Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, February 04, 2010

AT&T letting SlingPlayer stream over 3G on the iPhone at long last

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/atandt-letting-slingplayer-stream-over-3g-on-the-iphone-at-long-la/

After all the hubbub and controversy caused by the release of SingPlayer for iPhone back in May, we knew it would take a serious change of heart for AT&T to reverse course on the issue of 3G streaming. The app's super-conspicuous lack of 3G was one of the clearest statements around that the iPhone represented a level of data consumption that AT&T was fairly unprepared for, and that certain uses like VoIP over 3G and live video streams were just not going to fly. Well, we've just now gotten over that VoIP hump, and now AT&T has given in to SlingPlayer demand at last. AT&T says it has been testing an "optimized" version of the app on its 3G network since December, and Sling says the dynamic bandwidth adjustment should keep the app from bringing the network to grinding halt -- in not so many words. The 3G-friendly version will be a free upgrade to the $30 application, and should be available as soon as the revised software makes its way through the App Store approval process.

AT&T letting SlingPlayer stream over 3G on the iPhone at long last originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RealSSD C300 tested, offers sublime speed at superlative prices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/realssd-c300-tested-offers-sublime-speed-at-superlative-prices/

Micron RealSSD C300 tested, offers sublime speed at superlative prices

It's been a few months since Micron became the second to introduce the world's first SATA 6Gbps hard drive (Seagate was the other), and regardless about who was earliest we now know which is currently the fastest. TweakTown put a Crucial-branded C300 through its paces and came to a rather simple conclusion: "At this point in time there is no other drive, platter or solid state that is in the same league as the Crucial RealSSD C300." It blitzed through all their tests and at the end, when others would be a smoking ruin of high access times, it still performed as good as new. There was one catch, though: Windows Media Player performance was abnormally low, something that testers believe is a glitch to be addressed in firmware. Other than that, if you want the best this is it. But can you afford it? A 128GB model will set you back $499, and the 256GB one is $799. Yeah, ouch.

RealSSD C300 tested, offers sublime speed at superlative prices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 22 Immutable Laws No Longer Apply in the "golden age of the consumer" @acfou - http://bit.ly/aRfkiY

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/amoeba-inspired-chimera-robot-slithers-on-video/

Virginia Tech's RoMeLa has done more than its fair share to further the development of our future robot overlords. Now, in a recent TED talk, Dr. Dennis Hong brings us up to date on some of the creepier candidates for world domination, including the spider-like STRiDER and the amoeboid ChIMERA (Chemically Induced Motion Everting Robotic Amoeba). The latter achieves locomotion by the movement of its silicone skin, squeezes through spaces half its diameter, and travels up to half a meter per second. The good doctor is tight-lipped on much of the device's specifics, but among options being explored for powering the thing are chemical actuation, electroactive polymers, and air-driven tubes. Check out the team's work in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Travis]

Continue reading Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video

Amoeba-inspired ChIMERA robot slithers on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CBS brings 3D advertising to Grand Central Station, glasses makers drink to that

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/cbs-brings-3d-advertising-to-grand-central-station-glasses-make/

We know good and well what kind of extravagant displays are available to gawk at in New York City, but now it looks like the locals will have yet another one to check out when they're taking a breather from the rat race. CBS Outdoor has unveiled plans to deliver two solid hours (from 11:30AM to 1:30PM throughout February) of 3D advertising on an expansive, high-definition video screen installed within Grand Central Station. Unlike the glasses-free solution that we spotted at Intel's CES booth this year, this one will still require onlookers to rock those heinous and soul-crushing glasses in order to "see" the "effect," and with around 70,000 commuters passing by each day, we'd guess that the spectacle manufacturer who nabbed this contract is feeling pretty good right about now.

CBS brings 3D advertising to Grand Central Station, glasses makers drink to that originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony working to wedge laser-based pico projectors into its compact cameras?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/sony-working-to-wedge-laser-based-pico-projectors-in-its-compact/

Sony working to wedge laser-based pico projectors in its compact cameras?

Nikon's Coolpix S1000pj camera/pico projector combo hasn't exactly taken the world by storm, but we're guessing it took a little while before Reese's Peanut Butter Cups became a global phenomenon, too. If reports from DigiTimes prove to be true, Sony wants to be front and center to meet the eventual demand for such cameras, working with Opus Microsystems to license its laser-based scanning mirror chips, projector tech that sounds similar to Microvision's Show WX. Word is that other camera manufacturers are working with Texas Instruments for the development of their own pico-packing cams, relying on TI's DLP-based tech found in the the S1000pj and a variety of other devices. Which will rule the roost? We'll take lasers over LEDs any day of the week.

