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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Enable Motion Interpolation for Movies on Your PC [Movies]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5551295/enable-motion-interpolation-for-movies-on-your-pc

Enable Motion Interpolation for Movies on Your PC The debate over frame interpolation is starting to heat up, and you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Tech weblog Tested has a guide to enabling it on your PC and watching your movies with doubled frame rates.

While it is technically closer to what we see in real life, a lot of people are so used to watching video at 24 frames per second, that faster frame rates seem "fake" to them. Part of this is likely because the smoother motion is somewhat similar to what we see in soap operas (a lot of people describe it as the video looking like it's going 1.5 times faster, but actually moving at actual speed). If you haven't tried watching movies at a faster frame rate, or if you're already a fan but don't want to shell out for a 120Hz television, you can enable motion interpolation on your PC.

You'll need a fairly decent computer to pull this off; Tested recommends a good dual core processor for watching 720p video and probably a quad-core for 1080p. It also involves installing a few different programs and manually copying plugins into directories, as well as copying and pasting a bit of script, but it isn't too difficult—it just might take you a bit of time. Note that while the guide mentions re-installing ffdshow from scratch, it doesn't provide the link. You can get the installer package here.

I tested this myself and can confirm that it works on my 15" MacBook Pro in Windows 7 64-bit, and I did notice quite a difference. It's a bit distracting at first, but it definitely changes the way you watch certain types of fast-paced video, such as sports or some of today's cluttered, hard-to-follow action sequences (I'm talking to you, Transformers and The Bourne Ultimatum). It definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but if you're curious and want to see what it looks like before buying a new TV, it's definitely worth trying out. Hit the link for the full guide, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

How to Enable Motion Interpolationon Your Movie Files [Tested]

Nokia N8's USB On-The-Go support demoed, lesser phones turned into slaves

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/30/nokia-n8s-usb-on-the-go-support-demoed-lesser-phones-turned-in/

Among the Nokia N8's neater tricks is its support for USB On-The-Go, which basically lets you connect USB peripherals (flash drives, for example) to the phone and have it act as a host -- a duty usually reserved for heavier-duty devices like PCs. Though the N8 is still a solid month or three away from release, we're getting a nice little video demo on YouTube today of an N8 being walked through the paces of connecting both a plain-vanilla USB drive and another Symbian-based Nokia candybar (brownie points for naming the model in comments, by the way). Basically, you can treat the connected hardware as mass storage and browse it just as you would the N8's internal space, which basically means you've got unlimited music capacity as long as you've got a pocket full of USB sticks and a micro USB-to-USB adapter cord. Follow the break for video.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia N8's USB On-The-Go support demoed, lesser phones turned into slaves

Nokia N8's USB On-The-Go support demoed, lesser phones turned into slaves originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Intel roadmap reveals six new notebook CPUs for 2010, better battery life in 2011

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/30/leaked-intel-roadmap-reveals-six-new-notebook-cpus-for-2010-bet/

We love the smell of silicon in the morning -- especially when it emanates from one of Intel's legendary leaked roadmaps. Today, we've stumbled across one with specs for Chipzilla's entire fall collection of mobile chips, and a couple new details about that desiccated overpass the execs keep talking about. First up, it appears sources were spot-on about the Core i7s and Core i5s we heard about last week, but the 2.66GHz / 3.33 GHz Core i5-580M won't be the only dual-core CPU to look for in Q4; it will be sandwiched between the 2.8GHz Core i7-640M (which turbos to 3.46GHz) and the 2.66GHz / 3.2GHz Core i5-560M -- all of which peak at a conservative 35 watts.

True juice sippers will want a 15W CULV, however, and it seems more of those exist than Intel initially let on; Q4 will see a high-end Core i7-680UM that starts at 1.46GHz and turbos up to 2.53GHz and a 1.33GHz / 2.13GHz Core i5-560UM, plus a 25W 2.26GHz Core i7-660LM low-voltage chip will also join the fray. All these new dual-cores will have on-die Intel HD Graphics in one form or another, but all are also stopgaps until Intel's 32nm "Huron River" platform debuts in the first quarter of 2011. Then, we'll get WiMAX, WiDi and Intel Bluetooth alongside an intriguing new concept dubbed Zero Power ODD, which promises a power-saving sleep mode for our noisy optical disc drives (see more coverage link) and the promise of enough battery life to play two full Blu-rays on a single charge. Don't believe us? See the slides below for more.

