Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Lenovo's IdeaPad Y460 now on sale, and not a moment too soon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/04/lenovos-ideapad-y460-now-on-sale-and-not-a-moment-too-soon/

Lenovo may have introduced four billion new laptops at CES this year, but that's not keeping us from tracking the ship date of every last one. With Intel's mobile Core i5 still tough to find in shipping machines -- particularly ones that could substitute as your work rig -- we couldn't be happier to see the IdeaPad Y460 up for order at the outfit's webstore. The base unit gets going at $999 and includes a 2.13GHz Core i3-330M CPU, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 14-inch LED-backlit display (1,366 x 768), a 320GB hard drive, 6-cell battery and a dual-layer DVD writer. The $1,199 model, though, is clearly where it's at, with a 2.4GHz Core i5-520M, ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5650 (1GB) GPU and a 500GB HDD to make things interesting. Both units should ship within a fortnight, so the only question left to answer is why you're still dilly-dallying around.

[Thanks, OberCFS]

Lenovo's IdeaPad Y460 now on sale, and not a moment too soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, March 03, 2010

AMD's new AMD 890GX HD chipset announced, reviewed, lauded

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/amds-new-amd-890gx-hd-chipset-announced-reviewed-lauded/

AMD has officially announced the successor to its 790GX chipset, and the kids at Hot Hardware have not only put it through its paces but have been kind enough to let us in on their results. Apparently the two 890GX they tested should at least perform "on par" with previous AMD platforms, although the integrated Radeon HD 4290 graphics (performing at a none-too-shabby 700MHz, according to the company) were found to be "superior to any other AMD IGP," even surpassing the performance of Intel's HD Graphics solution in a number of tests. If that ain't enough for you, the Radeon HD 4290 natively supports DirectX 10.1 -- but not DirectX 11. That's what we call "tough love." But that ain't the whole sordid tale, not by a longshot: check out the plethora of links below if you dare, or simply peep the PR after the break.

Continue reading AMD's new AMD 890GX HD chipset announced, reviewed, lauded

AMD's new AMD 890GX HD chipset announced, reviewed, lauded originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Extreme Tech! | Email this | Comments

Murdoch confirms WSJ coming to iPad, device kept 'under padlock and key'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/murdoch-confirms-wsj-coming-to-ipad-device-kept-under-padlock/

It only came at the tail end of an announcement of a new New York metro section for The Wall Street Journal, but Rupert Murdoch has finally confirmed that the paper will indeed be heading to the iPad. The really interesting bit, however, is that not only is the company now being allowed to work on an iPad, but that Murdoch says it's kept "under padlock and key," and that "the key is turned by Apple every night" -- a bit of hyperbole, maybe, but then again, maybe not. In other newspapers-going-digital news, Murdoch also said that the WSJ would be heading to half a dozen or more other devices within a year, although he didn't name any specific devices.

Murdoch confirms WSJ coming to iPad, device kept 'under padlock and key' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell slips out OptiPlex 980 desktop, FX100 Zero Client

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/dell-slips-out-optiplex-980-desktop-fx100-zero-client/

Dell may be branching out with exciting new products like the Mini 5, but it still has to keep its base of business users well stocked with nondescript desktops, and it now has a new pair for them in the form of the OptiPlex 980 and FX100 Zero Client. The latter of those is a barebones remote desktop that was previously only offered when bought with Dell's Precision R5400 rack workstation, but it's now available on its own and boasts some added support for VMware View 4.0 with PCoIP for a bit more flexibility. The OptiPlex 980, on the other hand, is a traditional desktop, and is available with Core i5 or i7 processors, optional SSD drives, an optional Dell EcoKit that promises to cut noise by 50%, and your choice of three different chassis options (minitower, desktop or small form factor). Look for it to be available in the "coming weeks," with prices starting at $807.

Dell slips out OptiPlex 980 desktop, FX100 Zero Client originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer rights its wrongs with K11 pico projector

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/acer-rights-its-wrongs-with-k11-pico-projector/

Why hello there, Acer. Not only does this K11 DLP pico projector look sexier than its predecessor, but it's also been given some nice internal enhancements. Starting with display performance: the K11's resolution remains about the same at 858 x 600, but it's twice as bright at 200 lumens (while maintaining the same 20,000-hour lamp life) and has twice as much contrast ratio at 2,000:1. As for connectivity this machine now packs an HDMI socket (along with the usual VGA and composite AV ports) as well as an SDHC card reader and a USB port for opening music, video and picture files. Even with all these extra goodies, the K11's only managed to gain 0.13 pounds (reaching 1.34 pounds) while sporting a smaller body. All we need now is a price, launch date, a few friends and a destination for our road trip. Oh, and some content.

