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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Eye-Fi announces Apple-exclusive Geo X2 card, more WiFi hotspot support
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/eye-fi-announces-apple-exclusive-geo-x2-card-more-wifi-hotspot/
In the event that none of Eye-Fi's existing 802.11n-capable offerings meet your wireless photo upload needs, take heart, because there's a new model getting shoehorned between the $49.99 Connect X2 and the $99.99 Explore X2 that might just satisfy your discerning tastes. Like the entry-level Connect X2, the Geo X2 brings 4GB of Class 6 (read: high-speed) photo and video storage plus an "Endless Memory Mode" that can automatically delete shots once they've been safely uploaded to their destination -- but like the name implies, the new model adds the automatic geotagging support offered by its pricier siblings. It'll be an Apple Store exclusive starting next month for $69.99.Along with the Geo X2, Eye-Fi is announcing a partnership with Devicescape that's yielding significantly expanded support for open WiFi hotspots with splash screen logins such as those offered by schools, cafes, and WiFi providers like Boingo, arguably addressing one of the card's biggest weaknesses. The new capability will be available to users by the end of May -- so start finding more awesome stuff to photograph, alright?
Eye-Fi announces Apple-exclusive Geo X2 card, more WiFi hotspot support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ASUS Eee PC T101MT review
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/asus-eee-pc-t101mt-review/
Continue reading ASUS Eee PC T101MT review
ASUS Eee PC T101MT review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New Metamaterial First to Bend Light in the Visible Spectrum
We're one step closer to the stuff of sci-fi and boy wizards. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have engineered a metamaterial with a refined 3-D structure that gives light a negative refraction index upon entering the material. Put another way, it bends light the opposite way one might expect, irrespective of the angle or polarization of incoming light waves. Put yet another way: We're getting closer to that invisibility cloak we've been looking for.
Metamaterials, of course, are artificial materials engineered to exhibit properties that don't come easily in nature. Such materials could have a range of applications, from superlenses to solar cells to active camouflage. And while this isn't the first light-bending metamaterial we've ever seen, it is the first one that operates on visible light, doing all of its negative-index refracting in the blue part of the spectrum.
Not only that, but this new metamaterial is simpler than previous attempts at negative-index metatamaterials. It requires only a single functional layer, yet is seriously versatile, handling light at any polarization and functioning at a wide range of incident angles. That could potentially enable superlenses that image past the diffraction limit, solar cells that are able to scoop up a lot more sunlight, and even invisibility cloaking.
Previous metamaterials required several layers of resonant elements to create this negative-index response, but the Caltech method requires only a single layer of silver with plasmonic waveguide elements distributed throughout that route the light waves through the material. Involving only a single layer in the process means this new material is easier to manufacture and easier to tune to different wavelengths of light.
While it's more fun to think about a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak, the real breakthrough here could be in solar gathering technology. The fact that this metamaterial is tunable means engineers could potentially tweak it to better sync with the solar spectrum, manufacturing solar cells with a far higher efficiency that could in turn make solar a more feasible alternative to fossil fuels. Which is almost -- but not quite -- as exciting as an invisibility cloak.
[PhysOrg]
Entrustet Secures Your Accounts After Death with Legal Backing [Deathhacker]
Source: http://lifehacker.com/5524463/entrustet-secures-your-accounts-after-death-with-legal-backing
Entrustet offers a free account that lets you set up three unlimited password-protected accounts to be transferred over to a trust person upon your passing. How does it know when you're gone? You assign a trusted person to be your Digital Executor, who will notify Entrustet and then provide a death certificate scan to activate the password conveyance upon your death. You can also assign your estate attorney to execute your Entrustet transfer upon your death, and the site offers up a few attorneys officially on board with Entrustet—though we imagine any savvy attorney can be conscripted for the duty. Additional security and ease-of-use features (for the executor and recipients, at least) are included with paid plans.
It's a bit like previously mentioned Legacy Locker—it's a smart idea, but those interested enough in their post-mortem web accounts likely will have their own scheme set up, rather than pay for Entrustet's extra accounts and features. Still, there are other features to come, like an Account Incinerator, that you might find convenient when you're not exactly in a position to fine-tune things.
