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Monday, May 11, 2009

NY storefront hosts the first no-glasses 3D LCD ad

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/ny-storefront-hosts-the-first-no-glasses-3d-lcd-ad/

Like 3D, don't like glasses? Check out 750 7th Avenue at 50th Street in New York for the Snickers display where Inwindow Outdoor and Alioscopy have teamed up for the first 3D LCD ad on a storefront. The 42-inch panel uses an 8x recorded autosteroscopic (read: no glasses) 3D process to make the catchphrase jump off the wall at passers-by. The installation debuted May 6, and for the small cost of being marketed to vs. the now-shelved €18,000 Philips screen we once lusted after, it's a cheap way for us to get a peek at the future.

Filed under: Displays

NY storefront hosts the first no-glasses 3D LCD ad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flexible, stretchable, rubbery OLED prototype shown off in Tokyo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/flexible-stretchable-rubbery-oled-prototype-shown-off-in-tokyo/

Electrical engineering researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a flexible, stretchable OLED that acts something like rubber, and does not tear or break when stretched. The material is produced by spraying a layer of carbon nanotubes with a fluoro-rubber compound, creating a rubbery, conducive material. The current, monochrome display prototype has a resolution of just 256 pixels, is 10-centimeters square, and can apparently be folded about 1,000 times with out falling apart, tearing, or imploding. The team is presenting its findings in the British science journal Nature Materials this month.

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Displays, Science

Flexible, stretchable, rubbery OLED prototype shown off in Tokyo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/lacie-hurdles-the-10tb-barrier-upgrades-its-2big-and-5big-raid/

The kids at LaCie are clearly out of control. Every time we turn around they're unveiling another big, bad storage solution aimed at a world hungry for... well, more storage. If the old 8TB model was a little slight for your liking, the company has announced product upgrades for both the 2big Network and 5big Network devices, featuring Apple Time Machine and in the case of the 5big device, iTunes server support. While the latter rocks five hot-swappable drive bays for up to 10TB storage and a $799.99 MSRP, the 2big device sports a 'mere' 4TB of RAID action at an MSRP of $319.99. These are devices that speak calmly, in an eerie monotone, pronouncing that they still have the "utmost enthusiasm and confidence" in your mission. They clearly "want to help you." Available soon on the company's website.

Continue reading LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives

Filed under: Storage

LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flat-panel TV sales jump 23% over last year, Vizio leads the way

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/flat-panel-tv-sales-jump-23-over-last-year-vizio-leads-the-way/

We'd already heard that Vizio has vaulted back into first place among LCD TV manufacturers, but a new series of numbers compiled by the folks at DisplaySearch is now shedding a bit more light onto how much the flat-panel TV market as a whole has surged over the past year. Apparently, about 7.2 million flat-panel sets were moved during the first quarter of 2009 alone, which represents a sizable 23% increase over the numbers from the first quarter of 2008. DisplaySearch also expectedly reconfirms Vizio's number one status, although its figures are a tad more conservative and peg Vizio's market share at a still impressive 18.9% (as opposed to the 21.6% found by iSupply), which is well above the 8.5% earned by the likes of rival Funai (producer of TVs for Sylvania, Emerson and other low-cost brands). As you might expect, higher-end brands like Sony and Samsung weren't as able to buck the economic downturn quite so easily, and they actually saw their sales decrease compared to the same period last year.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Flat-panel TV sales jump 23% over last year, Vizio leads the way originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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the power (and danger) of social amplification - KFC's Kentucky Grilled Fiasco - http://ping.fm/WTQfv

Bomberman Explodes Plants

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/NffMDh_o9SM/

This title maybe misleading but the intention is pretty peaceful! Legend has it that after the World War II got over, American pilot Gale Halvorson airdropped candies in the name of hope, for the Berlin children. War equals devastation, so dropping candies instead of bombs was probably personal retribution. Inspired by this incident, designer Hwang Jin wook and pals have come up with a plan to combat deforestation and desertification of land in a similar fashion. Their mission is called "Seedbomb."

Mission Seedbomb involves a bomber aircraft and charges full of the Seed Capsules. Essentially the project involves artificial dispersal of seeds over arid areas where natural vegetation has lapsed due to man-made follies like deforestation leading to desertification. Each capsule contains artificial soil and seeds, and are air-dropped over the selected regions.

