Thursday, December 02, 2010

PeeWee PC netbook moves to 2.0, rated to take the worst your tot can deliver

PeeWee PC netbook moves to 2.0, rated to take the worst your tot can deliver

PeeWee PC netbook moves to 2.0, rated to take the worst your tot can handle
Little fingers can dish out big pain for gadgets, and unless your little one is beefy enough to lug around a Toughbook you'll be wanting something small and durable for them. Enter the $449 PeeWee Power 2.0, the latest revision to the company's series of kid-friendly computers. This netbook is said to survive drops with aplomb, but only has a "water resistant" keyboard, so don't toss those sippy cups just yet. It also comes loaded with security software to hopefully keep your kids from finding the worst the 'net has to offer, but with only a 1.6GHz N270 Atom processor on tap, 1GB of RAM, and a mere 30GB of HDD storage, we're guessing it could also be a good tool to teach them all about patience.

Continue reading PeeWee PC netbook moves to 2.0, rated to take the worst your tot can deliver

PeeWee PC netbook moves to 2.0, rated to take the worst your tot can deliver originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePeeWee PC  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Apple granted patents for glasses-free, multi-viewer 3D system, colorful keyboard backlighting

Apple granted patents for glasses-free, multi-viewer 3D system, colorful keyboard backlighting

We've seen a few Apple 3D patents before, but this latest IP portfolio addition shows Cupertino has clearly been thinking differently. At its core the system involves a screen, projector, sensor, and a 3D imager, which work together to allow multiple viewers to perceive 3D images from nearly any position in a room without glasses. This flexible autostereoscopic 3D effect is achieved by tracking user's positions and projecting pixels onto a reflective, textured surface that then bounces separate images into the left and right eye. Virtual interaction methods with the 3D projections are also described in the document, implying the technology has aspirations beyond passive viewing.

Speaking of aspirations, Apple's approach clearly seeks to fix many common 3D issues at once. The most obvious is literally taking 3D glasses of the picture -- which we firmly support. On the flip side, the design addresses common faults with current glasses-free options too such as: ghosting and narrow viewing angles, while still keeping commercial viability in mind. That sounds magical to us, but considering the patent was filed back in 2006, we still expect 3D to be handled the old fashion way for quite a while to come.

While we're on the subject of patents, a handful more popped in by way of Apple related to keyboard backlighting. Think multiple colors, individually lit, customizable by the user or automated based on environmental conditions and you get the gist. Hey, if it means a return for the Bondi Blue late 90's iMac design (with bright, matching keyboards), then we're excited. But it doesn't.

Apple granted patents for glasses-free, multi-viewer 3D system, colorful keyboard backlighting originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register, Apple Insider  |  sourceUSPTO (1), (2), (3)  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

MeeGo-based Intel Atom phone and tablet spotted from Russia with love

MeeGo-based Intel Atom phone and tablet spotted from Russia with love

First the 2018 World Cup and now this. An Intel press event in Moscow was reportedly the site of some new MeeGo device reveals. Mail.ru's Anton Spiridonov was on hand and managed to spot Intel Atom-based phone the Hi/Lo Vibrant (we haven't heard of the company, either) and a tablet of some sort, both equipped with the Linux-based OS. Not much else is known save for what appears to be a 5 megapixel camera labeled as such on the back. More pics below.

[Thanks, Chris]

MeeGo-based Intel Atom phone and tablet spotted from Russia with love originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MeeGo Experts, Hi-tech@Mail.ru  |  sourceTwitter (@playd), Neowin, PopSci  |  sourceTakayukiFukatsu (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

PSA: Botched AVG 2011 update might be why your PC won't start today

PSA: Botched AVG 2011 update might be why your PC won't start today

Did you update your free copy of AVG 2011 today, in the hopes of evading a nasty bug? In a set of mildly familiar circumstances, the antivirus company has inadvertently unleashed an even nastier one. Users running 64-bit editions of Windows 7 and AVG 2011 are reporting a STOP error after a mandatory antivirus update this morning, which is keeping some from booting their machines into Windows at all. The buggy update has since been pulled and there are a couple ways to preemptively keep it from happening if you're staring at the message above, but if you've already been stung, you're looking at some quality time with a recovery disc or repair partition to fix your Windows boot files. Find all the solutions, including the preemptive ones, at our source link below.

PSA: Botched AVG 2011 update might be why your PC won't start today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ZDNet  |  sourceAVG Official Forums  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Flipboard's Big Update: This is an iPad Mag Done Right

Flipboard's Big Update: This is an iPad Mag Done Right

Flipboard, the iPad "social" magazine which launched to a barrage of press back in July, has just announced the addition of several more publishing partners, the first to test Flipboard's new framework called Flipboard Pages. This framework automatically converts traditional Web content into an iPad-friendly format, featuring full-screen, paginated, magazine-like pages.