Entrustet is free to sign up for and try out with a few accounts. Tell us the (general) details of your own plans for your online life after your passing in the comments.
Google SkyMap for Android Puts Detailed Star Gazing in Your Pocket [Downloads]
Source: http://lifehacker.com/5524793/google-skymap-for-android-puts-detailed-star-gazing-in-your-pocket
Install Google Sky Map for Android on your phone and you don't just get a chance to scroll through the heavens—although you can switch it to manual mode for fun zooming around—you actually get to see the celestial sphere as you would see it with perfect telescope-vision. Check out the video below to see it in action:
Tilt the phone up towards the sky and you see what's above you, thanks to the GPS, compass, and tilt-sensors in your phone. Tilting it down, by the way, is even more fun as you get to see what's on the other side of the earth—with a powerful enough laser beam I could shoot through my file cabinet, the planet, and nail the moon.
Visit the link below for more information or hop into the Android Market and search for "Sky Map" to grab a copy. Have a tip or trick for using Google Sky Map or just an Android app your itching to share? Let's hear about it in the comments. Thanks TheMoFo!
Google Sky Map [via #tips]
Google Earth Arrives Inside Google Maps on the Web [Google Earth]
Source: http://lifehacker.com/5525281/google-earth-arrives-inside-google-maps-on-the-web
Google Earth itself still has merit, mind you. The stand-alone application still supports KML files, ocean, sky, and even Mars views, historical layers, and that oh-so-nifty flight simulator, among other advantages. But if you're looking to get a new look at a destination—like, say, what that Eyjafjallajokull volcano looked like in less eruptive times—or skim an area with an angular satellite view, Maps' own Earth view is all you need.
Using Earth View requires the installation of a browser plug-in that is, at the moment, available for Windows and Mac. Chrome users may not need to install the plug-in, but I seemed to require it in Windows.
: Earthly pleasures come to Maps [Official Google Blog]
AMD's $300 6-Core CPU: Too Good To Be True? [Amd]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5525334/amds-300-6+core-cpu-too-good-to-be-true
Bloodied, beaten, and bruised by months and months of Intel chips that outpaced its parts, AMD isn't giving up. Instead, it's hitting back with its own hexa-core CPUs and doing everything just short of yelling yippie ki-yay!
And now for the shocker: These hexa-core CPUs are affordable. Hell, one of the parts is practically budget-priced. Intel's high-flying hexa-core Core i7-980X is $1,000. Contrast that with AMD's new 3.2GHz Phenom II X6 1090T at $295. Want more? The 2.8GHz Phenom II X6 1055T costs $200. Yes, $200 for a hexa-core processor. So yippie kay-yay mother frakker, ineed!
Want even more good news? AMD's new chip will be backward compatible with the vast sea of AM3, and even older AM2+, motherboards out there. We're quite glad to hear this, because at one point the company told us it planned to jettison DDR2 support, which would have cut off the AM2+ folks. Fortunately, the company changed its mind and both new chips include DDR3 and DDR2 support.
Just like with those Hollywood action movies, this story wouldn't be complete without an element of suspense: Are AMD's Phenom II X6 processors capable of whopping Intel's similarly priced quad-cores, or even its $1,000 wonder, the Core i7-980X? To find out, you're going to have to read on.
What's the best budget chip available today for those interested in getting good performance on the cheap? We'll walk you through the top five chips and tell you which one to buy.
Under the Hood of AMD's Phenom II X6
In many ways, AMD's new Phenom II X6 isn't all that different from the Phenom II X4 processors. Both chips are built on a 45nm process, have the same 125-watt TDP rating, and feature the same microarchitecture. Of course, the Phenom II X6 is far larger than a Phenom II X4. A typical Phenom II X4 is 258mm2. The Phenom II X6 is about 40 percent larger at 364mm2. Oddly, AMD wouldn't disclose the transistor count of the Phenom II X6, but we'd guess it's the same or pretty close to the hexa-core Opteron 2435 at 904 million. On the surface, it would appear that AMD just took a Phenom II X4 and glued on two more cores. It's not quite that simple, though. The L2 cache of the new chip remains at 512KB per core. The 6MB of L3 cache is also the same as with the older quad-core. That's actually a reduction since the 6MB of L3 is shared among six execution cores instead of just four. Whether that plays into the performance of chip, isn't yet clear. But AMD has made some other changes to boost performance.
