Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/oovoo-12-way-video-chat/

If there were some video chat corollary to Moore's Law, ooVoo is adhering to it. Almost a year to the day after announcing six-way calls, the company is expanding its offerings to include 12-way chats on both Facebook and ooVoo's iPad app. It would seem that on FB, at least, that means true 12-way, face-to-face conversations -- an obvious one-up to Facebook's native video calling app, which is powered by Skype. On the iPad, however, that 12-way claim comes with a substantial quid pro quo: while you can partake in chat with 12 people at once, you can only view up to four people's streams at a time. Moving on, folks using ooVoo on Android or the iPhone will notice some UI tweaks starting today, while people plugged into the desktop version will be treated to a more drastic overhaul. Rounding out the list of newsy bits, the ability to record and upload video chats to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is now free. You can get your update on now at ooVoo.com, the Apple App Store or Google Play, and we've got one last screen shot after the break to help illustrate what's on tap.

Continue reading ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift

ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/asus-zenbook-prime-ux21a-review/

More Info

It was only a matter of time before ASUS refreshed its line of Ultrabooks with Intel's new Ivy Bridge chips, but the truth is, the company needed to improve a little more than just the CPU model number. If you recall, the Zenbook UX31 ushered in a modern metal design and unbeatable speed, but our enthusiasm waned after spending a week with the flat keyboard and temperamental touchpad.

Well, friends, it looks like Chairman Jonney Shih and co. were listening: the outfit is about to bring four of its leaked Zenbook Prime laptops to the US. These include the 11-inch UX21A, which you see up there, along with the 13-inch UX31A, UX32A and the UX32VD -- essentially, the UX31A with discrete graphics. Though different configurations are bound to vary, they all bring retooled, backlit keyboards, refined trackpads and, of course, Intel's third-generation Core processors. And while the lower-end UX32A is stuck with 1366 x 768 resolution, every other model -- yes, even the tiny UX21A -- will be offered with a 1080p IPS display.

In general, ASUS isn't ready to talk availability for these four models, and has n! ot given any indication as to how much the UX21A will cost (it did reveal tentative prices for the other three). So these aren't shipping products you can buy just yet, but luckily for us, we got the chance to spend a few days with the UX21A. While we're holding off on calling this a review -- we need a price and final, production-quality unit for that -- we're good and ready to share our early thoughts. So what are you waiting for? Meet us past the break where photos, benchmark scores and detailed impressions lie in waiting.

Gallery: ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

Continue reading ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please ! see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Latitude 6430u: an Ultrabook tailored for suit-and-tie types

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/dell-latitude-6430u-an-ultrabook-tailored-for-suit-and-tie-type/

It's far from official, but from the looks of things, an update to Dell's Latitude line may be incoming. According to Dutch site Tweakers.net, the outfit's 14-inch refresh, bearing model number 6430u, will purportedly sport a 1366 x 768 display, dual-core i3, i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor and measure in at a slightly chunky 20.9mm thick. For the business-minded types that it's being aimed at, this enterprise-ready Ultrabook will also run Intel's vPro platform, giving IT departments worldwide easy access for data management and remote wipes, in addition to supporting a smartcard reader and an optional fingerprint scanner. As for its SSD innards, the unit should be available in configurations up to 256GB with a maximum of 8GB RAM allotted. Since this fella exists in a grey zone for now, there's no official pricing or release date to speak of, though rumors do point to a June bow. Check out the source below for a translated take on this pre-release kit.

Dell Latitude 6430u: an Ultrabook tailored for suit-and-tie types originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Research team shatters data sorting record, wrenches trophy from Yahoo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/microsoft-research-team-shatters-data-sorting-record/

Bruise inducing high-fives, anyone? They're handing them out in Redmond, according to one mildly injured researcher, after breaking a data sorting record Yahoo set in 2009. The ruckus surrounds a benchmark called MinuteSort, which measures how much data can be sorted in 60 seconds. Microsoft's Distributed Systems group utilized a new file system architecture, dubbed Flat Datacenter Storage, over a full bisection bandwidth network to burn through the competition.

Not only did the nine-person crew best the old record nearly by a factor of three, it gave itself a handicap -- sorting 1,401 GB of data at 2 GB/s over a remote file system, forcing the system to crunch data at a slower speed than the technique is capable of. It's not all about bragging rights, however, Bing has its eye on the newfangled file system in hopes of boosting its RPM. Microsoft suspects the tech could also pick up the pace of machine learning and churn through large data sets in a jiffy. You can catch Microsoft Research's detailed explanation in all its glory at the source.