When readers tap content from these publishers shared by friends on Twitter or Facebook within the Flipboard app, they're now taken to this new magazine-like reading experience instead of a traditional Web page. And for publishers, the result of the tap is the same as a Web hit on their end.

Flipboard Pages, however, isn't the only big news coming out of the company today.

Sponsor

About Flipboard Pages

The new media partners participating in the launch of Flipboard Pages are ABC News, All Things D, Bon Appetit, Lonely Planet, SB Nation, SF Gate, Uncrate and The Washington Post Magazine.

All publishers worked with Flipboard to create their own HTML5-based framework, so they each have their own look and feel. (HTML5 is the next version of HTML, the markup language of the Web. Although currently in development, its use has become so prevalent throughout the year, that we dubbed it one of 2010's top trends.)

Flipboards_new_publications.jpg

The end result of these partnerships is unique, branded experiences for the publishers, but all housed within the overall framework of the Flipboard app itself.

For the end user, switching between the various custom formats isn't jarring because you don't flip from one publisher's content to the next. Instead, you "happen upon" the content by tapping a link shared by a friend on Facebook or Twitter, the social networks already integrated into Flipboard. Previously, tapping links would load up a traditional Web page - and that was far more jarring, as it took you out of the magazine experience altogether. Now, moving from social posts to the Web and back again feels like more seamless.

Other News: Ad Partnership, William R. Hearst Advising

Flipboard is also announcing a new ad partner, OMD, and a notable new advisor: William R. Hearst, a media industry veteran and Affiliated Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Buyers.

flipboard_before.PNGOMD will serve full-page ads from its clients including Pepsi, Gatorade, Infiniti, The CW Television Network, Showtime, Levi's, Dockers, Hilton Worldwide, GE, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Project (RED), Standup2cancer.org and Charity Water.

Magazine readers will see the ads while browsing stories from Flipboard's partners during the advertising trial.

Compared With Other iPad Mags

As for how Flipboard compares to other companies launching iPad magazines of their own, we think Flipboard is closer to "getting it right" than the other ventures we've caught wind of in recent weeks.

For example, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is said to be launching an iPad-only newspaper (or news service?) in the near future and Richard Branson officially launched an iPad-only magazine called "Project" just this week. Both companies distribute (or will distribute) their content as locked-down subscription-based tablet applications. While both deliver "iPad-friendly" experiences, they're missing the point of the iPad - you don't have to reinvent the wheel and launch entirely new media publications, you just need to boldly rethink the user interfaces of existing ones.

flipboard_after.PNGIn doing so, why not render the content using Web technologies instead of downloading megabytes of media to the iPad's hard disk? (Well, perhaps those with Wi-Fi only iPads will disagree here - Flipboard currently offers only limited offline support. You can flip pages, but can't read articles.)

More recently, critics, such as those on tech news site GigaOm for example, called Branson's "Project" as "bloated and unfriendly" as the other magazine apps for iPad that are out there today. Many of these apps are confusing to use - you actually need a "how to" guide to get started. Flipboard is much easier. As the name implies, you just flip (swipe your finger across the screen).

Plus, Flipboard acknowledges a truth the others - all the others - do not: and that's the truth about how people go about getting their news today. Outside of a few publications read religiously, for the most part, news finds us via our friends. Flipboard makes Twitter and Facebook the jumping off point for accessing news, and the result is a news magazine we actually want to read.

Discuss


Read More...

Cinnamon Could Replace Harsh Chemicals To Produce Gold Nanoparticles, Researchers Say

Cinnamon Could Replace Harsh Chemicals To Produce Gold Nanoparticles, Researchers Say

A humble spice found in nearly every kitchen could yield a safer, simpler way to produce gold nanoparticles, according to a new study. Researchers say the cinnamon-infused particles can even be used to fight cancer.

Gold nanoparticles are heralded for their potential to detect tumors, search for oil, light the streets and cure diseases, but their production requires dangerous toxic chemicals. There are several ways to produce gold particles, but most involve dissolving chloroauric acid, also called gold salts, in liquid and adding chemicals to precipitate gold atoms. Common mixtures include sodium citrates, sodium borohydride (also used to bleach wood pulp) and ammonium compounds, all of which can be toxic to humans and the environment.

Hoping to promote green nanotechnology, researchers at the University of Missouri mixed gold salts with cinnamon instead and stirred the mixture in water. The combination produced gold nanoparticles and phytochemicals, an active chemical in cinnamon. When combined with the nanoparticles, the phytochemicals can enter cancer cells and destroy them or help image them for more accurate medical procedures.

