Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

NVIDIA Tegra to power next-gen Nintendo DS?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/13/nvidia-tegra-to-power-next-gen-nintendo-ds/

While Microsoft tries to figure out if it should take Tegra-powered Zune HD in a gaming direction or the Xbox in a portable direction, there are wild rumorings from the underground that claim Nintendo is planning on using Tegra to power a next generation DS handheld. The primary source on this comes from Bright Side of News (which doesn't have a big track record to judge by), who claims the debut is planned for late 2010 and conjectures that the device could either use the upcoming 40nm 2nd-gen Tegra tech, or the existing, tried-and-true 65nm chip. There were rumors from Yahoo! Games of a Tegra DS afoot at GamesCom in August, with higher resolution screens and full backwards compatibility, and PC Perspective also claims its own NVIDIA insiders are confirming this -- the evidence is certainly stacking up. If it turns out to be true it's going to mean a pretty dramatic jump forward in portable gaming power, but either way this generation of handhelds seems due for a refresh, and there's plenty of ultra compact silicon floating about to make a graphical leap possible.

[Via PC Perspective; thanks, Fernando]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

NVIDIA Tegra to power next-gen Nintendo DS? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS's Ion-based Eee PC 1201N, non-Ion 1201HA turn up in yet another leak

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/13/asuss-ion-based-eee-pc-1201n-non-ion-1201ha-turn-up-in-yet-ano/

We'd already had a pretty clear indication that ASUS's Ion-infused Eee PC 1201N was on the way, and even gotten word of a few purported specs, but it looks like yet another leak has now kicked things even closer to all-but-official territory. Judging from the specs that appeared (briefly) on EeePC.it, this one will pack a 12.1-inch screen and Ion chipset as expected, plus an dual-core Atom 330 processor, which is certainly more welcome than the Atom 270 that was previously rumored. Otherwise, you can apparently expect 3GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, HDMI out, a multitouch trackpad, and a six-cell battery, among other standard fare (including Windows 7, of course). If that's all a bit much for you, it looks like ASUS will also have a non-Ion version of the netbook in the form of the Eee PC 1201HA, which dials the specs back across the board, including an Intel Atom Z520 and the usual integrated GMA 500 graphics in place of Ion. Still no firm word on a release for either of 'em, but all signs point to them being available on or shortly after the big Windows 7 launch date.

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS's Ion-based Eee PC 1201N, non-Ion 1201HA turn up in yet another leak originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS's Ion-based Eee PC 1201N, non-Ion 1201HA turn up in yet another leak

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/13/asuss-ion-based-eee-pc-1201n-non-ion-1201ha-turn-up-in-yet-ano/

We'd already had a pretty clear indication that ASUS's Ion-infused Eee PC 1201N was on the way, and even gotten word of a few purported specs, but it looks like yet another leak has now kicked things even closer to all-but-official territory. Judging from the specs that appeared (briefly) on EeePC.it, this one will pack a 12.1-inch screen and Ion chipset as expected, plus an dual-core Atom 330 processor, which is certainly more welcome than the Atom 270 that was previously rumored. Otherwise, you can apparently expect 3GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, HDMI out, a multitouch trackpad, and a six-cell battery, among other standard fare (including Windows 7, of course). If that's all a bit much for you, it looks like ASUS will also have a non-Ion version of the netbook in the form of the Eee PC 1201HA, which dials the specs back across the board, including an Intel Atom Z520 and the usual integrated GMA 500 graphics in place of Ion. Still no firm word on a release for either of 'em, but all signs point to them being available on or shortly after the big Windows 7 launch date.