Microsoft Research team shatters data sorting record, wrenches trophy from Yahoo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/alienware-laptops-to-use-killer-wireless-n-1202-wifi-cards/

You might recall that Killer Technology launched the Killer Wireless-N 1202 card as a bit of an orphan: without an immediate laptop partner or an aftermarket reseller, it wasn't clear how and when gamers would get their hands on the low-lag WiFi add-on. Alienware is stepping up and making that much easier as of today by planning to use the Qualcomm Atheros-owned technology across its laptop line. The PC builder didn't say which models are getting the treatment, although it made clear that more than one of the newly refreshed arsenal will tuck the 1202 inside. If you're the sort that needs to crush newbs with the lowest ping times, but don't want to leave the comfort of Starbucks WiFi to plug in an Ethernet cable, your solution now looks to be at hand.

Continue reading Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop

Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Appstore Now Lets You Try Out Apps Via the Cloud [Amazon]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5912233/amazon-appstore-now-lets-you-try-out-apps-via-the-cloud

Here's a neat little feature in the latest release of Amazon's Appstore for Android: you can now try out apps on your phone, instantly via the cloud, before you choose to buy them.

While Amazon has offered that feature—called Test Drive—on desktops before, this is the first time they've rolled it out on mobile devices. The feature is available in the latest version of Amazon Appstore, release-2.6.53, which is available today.

The apps are served from the cloud, and the trial runs inside the Amazon app itself. Apparently the feature is only available on "select" Android devices, though there's no word at the moment on exactly which ones they are. Amazon explains how to use the service:

"Customers click the "Test Drive" button on an app product page and in seconds, they can use their phone's touch screen and accelerometer to control the app, simulating the experience of the app running on their phone. Test Drive provides customers with the experience of running an app for the first time, as if it were freshly installed. Customers can purchase or download the app at any point during the Test Drive experience.

"The Test Drive beta is available for free to customers who update to the latest release of Amazon Appstore for Android on their phone (version 2.6.53 or higher). Initially, Test Drive will be available on select phone models but over the coming months, we will roll it out to many more. When new phone models are supported, the Test Drive button will automatically appear on apps that are enabled for Test Drive. "

It's a neat little idea, but a shame that it's only rolling out to certain phones. Let us know if it works for you. [DroidLife via Engadget]

Monday, May 21, 2012

Google rolls out improved Gmail search, scans your emails for better results

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/google-rolls-out-improved-gmail-search-reads-your-emails-for-be/

Oh those Googlers, always tirelessly tweaking code behind-the-scenes to make our lives that much more easily indexed. So it should come as no surprise that Mountain View's begun rolling out a streamlined Gmail search feature to English-language users today, replete with "tailored" autocomplete suggestions. Now, instead of simply returning results for labels and contacts, queries will also include relevant email info based on the conversations stored in a user's account, like flight or hotel reservations. At the moment, this improved ease-of-use applies to only the web-based version of the service, but a planned extension to its ever popular GApp is on deck, as well support for additional languages in the coming months. Hit up the source below for the finer details.

Google rolls out improved Gmail search, scans your emails for better results originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic launches 12-35mm Micro Four Thirds lens with constant f/2.8 aperture

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/panasonic-12-35mm-micro-four-thirds/

As powerful as they've become, Mirrorless camera systems can't match the versatility of a full-size DSLR. One key component we haven't seen is a constant-aperture lens, offering a consistent large aperture size throughout the zoom range. That changed today. Panasonic's new Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm optic packs one incredible advantage over its compact competitors -- a constant f/2.8 aperture. Because of the Micro Four Thirds system's 2x multiplication factor, this 12-35mm lens covers the same zoom range of 24-70mm glass on a full-frame camera, in a significantly smaller package. The optic consists of 14 elements in nine groups, and includes UED and UHR lenses to increase image quality and minimize distortion, along with built-in image stabilization and Panasonic's Nano Surface Coating to reduce ghosting and lens flare. It's also splash- and dust-resistant, and features a metal mount on the rear. Panasonic has yet to release pricing in the US, but the European price tag has been estimated at €1,100 (about $1,400) -- by comparison, Canon's equivalent optic (from a specification perspective) will run you $1,600. For its part, the 12-35mm MFT lens is expected to hit stores in August. Full PR is just past the break.

