Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

AMD's 2014 embedded roadmap includes dedicated graphics, gaming-friendly CPU

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/10/amd-2014-embedded-roadmap/

AMD has long signaled that embedded chips will play a major role in its future, and it's backing up that claim by providing a glance at its 2014 roadmap. The highlight is Bald Eagle, a 35-watt x86 processor designed for demanding tasks like gaming; it should include up to four Steamroller cores, and it will optionally sport on-chip Graphics Core Next video. Devices that need even more visual power will use Adelaar, a dedicated graphics chipset that includes both GCN and 2GB of built-in memory. It's reportedly fast enough to be useful for PC video cards, not just the usual set-top boxes and smart TVs.

Two system-on-chip designs are also joining AMD's lineup. Hierofalcon is built with data centers in mind, and carries up to eight ARM Cortex-A57 cores; Steppe Eagle, meanwhile, is a combination of upgraded Jaguar x86 cores and GCN that should speed up AMD's low-power G-series processors. With the exception of Hierofalcon, all of the new embedded chips should be available in the first half of next year. AMD hasn't named any early customers, but its embedded silicon tends to reach products that you'd recognize. Check out the roadmap after the break.

Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Home Entertainment, AMD

Source: AMD

Wacom's Bamboo Pad: a Magic Trackpad-esque peripheral with stylus input for $49 and $79

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/10/wacom-bamboo-pad/

Touch pads are nice for navigating with gestures, but what about when you need to scribble a signature or mark up a draft by hand? Well, Wacom has an option with its new stylus-friendly Bamboo Pad. The peripheral enables multitouch gestures alongside a pressure-sensitive Wacom stylus. Compatible with both Mac and Windows PCs, the add-ons can employ a wireless connection or be tethered via USB and come in one of four accent-hued options: grey, blue, green or purple (violet unit is wireless only). If you've already gotten cozy with a Bamboo Stylus feel, that input device will work alongside this new Bamboo Pad as well. Wired units will set you back $49 while the wireless model is priced at $70 with both arriving later this month. For now, you can snag a closer look at the goods in the gallery down below. %Gallery-slideshow83491%

Blue HTC One to arrive as Best Buy exclusive on September 15th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/htc-one-blue-att-verizon-sprint-best-buy/

DNP HTC One in blue

Don't feel blue if you've missed one of the first HTC One units in, well, blue when they started trickling out -- it's officially launching as a Best Buy exclusive on September 15th. What's more, the oceanic phone will be available on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon. On-contract pricing details have yet to be revealed by the carriers, but its full retail price was pegged at $700 when it first showed up on our radar. We guess those who prefer cool blue to glamour red will find out soon enough when the phones pop up at the retailer's stores, its mobile shops and website.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

Source: Best Buy

Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa CPUs will be able to use all eight cores at once in Q4

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/samsungs-exynos-5-octa-hmp/

We'll have to change our terminology for Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa mobile chips now. We've been calling them "not-quite" eight core CPUs since they can't actually use all eight at once, but the company's new Heterogeneous Multi-Processing solution is going to change that. Once it's available in Q4 it will let devices access both sides of the big.LITTLE ARM configuration simultaneously, which it claims will increase both performance and efficiency. While software threads with high priority use the "big" A15 core, lower priority tasks can run on the "small" A7 without needing to switch back and forth. Samsung isn't the only one running this setup however, as MediaTek announced an implementation for its MT8135 back in July. There are more details included in the press release (after the break) but we're not seeing any confirmation if this will ever be enabled on existing / announced devices like some flavors of the Galaxy S 4 or the Meizu MX3. Either way, the folks at Qualcomm might want to put together another video.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

Source: Samsung

Mhoto analyzes any image, gives it an appropriate, customized soundtrack

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/moto-composes-music-from-pictures/

When we see a picture of the Notorious B.I.G., the hook from Hypnotize starts streaming in our heads. Imagine if you will, an app that analyzes your picture and creates a soundtrack suited to you. Mhoto does just that, and it can synthesize an appropriate tune for any digital photograph. Mhoto's magic comes courtesy of some patent pending technology that analyzes a picture's saturation, brightness and contrast levels and uses that information to create music tailored to fit the feel of the photo -- and the company's working on a way to integrate facial recognition into the mix to make mood based music, too. Users also can choose what musical genre they want the generated tunes to come from (Hip Hop, Rock, Pop, etc.). The best part is, the heavy lifting is done in Amazon's cloud, so Mhoto can work on any device with a data connection, even a featurephone.

Filed under: Misc

Source: Mhoto

Maingear adds high-performance Ivy Bridge-E processors to its desktop lineup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/10/maingear-desktops-ivy-bridge-e-processors/

Maingear adds high-performance Ivy Bridge E processors to its desktop lineup

Roughly two years have passed since Intel released its first LGA-2011 E series processors, but now that its 22nm Ivy Bridge-E silicon is in the wild, PCs have a new high-horsepower option. With the outfit's latest unlocked six-core chips ready for action, Maingear's adding them as an option to their Shift, F131, Force and Rush desktops. At the top, the Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition stakes claim to base clock speeds of 3.6GHz, while the Core i7-4930K and i7-4820K hum at 3.4GHz and 3.7GHz, respectively. Running at Turbo Boost frequencies, the top of the line model hit up to 4GHz, with both other models peaking at 3.9GHz. To commission a monster rig, and help Ivy Bridge reclaim the limelight from Haswell for just a moment, click the neighboring source link.

