Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

InfoWorld finds 35% of enterprise-class users downgrade to XP

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/368519162/

Hold your horses, vaquero. Let's not blow this all out of proportion here. While it's no secret that a certain amount of Vista purchasers are utilizing that "downgrade to XP" option to its fullest extent, a small (and let us emphasize "small") collection of data suggests that some 35% of "mainly enterprise-class users" have opted for XP over Vista on their newly-purchased rig. By scouring data from the 3,000 or so members feeding information to the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel tool, the site found that just over 1 in 3 users had defected to Microsoft's previous OS. Granted, the tool cannot take into account Linux users or even the "Hackintosh crowd," though as Randall Kennedy puts it, 35% is "still a huge percentage, and way out of proportion for even the dramatically unpopular Windows Vista."

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Monday, August 18, 2008

NVIDIA does real-time raytracing

	NVIDIA does real-time raytracing
	[ Hardware News ] posted by Duke on Monday, August 18, 2008 5:57 PM
	NVIDIA: hot on Intel's heels!
	Viewed 127 times.

Without any doubt, raytracing is the new buzzword down in visual computing avenue. Not that it's anything new... raytracing has been with us for years... but because the cuttinge edge of technology has just started producing the first good results at real-time raytracing.

Just a couple of months ago, Intel impressed us by revealing some of its progress in the field of raytracing. Now, NVIDIA, as if to make itself heard, has revealed its own work on raytracing, which has been recently demonstrated at this year's SIGGRAPH conference.

At SIGGRAPH, NVIDIA presented what it claimed to be « the world's first fully interactive GPU-based ray tracer ». NVIDIA ran a demo application demonstrating a complex scene being rendered in real-time using raytracing. The two million polygon scene depicted a highly polished Bugatti Veyron sporting the NVIDIA colors, as well as its surrounding urban environment.

Using only an NVIDIA Quadro Plex 2100 D4 Visual Computing System, NVIDIA managed to keep up 30 frames per second when rendering to a 1920 x 1080 resolution display. NVIDIA also ran the demo application at a resolution of 2560 x 1600, but chose not to disclose the framerate acheived in this case. The NVIDIA Quadro Plex 2100 D4 boasts no less than four Quadro GPUs, each with 1GB of memory, and would set you back about $11,000.

The NVIDIA Quadro Plex D4

SOURCE: Custom PC News

Touching My Image

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/365035038/

The LUPE may look like another touchscreen camera but this concept is designed for ease of use and simplicity even tho technically it’s quite complex. Thru a series of transparent touchscreens and optical quality glass lenses, the LUPE magnifies images near and far for almost macro like quality. The focusing mechanism is quite ingenious. Just touch what you want in focus and the camera handles everything else.

Although there’s no mention of traditional mechanisms like shutters and apertures, the LUPE was designed to work without having to think about it. As if looking thru a window you make with your hands, you just focus in on what you want and a snapshot is taken. Simple as that.

Designer: Seoghwan Choi

Texts from the designer regards to the idea:

The understanding of photograph has been changed from a visual-based recording tool for a special moment to an every day life good as its technology has been progressed from the film-based to the digital image-based. As we have been doing so in our every day life, how about taking a picture like observing my daily life with a magnifying glass? The magnifying glass is my metaphoric approach in designing new digital camera. It can be used like the magnifying glass; your observing activities towards things with the magnifier becomes new way of taking photographs in this digital era.

Dish type charge unit.

camera, Seoghwan Choi

Utah Researchers Throw Cold Water On Rosy OLED Efficiency Rates [Dim Bulb]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/367694821/utah-researchers-throw-cold-water-on-rosy-oled-efficiency-rates

The promise of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) is that it will eventually become a super-efficient, low-cost light source to replace our archaic dependency on incandescent bulbs and those oh-so-yesterday LCD TVs, among other things. Ultimately, OLEDs were expected to possibly supplant the already efficient LEDs, too. That is, until a couple of Utah researchers revealed there could be some "complications." It seems we were half-right.

The issue lies with the theoretical efficiency ceiling assigned to OLEDs in a 2001 paper published in Nature. That paper suggested OLEDs would eventually be capable of converting 41 to 63% of electricity passed through them into light. The current ceiling for OLEDs is 25% efficiency, and that is where the most recent research out of Utah says it will probably stay.

