Saturday, November 29, 2008

China's QiJi i6 supports Android, Windows Mobile, lust in one package

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/28/chinas-qi-i6-supports-android-windows-mobile-lust-in-one-pack/


For now, Android's got about as much enterprise support as a Sidekick (well okay, a little more, but not much) -- so that's got to be keeping G1s out of the hands of throngs who are too tied-down to Exchange, Notes, or some equally stuffy piece of server-side software to be able to make the switch. China's QiJi feels your pain, which is where the company's surprisingly okay-looking i6 comes into play: the handset supports both Android and Windows Mobile, although you can't dual-boot -- you've got to choose one and run with it until you decide to install the other. It packs a 624MHz processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, a trackball, and -- in lieu of a QWERTY slide -- an on-screen Chinese keyboard with stylus support that we haven't seen before. Android, we love ya and all, but until you go through puberty, this multi-platform support is just about the best thing we've ever heard.

[Thanks, zsx]

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China's QiJi i6 supports Android, Windows Mobile, lust in one package originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/28/msi-unveils-a-slew-of-new-netbooks-and-one-lonely-nettop/


It looks like MSI has been pretty busy lately. We got a good look at the MSI Wind U120 about a week ago, and now the company's back with a slew of new machines and we have plenty of details for you to savor. Most notably, the U115 is a 10-inch netbook featuring the Intel Atom Z530 processor, 1-2GB memory, and a hybrid SSD / hard drive storage system. The solid state drive (being smaller and theoretically faster) is meant to contain the OS while the hard drive is to be used for data. The U110 is basically the same as the U115, except it only ships with 1GB memory and there is no SSD included. Also introduced were the U150 (sadly enough with no specs, besides the fact that it also ships with both HDD and SSD storage) and the WindBox, an Atom N270-based nettop designed to be VESA-mounted to the back of your monitor. The WindBox should be available Q1 2009 for around €300. Keep reading after the break for a complete rundown of all the specs.

Read - MSI WindBox Revealed
Read - MSI unveils new netbooks, unusual storage systems

Continue reading MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop

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MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linux hits the iPhone!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/28/linux-hits-the-iphone/


We knew this day would eventually come, but somehow we're still misting up a little -- Linux has been ported to the iPhone and iPod touch. Dev Team member planetbeing is the mastermind in charge of bringing everyone's favorite open-source OS to Apple's handhelds, and while it's a little rough around the edges (read: no touchscreen drivers, sound, or WiFi / cell radio support), it's definitely the first step on the road to hacking nirvana. The team is hard at work, and it even sounds like they're thinking about porting Android in the near future (!), so hit the read link to try it out and lend a hand if you can -- or just head on past the break for a quick vid of the port in all its text-scrolling glory.

[Via iphone-dev.org; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Linux hits the iPhone! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

UMich VIVACE Hydropower System Makes Energy From Slow Currents [Hydropower]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/I0MVzzKvjjo/umich-vivace-hydropower-system-makes-energy-from-slow-currents

A new hydropower prototype from the University of Michigan could end up using even slower river and ocean currents to generate energy. VIVACE, which stands for Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy, can generate power from as little as 2 knots, making it more useful than most turbine and water mill systems out there, which need an average of 5 to 6 knots to operate efficiently.

The system works by harnessing "vortex induced vibrations," the thrumming caused by the flow of liquid or air over rounded objects. A cylinder placed underwater is subject to the current and starts to vibrate as liquid sticks and creates eddies on the object's opposite side. It's the same scientific principle that caused the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in 1940.

"For the past 25 years, engineers—myself included—have been trying to suppress vortex induced vibrations. But now at Michigan we're doing the opposite. We enhance the vibrations and harness this powerful and destructive force in nature," said VIVACE developer Michael Bernitsas, a professor in the U-M Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Just a few cylinders could possibly power an anchored ship or a lighthouse. An array of VIVACE cylinders about the size of a running track could produce energy at 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour and power about 100,000 houses. U of M is now working on possibly deploying a pilot project in the Detroit River within the next 18 months. [UMich via Gizmag]


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Toshiba unveils 16GB microSDHC card of its own

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/toshiba-unveils-16gb-microsdhc-of-its-own/


SanDisk was first out of the gate with a 16GB microSDHC card, but Toshiba's just two months behind with the announcement of its iteration. Slated for mass production in January of 2009, the capacious SD-C16G should provide plenty of room for your EMF albums and that Rage Against the Machine discography. In related news, Tosh also introduced the soon-to-come SD-F16G and SD-F08G, 16GB / 8GB Class 6 SDHC cards that should handle even the quickest of cameras when they launch over the next few months. No prices to chew on just yet, but we'd wager they'll be competitive.

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Toshiba unveils 16GB microSDHC card of its own originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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