Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Intel Wants Netbooks to Keep Sucking [Intel]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-_pvra4nmVE/intel-wants-netbooks-to-keep-sucking

Digitimes reports Intel's pissed that Nvidia's trying to muscle into the totally Intel-dominated netbook niche with their new Ion platform that combines the Atom processor with Nvidia's GeForce 9400m which makes netbooks fully HD capable.

So, Intel is reiterating to PC makers that the Atom processor only comes bundled with their own chipsets and is refusing to validate Nvidia's chipset for Atom-based netbooks. Which is obviously a problem for Nvidia, since half of Ion is Intel's Atom. That said, after Nvidia punted Intel's chipset out of the new MacBooks, we're not all that surprised Intel's putting up a more hardcore defense here—after all, we're talking a whole new ecosystem Intel wants to have all to itself.

Heart-shaped waffles picture (even though they're a little burnt) because, uh, heart-shaped waffles sound delicious right about now. [Digitimes, Image: adrian_s/Flickr]

Toyota to unveil its all-electric concept, not exactly forthcoming with details

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/toyota-to-unveil-its-all-electric-concept-not-exactly-forthcomi/

Among the small clutch of green autos on view at the Detroit auto show early next year, Toyota will be debuting an as-yet-unnamed all electric car concept. This is meant to demonstrate the company's commitment to electric, a move which only makes sense, seeing as the whole "peak oil" thing is pretty much destined to make the gas guzzler obsolete. Still, the car arrives without much fanfare or details -- all we really know is that it's all electric and that it's smaller than a Prius. This comes after the Japanese automaker's push into electric fuel cell development and their stated intention to have an EV on the market alongside the next gen Prius hybrid in 2010. Of course, we all thought we'd have flying cars by 2010, but the industry's inability to produce a robust all-electric motor has certainly put the kibosh on that once great dream.

Update: When we initially posted this item, we ran it with a pic of Toyota's iQ (a perfectly reasonable move in lieu of the fact that Toyota has yet to release a picture of the car). After Engadget Spanish turned us on to a more suitable image, we moved the iQ car after the break.

[Via Wired]

Continue reading Toyota to unveil its all-electric concept, not exactly forthcoming with details

Filed under: Transportation

Toyota to unveil its all-electric concept, not exactly forthcoming with details originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laptops outship desktops for the first time worldwide

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/laptops-outship-desktops-for-the-first-time-worldwide/

Laptops have been out-shipping desktops in the US for years upon years (upon years), but it wasn't until now that such a scenario was true worldwide. According to iSuppli, global notebook computer shipments exceeded those of desktops for the first time ever in Q3 of this year, a "watershed event" according to it. More specifically, notebook PC shipments surged around 40% to 38.6 million units, while desktop shipments slipped 1.3% to 38.5 million. We'd say this is a marvelous day and a sign of what's to come, but haven't we all known that desktops were being reserved for hardcore gaming, computational science and games of chess for years now?

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

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HKC's Pearl rips a RIM name, an HTC design, and a pair of OSes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/hkcs-pearl-rips-a-rim-name-an-htc-design-and-a-pair-of-oses/

Goodness, we can already tell that China is going to be a frigging goldmine of weird and wild Android hardware for a long, long time to come. First we had the QiGi i6, which boasted compatibility both with Android and WinMo -- and it's looking like this might be a surprisingly common feature for some of these Chinese devices now that we have another doing the same thing. The HKC Pearl looks suspiciously like a first-gen HTC Touch -- and nothing like its namesake, may we add -- working with a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM, WiFi, and a 2-megapixel cam to back up its Google- and Microsoft-provided loads. As with the QiGi, the odds of seeing this one outside Asia are slim at best, but hey, at least our colleagues at Engadget Chinese have scored a hands-on to satisfy our collective curiosities.

Read - HKC Pearl announcement
Read - Android mode hands-on
Read - WinMo mode hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Household

HKC's Pearl rips a RIM name, an HTC design, and a pair of OSes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultraportable ultrasound machine paves the way for wacky ultrasound pranks

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/ultraportable-ultrasound-machine-paves-the-way-for-wacky-ultraso/

It might look more like a Radio Shack project kit than a serious piece of medical equipment, but George K. Lewis -- a third year biomedical engineering PhD student -- has developed a pocket-sized ultrasound device that can be manufactured for about $100. Typically, a biomedical ultrasound unit can weigh 30 pounds and cost upwards of $20,000. The developer has high hopes for the device -- not only will an ultraportable ultrasound bring the technology to places where it might have been impractical before (such as combat units in the field and remote populations), hopefully the inexpensive contraption will spur innovative new uses for the device. So, what's stranger -- scoping your unborn child with a homebrew ultrasound, or using an incubator that once lived as a Toyota 4Runner? That's a tough call...