Gallery: Intel's leaked mobile roadmap, Q4 2010

Leaked Intel roadmap reveals six new notebook CPUs for 2010, better battery life in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coming Soon: Printable Prescription Pills [Health]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5549904/coming-soon-printable-prescription-pills

Coming Soon: Printable Prescription Pills Only a small portion of the pill you swallowed earlier is actually an active ingredient, the rest is filler. That bit of information is what caused researchers to explore a way to start printing active ingredients onto blank filler tablets.

Aside from allowing medication dosages to be customized during the printing process, this method would also allow active ingredients to be affective more rapidly as they'd be on the outside of tablets rather than encased inside a pill.

Unfortunately the process could only be applied to about one percent of the pills on the market at this time, but researchers remain hopeful about figuring out a way to implement it more widely. [Discovery via Geekologie]

Picture by Dean812

Fastest Integrated Circuit Doubles the Previous Record, Getting Close to One Terahertz [Circuits]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5550277/fastest-integrated-circuit-doubles-the-previous-record-getting-close-to-one-terahertz

Following up on a 2007 world record for the fastest transistor speed, Northrop Grumman announced today that it has shattered the world record for integrated circuit performance, nearing one terahertz.

The new circuit layout operates at 0.67 terahertz, or 0.67 trillion cycles per second, more than doubling the frequency of the fastest known IC in the world.

Northrop Grumman's Terahertz Monolithic Integrated Circuit (TMIC) was developed as part of DARPA's Terahertz Electronics program, which aims to introduce the next generation of high-performance electronics that push performance levels above the 1 terahertz center frequency range. Such electronics should lead to better communications technologies, sub-millimeter wave sensors, and terahertz imaging systems that blow current technologies out of the water.

Obviously, 0.67 terahertz doesn't quite reach DARPA's goals, which as always are quite ambitious. But TMIC amplifiers could still have an appreciable impact on technologies ranging from communications to radar to explosives detection. And naturally these advances should trickle down to benefit those of us who don't have security clearance as well.

If you're the type who really likes to dig into the nuts and bolts, the technical paper on the circuit is available in PDF here.

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

Gigabyte busts out M1125 netvertible ahead of Computex

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/gigabyte-busts-out-m1125-netvertible-ahead-of-computex/

Gigabyte's just let its Computex 'cat' out of the bag, and while most of it is stuff we've already seen plenty of, there was one new addition. The 11.6-inch M1125 netvertible boasts a high res 1,366 x 768 display, an Intel Calpella chip, USB 3.0 and an optical disc drive. This little guy also has a new fangled docking station and a full sized keyboard to boot. We don't have anything resembling full specs yet, nor do we have pricing or availability information -- though we get the feeling we'll be seeing plenty more of this one in the week to come. Full press release follows.

Continue reading Gigabyte busts out M1125 netvertible ahead of Computex

Gigabyte busts out M1125 netvertible ahead of Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JooJoo creator rips into the iPad, says an app store only sells 'stripped down versions of actual websites'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/joojoo-creator-rips-into-the-ipad-says-an-app-store-only-sells/

Fusion Garage CEO and JooJoo creator Chandra Rathakrishnan has certainly discussed the iPad before in talking up his own tablet, but nothing could have quite prepared us for the bit of bombast he unleashed on the occasion of the iPad's international launch. While he started out with the usual line that the "JooJoo delivers the entire Internet -- including Flash-based websites," he soon took things to a whole new level, saying that "we don't see the need for an app store," because "an app store sells stripped down versions of actual websites" -- stripped down websites like Brushes, KORG iElectribe, and Real Racing HD, we suppose. Believe it or not, however, Rathakrishnan didn't let things sit there, and apparently went on to describe the iPad as just "another storage device with web capabilities." Of course, there's at least a chance Chandra was actually paying the iPad a compliment, since a "storage device with web capabilities" would be a pretty big step up from the JooJoo.