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS's Ion-based Eee PC 1201N, non-Ion 1201HA turn up in yet another leak originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wi-Fi Direct enabling P2P communications amongst WiFi wares, scaring Bluetooth half to death

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/wi-fi-direct-enabling-p2p-communications-amongst-wifi-wares-sca/

Hear that Bluetooth? That's the sound of competition... finally. After years of waiting for some sort of serious rival in the short-range communication realm, the Wi-Fi Alliance is doing what it should've done eons ago. Starting sometime in mid-2010 (if all goes to plan, of course), a Wi-Fi Direct specification will be published, enabling WiFi'd devices to connect to one another without some sort of WLAN hotspot nearby. Previously, the standard was codenamed Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, as it gives printers, mobile handsets, human interface devices, cameras, laptops and a host of other wireless wares the ability to talk to one another without first consulting an access point. We're told that devices will be able to make "one-to-one" connections or talk amongst a group, and WPA2 security will be bundled in to keep the ill-willed sniffers at bay. Call us crazy, but we get this feeling we're going to dig this protocol -- now, if only we could actually count on seeing shipping products before we're too old to enjoy it, we'd be set.

Continue reading Wi-Fi Direct enabling P2P communications amongst WiFi wares, scaring Bluetooth half to death

Filed under: Wireless

Wi-Fi Direct enabling P2P communications amongst WiFi wares, scaring Bluetooth half to death originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for u! se of fe eds.

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Sanyo unleashes two iFrame compatible Dual HD camcorders

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/sanyo-unleashes-two-iframe-compatible-dual-hd-camcorders/

Sanyo's just unleashed two new full HD camcorders -- the VPC-HD2000A and the VPC-FH1A. Both of these babies boast 1080p and 1080i recording at 60 fps, plus iFrame recording at a 960 x 540 resolution and 30 frames per second and 8 megapixel still shooting with 10x optical zoom. The cams are the first to offer iFrame compatibility, a 'next gen' format designed for easy importing, editing and sharing of video -- and hey, Apple just released an iMovie update adding iFrame compatibility, so the timing is spot-on for those of us aching to ditch the super-lameness of AVCHD. The VPC-FH1A has a 3-inch LCD and HDMI output, while the VPC-HD2000A has a 2.7-inch LCD. They're both available now, with the FH1A running $499.99 and the HD2000A $599.99. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Sanyo unleashes two iFrame compatible Dual HD camcorders

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sanyo unleashes two iFrame compatible Dual HD camcorders originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's solar Blue Earth launching in Sweden this month, elsewhere soon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/samsungs-solar-blue-earth-launching-in-sweden-this-month-elsew/

First, the good news: that slide we saw back in August promising Blue Earth deliveries in October was spot on, seeing how Samsung just made an official announcement to that effect. Now, the bad: unless you're in Sweden, that doesn't mean much -- at least, not yet. The HSDPA-equipped full touch handset with an integrated solar charger is set to launch in the Nordic nation this month, with France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and "other European and Asian countries" following on shortly; notably missing is the US, which wouldn't benefit from the 900 / 2100MHz 3G radio anyhow. Pricing hasn't been announced, but does it really matter when you'll be saving all that cash on your power bill?

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung's solar Blue Earth launching in Sweden this month, elsewhere soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox 3.6 will support accelerometers, make the internet seasick (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/firefox-3-6-will-support-accelerometers-make-the-internet-seasi/

If you, like us, are tired of the so-called browser wars trying to woo us with barely identifiable, context-dependent speed differences, this might be of interest. Firefox is about to get a whole lot more sentient on us -- at least those of us with accelerometers in our hardware -- courtesy of a new device API that is capable of maintaining a webpage's vertical orientation relative to the ground, no matter what sort of salto mortale the underlying machine (Mac or otherwise) might be doing. Think of it as the cherry atop your Windows 7 multitouch tablet cake. Originally intended for mobile platforms only, this software will make its way into version 3.6 of the full-fledged browser -- and you can find an early demo of what it can do just past the break.

