Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Vuzix AV310: The First Ever Widescreen Video Goggles [Vuzix Av310]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/394484151/vuzix-av310-the-first-ever-widescreen-video-goggles

Back in June, our own Brian Lam did a Battlemodo between two high-res video goggles. During that review he noted "I do wish they came in 16:9 versions, but the 4:3 ratio is probably more practical." Well, Vuzix is going to put that to the test with their new AV310 goggles. They claim that it is the first video eyewear to offer a true widescreen experience—the equivalent of a 52' screen viewed from a distance of 9 feet. It also features 5 hours of battery life on a single AA as well as a typical "3D" setting. Expect the AV310 to retail for $250.

Vuzix Announces iWear® AV310 Widescreen, The First-Ever Widescreen Personal Video Eyewear

The iWear ® AV310 Widescreen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, providing the user with a virtual 52' home theater experience in 2D and stunning 3D video formats.

Rochester, NY – September 16, 2008 – Vuzix Corporation is thrilled to announce their latest innovation to the Video Eyewear market; iWear® AV310 Widescreen. This first-ever consumer iWear with a true widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio giving users a true home movie theater feel. The AV310 projects a virtual 52' screen from 9-feet and will run for five full hours on a single AA battery. Additionally, the AV310 offers independent focus adjustment, adjustable earbuds and nosepiece for unmatched long term comfort. Users can also expect improved compatibility, as the AV310 is compatible with all NTSC or PAL devices with a video output. Compatible devices include:

• All iPod models
• Portable media players
• Video cameras
• Cellular phones with ! video ou tput
• Gaming consoles
• Digital cameras
• DVD players

"We are committed to providing our customers with the latest innovation in this exciting category and are delighted to provide the world's first and only widescreen video eyewear," said Vuzix CEO Paul Travers. "The revolutionary iWear® AV310 Widescreen is the ideal choice for the mobile consumer who's craving a way to significantly enhance their portable viewing experience," added Travers.

The AV310's features include:

• Virtual 52' screen viewed from 9-feet
• Full 16:9 Widescreen Aspect Ratio
• Independent +2 to -5 diopter focus, providing individual adjustment for each eye
• Twin high-resolution LCD displays from Kopin Corporation
• "Vuzix' 3D" watermark compliant
• Removable and comfort fit earbuds
• Adjustable, hypoallergenic nosepiece
• AccuTilt™ viewer with 15 degrees of tilt adjustment
• Up to 5 hours of battery life on one AA battery
• On screen display settings control
• For use with or without eyeglasses
• MSRP $249.95

The AV310 will be available via Brookstone, SkyMall, MicroCenter, Hammacher Schlemmer and Vuzix.com.

Latest iPhone Copy & Paste Stopgap CopierciN Works With SMS, Emails, Notes [The Saga Continues]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/394521613/latest-iphone-copy--paste-stopgap-copiercin-works-with-sms-emails-notes

It's kind of starting to be a joke, this copy and paste thing. The latest promising-looking implementation, CopierciN (for jailbreak only via Cydia), acts as a middle man, importing text messages, your most recent emails, or your notes into a standard text editor, where you can then select what you want to "copy" and then "paste" that text into a new message or note (in their native apps). And in a new twist, CopierciN was written as a first project by someone who just taught himself how to program in Objective C. So now students are doing your dirty work and besting you, Apple—'bout time for you to jump in this ring, no? Read more here, and check it out (in early, rough beta form) via Cydia. [CopierciN]

Review: EFiX Dongle Perfectly Transforms PC to Mac [Mac Os X On PC]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/394531007/review-efix-dongle-perfectly-transforms-pc-to-mac

When we first heard about EFiX—a simple USB dongle that'll let you magically install Leopard on your PC—it sounded too fantastic to be true. Well, I used it to turn my gaming PC into a Mac Pro over the weekend, and I'm somewhat amazed to say this, but it works perfectly.

I grabbed all the updates straight from Apple—including 10.5.5 last night, so you don't have to wait for a hacked patch like you would running a typical Hackintosh—installed a whole bunch of software and have been using it for several days. It runs beautifully, just like a real Mac Pro.

The Process
There are, of course, rules you have to adhere to, as there tends to be when using black magic. The major one with EFiX, and its only real "catch," is that you have to use the supported hardware, not a very long list indeed. But outside of the Gigabyte motherboard requirement (reportedly some Asus boards using a P45 chipset also work), it's actually fairly generic. I just happened to have everything on the list.

If you've got the hardware, the whole process is simple, so that even if you've never cracked your desktop before, you could still get this done with a quick search online for the requisite know-how. I plugged the EFiX dongle into a USB header on my motherboard—not, as you might have assumed, to a USB port on the outside. That's really it for gett! ing your hands dirty, though. I restarted my computer, selected EFiX as the boot device—it was listed under hard drives, actually—and was greeted with a drive selector. After selecting the Leopard disc, it started installing without a hitch.

Okay, there was a slight hitch. My video card, an Nvidia 8800GT, isn't supported by the firmware EFiX ships with. EFiX already has the update on the site, but its updater is only coded for 32-bit Windows. If, like me, you run Vista 64-bit, you will have to install Vista 32-bit on the drive you intend to put Leopard on, just to update the stupid firmware.

After I did that, everything was peachy. The only slight inconsistency is that my 8800GT shows up as a 256MB card, when it's actually a 512MB card, and my 1066MHz RAM is only running at 800MHz apparently. But that's sorta trivial.

