Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Samsung SSD 840 Pro caters to speed seekers with faster random access

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/samsung-ssd-840-pro-caters-to-speed-seekers-with-faster-random-access/

Samsung SSD 840 Pro caters to speed seekers with 100,000IOPS, faster writes

It's difficult to thrive in the solid-state drive world. Unless you've got just the right controller and flash memory, most performance-minded PC users will rarely give you a second glance. Samsung muscled its way into that narrow view with the SSD 830 last year; it intends to lock our attention with the new SSD 840 and SSD 840 Pro. The Pro's 520MB/s and 450MB/s sequential read and write speeds are only modest bumps over the 830, but they don't tell the whole story of just how fast it gets. The upgraded MDX controller boosts the random read access to a nicely rounded 100,000IOPS, and random writes have more than doubled to 78,000IOPS or 90,000IOPS, depending on who you ask and what drive you use. The improved performance in either direction is a useful boost to on-the-ground performance, as both AnandTech and Storage Review will tell you. We're waiting on details of the ordinary triple level cell-based 840 model beyond its 120GB, 250GB and 500GB capacities, although there won't be an enormous premium for the multi-level cell 840 Pro over existing drives when it arrives in mid-October -- the flagship line should start at $100 for a basic 64GB drive, and peak at $600 for the ultimate 512GB version.

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Samsung SSD 840 Pro caters to speed seekers with faster random access ! original ly appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AnandTech, Storage Review  |  sourceSamsung Tomorrow  | Email this | Comments

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Samsung's Smart EX2F point-and-shoot now on sale for $500

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/samsung-smart-ex2f-point-and-shoot-on-sale/

Samsung's Smart EX2F pointandshoot now on sale for $500

It has taken Samsung a wee bit longer than expected, but the Korean outfit announced earlier that its intelligent, WiFi-equipped EX2F point-and-shoot is finally hitting US store shelves today. And while availability itself comes a few weeks behind schedule, it gave Samsung plenty of time to reconsider the initial $550 MSRP tag it gave when the camera was first unveiled, which means that $500 gets you in the "smart" shooter game with a 3-inch AMOLED display, 12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor and, of course, the lovely f/1.4-2.7 (24-79mm) lens. Still trying to figure out whether this is indeed the one for you? Then be sure to peruse over our own hands-on to help you decide if it's worthy of your hard-earned cash.

Continue reading Samsung's Smart EX2F point-and-shoot now on sale for $500

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Samsung's Smart EX2F point-and-shoot now on sale for $500 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pantech Vega R3 packs Snapdragon S4 Pro, 5.3-inch screen into one hand

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/25/pantech-vega-r3-packs-s4-pro-5-3-inch-screen-into-one-hand/

Pantech Vega R3 packs S4 Pro, 53inch screen into one hand

If there's one thing that defines the phablet, it's not hand portability -- what's on the market usually demands something of a stretch. Pantech wants to keep our grip at least slightly in check through its imminent Vega R3. The Android phone's 5.3-inch, IPS-based LCD isn't what we'd call modest, but it's framed by an extra-thin bezel that Pantech claims is still comfortable in one hand. The R3 will be powerful, no matter how you hold it. It touts the the same quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro we just saw in the LG Optimus G along with 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera and a 2,600mAh battery that can top up 100 minutes. South Koreans can pick up the Vega R3 from one of their three major carriers on September 25th. Sadly, we're not expecting an American variant of the design given an emphasis on cheaper and smaller Pantech models in the US.

Continue reading Pantech Vega R3 packs Snapdragon S4 Pro, 5.3-inch screen into one hand

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Pantech Vega R3 packs Snapdragon S4 Pro, 5.3-inch screen into one hand originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Talk Android  |  sourceAndroid Authority  | Email this | Comments

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Sorry Investors, You Can't Make More Money Just By Taking More Risk

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/volatility-risk-premium-2012-9

One of the more alluring investor myths is that you can get paid a premium for having the patience to withstand risk. It's like getting paid more for working at a smelly job rather than a job surrounded by wonderful smells: in equilibrium, the bad thing no one likes (risk, smells) are compensated via an extra return. You can formalize this and it forms one of the pillars of finance under the rubric of 'risk premiums'.

