Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, October 30, 2009

LG roadmap predicts 'OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/lg-roadmap-predicts-oled-panels-will-cost-less-than-lcd-panels/

Speaking at the FPD show in Japan, Won Kim, VP of LG Display's OLED sales and marketing group laid bare its OLED plans for the future. Pretty significant as LG is one of only two players currently manufacturing production OLED TVs; though unlike Sony, LG has yet to ship anything -- that bit of consumer magic begins in November. So here's the deal: LG will release 20-inch and larger OLED panels in 2010, 30-inch and larger in 2011, and 40-inch and larger OLED panels in 2012. While 40-inch OLEDs will still be "fairly expensive" in 2012, Kim predicts that "OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016." We'd love to believe that but it sounds overly aggressive to us considering the enormous investment panel manufacturers have made in LCDs (they'll be milking profits just as long as they can) and new push towards 3D televisions. Besides, LG's been all over the map with its OLED dates so let's not go carving anything in low-temperature polycrystal silicon just yet.

[Via OLED-Display.net]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

LG roadmap predicts 'OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/rechargeable-zinc-air-batteries-promise-a-lot-well-see-if-they/

Is there any other field of technology that promises as many revolutionary innovations as battery makers do yet delivers so few? We've heard of battery life being made four times, eight times, even twelve times better... and seen pretty much none of it pan out in any sort of meaningful way. Zinc-air batteries are also nothing new, but now some whizkids up in Norway have figured out how to make them rechargeable and set up an entire company, ReVolt, for their commercialization. With more than double the energy density of regular Lithium-Ion batteries, safer operation, lower cost of production, and environmentally friendlier ingredients, ReVolt's tech sounds as sweet as anything, but we'd advise waiting for the pudding-based proof before getting excited. Plans are for small hearing aid and cellphone batteries to show up in 2010, and if all goes well there, larger cells for electric vehicles could also follow. Sure.

[Via PhysOrg]

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds, Laptops

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

ASUS to launch 3G, WiMAX-equipped e-book readers by March, 2010?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/asus-to-launch-3g-wimax-equipped-e-book-readers-by-march-2010/

We've already heard some talk that ASUS might possibly be launching an e-book reader before the end of the year that may or may not be the world's cheapest, and it looks like some unnamed execs at the company have now dropped a few more details on the matter. While it's all still far from official, CENS reports that ASUS' e-book reader could hit both American and European carriers by March, 2010, and that it'll include both 3G and WiMAX versions (plus WiFi, naturally), but presumably not a version with both 3G and WiMAX. As previously rumored, the e-book reader is also said to have a larger than usual 9-inch screen, and those same unnamed execs reportedly say its price will be "competitive" with the Kindle and Sony's e-readers.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Handhelds

ASUS to launch 3G, WiMAX-equipped e-book readers by March, 2010? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASRock readying three Ion-powered nettops, one with a BD drive

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/asrock-readying-three-ion-powered-nettops-one-with-a-bd-drive/

The nettop might not be the most riveting piece of machinery out there, but ASRock's hoping to generate at least a small amount of buzz by outfitting its next trio with NVIDIA's Ion graphics technology. Reportedly, the Ion 330HT, Ion 330Pro and Ion 330HT-BD will all ship with a dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 7.1 channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI / VGA outputs, six USB 2.0 sockets and a powered eSATA port. The 330HT and 330HT-BD are both bundled with MCE remotes, while the latter also gets its DVD burner swapped out with a Blu-ray drive. There's no mention of a price or release just yet, but we're figuring that both of those points should be clarified shortly.

Filed under: Desktops

ASRock readying three Ion-powered nettops, one with a BD drive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital camera inventor Steve Sasson collects honorary PhD, Economist award

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/digital-camera-inventor-steve-sasson-collects-honorary-phd-econ/

If there's one thing we know about geeks, it's that they hate having nothing to do. Bill Gates has filled his spare time collecting knighthoods and Harvard degrees, and Steve Sasson -- inventor of the first, and assuredly biggest, digital camera -- is now following in his distinguished footsteps. Sasson perfected a microwave oven-sized 0.01 megapixel prototype while working for Kodak way back in 1975, and has now been awarded an honorary PhD for his troubles from the University of Rochester. The man, the geek, and the legend (all the same person) will be in London later today receiving further recognition, in the form of The Economist's Innovation Award, which commends the "seismic disruption" his invention caused in the field of consumer photography. Funny, nobody gives us any awards for being disruptive.