The Numbers
Here are some benchmarks compared to some numbers Adam over at Lifehacker ran for his Hacktinosh vs. a MacBook Pro and Mac Pro. Obviously, my hardware is newer—a 3GHz E8400 Wolfdale Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM (running at the slower 800MHz, rather than 1066MHz) and an Nvidia 8800 GT (with the OS only recognizing half of the memory). The total guts of my computer cost just under $800 when I put it together in May, hard drive included. (Mac Pros start at $2,300.)

Day to Day
One thing to keep in mind is that EFiX has to interlope every time you want to boot to Leopard, so a cold boot takes at least two minutes, between booting to EFiX, picking Leopard, then loading it up. And when you go into Windows, EFiX will show up as an attached USB drive. These aren't dealbreakers—once you're up, performance is great. Overall, the experience is really incredible for how smooth and seamless ! it is. U pdates, installing software, everything is just like a real Mac. The best way to put it is this: I've got a Mac Pro now.

I occasionally feel like Windows is running just a smidge more slowly, but benchmarks compared to before I installed EFiX don't support that creeping feeling, so I chalk it up to paranoia.

Is the dongle worth $170? That's a personal question. Do you wanna go through the usually more complicated—but free—Hackintosh process? Perhaps the best way to look at it is this: If you've already got the supported hardware, it's like buying a Mac for $170, since you can still have your trusty PC just a restart away on the same machine. Also, even as simplified as it is, you still need to know what you're doing. There's no official tech support, though there is a very active forum that provides helpful answers to queries.

Updated: EFiX USA is handing all of the distribution in the US for E-FiX.com, who actually doesn't do any of that. They were selling units on eBay but their main site looks like it's up now. So far in our dealings with the company (who sent us EFiX to review) we haven't had any reason to think they're scamming anyone, but it's understandable if you wanna approach this with caution. [EFiX, EFiX USA]

VMware Fusion 2.0 for Macs, Virtualization With 100 New Features [VMWare]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/394595311/vmware-fusion-20-for-macs-virtualization-with-100-new-features

To those who'd rather run two OSes at once than dual boot with Boot Camp, VMware has released the 2.0 version of Fusion. It includes over 100 new features, including the option to load Windows programs without a Windows desktop, a Time Machinesque backup utility, and completely mirrored file sharing independent of OS. There's also support for 32-bit and 64-bit OSes, 4-core systems, Bluetooth, DirectX 9.0c and up to 10 displays. Yeah, we pretty much just pasted specs there. But boy, were we excited doing it. [VMware via TGDaily]

HP announces the TouchSmart IQ800 series

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393844773/

Filed under: Desktops

The second-gen TouchSmart IQ500s just arrived in July, but HP isn't sitting still -- say hello to the new TouchSmart IQ800 series. Both the new TouchSmart IQ804 and IQ816 feature a 25.5-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen with various TouchSmart-specific apps, a TV tuner with remote, integrated webcam, Bluetooth, HP Pocket Media drive bay, and an ambient light to illuminate your keyboard, but the IQ804 confusingly has a higher-clocked 2.16GHz T5850 Core 2 Duo on a 667MHz bus with 2MB of cache while the IQ816 has a 2.10GHz T8100 Core 2 Duo on a 800MHz bus with a 3MB cache -- we'd bet the IQ816 benchmarks faster, regardless of the slightly slower chip. On top of that, the IQ816 also bundles in a Blu-ray drive / dual-layer burner and upgrades the IQ804's GeForce 9300M GS graphics to a GeForce 9600M GS chip. Expect to see the IQ804 on September 21 for $1,899, while you'll have to fork over $2,099 for the IQ816 when it hits on October 12 -- check out a few more shots in the gallery to hold you over till then.

Gallery: HP TouchSmart IQ800 series

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Casio launches Exilim EX-FH20: 40fps burst rate, 1000fps movies

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393971265/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Remember Casio's wicked EX-F1? Yeah? Let us formally introduce you to someone else you may dig, the Exilim EX-FH20. Boasting a 9.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 20x optical zoom lens and a remarkable burst mode that enables up to 40 7.1-megapixel images to be recorded in burst of anywhere between 1 and 40fps. Better still, it can capture high-speed movies at up 1,000fps, and there's also an anti-shake feature, high-speed night scene setting for those "after dark" moments and a standard movie mode that records at 720p (30fps). Those anxious to get their hands on such awesomeness will be politely asked to wait until next month when it goes on sale for £399 ($713).

[Via Pocket-lint, thanks Jeremy]

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Sony Ericsson's HCB-108 Bluetooth speakerphone helps you escape dystopia

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393991256/

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation, Wireless

New York's a maximum security prison and you're our final hope, Snake. Armed with your wits and this new HCB-108 Bluetooth 2.0 car speakerphone from Sony Ericsson, your mission is to extract Johnny X from the fetid bowels of viral marketeers. Should you need to contact us, the HCB-108 features duplex audio, noise cancellation, echo reduction, and an industry best 25-hours of talk and 1-month standby. God speed and give Goldie our love.

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Sanyo levitates top-o-the-line LP-Z3000 3LCD projector with help from a legless robot

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394043225/

Filed under: Displays

In a fit of drab, Sanyo just announced its most advanced home theater projector yet. Fortunately, the staid, colorless promotional shot above that heralds the arrival of the LP-Z3000 stands in stark contrast to the projector's impressive capabilities. First, it features a 120Hz Full HD panel and the industry's first 5:5 pull-down promising an accurate and smooth 24p projection onto the big screen even under scenes of intense movement. We're also talking a high-contrast, 65,000:1 ratio, 1,200 lumen lamp, and super quiet 19-decibel fan when operating in "theater black" mode. Around back we've got 2x HDMI v1.3b jacks, 2x component, and plenty more inputs for your PC or legacy AV gear. Ships November 28th in Japan for ¥483,000 or about $4,588 assuming the dollar doesn't completely collapse by then.

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