 Yet, as I point out in my book The Missing Risk Premium, to a first approximation the risk premium has a negative sign. Using Popperian logic, the profession should have moved along a long time ago, but it persists for several interesting reasons that I discuss in my book (eg, it's beautiful if true, it's a key fallacious assumption that underlies so many other threads, etc.).

Now there's PIMCO writing about how to capture the 'Volatility Risk Premium' by selling vol. They correctly note that on average, implied volatilities are a couple percentage points higher than actual volatilities, so 2% higher. Thus, it seems clear that writing options, collecting premium on 22% and paying on 20% generates a straightforward premium.

 Consider what may appear to be a great example of their argument: the VXX. it has lost 97.8% of its value since inception in January 2009, while the VIX has only declined by 66.8%. Win for risk-taking volatility sellers!

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This phenomenal extra 8% annualized negative return drag (underperformance of VXX vs. VIX) comes from two sources.  One is th! e fact t he VXX tries to match the daily return, and in sample that have negative autocorrelation, this strategy will underperform its benchmark over long periods.  This is best shown by this piece by Cheng and Madhavan and Barclays.  The other is the contango in this market, so that trying to maintain a fixed forward volatility position causes one to lose money riding down the VIX futures curve which has been very steeply sloped since the inception of this stupid product. 

That gets to the bottom line, which is that the premium of going short the VXX has little to do with risk--it's negative return is much bigger than any estimate of the equity risk premium--but rather technical issues within the contract.  You can try to capture this by trading yourself or becoming a short seller, but this highlights that to capture a return premium you need to actively educate yourself and put on positions that take at least a little work (eg, shorting the VXX is more complicated that simply going long the VXX), not passively invest in a fund that has 'risk' and does this all for you. 

If a fund purports to give you a risk premium for simply giving them money it's a classic sucker's pitch.  Consider that after 50 years there's no agreement on what the risk factor is: originally it was a beta with the broad market, now it's a covariance with something, though interestingly things correlated with well-known risk factors like 'size' or 'value' don't exist outside of the characteristic-based portfolios that actually create these factors.  That is, if you find a currency, or low book equity/market equity stock that has a high value loading, these assets don't generate higher-than-average returns as theory suggests they should. So, if you magically discovered the risk that underlies risk premiums, it would be in your best interest ! to keep it to yourself, not give it away to investors, and call it alpha, because no one would know.

It simply isn't plausible people are finding risk premiums and giving this to passive investors, and naive investing is just what underlies all those fools going long the VXX in hopes of making money off Black Swans. While selling vol (shorting the VXX) is in a certain way selling Black Swans, the similarity is that some 30k foot metric like improbability is something you get paid for, whether you are buying or selling it.  You have to roll up your sleeve and earn it, taking out those pesky middle-men. 

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Apple TV update 5.1 brings shared photo streams and iTunes account swapping, available now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/apple-tv-update-5.1/

Apple TVs of the second and third-gen variety are getting update 5.1 today, which brings two long-awaited features. Both shared photo streaming and iTunes account switching are now part of Apple's set-top box -- the combination of those two finally freeing parents from the potential nightmare of discovering their child's "not safe for parents" photo streams, of course. The update, spotted by MacRumors, also adds some new AirPlay functionality, enabling users to "send audio content from Apple TV to AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices (including AirPort Express and other Apple TVs)." Beyond those two biggies, however, the rest of the update is rather nuts and bolts oriented -- head below for the full list.

Continue reading Apple TV update 5.1 brings shared photo streams and iTunes account swapping, available now

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Apple TV update 5.1 brings shared photo streams and iTunes account swapping, available now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacRumors, The Next Web  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

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Here's the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5945889/some-third+party-adapters-might-not-work-with-your-new-iphone

Here's the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables If you bought yourself an iPhone 5, and are looking for a cheap, third-party lightning adapter to save a couple of bucks, you might want to hold off. There's an authenticator chip in the official adapters, and third-party adapters probably won't work without it.

