Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/google-buys-cuils-search-related-patent-applications/

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications

Google's been buying a fair amount of IP over the past several months from IBM, and now the Big G has acquired seven new patent applications from the now-defunct search engine, Cuil. Back in 2008, Cuil aimed to take Google's crown as the king of search, but was shut down 2010 because it often failed to provide relevant results (despite its massive site index). Good thing the patent apps Google's gotten are for different methods of displaying search results, as opposed to, you know, finding them. The full list of assignments can be found at the source below, so head on down to get your fill of patent claims and black and white drawings.

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/qualcomm-krait-s4-soc-fully-benchmarked/

Qualcomm Krait S4 benchmarks

We've seen it, touched it and we fully expect it'll be turning heads in Barcelona next week, but until now Qualcomm's Krait chip has largely escaped the rigors of independent benchmarking. Fortunately, AnandTech has to come to our rescue once again with a characteristically thorough analysis at the source link. Those blue and green charts can speak for themselves, but if you're in a rush then here's the rub of it: the Krait truly is a next-gen SoC, with the dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8960-powered reference handset delivering an "insane performance advantage" of between 20 percent and 240 percent on CPU benchmarks. As we glimpsed recently, graphics performance is somewhat less ground-breaking but still very healthy, with the 28nm process allowing the Adreno 225 GPU to run at up to 400MHz, versus 266MHz on its Adreno 220 predecessor. Oh yes, this is going to be one mother of an MWC.

Qualcomm Krait S4 SoC fully benchmarked, diagnosed as 'insane' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Single atom transistors point to the future of quantum computers, death of Moore's law

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/single-atom-transistors-point-to-the-future-of-quantum-computers/

Single Atom Transistor

Transistors -- the basic building block of the complex electronic devices around you. Literally billions of them make up that Core i7 in your gaming rig and Moore's law says that number will double every 18 months as they get smaller and smaller. Researchers at the University of New South Wales may have found the limit of this basic computational rule however, by creating the world's first single atom transistor. A single phosphorus atom was placed into a silicon lattice and read with a pair of extremely tiny silicon leads that allowed them to observe both its transistor behavior and its quantum state. Presumably this spells the end of the road for Moore's Law, as it would seem all but impossible to shrink transistors any farther. But, it could also points to a future featuring miniaturized solid-state quantum computers.

Single atom transistors point to the future of quantum computers, death of Moore's law originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pantech Element review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/pantech-element-review/

You've heard of singin' in the rain (and have likely seen the movie). You may have even attempted it once or twice, but tableting in the midst of a downpour? That doesn't exactly conjure the same whimsy and spontaneous dance numbers. Yet, Pantech's making such joyous, on-the-go content consumption possible with the aptly named Element. It's yet another addition to the growing stable of LTE devices propping up AT&T's newly expanded 4G fort. Rather than run the risk of this being seen as another garden-variety Honeycomb tablet, though, Pantech's imbued this guy with waterproofing.

Of course, that's not all this skinned Android slate's bringing to the party. With a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 CPU complemented by 1GB RAM, a 1024 x 768 TFT XGA display and a healthy 6,400mAh battery, this impermeable tab stands on equal spec footing with its post-PC peers. At $299 on two-year contract, it's certainly priced to sell, but should you dish out the dollars for a middle-ground tablet from the likes of a lesser-known manufacturer? Does a limited and possibly frivolous imperviousness to water warrant your attention? Should you stash that plastic until Pantech confirms an ETA for that Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade? Find all this out and more after the break, as we force this 8-incher to brave the elements.