[Via Inventor Spot]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ultraportable ultrasound machine paves the way for wacky ultrasound pranks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FSC Amilo Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster tested, deemed flawed but synergistic

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/fsc-amilo-sa-3650-laptop-and-graphicbooster-tested-deemed-flawe/

Having already seen it run Crysis, we've been itching to know if Fujitsu Siemens' AMILO Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster had any other tricks up their sleeves. The Notebookcheck crew ran the dynamic duo through some tests and found it to be an impressive pairing, although the laptop itself takes a few jabs for shoddy case design, stiff touchpad keys and an underperforming AMD processor. By its lonesome, the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU is better than the usual Intel GMA fare, but the GraphicBooster and an external monitor puts this machine nearly on par with a decent desktop rig. Without that external monitor, however, the GraphicBooster only provides marginal improvements to the laptop's performance, due to limitations in the bandwidth connecting the add-on to the port. The second display is connected directly to the booster via DVI-I or HDMI. An asking price of 1300 Euros (US $1,810) seems a bit steep to us, but they say it's worth the premium, calling it an "unprecedented fusion of performance and mobility." Hit up the read link for a full analysis.

[Thanks, Jamil]

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

FSC Amilo Sa 3650 laptop and GraphicBooster tested, deemed flawed but synergistic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gigabyte's M528 MID gets unboxed, photographed lots

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/24/gigabytes-m528-mid-finally-gets-unboxed/

We've already had the pleasure of checking out the Aigo Patriot in its natural habitat, and now we're finally being treated to the same with its Gigabyte-branded counterpart. The Atom-based MID has been unboxed all official-like over at UMPC Fever, and the photographer didn't even shy away from snapping a few with the lid off. Have a look yourself in the read link below, but don't get too attached -- so far as we can tell, it'll cost you a pretty penny to get it imported from a foreign land.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Handhelds

Gigabyte's M528 MID gets unboxed, photographed lots originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Danish Super Car?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/_9CE0wszEpI/

Oh snap! It’s a Danish super car. Somehow those words don’t go together in my head. When I think super car, I think Japan, America, Italy, Germany, maybe even France and England - but Denmark? It’s true, the Zenvo ST1 is a real Danish supercar with excessive power; a V8 1,104 pony galloping engine to be exact. The turbocharged 7.0 liter 6 speed manual tranny pushes the Zenvo ST1 from 0-60 in just 3 seconds. For safety and legal reasons, the car is electronically limited to 232 mph.

A car that fast needs major brakes to stop it and this baby uses a set of ventilates 380 mm disc brakes and 6 piston calipers up front, 355 mm discs gripped by 6 piston calipers at the rear. Made entirely of a steel frame wrapped in a carbon fiber body, the styling is striking and contemporary. Personally I think it’s a little contrived (angry blowfish?) but a head turner for sure and pretty much unlike any other recognizable super car on the road.

The interior is a different story. It’s pure luxury - strange for a super car. The alcantara leather trimmed interior hosts a bevy of high-tech niceties like dual zone climate control, full set of airbags, cruise control (at 232 mph no less), keyless entry, racing seats, and a G-force meter for all you gear heads.

How much is it gonna cost? I’m not sure but only 15 will be made so you can bet your bottom dollar only 3% 2% 1% .001% of the world’s population can afford it.

Designer: Zenvo

Zenvo

Lambo Like a Designer Would Lambo

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/UDnPTqjJ0Qc/

I like my Lamborghinis like I like my cheese-burgers : fast and flamboyant. And since you are an aficionado of such big and scary things, we’ll let you decide whether its worth 495,000 EUR for a one- of-a-kind Italian supercar designed by celebrity “skulls and swishes” fashion designer Christian Audigier.

Also the car goes very fast.

Edo Competition Motorsports, known for their benchmark-customization and modification of supercars has “pulled out all the stops” as they say; cooperating with Christian Audigier to create, YES(!), the fastest and most flamboyant Lamborghini ever made. It’s dubbed the “edo LP 710″ and 5 will be produced. Each car is unique with designs chosen from a limited selection of graphic options by the customer. These graphics are designed by Audigier, painted by Austrian pinstriper Marcus Pfeil.

The engine is a 6.5 liter V12 with output at 710 hp and 700 Nm (516 ft-lb). Acceleration at 0 - 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds and 0 – 200 km/h (124 mph) in under 10 seconds. Top speed at >360 km/h (>224 mph).

Net price: 495,000 EUR (690,000 USD)

The wheels are also, yes you guessed it, quite nice. The “edo LP 710″ has a 19in light-alloy wheel set with 2 tires in the front and 2 in the back! Oh and they are: 225/35 ZR 19 Continental V-max in the front and 325/30 ZR 19 Continental V-max in the back.

Scary.

Finally, edo’s made a single disc clutch for this ‘gini and has taken the 4-wheel drive standard setup and turned it into a 2-wheel setup (rear wheel drive). With this modification in place, the edo’gini saves 40 kg (88 lb) - and ya know it’s gonna b’mo agile on da’ streets.

Note: I want at least 13 skulls on the one they’re sending me. I told them that if there’s even one skull missing or extra, I’m gonna just be so pissed!

Designers: Lamborghini & Christian Audigier [ Via: AutoBlog ]