Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Chevy Volt nabs shaky 230 MPG rating, might not ship in 2010

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/chevy-volt-nabs-shaky-230-mpg-rating-might-not-ship-in-2010/

We've always heard that you've got to take the bad with the good, but who said it had to be done at the same time? This morning, ~~Government~~ General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson had some rather sensational news to share about Chevrolet's Volt, but according to a report over at Autocar, that very vehicle is looking at some serious (potential) issues. As for the good news, we're told that the Volt has snagged a staggering 230 MPG rating in the city, but we should caution you that it's not as cut and dry as GM would have you believe. The EPA has released "a new methodology for determining a draft fuel economy standard for extended-range EVs like the Volt," and it's that murky measurement system that has blessed Chevy's wonder child with a triple digit MPG rating.

Now, for the bad news. This past Sunday, GM reportedly submitted a regulatory filing with the US Treasury, and while it can't be taken as official word per se, it does provide reason to believe that the promised November ship date will slip to an undisclosed month and year. The report also noted that there is "no assurance" that it will qualify for any remaining energy loans to develop advanced fuel technology automobiles, and if you needed more reason to doubt the whole ordeal, have a look at this zinger: "Our competitors and others are pursuing similar technologies and other competing technologies, in some cases with more money available; there can be no assurance that they will not acquire similar or superior technologies sooner than we do." Ah well -- at least we know the four or five prototype models destined for eBay will do Ma Earth proud, right?

Updat e: CNN has a nice look at this incredibly large MPG figure, and -- surprise, surprise -- it's not nearly as fantastic as it looks at first glance.

Read - Chevy Volt gets "230 MPG" rating
Read - Chevy Volt may be delayed [Via AutoblogGreen]

Filed under: Transportation

Chevy Volt nabs shaky 230 MPG rating, might not ship in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

World's first 'wireless' pacemaker talks to your doctor daily, whether you like it or not (though you probably do)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/worlds-first-wireless-pacemaker-talks-to-your-doctor-daily-w/

In the past we've been clued in to both deadly pacemaker hackers and the development of a cloaking device to deal with that sticky situation. Now, according to Daily Tech, a woman in New York has become the first in the world to receive a pacemaker that communicates wirelessly with a monitoring service, which is in turn accessed daily by her doctor. "If there is anything abnormal," says Dr. Steven Greenberg from St. Francis Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Center, "it will literally call the physician" and notify him or her. In addition, most of the tests that were done in the doctor's office are now automated, saving everybody time and effort. There is no word yet on possible Twitter integration, but we're sure "Biz" Stone is already on it.

[Via Switched]

Filed under: Wireless

World's first 'wireless' pacemaker talks to your doctor daily, whether you like it or not (though you probably do) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email th! is&n bsp;| Comments

Disney Netpal finally up for pre-order, ships this week

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/disney-netpal-finally-up-for-pre-order-ships-this-week/

We've waited... oh, how we've waited! After two long, torturous months of anticipation, Disney is finally letting the "Magic Blue" and "Princess Pink" Netpal netbooks out to play with us. Featuring the zaniest paintjobs this side of the RilakKuma, customized XP themes, shell control for parents and no shortage of magic dust, the two machines are available to order now for $350 with deliveries likely by next week.

[Via Netbooked]

Read - Toys R Us
Read - Amazon

Filed under: Laptops

Disney Netpal finally up for pre-order, ships this week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Android turns up on MIDs from Eston, SFR

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/android-turns-up-on-mids-from-eston-sfr/

Two more MIDs were spotted running Android recently, and the kids over at Pocketables were kind enough to clue us in on the developments. First off, Eston's MID-02 (also known as the M4301) is a dual Windows CE 6.0 / Android device that boasts a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a Marvell XScale PXA300 (624MHz) CPU, 128MB DDR-RAM, 256MB Flash (supports up to 16GB) and a screen resolution of either 480 x 272 or 800 x 480, depending on whose product page you believe. Apparently one of the company's main markets is Europe, so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested. And why not? The keyboard is "almost entirely in English." But that ain't all! There's also an interesting video making the rounds of the SFR's Intel-powered M! PC Pocket at least booting the open source OS -- not necessarily compelling evidence that the rumors are true, but if the French wireless carrier isn't developing an Android device of their own at this very moment, it isn't a stretch to believe that they're toying with the idea. See for yourself after the break.

