth Bank at a number of Hoyts cinemas for several weeks from January.

Guests of Hoyts' luxurious La Premiere cinemas in Sydney who have an iPhone or Android handset will be able to buy food and drink from the comfort of their cinema seats through an application downloaded to their phone. Purchases are then delivered directly to their seat.

MasterCard Australia's Head of Market Development and Innovation Matt Barr said the first pilot of QkR in Australia underlined MasterCard and the Commonwealth Bank's leadership in innovation.

"We are delivering what can only be described as generational change in payments technology," said Mr. Barr.

The QkR pilot is the latest development between MasterCard and the Commonwealth Bank and follows the launch of Commbank Kaching which, in addition to facilitating peer-to-peer payments, uses MasterCard PayPass to allow customers to simply tap their phone to pay at check-out.

"We're focused on smart ways to simplify and improve the consumer experience," said Mr Barr "QkR has many possible uses, and this pilot is just one great example of leveraging different technologies in a new way to create an easy and convenient ordering experience."

Hoyts' Chief Executive Officer, Delfin Fernandez said, "Hoyts has long embraced new technology to give our guests the ultimate cinema experience. Digital and 3D advances have revolutionised the on-screen magic and now QkR will eliminate the hassle of having to leave the cinema auditorium to place another food or drink order.

"For our La Premiere guests, being able to purchase a meal, dessert or another round of drinks using QkR without missing a second of the movie is a real luxury!" added Mr Fernandez.

According to Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Executive General Manager of Business Products and Development, Commonwealth Bank, the introduction of QkR is a further demonstration of how the Bank is continuing to push the boundaries of innovation in financial services.

"This is another step forward in the way we are helping to provide Australians and Australian businesses with the very best in convenient payment solutions," said Ms Bayer Rosmarin.

"Our focus on technology and innovation has firmly positioned us at the forefront of the industry. We will be continuing to explore new developments, including working closely with our partners and business clients, so we can continue to move the banking and payments market forward in Australia and support the evolving needs of our customers."

From January guests of Hoyts La Premiere cinemas at Westfield Chatswood and The Entertainment Quarter, both in Sydney, will be able to download the QkR by MasterCard application to their phone and make purchases either through scan, tap or type – scanning the QR code to make a purchase; tapping an NFC-capable device against the QR code on the seat or typing in the unique scan code. Each of these options will take the guest through to a menu where they can select items and proceed to purchase.

"Australians enthusiastically embrace new technologies – particularly those that make life easier. That's why this is a great market to pilot QkR with Hoyts," said Mr Barr.

"We launched MasterCard Labs in 2010 with the goal of developing, testing and bringing to market new payment options and we're proud that we can bring leading edge technology here."

How it works

For the Hoyts pilot, transactions are initiated when the consumer uses QkR by MasterCard to either scan the QR code on the seat table or entering a special QkR label. Consumers with NFC-enabled phones can also tap the label to initiate the experience.The food and beverage menu will launch and menu items can be purchased using the digital wallet the cardholder pre-registers with their debit or credit card details the first time they use QkR. Once the purchase is confirmed, the order and the seat location are sent to Hoyts staff and the order is then delivered to the moviegoer's seat without ever having to go near a checkout line.

Making a purchase using QkR comes with the same high level of security as payments via all other MasterCard platforms. No cardholder data is stored on the phone, and QkR can be configured to request the number at time of purchase.

About MasterCard Worldwide

MasterCard (NYSE: MA) is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, travelling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Learn more at mastercard.com or follow us on Twitter @mastercardnews or join the conversation on The Heart of Commerce Blog.

About The Hoyts Corporation

Hoyts has delighted Australian cinema-goers for more than 100 years and is one of Australia's most recognisable entertainment brands. Hoyts Exhibition, the cinema division of The Hoyts Corporation, manages 425 screens across 40 cinema complexes in Australia and a further 10 complexes in New Zealand. Hoyts La Premiere offers an unsurpassed cinema experience, with the ultimate in comfort, service and style. Guests enjoy a super-screen experience from luxurious, custom-made sofa-style seats. La Premiere offers a gourmet menu and reserve wine list, with in-cinema waiter service throughout the movie.

About Commonwealth Bank

Commonwealth Bank is Australia's leading provider of integrated financial services including retail banking, premium banking, business banking, institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment and sharebroking products and services. The Group is one of the largest listed companies on the Australian Stock Exchange and is included in the Morgan Stanley Capital Global Index. Commonwealth Bank is Money Magazine's 2011 Bank of the Year and thanks to the recent migration of customers to a new core-banking platform, the Bank is the most technologically advanced in Australia.

