Linux-Based ELSE Shatters The Mold, Redefines The Smartphone
Apple's iPhone is obviously hot, Android is gaining steam and WebOS is easily the slickest operating system to ever come from Palm's labs. What do all of these points have in common? They're all proof that the smartphone is evolving in rapid fashion, far quicker than we've seen in years past. What this also means is that competition is fierce, and smaller players that may have been shunned in the past are now getting the attention they deserve due to the thirst for innovation in the sector. Just a month ago,
Read More ...
MPJ-104WCE Pico Projector Reads Office Files On Its Own
Pico projectors are a dime a dozen these days, and most of them aren't too different from any other. Most are small enough to slip inside a pocket, and most have native resolutions of just 640x480. Most require a reasonably dark room to perform, and some of them have internal batteries to give users some flexibility away from the AC outlet. That said, we're glad to see someone stepping up and taking the sector to the next level. The MPJ-104WCE is believed to be the world's first pico projector with Windows CE
Read More ...
AT&T eXpo Smartphone Includes A Snap-On Mobile Projector
Up until now two major things have evaded AT&T: an Android phone and Snapdragon. If you're unfamiliar with the second, Snapdragon is a new mobile CPU that can be clocked as high as 1GHz, and the phones based on that CPU are understandably quick. Starting this week, AT&T will at least be able to say that it stocks a 1GHz smartphone (that sounds funny just saying it!), as LG Mobile's eXpo has made its debut on the US carrier.The phone is a real workhorse, and it sports a few really unique features. For
Read More ...
Nissan To Offer Affordable Navigation Package
Navigation systems have been a luxury add-on option to many vehicles for some time now. With the exception of the Suzuki SX4 however, a built-in navigation system with a new car generally cost at least $1,000 if not much more. Given the plethora of personal navigation devices from the likes of Garmin and TomTom, as well as the many options available for a wireless phone, there are plenty of people who don't see the need to spend this type of money for an in-dash system. This could change, however, as Nissan
Read More ...
Manufacturers Planning To Include SDXC Readers In Upcoming Laptops
If you've bought a laptop recently, chances are good it has an integrated SDHC flash memory card reader. Today, the SDHC standard is pretty commonly used in various devices including digital cameras, camcorders, MP3 players, and many other devices. By integrating SDHC card readers into laptops, manufacturers have made the standard even more convenient to use since you don't have to carry an external reader to download and upload files from a memory card. Like all other technologies however, SDHC is in the process
Read More ...
Dirt 2 PC Demo Released, DX11 vs. DX9 Tested
The PC Demo for Codemaster's upcoming DirectX 11 racing title Dirt 2 has just hit the web and is available for download right here. If you're unfamiliar with Dirt 2, Codemaster's says this about the game, "DiRT 2 will feature a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to the most diverse and challenging real-world environments. This World Tour will have players competing in aggressive multi-car and intense solo races at extraordinary new locations, from canyon racing and jungle trails to city stadium-based
Read More ...
Psystar Sold a Total of 768 Mac Clones: Report
Mac clone maker Psystar, whose investors apparently drank a lot of their Kool-aid when looking to back the company, sold a total of 768 units. The company had last year projected it would sell millions of units by 2012. An economic consultant hired by Apple, Dr. Matthew Lynde, determined the actual number. Of course, at this point, with Apple winning their lawsuit against Psystar, which began selling PCs with Mac OS installed, strictly a no-no, it's not as though Psystar is going to be selling the other 999,232
Read More ...
Sharkoon USB LANPort Brings USB Hard Drives Online
Sharkoon is best known for its HDD Docks, which enable internal 3.5" HDDs to be quickly accessed outside of a PC. The company's latest product, however, has little to do with connecting hard drives to actual rigs via the traditional methods and lots more to do with making your existing drives accessible over the Internet.The Sharkoon USB LANPort is essentially another form of the Pogoplug that the world has grown to know and love. Basically, it's a USB network adapter that connects a USB port with a LAN. In
Read More ...
Psystar Sold a Total of 768 Mac Clones: Report
Mac clone maker Psystar, whose investors apparently drank a lot of their Kool-aid when looking to back the company, sold a total of 768 units. The company had last year projected it would sell millions of units by 2012. An economic consultant hired by Apple, Dr. Matthew Lynde, determined the actual number.Of course, at this point, with Apple winning their lawsuit against Psystar, which began selling PCs with Mac OS installed, strictly a no-no, it's not as though Psystar is going to be selling the other 999,232 units anytime soon. However, it's possible they might stay in business, if the proposal the company made is accepted by the court.