Read - Eston MID-02 slider runs Android and Windows CE 6.0
Read - SFR M! PC Pocket caught on video booting Android

Continue reading Android turns up on MIDs from Eston, SFR

Filed under: Handhelds

Android turns up on MIDs from Eston, SFR originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/how-to-install-windows-7-and-live-to-tell-about-it/

So you're thinking about going to Windows 7, eh? Chances are your head is swimming in a sea of TLAs and confusing charts -- enough to have the most adamant Microsoft defender reaching for a something with an Option key. Fear not, noble purchaser of legal software. Though XP users have been punished for skipping Vista by not being able to directly upgrade now, the process of backing up your data, formatting and installing Windows, and then restoring your goods again has never been easier -- even if you're on a netbook with less storage than your smartphone. Vista users have even less to worry about. We'll have our full impressions of the finally finalized OS later this week, but for now let's journey hand in hand down the gently sloped path of the upgrade process.

Continue reading How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software

How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dell Vostro All In One now available in North America

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/dell-vostro-all-in-one-now-available-in-north-america/

Vostro fans may have been counting down the days since Dell's new Vostro All In One desktop made its debut in Japan last month, but those not among that select few may still be pleased to know that the system is now finally available in North America, right on schedule. Better still, the all-in-one rig now packs a starting price of just $599 (after a $30 instant savings), which will get you a somewhat lightweight Pentium Dual-Core E5300 processor, along with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a built-in DVD burner and, of course, that integrated 19-inch display at the heart of the system. Things are also still pretty affordable when you max out those specs, with the top-end Core 2 Duo-based model with 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive setting you back just over $900. Hit up the read link below for the complete breakdown, and to get your order in if you like what you see.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops

Dell Vostro All In One now available in North America originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sprint details proposed $14 million ETF class action settlement

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/sprint-details-proposed-14-million-etf-class-action-settlement/

It's a far cry from the $1.2 billion number that was bandied about at one point, but it looks like Sprint could still be taking a fairly sizable hit over those pesky early termination fees, at least if a proposed class action settlement plays out as it seems likely too. As Sprint itself announced today, the company's reached a $14 million settlement in the case, which will be placed in a common fund to be distributed accordingly to all the parties involved, which is where you come in (assuming you're a current of former Sprint, Nextel, or Sprint Nextel customer, that is). The short of it is that you can either sign on to the class action suit or opt out of it by hitting up the site linked below, and then you'll have to wait for the final approval hearing now scheduled for October 21st, which should actually settle the settlement once and for all. Details on the exact payout amounts to customers are buried in the documents on the settlement website, but it looks like the majority of customers will be receiving between $25 and $90 depending on their contract, plus some free bonus minutes.

Read - Sprint ETF Settlement website
Read - Sprint statement

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint details proposed $14 million ETF class action settlement originally appeared! on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

New Sony lithium ion batteries promise 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/new-sony-lithium-ion-batteries-promise-4x-the-capacity-99-rech/

Sony's certainly had its share of battery problems but, like most battery-makers, it's also doing its part to try to improve things, and it's now announced a new lithium-ion battery that should not only be more stable, but last significantly longer than traditional batteries as well. That's apparently possible in part due to its use of an olivine-type lithium iron phosphate for the cathode material, which should help boost the battery's overall lifespan to four times that of conventional lithium ion batteries, not to mention provide an 80% capacity retention after 2,000 charge-discharge cycles and, perhaps most impressively, a promised 99% recharge in just 30 minutes. According to Sony, the batteries are especially well suited for use in power tools (where they'll first show up), but it does say they'll also eventually be "expanded to a wide range of other mobile electronic devices."