Peter from Double Helix Cables found the obnoxious little chip while dissecting one of the new, official Lighting cables. Positioned between the cord's USB contact and the power pin on the Lightning plug, the chip seems to be the key to keeping Lighting cables and adapters proprietary. These kind of authentication chips aren't uncommon in more sophisticated accessories, but this is the first time one has shown up in something as basic as a charging cable, smack in the middle of the power line. According the Peter, the chip doesn't block the data lines, but you need data and power to connect by USB.

"There is basically no way [third-party adapters] are functional cables," Peter told Apple Insider. "You can't just build a Lightning cable by making something with the same shape and connectivity." That means that all those third-party connectors out there will fit the ports on your devices, sure, but they probably aren't going to actually work. What looks like a $10, $20, or $30 could very well wind up being a waste, so if you're in a hurry, official adapters are probably the best bet.

If you aren't, you can sit tight and see if someone can figure out how to fake those chips, but it could wind up being pretty difficult. Peter put it this way in an email to us:

Here's the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables

If the chip has some code on board that makes it authenticate with the iPhone, then it may be hard to duplicate for sure. If it's doing a "smart" function like pin assignment or something crazy like that, then it definitely is going to be mandatory. Apple has said it's a "smart" connector but it is horrifying that just a basic power charging/sync cord like this requires additional complexity.

It could take some serious engineering brain-power to get to the bottom of what this chip is actually doing. Until then, first-party is the only surefire option. [Apple Insider, Peter (Double Helix Cables)]

Here's the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables Here's the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables

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iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/iphone-5-camera-compared-iphone-4s-low-light-video/

iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and lowlight comparison with iPhone 4S included

Sure, we tested the iPhone 5's camera in the well-lit streets of New York City, but if you're wondering how Apple's latest functions when used primarily as a shooter, TREK has a pretty remarkable look. Photog Austin Mann and a few of his closest pals took a pair of iPhone 5s to Iceland following launch weekend in a bid to test the unit's durability, capability and image quality next to the 4S. After two days of geyser spray and admitted "drops in mud," the uncovered 5 seemed to be a-okay, and when it comes to output from the sensor, that's worthy of praise as well.

The low-light capabilities of the 5 are perhaps the most impressive upgrade compared to the 4S, with much less noise seen in shots from the former. He also gushed over the panorama mode, which admittedly churned out some pretty seamless results of the Icelandic countryside. As for shutter speed? That too has been "significantly" improved over the 4S. He interestingly noted that Snapseed was acting a bit wonky with iOS 6, but one has to wonder how much smoothing will be done by the Nik team now that Google's calling the shots. Hit the source link below for the full rundown, comparisons included, and a video that shows how the iPhone 5 reacts after sunset.

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iPhone 5 camera gets tested in Iceland, panorama and low-light comparison with iPhone 4S included originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTREK, Gallery of iPhone 5 images  | Email this | Comments

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Amazon intros Device Targeting to help developers with new Kindle Fires

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/amazon-intros-device-targeting-to-help-developers-with-new-kindl/

Amazon's celebrating its new line of Kindle Fires with the announcement of Device Targeting, a feature aimed at helping developers create apps across its tablet line. Using the new program, app makers can offers up APKs for specific devices like the old Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD (different screen sizes included), without displaying "confusing" multiple versions of the app for consumers. The new feature ensures that customers who download an app get the proper version delivered to the right devices. More info on the program -- including an FAQ for curious parties -- can be found in the source link below.

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Amazon intros Device Targeting to help developers with new Kindle Fires originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceAmazon App Store Dev  | Email this | Comments

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Netflix extends new user interface experience to Android phones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/netflix-ui-android-phones/

Netflix extends new user experience with box art and more titles on display to Android phonesNetflix's new user interface experience popped up on Android tablets last year before progressing to the iPad and finally iPhones just last week, but now the company officially announced it's completing the circle by pushing it to Android phones. As seen on other devices, it's focused on larger artwork, and offers the ability to scroll through many more titles, as well as search its streaming library from anywhere within the app. Users can tap once on a title to see more info about it or double tap to start playing immediately. The new UI is available on hardware running Gingerbread and above. It may already be appearing on your device but if not, check out the video preview embedded after the break.