The story began way back in mid-April of 2008 when Psystar launched its web site.آ Much to the chagrin of those reporting on it, the site disappeared, then re-appeared, all on the same day.آ آ This created obvious doubts among journalists, when then went looking for a brick-and-mortar office.آ They found it, but only after a few false starts: the company had moved apparently several times in the first weeks.
"You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so."Recently, however, Psystar got the bad news that Apple was the winner in a lawsuit against the nascent clone maker.آ It was during a motion filed early last week that Apple showed a presentation in which Psystar tried to sell their company to VC investors.آ In that presentation, their "conservative estimates" indicated the company wouldsell 70,000 computers in 2009, 470,000 systems in 2010 and 1.45 millionmachines in 2011. The heftier, spiked Kool-aid version of the presentation, the firm's aggressive growth model, however, putthose numbers at 130,000, 1.87 million and 12 million during 2009, 2010and 2011, respectively.
According to reports, Apple and Psystar have reached an agreement whereby Psystar will pay damages in the amount of $1.34 million, with an additional $1.34 million covering attorney's fees and costs. At the same time, the settlement would not be paid until Psystar has exhausted its appeals.
However, in its filing, Psystar argued that it should be allowed to sell its Rebel EFI utility. This software allows customers install Snow Leopard on clones sold by Psystar. This means the company could still sell Mac OS ready computers, but shift the burden of copyright infringement onto end users. It's unclear, actually, if this sort of argument will fly with the court. Apple, on the other hand, wants to shut down Psystar's Mac clone business permanently.
Below you will find a video from Psystar of one of their earliest Mac clones.آ Indeed, the systems did work, as even reviewers had to admit.
Read More ...
Dirt 2 PC Demo Released, DX11 vs. DX9 Tested
Throughout the later part of its development, in both screenshots and in live demonstrations we have received of the game, Dirt 2 has impressed us with its visual quality, realism, and use of cutting edge graphics technology. In addition to a DirectX 9 code path, Dirt 2 also utilized a number of DirectX 11 features, like hardware tessellated dynamic water, animated crowd, and dynamic cloth in addition to DirectCompute 11 accelerated high definition ambient occlusion (HADO), full floating point high dynamic range (HDR) lighting, and full screen resolution post processing. Codemaster's has produced a video showing of the DirectX 11 effects in action, that you've got to check out to appreciate... 
The PC Demo for Codemaster's upcoming DirectX 11 racing title Dirt 2 has just hit the web and is available for download right here. If you're unfamiliar with Dirt 2, Codemaster's says this about the game, "DiRT 2 will feature a roster of contemporary off-road events, taking players to the most diverse and challenging real-world environments. This World Tour will have players competing in aggressive multi-car and intense solo races at extraordinary new locations, from canyon racing and jungle trails to city stadium-based events." To sum this up in gamer-speak, Dirt 2 is a highly anticipated racing sim, that happens to feature some incredible graphics. ;)
آ آ ;)
The DX11 features mentioned above affect in-game visuals in a number of ways. For example, water splashing up from the cars is rendered in more details, with more complex geometry. And the same is true for the character models in the crowd and the various flags, banners, and cloth scattered through different tracks. The full screen post processing and advanced lighting techniques also add to the overall realism of the game, but producing more true to life colors, reflections, etc.
;)
آ آ ;)
;)
If you remember, Dirt 2 is also the title that has been included with Radeon HD 5800 series cards. Well, the game hasn't been released just yet--that's happening later in the week--but coupons for the game have been included with the cards. Since this is one of the first new game titles that'll be able to exploit a number of the features available with AMD's latest DX11-class cards, we thought we'd take the demo for a quick spin and give you some impressions, screen caps, and preliminary performance data.
We tested the Dirt 2 PC Demo on a Core i7 965 powered rig running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, fully updated to support DX 11 with the August 2009 redist, and the ATI Catalyst v9.11 beta hotfix drivers available here. We set the game to operate at a resolution of 1920x1200, corrected to aspect ratio to 16:10, and enabled 4X anti-aliasing for these tests. The DirectX 11 performance numbers were recorded with the game set to its "Ultra" quality mode, while the DirectX 9 numbers were recorded with the game set to its "High" quality mode.آ
| Radeon HD 5870 (1920x1200, 4XAA) | Minimum | Average |
| DirectX 11 | 49.8 FPS | 58.2 FPS |
| DirectX 9 | 57.7 FPS | 65.2 FPS |
As you can see, performance dropped off significantly in DirectX 11 mode. Although, we feel the need to point out that our DirectX 9 numbers are somewhat lower than expected (despite being repeatable). Keep that in mind; the delta separating DX9 and DX11 performance may be larger than this.