"Our gold nanoparticles are not only ecologically and biologically benign, they also are biologically active against cancer cells," said Kattesh Katti, a professor of radiology and physics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

The process uses no electricity and no chemicals, other than the initial gold salts. The researchers reported their work in the journal Pharmaceutical Research.

Katti said cinnamon and other seeds, leaves and herbs could be used to convert metals into nanoparticles without using harsh chemicals.

"Our approach to 'green' nanotechnology creates a renaissance symbolizing the indispensable role of Mother Nature in all future nanotechnological developments," he said.

[Eurekalert]

Read More...

Synapse Is a Super-Fast, Tightly Integrated Application Launcher for Linux [Downloads]

Synapse Is a Super-Fast, Tightly Integrated Application Launcher for Linux [Downloads]

Synapse Is a Super-Fast, Tightly Integrated Application Launcher for LinuxLinux: Free app Synapse goes beyond the simple application launcher to tightly integrate with your Linux system, quickly accessing any recent action you've performed so you can return to it or perform something similar in an instant.

GNOME-Do is still one of our favorite Linux launchers, but it hasn't updated in over a year. If you're looking for something a bit fresher (and without the ugly Mono dependencies), Synapse is a great replacement. It's similar to GNOME-Do and other application launchers in the sense that, with a quick keyboard shortcut, you can launch an application or take action on a certain file, depending on the plugins you have installed.

However, while the plugin list isn't quite as extensive as the more mature GNOME-Do, the Zeitgeist plugin allows for a lot of cool things. Zeitgeist (which comes pre-installed on Ubuntu) is a service that logs all your activity—files opened, websites visited, conversations held—and all these are quickly available through Synapse. You can look up recently used files (say, if you closed that document by accident or want to repeat the song you just heard) and even find other similar files. It's a slightly different approach to quick launching, and one that may have a slightly bigger learning curve but it has a ton of possibilities since Zeitgeist logs so much.

Apart from all that, you also have the usual plugins—Banshee, Rhythmbox, Dictionary, Log out/Shut Down/Suspend, and quick Terminal commands, to name a few. If you rely heavily on some of GNOME-Do's more custom plugins, you might have to wait a bit before Synapse fits into your workflow better, but if not, it's definitely worth checking out. Hit the link below to read more.

Read More...

Lineo's Warp 2 boots to Fedora on Atom in 4 seconds, MPC Data's SwiftBoot warms up embedded Linux in an instant

Lineo's Warp 2 boots to Fedora on Atom in 4 seconds, MPC Data's SwiftBoot warms up embedded Linux in an instant

Alright, you caught us. We're suckers for speedy, unrealistically optimized boot times. The fine folks at Linux for Devices just highlighted two major players on the horizon: Lineo's Warp 2, which is about to launch; and MPC Data's SwiftBoot, which is now available. Both of them are less of a "boot" and more of a "wake from hibernation" sort of thing, but most of the issues are the same -- you still have to boot a kernel, whether or not you're gonna populate the system with a saved state when it's ready. Lineo is booting up Fedora Linux 12 on an Atom Z530 machine, and has just hit the 4.06 second mark -- compared to a 54.72 second "normal" boot time on the system. Meanwhile, MPC Data is going after much more of a niche, but doing it well: its SwiftBoot tech can get Linux up and running an actual application on an embedded device-ready Renesas SuperH SH7724 processor in under a second (0.982 seconds, to be precise). This one has to be seen to be believed, so check out the video after the break. Sure, it won't help you love your pokey PC or Mac any more (though Apple's doing its own work on this problem with its misnomered "instant on" feature on the MacBook Air, which wakes the computer from hibernation in a few seconds), but it's a nice glimpse of what's to come.

Continue reading Lineo's Warp 2 boots to Fedora on Atom in 4 seconds, MPC Data's SwiftBoot warms up embedded Linux in an instant

Lineo's Warp 2 boots to Fedora on Atom in 4 seconds, MPC Data's SwiftBoot warms up embedded Linux in an instant originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

!
Permalink Linux for Devices  |  sourceSwiftBoot, Lineo  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Strawberry-Pickin' Robot Only Picks the Red Berries [Video]

Strawberry-Pickin' Robot Only Picks the Red Berries [Video]

Strawberry-Pickin' Robot Only Picks the Red BerriesYet another field of expertise has been wiped out by some steel pincers—strawberry-pickers. Japan's robot detects which berries are at least 80 per cent red, and picks them gently off the vine.

It's being trained to pick other forms of berries, but if the 'bot gets to the point where it can be released safely into the wilds of strawberry farms, it'll supposedly reduce harvest time by 40 per cent. That means fewer jobs for humans, and even more 'bots handling our sweet little bombs of juice. The future is definitely mechanical—and doomed. [DigInfo via Technabob]

Read More...

