Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, October 21, 2013

Visualized: Qualcomm takes the red pill, uses 130 HTC Ones to capture slo-mo Matrix moves

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/21/qualcomm-snapdragon-booth/

Don't lie: we know that at least once in the last fourteen years, each and every one of you have pretended you were in the middle of an action scene from The Matrix -- y'know, the slo-mo "bullet time" pan shots that circle around Neo as he fights Agent Smith. Even if you can't bring yourself to admit it, our friends at Qualcomm seem especially inspired by this cinematic effect; enough, at least, to collaborate with HTC to create the "Snapdragon Ultimate Photo Booth." This rig, which is a result of daisy-chaining 130 One devices together, is meant to showcase the power of Qualcomm's SoCs to mimic the sci-fi masterpiece. While bullet time is now frequently used in today's movies, it's not every day that we get to see the concept recreated using nothing but smartphones. Check out the minute-long video below, which features break dancers, fire breathers and plenty of other creative ideas.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC

Microsoft Surface Pro 2 review: a tablet that works best as a laptop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/21/microsoft-surface-pro-2-review/

We could debate all day about whether the original Surface Pro was supposed to be more of a tablet, or a laptop with a detachable keyboard. Either way, we think we can agree on this: The original wasn't perfect in either role, not with its short battery life, heavy build and kickstand that wasn't designed to be used in the lap. Now, less than a year after the original came out, we have the Surface Pro 2, which addresses many of the shortcomings we complained about on the original. In particular, it moves to a two-stage kickstand that sits less precariously on people's legs. A Haswell CPU, meanwhile, should take care of the battery life problem. Even the keyboard covers have received mild upgrades, though unfortunately, they're still not included in the $899 starting price. But does all of that add up to a real improvement?%Gallery-slideshow101465%

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Friday, October 18, 2013

Article: Meet Raspberry Pi NoIR, an infrared camera board for low light photography

If Raspberry Pi owners wanted to use the device's camera board for nighttime photography, they had to engage in some extremely delicate tinkering, as the unit's IR filter was firmly attached. Until now. The folks at Raspberry Pi took to their blog today to announce the debut of Pi NoIR, an infrar...

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/18/raspberry-pi -noir-infrared-camera/

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Watch People Freak Out When They See Ghosts Inside an iPhone Camera

Source: http://gizmodo.com/watch-people-freak-out-when-they-see-ghosts-inside-an-i-1447482764

This prank is such pure evil genius that you can't help but laugh. And feel bad because you'd get freaked out too. Funny man Jack Vale scared the creepy crawly goosebumps out of people by asking strangers to take his picture with his iPhone. Why's that scary? Because Vale had pre-recorded a fake 'ghost' (or zombie) walking through the frame of the camera so people would think they just saw a dead person that wasn't there in real life move across the screen. What the people thought they were seeing in real time was actually a horrifying recording.

Fujifilm XQ1: Fuji's New Tiny Cam Packs Tons of Power in Your Pocket

Source: http://gizmodo.com/fujifilm-xq1-fujis-new-tiny-cam-packs-tons-of-power-i-1447508427

Fujifilm XQ1: Fuji's New Tiny Cam Packs Tons of Power in Your Pocket

When Fujifilm announced its beautiful pocket camera, the XF1, last year we were genuinely psyched, which made the camera's disappointing handling even more of a bummer. With the XQ1, Fuji has fixed some of the XF1's annoyances and packed in the same hot image sensor that's on the badass X20. Now we're talking.

What Happens When You Drop a Red Hot Nickel Ball Onto Aerogel

Source: http://gizmodo.com/what-happens-when-you-drop-a-red-hot-nickel-ball-onto-a-1447577707

Red hot nickel ball of fire meet your toughest opponent yet: aerogel. In fact, aerogel is such an amazing material and excellent insulator that the eternal flame of the nickel ball does absolutely nothing to it. Like, seriously. It affects the aerogel as much as the normal air around it (or in it too?). But hey. We're in the business of seeing destruction and in order to destroy aerogel, the nickel ball brought in reinforcements in the form of an hydrogen and oxygen flame. Everything burns eventually. [Cars and Water]

AMD rides semi-custom business back to profitability, cites net income of $48 million in Q3 earnings

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/17/amd-rides-semi-custom-business-back-to-profitability/

We had our doubts when AMD promised to bounce back from its second quarter slump, but the company has held its word, reporting a net income $48 million in its Q3 financial reports. Why the jump? AMD cites growth in its Graphics and Visual Solutions (GVS) division, which is responsible for semi-custom products like the chips bound for the upcoming PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the floundering Wii U. "We achieved 26 percent sequential revenue growth driven by our semi-custom business and remain committed to generating approximately 50 percent of revenue from high-growth markets over the next two years," AMD President and CEO Rory Read stated in the earnings announcement.

