Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, August 31, 2009

Santech LV1 is low voltage and low fat, but not low price

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/santech-lv1-is-low-voltage-and-low-fat-but-not-low-price/

Santech might not be the most familiar name around here, but the company has a bit of history in the mobile field, and its latest 13.3-inch effort definitely merits a second look. Coming in under that magical mental barrier of an inch in thickness and sporting an Intel CULV processor, it's slinky and (just) powerful enough to be called an ultraportable. Add in a claimed 12 hours of battery life, and the LV1 would seem like a viable competitor to Acer's Timeline series, but it falters on pricing, which -- once you add the 8-cell battery to the base unit of a SU3500 1.4GHz CPU, 2GB RAM and 160GB HDD -- is €701 ($1,003) after taxes, or €100 more than an almost identical Aspire 3810T from Acer.

[Via Notebook Italia]

Filed under: Laptops

Santech LV1 is low voltage and low fat, but not low price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS' Eee PC roadmap leaks: Ion-boasting netbooks, multitouch T91 coming soon?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/asus-eee-pc-roadmap-leaks-ion-boasting-netbooks-multitouch-t9/

If two slides leaked to the Eeeuser.com forum are to be believed, ASUS has some pretty interesting -- though not terrifically surprising -- netbooks on the horizon. The slides, which are apparently the company's roadmap for US products for the next two quarters, are chock full of refreshed product information. It looks like we're going to be seeing a brand new Eee PC, the 12-inch 1201N, which will bring NVIDIA's Ion platform to the line for the first time, with an Atom N270 CPU, 2GB RAM, a 250GB HDD, Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi, running $499 for release in mid-October. Other than that, we can expect to see the 1005HA-P with the N280 processor and a 250GB HDD option running Windows 7 also arriving in October for $399, and the 1005HA-M with the N270 processor, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter Edition for $349. Finally, Netbook News is also reporting some new 1008HA models not listed on the slides, as well as a multitouch, Windows 7-running T91 convertible tablet with a 32GB SSD priced at $549. There's no timeline mentioned for this one, but we'll keep our ears to the ground expectantly. The other slide is after the break; hit the read link if you want the full details on each model.

[Via Netbook News]

Continue reading ASUS' Eee PC roadmap leaks: Ion-boasting netbooks, multitouch T91 coming soon?

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS' Eee PC roadmap leaks: Ion-boasting netbooks, multitouch T91 coming soon? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers developing OLEDs as cheap as newspapers?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/researchers-developing-oleds-as-cheap-as-newspapers/

Sure, it'll probably be a good while before you get your hands on an OLED TV, but don't lose heart, young gadget-head! Techno-wizards at the RIKEN center in Japan have concocted a new way to fashion OLEDs that eschews the standard spin-coated films for something called electrospray-deposited polymer films, incorporating "a novel dual-solvent concept" that makes the 'em "smoother than before, thereby enabling [...] superior devices." We'll skip a few details that don't mean anything to those of us who aren't Advanced Materials subscribers (hit the read link for more info) and get to the good stuff: Yutaka Yamagata, the guy who developed this technique, says it will lead to displays "manufactured as inexpensively as printing newspapers." Is that a promise, Yutaka? If so, we're holding you to it.

[Via OLED-Info]

Filed under: Displays

Researchers developing OLEDs as cheap as newspapers? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint follows T-Mobile's lead, wants $350 for HTC Touch Pro2

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/sprint-follows-t-mobiles-lead-wants-350-for-htc-touch-pro2/

We figured the suits over at T-Mobile USA were on some of that good stuff when they slapped an almost comical $350 (on contract) price tag on HTC's Touch Pro2, but evidently said "stuff" has made its way into the halls of Overland Park as well. After months of watching evidence mount, Sprint has finally come clean and admitted that HTC's EV-DO Rev. A-equipped superphone is coming to its network, and with it will come access to Sprint TV as well as NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile apps. The smartphone will go on sale September 8th, though you'll have to pony up $349.99 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) in order to secure one on a two-year contract. We're all about that 3.6-inch WVGA tilting screen, but with Palm's Pre selling on this very network for a full $150 less, we're thinking this one won't appeal to many outside of the WinMo faithful.

Continue reading Sprint follows T-Mobile's lead, wants $350 for HTC Touch Pro2

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint follows T-Mobile's lead, wants $350 for HTC Touch Pro2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netbook sales growth doubles laptops in Q2 '09

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/netbook-sales-growth-doubles-laptops-in-q2-09/

While it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given the fairly steady growth netbooks have seen since their inception as a product category, it's still pretty notable that they've apparently now managed to nearly double traditional laptops in sales growth during the second quarter of this year. That word comes from market research firm DisplaySearch, which found that netbook shipments grew an impressive 40% compared to the same quarter last year, as opposed to 22% for plain old laptops. As excitingly illustrated in the chart above, however, that still leaves netbooks (or "mini-notes") well behind laptops in terms of total shipments, although that seems almost certain to narrow considerably in the months and years ahead -- at least until the line between netbooks and laptops becomes so blurred that we just start calling everything "laptops" again.