In the end, all this talk of percentages and efficiency might be moot, especially considering OLEDs main purpose will be to replace LCD screens, not illuminate rooms or serve as the running lights on an Audi A5. OLEDs are also a superior light source for flexible materials, so there's that, too. They just won't be lighting up any kitchens or anything like that anytime soon.

To summarize, the future appears bright—for both LEDs and OLEDs. To each their own, we suppose. [NewsWise via CrunchGear]

Lexus Nuaero Concept is Straight Out of Starship Troopers [Lexus Nuaero]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/367656666/lexus-nuaero-concept-is-straight-out-of-starship-troopers

Does one reach for a camera or a can of RAID when the Lexus Nuaero concept pulls into the driveway? Sure Jon Rådbrink's design looks incredibly cool, fast and futuristic; but then again I've also spent the last few minutes looking over my shoulder to see if Sigourney Weaver was about to burst from the wall in a load lifter to do battle with it in my office. As it turns out, there's a lot more to this design than just looks, and Rådbrink believes the car's "low weight and large presence" will be the way premium cars could be manufactured in the future. Oh, and it's loaded with tech, too.

To drive this catamaran-inspired luxury car, the driver would use a drive-by-wire steering pad and a completely customizable multi-point touch screen. Rådbrink contends that our hands are far more accurate for driving than our feet, so he's eliminated pedals. Everything is controlled via the steering wheel. "Since the car is powered by electrical motors [found in each of the four wheels]," Rådbrink says, "there is no transmission and you break intuitively by pushing the steering wheel away from your body."

The kicker is that this 14.5-ft. car is designed with lightweight materials meant to increase mileage and efficiency. How light is light? Try roughly the same weight as the diminutive SMART fortwo. "I believe that this design paradox of low weight and large presence could be the way we'll define premium in the future," Rådbrink said. Just don't forget the futuristic airbags if this ever makes it into production. [Jon Rådbrink via DZEEN]

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Gigabyte's 3G-Capable MID M528 Coming Out On Sept 17 For $689 [Rumor]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/366582217/gigabytes-3g+capable-mid-m528-coming-out-on-sept-17-for-689

A release date and price has been set for UMPC contender Gigabyte's MID M528, a diminutive portable computer with a slide out keyboard, according to the folks over at UMPC Portal. A product page on Gigabyte's site put the cost at $689 and availability on Sept. 17. The page then disappeared, but not before intrepid internet surfers could get a nice screen grab.

The M528 contains a 4.8 inch screen with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution, a 800 Mhz Intel Atom, 512 MB RAM, roughly 4GB of storage space, and an 11 hour battery in a case that weighs about three quarters of a pound. It also boasts 3G, which makes it a possible replacement for the Nokia N810 if you think 3G's worth paying over double for. [UMPC Portal]

Greencore Semi-Solar-Powered Units Use Both the Sun and the Grid [Air Conditioners]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/366641036/greencore-semi+solar+powered-units-use-both-the-sun-and-the-grid

AC manufacturer Greencore has come up with a long-awaited solution to the inherent problem in solar-powered air conditioning units—solar panels are still not efficient enough to power the energy-gobbling machines on their own. The company's 10200 model uses a single 170-watt solar panel during the day and electricity from the power grid during the night to charge its batteries, leading to massive energy savings even if the solution isn't 100% solar.

Greencore has three versions of its AC system, a fixed one, a portable one with two batteries and another portable with four batteries. All three run on 24 volts DC and have a cooling capacity of 10,200 BTUs and a heating capacity of 13,400 BTUs. According to the company, McDonalds and the US Navy are already on board with testing the units. [Treehugger]

Fujitsu Siemens Could Debut Amilo Mini Notebook on August 28 [Amilo Mini]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/367483399/fujitsu-siemens-could-debut-amilo-mini-notebook-on-august-28

Fujitsu Siemens looks like it's about ready to launch the svelte Amilo Mini. According to IDG News, the company has announced a press event for August 28 at the IFA show in Berlin, and the signs and portents indicate a big reveal could happen at that time. The specs don't really differentiate the Amilo Mini from the plethora of other ultra portable notebooks hitting the market these days, but it does boast changeable face plates (brown, black, pink, and red). Cost is expected to fall between $600-800. [Liliputing]