Saturday, December 13, 2008

EFi-X USA decides to tempt Apple's lawyers, will start shipping OS X-capable machines

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/efi-x-decides-to-tempt-apples-lawyers-will-start-shipping-os-x/

We've always been intrigued by the EFI-X dongle that fools OS X into running on stock Intel machines, Software Update and all, and now it looks like the company a company called EFi-X USA is taking things one step further -- it's planning on shipping pre-built machines capable of running Apple's OS. The EFi-X Millennium 4 will sport an overclocked 3.8GHz Core 2 Quad, 4GB of RAM, and a GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card in an Antec P180 case, all for $1,899 plus the $199 EFi-X dongle. The idea is to avoid any Psystar-style legal troubles by leaving the purchase and installation of OS X up to the end user, but apparently no one at EFi-X USA has talked to a lawyer or even read our previous posts on the matter, since Apple's lawsuit against Psystar turns as much on contributory and induced copyright infringement as it does on Psystar's direct violation of Apple's OS X EULA. In other words, it's illegal to sell a product expressly designed to allow customers to infringe copyrights -- a principle Napster and Grokster made famous, you'll recall. Plus we're pretty certain there's a DMCA argument in there since the EFi-X dongle circumvents Apple's protections on OS X -- the validity of which Psystar is actually testing in its revised countersuit. We'll see how it goes -- we're seriously worried that these companies are doing far more harm to the OSx86 scene than good.

P.S.- Oh, and honestly, Apple, if you want this entire headache to go away,! all you have to do is produce a reasonably-priced, configurable midrange tower. Think about it.

Update: We've just been pinged by the original EFi-X team, who tell us that EFi-X USA has nothing to do with them, that they have no plans to sell actual machines, and that they strongly disapprove of EFi-X USA. Shades of Psystar's use of netkas's work on OSx86 without permission, we'd say -- shady shady.

[Thanks, Mark]

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EFi-X USA decides to tempt Apple's lawyers, will start shipping OS X-capable machines originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:02 AM

Sony's long awaited touchscreen Walkman finally revealed?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/sonys-long-awaited-touchscreen-walkman-finally-revealed/


Sony's Walkman series of media players has done its best to keep stride, stuffing in new features and design refinements over the years, but touchscreen-dominated players are clearly in vogue, and it looks like the company is finally ready to break down and get touchable. According to the Sony stalkers over at Sony Insider, there will be 16 and 32GB touchscreen Walkman players at CES 2009 this coming January. The literal and figurative centerpiece is to be a 3-inch OLED display (possibly that 3.3-inch panel making the rounds, or something more Sony specific), running a touch interface with many similarities to the current Walkman players. Also slated for inclusion is WiFi, enabling a YouTube app, over the air podcast downloads, built-in access to Amazon's MP3 store and an unspecified web browser. The shots of the player above are obviously mockups, and the real hardware is supposed to have physical music control buttons -- and hopefully hold to some sort of reality-based conception of scale. All this info is exclusive to the Sony Insider ninjas, so we can't vouch for its veracity, but it's an obvious and welcome move from Sony, so we won't look a gift rumor in the mouth.

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Sony's long awaited touchscreen Walkman finally revealed? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:02 AM

ASUS rolls out four new VH-series 16:9 LCD monitors

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/asus-rolls-out-four-new-vh-series-16-9-lcd-monitors/


It's sometimes easy to forget that ASUS actually makes a whole host of non-Eee branded products, but the company has reminded us of is roots today with four new VH-series LCD monitors, each of which boast the desirable-to-some 16:9 aspect ratio. Those include the 18.5-inch VH192 model, the 21.5-inch VH222 and VH226 models, and the 23.6-inch VH242, the first of which packs a 1366x768 resolution while the latter three all offer full 1080p. All four also boast ASUS' "Smart Contrast Ratio" technology to deliver numbers from 10,000:1 to 20,000:1, and all but the low-end VH192 include an HDMI port, along with built-in speakers and, of course, the usual VGA and DVI ports. The VH226 also distinguishes itself a bit further with a slightly better 2ms response rate and a glossy finish. No word on a price or release date for any of 'em just yet, but we'd expect to start seeing them show up any day now.

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ASUS rolls out four new VH-series 16:9 LCD monitors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:02 AM

Barbie P520 cellphone turns up in China

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/barbie-p520-cellphone-turns-up-in-china/


Now, it's entirely possible that this isn't an official Barbie cellphone (or even an actual cellphone) but, if you're looking for something that's more Barbie-ish and, well, less cellphone-like than your usual phone, you may want to consider this new P520 model that recently turned up in China. Apparently, this one includes 2-inch,176 x 220 display, a 1.3 megapixel camera, "up to 2GB of expandable memory" (we're guessing a microSD card slot), built-in Bluetooth, not one but two SIM card slots and, yes, an actual mirror. Sold? Then you can apparently pick one up now for 780 yuan (or $114), although getting one over here will likely take a bit more doing.

[Thanks, Daniel]

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Barbie P520 cellphone turns up in China originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:02 AM

EFi-X shuts down EFi-X USA, says it doesn't support Mac clones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/efi-x-shuts-down-efi-x-usa-says-it-doesnt-support-mac-clones/

The Mac cloning soap opera just keeps taking crazy twists and turns -- Art Studios Entertainment, makers of the EFi-X dongle, have shut down EFi-X USA's plans to sell "Millennium" machines capable of running OS X just hours after they were announced. ASE CEO Davide Rutigliano sent us a statement saying that EFi-X USA was misinterpreting ASE's EFi-X certification program, that ASE will "NEVER sell machines or condone the sale of machines that compete with any brand," and that he personally ordered the project abandoned. Indeed, a visit to EFi-X USA's page confirms that the machines have been killed, although we're unsure what the terse statement "EFi-X USA LLC fights the clones and the clonemakers" is supposed to mean. All part of another strange chapter in the Hackintosh saga, we suppose. Check ASE's full statement after the break.

Continue reading EFi-X shuts down EFi-X USA, says it doesn't support Mac clones

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EFi-X shuts down EFi-X USA, says it doesn't support Mac clones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:01 AM

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