Gallery: Pante! ch Eleme nt review

Continue reading Pantech Element review

Pantech Element review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/huawei-alleged-10-inch-android-tablet-leaks/

Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Shortly after Huawei's Ascend D1 made a trip to the studio for some glamour shots, an incognito slate is following suit. A set of photos from Russian site hi-tech@mail reveals what could be in store from the Chinese outfit at MWC 2012 (you know we'll be there), though the lack of full-body pics makes us question whether it's in fact the 10-inch tab it claims to be. Aside from the questionable size, we do see a tour around its purported metal casing, which is very reminiscent of that T-Mobile-bound MediaPad we showed you last year. Allegedly, the tablet will come sporting an 8-megapixel rear shooter, Ice Cream Sandwich and will be priced at about 20,000 Russian Rubles (or around $670). Those of you feeling intrigued can hit up the source link below to catch the rest of the sneaky shots.

Continue reading Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC

Huawei's alleged 10-inch slate shows up at photoshoot ahead of MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu's full desktop OS coming to multi-core Android devices

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/ubuntus-full-desktop-os-coming-to-multi-core-android-devices/

What the Atrix 4G first promised, it looks like the folks at Canonical may deliver. Think back to CES 2011, when Motorola showed us a future where our phone was the only computing device we would need -- only to leave us wanting when its webtop app didn't deliver the requisite functionality for such a future. Well, it turns out Ubuntu now runs on multi-core Android devices and your handset can grant a full desktop experience when docked with a display and a keyboard. It's a customized version of Ubuntu that plays nice with Android, the two OS's sharing data and services while running simultaneously. So, you can still access telephony and texts from the Ubuntu environment while enjoying all the computing capabilities it has to offer, including: Ubuntu TV, virtualization tools for running Windows applications, desktop web browsers, and Ubuntu apps built for ARM. It isn't clear exactly what hardware you'll need to run Ubuntu on a handset, but Canonical has said it works on multi-core devices with HDMI and USB connections. We'll get more info next week when it's shown off at MWC, but until then you'll have to settle for the source below and PR after the break.

Continue reading Ubuntu's full desktop OS coming to multi-core Android devices

Ubuntu's full desktop OS comi! ng to mu lti-core Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/pulse-surface-controller-system-bangs-the-drum-desk-window/

The Pulse Surface Controller is a vibration-based musical instrument that finally puts those years of air drumming to use. It's a small, piezo-based MIDI controller that lets you turn pretty much any surface into a musical instrument. The device has a built-in suction cup, comes with velcro straps and plugs into your computer's microphone port. The fun really starts with the dedicated controller software, that converts your percussive punches to your virtual instrument of choice. You're not limited to drums either, as you can map your taps to a velocity sensitive melodic generator to create musical tones and scales. Luckily you won't have to sit on your hands to get one of these either, as the Pulse Surface Controller System is available now for $59, or you can tap-tap-tap the video after the break for a demo.

Continue reading Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window

Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of! feeds.

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Inhabitat's Week in Green: 'Plantscraper' vertical farm, new wave energy and a battery-powered iPhone case

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/19/inhabitats-week-in-green-plantscraper-vertical-farm-new-wav/

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Groundbreaking green architecture burst into life in Sweden this week as Inhabitat reported that Plantagon began construction on the world's first 'Plantscraper' vertical farm. We also marveled at artist Yayoi Kusama's dazzling Infinity Mirror Room, which shines with the reflections of thousands of LEDs, and we shared the bubbly modular AMPS living wall system. Meanwhile, the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program announced that HWKN's bright blue spiky sea-urchin shaped pavilion will be popping up this summer, PinkCloud.DK unveiled plans to transform oil refineries into giant energy positive communities and the UK granted planning commission for its first amphibious house.

We also showcased several amazing applications for LEGO bricks this week: a NYC apartment renovated with 20,000 plastic bricks, a gigantic LEGO-inspired church in the Netherlands and a remarkable fully articulated prosthetic LEGO arm. Speaking of next-gen prosthetics, this week Israeli scientists demoed a real-life "Star Trek" VISOR that enables the blind to see, and Nike took the wraps off a prosthetic running sole for amputee triathlete Sarah Reinertsen.

