Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

NY Times Reporter Warped Into Dell Shill [Dell]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/421572696/ny-times-reporter-warped-into-dell-shill

Here's why you should never trust endorsements—besides the general principle of the matter. NY Times reporter Marc Santora did an interview for a startup site called Big Think, talking about how technology has changed covering stories like the Iraq War. Imagine his surprise when part of it was slipped into a DigitalNomads ad, a site that's "powered by Dell," magically turning his interview into an endorsement.

While he doesn't actually say the word "Dell" in the spot, at the bottom of the DigitalNomads site is a small sign of who's backing it: "Powered by Dell," so it's an implicit endorsement that, as Valleywag says, "suggests a New York Times reporter has endorsed its vision of mobile technology."

Santora says his involvement was unwitting and unpaid, and it's unlikely the NYT gave permission for an endorsement like this either, so it looks like he got played here. Apparently the people behind the ad have a particularly shady history anyway—last summer, that advertiser stirred up a wicked brouhaha by paying bloggers to recite sponsor slogans. Moral of the story: Don't trust sponsors, endorsements or anything that looks remotely cushy. [Valleywag]

Correction on Apple MacBook vs Dell Inspiron Price Comparison [Correction]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/421947682/correction-on-apple-macbook-vs-dell-inspiron-price-comparison

Yesterday we published an article comparing the latest MacBook and the Dell Inspiron 13, pointing out that the MacBook was too expensive. In the middle of the Apple event battle, the post omitted some facts that made the comparison invalid. We have edited the article to reflect these facts. Our apologies.

Asus Reeeturns to Its Roots With $300 Eee PC 701SDX [Unconfirmed]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/421947681/asus-reeeturns-to-its-roots-with-300-eee-pc-701sdx

Ten million iterations of the Eee PC later, there are signs Asus might be returning the thoroughly molested brand its simpler, cheaper notebook roots. EeePCNews.de has shots of what they think is the new $300 Eee PC 701SDX. This seven-inch Eee isn't a whole lot different from past models, it's just got a slightly updated chassis and dumps the integrated webcam to cut costs. Which we can live without on a $300 netbook—we're happy just see an actually cheap notebook again. [Laptop Mag]

Sony Vaio JS Series All-in-One PC Now Shipping [Vaio Js1]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/421985563/sony-vaio-js-series-all+in+one-pc-now-shipping

Sony has begun shipping their Vaio VGC-JS110J/S 20.1-inch all-in-one desktop PC—the base model in the JS-1 series with a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM and a 320GB HDD running Vista Home Premium. This particular model will run you $1000 (and stocks are low), but if you are holding out for something a little beefier, the higher-end models in the series are now available for pre-order. [Amazon via Computermonger]

Lightning Review: Pantech Matrix Dual Slider Cellphone [Pantech Matrix Review]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/422104047/lightning-review-pantech-matrix-dual-slider-cellphone

The Gadget: Pantech's Matrix dual sliding phone was just announced today on the AT&T network. Unlike last year's WInMo-running Pantech Duo, the Matrix opts for a more straightforward dumbphone interface while adding 3G HSDPA, GPS and a slick looking design into the mix.

The Price: $80 (after two year contract)

The Verdict: For an $80 phone, the Pantech Matrix is really good deal. Pantech could have skimped on the build quality and pushed out a cheap, flimsy phone, but instead created a product that feels solid and slides smoothly in any direction. Despite being about an inch thick, the Matrix doesn't feel oversized—they made it as narrow and short as possible so that it doesn't feel too cumbersome. As a result, the Matrix sits nicely in the hand, and when the backlit keyboard is exposed, it almost feels sleek. I really like the 0-9 keypad, as its flat design and glowing numbers gives it a clean look. And though buttons aren't physically separated, each one has a bit of a bubble on it that gives a nice click when you press down.

Call quality is crystal clear and signal strength is never a problem wherever I'm at in San Francisco. The microSD port allows for memory expansion for files like photos or mp3s. The non-smartphone OS is responsive and well organized, suiting a phone like this well.

Some features aren't as powerful or developed as they could be, but given the price, it's understandable. It only has a 1.3 MP camera, and doesn't have much in the way of an internet browser or media player. But that's not what Pantech is focused on with the Matrix. This is a phone for texters and emailers, and as a result, it has most major IM cl! ients pr einstalled, and preconfigured access for Yahoo, AOL and Hotmail (No preconfigured Gmail?! Hello, 1997!). GPS features are also limited to AT&T's TeleNav subscription service.

But there are also features which are inexcusably lacking. My biggest complaint lies with the keyboard. It's not that it's too small as much as it's that the buttons are too mushy and flush with the surface. Sometimes you push a button down and there's no tactile response; and each button seems to feel a little different which doesn't help the familiarity factor. If buttons were just a tad more distinguishable and clicky, they keyboard would be perfect. The soft keys and call/end buttons feel a little small and understated on the front of the phone, undermined by the (admittedly cool-looking) circular layout.

The bottom line is this: the Pantech Matrix is an inexpensive, multi-functional phone that does more good than bad. If you can work with the flawed keyboard and accept that its not a multimedia powerhouse, you might be impressed with what it does well—call and message.

KDDI Develops Color, Wireless, E-Paper Display [E-paper Displays]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/422148019/kddi-develops-color-wireless-e+paper-display

As though the flood of WTF-type phone concepts weren't enough, KDDI revealed a proof of concept for a wireless, color, e-paper display they have in the works. The idea is that a cellphone would be used to broadcast a signal to the display via infrared. The 13.1-inch display can display up to 4,096 colors and refresh the onscreen image in 12 seconds. KDDI says the display is intended for the finance and insurance industries, where the need to view A4-sized documents are apparently key. [Tech-On]

SanDisk's slotMusic albums and $20 Player now ready to be ignored

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/421273161/

Filed under: Portable Audio

When you're digging a hole for yourself, you might as well keep digging in hopes of emerging from the other side. Today SanDisk unearthed its Sansa slotMusic Player -- specially designed for those ill-fated slotMusic microSD cards pre-loaded with DRM-free music from "dozens of popular artists" (a bit over 3 dozen to be exact) at $15 a pop. It'll also play your self-loaded music on microSD cards (currently maxing out at 16GB) just as long as it's loaded in either MP3 and unprotected WMA formats. The tiny, display-less, 2.8 x 1.4 x 1.4-inch (that can't be right, but that's what the press release says) player sells for $20 (or $35 for artist branding and 1GB slotMusic card album) and is available immediately along side a smattering of accessories from US shops like Best Buy and fittingly, Wal-Mart. Headed to Europe and other global destinations sometime in 2009 assuming the whole format isn't scrapped after disappointing holiday sales are tallied.

Read -- slotMusic Player
Read -- slotMusic Artists

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Intel: MacBook Air sheds custom CPU for 45-nm Penryn "S"

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/421328487/

Filed under: Laptops

We can finally bring an end to all the fuss made about the custom, 65-nm processor dusted-off special for use in the MacBook Air -- it's gone, although still available inside the Voodoo Envy if you're feeling nostalgic. Intel confirmed its replacement by the smaller, off-the-shelf, 45-nm Penryn-class 1.6GHz and 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo procs which go by the product names SL9300 and SL9400, respectively. So while those clock speeds are identical to the first generation MacBook Air, the bump from 4MB to 6MB of L2 cache in the new Core 2 Duo "S" processor should give the processor access to more information, faster, while providing less drain on the battery thanks to a drop in TDP from 20W to 17W. For the record, while Intel laments the loss of Apple's laptop graphics business to NVIDIA, an Intel spokesperson says it'll "work hard to win back the business." Hmm, we talking Larrabee by any chance?

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