Update: Velocity Micro's Raptor class PCs are also getting in on the Ivy Bridge-E treatment, with prices starting at $2,399.

Filed under: Desktops

Source: Maingear

Dryft: a software keyboard that follows fingertips to improve touch typing on tablets

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/10/dryft-a-software-keyboard-that-follows-fingertips-to-improve-to/

You've seen them on planes, in coffee shops, maybe even at the office: tablets tethered to Bluetooth keyboards. Those users pecking away at hardware keys because using their slate's software grid is nothing more than an exercise in futility. Dryft is a soft keyboard built by Swype co-founder Randy Mardsen that aims to change that. You see, most of us are touch-typers and rest our hands on the 'home row' of keys to tell our fingers where to reach all the other letters. But, the smooth surface of tablet displays prevents our phalanges from finding the proper orientation. Dryft eliminates that problem by automagically positioning the keys beneath your fingertips wherever they may be, and by allowing users to rest their hands on the screen.

Dryft can do this because it doesn't rely solely on the touch sensors embedded in the screen, it also uses accelerometer data to determine if your fingertips are taking a break or are pecking away with purpose. Because of its reliance upon high fidelity signals from the accelerometer to work well, Dryft needs low-level access to that sensor's data -- and that means we won't be seeing a Dryft download in any app store. Instead, Mardsen is taking the same route as he did with Swype, and is planning to license Dryft for use on Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Plus, developers will be able to integrate Dryft in individual apps thanks to a forthcoming SDK. Want to see Dryft in action? A video awaits after the break.

Filed under: Tablets, Software

Source: Dryft

AMD's 2014 embedded roadmap includes dedicated graphics, gaming-friendly CPU

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/10/amd-2014-embedded-roadmap/

AMD has long signaled that embedded chips will play a major role in its future, and it's backing up that claim by providing a glance at its 2014 roadmap. The highlight is Bald Eagle, a 35-watt x86 processor designed for demanding tasks like gaming; it should include up to four Steamroller cores, and it will optionally sport on-chip Graphics Core Next video. Devices that need even more visual power will use Adelaar, a dedicated graphics chipset that includes both GCN and 2GB of built-in memory. It's reportedly fast enough to be useful for PC video cards, not just the usual set-top boxes and smart TVs.

Two system-on-chip designs are also joining AMD's lineup. Hierofalcon is built with data centers in mind, and carries up to eight ARM Cortex-A57 cores; Steppe Eagle, meanwhile, is a combination of upgraded Jaguar x86 cores and GCN that should speed up AMD's low-power G-series processors. With the exception of Hierofalcon, all of the new embedded chips should be available in the first half of next year. AMD hasn't named any early customers, but its embedded silicon tends to reach products that you'd recognize. Check out the roadmap after the break.

Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Home Entertainment, AMD

Source: AMD

Monday, September 09, 2013

Cota by Ossia hopes to charge your phone wirelessly, no contact required

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/cota-by-ossia-wireless-power/

We've all heard of wireless charging before, but most solutions still require your phone to come in touch with a base station. Well, Cota is a technology that aims to power your mobile device completely wirelessly -- without any physical contact at all. Hatem Zeine, a physicist and CEO of Ossia Inc, demonstrated the technology on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt when he successfully charged his iPhone when plugged with a Cota prototype, seen above, while holding it several feet away from a charging station.

It all seems like voodoo, but the secret lies in sending a magnetic charge over the same 2.4GHz spectrum that WiFi and Bluetooth already use. If you're concerned about safety, Zeine assures us that only one watt of power is transmitted -- that's a third of what cell phones already transmit. Line of sight isn't required, and Zeine claims that one station can power multiple devices at once. Just like a WiFi hotspot, you can set it so that it only works with certain devices or simply open it up so that power is available to all Cota-enabled handsets within range, which is around 30 feet.

Filed under: Cellphones, Science, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Cota by Ossia

PPL Connect is a virtualized smartphone that lets you make and take calls from a web browser

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/ppl-connect-is-a-virtualized-smartphone-that-lets-you-make-and-t/

Sure, you've heard of virtualized computing environments before, but a start-up here at TechCrunch Disrupt called PPL Connect is a platform that virtualizes your phone's capabilities in real-time. That means you can make and receive calls and texts and access the photos and videos on your phone from any device with a web browser. It's kind of like AirDroid, only you don't need to have your phone with you or even have it turned on to make calls or receive texts once you've signed up. It's a platform agnostic solution for a fragmented mobile world.