Continue reading Firefox 3.6 will support accelerometers, make the internet seasick (video)

Filed under: Software

Firefox 3.6 will support accelerometers, make the internet seasick (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer's 11.6-inch Timeline 1810T gets ceremonious christening, Oct. 22nd launch date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/acers-11-6-inch-timeline-1810t-gets-ceremonious-christening-oc/

We swear we've seen this before at least a couple of times, but ask Acer and the 11.6-inch Timeline AS1810TZ is a brand new, LED-backlit and Windows 7-packing ultraportable with a full-sized keyboard, eight hours of battery, multi-gesture touchpad, and a dual-core Intel CULV processor. All the amenities are here, as well, including 802.11b/g Draft-N, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, webcam, mic, and a handful of color options. Care to guess the official release date? October 22nd it is, alongside Windows 7 and a plethora of other newly-minted machines. Prices start at a penny under $550. Full press release after the break.

Gallery: Acer Timeline 11.6-inch AS1810TZ

Continue reading Acer's 11.6-inch Timeline 1810T gets ceremonious christening, Oct. 22nd launch date

Filed under: Laptops

Acer's 11.6-inch Timeline 1810T gets ceremonious christening, Oct. 22nd launch date originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung showing off 55 inches of 240Hz 3D LCD glory

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/samsung-showing-off-55-inches-of-240hz-3d-lcd-glory/

Look, we know this 3D thing is as likely to sink as it is to swim right now, but we have to hand it to Samsung -- it's pursuing the idea with some pretty hefty ambition. A 55-inch 1080p panel with a true 240Hz refresh rate is a decent base on which to build your paradigm-shifting new offering. Using a set of "shutter" glasses, which rapidly alternate between blocking out the left and right eye, the set is capable of delivering the full 240Hz quality, debatable as its benefits may be. Of course, the value or otherwise of a TV like this is going to be found only by experiencing its output in person, so if you're somewhere near Seoul this week, head on down to the IMID 2009 conference to get an eyeful of an early model.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Samsung showing off 55 inches of 240Hz 3D LCD glory originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Liquid mixes Snapdragon and Android 1.6 'donut' for a movable feast

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/acer-liquid-mixes-snapdragon-and-android-1-6-donut-for-a-movab/

Hey, what do you know, Acer just kicked out its first Android handset into the mystical kingdom of donuts and Snapdragons. Liquid, a rebranded (and slightly restyled) A1, brings a 800 x 480 WVGA capacitive touchscreen upon which you'll watch Android 1.6 ride that peppy Snapdragon processor. It's resumably tuned to 1GHz (or higher) and not 768MHz as listed on the eXpansys Germany spec-sheet -- a trick that'll make this the fastest Android handset on the planet. Of course, what would Android be without some tweaking? Acer promises a bevy of unique features such as improved power management, a new UI with tight entertainment and web integration, geo-tagging, a "Spinlets" application for access to streaming video and music, and full address book integration with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other social media houses. Unfortunately, that's all the detail that Acer's willing to spill at the moment; dates, real specs, and prices when we get 'em.

[Via ElectricPig and SlashGear]

Filed under: Cellphones

Acer Liquid mixes Snapdragon and Android 1.6 'donut' for a movable feast originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/dell-mini-9-modded-into-an-internet-tablet/

MyDellMini forum member Rob928, take a bow. This honorable gentleman has only gone and transformed an aging 9-inch netbook into a new-fashioned internet tablet. it might still be a chubby little thing, but there's no denying the usefulness of using the entire screen to navigate instead of the usually cramped netbook touchpad. With a 16GB SSD upgrade alongside the venerable Atom N270 and 1GB of RAM, this device will even boot faster into Windows than your run-of-the-mill netbook. The read link will reveal all, including more shots of the hardware laid bare.