Israel announces plans to build national broadband network, increases fiber intake

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 03:35 PM PST

Israel is home to a burgeoning tech industry, but the country's broadband infrastructure hasn't really been able to keep pace. In terms of broadband penetration, in fact, Israel ranks just 21st out of 34 developed nations, according to statistics gathered by the OECD. All this may be changing, however, now that the country's state-run electric company has announced plans to create a new national broadband network. According to the AP, the forthcoming network will use so-called fiber to the home (FTTH) technology, which is capable of providing connections at speeds of between 100Mbps and 1Gbps. That would be about ten to 100 times faster than the connections most Israelis have today, and could offer obvious benefits to a wide array of businesses and industries. The electric company is aiming to have 10 percent of the country connected to its new network by next year, and to have two-thirds covered within the next seven years.

FCC Fridays: January 27, 2012

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 02:15 PM PST

Did the Galaxy S III just pop up on Samsung's support site?

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 01:26 PM PST

Seriously, we can't caveat this one enough -- there is no way of knowing if this is in fact the Galaxy S III or, if it is, when it might come to market -- but, it looks like Samsung's "next big smartphone" just made a cameo on the company's support pages. Listed as the GT-i9300, the mystery device reared its head over at the Global Download Center of the United Arab Emerites site. If Sammy is to keep with its naming scheme i93XX would be a flagship device -- the i90XX line was the Galaxy S, i91XX represents the S2 series, while the i9250 and i9220 are the Nexus and Note respectively. As we warned before though, this could be some mid-range device and Samsung could be changing its naming conventions. Or, perhaps, its yet another variation of an existing model. Still, we'll take this as a good sign that Seoul squad has something interesting brewing.

Sony reveals new 3G/WiFi PS Vita bundles: free data, PSN games and memory cards for everyone

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 12:41 PM PST

Sony's PlayStation Vita hasn't exactly sold like hotcakes over in Japan, so the company has sweetened the pot for the portable's potential Stateside buyers. Those who placed pre-orders will get a couple of extra goodies for their $350. To go with the previously promised limited edition case, 4GB memory card and copy of Little Deviants, you'll also receive 250MB of data from AT&T and a PlayStation Network game gratis as soon as you activate 3G on the device. Furthermore, folks buying a Vita on launch day can look forward to the same free data and PSN game, plus an 8GB memory card in exchange for their $300. So, that enough to get you on the handheld's bandwagon? Sound off in the comments below.

Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with guest CrackBerry Kevin, live at 5PM ET!

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 12:05 PM PST

Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with guest CrackBerry Kevin, live at 5PM ET!
Just wake up from a very restful week-long slumber? First of all, we're envious of your good fortune. Second, Research in Motion made a few changes to its leadership chart. Third, you must be really hungry right about now. So grab a sandwich, come back in an hour and join Myriam, Brad, Sean Cooper and our very special guest Kevin Michaluk (yes, Mr. CrackBerry Kevin himself) as we discuss the northern news, as well as anything else that happened this week.

Be sure to send questions or comments you have for us or Kevin via Twitter (we're @engadgetmobile), or make your voice heard in our Ustream chat room during the show!

January 27, 2012 5:00 PM EST

First White House Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, steps down

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 11:42 AM PST

He was appointed with a fair bit of fanfare as the United States' first Chief Technology Officer back in May of 2009, but it looks like Aneesh Chopra has decided that it's now time to make room for the nation's second CTO. The White House confirmed today that Chopra is stepping down from his position, noting that he has amassed a "dizzying array of accomplishments." Among those are his contributions to the Obama administration's national wireless strategy, a set of internet policy making principals, and a number of efforts related to the President's open government strategy, including the Data.gov platform. No word on his successor just yet, nor is there any official word on what Chopra plans to do next -- although The Washington Post reports that he's expected to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia.

HTC Titan II works its charm on the FCC with AT&T LTE included

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 11:24 AM PST

What's that? An HTC PI86100 Windows Phone with AT&T-specific LTE (bands 4 and 17) showing up in the hallowed halls of the FCC? Why, this must be the Titan II, announced a tad over a fortnight ago. Docs show that a production unit of the device, sporting the aforementioned LTE bands as well as 850 / 1900 3G (also AT&T compatible), is ready to take on its new Windows Phone competition sometime soon. Is it a guarantee that the phone is nigh at hand? Not quite, but at least it signifies that the 16 megapixel beast is one step closer to showing up in our hands.
HTC Titan II in the FCC

OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express SATA 3.0 SSDs doubles your (MacBook) Airspeed velocity