The magic happens via a localized app on your phone and Amazon cloud service to dish out your data where you need it. That cloud component both serves as cloud storage for your data and as a back-end VoIP relay station for calls and texts. Currently, photos, videos, contacts, calls and texts are what's handled by the service, but the plan is to eventually fully replicate your phone's capabilities. For folks who are concerned about putting your digital life in the hands of PPL connect, all transmissions to and from its servers are encrypted. And, the company is currently devising a fully encrypted system whereby the data's only accessible with a single, user-owned key.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile

Source: PPL Connect

Epic Privacy Browser Blocks Tracking, Ads, and More

Source: http://lifehacker.com/epic-privacy-browser-blocks-tracking-ads-and-more-1278427701

Epic Privacy Browser Blocks Tracking, Ads, and More

Windows/Mac: Keeping your data private on the web is no easy task. Epic Privacy Browser is a Chromium-based browser that seeks to give you a private browsing experience without slowing down your browsing speed.

Out of the box Epic Privacy Browser blocks web sites that track you, ads, and more. It doesn't store cookies, your history, cache, autofill, or anything else. When you close the browser, everything you did is deleted. Epic Privacy Browser also offers one-click proxy servers and encrypted data protection for Wi-Fi networks. It's not as comprehensive as something like Tails, but as a souped-up Incognito mode, Epic Privacy Browser works well.

Epic Privacy Browser | via One Thing Well

Flowers Shatter Like Glass Thanks to Liquid Nitrogen and an Air Gun

Source: http://gizmodo.com/flowers-shatter-like-glass-thanks-to-liquid-nitrogen-an-1279365378

Flowers Shatter Like Glass Thanks to Liquid Nitrogen and an Air Gun

There are some science class staples that will never cease to be amazing, no matter how often you see them—among them, liquid nitrogen. To wit: these beautiful images of flower blooms, flash-frozen using liquid-state nitrogen and shattered in front of a camera lens for our amusement.

Snapchat Micro will bring disappearing messages to Samsung's Galaxy Gear

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/snapchat-galaxy-gear/

There seems little doubt that much of the Galaxy Gear's success or failure will hinge on the selection of apps that arrive on smartwatch. Samsung is making a strong push for third-party software (even in the face of limited device storage), courting a big cross section of developers at places like Path and eBay for its wearable. Popular messaging app Snapchat will also be hitting the device in the form of Snapchat Micro. As you'd expect, the app harnesses the Gear's 1.9-megapixel camera to send self-destructing images. The company's founder told Techcrunch, "Our team is constantly looking at ways to reduce the time between our experience of a moment and our ability to share it." Walking around with a camera on your wrist is certainly one way to go about it.

Filed under: Wearables, Software, Samsung

Via: Techcrunch

Google Glass update adds 'vignettes,' sound search and more

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/google-glass-update-adds-vignettes/

Glass still isn't quite ready for the consumer, but Google's wearable platform just keep getting better and more powerful thanks to frequent software updates. Today's version bump brings YouTube to your search results and also grants access to those with Google Apps accounts. It also brings the Shazam-like Sound Search from Android to your head-mounted display. Most interesting though, is Vignettes, which allows you to lay your current Glass display over a photo to produce an image like the one you see above. Think of it like a screenshot tool for your real, very nerdy life. One can only imagine that eventually Vignettes will get a video mode, but for now its still photos only. If you're one of the lucky Explorers you can download the update now. The rest of you will have to live vicariously through the photos at the source.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

Source: Google Glass (Google+)

drag2share: The NSA's Biggest Strength Is Also Its Biggest Weakness

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/adqd1gDa-no/the-nsas-strength-may-be-biggest-weakness-2013-9

Keith ALexander NSA The bread and butter of NSA chief Keith Alexander's reign is the push to collect more and more data, saving essentially everything passing through the Internet, encrypted or not, according to recent reporting from Foreign Policy's Shane Harris.

In Alexander's stint, not only has the NSA's budget blown up, but the agency has saved so much data that it has filled servers at the headquarters in Ft. Meade and built a new installation in Utah — all to save Internet and communications traffic.

There's one big problem though: more data doesn't necessarily translate into more security for the American people.

In fact, a flood of "intelligence" can make an analyst more confused, not less.

"Analysts routinely drown in data they can't parse effectively," said Joshua Foust, a former government intelligence analyst turned freelance defense journalist.

Foreign Policy some of the blunders of the new system:

"He had all these diagrams showing how this guy was connected to that guy and to that guy," says! a forme r NSA official who heard Alexander give briefings on the floor of the Information Dominance Center. "Some of my colleagues and I were skeptical. Later, we had a chance to review the information. It turns out that all [that] those guys were connected to were pizza shops."

A retired military officer who worked with Alexander also describes a "massive network chart" that was purportedly about al Qaeda and its connections in Afghanistan. Upon closer examination, the retired officer says, "We found there was no data behind the links. No verifiable sources. We later found out that a quarter of the guys named on the chart had already been killed in Afghanistan."

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