[Via SlashGear]

Gallery: Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Dell Mini 9 modded into an internet tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sun FlashFire's record-breaking storage performance will make network admins giddy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/sun-flashfires-record-breaking-storage-performance-will-make-ne/

Sun's FlashFire's record-breaking storage performance will make network admins giddy

Most businesses look for a good mix between value and performance for the hardware they lock in the server closet, the majority of those leaning toward the "value" side of the equation. However, for those companies that dodged the economic downturn entirely and want only the best, there's the FlashFire storage array from Sun. It's 2TB of rackmountable bits able to perform 1.6 million read and 1.2 million write operations per second, with a sustained throughput of 12.8GB/sec. Sun says these are records, and we can't find anything to refute them, the closest being the RamSan-440 from Texas Memory Systems, offering an (until very recently) impressive 600,000 I/O operations per second with a 4.5GB/sec throughput. TMS, it's been brought.

Filed under: Storage, Networking

Sun FlashFire's record-breaking storage performance will make network admins giddy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes & Noble twin-screen e-reader revealed early?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/barnes-and-noble-twin-screen-e-reader-revealed-early/

At this point, there's little doubt that Barnes & Noble will soon be joining the e-reader game. We've heard whispers through the grapevine, seen FCC documentation and now, renders of what the thing might actually look like. With October 20th rapidly approaching, Gizmodo has secured images that it claims are of the forthcoming device -- and the design certainly jibes with recent happenings. If you'll recall, a B&N-badged representative recently noted that an e-book reader with its logo on it was on track for a Spring 2010 release, and by golly, it would sport a color display. Plastic Logic later stepped forward to deny the claim, but if these images are legit, both parties might actually be correct; the dual-panel device would boast a traditional e-ink display up top with a multitouch panel beneath, the latter of which would undoubtedly lead to all sorts of shenanigans. So, is it Tuesday yet, or what?

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Barnes & Noble twin-screen e-reader revealed early? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JVC SP-FT is a drool-inducing, 31mm thin home theater speaker system

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/jvc-sp-ft-is-a-drool-inducing-31mm-thin-home-theater-speaker-sy/

We know, life's tough. You want to buy the latest ultraslim HDTV, but find that your home theater speakers will look monstrously bulky sitting alongside it. JVC wouldn't want to cause you such headaches, which is why it's trotted out the above pair of 31mm thin speaker satelittes -- known as the SP-FT1 in black and SP-FT2 in their white garb -- and the AX-FT amplifier squeezed in between them. While you should probably not expect Telos 5000-like output, the amp will deliver 80W of total output over 4 independent channels, and has support for Dolby Digital, DTS and AAC formats. Prices are expected to be around ¥24,000 ($267) for the amp and ¥20,000 ($223) for the speakers when their black iterations hit Japan later this month, with the willowy white option showing up in November.

Gallery: JVC SP-FT and AX-FT

[Via Akihabara News]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

JVC SP-FT is a drool-inducing, 31mm thin home theater speaker system originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Firefox 3.6 Will Speak Fluent Accelerometer [Browsers]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vEOBLCuvHhI/firefox-36-will-speak-fluent-accelerometer

MacBooks and Thinkpads already have all the hardware they need to know which way they're tilting, but most software doesn't even bother to ask. Now, with the orientation-aware Firefox 3.6, your accelerometers might finally get some exercise.

Apple and Lenovo generally include the sensors as data protection tools: using readings from an inbuilt accelerometer, a laptop can recognize when it's in freefall, and spin down, or even cushion, its hard drive to try to minimize platter death. It works, sometimes! But on a hardware level, these accelerometers are just like the ones in your cellphone, meaning they can track orientation finely enough to play simple physics games, which you'll evidently be able to do in the next version of Firefox:

Originally built as something that we would include for our upcoming mobile browser release, we've made it available on desktop systems as well. Many modern Macbooks and Thinkpads contain devices and drivers that expose this information. We've added support for Linux, Macs and some Thinkpads where drivers and devices are available.

So it was an afterthought for Firefox proper, and you'll have to code special games and sites for it, and it'll only work on a few major laptop models. It's not exactly The Future of Firefox, but it's a cool trick nonetheless.

You can try the feature out yourself if you want; just download a nightly Firefox build from here, and try a few of these test pages. (Not safe for seasic! k types. ) [Mozilla via DeepTech]

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