Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Youth of America Spend Half Their Waking Hours Staring at Screens [Charts]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-2tJTuSdrZU/youth-of-america-spend-half-their-waking-hours-staring-at-screens

Or, if you count multitasking—which is just the kind of hysterical, stat-juicing thing you would do if you were running a study like this—nearly 11 hours a day. That doesn't leave a lot of time for fresh air.

Even with out including multitasking hours, the Kaiser Family Foundation study shows that kids these days are watching TV, texting, or on the internet 7.5 hours each and every day. That's an hour more than in 2004, and an even bigger jump since 1999. Basically, if they're awake and not in school, they're staring at a screen.

My first thought: so what? The children are our future, and our future is a digital age. I can accept that. And there's a lot of valuable information and insight to be gleaned from these here internets, if you look in the right places.

My second thought: oh, man, are we doomed. [NY Times]

Qik VideoCamera App Gives iPhone 3G and Even 2G Video Recording [IPhone Apps]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tNSoXYc8kjE/qik-videocamera-app-gives-iphone-3g-and-even-2g-video-recording

Qik's VideoCamera app isn't the first to give older iPhones video recording capabilities, but it could be the first to do it well enough for non-gimmick use. It'll record at 15fps with various real-time effects, including a Na'vi-inspired blue tint.

Other features include landscape mode, zoom, brightness and audio controls, and effects like black and white, red (?), Na'vi blue, and mirror. It's available now for a buck (link opens iTunes). [Qik]

3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/3d-maps-demoed-on-sony-ericsson-x10-snapdragon-paying-off/

Ericsson Labs is showing off an API for navigating through a three-dimensional interpretation of the world based on real imagery powered by Saab spinoff (the defense firm, not the car company) C3 Technologies on Sony Ericsson's upcoming X10 -- and in a word, it's looking impressive. The buttons for controlling the action are a bit hokey, of course, but don't worry too much about that -- this is strictly a proof of concept, and the important thing is that no matter how much panning, tilting, and swooping through the cityscape the demo-giver does, video output stays above 30 frames per second. Thank goodness for Snapdragon, eh? There's no indication that we'll see a shipping version of this app on retail X10s out of the box, but let's hope something awesome comes of this. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading 3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off

3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PhoneArena, Android and Me | source

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EROS Shenzhen tablet has Atom, 2 hours of battery life and a $450 price tag

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/eros-shenzhen-tablet-has-atom-2-hours-of-battery-life-and-a-45/

Our guess is that the EROS tablet got caught in customs on its way to join its tablet friends at CES. Poor kid. Regardless, the 10.1-inch 1366x768 resistive touchscreen device still deserves its time to in the sun. Powered by an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive, it runs Windows 7 (we're hoping Home Premium since Starter doesn't support touch). It all sounds fairly good until you hear about its three-cell battery's abysmal hour and a half of run time. And we've also got to say that it looks pretty chunky in the pictures, but most Wintel tablets are. But hey, maybe HP and Microsoft will change all that with the Slate. But if the EROS has struck your fancy, it looks to only be available in China for about 3,000 yuan or $441.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

EROS Shenzhen tablet has Atom, 2 hours of battery life and a $450 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SlashGear, Clonedinchina.com | source

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Shanzhaiben.com | Email this | Comments

LG's X300 ad strikes an amazingly familar tone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/lgs-x300-ad-strikes-an-amazingly-familar-tone/

LG's X300 laptop may have largely avoided comparisons to a certain other thin-and-light when it was announced at CES earlier this month, but it looks like LG is intent on driving that point home regardless. As you can see for yourself in the promo video after the break, not only has LG carried on the oft-imitated manila envelope motif, but it tops things off with a just slightly off "la la la" refrain for good measure. All of which might have earned LG a few points for boldness if this were a parody ad released a few years ago but, sadly, this is 2010, and this ad is all too real.

[Thanks, Muller]

Continue reading LG's X300 ad strikes an amazingly familar tone

Filed under: Laptops

LG's X300 ad strikes an amazingly familar tone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung unveils SyncMasters with the 'world's highest' contrast ratio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/samsung-unveils-syncmasters-with-the-worlds-highest-contrast/

We've harped about manufacturers constantly pushing nearly useless dynamic contrast numbers on us for so long that we half-expected this announcement to be about some phantom billion to one number. Well done Samsung, then, for focusing on the static (or real) contrast ratio of 3,000:1 on its sparkling new F2370H and F2380MX 23-inchers. These are certainly not the first panels to reach that plateau (check the Prad link below showing the Eizo EV2333 achieving 5,000:1 in testing), but let's not argue over PR semantics. They do boast higher contrast than most and both come with 1920 x 1080 resolution and HDMI inputs, while the more professionally oriented 2380 model (see our hands-on here) also boasts height and swivel adjustments along with an extra DVI port. Priced at 397,000 KRW ($350) and 417,000 KRW ($370), the two new SyncMasters are coming to Korea soon and the rest of the world seems an inevitability as well.

