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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

ARM's Super-Efficient New Chip Can Get "Years of Battery Life" [Guts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5892873/arms-super+efficient-new-chip-can-get-years-of-battery-life

With processors, it's easy to get caught up in gigahertz and petaflops and the top-end specs. But blazing fast speed doesn't mean all that much for, say, your refrigerator. ARM's says its Cortex-M0+ chip will connect your dumb appliances to a smart grid, and offer "years" of battery life on some of them.

The Cortex-M0+ chip is capable of 32-bit processing, measures 1mm x 1mm, and is based on Flycatcher architecture. ARM says it's the world's most energy-efficient design. It's even more efficient than the 8- and 16-bit MCUs it's replacing.

The idea is that if the "Internet of Things"—that near-future sci-fi aspiration where your toaster knows when your dishwasher is using too much power—is ever going to happen, we'll need super low power chips to make it possible. [ARM via Geek, BBC]

Rdio rolls out redesigned website and desktop apps, promises to make things more social

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/rdio-rolls-out-redesigned-website-and-desktop-apps-promises-to/

If you've checked into Rdio's website this afternoon (and are a web or unlimited subscriber) you've probably noticed a message prompting you to try out the "new Rdio." Clicking on it will take you to the redesigned website that the music streaming service has rolled out today -- something the company claims is "faster, simpler, and more social." That includes a completely overhauled layout that puts it slightly more in line with the likes of Spotify and iTunes, and social networking features that are brought to the fore, including a new "People Sidebar" where you can see who's online and what they're listening to (along with suggestions of people to follow). You can also now simply drag tracks to the People Sidebar to share them with friends, or drag entire albums to add them to a playlist. What's more, that overhaul also carriers over to Rdio's desktop apps, which now mirror the web interface quite closely. Hit the links below to take a closer look or try it for yourself.

Continue reading Rdio rolls out redesigned website and desktop apps, promises to make things more social

Rdio rolls out redesigned website and desktop apps, promises to make things more social originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel: Optical Thunderbolt cables arriving this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/optical-thunderbolt-this-year/

Intel's Dave Salvator has been talking about Thunderbolt's future, promising that optical versions of the high-speed interconnect will arrive this year. The copper version currently available is cheaper and can carry 10 watts of power, but it can only be run a maximum distance of six meters. While the fiber version loses the ability to power devices, it's reportedly far faster and capable of running to the "tens of meters." ~~Dave~~ Mr. Salvator wouldn't commit to a release date, or how much more we'll be expected to pay for the cables, but given that we're also expecting to see PCI-Express 3.0 bolted on to the standard soon, we'll start saving today.

Intel: Optical Thunderbolt cables arriving this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARM Cortex-M0+ is a low-power, low cost 32-bit processor for the 'internet of things'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/arm-cortex-ultra-low-power-32-bit-processor/

Cortex-M0+

The "internet of things" is quite the buzzed about phenomena these days and everyone wants in on the action. But, much of the hype so far has been associated with that DIY staple, the Arduino, and its admittedly under-powered 8-bit MCU. ARM is looking to put more power at developers fingertips, though, with the Cortex-M0+, an ultra low-power processor designed for embedded applications. The 32-bit chip is based on the existing M0, but with significant tweaks that greatly improve performance while keeping power draw to a minimum. Freescale and NXP should be first out the box with licensed processors and, while we wouldn't anticipate these showing up in a refrigerator or printer just yet, we wouldn't be shocked if they drew some interest from hobbyists. Check out the complete PR after the break.

Continue reading ARM Cortex-M0+ is a low-power, low cost 32-bit processor for the 'internet of things'

ARM Cortex-M0+ is a low-power, low cost 32-bit processor for the 'internet of things' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We Demand Ikea's Magical Touchscreen Thread In America Now Now Now [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5892612/we-demand-ikeas-magical-touchscreen-thread-in-america-now-now-now

Winter and touchscreens don't mix because gloves and mittens aren't so capacitive. Ikea's Beröra sewing kit could change the world forever, had they not decided to only produce 12000 of the thread kits. We demand Ikea bring it back.

Beröra is an über-simple solution to the wooly-handed problems of winter. It's a sewing kit with a piece of conductive thread which turns the glove of your choice into a touchscreen-ready glove. We've seen touchscreen gloves before, but the idea that any glove could be a touchscreen glove is the kind of bigger hammer thinking we've come to expect from Ikea. Well done.