Continue reading Acer rights its wrongs with K11 pico projector

Acer rights its wrongs with K11 pico projector originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest round of LG, Panasonic and Samsung Blu-ray players begin retail invasion

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/latest-round-of-lg-panasonic-and-samsung-blu-ray-players-begin/

We've already seen Sony's newest Blu-ray players turn up at retail, and it looks like they've now been joined by LG, Panasonic and Samsung's latest offerings. Those include the BD590, BD570 and BD550 from LG, the DMP-BD85 and DMP-BD65 from Panasonic, and a lone BD-C6500 from Samsung, although that's just the first of more to come from the company. No surprises with the prices or specs, but you can check out a slew of in-the-wild shots at the link below, or head down to your local Best Buy (or other retailer) to see if you're able to spot any of them first-hand yourself.

Latest round of LG, Panasonic and Samsung Blu-ray players begin retail invasion originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zotac's ZBOX HD-ID11 has NVIDIA Ion 2 and Atom D510 to thank for excellent media playback (updated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/zotacs-zbox-hd-id11-has-nvidia-ion-2-and-atom-d510-to-thank-for/

Like gaming? Move right along to the iBuyPower booth, please. Want an unobtrusive PC that will feed your Hulu and YouTube HD streaming addiction? Say hello to the ZBOX HD-ID11. It's basically a desktop version of the same Ion 2 setups you saw announced on the mobile front yesterday, and as such should provide flawless Flash 10.1 playback while occupying an extremely lean footprint on your desktop. Zotac has matched MSI's Wind Box DE220 with its inclusion of a dual-core 1.66GHz Atom D510 CPU, though it obviously differs with its NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics subsystem that includes 512MB of dedicated DDR3 memory. HDMI 1.3a and standard VESA wall-mounting are expected extras, with six USB ports, integrated 802.11n WiFi, dual-link DVI, and a 6-in-1 media card reader covering the rest of your bases. Check out some 1080p playback on a similarly specced system right here while you wait for pricing and availability to be revealed.

Update: We've heard directly from Zotac on the matter of pricing and we're told that the American MSRP will be $209.99 for the barebones edition, which will require you to add your own hard drive, memory and OS.

Zotac's ZBOX HD-ID11 has NVIDIA Ion 2 and Atom D510 to thank for excellent media playback (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Coby $85 smartbook feels like a hundred bucks (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/coby-85-smartbook-feels-like-a-hundred-bucks-hands-on/

Funny how our tune on smartbooks totally changes when one's got an $85 price tag. We happened upon Coby's booth at CeBIT this morning and of all the fairly cheap feeling laptops the company had on display it was its 7-inch NBPC722 smartbook that cozied right up to us. Okay, so it isn't as thin or attractive as the $499 Lenovo's Skylight, but again let us remind you that it costs about as much as a couple of new printer ink cartridges. Inside the little guy packs a 624MHz Marvell PXA303 processor, 2GB of flash storage and runs Windows CE which all should be good enough for some light Web browsing and e-mail writing. There was actually a YouTube shortcut on the desktop, but the NBPC722 wasn't connected to try it out. Apparently this inexpensive laptop should be making its way stateside this spring, but until the flowers start blooming you've got the video below.

Gallery: Coby NBPC722 smartbook

Continue reading Coby $85 smartbook feels like a hundred bucks (hands-on)

Coby $85 smartbook feels like a hundred bucks (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire One 532G with ION 2 priced at an aggressive 379 euros

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/acer-aspire-one-532g-with-ion-2-priced-at-an-aggressive-379-euro/

Now that's how to get our attention. While the English-speaking portion of the Acer press conference left much to be desired, the second half, decidedly more German in vernacular, had a couple great tidbits. Most notable is a price of Acer's AspireOne 532G, the ION 2-equipped netbook initially espied at Mobile World Congress. The slide says it all, sort of: 379 euros -- mighty aggressive, and if history tells us anything, there's a good chance it'll be about $379 when it comes stateside, too. No word on release date as far as we can tell, but you'll definitely want to keep an eye out for this one.

Acer Aspire One 532G with ION 2 priced at an aggressive 379 euros originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USB-IF certifies 50 SuperSpeed USB products, leaves five shrouded in mystery

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/usb-if-certifies-50-superspeed-usb-products-leaves-five-shroude/

USB-IF certifies 50 SuperSpeed USB products, leaves five shrouded in mystery

That 80-port hub you bought to increase your military might? Obsolete. Novelty thumb drives? Their days are numbered as the USB-IF announces the completion of SuperSpeed USB (3.0) compliance on 50 devices. Yes, of all the countless, teeming masses of USB 2.0-compliant whatsits out there, a whole 50 3.0 devices currently officially exist, ranging from PCIe adapters to... well... ExpressCard adapters. Yes, there are a few legitimate devices in there, like HP's Envy 15 laptop and WD's My Book 3.0 external hard drive, but that the vast majority are adapters says a lot about how early this format is. Of the 50 said to be certified only 45 are listed on the site, meaning there are five left unidentified, ready for a stunning, blue-plugged unveiling. It'll surely be a magical event.