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

Curious timing, no? Just last month, Google's own Eric Schmidt revealed that the Nexus S (manufactured by none other than Samsung) would have "NFC features," and he even went on to proclaim that this kind of technology would eventually supplant the tried-and-true credit card. Today, Sammy itself has revealed a new near field communications (NFC) chip with embedded flash memory, and we're told that this guy remains active for mobile payment even without battery power. Of course, we're still waiting for a confirmed price and release date for the aforesaid smartphone, but could Samsung's NFC mass production date of Q1 2011 be the clue we've been yearning for? Fingers and toes crossed, okay everyone?

Continue reading Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem

Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem

We've just gotten our hands on the less-insane version of Verizon's LTE modems, the LG VL600. The company timed the shipment of these puppies to coincide with today's announcement of the coming 4G onslaught, set to begin December 5th -- which based on what we've seen thus far is going to be beyond awesome. Unless you're on a Mac (more on that after the break).

In case you haven't seen the device in question, it's a rather large (we mean seriously large) USB dongle, which thankfully comes with a clip and extra cable. Like all LTE devices, it uses a SIM which will look familiar to those in GSM devices, but is -- again -- almost comically large.

We haven't spent a load of time with the modem, but in the few short hours we've had to play with the device, the down- and upstream speeds we're getting are nothing short of phenomenal. In Brooklyn, which we're not even sure is really heavily covered by the LTE blanket (and was being battered by rain and wind at the time of testing), we saw consistent speeds which peaked at 7 Mbps down, and over 1 Mbps up. Overall, speeds held steady around 5 to 6 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. By comparison, we saw around 4 Mbps down and less than 1 Mbps up when we did some testing with Sprint's WiMAX Overdrive 4G, and roughly 6.5 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up with Clear's iSpot.

Overall, browsing on our computer felt nearly identical to our home broadband, and even HD video playback on YouTube was snappy and responsive over the network. And did we mention we were only getting two out of four bars on our connection?

Update: We've added a link to SlashGear's hands-on of the modem below. As you can see, speeds vary by area, and SG was pulling 12 Mbps downstream and more than 5 Mbps up -- impressively matching Verizon's claimed numbers.

Update 2: With a little more testing, we're seeing speeds closer to Verizon's estimates. We've added a second image after the break, and as you can see, we're nabbing over 10 Mbps downstream and nearly 4 Mbps up.

Continue reading Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem

Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Read More...

aTV Flash (black) now in beta, ready to equip your new Apple TV with a browser

aTV Flash (black) now in beta, ready to equip your new Apple TV with a browser

It's always a bit of a funny business paying for hacks, but Fire Core's aTV Flash is a serious product and we can't blame them for trying to make a buck off the back of it. Now the sequel, aTV Flash (black), is here in beta form, bringing a subset of the aTV Flash's functionality to the brand new Apple TV, which runs that fancy new iOS-based 4.0 software. Most importantly, Fire Core brings a HTML5-compatible browser, but the Last.fm app and Plex Client are welcome tag alongs. "Coming soon" features include expanded media format support and networked storage support. The pre-order beta price is $20, while the final hack will retail for $30. For existing users, (black) is a free upgrade.

[Thanks, Gustavo]

aTV Flash (black) now in beta, ready to equip your new Apple TV with a browser originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFire Core  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Motorola Mobility's mystery gadget streams video to tablets and phones

Motorola Mobility's mystery gadget streams video to tablets and phones

Wonder why Motorola's set-top-box business got bundled in with the phones? If we had to guess, it's probably because Motorola Mobility is making a device that will wirelessly join both. Speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit, company president Daniel Moloney said that Motorola's working on a standalone device that will wirelessly sling video to tablets and phones in the home, and will later be integrated directly into new set-top-boxes the company rolls out. "It's one consumer proposition that will come sooner rather than later," he told the crowd, suggesting that the device would be available through "service providers" rather than sold off the shelf, and that said providers might charge an additional service fee for its use. Here's hoping not. Perhaps Qualcomm finally found a buyer for that FLO TV spectrum, though?

Motorola Mobility's mystery gadget streams video to tablets and phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video)

XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video)

XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give you an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video)
It's been almost two years since the XIM2 finally became available, letting Xbox 360 gamers bring some additional inputs to their gaming -- namely a keyboard and a mouse. Now its successor is nearing availability and its final form has been unleashed to the world. This version is considerably more advanced than its predecessor, sporting a little LCD for easier programming and some very advanced game-specific tuning called "Smart Translators." These handle various settings for various games, automatically deleting the various sized and various shaped dead zones employed by various shooters, demonstrated in a video below. No price has been announced yet, but we're guessing it'll cost a good bit more than the (now discontinued) XIM2's $149.99.

[Thanks, K. Green]

Continue reading XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video)

XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceXIM3 Development Blog  | Email this | Comments

Read More...