Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

VMware Fusion 2.0 for Macs, Virtualization With 100 New Features [VMWare]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/394595311/vmware-fusion-20-for-macs-virtualization-with-100-new-features

To those who'd rather run two OSes at once than dual boot with Boot Camp, VMware has released the 2.0 version of Fusion. It includes over 100 new features, including the option to load Windows programs without a Windows desktop, a Time Machinesque backup utility, and completely mirrored file sharing independent of OS. There's also support for 32-bit and 64-bit OSes, 4-core systems, Bluetooth, DirectX 9.0c and up to 10 displays. Yeah, we pretty much just pasted specs there. But boy, were we excited doing it. [VMware via TGDaily]

HP announces the TouchSmart IQ800 series

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393844773/

Filed under: Desktops

The second-gen TouchSmart IQ500s just arrived in July, but HP isn't sitting still -- say hello to the new TouchSmart IQ800 series. Both the new TouchSmart IQ804 and IQ816 feature a 25.5-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen with various TouchSmart-specific apps, a TV tuner with remote, integrated webcam, Bluetooth, HP Pocket Media drive bay, and an ambient light to illuminate your keyboard, but the IQ804 confusingly has a higher-clocked 2.16GHz T5850 Core 2 Duo on a 667MHz bus with 2MB of cache while the IQ816 has a 2.10GHz T8100 Core 2 Duo on a 800MHz bus with a 3MB cache -- we'd bet the IQ816 benchmarks faster, regardless of the slightly slower chip. On top of that, the IQ816 also bundles in a Blu-ray drive / dual-layer burner and upgrades the IQ804's GeForce 9300M GS graphics to a GeForce 9600M GS chip. Expect to see the IQ804 on September 21 for $1,899, while you'll have to fork over $2,099 for the IQ816 when it hits on October 12 -- check out a few more shots in the gallery to hold you over till then.

Gallery: HP TouchSmart IQ800 series

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Casio launches Exilim EX-FH20: 40fps burst rate, 1000fps movies

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393971265/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Remember Casio's wicked EX-F1? Yeah? Let us formally introduce you to someone else you may dig, the Exilim EX-FH20. Boasting a 9.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 20x optical zoom lens and a remarkable burst mode that enables up to 40 7.1-megapixel images to be recorded in burst of anywhere between 1 and 40fps. Better still, it can capture high-speed movies at up 1,000fps, and there's also an anti-shake feature, high-speed night scene setting for those "after dark" moments and a standard movie mode that records at 720p (30fps). Those anxious to get their hands on such awesomeness will be politely asked to wait until next month when it goes on sale for £399 ($713).

[Via Pocket-lint, thanks Jeremy]

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Sony Ericsson's HCB-108 Bluetooth speakerphone helps you escape dystopia

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/393991256/

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation, Wireless

New York's a maximum security prison and you're our final hope, Snake. Armed with your wits and this new HCB-108 Bluetooth 2.0 car speakerphone from Sony Ericsson, your mission is to extract Johnny X from the fetid bowels of viral marketeers. Should you need to contact us, the HCB-108 features duplex audio, noise cancellation, echo reduction, and an industry best 25-hours of talk and 1-month standby. God speed and give Goldie our love.

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Sanyo levitates top-o-the-line LP-Z3000 3LCD projector with help from a legless robot

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394043225/

Filed under: Displays

In a fit of drab, Sanyo just announced its most advanced home theater projector yet. Fortunately, the staid, colorless promotional shot above that heralds the arrival of the LP-Z3000 stands in stark contrast to the projector's impressive capabilities. First, it features a 120Hz Full HD panel and the industry's first 5:5 pull-down promising an accurate and smooth 24p projection onto the big screen even under scenes of intense movement. We're also talking a high-contrast, 65,000:1 ratio, 1,200 lumen lamp, and super quiet 19-decibel fan when operating in "theater black" mode. Around back we've got 2x HDMI v1.3b jacks, 2x component, and plenty more inputs for your PC or legacy AV gear. Ships November 28th in Japan for ¥483,000 or about $4,588 assuming the dollar doesn't completely collapse by then.

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Dell Latitude E4200 / E4300 now on sale

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394203305/

Filed under: Laptops

Lookie, lookie -- Dell has placed its sparkling new Latitude E4200 and (slightly larger) E4300 on sale today, just as promised. The 12.1-incher gets going at just over two large, while the 13.3-inch sibling starts up at around $1,750. 'Course, those figures can head far north if you start speccing 'em out, so, um, why not hit the read links and start doing just that?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Latitude E4200 order page
Read - Latitude E4300 order page

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HTC's Touch Diamond coming in white

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394238351/

Filed under: Cellphones

If you're jazzed about the Touch Diamond, but have a thing for albino devices, a Danish site may have unearthed just what you're looking for. According to HTC-User, the company will be introducing a white version of their popular touchscreen device come October. ~~We can't say for sure if this intel is pure gold or a pile of festering garbage~~, but if the pics we see (just renders right now) and the retail order page the site is linking to are any indication, this magic will be a reality sooner or later. That's a good thing, too -- you don't want Apple cornering the market on white and black touchscreen phones, right? Check out one more huge picture after the break.

Update: Engadget Spanish has confirmed that these are -- in fact -- the real deal, and will be headed to store shelves come October.

[Via Engadget Spanish, HTC-User; Thanks, Jesper]

Continue reading HTC's Touch Diamond coming in white

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Intel launches six-core Xeon 7400, your bank account shudders

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394268076/

Filed under: Desktops

Thanks to Google's Chrome and Microsoft's IE8, discrete processes are the new hotness, and more apps running simultaneously on your desktop is a great excuse to buy a CPU with more cores! On cue, Intel has officially launched its new Xeon 7400 processor, hitting 2.6 GHz on six cores and boasting an advertised 43 percent jump in performance over the lowly quad-core 7300, which had only half the 7400's 16MB of L3 cache. Impressive stuff, especially considering a bonus 10 percent drop in power consumption, but at $2729 for the top of the line model it's not exactly consumer-oriented. Perhaps Intel could interest you in a nice Core i7?

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Google shows off masked Android handset

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/394324852/

Filed under: Cellphones

It looks like Google was doing its best to spread Android fever in London this morning, with it taking advantage of its Developer Day event to show off a working Android phone for the first time in Europe. While Google apparently wasn't quite ready to take all the wraps off the suspiciously Dream-like handset itself, PC Pro reports that it looked "far more polished" than it did in earlier leaked videos, and that by all accounts it was actually a "finished commercial device." Google's Mike Jennings was, on the other hand, more than eager to talk about the OS, and he even dropped a tantalizing "why not?" when asked if Android could be used on devices other than phones. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any video of the event available, but you can check out a few first hand reports by hitting up the links below.

Read - TechRadar, "Google shows off final Android handset"
Read - PC Pro, "Android handset hits London"
Read - PC Pro, "Will Apple or Android get in my pocket?"

Update: Video of the event has been found (thanks, rxgator). Head on past the break to check it out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Google shows off masked Android handset

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