Samsung unveils SyncMasters with the 'world's highest' contrast ratio originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Akihabara News | source

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Sony releases TransferJet wireless Memory Stick in Japan, taking pre-orders in the US

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/sony-releases-transferjet-wireless-memory-stick-in-japan-taking/

Oh Sony, you just like to tease us, don't you? Two weeks after a brief mention at CES, Japan's been given the introductory taste of this tech giant's first ever TransferJet wireless Memory Stick. Meanwhile, Sony Style US has quietly added the same card for pre-order at $99.99 and cites February 8th as the possible launch date -- a slight delay from Sony's promised January launch. If the party's big enough, this TransferJet close-proximity radio technology could signal the death of cables and bulky card readers, but you'll still need compatible devices to work that magic on this memory stick. Sony will sure need more than just a few cameras to get us to make-dot-believe in this new ecosystem.

Sony releases TransferJet wireless Memory Stick in Japan, taking pre-orders in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Akihabara News, Sony Style | Email this | Comments

ASUS' Tegra-powered Eee Pad tablet to make sub-$500 Computex debut?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/asuss-tegra-powered-eee-pad-tablet-to-make-sub-500-computex-de/

The first of June could see the introduction of the Eee Pad tablet if DigiTimes' proven ASUS sources are correct. The device has been rumored since early December and now appears to be heading to Computex Taipei for its big reveal with a price set below $500. The tablet was already rumored to feature a multitouch display, Tegra (Tegra 2, presumably) and an OS other than Windows CE. And with a name that sounds suspiciously like a feminine hygiene product for a robot, well, we'll let you guess at which Google OS the Eee Pad will run.

Update: JKKMobile linked us to a video he shot of an ASUS concept tablet running Android on Tegra 2 at CES. Somehow we missed it... we blame the Waveface.

ASUS' Tegra-powered Eee Pad tablet to make sub-$500 Computex debut? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trexa EV development platform is modular, extremely customizable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/trexa-ev-development-platform-is-modular-extremely-customizable/

You know how you've been telling all your friends that, if you had the chance, you'd totally design the perfect electric vehicle? Well, here is that treasured opportunity. The modular Trexa EV, built by the eponymous startup company and designed by you, contains all the motor, battery and drivetrain basics within the low-profile base you see above, and lets you stack whatever optimizations you desire on top. That means customizable acceleration, suspension, torque and top speed, as well as the predictable versatility in outward appearance. In truth, it is really just aimed as a test mule for more professionally inclined (and presumably funded) EV designers, but we can't help but admire the simple genius of it all. Hit the source link for more.

Gallery: Trexa EV

Trexa E V development platform is modular, extremely customizable originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trexa | Email this | Comments

Analysts debate P.A. Semi's role in forthcoming Apple wares

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/analysts-debate-pa-semis-role-in-forthcoming-apple-wares/

It's easy to forget that Apple snapped up P.A. Semi for a song way back when, but now that we're just days, hours and seconds away from Apple's expected tablet reveal, a new wave of processor-related conjecture is hitting the fan. Richard Doherty, director of technology consulting firm Envisioneering Group, has come forward with some exceedingly detailed rumors on said tablet, a touchscreen MacBook and an OS X-based unicorn that lives in the cloud. As the story goes, Apple's pickup of P.A. Semi was primarily an effort to acquire a huge pool of engineering talent to use for its own internal designs, and now Doherty is saying that "before the year is out, Apple will have the most powerful, lowest-cost SoC in the industry." According to him, there's nothing from "ARM licensees or Intel that could challenge the power-per-watt, the power-per-buck, the power-per-cubic-millimeter of size," and he anticipates that four new products are in the pipeline from Cupertino. Need details? How's about a touchscreen Mac, an "iPod touch on steroids" with a 5-inch d! isplay, and "two different versions of media pads in the 7- to 9-inch (screen size) area." Alright Dick, you just put your reputation on the line -- here's hoping you've got your story straight.

Analysts debate P.A. Semi's role in forthcoming Apple wares originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Cost Comparison of the Major Cell Phone Plans [Infographic]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/gW7T6jIZe6A/cost-comparison-of-the-major-cell-phone-plans

Having previously crunched the numbers on smartphone features and cost of ownership, service comparison site BillShrink now offers an informative infographic showing the costs of every carrier's 500, 1000, and unlimited minute plans, with and without texting and data.

