Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, April 14, 2008

NVIDIA and Ageia: GPU Physics Engine Nearly Complete [Gaming]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/270364113/nvidia-and-ageia-gpu-physics-engine-nearly-complete

We knew it was coming, and now it appears that NVIDIA's acquisition of PhysX maker Ageia is about to pay off. NVIDIA has told analysts that that the conversion of Ageia's physics application interface to CUDA is nearly complete—so if you are running GeForce 8000+ you will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of a physics accelerator via a simple software download.

PhysX technology has yet to take off, but with GPU integration, it is poised to breakout in a serious way. In fact, there are around 140 games that are supported or currently in development that utilize the technology. It may also go a long way to silence critics that say GPUs may not be necessary in the future given the increasing power of multi-core CPUs. [TG Daily via Slashgear]

Blackmagic USB Recorder Captures Direct Video For iPods, YouTube [Gadgets]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/270390271/blackmagic-usb-recorder-captures-direct-video-for-ipods-youtube

Blackmagic's new USB compatible video recorder promises to simplify your video recording process by utilizing the H.264 format for playback on the iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, YouTube, IPTV, and the Web. It also features analog component, NTSC, PAL and S-Video inputs as well as simple software that should make it easy to get your video into the appropriate size. The recorder will ship this July in standard and SDI versions for $119 and $299 respectively. [Blackmagic via ecoustics]

Fukato's Eee-ish Datacask enters your life in May

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/269620768/

Filed under: Laptops

Like the Eee? If you're enthusiastically shaking your head in the affirmative, perhaps you'll want to check out Fukato's low-cost Datacask (cheery, right?). Like the Jisus before it, the computer-maker hopes to garner some of that cheapo laptop market with this black and white number, which sports an 8-inch, 800 x 480 display, a 500MHz AMD Geode CPU, a ~~20GB~~ 60GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, and a (surprise!) Linux-based OS. The little dude will be hitting European shelves sometime in May for €279 (or about $440).

[Via Liliputing]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

MSI's 8.9- to 10-inch Wind breaks in Q2 for less than $500

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/269824228/

Filed under: Laptops

Good news: the price of those 7- to 9-inch ultra-portables are in free-fall as Dell, ASUS, HP, Everex and others race to the bottom. Bad news: your $500ish wad currently takes home a thick, boxy slab. Fortunately, MSI is looking to change all that when it ships the sleek Wind laptop in Q2. In other words, June when Intel ships the Atom processor. Prices are expected to range from $470 to $1,099 for your choice of 8.9-inch and 10-inch panels with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolutions, 2.5-inch hard disk or SSD drive, processors ranging from 1GHz to 1.6GHz, and 1GB of memory. At least that's the last we heard. Word to the wise: wait until summer for your ultra-portable purchase -- competition will be fierce and the waves will be tasty.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Willcom's D4 MID pumps Vista on Intel Atom, into our hearts

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/269866107/

Filed under: Handhelds

Check it out, 'cause you're looking at what must be the world's smallest QWERTY device capable of running Windows Vista Home Premium SP1. At least it will be when it makes its debut in Japan come June. Measuring just 188 x 84 x 25.9mm and 470grams, all that power / battery conservation / smallness of the Willcom D4 (aka, Sharp-built WS016SH) comes courtesy of a 1.3-GHz Atom processor pumping away beneath that sliding / tilting 5-inch, 262k color, LED-backlit 1,024 x 600 touchscreen hiding a 64-key QWERTY keyboard. Inside you'll find 1GB of memory, a 1.8-inch 40GB disk, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, microSD slot, HD audio codec with mono-speaker, and Opera browser riding atop Japanese PHS (W-SIM) or 802.11b/g WiFi. Hitting Japan for ¥128,600 (about $1,254) -- a lot less with 2 year contract. And with Willcom experimenting with Android, don't be surprised to find this released in an alternate form later in the year or early '09. Engadget Japanese is at the launch event with plenty of hands-on images in the gallery below.

Update: Whoa, weird. Our Japanese colleagues are telling us that there's an optional Bluetooth, companion handset for making calls over W-SIM. Gallery updated with new pics.
%Gallery-20501%

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments