Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, October 27, 2008

Best Buy's New Logo Goes for That Classy Look [Best Buy]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/434183303/best-buys-new-logo-goes-for-that-classy-look

Best Buy's new test logo is more subdued—classier even—than the old honkin' yellow tag, which I appreciate, but I think the new font looks weird and uncertain, like it can't quite decide what it wants to be when it grows up. I wonder if it will psychologically condition people to spend more since it's so much less tacky than the old logo. [Under Consideration via Consumerist]

China Goes With Lenovo For Its Own Google Phone [Android]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/434236300/china-goes-with-lenovo-for-its-own-google-phone

China will be getting its own version of an Android device in the first quarter of 2009, but rather than going with HTC's G1 handset, China Mobile is opting for a Lenovo Mobile version of the Google phone instead. Details on the Lenovo Android are scarce, but considering the G1's already available through less-than-legal channels in the country, it'll be interesting to see how it fares. Though the black market version costs a pretty ridiculous $550 right now, it's possible that unauthorized resellers are keeping the price high until other Android sets hit the streets. [Shanghaiist and Electronista]

Flying plasmonic lens system could lead to denser chips / disks

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433387948/

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Storage

Last we heard, IBM was busy extending optical lithography down to 30-nanometers in order to keep Moore's Law intact, and some two years later, the process is still being honed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley. Reportedly, gurus there with IQs far greater than ours have developed a new patterning technique (plasmonic nanolithography) that could make "current microprocessors more than 10 times smaller, but far more powerful." Additionally, professor Xiang Zhang asserts that this same technology could eventually "lead to ultra-high density disks that could hold 10 to 100 times more data than disks today." The secret to the madness is a flying plasmonic head, which is compared to the arm and stylus of an LP turntable; the setup enables researchers to "create line patterns only 80-nanometers wide at speeds up to 12-meters per second, with the potential for higher resolution detail in the near future." In layman's terms? That CPU you purchased last month will, in fact, be old hat in due time.

[Via Slashdot]

Flying plasmonic lens system could lead to denser chips / disks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Casio's 8.1 megapixel W63CA with 480 x 800 pixel OLED flips out in Japan

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433387943/

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

We had a chance to gaze through the wireframe of this 8.1 megapixel Casio W63CA Exilim cellphone back in August courtesy of the FCC's finest. Now check it in high-gloss, plastic flesh. The latest Japanese super-phone squeezes 480 x 800 pixel into a 3.1-inch OLED display. Let that sink in for a second... the very same 384,000 pixels on a display smaller than the 3.8-inch LCD heralded by the Touch HD. The camera features a wide-angle lens, 9-point auto focus, face detection, anti-shake, and a YouTube video mode that records VGA video at 30fps to microSD. All this in a Japanese-only flip measuring 110 x 50 x 17.4 ~ 22-mm when it launches in early November. Color options after the break.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Casio's 8.1 megapixel W63CA with 480 x 800 pixel OLED flips out in Japan

Casio's 8.1 megapixel W63CA with 480 x 800 pixel OLED flips out in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 7 to feature GPU acceleration like Apple's Snow Leopard?

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433458124/

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

A first true glimpse of Windows 7, Microsoft's Vista successor, is T minus 1 day and counting. So far we know very little. Oh sure, it supports multi-touch and takes 1,000 engineers to code but the real details will emerge from Tuesday's kickoff to the PDC 2008 developer conference. As detailed by TG Daily, the PDC track notes dedicate 22 of the 155 tracks to Windows 7 with 2 further dedicated to GPU acceleration under the titles, "Unlocking the GPU with Direct3D," and "Writing Your Application to Shine on Modern Graphics Hardware." Interesting times given Apple's announced OS X Snow Leopard support for OpenCL GPU acceleration in partnership with new best buds, Nvidia, and Intel planning to kill off the GPU entirely. Somebody has to be wrong.

[Thanks, Jeelz]

Windows 7 to feature GPU acceleration like Apple's Snow Leopard? originally appeared on Eng! adget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red announcing DSMC DSLR replacement on November 13?

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433568422/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Ready for the tease? RED just announced an announcement. According to RED Prez, Jim Jannard, "no one has any idea how incredible this announcement will be." A stream of words, specs, and renderings, we presume, all cobbled together on November 13th with a promise to put the "RED ONE announcement to shame by comparison... the biggest, most exciting and incredible thing." So mark your calendar for November 13th -- that's the day RED DIGITAL comes clean with its Scarlet and Epic programs. We're sure Nikon and Canon will be watching to see if RED launches its DSMC (Digital Still & Motion Camera) aimed squarley at the DSLR market, or not. Even if we have to er, settle, for a 3K Scarlet or 5K Epic video cameras, those aren't bad consolation prizes, eh?

[Thanks, Brad]

Red announcing DSMC DSLR replacement on November 13? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:52:00 EST. Please see ou! r terms for use of feeds.

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Canon PowerShot G10 reviewed

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433763992/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We've always had a soft spot for Canon's G-series of prosumer compacts, and it looks like the new G10 won't be any exception -- Photography Blog just put the boxy camera through its paces and found that it's "undoubtedly the best ever" in the line. High marks were particularly given to the new wider-angle 28-140mm lens (which suffers less barrel distortion than the G9), higher-res LCD screen, and the new exposure dial, which allows you to fine-tune exposure settings without a trip to the menus. The new 14.7 megapixel sensor didn't receive the same praise, however: ISO 400 images were quite noisy, and the 800 and 1600 settings were "virtually unusable." That's not exactly news for the G-series, but it's pretty unfortunate -- especially considering that the G10's $499 pricetag edges into low-end DSLR territory. Still, if you're looking for a compact with deep manual controls and real optics, it sounds like the G10 is worth a look -- hit the read link for the full review.

Canon PowerShot G10 reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS rolls out Eee PC 1002HA, still mum about next week's model

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433791974/

Filed under: Laptops

Still haven't found an Eee PC to your liking? Then perhaps ASUS's new 10-inch Eee PC 1002HA model will be more to your liking, with it bringing some of the S101's stylings to the company's standard 1000 series. Otherwise, you can expect most of the usual specs that now haunt our dreams, including a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor,1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and, apparently, a two-cell, 4200 mAh battery. No word on a release 'round here just yet, but it looks like this one will be available in Europe in the not too distant future for €449, or about $565.

ASUS rolls out Eee PC 1002HA, still mum about next week's model originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JHU researchers create self-assembling organic wires

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/433820214/

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Once more it looks like Johns Hopkins has taken humanity a step closer to full-blown Borg-hood. A research team at the school has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into wires some 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, for potential uses that include regulating cell-to-cell communication, re-engineering neural networks, repairing damaged spinal cords and transforming individuals into cybernetically enhanced drones. The researchers also point out that the self-assembly principles used to create the nano-scale wires are based on those of beta-amyloid plaques (which have been associated with Alzheimers), so the research may someday lead to a better understanding of the disease. This is definitely good news, but we can't help but think that once we've been assimilated into the hive mind Alzheimer's will be the least of our concerns.

[Via TG Daily]

JHU researchers create self-assembling organic wires originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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