This also marked a heated week for energy news as solar power heavyweight Sunpower sued Solarcity over stolen data, and Aquamarine Power geared up to connect its new wave energy generator to the UK's national grid. We also got ready for rough days ahead with the waterproof, armageddon-ready, solar-charged, battery-powered iPhone case, and we got things cooking with Biolite's brilliant new camping stove, which converts waste heat into electricity for USB gadgets. Last but not least, we were wowed by several amazing new applications for discarded tech: Sean Avery's astounding animal sculptures made from shattered CDs and Paola Mirai's elegant jewelry fashioned out of discarded computer circuits.

Filed under: Science

Inhabitat's Week in Green: 'Plantscraper' vertical farm, new wave energy and a battery-powered iPhone case originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MinION USB stick decodes DNA in a matter of seconds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/minion-usb-stick-decodes-dna/

If you happen to be "special," then this $900 USB device is just about the worst thing ever. The aptly named MINion serves its masters by interrogating the cells of living organisms and rooting out their genetic secrets. We won't pretend to know exactly how it works, but it starts by pulling a strand of DNA through a razor-like nanotube that unzips the double helix. The nucleotide bases are then electrocuted one by one until they give up their code. The resulting sequence is stored like a ticker-tape readout, for the whole world to see. The MinION can complete its task in seconds and, unlike most other DNA sequencers, it's portable and simply plugs into a laptop. Luckily, it has so far only been shown to work on very short genomes, like those belonging viruses and bacteria, so for now you're probably safe.

MinION USB stick decodes DNA in a matter of seconds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Premium cable TV comes to XBMC, GoodPlayer and more via InfiniTV 4 tuner

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/premium-cable-tv-comes-to-xbmc-goodplayer-and-more-via-infinitv/

In the olden days of CableCARD circa 2004, only a select few devices and software could leverage the card's power to watch premium cable TV, but not today. Today just about any adventurous dev can take advantage of the fact that an OCUR is a network tuner and access premium cable TV -- as long as the content is marked Copy Freely, that is. The latest to unleash that power is XBMC which also helps extend the functionality to iOS via GoodPlayer and Buzz Player as well as any UPnP client with the help of a Serviio media server. Essentially this custom code is acting as a middleman, but fulfilling the dream that any software could directly control and stream from a CableCARD tuner like the InfiniTV 4 is within reach. The only drawback left is that even with the current sale price of the InfiniTV 4 at $199, it still isn't as low as the cost of entry of something like a ClearQAM tuner.

Premium cable TV comes to XBMC, GoodPlayer and more via InfiniTV 4 tuner originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel Launching New Atom-Based Processors With Digital Wi-Fi [Intel]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5886463/intel-launching-new-atom+based-processors-with-digital-wi+fi

Intel Launching New Atom-Based Processors With Digital Wi-Fi If you thought Intel's Atom processor line was dead, think again: the company is launching a new version of the silicon, code named Rosepoint. Don't be too quick to dismiss it, either, because it sounds like the new mobile processor could mean business.

Wired reports that the new line of chips should bring significant reductions in power, cost, and size to Intel-powered smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Perhaps most interestingly, the chip has Wi-Fi built in as part of the digital chip. Current Wi-Fi chips tend to be analog, and a digital version should in theory be easier—and cheaper—to scale down. Indeed, Intel Chief Technical Officer Justin Rattner told Wired that the digital Wi-Fi chip should scale with Moore's law and has "state of the art power efficiency."

Even though Intel is officially announcing the chip in San Francisco this week, it won't be commercially available for at least two years. Given that it currently supports just 2.4GHz and Wi-Fi, that seems a little odd—though apparently versions with cellular data and built-in radio antennas are in development. [Wired]

Could This Be The iPad 3's Guts? [Rumors]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5886465/could-this-be-the-ipad-3s-guts

Last week we saw what might be the iPad 3's high-res display. Now, MacRumors is suggesting that the logic board of the new iPad is out in the wild. How likely it is to be real is, obviously, up for debate.