Continue reading Panasonic launches 12-35mm Micro Four Thirds lens with constant f/2.8 aperture

Panasonic launches 12-35mm Micro Four Thirds ! lens wit h constant f/2.8 aperture originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon puts Samsung Galaxy S III up for US pre-orders, offers a slice of quad-core, unlocked utopia

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/amazon-puts-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-up-for-us-pre-orders/

Sufficiently enamored with Samsung's Galaxy S III that you've got to have one in the US before anyone else, and you don't want it sullied by carrier customizations in the trip across the Pacific? Amazon has your back with pre-orders for 16GB versions in both Marble White and Pebble Blue. Either will keep the speedy Exynos 4 Quad and will stay unlocked, so you can hop networks to your heart's content. Do expect to pay a steep premium for being the first kid on your block: at $800, you're spending a lot to get an HSPA+ model on June 1st when the LTE-toting, cheaper (if carrier-locked and possibly part-swapped) editions should reach the US days later.

Amazon puts Samsung Galaxy S III up for US pre-orders, offers a slice of quad-core, unlocked utopia originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo's Stream transcoding box and IP connected extender make their debut at Cable Show 2012

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/tivo-stream-ip-stb-cable-show-2012/

Now that TiVo has delivered updated software for its Premiere boxes its focus is turning to some new hardware accessories, including the TiVoToGo-style transcoder we saw at CES, now dubbed Stream (top), and the IP extender set-top box mentioned earlier this year (bottom). According to TiVo's press release, both boxes will be available at retail and via the various cable operators that are offering its DVRs to their customers, while availability will be announced "in the coming months". The Stream transcoder reformats live and recorded video from a Premiere DVR for viewing on mobile devices or tablets (including sideloading for offline viewing away from the home), and TiVo says it's the first to stream or download shows simultaneously to multiple devices like iPads or iPhones without interrupting what's being watched. The IP box on the other hand is all about multiroom, designed to pull in either live or recorded video from a Premiere Q plus cable VOD and internet content, similar to the existing Preview but without the CableCARD tuner. A press release follows after the break, while Zatz Not Funny has a few pics of them on the floor at this week's 2012 NCTA Cable Show.

! Continue reading TiVo's Stream transcoding box and IP connected extender make their debut at Cable Show 2012

TiVo's Stream transcoding box and IP connected extender make their debut at Cable Show 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/elgato-game-capture-hd/

Elgato is releasing the Game Capture HD, a device that lets game-casters and YouTube walkthrough mavens shed low-resolution, over-the-shoulder smartphone footage once and for all. The sleek black box sits between console and display, enabling gamers to record their speed runs and kill records for the world to see. Xbox 360 users can daisy-chain the gear into their HDMI set-up, while PS3 users will have to use the bundled AV cable to circumvent Sony's stronger copy protection. The footage will then be compressed with the company's H.264 know-how and pushed to your PC or Mac for uploading. When it arrives at the start of June, it'll set you back $200 -- just giving you enough time to get practicing your soothing and confident narration voice.

Continue reading Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264

Elgato announces Game Capture HD, shows off your deathmatch prowess in H.264 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 201! 2 13:24: 00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/hands-on-with-the-electric-imp-at-maker-faire-video/

Yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we visited the Electric Imp booth to chat with the startup's founders and get some hands-on time with the tiny wireless computer. What is the Electric Imp? It's a module containing an ARM Cortex M3 SoC with embedded WiFi that's built into an SD card form factor. While the device looks just like and SD card, it's not pin-compatible with the standard -- the idea is to leverage a reliable and affordable connector for the Electric Imp. The module is not very useful on its own -- it only comes to life when inserted into one of several boards, which provide the Electric Imp with power and access to the real world. In turn the device gives these boards a brain and an Internet connection. Eventually the company hopes that appliance manufacturers will incorporate Electric Imp slots into products to make them network aware.

We talked with CEO Hugo Fiennes (formerly with Apple) about the past, present and future of the Electric Imp so hit the break to read more and to watch our hands-on video.