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 10:53 AM PST

It's MacWorld, which means those providers of Apple gear are busting out wares for aftermarket insertion into your objects of desire. Other World Computing's latest offering is a slender solid-state drive ready to be crow-barred into last year's MacBook Airs. The bombastically named OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD is a SATA Rev. 3.0 drive with a promised 6Gb/s data speed at sizes of up to a staggering 480GB. Since the stock drives are limited to the 3Gb/s SATA Rev. 2.0 (but the controllers run 3.0), you should find a significant performance bump when swapping in the new unit. The toggle-synchronous NAND drives come in a variety of sizes, starting at 120GB ($260), but it's the brand new and quite beastly 480GB model that has us excited. Sure, $1,150 is a lot to ask for less than half a terrabyte of storage, but you'll get a three-year warranty for all that cash. We may never give you our money, nor our funny pages, but you can have the press release that's after the break.
Show full PR text
New OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G 480GB SSD Offers Up to 3x Faster Performance and 8x More Storage Capacity for Apple MacBook Air

Industry's Only Performance Upgrade and Aftermarket Solid State Drive for MacBook Air
Unlocks Latest MacBook Air's Faster Processor and SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) Capabilities

January 26, 2012, San Francisco - Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, confirmed at Macworld today its OWC Mercury Aura™ Pro Express 6G SSD is now available in a 480GB model size for the latest Apple® MacBook® Air 11.1" and 13.3" models which incorporate 6G (6Gb/s) data rate capabilities. The new Mercury Aura Pro Express 480GB model combines award-winning SandForce® technologies and Tier 1/Grade A Toggle Synchronous NAND to deliver data rates up to 3x faster than factory 3G (3Gb/s) options and up to 8x the storage capacity of the factory's base 64GB SSD model. The new, built-in-the-USA Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD and other OWC Mercury SSDs will be shown in Other World Computing's booth #513, Moscone Centerl, at Macworld held in San Francisco this week.

Only Performance Upgrade Available for MacBook Air
Joining two previously released Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G capacity models-120GB and 240GB-the new 6Gb/s SATA Revision 3.0 480GB model continues OWC's position as the only alternative to factory SSD options for the MacBook Air models. 3G speed Mercury SSDs from OWC are also available in capacities up to 480GB. OWC offers an easy online guide to assist consumers in selecting the correct Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD for any of Apple's MacBook Air models from 2008 to current.

OWC 6G SSD Unlocks MacBook Air Performance Potential
The Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G offers the latest MacBook Air owners a cost-effective SSD upgrade path that delivers higher performance, functionality, and reliability over the factory installed SSD. Because the Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD is SATA Revision 3.0 (6Gb/s) compatible, it can take advantage of the MacBook Air's faster processors and built-in 6Gb/s SATA data bus to deliver peak, sustained data rates over 500MB/s, versus the factory installed SSDs, which are limited by SATA Revision 2.0 (3Gb/s) capability.

No Slow-down with Repeated Use
While ordinary SSDs initially offer fast read/write performance; they experience significant write speed degradation over repeated usage. Independent simulation tests conducted by leading drive performance experts like MacPerformanceGuide confirm OWC Mercury SSD's ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling technologies are able to eliminate virtually any reduction in data transfer speeds over heavy, long-term usage without dependency on less-than-effective OS TRIM management.

"Our initial 120GB and 240GB 6G models were wildly successful as they enabled current model MacBook Air owners to experience the true capabilities of their machine," said Larry O'Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. "However, we continually received requests to duplicate the 480GB capacity offered in our 3G SSD line for the MacBook Air. Our new 6G 480GB model truly enables owners of 6G capable MacBook Air machines to have the best of both worlds: highest capacity and highest performance versus factory options."

Pricing, Availability
Compatible with current 11.1" and 13.3" MacBook Air models, the Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G 480GB model has a MSRP of $1,149.00 and is available from OWC. All Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G models include 7 percent over provisioning, Toggle Synchronous NAND, and a three-year warranty. For more information on the OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD for the MacBook Air line, including reseller inquires, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Aura_Pro_Express

Verizon-bound ZTE V66 slate gets photographed, looks just like you imagined

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 10:29 AM PST

Verizon-bound ZTE V66 slate gets photographed, looks just like you imagined It wasn't long ago that we first crossed paths with the ZTE V66 tablet, though at the time we were unfortunate to only meet its dull black-and-white renders. Those of you unfamiliar with the tab won't have your jaws dropped by its innards, which are expected to be missing out on the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment. Aside from the OS letdown (still, it's not as bad as shipping with Gingerbread), the V66 is pretty standard fare for a modern tablet. It'll be running on Verizon's speedy LTE network, sporting a 7-inch (1,280 x 800) display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4,000mAh battery will help keep it chugging along. We've yet to hear an official word from the Big Red about price and availability, so we'll let you know how deep into your wallet you'll have to dig as soon as we find out.
at 11:31 AM

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