Housed in biodegradable plastic, the artificial soil provides nourishment and moisture to the seed; till it grows out to be a strong enough plant to sustain itself. As the sapling matures, the plastic capsule melts away, leaving behind a brand new generation.

Sounds like Mission (im)Possible to me, however the logistics of desert environment and the kind of seeds to be dispersed will require a lot research and expertise from the botanists. Because once the capsule melts away and the artificial soil's nourishment and moisture used up, it'll take a lot of effort on the plant's part to survive the harsh environment.

Designers: Hwang Jin wook, Jeon You ho, Han Kuk il & Kim Ji myung

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Samsung's i7500 Android phone shows up in another, more epic hands-on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/10/samsungs-i7500-android-phone-shows-up-in-another-more-epic-han/

Sure, we already got a pretty decent look at Samsung's first Android device -- the i7500 -- just a few short days ago. Tech 65's video, however, gives the phone a much more in depth once-over, and while the software is still not in its final state, it's looking pretty smart over all. If you've forgotten, the quad-band GSM, tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/1700/2100MHz) handset boasts a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, a 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage with MicroSD expansion for up to 32GB more, and a standard 3.5mm jack. Hit the video after the break, but fair warning: this video does not have any awesome hair metal.

Continue reading Samsung's i7500 Android phone shows up in another, more epic hands-on video

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung's i7500 Android phone shows up in another, more epic hands-on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 May 2009 22:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Dynabook UX reviewed, deemed a cut above other netbooks

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/toshiba-dynabook-ux-reviewed-deemed-a-cut-above-other-netbooks/

Toshiba's 10.1-inch netbook -- the Dynabook UX -- hasn't been on our radar terribly long, but already it's beginning to make the review rounds. Portable Monkey's just gotten their hands on one and while they are fans of the design, think the over all build quality is a bit better than many netbooks, and also found the battery life to be pretty good (they got about 3.5 hours per charge), there are also a few drawbacks. The keyboard is cramped, the built-in scrolling is none too responsive, and the volume of the speakers is extremely quiet. The NB200 is set to be released in the coming months in the UK, and it's expected to run about $600 when it makes its way to the US.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba Dynabook UX reviewed, deemed a cut above other netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 00:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's ST2010 20-inch monitor to bring HDMI for about $120

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/11/dells-st2010-20-inch-monitor-to-bring-hdmi-for-about-120/

Regardless of its efforts, when discussing desktops, laptops, and even rumored smartphones, there are few brands in the business capable of inspiring a deep, consumer yawn as quickly as Dell. That can't be said about Dell's display business however, which has consistently provided sleek monitors offering some of the best bang for the buck in the business. Dell's newest 20-incher is already out in Hong Kong where we expect it will soon begin its journey west. This entry-level monitor speaks the new design language of Dell's XPS and Studio rigs and comes packing HDMI and VGA inputs with specs that include a 1600 x 900 (that's a 16:9 aspect) pixel resolution, 5 millisecond response, 1000:1 contrast and 250 nits of brightness with a 160-degree viewing angle. Not great, but decent specs for the HK$1,098 (tax inclusive) price which we expect to be about $120 - 130 by the time model ST2010 lands Stateside.

[Thanks, John]

Filed under: Displays

Dell's ST2010 20-inch monitor to bring HDMI for about $120 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 01:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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sites that do this to users should be shot on sight - http://ping.fm/wGGQ5 - full page video ads BETWEEN web pages

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hackers Break Into UC Berkeley's Database, Steal Nearly 100,000 Social Security Numbers [Crime]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bxjk2Vvklu8/hackers-break-into-uc-berkeleys-database-steal-nearly-100000-social-security-numbers

An unknown number of hackers broke into UC Berkeley's database and were able to access the personal and health information of over 160,000 students and former students. They're still at large.

The target of the attack seems to have been the trove of social security numbers, around 97,000 of which were stolen. SSNs can be used to access bank accounts, open credit cards, and even have new driver's licenses printed. The original hacking took place a month ago, from around April 6th to the 9th, and the university was only able to make their students (and former students; the accessed files go back to 1999) aware of the infiltration on the 21st.