Filed under: Laptops

Netbook sales growth doubles laptops in Q2 '09 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia's 32GB Alvin RM-559 hits FCC, Simon 561 and Theodore 563 nowhere to be found

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/nokias-32gb-alvin-rm-559-hits-fcc-simon-561-and-theodore-563-n/

Nokia's latest mystery device to hit the FCC, the RM-550 "Alvin," holds itself in some good company given the known specs. Its 32GB internal memory is matched only by Espoo's other flagship devices N97 and N900, and it's also got the same BL-5J battery as the aforementioned pseudo-MID. Throw in quad-band GSM, tri-band WCDMA, Bluetooth, and WiFi, and you've got our interests piqued. The confidentiality agreement of the filing gives no indication of when we might hear more details, but we're gonna go ahead and start preparing ourselves mentally for yet another resistive touchscreen.

[Via Unwired View; thanks, Me]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia's 32GB Alvin RM-559 hits FCC, Simon 561 and Theodore 563 nowhere to be found originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Inspiron 11z reviewed with high hopes, disappointing realities

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/31/video-dell-inspiron-11z-reviewed-with-high-hopes-disappointing/

Dell's 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z sure looks promising, with a sub-$500 price tag and an Intel Celeron 723 / non-Atom processor, but if you ask the gang at Notebook Review to describe it, it's unfortunately a pretty big letdown. Some minor issues with the body from the get-go, it's apparently got one of the worst touch pads the site's ever seen, and the 1.2GHz processor ended up underperforming compared to its Atom-based competition (although we gotta wonder how using Windows 7 instead of Vista might help here). There is some good here, with the GS45 chipset and X4500 graphics allowing for decent 3D performance and smooth 720p playback. Still, we can't help but have some hopes dashed here -- better luck next time, right? Hit up the read link for the full review, with video.

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Inspiron 11z reviewed with high hopes, disappointing realities originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is the experience in the marketing or in the product/service itself? ClickZ: Experiential Marketing - http://bit.ly/ms9U1

How low can you go? Facebook advertising benchmarks from actual campaigns - http://bit.ly/EhiW9

Sunday, August 30, 2009

an ingredient of viral video success is extremity - no, not that kind. They either love you or hate you passionately - http://bit.ly/11Davq

The Worldâs Most Beautiful River

Source: http://cubeme.com/blog/2009/08/18/the-world%E2%80%99s-most-beautiful-river/

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The Caño Cristales river is in the La Macarena National and Ecological Reserve Park in Colombia. The river has been referred to as the “river of five colours”, “the river that ran away to paradise,” and “the most beautiful river in the world.”

World_Most_Beautiful_River2

During Colombia's wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call the river home the sun that they need. And during the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river. But during a brief span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colours. Blotches of amarillo, blue, green, black, and red–and a thousand shades in between–coat the river.

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Link Via [Neatorama]

What's more effective AND lower cost than multi-million-dollar TV ads? - http://bit.ly/lvuG0 (secret wink to those who thought "everything")

B2B Ad Pages Slide 30% in 1H09

Source: http://feeds.marketingcharts.com/~r/marketingcharts/~3/jfoWnOK__3c/

Through the first half of 2009, ad pages in B2B publications slipped 30.2% compared with the same period in 2008, according to American Business Media's Business Information Network. For June, ad pages were down 32.8% from the same month last year. Year-to-date, total ad revenues have dropped 26.5%, to $3.7 billion, reports Media Buyer Planner. American [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marketingcharts/~4/jfoWnOK__3c" height="1" width="1"/>

FontCapture Turns Your Handwriting into a Font [Handwriting]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/a-0GNLq3VKo/fontcapture-turns-your-handwriting-into-a-font

If you've got a few minutes, stylish script, and a scanner, FontCapture can turn your handwriting into a font. That keeps all your mad-scientist notes on the computer, yet still gives them that essential lab bench grit.

Go to FontCapture and download their font template. Once downloaded, print it off and carefully fill in the single-sheet grid. You don't need to fill in every slot for FontCapture to create your font. If you don't use letters like ó, ò, or ñ in your daily writing, feel free to skip over them.

Once you've filled out the template, you upload it to Fontcapture and it processes your handwriting into a font for personal use. That's all there is to it, but it's a pretty neat way of giving an image or document a consistent look, but a look you crafted yourself. FontCapture is a free service and requires no signup.

Bokeh Filter Turns Blurry Lights Into Distinct Shapes [Photography]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/urwPkOg9FOU/bokeh-filter-turns-blurry-lights-into-distinct-shapes

Bokeh, which is the out-of-focus light distortion in the background of a photo, is more and more seen as an aesthetic element of photography. This lens brings it more attention by shaping those blurs into stars, hearts, and more.

The Bokeh Filter is a physical lens that attaches to any mainstream DSLR and blocks out small pieces of light to create the desired patterns. Changing the cool blurry streetlights behind your ladyfriend into hearts? Cheesetastic. But used subtly (that would mean using no shapes that are also found in a box of Lucky Charms), this could bring a really cool element to some photos. And hell, if you're going for outright cheese, might as well do it naturally and not in the edit room, right? [Bokeh Filter via Geekologie]

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