USB-IF certifies 50 SuperSpeed USB products, leaves five shrouded in mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BusinessWire, USB 3.0 Compliance List | Email this | Comments

Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/acer-aspire-1820pt-convertible-hands-on-priced-for-599-euros/

Craftily unhidden at the tail end of its press conference, Acer's long-awaited Aspire 1820PT convertible laptop has finally passed into our hands for ever the briefest of moments. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Strong hinge, accelerometer for tablet mode, capacitive multitouch, and the ability to use stylus for input (protected in a slot just below and to the right of the screen when not in use). Beyond that, seems like the typical underpowered laptop you know and love -- well, maybe not love, but you get the idea. Under the hood there's an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB RAM, and 320GB HDD, all priced at 599 euro, which we'd venture a guess to mean it'll be about $599 when it comes to the US (actual release date MIA). Gallery below, and brief video demonstration after the break.

Gallery: Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on

Continue reading Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros

Acer Aspire 1820PT convertible hands-on, priced for 599 euros originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WD's first SiliconEdge Blue SSD launches, gets reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/wds-first-siliconedge-blue-ssd-launches-gets-reviewed/

Remember when Western Digital picked up SiliconSystems for a song during the height of last decade's Great Recession? Here we are a year later looking at the first fruit of that relationship, as WD has just introduced its first consumer-oriented solid state drive in the SiliconEdge Blue and its enterprise-ready SiliconDrive N1x. Both 2.5-inch families feature a native SATA 3.0Gbps interface along with read speeds as high as 240 - 250MB/sec and write rates peaking at around 140 - 150MB/sec, and the former has already hit the test bench on a number of occasions. For those considering the upgrade, you should probably dive into those links below -- most everyone came away feeling that the SiliconEdge Blue was a wee bit underwhelming for the price, with Hot Hardware noting that the "Micron C300 and Intel X25-M were measurably faster overall," and the lofty MSRP just left 'em looking for more. Here's hoping for a price drop and / or a SiliconEdge Black, eh?

WD's first SiliconEdge Blue SSD launches, gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NatGeo Downloader 2.0 Grabs Over 5,000 Wallpaper-Worthy Photos [Updates]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/4T_Uq-lAFLk/natgeo-downloader-20-grabs-over-5000-wallpaper+worthy-photos

NatGeo Downloader 2.0 Grabs Over 5,000 Wallpaper-Worthy Photos Windows: National Geographic's web site has some stunning photography, and a lot of it makes for good rotating desktop backgrounds. The NatGeo Wallpaper Downloader we've previously enjoyed has updated with interface improvments, bug fixes, and access to thousands more images.

The app's developer writes that while his first release of the app made it convenient to grab a few hundred of National Geographic's photography contest images, this 2.0 version broadens your access to more than 5,000 images. Future versions should expand the range even further. It's a Windows-only app, but Linux and Mac users with some command line savvy can still get in on the NatGeo action.

NatGeo Wallpaper Downloader is a free download for Window systems.

NatGeo Wallpaper Downloader [Novazi]

NVIDIA's Optimus technology shows its graphics switching adroitness on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/03/nvidias-optimus-technology-shows-its-graphics-switching-adroitn/

Explaining automatic graphics switching and the benefits thereof can be a somewhat dry affair. You have to tell people about usability improvements and battery life savings and whatnot... it's much more fun if you just take a nice big engineering board, strap the discrete GPU on its own card and insert an LED light for the viewer to follow. NVIDIA has done just that with its Optimus technology -- coming to a laptop or Ion 2-equipped netbook near you -- and topped it off by actually pulling out the GPU card when it wasn't active, then reinserting it and carrying on with its use as if nothing had happened. This was done to illustrate the fact that Optimus shuts down the GPU electrically, which is that little bit more energy efficient than dropping it into an idle state. Shimmy past the break to see the video.

Continue reading NVIDIA's Optimus technology shows its graphics switching adroitness on video

NVIDIA's Optimus technology shows its graphics switching adroitness on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to Manage Passwords In Any Browser And On Any OS [Security]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Hye9s6FhngI/how-to-manage-passwords-in-any-browser-and-on-any-os

I want a universal password manager—something that can work with any browser and any OS—and I want it to be simple, secure, and completely dummy-proof. Turns out that such a thing actually exists. Meet LastPass.

Lifehacker's Kevin has a great guide to how LastPass works and how you can get the most out of it, but here's one of the most important things to keep in mind:

[T]he only thing stored on LastPass' servers is a heavily encrypted bundle of your passwords and the sites they belong to-a form of host-proof hosting. They don't have the encryption key to your passwords (only you do), and the encryption and decrypting all takes place on your own computer, where a backup copy of LastPass' records is always kept. If LastPass became evil, or got hacked, the nefarious doers would have to buy one of Google's server farms to break into its users' passwords.

Sold? I am and will be giving LastPass a shot. You can read all about the password manager's features such as browser extensions, one-time passwords, bookmarklets, secure notes, and mobile app compatibility over at Lifehacker. [Lifehacker]

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