FBI and other police have been notified and are investigating the crime, but we're not aware of any leads. The break-in was only discovered thanks to a sort of "signature" left by one of the hackers, so they may be too sneaky to have left a trail that can be followed. Let's hope they're dumber than they appear. The school has set up a site (here) to update the public with more information as it comes in. [AP]

Color E-Paper From Philips That Could Replace Monitors, the Real Thing [E-Ink]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L30VLz6eYRw/color-e+paper-from-philips-that-could-replace-monitors-the-real-thing

Philips is no stranger to teasing us with amazing color e-paper promises and concepts. They did it in 2007, in 2008, and again this weekend with an example that could make LCD screens feel inadequate.

As I said above, color e-paper boasts and chest thumping from the Philips camp is nothing new. However, this current concept (and really, this is still another pipe dream concept for now) uses a completely new technique that preserves screen resolution by literally turning the traditional pixel model on its head.

For some background, existing e-ink tech in devices like Sony's Reader and the Amazon Kindle use electrophoresis. This technique sees white particles suspended in a dark liquid. When an electric field is passed through them, they get happy, more vertically up and down, and you can read Stephen King on your Kindle.

But those crazy Philips folk in Amsterdam vaulted over all that and implemented "in-plane electrophoretics" so that they could move multi-color bits about horizontally, not vertically. The result could very well rival LCD screens someday:

Each pixel is made up of two microcapsule chambers: one containing yellow and cyan particles, the other, below, containing magenta and black particles. Within each microcapsule, one set of colored particles is charged positively while the other is charged negatively.

By carefully controlling the voltages at electrodes positioned on the edges of the pixels, it is possible to spread the colored particles across the pixel or remove them from view altogether by hiding them behind the electrodes, says Lenssen. This means that different ! shades o f color can be achieved by controlling how many of each group of colored particles are visible. To create white, all of the particles are simply shifted to the side to reveal the white substrate beneath the two microcapsules.

There's more all all this in our fine Giz Explains feature about the absence of a "perfect" eReader, which you should check out.

Which leads to the inevitable caveat. This tech is "in its infancy," not ready, and about three years off, if not more. In the meantime, Amazon would like you to save the newspaper industry by giving them a $500 donation (ed. Note - Last line inspired by Mark Wilson's Twitter feed.) [Technology Review - Thanks, Ron]

T-Mobile to release "multiple" Android devices this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/09/t-mobile-to-release-multiple-android-devices-this-year/

It's no secret that T-Mobile has some grand Android-based plans after the million-selling success of the G1, and although we've heard sketchy reports of future devices to come, it sounds like things are starting to firm up: CTO Cole Brodman told GigaOm yesterday that the carrier is planning to launch "multiple" Android devices from "three partners" later this year. One of those is pretty obviously the HTC Magic / Sapphire / myTouch, but that's just the tip of the potential iceberg here -- we've got a feeling that the Samsung I7500 "Houdini" will be involved, the G1 v2 is certainly interesting, there's that mysterious Huawei set we saw at MWC, and hell, we've even got reports of netbooks, tablets, and home phones in the mix. That's a lot of directions Timmy-O can go, any predictions?

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile to release "multiple" Android devices this year originally appeared on Enga dget on Sat, 09 May 2009 19:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI X320 ultralight escapes its box

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/10/msi-x320-ultralight-escapes-its-box/

We've already spent some time ogling over the MSI X-Slim X320 in person, but the ultrathin laptop is starting to ship out in Europe, and these are the first unboxing photos we've come across. Sadly it looks like retail units will be festooned with an nasty array of stickers across the palm rest, but overall it looks like MSI's pulled off a nice little riff on the MacBook Air theme. Full set of pics at the read link.

[Thanks, Jens]

Filed under: Laptops

MSI X320 ultralight escapes its box originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 May 2009 02:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SmartQ 7 Internet Tablet spotted in the wild, priced

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/10/smartq-7-internet-tablet-spotted-in-the-wild-priced/

We just caught our first glimpse of the SmartQ 7 Internet Tablet a few days ago, and now it's already showing up out and about on display. A few more of the tablet's specs have emerged since our initial gander, including the fact that it'll house a 66tMHz Samsung ARM S3C6410 CPU, 128MB of RAM, and 1GB of flash memory. Apparently, a limited number of these bad boys will be available in China in the next two months, and it's expected to run CNY1,289 (about $190).

[Via Pocketables]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

SmartQ 7 Internet Tablet spotted in the wild, priced originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 May 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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