Continue reading Netflix extends new user interface experience to Android phones

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Netflix extends new user interface experience to Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel reveals Quad-Core, LTE-capable Medfield chips are on the way

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/intel-medfield-lte-quad-core-news/

Intel concedes its Medfield chips dont support LTE  yet

Intel's curious decision to shun the US and release Medfield-powered smartphones in India, China, Russia and the UK might be because of those countries' underdeveloped levels of LTE. Marketing chief Sumeet Syal told TechCrunch that its current-generation x86 system-on-chip won't support the standard, but a capable version will arrive at the end of the year -- with production ramping up in 2013. He also let slip to the site that dual-core versions will arrive shortly, claiming they'll benefit from Intel's hyper threading know-how. Syal said that Santa Clara is "comfortable" with its progress just months after entering the smartphone space but declined to discuss numbers -- for which we'll have to wait for the Q3 earnings call in October to find out how well (or not) Intel's mobile ambitions are going.

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Intel reveals Quad-Core, LTE-capable Medfield chips are on the way originally appeared on E ngadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Globalfoundries unveils 14nm-XM chip architecture, vows up to a 60 percent jump in battery life

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/23/globalfoundries-unveils-14nm-xm-chip-architecture/

Globalfoundries unveils14nmXM chip architecture, vows as much as 60 percent more battery life

Globalfoundries wants to show that it can play the 3D transistor game as well as Intel. Its newly unveiled 14nm-XM (Extreme Mobility) modular architecture uses the inherently low-voltage, low-leak nature of the foundry's FinFET layout, along with a few traces of its still-in-development 20nm process, to build a 14-nanometer chip with all the size and power savings that usually come from a die shrink. Compared to the larger processors with flat transistors that we're used to, the new technique is poised to offer between 40 to 60 percent better battery life, all else being equal -- a huge help when even those devices built on a 28nm Snapdragon S4 can struggle to make it through a full day on a charge. To no one's shock, Globalfoundries is focusing its energy on getting 14nm-XM into the ARM-based processors that could use the energy savings the most. It will be some time before you find that extra-dimensional technology sitting in your phone or tablet, though. Just as Intel doesn't expect to reach those miniscule sizes until 2013, Globalfoundries expects its first working 14nm silicon to arrive the same year. That could leave a long wait between test production ! runs and having a finished product in your hands.

Continue reading Globalfoundries unveils 14nm-XM chip architecture, vows up to a 60 percent jump in battery life

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Globalfoundries unveils 14nm-XM chip architecture, vows up to a 60 percent jump in battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Onkyo DS-A5 grafts AirPlay on to existing home stereos, docks older iOS gear

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/onkyo-ds-a5-grafts-airplay-on-to-existing-home-stereos/

Onkyo DSA5 grafts AirPlay on to existing home stereos, docks older iOS gear

Embracing AirPlay has usually involved a wholesale switch in hardware: years of speaker investment go out the window for the sake of skipping a wire. Onkyo doesn't have a problem if you bring your own equipment to the fray. Its new DS-A5 docking station brings Apple's WiFi media streaming to many home stereos, including those of rivals, as long as there's a wired or 802.11g-capable wireless router to feed the connection. Naturally, there's perks if you do live in an Onkyo universe -- any link using its Remote Interactive cable can both wake the stereo through AirPlay as well as control the dock from a traditional remote. About the only oddities are the vintage composite video output and a 30-pin dock for charging iPads, iPhones and iPods, neither of which will be much help if you live on the cutting edge. Onkyo brings the DS-A5 to American shores in October for $199; that's a lot to pay for playing songs from the couch, but it's a sight more affordable than replacing home audio equipment costing multiple times that amount.