With increased visual quality, we think it is acceptable to see some decreased performance. The real question is, however, "Are Dirt 2's DirectX-11 visual effects worth the performance hit associated with them?" The answer to that question will ultimately be in the eyes of the beholder, of course. But, in this particular instance we have to say not really. Unlike the first wave of DX10 titles that sometimes showed 50%+ performance drops in DX10 modes versus DX9, the hit here isn't as dramatic and the game remains perfectly playable. The hit is significant though and the effects are easy to miss during a fast-paced, action packed race.
If you've got a new Radeon, go grab the demo and let us know what you think.آ We'd love hear your opinions of Dirt 2 in the comments.
Read More ...
AT&T eXpo Smartphone Includes A Snap-On Mobile Projector
Up until now two major things have evaded AT&T: an Android phone and Snapdragon.If you're unfamiliar with the second, Snapdragon is a new mobile CPUthat can be clocked as high as 1GHz, and the phones based on that CPUare understandably quick. Starting this week, AT&T will at least beable to say that it stocks a 1GHz smartphone (that sounds funny just saying it!), as LG Mobile's eXpo has made its debut on the US carrier.Thephone is a real workhorse, and it sports a few really unique features.For starters, it supports AT&T's growing 7.2Mbps HSPA network,which is the fastest form of 3G on AT&T. Moreover, it's the firstphone in America to support an optional integrated pico projector.That's right, this phone is available with a snap-on projector! In caseyou've missed out on the first wave of pico projectors, you can now getyour next phone and your first pico projector in one fell swoop.
The G Mobile Projector snaps onto the back of the device and allows users to share presentations, slideshows and even online videos straight from their mobile phone, and while it does add some bulk, it weighs just 1.8oz. and is extremely mobile considering that it's a full-fledged projector. It can project images as far as eight feet.
Needmore technology? This phone also supports fingerprint recognition fromAuthenTec, and the Smart Sensor complements the touchscreen userinterface of the eXpo by also providing precise cursor control for textediting, 4-way menu navigation, and AuthenTec’s unique turbo-scrollfeature for rapid browsing of long emails, contact lists or websites.The LG eXpo is powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, and itboasts a 3.2" touch screen, a QWERTY keypad, 5.0MP camera, GPS and a microSDslot. It'll be available to enterprise customers and for purchaseonline at www.att.com/lgexpo for $199.99 after mail-in rebate startingon December 7th.
Read More ...
High-Speed Electric Car: Electric Lightning GT
Perhaps it is just a coincidence that we're starting to hear a lot more about electric cars these days now that gas prices have hit record highs. Coincidence or not, automobiles that offer alternatives to traditional fossil-fuel-based, internal combustion engines are gearing up to hit the streets. The latest entrant to this quickly growing field is U.K.-based, Lightning Car Company, which debuted its Electric Lightning GT today at the British Motor Show in London.Similar to the all-electric, high-performance Tesla Roadster that is now available the Electric Lightning GT will also be a high-performance vehicle--and carry a similar, high-performance price tag. News.com reports that the Electric Lightning GT "is estimated to sell for between about آ£120,000-آ£150,000 (about $240,000 - $300,000), according to reports," and should be available sometime in 2009. Also appearing on roads next year will be an electric version of the more modestly-priced, Mini Cooper Clubman. And for the truly cost conscious, a $16,000 electric car from Philadelphia-based BG Automotive Group is scheduled to start rolling out of the factory before this year's end. The $16,000 car from BG Automotive Group will top out at 25mph; but the company promises a high-speed version in 2009.
While the inexpensive vehicle from BG Automotive Group will be chugging away in the slow lane, the Electric Lightning GT should be whizzing by it at up to a claimed 130mph. The company claims that the car will go from 0 to 60mph in 4 seconds, which is only 0.1 second slower than the 3.9mph that Tesla claims for its Roadster. The Electric Lightning GT will not have an engine in the traditional sense. Instead, it will use individual "Hi-Pa Drive" motors on each of the four wheels, with a combined power of over 700bhp (brake horsepower):
"We've chosen the very best drive system technology available anywhere in the world. This advanced motor technology now has phenomenal torque and power capability which is integrated within a wheel assembly. There are no gearboxes, differential, axle, drive shafts or propshafts to contend with. All of the power is generated at the wheel, the point at which it's required, which eliminates mechanical complexity and power losses experienced in standard sports cars. These lightweight and ultra powerful motors don't add significant extra unsprung weight and are therefore ideal in that position."
Powering the motors will be "NanoSafe" batteries, which Lightning claims "use nano titanate materials instead of graphite which makes them far more thermally stable--there are no toxics or heavy metals used in NanoSafe batteries." The company further states that the "batteries have a life expectancy of 12+ years" and "can retain up to 85% charge capacity after 15,000 charges." Using a standard household-based single-phase power outlet, the batteries will charge "overnight." However, the batteries can be charged in as quick as 10 minutes from a commercial three-phase power supply. Unlike more traditional battery technologies, Lightning claims that the Electric Lightning GT's NanoSafe batteries "will work in temperatures between 75آ°C and minus 30آ°C" that "don't need to be kept cool when charged/used or heated to get them to perform in sub zero temperatures." Lighting states that a full charge will provide up to 200 miles of driving. Also helping to power the car will be a regenerative braking system.
