Friday, October 03, 2008

Free-Piston Engines Are Ultra-Efficient, Could Replace Gas and Diesel [Engines]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/409932257/free+piston-engines-are-ultra+efficient-could-replace-gas-and-diesel

As we move towards battery and hydrogen cell breakthroughs that could wean us off our addiction to oil, here's at least one engine design from yesteryear that ought to be examined a bit more. The free-piston engine, first invented in 1920, is cheap to build and roughly twice as efficient as current gas engines.

Unlike its conventional counterpart, free-piston engines don't have a mechanical connect between the piston and a crankshaft. Instead, magnets at the center of the piston's rod move past metal coils to create an electrical current. The engine's configuration allows it to combust fuel quicker, improving efficiency, emissions and easily optimized for different fuels.

The bad news: they're hard to control (variations in combustion cycles can cause poor performance) and they're incredibly loud (the quick explosions need to be muffled somehow). But automakers, such as GM and Volvo, are already investigating putting the engines in future vehicles. Lets hope their forays into this don't take as long as their exploration of fuel cell options. [Technology Review via Treehugger]


Read More...

AMD Promises DirectX11 in 2009 [Amd]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/409971041/amd-promises-directx11-in-2009

AMD has confirmed rumors that it is working on DirectX 11, announcing at CEATEC that it plans to release its first DirectX 11-compatible GPUs in 2009. The company also predicted an increase in general purpose computing on GPUs (GPGPU) and a transition to a 40nm fabricating standard, which ought to give graphics chip performance rates a considerable boost. In layman terms: Things are about to get a lot bigger and a lot prettier. [Xbit Labs via Tweaktown]


Read More...

Philips reveals 56-inch Quad Full 3D HDTV in Hollywood

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409264370/

Filed under: , ,


On the slim chance that a 52-inch, no-glasses-needed 3D HDTV wasn't swank enough for you, Philips is one-upping itself at the Biz-Ex conference in Hollywood. This 56-inch monstrosity is hailed as a Quad Full Autostereoscopic 3D HDTV, which means that it packs a slightly absurd (in a good way, of course) 3,840 x 2,160 resolution and can churn through data at an alarming rate. Additionally, Philips is promising that this one can produce up to 46 views at once, which should go a long way in making the third-dimension a lot more believable on TV. There's no definitive release date just yet, but it'll probably run upwards of $25,000 whenever it's ready for prime time.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Acer's F-22bid LCD sounds like a jet, looks like a Ferrari

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409326564/

Filed under:

Acer's F-22bid LCD sounds like a jet, looks like a Ferrari
We've seen Ferrari's logo and lacquer applied to everything from GPS nav systems to overpriced clock radios, each product diluting the brand that Enzo built bit by bit. Acer is the most common enabler, and its latest prancing horse-decal'd product is the F-22bid, a 22-inch LCD sporting a 1680 x 1050 resolution and a racy (sorry) 2ms gray-to-gray response rate. Brightness is the standard 300cd/m2, though a contrast ratio of 20,000:1 impresses, and VGA, DVI, and HDMI inputs mean it should easily connect to just about all of your headless video outputting devices -- but at what cost? Acer isn't telling, and with only 500 of these being built, we're not expecting affordability here.

Update: Jody commented to let us know that a seemingly identical, but apparently non-limited-edition version of this monitor is available right now at NewEgg for just $309.

[Via Akihabara]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Samsung's SWC-E100 XOHM WiMAX ExpressCard gets reviewed

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409337193/

Filed under:

Now that Sprint's XOHM service is officially live in downtown Baltimore (and working in cars, phew!), how's about taking a look at the card that's handling the magic? Samsung's SWC-E100 ExpressCard, which was conveniently leaked by Sprint early last month, is a "simple, inexpensive" card that does a more-than-adequate job at placing you on the mobile broadband superhighway. Reviewers at PC Mag dubbed it a "solid first effort from Samsung for getting laptops onto Sprint's fast XOHM WiMAX network," and while the card "worked as advertised," the inability to work with EV-DO or any non-WiMAX protocol was sort of a downer. Furthermore, the card won't play nice with OS X and there's no external antenna port, but they do bundle a potentially important extra: a PC Card slot adapter for users with aging laptops. Bottom line? Not too shabby for $59.99 sans contract.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

HP's 2730p EliteBook tablet PC reviewed, seriously loved

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409367913/

Filed under: ,


HP's exceptionally fresh EliteBook 2730p tablet was recently reviewed by the notebook mavens over at GottaBeMobile, and right out of the gate, they delivered the line that tells all: "The HP 2730p EliteBook tablet is more than worthy of your consideration as your next or your first tablet PC." So, what did this thing do right in order to garner such a recommendation? Let's see -- overly satisfactory performance, an excellent design, smile-worthy battery life (4-hours in normal use on a single 6-cell), and perfectly implemented inking / tablet features. Granted, not everything was rosy, as the WXGA (1,280 x 800) screen left a little to be desired and the keyboard layout was similarly scolded. Overall, the unit still performed well enough to make it into their short list, but it sounds like you may want to try one in person before buying blind.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Nokia Comes With Music officially launches October 16, 5310 XpressMusic eats first

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409420612/

Filed under: ,


The 5800 XpressMusic is stealing the lion's share of the spotlight today, but the first S60 5th Edition handset out there actually isn't the first to get hooked up with Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service. That honor will instead go to the lowly 5310 XpressMusic candybar, which will get access to about 2 million track downloads when it hits Carphone Warehouse in the UK in prepaid form for £130 (about $228) on October 16, a day earlier than rumored. Other models will have to wait, though Comes With Music versions of the N95 8GB and 5800 are both planned.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hands-on

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409407829/

Filed under: ,


She's arrived at last, the 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia's tardy entry into the (modern) touchscreen phone space, and we've gotten some quality face time with the device. Appropriately nicknamed the Tube, the device has a number of Nokia peculiarities that could appeal to certain sensibilities, but probably won't be taking a big bite out of existing touchphone market share -- at least in the S60-phobic United States. Let's dig in, shall we?

Continue reading Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hands-on

Perma link | Email this | Comments

Read More...

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/409407830/

Filed under: ,


While it may not be Nokia's first touchscreen phone (anyone out there remember the 7710?), the 5800 XpressMusic is certainly the first to come out of Finland with a mainstream appeal. What we've alternately known as the "Tube" throughout much of its development cycle is the first production device to run S60 5th Edition -- the fourth major overhaul of Nokia's ubiquitous smartphone platform since 2002 and the first to support fingers, styli, and high-res displays. Speaking of high-res displays, the 5800 comes equipped with an impressive 3.2-inch 640 x 360 resistive touchscreen to go along with its 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot with support for 16GB cards. It'll be available in three versions -- European HSDPA, North American HSDPA, and GSM only -- and ships this quarter in black, red, and blue for €279 (about $392) unlocked with an 8GB card thrown in for good measure. Music fans with voracious appetites for new tunes might want to hold out, though, for the Comes With Music-equipped version that follows on "early next year" at a to-be-announced price.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...