Turbo Boost, Meet Turbo Core
AMD's top-end Phenom II X6 1090T has a lower clock than the Phenom II X4 965 BE, but AMD makes up for that, and addresses the lack of applications and games optimized for six-cores, by introducing a new Turbo Core mode. Turbo Core overclocks three of the cores in the CPU when threading loads are light. The 1090T will Turbo Core from 3.2GHz to 3.6GHz, and the 1055T will Turbo Core from 2.8GHz to 3.3GHz. The mode is transparent to the OS and works without the need of drivers. It's also not as discriminatory as Intel's similar Turbo Boost, where apps that hit only one core will get more of a boost than apps that hit two or three. AMD said its tests show that the biggest benefits come from the three-core increase in games and apps that have not been optimized for four or more quads. Folks who want to mess with overclocking limits and ratios for Turbo Core can do so using AMD's OverDrive utility.
Keeping Things Compatible
AMD's strength has been its ability to make new chips work in older motherboards. In the three years that Socket AM2+ has been out, Intel has retired Socket 775 and introduced two new sockets that are incompatible with each other. That AMD can get its newest Phenom II X6 to work in older AM2+ boards (and probably even a few AM2 boards, too) is a testament to good planning. The only limiting factor for upgraders with the new Phenom X6 is likely a board's thermals: The board must support 125-watt processors for the user to expect long-term reliability. BIOS updates will also be required, but AMD says that at launch, no fewer than 160 boards will have BIOS updates available to support the Phenom II X6.
Make Way for the 890FX Chipset
With the new chip, AMD is also introducing a new chipset series: the 8 series. The top chipset from AMD is the 890FX, which will replace the 790FX chipset. The 890FX has a big leg up over its Intel counterpart, the P55 chipset, in the number of PCI Express 2.0 lanes the chipset supports. One of the problems we've run into with the P55 lately is the lack of available PCI-E lanes to pass data from USB 3.0 and SATA 6 drives. With many P55 motherboards, installing two GPUs into the x16 PCI-E slots will handcuff the bandwidth of USB 3.0 and SATA 6 devices. Not all boards are affected, but most are. With 42 PCI-E 2.0 lanes available in the 890FX chipset, you can easily run multiple GPUs as well as your other devices without being constrained. Compare that to Intel's P55 chipset which features 16 PCI-E 2.0 lanes in CPU and a pathetic eight PCI-E 1.0 speed lanes in the P55 chipset itself.
The new 890FX also features the SB850 south bridge with native SATA 6 support for six devices. The one key item missing from the SB850 is USB 3.0. Most board vendors are instead integrating NEC controllers to add the feature.
Inside the Phenom II X6
AMD's new Thuban core is essentially the Istanbul core used in the Opteron 2435. Packing roughly 904 million transistors, the monolithic core has controllers for both DDR2 and DDR3 embedded in it. While the Opteron that it's derived from has up to four Hyper Transport links for multiprocessor configurations, Thuban uses just one HT link to connect to the chipset.
So Is It Fast?
We put Phenom II X6 up against Intel's best and brightest.
As always, this is where the rubber meets the road, and to get a good feel for where Phenom II X6 1090T falls, we compared it to a spate of chips including the $282 2.8GHz Core i7-860, the $200 2.66GHz Core i7-750, the $195 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, and, of course, the $1,000 3.33GHz Core i7-980X.
We used identical GeForce GTX 280 cards in all of our test platforms, along with the same graphics drivers. For the Athlon testing, we used the new MSI 890-FXA GD70 motherboard. A Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 powered the LGA1156 parts, and an Asus P6X58D Premium handled the chore for the LGA1366 procs. All of the dual-channel boards used 4GB of DDR3/1333 RAM, while the triple-channel boards had 6GB of DDR3/1333. Windows 7 Professional and matched 150GB Western Digital Raptor 150 drives were used in all the platforms.
For benchmarks, we ran more than two dozen tests to find the strengths and weaknesses of AMD's new chips. The results are interesting, to say the least.