[Via Sony Insider]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

New Sony lithium ion batteries promise 4x the capacity, 99% recharge in 30 minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Video: Gigabyte T1028X unboxed, handled, available in good ol' USA

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/11/video-gigabyte-t1028x-unboxed-handled-available-in-good-ol-u/

Looks like we've got not one, but two nuggets of good news for you today: firstly, the latest Gigabyte swivel-screen tablet has been unboxed, undressed and appropriately groped up, and secondly, Amazon have now got stock of the device at $679 plus shipping. That might still seem a bit rich for a netbook, albeit with expanded functionality, but it's significantly more affordable than what our European comrades have to pay. As to the unboxing -- and there's a lot of it since Gigabyte decided to pack the unit in like a matryoshka -- the Liliputing crew do a thorough inspection as well as a size comparison against devices from ASUS and Lenovo. Slide past the break to see the pair of videos and judge for yourself.

Continue reading Video: Gigabyte T1028X unboxed, handled, available in good ol' USA

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Video: Gigabyte T1028X unboxed, handled, available in good ol' USA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Monday, August 10, 2009

OCZ Firmware Update Fixes "Dirty" SSDs In Its Spare Time [Ssds]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/f0fBYZEBoB8/ocz-firmware-update-fixes-dirty-ssds-in-its-spare-time

Modern SSDs might not "fragment" in the same way your old 9GB FAT32 drive did, but they've got their own, possibly worse problems. OCZ, along with Indilinx, say they've got a "garbage collection" firmware that'll clear things right up.

Here's how it works, in terms that you may or may not understand:

The flash memory used on today's SSDs is comprised of cells that usually contain 4KB pages that are arranged in blocks of 512KB. When a cell is unused, data can be written to it relatively quickly. But if a cell already contains some data—no matter how little, even if it fills only a single page in the block—the entire block must be re-written.

In layman terms, that means that the way many SSDs write data is sloppy, and leaves all kinds of useless junk all over the place, which later causes slowdowns when it is needlessly rewritten. OCZ has a firmware update that apparently fixes this while the drive is idle, and HotHardware says it's actually worth a nice little performance boost. So congratulations, OCZ SSD owners! Even better news?

Virtually all SSD manufacturers have incorporated, or soon will incorporate, garbage collection schemes into their drives' firmware that actively seek out and remove the garbage data.

All this before most people have even used these things. [HotHardware via Engadget]

What Is This? [Image Cache]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FVUR8rt0YYM/

Jelly fishes attacking an undersea monster? That would be cool, but the reality is much simpler, and more beautiful: It's an helianthus annuus.

It's a sunflower (I had to look that up too). Japanese artist Macoto Murayama creates these beautiful illustrations of flowers, highlighting their geometry. Intriguing, delicate work. [Creators Bank via Pink Tentacle]

ATI Stream vs. Nvidia CUDA Graphics Accelerated Deathmatch [Graphics]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6Sb4mcSVmdg/ati-stream-vs-nvidia-cuda-graphics-accelerated-deathmatch

The eternal graphics war: ATI vs. Nvidia. With the rise of GPGPU computing, if you're deciding who to fall in line with based on their graphics-accelerated platforms—Stream or CUDA, respectively—PC Perspective's done the dirty benchmarking work for you.