JooJoo creator rips into the iPad, says an app store only sells 'stripped down versions of actual websites' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI X340 reborn as DIY carbon fiber tablet, watch it stream YouTube at 720p (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/msi-x340-reborn-as-diy-carbon-fiber-tablet-watch-it-stream-yout/

Tired of touchscreen tablets that lack speed, a usable UI, or support for a certain streaming video format that will go unnamed? As one of our favorite sayings goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself. One Engadget reader took that idea to heart in crafting the 13.4-inch carbon fiber contraption you see above, imbuing it with enough high-end netbook parts to run Windows 7 at a brisk pace and play 720p video on its large, resistive touchscreen. Starting with the guts of an MSI X320, adding an accelerometer and 40GB solid state drive and finally sandwiching a random Chinese digitizer on top, the whole 1.6GHz Atom Z530 machine cost him under $700 in parts. For that price, we're sure many of you would be happy to follow in his footsteps, but if not, by all means continue complaining to your tablet manufacturer of choice. We have another favorite saying: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Video after the break; Q&A with the creator at our more coverage link.

Continue reading MSI X340 reborn as DIY carbon fiber tablet, watch it stream YouTube at 720p (video)

MSI X340 reborn as DIY carbon fiber tablet, watch it stream YouTube at 720p (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qik two-way video calling on the Sprint EVO 4G is free, premium service is not

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/qik-two-way-video-calling-on-the-sprint-evo-4g-is-free-premium/

Qik has lived up to its name in clarifying some leaks indicating that future EVO 4G owners on Sprint will be charged $5 a month to make use of its video chat services. As it turns out, that subscription fee will be for a new range of "advanced premium features," which will be elucidated on June 4 alongside the EVO's retail launch. The core two-way video calling will come absolutely free, we're promised, and only those yearning for extra features will have to pay up. It seems clear from the wording of that statement that multi-party conversations will figure prominently in the premium set, though we're left guessing at what other ways Qik has for seducing us to part with our cash. Either way, good news if you wanted to keep things simple... and cheap.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Qik two-way video calling on the Sprint EVO 4G is free, premium service is not originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 4G display put under a microscope, 960 x 640 a lock?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/iphone-4g-put-under-a-microscope-960-x-640-looks-like-a-lock/

You've seen it in San Jose, you've seen plenty of it in Vietnam, and now, apparently, you're seeing the iPhone 4G display waving at you from the center of Europe, namely the Czech Republic. We haven't been able to corroborate that these fellas do indeed have a legitimate next-gen iPhone part in their paws, but hey, that's what they claim. The guys from superiphone.cz have gone above and beyond the leaker's call of duty, by taking the supposed next-gen screen under a microscope and figuring out its pixel density and display technology. According to them, the new iPhone will sport an IPS panel, much like the other handheld device Apple introduced this year, with a cool 960 x 640 resolution. This quadruples the total number of pixels from the iPhone 3GS -- making rescaling of current apps a straightforward affair -- while also giving Apple the right to claim the highest pixel density yet seen on a phone. You'll find similarly zoomed-in pics of the Nexus One and iPod touch screens at the source, and the answers to all your iPhone-related questions at WWDC in a few days' time.

iPhone 4G display put under a microscope, 960 x 640 a lock? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Streak's Gorilla Glass screen: torture tested for your amusement (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/dell-streaks-gorilla-glass-screen-torture-tested-for-your-amus/

So we've been hearing rumors about the Dell Streak being some kind of a rugged bad boy. Word is, the Gorilla Glass display on this 5-inch slate is good enough to withstand pretty much anything a human would care to throw its way. Them's fighting words where we come from, so we did the only thing a responsible tech blog can do -- we put them to the test. Should you be brave enough to follow us after the break, you'll come upon our best efforts to destroy our own Streak prototype, albeit with little success. Then again, the end result might be less important than the journey there, which is not to be missed.

