Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T's 3G network

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/11/acer-aspire-one-goes-official-on-atandts-3g-network/

Hey, remember that Acer Aspire One equipped with on-board 3G we spied in a Radio Shack ad the other day? Well guess what? It's real -- and we've got the PR to prove it. Just as expected, the netbook is being offered for the teensy price of $99.99 (coupled with a lengthy and expensive contract with AT&T). The diminutive laptop comes equipped with a single mind-blowing gigabyte of memory and a decently sizeable 160GB hard drive. Besides doing its mobile broadband thing, it also sports 802.11b/g, weighs in at 2.44 lbs., and will never, ever seem worth it in the long run.

Filed under: Laptops

Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T's 3G network originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ThinkLogical debuts Velocity USB KVM -- with a 25-mile range

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/11/thinklogical-debuts-velocity-usb-kvm-with-a-25-mile-range/

Okay, we can't actually think of a single reason why you'd need a KVM switch with a max range of 25 freaking miles, but we do know it's pretty insane that such a product even exists. Built on top of an Icron ExtremeUSB chipset, the ThinkLogical VelocityKVM can pipe two 1920 x 1200 DVI signals, USB 1.1, serial, PS2 and stereo audio up to 40 kilometers over single-mode fiber with no loss in quality, and can be upgraded to support USB 2.0 as well. ThinkLogical doesn't even begin to list prices on its site, which probably means you'll need some deep pockets to get in on the action -- uh, yeah, we'll stick to VNC for now, thanks.

[Via Wired]

Filed under: Peripherals

ThinkLogical debuts Velocity USB KVM -- with a 25-mile range originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grasshopper-inspired Jollbot rolls, collapses, jumps, won't mutate and attack Chicago

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/grasshopper-inspired-jollbot-rolls-collapses-jumps-wont-muta/

You know how the saying goes: "You've seen one grasshopper robot, you've seen 'em all." Well, actually, the one pictured above, called the Jollbot, is something kind of off the beaten path, even for grasshopper bots. The creation of PhD student Rhodri Armour at the University of Bath (yeah, the resort town with the natural hot springs), this robot is pretty multi-talented. Designed to be adept at handling multiple types of terrain, the Jollbot can jump up to a half meter in the air to avoid obstacles, but its spherical "cage" shape also allows it to roll in any direction. The robot uses electrical motors and stores energy in its skeleton. Just before a jump, the Jollbot collapses in on itself, then releases its energy in the jump. Armour theorizes that future versions of the machine could be solar powered. To see the robot in all of its glory, you'll probably want to check out the video after the break.

[Via TFOT]

Continue reading Grasshopper-inspired Jollbot rolls, collapses, jumps, won't mutate and attack Chicago

Filed under: Robots

Grasshopper-inspired Jollbot rolls, collapses, jumps, won't mutate and attack Chicago originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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$249 CherryPal cloud PC taken for a listless spin

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/249-cherrypal-cloud-pc-taken-for-a-spin/

Well what do you know, a real live CherryPal has finally made it into the wilds. TGDaily has the honors of having a first look at the $249 cloud computer. While impressed by the small size and fanless design, the build quality was "flimsy" making the device feel very much like pre-production product. The Xubuntu-based PC with Xfce desktop instantly recognized and connected to the reviewers WiFi network for quick login to the CherryPal cloud. Great, but things fell apart when loading Firefox onto the 400MHz Freescale processor -- the sluggish response experienced is a critical fail for a PC whose applications are stored in the cloud. Something that might be sorted out in future builds of Firefox... or not.

Filed under: Desktops

$249 CherryPal cloud PC taken for a listless spin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: First look at Netgear's EVA9000 streaming YouTube in HD

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/12/video-first-look-at-netgears-eva9000-streaming-youtube-in-hd/

Now that the FCC has forced its hand, Netgear has become rather forthcoming with information about its new EVA9000-series Digital Entertainer Elite box set to be launched at CES. Today we get a first (brief) look at the rather svelte user interface driving YouTube 720p video over an 802.11n dual-band WiFi network. That's a good start, but there'd better be more content than just YouTube and Flickr before we lay down $400 for yet another living room box. Video after the break.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Continue reading Video: First look at Netgear's EVA9000 streaming YouTube in HD

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Video: First look at Netgear's EVA9000 streaming YouTube in HD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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