Not every portion of AMD's business is flourishing, however -- both its Computing Solutions and GPU segments saw a drop in revenue over the past year, and the company admits that it's shipping fewer notebook chipsets these days. Even so, the numbers bode well for the company, which posted a total revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, alongside an optimistic outlook. After all, the company's Mantle graphics cards are just around the corner.

Filed under: AMD

Via: Market Watch

Source: AMD

Sharp's Chop-Syc prototype asks you to chop veggies on a touchscreen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/17/sharps-chop-syc-prototype/

Generally, your choice of cutting board comes down to two basic options: wood or plastic. While there are plenty of subcategories (Flexible? Bamboo?), you're generally not presented with a list of specs when it comes time to pick a board for chopping up meat or veggies. If a Sharp intern has her way, however, resolution and processor power will become important choices. Chop-Syc is the brainchild of Siobhán Andrews, the winner of a competition to become a paid intern with the company in the UK. Essentially, it's a tablet with a custom software and a scratch-proof surface designed to be used in the kitchen. In addition to functioning as a surface for slicing and dicing, the tablet includes a recipe manager, a scale and a visualizer to help you m easure out (healthy) serving sizes of food, such as pasta.

The tablet itself is embedded in a wooden block to help control spills, and the wireless charging means you shouldn't have to worry about electrocuting yourself with a (very) poorly placed swipe of the blade. For now, Chop-Syc is only a prototype, but Sharp says it may eventually bring the device to market. If we were executives at the company, though, we might just wait to see how Sony's dedicated kitchen tab fares before entering this extraordinarily niche market.

Filed under: Household, Tablets

Via: Pocket Lint

Source: Humans Invent

Nexus 5 listing appears in the Play Store, teases 16GB for $349

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/17/nexus-5-16gb-349-play-store/

We still haven't heard anything official about Google's next Nexus phone, but tonight some people are already seeing the Nexus 5 as an option in the Play Store. Just among our editors, some see the outgoing Nexus 4 while others get the result shown after the break, with a 16GB (from the link in the page, although it doesn't go anywhere) Nexus 5 listed for $349, along with the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. Previous leaks have given us a good look at the outside while a service manual gave up the internal details: 1080p 4.95-inch display, 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU, LTE and storage capacity that tops out at 32GB. These screenshots show the Hangouts app where we'd usually expect our SMS icon to be, which is among the software changes we're expecting when this new device arrives with Android 4.4 KitKat some time in the future -- possibly around October 28th.

Update: It looks like Google has plugged the leaky hole, as the page is showing all of us the Nexus 4 once again. Nothing to see here... for now.

[Thanks, Jacob]

Filed under: Mobile, Google

Source: Google Play

Samsung finally offering the ATIV Book 9 Plus in the US with a 256GB SSD, Core i7

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/18/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-core-i7-256gb-SSD/

If you read our review of Samsung's new flagship Ultrabook, the ATIV Book 9 Plus, you know we mostly adore it: it's exceptionally thin, runs cool and rocks a best-in-class display. Unfortunately for some of the nerds reading Engadget, the laptop launched in the United States with just one configuration option -- a Core i5 model with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. Not good news for people who want bragging rights, or who need more storage, or who just like having choices. Now, at least, you get two options. Samsung just announced it will start selling a Core i7 version in the US, complete with 8GB of memory and a 256GB drive. Those specs bumps aside, this is otherwise the same laptop, with a low-glare, 3,200 x 1,800 screen and an aluminum chassis weighing in at 3.06 pounds. It won't actually be on shelves until early November, but you can pre-order it today for $1,800.

