Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Japanese scientist claims breakthrough with cold fusion experiment

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298477798/

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While recent attempts to create a perpetual motion machine somehow, inexplicably didn't pan out, a physics professor from Osaka University now claims to have made a scientific breakthrough of another sort, with him now touting nothing less than a supposedly successful demonstration of cold fusion. That was apparently done by forcing deuterium gas under pressure into an evacuated cell containing a sample of palladium dispersed in zirconium oxide, which caused the deuterium to be absorbed by the palladium sample, resulting in a denser, or "pynco" deuterium, with deuterium nuclei that are close enough together to fuse. That process also supposedly resulted in a rise in temperature to about 70° Celsius, and a temperature in the center of the cell that remained "significantly warmer" than the cell wall for 50 hours after the test. Of course, there doesn't appear to be any other scientists ready to back up the experiment just yet, so you'll have to rely on your own armchair science expertise to get your hopes up or down accordingly on this one.

[Via Slashdot, thanks One]
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Rumored dual-core Atom details get fleshed out

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298546347/

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We'd already heard that Intel planned to trot out some dual-core Atom processors sooner or later, and the Fudzilla website has now turned up a few more details on 'em courtesy of a supposedly legitimate leak. According to it, the first dual-core processor will be dubbed the Atom 330, and will clock in at the same 1.6GHz as the current single-core Atom 230 (no word on that 1.87GHz version we heard about previously). What's more, the processor will supposedly pack 1MB cache memory (twice the amount of the current single-core processor), and boast a TDP rating of just 8W, which is a good deal more than the 2W rating the current Atom 230 has, but still far less than any of Intel's other low-voltage processors. Still no word on a price for it, unfortunately, but it's said to be on track for a release sometime in the third quarter of this year.

[Via Electronista]
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Earth Trek touts "world's smallest" projector

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298575864/

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While it likely won't hold onto the (slightly dubious) title for long at the rate mini-projectors are cropping up these days, Hong Kong-based Earth Trek has nonetheless gone out and proclaimed its new 90-805R projector to be the "world's smallest" and, indeed, it is small. Measuring about 4 by 2 inches, the projector can apparently pump out a 22-inch diagonal image (no word from what distance), with an SD card slot and an A/V input provided via a 3.5 mm jack, not to mention a built-in speaker. No word on a price or release date just yet, but we'd assume they'd want to get it out relatively soon in order to beat the inevitable cellphone projector rush.
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OmniVision claims 8 megapixel OmniBSI sensor turns cellphone imaging world "upside down"

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298907132/

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Digital Camera 101: As manufacturers continue pushing the Megapixel Myth by stuffing more and more pixels onto rapidly shrinking sensors, the outcome is poor performance on top of poorly lit images of increasingly low quality. Now OmniVision, the largest CMOS image sensor manufacturer today, says they've solved the pixel size problem though backside illumination (BSI) technology. In essence, BSI helps maximize photon collection by circumventing obstructive metal and dielectric layers on the top-side of the sensor die. The result is improved light absorption, thinner overall camera modules, and increased sensitivity and F stops with reduced crosstalk. However, as EETimes' crack staff of Electrical Engineering super-nerds point out, BSI is not a new technology. In fact, several manufacturers lay claim to BSI patents. However, OmniVision seems to be the first to take the tech to mass production for consumers. To prove it, they'll release an 8 megapixel OmniBSI CameraChip sensor brimming with the new tech for sample in June. Couple it with a decent cameraphone lens and image processing circuitry and we might be in for a treat.

[Via EETimes]
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RAmos reveals Blue Magic T8 PMP

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298969104/

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Just in case you felt there wasn't quite enough screen real estate on the ultra-sleek V8, RAmos is giving the display even more attention on the Blue Magic T8. The player features a 4.3-inch display, 10-millimeter thick enclosure, built-in FM radio tuner and the potential to play nice with a not-yet-developed dock that would enable video output. Beyond that, details are freakishly scarce, so it looks like you'll have to put away your excitement for the time being.

[Via PMPToday]
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Monday, May 26, 2008

Sans Digital's CS1T and CR2T turn CF cards into 2.5-inch enclosures

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/297405445/

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Sans CR2T
We've seen CF-SATA converters before, but what if you were to create a SATA shaped, sized, and interfaced enclosure and allow users to throw Compact Flash cards in there to make their own SSDs for more standard installs? Sans Digital's CS1T is a single-card Compact Flash CF to 2.5" SATA enclosure and the CR2T is a dual-card enclosure that uses RAID to support up to 64GB. Both utilize IDE and, when closed, look and act just like 2.5-inch HDDs for your various installation needs.
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PC Microworks intros Montevina-powered Edge uber-laptop

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/297493693/

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PC Microworks Edge
Heads up, spec hounds. PC Microworks' Edge with Centrino 2 (aka Montevina) is a powerhouse that cannot be denied. This speedster sports a 15.4-inch WUXGA screen, packs a Montevina Quad Core Centrino 2 CPU, 2gb of DDR3 at 1333MHz, nVIDIA Gefore 9800M GTX, HSPDA, and up to 4TB of 7200RPM drives. Don't go running to the credit card gods just yet, though, as the Core 2 Extreme Quad Core QX9300 (2.53GHz/1066MHz/12MB) version won't be available until the end of July. What's more, this baby all decked-out will run you a cool $8,265.

[Thanks, Matthew]
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Tranquil PC announces Intel Atom-based Harmony home servers

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/297983584/

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Well, doesn't Tranquil PC seems pretty stoked about their new Atom-based Harmony home servers? Though they're not exactly mind-blowing (to us, anyway), two new fanless models should be shipping in June: the T7-HSAi (left, with a single 3.5-inch drive or two 2.5-inch drives) and T2-WHS-A3i (right, with up to two 3.5-inch drives), both featuring Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, 512MB or 1GB RAM options, and running Windows Home Server. With base configs and 500GB drives, the T7 will start at £278 ($550 US), and the T2 at £299 ($590 US).
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Samsung announces crazy fast 256GB SSD, our knees buckle

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298054922/

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Uh oh, Samsung's just announced their first 256GB SSD. Not that you needed to know anything more than that to trigger salivation, but the MLC-flash SATA II drive has speeds of 200MBps read and 160MBps sequential write. Not like we'll be able to afford it or anything, but they'll be available come September, with a 1.8-inch version due in Q4.

Continue reading Samsung announces crazy fast 256GB SSD, our knees buckle

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NVIDIA might get even deeper into the embedded CPU game

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/298212031/

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Okay, they're only embedded ARM chips, but le Inq is reporting that NVIDIA's prepping not just the the Tegra APX 2500 we heard about before, but also a second line of high performance embedded CPUs. Supposedly the forthcoming CSX 600 / 650 will run in the 700-800MHz range, and be capable of 1080p / 24fps video playback. We'll give these guys until, say, 2010 before they're jockeying for AMD's spot at number two in desktop processors.
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