Read - University of Rochester honorary doctorate
Read - The Economist Innovation Award

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Digital camera inventor Steve Sasson collects honorary PhD, Economist award originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung shows off color e-paper prototype, PVI might beat it to market in 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/samsung-shows-off-color-e-paper-prototype-pvi-might-beat-it-to/

Now here's some yummy news to wrap our minds around. Samsung, a company with a manufacturing portfolio so wide that you wouldn't be surprised to see it selling toothbrushes and perfume, clearly also wants a slice of that growing ebook market and has now unveiled a 10.1-inch color display with that purpose in mind. It's still very early days, with a measly 10:1 contrast ratio and the ability to display only 7% of the NTSC color gamut, but baby steps are better than no steps, right? While Sammy is shooting at delivering this within two years, PVI -- the maker of displays for Kindles and Sony Readers -- is expected to ramp up production of its own color screens in the second half of 2010. Add these two heavyweights to the color e-readers already expected from Plastic Logic (spring 2010) and Bridgestone, and what you get is one hell of a thriving marketplace -- as long as Pixel Qi doesn't render them all useless when it launches later this year.

Read - Samsung Exhibits 10.1-inch Color E-paper
Read - PVI to ramp up flexible and color EPD in 2010

Filed under: Handhelds

Samsung shows off color e-paper prototype, PVI might beat it to market in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala' released, could decide your OS fate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/ubuntu-9-10-karmic-koala-launching-today-could-decide-your-fu/

It's October 2009 which means something very special for Linux fans: a 9.10 release of Ubuntu. Today we see the launch of "Karmic Koala" featuring a faster graphical boot sequence (no more scary text scrolls), a revamped audio framework that improves sound control across multiple applications, and a new Software Center that visually simplifies the Add/Remove Applications tool. These are just a few of the user-centric improvements meant to have a "transformative effect" on the OS experience and help bring "the world of open source closer to the user." It's available in desktop, server, and netbook editions now so get to it, before you know it you'll be updating to Lucid Lynx.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala' released, could decide your OS fate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy offering DROID pre-orders as of today, automates the mail-in rebate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/best-buy-offering-droid-pre-orders-as-of-today-automates-the-ma/

In the best sort of tradition, Best Buy Mobile has gone for a repeat of its Palm Pre offering and is offering the $299 Motorola DROID at $199 thanks to the automation of a mail-in rebate you'd have to actually "mail in" if you were to purchase the handset straight from the carrier. Best Buy also seems to be the first place to offer pre-orders of the phone, so if you're worried about a sell out or just generally averse to affixing stamps to things, Best Buy appears to have you covered.

Filed under: Cellphones

Best Buy offering DROID pre-orders as of today, automates the mail-in rebate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qooq recipe and cooking tablet pc launched for French speakers only

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/29/qooq-recipe-and-cooking-tablet-pc-launched-for-french-speakers-o/

Cooking tablets and recipe readers have been pretty limited (and not very good) in the past -- but this one looks extremely promising. Called the Qooq, the 10.2-incher boasts -- in addition to a bunch of recipes, of course -- complete meal prep videos, instructions and advice on choosing ingredients, shopping lists, meal planners -- all which can be updated monthly via a subscription service. Specwise, we're looking at a glass touchscreen, Ethernet and USB ports, an SD slot, WiFi, and a built-in stand. The custom UI looks pretty attractive, but there are some drawbacks. The Qooq does not have a browser (though it's got built-in weather, digital photo viewing, and internet radio apps), and it's only available for French language speakers for now. If you do speak the language of love, you can get one of these puppies for €349 (about $513), with the subscription service running an additional €12.95a month (about $19).

[Via Red Ferret]

Filed under: Handhelds, Household

Qooq recipe and cooking tablet pc launched for French speakers only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GazoPa Finds Images Similar to Uploads, Links, or Drawings [Image Search]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/A32WLXOY7tA/gazopa-finds-images-similar-to-uploads-links-or-drawings

Hitachi-powered image search site GazoPa (boy, they're really out of web names, no?) is a fairly robust engine for finding same or similar images. Its differentiation comes in hunting similar videos, digging through Flickr, and letting you draw your search.

Yep, you can use GazoPa's simple drawing tool to roughly outline the type of image you're looking for, and GazoPa will use its search prowess to find, well, something akin to what you scribbled. As you can see from the test result below, it knows the basic shapes and color tones you're going for, but we don't have to worry about CyberNet overtaking collective human intelligence just yet.

For images you're passing on a URL or upload for, GazoPa seems a lot more serious and useful. Hover over an image to get a good deal of info, or to perform another similar search for that picture. The Flickr integration is very useful, allowing for Creative Commons licensing filters, and video search worked for a quick Google demonstration frame I uploaded.

GazoPa is free to use, no sign-up required.

GazoPa [via TechCrunch]

Google Voice AIR App Keeps Voicemail and SMS on Your Desktop [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/rQXJy_F6ePw/google-voice-air-app-keeps-voicemail-and-sms-on-your-desktop

Adobe AIR: If you'd like to keep quick access to your Google Voice voicemail and SMS messages handily in place on your dock or taskbar, a cross-platform app gives you exactly that by packaging up Google Voice's mobile site.

Just like on a mobile browser, Voice's interface is surprisingly spry for such a pared-down site, but it's also lightning fast running on a desktop or laptop. The app allows you to play and pause voicemail messages through your system's audio, set up calls with your hooked-up phones, and run through your contacts and search your SMS and transcription history. With Google Voice no longer requiring a new number, this little app might be a nice introduction to the service for those who don't want to commit to keeping a browser tab open all day.

Google Voice Desktop is a free download, works on any system with Adobe AIR installed.

Google Voice Desktop Application [R.stoeber Group via jkOnTheRun]

PicTranslator Turns Your iPhone's Camera into a Language Translator [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ILuvCxYNpL0/pictranslator-turns-your-iphones-camera-into-a-language-translator

iPhone only: Whether you've found yourself in a foreign land or you just need a little help with a foreign-language menu, snap a pic with PicTranslator and let it translate for you on the fly.

As you can see in the demo video, it works about how you'd hope. You just take a picture of the text you want translated, choose the language you want to translate from, and let PicTranslator work its magic. Once you know the (hopefully correct) translation, you can even ask PicTranslator to help you pronounce the foreign-language version.

By default you get one language with the $1 purchase of the app, but you can also purchase other language packs inside the application for roughly $1 each. I tested out the app with a Spanish menu, and the translation was fast and impressively accurate, especially when I narrowed it down to specific items.

PicTranlsator will set you back $1 in the iTunes App Store, works with the iPhone only.

PicTranslator [iTunes App Store]

VMware Fusion Updates with Excellent Windows 7 Support [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/WOOKlJtFNSY/vmware-fusion-updates-with-excellent-windows-7-support

Mac OS X only: If you're looking to run Windows on your Mac, you've got a few options. If you want to run Windows 7 on your Mac, complete with Aero, Flip 3D, and 64-bit support, try the new VMware Fusion.

I've been aching to run Aero and other nice Windows 7 eye candy in my Windows 7 virtual machine for a while now, so upgrading to Fusion 3 has been a nice improvement to what was already a really nice 2.0 release

The catch, of course, is that VMware Fusion isn't cheap. You can try it for free, but if you decide you want to keep using it, it'll set you back $80 new, $40 if you're upgrading. It's up to you to determine whether that's worth it to get Windows 7 up and running on your Mac in all its full Aero glory.

Update: Reader Chris points out that Aero support is only offered with a minimum graphics card of the NVIDIA 8800 GT, so unfortunately it's still not for everyone.

VMware Fusion 3 [via VMware Fusion Blog]

PhotoJoy Turns Your Pictures into Screensavers, Collages, and Desktop Widgets [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/mBzAnlSJtbA/photojoy-turns-your-pictures-into-screensavers-collages-and-desktop-widgets

Windows only: Photo gallery application PhotoJoy turns your digital pictures into collages, desktop widgets, or 3D screensavers with just a few clicks. It's the type of application that your mom would like.

Once you've installed the application and selected photo folders to add to the gallery, you can choose from a number of PhotoToys, which are just desktop widgets that show off your photos in various ways, you can activate a collage of photos on your desktop, or you can choose from one of the screensavers to show off your photos while you are away from your PC. You can browse through the web site and find more collages, widgets, and screensavers if the ones that are built in don't appeal to you. PhotoJoy is a free download for Windows only.

PhotoJoy [via TinyHacker]

Best Portable Application Suite: PortableApps [Hive Five Followup]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/IcneSgsZ93A/best-portable-application-suite-portableapps

Last week's Hive Five vote was a heated one and involved all the high-noon drama of a dusty street shootout. PortableApps started with a strong lead, followed by LiberKey with a very respectable second place position. Both groups had noted on their forums that their respective portable suites were up for a vote. Early this morning LiberKey shot to first place with a sudden surge of votes, and by the time the polls closed they had squeezed out a small lead over PortableApps. In the comments many people were calling the sudden surge into question, and in a very mature gesture the lead developer for LiberKey, Christophe Peuch, did some digging on his side of things and found out that a small group of overzealous LiberKey users had stuffed the ballot box. He fired off an email to us right away, and as a result we're returning LiberKey to the second place slot which it held prior to the gaming.

Now that the air is properly cleared, we're here to announce PortableApps as the winning portable application suite, followed by Liberkey, which in turn is followed portable Linux. Check out the full Hive Five for additional information on all the contenders.

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