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

Fujifilm launches mid-tier X-E2 and XQ1 cameras with fast imaging and WiFi

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/18/fujifilm-launches-x-e2-and-xq1-cameras/

The refined image processing from Fujifilm's X100s and X20 is at last reaching more affordable cameras: welcome the X-E2 and X-Q1. The X-E2 is a direct upgrade to the X-E1 that brings the company's 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and EXR Processor II to a mid-tier interchangeable lens design, giving welcome boosts to both the image quality and autofocusing speed. Software upgrades like split image display and 60 fps 1080p video come along with the new hardware, and there's both WiFi photo transfers as well as a much sharper one-megapixel, three-inch preview LCD. The X-E2 will ship in November for $1,000 in body-only form, or $1,400 when paired with an 18-55mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens.

Photographers looking for a more pocketable shooter will want to look at the XQ1. The 12-megapixel compact cam is a spiritual successor to the XF1 that ditches the faux leather look in favor of a plainer, smaller body. It still has a non-removable 25-100mm f/1.8-4.9 lens, but it gets the X-E2's image processing upgrades and WiFi. An improved three-inch, 920,000-pixel LCD is present as well. The XQ1 should arrive later this month for $500. %Gallery-slideshow101222%

Filed under: Cameras

Source: Fujifilm

Archos unveils budget-friendly dual-SIM Titanium smartphones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/18/archos-dual-sim-titanium-smartphones/

Archos has revealed not one but four budget smartphones with humble specs to join its tablets in the Titanium line, making us want to break into song. The new Android Jelly Bean devices are named after their screen sizes -- models 40, 45, 50 and 53 have displays that measure 4 (800 x 480 resolution), 4.5 (854 x 480), 5 (960 x 540) and 5.3 (854 x 480) inches, respectively. They have dual SIM slots that allow them to support 850/900/1800/1900MHz GSM, as well as 900/2100 WCDMA bands, and they connect to the internet via HSDPA+/HSUPA.

On the inside, you'll the find the phones running on 1.3GHz dual-core MTK6572w processors with 512MB of RAM and, sadly, only 4GB of storage that makes their microSD card slots more valuable than ever. While the devices don't boast any fancy add-ons, they at least come with 5-megapixel rear and 0.3-megapixel front cameras. Availability seems up in the air at this point, but the phones' prices will range from €100 ($137) to €160 ($219) when they come out. Those who'd like to know more about the company's new set of quadruplets can head past the break for more info.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

Source: Archos

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Insert Coin semifinalist: Smart Power Strip helps you do home automation yourself

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/17/smart-power-strip/

Seems like everyone's trying to get a piece of the home automation action these days. Question is, however, if pricey catchall systems are really the answer. Smart Power Strip offers a simple, affordable solution, letting you control and monitor appliances in real-time using your smartphone. The power strip has outlets that can be managed individual via your handset both at home and remotely. The strip also features two USB ports for charging -- because it's 2013, after all.

You can see all of the Insert Coin semifinalists here.

Filed under: Peripherals

Motorola Is Just Burning Cash For Google (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/motorola-is-just-burning-cash-for-google-2013-10

Google's smartphone company Motorola is just burning cash.

According to Google's earnings report, Motorola lost $248 million last quarter, which is up from $49 million loss when Google first took over the smartphone maker.

In total, Motorola has lost $1 billion since Google officially acquired it. That's in addition to the $12.5 billion Google spent to get Motorola in the first place.

These loses remind us a little bit of Microsoft's online division, which just burns cash.

It's unclear how Motorola is going to fix this problem. The Moto X is a very good phone, but sales seem to be light. To crank up sales, Google will have to invest in marketing, which means more loses. And there's no guarantee that more marketing means more sales.

chart of the day motorola losses

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You'll Barely Notice the World's Smallest USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Source: http://gizmodo.com/youll-barely-notice-the-worlds-smallest-usb-3-0-flash-1446986913

You'll Barely Notice the World's Smallest USB 3.0 Flash Drive

When it comes to prolonging the life of your laptop, there's no easier upgrade than adding an ultra-compact USB flash drive to expand its storage capacity—particularly if it's got a small SSD on board. And a company called PKparis is now laying claim to the title of 'world's smallest USB 3.0 flash drive' with its new K’1 that more than looks the part.

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