Unfortunately, this brilliant idea wasn never intended for a long lifespan on the shelves of Ikea—It was a short-lived marketing campaign designed to promote Ikea's new iPad catalog in Norway. The catalog came out in mid-Winter, and the Beröra kits sold out in under two weeks.

This is an injustice. We demand that like Sweedish meatballs before it, the Beröra be brought to Americans so that next winter we might all touchscreen-enable our gloves. There is a bright future ahead in which winter will no longer dominate my tablet usage. It's up to Ikea to make this right. Do the right thing Ikea. [PSFK via Laughing Squid]

Canon EOS 5D Mark III high-ISO sample images (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/12/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii-high-iso-sample-images/

Canon unveiled its highly-anticipated EOS 5D Mark III just 10 days ago, but we already have a pre-production sample in-hand, and will be putting it through its paces over the next week. Today's installment focuses on high-sensitivity still image shooting, which we conducted at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea. We chose a dimly lit temple as our test subject, shooting a handful of images at ISO settings ranging from 800 to the camera's top native sensitivity of 25,600, and extended modes of ISO 51,200 and ISO 102,400. All images were captured at f/8 with a 24-105mm L lens.

As expected, the camera offered excellent performance at all of the native settings -- as you can see from the image above, there's some noise noticeable when viewing an image at full size, though considering the camera's top resolution of 22.3 megapixels, we hardly see ISO 25,600 being an issue. Jumping beyond the top native range did yield significant noise, but assuming you're shooting for the web, even these settings are usable. Chances are, you won't often be examining images at a 1:1 pixel view, so jump past the break to see how each of the four frames represented above will look when scaled to a web-friendly 600-pixels-wide resolution, then hit up our source link to grab full-res JPEGs of each image captured during the shoot.

Continue reading Canon EOS 5D Mark III high-ISO sample images (hands-on)

Canon EOS 5D Mark III high-ISO sample ima! ges (han ds-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gartner pegs Samsung as China's top smartphone maker, ranks Apple fifth overall

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/12/gartner-samsung-top-smartphone-maker-china/

Gartner pegs Samsung as China's top smartphone maker, ranks Apple fifth overall

Analysts at the research firm Gartner have come out and crowned Samsung as the most popular smartphone producer in China. The Korean manufacturer beat out others such as Nokia, Huawei, ZTE and Apple to score the title, and now boasts a rather impressive 24.3 percent market share in the country. While the iPhone 4S is portrayed as the most desired handset in China, Gartner suggests its limited availability with carriers played a large role in Samsung's achievement. The report provides a stark contrast with Apple's global success, which was recently named by Gartner as the top smartphone manufacturer in the world. The importance of China can't be overlooked, however, which is now projected to overtake the United States as the largest smartphone market. Until Apple further expands its carrier reach, it appears to be smooth sailing for Samsung -- unless Nokia is able to apply some pressure from its new Windows Phone handsets, that is.

Gartner pegs Samsung as China's top smartphone maker, ranks Apple fifth overall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer brings five monitors to the US, prices range from $139 to $329

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/acer-brings-five-monitors-to-the-us-market/

If that display up there looks familiar, it's because it's already won itself a fancy schmancy iF product design award. But as Prospero would say, 'tis new to thee -- at least if you live on this side of the Atlantic. Acer just announced it's bringing that very S23HL monitor to the US, along with four other models whose screens range in size from 20 to 27 inches. The S235HL is clearly the star of the show here, with a half-inch-thick frame and asymmetrical stand. (It has 1080p resolution and VGA / HDMI ports too, if you're interested in more than just the design.) Intrigued? You can expect to fork over $219 for it when it lands stateside next month.

Moving on, Acer also has two other 23-inch, 1080p monitors -- the S230HL Abd and Abii -- with the former packing VGA and DVI ports, and the latter trading DVI for two HDMI sockets. Look for those in April for $169 and $189, respectively. Of the lot, the most expensive is the 27-inch S271HL, a 27-inch, 1080p monitor with DVI, HDMI and a VESA mount. You can snag one now for a cool $329. Last but not least, if you're on a tighter budget there's the 20-inch S200HL, which has a more modest 1600 x 900 resolution, along with VGA and DVI ports. That's on sale now for $139. More info on all of these in the PR after the break, though we're pretty sure we passed on all the pertinent details already.