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Onkyo DS-A5 grafts AirPlay on to existing home stereos, docks older iOS gear originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:13:00 EDT. P! lease se e our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News  |  sourceOnkyo (translated)  | Email this | Comments

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Dell releases new S Series monitors with edge-to-edge glass, IPS panels

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/22/dell-releases-new-s-series-monitors-with-edge-to-edge-glass-ips/

Dell releases new S Series monitors with edgetoedge glass, reasonable price tags

Dell's built quite a reputation for delivering solid monitors at reasonable prices, and it's now expanded its offerings in a fairly big way with no less than five new S Series models, some of which boast edge-to-edge glass and/or IPS panels. On the top end is the 27-inch S2740L, which has the most connectivity options of the lot (DVI, VGA, HDMI and a pair of USB ports) and, of course, the highest price tag at $400. From there, things drop to $300 with the 24-inch S2440L (the only non-IPS model of the lot), and go all the way down to $200 for the 21.5-inch S2240M -- the three lower-end models ditch the edge-to-edge glass but still retain minimal bezels. Unlike some of the company's higher-end UltraSharp models, though, all five monitors have a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of 16:10, and you'll get a standard 1920 x 1080 resolution regardless of the size you choose. Complete specs for each can be found at the links below.

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Dell releases new S Series monitors with edge-to-edge glass, IPS panels originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

P! ermalink    |  sourceDell, Direct2Dell Blog  | Email this | Comments

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Aptina unveils 1-inch sensor with 1080p video at 120FPS, we suspect Nikon wants 1

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/23/aptina-unveils-1-inch-sensor-with-120fps-1080p-video-likely-for-nikon/

Aptina unveils 1inch sensor with 120FPS 1080p video, we suspect Nikon wants 1

Part suppliers sometimes telegraph their customers' plans months in advance: when you're the only provider for a key piece of technology, it's not hard for others to read the tea leaves. Aptina might have just given us one such peek into the future by unveiling its 1-inch AR1011HS camera sensor this week. As the Nikon 1 series is one of the few current, mainstream camera lines to use Aptina's 1-inch sensors, it's quite possible that we're looking at a template for one or more of Nikon's tiny interchangeable-lens shooters. The 10-megapixel CMOS sensor and low-light sensitivity aren't surprises. We're more interested in the wild levels of video capture support -- the AR1011HS can record 1080p footage at 120 frames per second, oversample movies at that resolution or scale up to quad HD. There's no guarantee any or all of the features will make the cut, especially given a dearth of 4K TVs, but it's not hard to imagine Nikon playing to the 1's high-speed strengths with an even quicker upgrade. Mass production starts in the first quarter of 2013, and while neither Aptina nor Nikon has confirmed any plans, Aptina's emphasis on top-tier companies in the "performance-oriented" mirrorless camera world leaves few other choices for a partnership.

Continue reading Aptina unveils 1-inch sensor with 1080p video at 120FPS, we suspect Nikon wants 1

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Aptina unveils 1-inch sensor with 1080p video at 120FPS, we suspect Nikon wants 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 00:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA to offer up documentation for Tegra graphics core to prove its commitment to open-source (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/23/nvidia-to-offer-up-documentation-for-tegra-graphics-core/

NVIDIA to offer up documentation for Tegra graphics core to prove its commitment to opensource

There's nothing like a little smack talk to light the fire under certain derrieres. It's been a few months since Linus Torvalds got verbal about NVIDIA's support for the semi-eponymous OS, prompting the chip-maker to say "supporting Linux is important to us." Proving that its word is good, NVIDIA will be releasing programming documentation for its Tegra architecture graphics core. The news comes from a talk given by Lucas Stach of the Nouveau project (who develop free drivers for the NVIDIA platform) at the XDC2012 conference. The focus will initially be on Tegra's 2D rendering engine, but it's hopes the 3D will soon follow. So, while Torvalds' approach might have been a little bit brusque, you can't fault its effectiveness. Video of the XDC talk after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA to offer up documentation for Tegra graphics core to prove its commitment to open-source (video)

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NVIDIA to offer up documentation for Tegra graphics core to prove its commitment to open-source (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |  sourcePhoronix  | Email this | Comments

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