Sony working to wedge laser-based pico projectors into its compact cameras? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/motorola-devour-officially-coming-to-verizon-next-month/

And just like that, it's official. Verizon Wireless has today announced that Motorola's scrumptiously named Devour will be heading to its network next month, with it being the first VZW phone to feature Motoblur. Not that we're seeing any surprises here, but a quick specification run down draws our attention to a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a touch-sensitive navigation pad, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card and Bluetooth support. Unfortunately, there's no apparent mention of multitouch -- and we wouldn't expect it out of the box, since the Devour runs Android 1.6 -- but we're crossing our fingers (and toes, for that matter) for Google to sling that delightful Nexus One update to the rest of its high-powered Android phones in the very near future. There's nary a mention of an asking price, but we'll be sure to keep an eye out as launch day approaches.

Gallery: Motorola Devour

Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penn State busts out 100mm graphene wafers, halcyonic dream inches closer to reality

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/penn-state-busts-out-100mm-graphene-wafers-halcyonic-dream-inch/

Yes, we've been marching on this road to graphene-based superconductive electronics for a long, long time. But in the space of one week, we've now seen two significant advancements pop up that rekindle our hope for an ultrafast tomorrow. Hot on the heels of IBM's recent bandgap achievement comes Penn State University with a 100mm wafer of pure graphene gorgeousness. Built using silicon sublimation -- a process of essentially evaporating the silicon away from the carbon layer -- these are the biggest graphene wafers yet, and field effect transistors are being built atop them now to start performance testing early this year. Naturally, nobody's sitting on this laurel just yet, with further plans afoot to expand beyond 200mm wafers in order to integrate fully into the semiconductor industry, whose current standard wafer size is around 300mm in diameter. On we go then.

Penn State busts out 100mm graphene wafers, halcyonic dream inches closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gmail Chrome extensions

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/CaZs4CTmYXU/gmail-chrome-extensions.html

Posted by Christos Apartoglou, Product Marketing Manager, Google Chrome

There's always that email. You know the one I'm talking about: the message we're waiting for so anxiously that we end up checking our inbox 100 times a minute to see whether it's arrived. Since last Monday, I've stopped being a manic tab switcher and the F5 key on my keyboard has breathed a sigh of relief — all thanks to the Google Mail extension in Google Chrome.

Extensions are small programs that help you customize your browsing experience. They can give you quick access to your favorite websites like Weather.com or eBay, provide alerts or updates from sites like Woot.com or NPR, or help you perform common online tasks such as getting driving directions or simply change the look and feel of your browser.

The Google Mail extension adds a nifty little button next to Google Chrome's address bar that provides an updated indicator of the unread messages in your inbox. It also lets you access your inbox with just one click.

There's also a Send from Gmail extension which makes Gmail your default email application and opens a compose window whenever you click an email address on a webpage. It also adds a new button next to the address bar that makes it easy to send an email directly from Gmail, pre-filling the subject of the message with the title of the web page you're currently on and the body with selected page text and the link address.

There are several other Gmail extensions that the Google Chrome developer community has written; you can check out these and more than 2,000 other extensions in the Google Chrome Extensions gallery.

Google Chrome Extensions are now available for all Windows users. For those of you on Linux, extensions are enabled on the beta channel. Mac users, hang tight — extensions are coming to the beta soon.

New NASA Solar Spacecraft to Record Sun at IMAX Resolution [Space]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Y6WTV9l2dmc/new-nasa-solar-spacecraft-to-record-sun-at-imax-resolution

This is the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. Together with the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager, and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment, it will capture the Sun at IMAX resolution every ten seconds. They will travel together inside NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft.

After its February 2010 launch on top of an Atlas V rocket, the SDO will capture images at almost four times the resolution of an HD TV, transmitting the results back to Earth at 130 megabits per second. Basically, this thing will be transmitting the equivalent of 500,000 MP3 per day, seven days a week. According to Dean Pesnell at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the potential for new discoveries is giganormous:

We'll be getting IMAX-quality images every 10 seconds. We'll see every nuance of solar activity.

Pesnell said that this speed opens an incredible potential for discovery, using 18th century photographer Eadweard Muybridge as an example:

But when Muybridge photographed horses using a new high-speed camera system, he discovered something surprising. Galloping horses spend part of the race completely airborne-all four feet are off the ground.

To achieve all this, the three instruments in the SDO have been designed to cover three vital aspects of our home star. First, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly—which will be producing most of the data—that you see at the opening of this post uses four telescopes together. They will be the ones photographing Sol's surface and atmosphere using ten different wavelength filters. Meanwhile, the HMI will analyze the innards of the star, looking into the physics that govern it inside. Then, EVE will measure extreme ultraviolet light activity while getting a nice and toasty tan.

How would this data be received? Using two 18-meter antennas near Las Cruces, New Mexico, which will be linked constantly to the SDO thanks to its geosynchronous orbit. Until it gets destroyed by the mysterious flying spaceship.

Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/intel-swings-25nm-factory-doors-open-for-a-tour-de-fab/

Intel and Micron's recent announcement that their collective superhero body, appropriately named IM Flash, is sampling 25nm flash chips has been accompanied with a whirlwind tour of their Utah production facilities for a few lucky journalists. PC Perspective bring us the atmospheric photo above, along with some videos, as they prance about one of the most hallowed (and cleanest) environments known to gadget lovers. Apart from the die shrink, the lads also discuss Intel's reputed plans for a G3 SSD refresh some time "later this year" with snappier controllers onboard, which apparently was echoed by Micron who also intend to pump out faster processors with their SSD products. While you wait for all that to happen, hit the source link to find out how and where the stuff that gets put inside SSDs is made.

Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon kicks out new Coolpix S- and L-series cams

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/02/nikon-kicks-out-new-s-and-l-series-cams/

Keeping with the pre-PMA announcements, Nikon also launched the S and L series of cams just now -- the S stands for "Style," and L stands for "Life." The Ls are the low-end of the bunch -- Life is apparently cheaper than Style -- and you've got two choices: the $280 L110 superzoom, which has a 15x optical zoom lens in front of a 12.3 megapixel sensor and a 3-inch 460,000-dot LCD, or the $130 L22 compact, which has a 3.6x zoom and a 12 megapixel sensor, and comes in many colors because low-end camera have to come in rainbow colors or the Best Buy people won't say they're any good. Nikon says the new $299 S8000 pictured above is the most notable of the Style line, mostly because of its 10x zoom, 720p video, 921,000-dot LCD for previewing. Yeah, not bad at all. After that it's just incrementally sadder steps down the features scale: the $249 S6000 has a 7x lens and a 230,000-dot LCD, the $200 S4000 adds touchscreen controls to its 3-inch 460,000-dot LCD but has a 12 megapixel sensor and a 4x zoom, and the $149 S3000 has a 2.7-inch LCD, a 4x zoom, and probably isn't interesting to you at all. Unless it is, in which case you can look at it in the gallery, read the PR after the break, and just generally party the night away.

Gallery: Nikon kicks out new S- and L-series cams

Continue reading Nikon kicks out new Coolpix S- and L-series cams

Nikon kicks out new Coolpix S- and L-series cams originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hasselblad creates 40 megapixel H4D-40 medium format camera, wants $20k for it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/hasselblad-creates-40-megapixel-h4d-40-medium-format-camera-wan/

Tough though it may be to believe, Hasselblad's 39 megapixel H3D II actually came out in 2007. Yeah, last decade. In other words, it's about time we saw a true successor hit the market, and with PMA just about ready to get going in Anaheim, the bold and beautiful H4D-40 is making its grand entrance. Boasting a 40 megapixel sensor, this medium format behemoth -- which we spotted in a leak late last month -- also features a "True Focus" AF system and ships with an 80mm lens and a viewfinder. The kit is said to be shipping now across the globe for $19,995 (or €13,995 / £12,995 on that side of the pond), which should make choosing between a new shooter and a public college education remarkably difficult.

Hasselblad creates 40 megapixel H4D-40 medium format camera, wants $20k for it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP's 8440 and 8540 EliteBooks ready to ship with Core i7 inside

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/hps-8440-and-8540-elitebooks-ready-to-ship-with-core-i7-inside/

HP promised us a mobile workstation refresh in February, and sure enough, today we are staring down the retail pages for its quartet of upgraded business laptops. The new top of the line EliteBook models come in 14- (8440p/w) and 15.6-inch (8540p/w) varieties, with the w-appended models sporting appropriately beefed up NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics with up to 1GB of dedicated GDDR5. If you want to grab one for under a grand, you'll have to make do with the reasonably powerful Core i5-520M / 2GB DDR3 RAM combo, but we're most excited by the future customization options, which include a low-voltage Core i7-820QM CPU with 8MB of internal cache, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 256GB in SSD storage. Course, we can't put prices to these spectacular beasts just yet, as HP is still only offering preconfigured rigs, but we think it'll be less than five figures.

[Thanks, Jared]

HP's 8440 and 8540 EliteBooks ready to ship with Core i7 inside originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchSmart 600 Quad series does the Core i7 thing

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/hp-touchsmart-600-quad-series-does-the-core-i7-thing/

What? Did Intel release a new processor or something? HP is just the latest PC vendor to make the Core i7 jump as it plans to put its new TouchSmart 600 Quad series up for sale starting today. The beefed up 23-inch all-in-one starts at $1,699 with options for a 1.6GHz Core i7 720QM or 1.73GHz Core i7 820QM Intel quad-core processor. Otherwise, the rest of the specs remain unchanged for this Windows 7 AIO. Still, if you've been waiting to pull the trigger since hearing about this update from our December leaks, well, keep refreshing that source link boy, it'll be available shortly.

Update: It's live.

HP TouchSmart 600 Quad series does the Core i7 thing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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