Continue reading Acer brings five monitors to the US, prices range from $139 to $329

Acer brings five monitors to the US, prices range from $139 to ! $329 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Path vows contact data 'hashing' in next update, chases privacy certification

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/path-seeks-TRUSTe-privacy-certification/

Path is still trying to pave over those privacy cracks, promising that its next update will "hash" the contact data it previously used to suck up without prior warning. Last month, the app was caught with its digital fingers inside users' address books and while the subsequent (and understandably swift) update allowed users to opt out, the Path devs are still looking to gain privacy certification with TRUSTe. They told The Verge that the next version will still allow contact matching without plucking the precise details at the same time, using a hashing technique that won't identify the data delivered to the social network app. The latest update adds compatibility with Nike+ GPS, plus improvements to the embedded camera and a new music recognition function. It's available now for the mobile OS of your choice at the sources below.

Path vows contact data 'hashing' in next update, chases privacy certification originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Verge | Path (Google Play), (iTunes) | Email this | Comments

Sony outs Xperia sola: 3.7-inch LCD, 1GHz CPU, 'floating touch' navigation

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/sony-outs-xperia-sola/

Sony outs Xperia sola

So, it turns out the sola isn't a US-specific version of the Xperia S after all, but a new handset in its own right -- albeit one we've already seen under the "Pepper" codename. In some ways, it's a budget version of the S, with a similar appearance minus the glittery translucent strip along the bottom and with various other reductions, including a 3.7-inch 854 x 480 LCD, 1GHz dual-core processor and 5-megapixel rear camera. On the other hand, it's a fully hazed member of the Xperia gang, with NFC SmartTags, an xLOUD "surround sound" speaker, Mobile BRAVIA image processing and, of course, full access to the Sony Entertainment Network. As expected, the sola will ship with Gingerbread but be upgradeable to ICS soon after launch. There's also one completely new spec: "floating touch" navigation for "magic web browsing without touching the screen." What is it? Does it work? We should have answers pretty soon -- the handset is due for a global release in black, white and red colors in Q2. Check the source link for full specs.

Continue reading Sony outs Xperia sola: 3.7-inch LCD, 1GHz CPU, 'floating touch' navigation

Sony outs Xperia sola: 3.7-inch LCD, 1GHz CPU, 'floating touch' navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:44:00 EDT. Pl! ease see our terms for use of feeds.

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New iPad gets benchmarked: 1GB RAM confirmed, no boost in CPU speed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/13/new-ipad-gets-benchmarked-1gb-ram-confirmed-no-boost-in-cpu-sp/

Not only did some lucky gents in Vietnam get their hands on the new iPad while most people are still refreshing their delivery status page, they were also kind enough to run some benchmark tests. The results confirm that the RAM has been upped to 1GB, with the Geekbench score settling at 756. The processor remains at 1GHz, again, which is what we expected, but puts the kibosh on any speculation that there might have been a slight bump in clock speeds. If you want to see the full breakdown, hit the source for the goods.

New iPad gets benchmarked: 1GB RAM confirmed, no boost in CPU speed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tinhte.vn (Vietnamese) | Email this | Comments

Monday, March 12, 2012

AT&T continues 4G LTE expansion, plans to light up eleven markets by early summer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/12/atandt-continues-4g-lte-expansion-plans-to-light-up-eleven-market/

AT&T's 4G LTE isn't the new kid on the wireless block anymore, but that's not to say the network's leapfrogged its growing pains. With almost two years to go before it reaches that end-of-year 2013 expansion target, the carrier's flipping the switch on an additional eleven markets across the US, as well as completing coverage in New York City. With a phased rollout in place that's set to begin next month and terminate at some undisclosed point in early summer, subscribers in Cleveland, Akron and Canton, Ohio; Naples, Florida; Bloomington, Lafayette and Muncie, Indiana; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; Bryan-College Station, Texas and Staten Island will get to benefit from those 700MHz waves. Check out the official presser below for the finer details.

Continue reading AT&T continues 4G LTE expansion, plans to light up eleven markets by early summer

AT&T continues 4G LTE expansion, plans to light up eleven markets by early summer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online Retailers are Cutting Spam, and Here's Why [Spam]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5892401/online-retailers-are-cutting-spam-and-heres-why

Online Retailers are Cutting Spam, and Here's Why For years, we've all been used to inboxes bursting at the seams with promotional email. But increasingly disgruntled recipients are starting to make their voices heard, and as a result online retailers are beginning to cut the amount of junk mail they send.