First, the giant benchmark chart (click to embiggen):
Video Encoding and Video Editing
In general, more cores mean better performance with multithreaded encoders and nonlinear editors, but there's more to the story than cores. Phenom II X6 chips continues to feature a three-issue execution core vs. the Core i3/5/7 processors' four-issue execution core. Against its natural competitor, the similarly priced 2.8GHz Core i7-860, the 1090T is at a big disadvantage, with encoding times in both Premiere Pro CS3 and Sony Vegas Pro 9 taking about 22 percent longer. HandBrake saw the 1090T do a little better, but AMD's hexa-core was still about 14 percent slower than Intel's quad. The closest the 1090T came to that chip was in our MainConcept Reference encoding challenge. The 1090T does a lot better against the Core i5-750, which doesn't have the advantage of HyperThreading, but the 750 is also $100 cheaper.
3D Modeling
This is the where the Phenom X6 1090T shines the brightest. The 1090T aces both the Core i5-750 and Core i7-860 in Cinebench 10 and 11.5, and POV Ray 3.7. It even manages to outpace the $562 Core i7-870 in POV Ray and Cinebench 11.5.
Photo Editing
We saw hit-or-miss results here. Against the Core i7-860, the 1090T was faster in our Adobe Lightroom file-conversion test by a healthy 10 percent, but it got blitzed in our ProShow Producer slide show–creation test by 17 percent. Photoshop CS3 also saw the 1090T trailing by about 5.4 percent. In the heavily multithreaded Bibble 5.02, we saw both chips on equal terms, with the 1090T trailing just slightly by two percent. As you'd expect, the 1090T did much better against the Core i5-750 and much worse against the Core i7-870. We guess, as they say, you gotta punch your weight.
Memory Bandwidth
The 1090T actually has the highest memory bandwidth of the AMD CPUs and also aces the dismal memory bandwidth of the dual-core Core i3-530, but all three Clarkdale parts and the two LGA1366 CPUs leave the 1090T behind. One thing to keep in mind: Memory bandwidth is apparently not the end-all, be-all as the Core i7-980X has only mediocre bandwidth yet is still the faster processor here.
Gaming
The area where the 1090T was most disappointing was gaming. Against the Core i7-860, we saw the 1090T trail by double digits in Far Cry 2, World In Conflict, Resident Evil 5, and the Valve Particle Test. The best that the 1090T did was in Dirt 2, where it beat the Core i7-860 by 28 percent. However, we suspect that our Core i7-860 score is an error on our part as it doesn't line up with the how the Core 5-750 and Core i7-870 performed. Also, keep in mind, that we run our tests at very low resolutions. At normal gaming resolutions of 1920x1200, the performance really shifts to GPU land, and you would find the margins closing up to the point where the CPU simply doesn't matter that much to the average gamer.
The Verdict
We didn't promise you an action-hero ending and you're not getting one. In the performance story, it's a mixed message. For the most part, Intel's Hyper-Threaded quad-cores still have the edge. However, Phenom II X6 gets far closer than AMD has been of late. AMD fans may be a little disappointed that the X6 doesn't spank the equivalent Intel parts, but there's still a lot of good here. The Phenom II X6 has a great price, it's probably compatible with the board you have in your machine now, and it gives you six cores. It may not be the happy ending some were looking for, but think of it like the end of Empire Strikes Back. Sure, Luke got his hand cut off, Vader is his pops, and Han got frozen in carbonite, but maybe, just maybe, there are better things coming on the horizon.
AMD FirePro 2460 Multi-View: four Mini DisplayPort sockets, 13W, no frills
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/amd-firepro-2460-multi-view-four-mini-displayport-sockets-13w/
Continue reading AMD FirePro 2460 Multi-View: four Mini DisplayPort sockets, 13W, no frills
AMD FirePro 2460 Multi-View: four Mini DisplayPort sockets, 13W, no frills originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:13:00 EST. P! lease se e our terms for use of feeds.