It actually boils down fairly simply to a mixed bag: ATI's Stream tends to be outright faster and pulls more of the load off of the CPU, but Nvidia's CUDA tends to produce better quality results. Interestingly, PC Perspective seems to like ATI's Avivo video transcoding application more than they used to, saying they're impressed by its simplicity. But which side are you on? [PC Perspective via Engadget]

Draganfly X4 UAV: Tiny, Camera-Packing, UFO-Looking 'Copter Is Cheaper Than Ever [Helicopters]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9aYvU7Tugcs/draganfly-x4-uav-tiny-camera+packing-ufo+looking-copter-is-cheaper-than-ever

Draganfly's series of photo/video-based UAVs have always been awesome, but they've also been more of a pipe dream than anything else. The X4 is smaller than the X6, but the smaller size also comes with a 25% price cut. Yes!

Like the X6—featured in Giz Gallery 2008—the X4 is a carbon fiber-bodied UAV with four carbon fiber rotating blades. The 680-gram (with battery) copter is capable of using a still/video camera (in this case, a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot), an infrared camera and a low-light camera, all of which can be controlled from the ground. The X4 also features three accelerometers, three gyroscopes, three magnetometers and a barometric pressure sensor, and the controller is based on an OLED touchscreen. The X4 only has four motors to the X6's six, but that comes at a big boon to the pricey 'copter: The X6 checked in at about $15,000, and the X4 should be more like $10,000.

So yeah, this thing is still super expensive. But it's also just about the best heli-cam we've ever seen, capable of flying both indoors and in inclement weather (up to 18mph of wind). Check out these videos at Draganfly's site to get a real sense of the true badassery of the copter. [Draganfly]

Genome Sequencing Gets 99.9833% Price Cut [Dna]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/yTxIWRCLrkM/genome-sequencing-gets-999833-price-cut

Dr. Quake of Stanford University only needed $50,000 and a month's time to complete a genome sequencing process which previously took $300 million, over 250 people, and several years. How cheap would Windows 7 be with this guy's cost-cutting?

Dr. Stephen Quake and his team used a "commercially available, refrigerator-sized instrument called the Helicos Biosciences SMS Heliscope" to sequence Quake's genome.

This machine, also known as a single molecule sequencer, is incredible. Instead of needing to generate thousands upon thousands of copies of a person's DNA, it chops the fundamental units of DNA, the bases, into short strands, slaps them onto a specially treated glass plate, and proceeds to read the sequences.

After these steps are completed, a series of computers will assemble all the DNA strands into a genome while comparing it to previously compiled genomes. According to an algorithm used by the team, this sequencing process results in genomes which are about 95% complete. (This is on par with previous sequencing technology.)

While Quake's research is important in what it represents: genome sequencing could become something used by regular health care providers to diagnose genetic predispositions to diseases (or maybe just figure out if someone's genetic code "contains a form of a gene that has sometimes been associated with increased disagreeability"), it also does something curious: in shows a far larger decrease in cost than Moore's law alone would suggest. The combination of better processing with a far better algorithm resulted in this dramatic progress over the past eight years and we can't wait to see how the implementation of improved algorithms will continue to affect this trend. [Business Wire]

Photo by Helicos

Bionic Athlete Aimee Mullins To Speak At TEDMED 2009 [Tedmed]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/X__l0wXbp90/bionic-athlete-aimee-mullins-to-speak-at-tedmed-2009

After displaying her collection of prosthetic legs at this year's TED conference, bionic actress, athlete and model Aimee Mullins recently announced that she will speak at the TEDMED convention this fall.

Mullins has been instrumental in changing the public perception of prosthetics. After setting multiple world records at the 1996 Paralympic games, she has used her modeling, athletic and film careers to end the idea that prosthetics are a mark of disability. Instead, she's shown the world that bionic limbs can enable some amazing things. As a guy who's barely 5'8" on a good day, listening to Mullins talk about how easy and fun it is to change her height on a whim does sound like a pretty incredible ability to have.

TEDMED annually explores a wide range of issues in health care. Topics this year range from ethical questions in the face of medical advancement to the theoretical capabilities of medicine. The fifth TEDMED conference will be held October 27-30 in San Diego. Be sure to keep an eye on the conference come fall. [TEDMED, image via Women's Sports Foundation]

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)