As of yet, Lightning does not have plans to market the Electric Lightning GT in the U.S., but says that it is "looking into the necessary Federal certification requirements" to do so.
Read More ...
Recent Windows 7 Security Update Causes "Black Screen Of Death"
Microsoft is investigating a new black-screen-of-death problem with Windows 7.
Of course, I like to try out new Linux kernel's and distros that have yet to reach alpha status. So I create my own BlSOD problems for fun. :)
Read More ...
Dave, Marco, Bob, RealNeil, and other regulars...
I have a few Google Wave invites. If you guy's aren't already trying it out, PM me with your email and I'll send you an invite (if you get to me before I run out).
Anyone's free to send me their info (and I'll keep it in case I get future invites), but forgive me if I give the long-timers preference - they've had to put up with me longer. :D
(Please visit the site to view this media)
I really need to set aside some time one day to set up Bloggy with my Drupal sites!
Read More ...
MPJ-104WCE Pico Projector Reads Office Files On Its Own
Pico projectors are a dime a dozen these days, and most of them aren't too different from any other. Most are small enough to slip inside a pocket, and most have native resolutions of just 640x480. Most require a reasonably dark room to perform, and some of them have internal batteries to give users some flexibility away from the AC outlet. That said, we're glad to see someone stepping up and taking the sector to the next level.The MPJ-104WCE is believed to be the world's first pico projector with Windows CE embedded, which doesn't sound like something that's worth mentioning. However, the LCoS-based device is able to open Office files (Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) on its own thanks to the integrated operating system, meaning that no PC connection is required in order to open basic documents. This is a real boon for traveling presenters, and the 4GB of internal memory leaves room to store your most popular presentations onboard.
Other specifications include a 400MHz ARM9 processor, mobile phone control, two 0.5W speakers and a size of 138.5x58.5x25mm. The only problem is the high price, which currently sits at آ¥64,000 over in Japan (or around $736).
Read More ...
Sharkoon USB LANPort Brings USB Hard Drives Online
Sharkoon is best known for its HDD Docks, which enable internal 3.5" HDDs to be quickly accessed outside of a PC. The company's latest product, however, has little to do with connecting hard drives to actual rigs via the traditional methods and lots more to do with making your existing drives accessible over the Internet.The Sharkoon USB LANPort is essentially another form of the Pogoplug that the world has grown to know and love. Basically, it's a USB network adapter that connects a USB port with a LAN. In short, it connects any USB flash drive or USB hard drive with the 'Net, making any USB storage device you have a NAS drive. Two models are available, with the first offering one USB port and the other four USB ports.
Both devices are now available over in Europe, though there's no word on when they'll ship to North America.
Sharkoon USB LANPort: USB network adapter connects a USB port with aLAN / two models available with either one or four USB ports / MSRP22.99 euros
Sharkoon now offers two affordable yet convenient USB-LAN adapterswhich can easily integrate non-network devices - such as printers,external hard drives or memory sticks - into your home or officenetworks: The Sharkoon USB LANPorts are equipped with an RJ45connector, either one or four accessible USB ports, and are simplyconnected between the Ethernet and USB peripherals. In order fornetwork users to access the attached USB device properly, the providedserver software, as well as the respective device drivers, ifnecessary, must be installed on the individual computers.
The Sharkoon USB LANPort supports both automatic and manual IP addresscontacts and by default enables the automatic IP addresses via DHCP.The software menu allows users to connect the individual device toone?s own computer and use it as if it were directly connected to yourPC. If another user needs to access the equipment at the same time,they can simply send a request for release of the device to the currentuser and then obtain access.
The Sharkoon USB LANPorts possess a power LED, a reset button and amagnetic back plate. آ It?s compact and simple design allows it to beconveniently attached to a PC-Tower or to any other magnetic surface.Supplied within the shipment includes a Tool CD including detailedinstructions, a patch cable, and an AC adapter for the power supply.
End customers will find the Sharkoon USB LANPort available immediately from authorized retailers:
Price:
Sharkoon USB LANPort 100 آ آ آ آ MSRP 22.99 euros
Sharkoon USB LANPort 400 آ آ آ آ MSRP 36.99 euros
For more information regarding the Sharkoon USB LANPort series or otherSharkoon products, to request photos or other informational material,please contact us or go to www.sharkoon.com.
Read More ...
No comments:
Post a Comment