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Student's Windows-based media center brings our own slacker childhoods into perspective
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/students-windows-based-media-center-brings-our-own-slacker-chil/
When Andrew Macdonald was asked to design a product for a high school class, he went above and beyond the call of duty -- not only did he dream up a piece of kick-ass kit, but he took the next step and made it reality. Taking cues from his Xbox (and doing away with the front-facing lights that drive him to distraction on his current DVR) this bad boy is passively cooled, features the usual HTPC connections (HDMI, optical and coax S/PDIF, eSATA, and USB) as well as 802.11n WiFi and a hot-swappable drive bay. Under the hood, one finds a 1.6GHz Atom 330 with NVIDIA ION graphics, 4GB memory, and the OS (a custom Windows XP hack running Boxee Beta) runs on its own internal flash drive. Things have certainly changed since we were in school, when our home entertainment experience usually amounted to taping Rebel High off of USA Up All Night. Check out the gallery and video (after the break) to see this thing in all its glory.
Student's Windows-based media center brings our own slacker childhoods into perspective originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsOCZ's Agility 2 SSD reviewed: despite limits, SandForce SF-1200 drive performs well
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/oczs-agility-2-ssd-reviewed-despite-limits-sandforce-sf-1200/
Contrary to popular belief, one solid state drive isn't the same as another solid state drive necessarily. OCZ's new Agility 2 is proof of that, boasting the final (v3.0.5) version of SandForce's SF-1200 firmware. The issue here is that Corsair's recently released Force series of SSDs are shipping (and continue to ship) with v3.0.1 installed, which -- according to SandForce -- will never be viewed as the final version ready for mass consumption. As the story goes, v3.0.1 may experience a reliability issue with a power management state, but v3.0.5 caps small file random write performance as to better separate the SF-1200 drives from the pricier SF-1500 drives. Our compadres over at AnandTech were able to put the (factory limited) Agility 2 SSD through its paces, and for the most part, it came out looking pretty decent. Critics found 5- to 10-percent performance gains when compared to Intel / Indilinx offerings, but unless you have to have the absolute best, paying extra for that bump may not be the most intelligent move. The other point here is that while the Agility 2 may be capped with the v3.0.5 firmware, at least its upgrade path is a lot clearer than the aforementioned Force; if you ever take v3.0.1 away from that unit, you can kiss that extra performance goodbye. Hit the source link for the full, drama-filled look.OCZ's Agility 2 SSD reviewed: despite limits, SandForce SF-1200 drive performs well originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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(You can't get no) SATAsfaction 6Gbps SSDs (yet)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/you-cant-get-no-satasfaction-6gbps-ssds-yet/
Continue reading (You can't get no) SATAsfaction 6Gbps SSDs (yet)
(You can't get no) SATAsfaction 6Gbps SSDs (yet) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AMD's 3.2GHz hexacore Phenom II X6 1090T comes out for a review roundup
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/amds-3-2ghz-hexacore-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-comes-out-for-a-review/
Read - AnandTech
Read - HotHardware
Read - PC Perspective
Read - Hexus
Read - Legit Reviews
Read - TweakTown
Read - TechSpot
AMD's 3.2GHz hexacore Phenom II X6 1090T comes out for a review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsRovio robot controlled via Skype with Emotiv brain-reading headset
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/rovio-robot-controlled-via-skype-with-emotiv-brain-reading-heads/
The Emotive EPOC "mind-control" headset may not be quite as advanced as some of the brain-reading devices unavailable to the general public, but it looks like it's at least accurate enough for some basic tasks -- like controlling a WowWee Rovio robot via Skype. That impressive feat was accomplished by the folks at ExtremeTech, who paired the headset with the Robodance 5 software program and Skype (not to mention plenty of custom code), which allows the Rovio to be controlled from afar using both facial and mental commands. Needless to say, that's a lot easier said than done, but you can check out the results in the video after the break, and find the complete details on the project at the source link below.
Continue reading Rovio robot controlled via Skype with Emotiv brain-reading headset
Rovio robot controlled via Skype with Emotiv brain-reading headset originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Toshiba Mobile Display touts 21-inch glasses-free 3D HDTV, raises a few eyebrows
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/27/toshiba-mobile-display-touts-21-inch-glasses-free-3d-hdtv-raise/
Toshiba Mobile Display touts 21-inch glasses-free 3D HDTV, raises a few eyebrows originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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