Gallery: Electric Imp hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video)

Hands-on with the Electric Imp at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 00:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/21/raspberry-pi-hands-on-and-eben-upton-interview-at-maker-faire-v/

Unless you've been hiding under a rock lately, we're pretty sure you've heard about the Raspberry Pi by now -- a $25 credit-card sized PC that brings ARM/Linux to the Arduino form factor. As a refresher, the system features a 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 SoC with an ARM11 CPU, a Videocore 4 GPU (which handles HD H.264 video and OpenGL ES 2.0) and 256MB RAM. The board includes an SD card slot, HDMI ouput, composite video jack, 3.5mm audio socket, micro-USB power connector and GPIO header. Model A ($25) comes with one USB port, while Model B ($35) provides two USB ports and a 100BaseT Ethernet socket. Debian is recommended, but Raspberry Pi can run most ARM-compatible 32-bit OSes.

This past weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we ran into Eben Upton, Executive Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and took the opportunity to spend some quality time with a production board and to discuss this incredible PC. We touched upon the origins of the project (inspired by the BBC Micro, one of the ARM founders' early projects), Moore's law, the wonders of simple computers and upcoming products / ideas -- including Adafruit's Pi P lates and Raspberry Pi's own prototype camera add-on. On the subject of availability, the company expects that "there will be approximately 200,000 units in the field by the end of June". Take a look at our hands-on gallery below and our video interview after the break.

Gallery: Raspberry Pi hands-on

Continue reading Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)

Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on M! on, 21 M ay 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, May 20, 2012

Share Your Internet Connection Using an Outdoor Wireless Access Point [Dark Side]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5911812/share-your-internet-connection-using-an-outdoor-wireless-access-point

Share Your Internet Connection Using an Outdoor Wireless Access Point Have you ever shared your internet connection with another person? Many users are protesting arbitrary price hikes from ISPs by sharing Wi-Fi connections. Typically this only works well if you're within a few hundred feet, but outdoor wireless access points can extend this range up to 2,000ft if you don't have any trees blocking line-of-sight.

Early retirement weblog Mr. Money Mustache engaged in an experiment to see if he could share a high-speed internet connection with a friend 900 ft away—too far for sharing a Wi-Fi connection using his router. He purchased and installed two high-power wireless outdoor access points, installed them on each roof, and found a way to run an ethernet cable from their router to their roof. In his particular case he had to step up to a more powerful antenna but that all depends on your distance and if any trees obscure your line-of-sight connection.

You'll need to be savvy with how to manually set an IP address and be able to assign router DHCP Lan addresses on 192.168.2.x subnets, but you'll be able to share an internet connection with a friend saving up to $300 per year and means that you'll never have any problems getting a Wi-Fi signal in your immediate neighborhood. You can also use this technique with one antenna to fine-tune a nearby public Wi-Fi network that you can't otherwise pick up at your home, such as a citywide pay-for-use Wi-Fi network.

Finally, most for-profit ISPs have restrictions against sharing internet connections. Make sure you have carefully reviewed your service restrictions to see if this is allowed before attempting this setup. If you disregard the restrictions you can face fines or worse. For that reason we're tagging this a dark side post and reminding you that it is for educational purposes only.

Internet Sharing—How to Get Revenge on the Cable Company | Mr. Money Mustache

REPORT: Traders Are Flipping Out Over Facebook SNAFU, And Want $100 Million From The NASDAQ

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/report-traders-are-flipping-out-over-facebook-snafu-and-want-100-million-from-the-nasdaq-2012-5

Nasdaq

Glitches, delays, and confusion on Facebook's first day of trading reportedly have traders livid, and they're taking their anger out on the NASDAQ.

Charlie Gasparino reports:

Angry traders and investors are bombarding Nasdaq officials with demands that the exchange make good on losses they say were incurred during the messy execution of the Facebook IPO, where Nasdaq systems essentially broke down and failed to execute buy and sell orders for the stock at various times during Friday’s stock sale, according to
people with first-hand knowledge of the matter.

These people say that the demands for money could total $100 million or possibly more, but Nasdaq chief executive officer Bob Greifeld is, at least for now, taking the position that the exchange will not cover the losses.

Our Nicholas Carlson reported on these glitches on Friday:

A theory from a source close to FB's IPO bankers: The volume that caused NASDAQ to delay the IPO for more than a half hour, also prevented Nasdaq from informing big bank trading desks whether or not their trades on Facebook had gone through.

This left trading desks in a position where "you don't know whether you bought it, and you think you did at $42 but you're not sure," says our source.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if NASDAQ does have to eat losses somehow. We're not sure what the mechanism would be. They have certainly acknowledged issues, and shares in the NASDAQ itself were down 4% on Friday.

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