A report in the Wall Street Journal suggests that the change of heart—which might currently be difficult for consumers to notice—could change our inboxes for good. According to the report, the amount of e-commerce spam sent out by the top 100 online retailers has shot up by 87 per cent since 2007, and some companies now manage to send out over 500 emails a year to each of their customers. But that's changing, reports the Wall Street Journal:

...there are signs of customer burnout. A study of its retail clients by email marketing firm Harte-Hanks found that since 2007, the rates at which recipients open retail emails and click on links have declined. In the first six months of 2007, consumers opened 19% of the retail emails they received and clicked through to the website 3.9% of the time. By the first half of 2011, those numbers shrank to 12.5% and 2.8%, respectively.

Some retailers are finding that sending fewer emails can pay off. Since cutting back its volume, Nicole Miller has seen the rate at which customers "unsubscribe"-or request to stop receiving emails-drop, and the percentage of recipients who open the emails has grown from 15% to 40%, according to Andrea Marron, director of digital strategy at the company. Meanwhile, the percentage of online sales that began with an email has grown to 17% from 10%.

Interestingly, unsubscribe rates have hardly changed since 2007, which means that on some level—even if we bitch and moan about them—we don't seem to mind being flooded with promos enough to actually do anything about them. [Wall Street Journal]

Steve Jobs Was Smacked Down by CBS CEO Over Apple TV [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5892405/steve-jobs-was-smacked-down-by-cbs-ceo-over-apple-tv

Steve Jobs Was Smacked Down by CBS CEO Over Apple TV Speaking at a conference in LA on Saturday, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves explained how Steve Jobs approached him with a pitch for an Apple subscription content service. Moonves, however, wasn't convinced, and he decided to turn Jobs away.

While many rumors point to the idea of Apple launching a subscription TV service before the end of this year, the journey hasn't been an easy one. During a meeting around a year ago, Moonves recalls:

"I told Steve, 'You know more than me about 99 percent of things but I know more about the television business.' "

Moonves went on to turn down Jobs' pitch, according to The Hollywood Reporter, arguing that the deal could disrupt CBS's existing revenue streams. The Reporter goes on to explains how Jobs, in characteristic fashion, "strongly disagreed with [the] assessment."

At the same conference, however, Moonves also mentioned that he was happy about the benefits that content deals with Netflix and Amazon bought the company. Bad luck, Apple. [The Hollywood Reporter]

How Secure Are NASA's Servers? [Nasa]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5892408/how-secure-are-nasas-servers

We expect—or at least hope—that large government agencies put a lot of effort into the security of computing. If anything you'd expect NASA to lead the pack, but a new report suggests that there are a few holes it could do with plugging—quickly.

A report by Motherboard explains that of NASA's annual $1.5 billion IT spend, about $58 million goes on security. But that doesn't stop it getting hacked.

In 2011, NASA was the victim of 47 individual advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks, 13 of which successfully compromised its computers. APT attacks are particularity sophisticated and as a result are usually carried out by well-funded organizations, and one of the hacks was successful enough to capture credentials for over 150 employees, including access codes to sensitive information.

Compared to some organizations, that's minor. But this is NASA; a paragon of technological advancement. So what gives?

Firstly, incomplete security. This is an organization with a lot of computers, and it's hard to keep track of what's going on. Motherboard claims that NASA reported 5,408 computer security incidents including the installation of malicious software and unauthorized access to its systems in 2010 and 2011. It also struggles to keep track of computers that are being thrown out, and managed to lose ten computers that hadn't been properly wiped from one center in 2010.

But the single biggest problem? Mobility. It's the rise of laptops and tablets among NASA employees that is making the task so difficult for their IT department. In recent years, NASA has seen plenty of lost portable devices. In March 2011, Motherboard reports, "an unencrypted NASA notebook computer was stolen and with it was lost the algorithms used to command and control the International Space Station." Whoops. Added to that, only 1 per cent of all of NASA's laptops are encrypted.

The problem is, NASA is a unique amalgam of researchers, academics and governmental employees. It's an odd melting pot, where people from different backgrounds aren't necessarily on the same page when it comes to security. Maybe it's time that changed. [Motherboard; Image: cogdogblog]

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