Continue reading Dell Streak's Gorilla Glass screen: torture tested for your amusement (video)

Dell Streak's Gorilla Glass screen: torture tested for your amusement (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Skype 2.0 app for the iPhone allows voice calls over 3G

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/new-skype-2-0-app-for-the-iphone-allows-voice-calls-over-3g/

Plenty of other VoIP apps have managed to work in this functionality since Apple / AT&T started allowing it last year, but the official Skype app has been a notable holdout. Now, two months after Skype started doing 3G calls on Android with Verizon, there's a 2.0 version of the app for iPhone that brings voice calls over 3G at last. Mobile iPhone calls are free until August, after which you'll need a "mobile subscription." We're testing out the app as we write this and it seems to work about as well any other 3G VoIP app we've tried: passable, not revolutionary.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

New Skype 2.0 app for the iPhone allows voice calls over 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung develops USB-powered desktop PC monitor, plans 2011 street date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/samsung-develops-usb-powered-desktop-pc-monitor-plans-2011-stre/

We've seen more than our fair share of USB displays as of late, and on the whole they're usually tiny -- say, around 7-inches. Sure, they're well-suited for someone who wants to get that Tweetdeck or their IRC window off of their main desktop, but that's about it. It looks like Samsung's poised to take the whole affair to the next level with its new 18.5-inch LCD display. By "improving the transmittance of the panel and the luminance efficiency of the backlight," Tech-on! notes, the company was able to keep power consumption down to 6.3W -- low enough that a forked USB 2.0 cable is sufficient to power the thing as well as supply data. The only drawback? Apparently the device uses an edge-lit backlight that limits the device's lifetime to 30,000 hours compared to 50,000 for existing LCD monitors). According to the company, you can look forward to seeing these things hit store shelves sometime in 2011.

Samsung develops USB-powered desktop PC monitor, plans 2011 street date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI follows fate's whispers, intros 24-inch Wind Top AE2420 3D

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/29/msi-follows-fates-whispers-intros-24-inch-wind-top-ae2420-3d/

Typical, right? As the 3D craze flows from the cinema to the television and onto the PC, it was just a matter of time before one of MSI's Wind Top all-in-ones shipped with support for the third dimension. By most accounts, the new Wind Top AE2420 3D looks like a mildly larger version of the AE2220 we peeked late last year, touting a 24-inch 1080p multitouch panel, support for shutter glasses (a single pair is included), Core i5 or i7 CPU options and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD5730 pushing the pixels. There's also a pair of 5-watt speakers built-in, not to mention an Ethernet jack, VGA output and a handful of USB 2.0 sockets. Mum's the word on pricing, but MSI is expected to have this bad boy on display as Computex kicks off early next week. Yeah, you know we'll be there pretending to be embarrassed while donning the spectacles.

Continue reading MSI follows fate's whispers, intros 24-inch Wind Top AE2420 3D

MSI follows fate's whispers, intros 24-inch Wind Top AE2420 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OpenWays makes your smartphone a hotel room key, provides a different kind of 'unlock'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/30/openways-makes-your-smartphone-a-hotel-room-key-provides-a-diff/

For years now, hotel chains have been toying with alternative ways to letting patrons check-in, access their room and run up their bill with all-too-convenient in-room services. Marriott began testing smartphone check-ins way back in 2006, and select boutique locations (like The Plaza Hotel in New York and Boston's Nine Zero) have relied on RFID, iris scanners, biometric identifiers and all sorts of whiz-bang entry methods in order to make getting past a lock that much easier (or harder, depending on perspective). This month, InterContinental Hotels Group announced that they would soon be trialing OpenWays at Chicago's Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown Convention Center, enabling iPhone owners to fire up an app and watch their room door open in a magical sort of way. Other smartphone platforms will also be supported, and as we've seen with other implementations, users of the technology will also be able to turn to their phone to order additional services, extend their stay or fess up to that window they broke. There's no word on when this stuff will depart the testing phase and go mainstream, but we're guessing it'll be sooner rather than later. Video after the break, if you're interested.

Continue reading OpenWays makes your smartphone a hotel room key, provides a different kind of 'unlock'

OpenWays makes your smartphone a hotel room key, provides a different kind of 'unlock' originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our t erms for use of feeds.

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