This photo, originally posted at Chinese site WeiPhone, shows what is claimed to be the iPad 3's logic board, including an "A5X" system-on-a-chip. We're expecting a new processor in the next iteration of the iPad—though we thought an A6 would be the next logical step. If this photograph is real, the A5X model name may suggest that this piece of silicon is a bridging step.

According to Mac Rumors, the date code on the chip—"1146"—indicates that it was "manufactured in the 46th week of 2011, which would have corresponded to November 14-20". Elsewhere on the board are a pair of 16 GB flash memory chips from Hynix and a rectangular Apple-branded chip similar to the power management chips found in previous iPads.

As ever, it's difficult to say whether we can definitely expect the A5X chip to appear in the new iPad. One thing is certain: there isn't long to wait in order to find out. [Mac Rumors]

Sunday, February 19, 2012

GuitarJack Model 2 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/18/guitarjack-model-2-review/

As recovering amateur musicians, some of us still fancy well-made mobile recording gear from time to time. The ability to simultaneously record guitar and vocals using an iPhone 4S is what made the GuitarJack Model 2, in particular, catch our eye. We've taken iPad recording accessories for a spin in the past, but the compact stature of this kit, along with its ability to transform a smartphone into a 4-track recorder seemed quite compelling indeed. At $149, this generation of the GuitarJack costs a full Grant more than Apogee Jam -- excluding the added expense of well-suited apps, of course. So is that hefty investment worth it? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Guitar Jack Model 2 review

Continue reading GuitarJack Model 2 review

GuitarJack Model 2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 flexes its imaging muscle (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/18/qualcomms-snapdragon-s4-flexes-its-imaging-muscle-video/

Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 flexes its imaging muscle (video)

While we already know that Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 will offer a quad-core variant, incorporate LTE and use a 28nm manufacturing process, the company posted an article to its media blog ahead of Mobile World Congress showcasing the new features provided by the chipset's Image Signal Processor. You're likely familiar with some of the imaging functionality available in Qualcomm's existing Snapdragon processors -- technology like Scalado's Rewind (pictured above) which we've covered before. The new SoC cranks things up a notch with support for up to three cameras (two in the back for 3D plus one front-facing), 20-megapixel sensors and 1080p HD video recording at 30fps. In addition to zero shutter lag, the Snapdragon S4 includes proprietary 3A processing (autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance) along with improved blink / smile detection, gaze estimation, range finding and image stabilization. Rounding things off are gesture detection / control, augmented reality and computer vision (via Quacomm's FastCV). Want to know more? Check out the source link below, then hit the break for video demos of the S4's image stabilization and gesture-based imaging chops.

Continue reading Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 flexes its imaging muscle (video)

Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 flexes its imaging muscle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus Vu officially revealed ahead of MWC with stylus, 1.5GHz CPU (Updated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/19/lg-optimus-vu-5-inch-4x3-mwc-2012/

Similar to its pre-CES reveals, LG just couldn't wait for Mobile World Congress to get underway on the 27th before showing off its new Optimus Vu handset. These new pics offer a much clearer look at its 4x3 aspect ratio, 1024x768 res, stylus-friendly 5-inch IPS LCD display, while the official specs confirm rumors it would pack a 1.5GHz dual core CPU, 8MP camera, LTE, 2080mAh battery and Android 2.3 in a slim 8.5mm thick frame. An upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is promised within three months of its launch, currently scheduled for March on Korean carriers SK Telecom and LG+. Check the gallery for a few more glamour shots of this new Galaxy Note competitor, and see if wider truly is better.

Update: You'll find a few more official pictures in the gallery below and the English PR with details on its "QuickClip" hotkey for one-button screenshots and memos and the "Rubberdium" stylus after the break.

Gallery: LG Optimus Vu

Continue reading LG Optimus Vu officially revealed ahead of MWC with stylus, 1.5GHz CPU (Updated)

LG Optimus Vu officially revealed ahead of MWC with stylus, 1.5GHz CPU (Updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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