BillShrink's chart shows the cost per month of having a standard cell or smartphone on Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, or T-Mobile, in the average plan divisions, with extras like a messaging plan and basic or smartphone data. It's really helpful, but there's a caveat—no contract purchase is ever a straightforward process. One-time deals, promotions, and slight variations offered on each plan make this chart more of a starting point for your shopping, not a final word.

Here's the full-size chart. Click on the link at bottom for a full-size download version and BillShrink's further notes on the real costs of cellular contracts.

Cell Phone Plans: The Ultimate Comparison [BillShrink]

Avast Free Antivirus 5.0 Adds Behavior Monitor, Heuristics Engine, and Improved Performance [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Q7pFljIOMJw/avast-free-antivirus-50-adds-behavior-monitor-heuristics-engine-and-improved-performance

Windows only: The newest version of the popular Avast Antivirus is finally available for download. It's lighter, faster, and more feature-filled than ever, bringing a new behavior shield, heuristics engine, and code emulator to keep you protected at all times.

Apart from its far easier-to-navigate interface, Avast has a few new features that make it hard to turn down. Its new code emulator can emulate a suspicious executable's code, isolated, for use in its new heuristics engine, designed to detect malware that would otherwise be undetectable with normal definitions—in other words, spotting malware by learning what the code does. If you use the pro version, you also get their new sandboxing feature for even further protection.

Apart from the new features, Avast has also lowered scanning times as well as the resources necessary to scan and update—a common issue with antivirus programs that are always running in the background. If you're already an Avast lover (and many of you are), you can either wait for the program to update itself in the near future or go download 5.0 straight from Avast. If you've tried Avast and turned it down before, it may be worth another look—you may find that its former cons (such as the difficult-to-use GUI and resource use) are now more up to your standards.

Avast Antivirus is a free download, Windows only.

Avast Antivirus [via Download Squad]

DisplayPort 1.2 Standard Makes HDMI Look Positively Analog [Guts]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ewdVISPxKPs/displayport-12-standard-makes-hdmi-look-positively-analog

The Video Electronics Standards Association has codified the standard for the next version of DisplayPort, and the small, Apple-loving HDMI competitor, and it just got a lot more interesting. Like, multiple-monitors-on-one-plug interesting.

The concept of daisy-chaining multiple monitors on one DisplayPort connection has been part of the vision all along, but version 1.2 will be the first to actually support the technology—at this stage, up to four at a time, at a resolution of 1920 x 1200. On top of that, it'll bring full HD, 120fps-per-channel 3D support, a 21.6Gbps data rate, and bi-directional USB data, meaning that anything connected to a DisplayPort 1.2 cable could serve as a high-bandwidth USB hub.

And of course, VESA's already accepted Apple's miniaturized version of the port into the DisplayPort family and audio support is still present—albeit not in Apple's variant. In other words, no, the battle isn't settled, and HDMI hasn't won—even forthcoming HDMI 1.4 hardware can't hang with the next generation of DisplayPort hardware, if anyone decides to actually make it. [PC Authority]

Milpitas, Calif., Jan. 18, 2010 — The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today formally unveiled the industry's most innovative and flexible digital communication interface standard for transporting display, audio and other data.

VESA's DisplayPort Version 1.2 is a comprehensive extension to the original DisplayPort standard offering many new benefits to the end user. Benefits include: double the data rate of the previous DisplayPort v1.1a standard (enabling higher performance 3D stereo displays, higher resolutions and color depths, and fastest refresh rates); multiple monitor support from a desktop or notebook computer using only one DisplayPort connector; the ability to transport USB data between a PC and Display, supporting Display USB functions such as a webcam and USB hub. DisplayPort v1.2 is backward compatible with existing DisplayPort v1.1a systems, including existing cables and the Mini DisplayPort connector.

DisplayPort v1.2 increases performance by doubling the maximum data transfer rate from 10.8 Gbps (Giga-bits-per-second) to 21.6 Gbps, greatly increasing display resolution, color depths, refresh rates, and multiple display capabilities.

DisplayPort v1.2 supports "multi-streaming" — the ability to transport multiple independent uncompressed display and audio streams over a single cable, supporting protected content and high performance applications such as 3D gaming. This enables the use of multiple monitors connected by cable in a daisy chain or hub configuration. Whereas the current Display v1.1a standard can support one 2560 x 1600 monitor at 60Hz, DisplayPort v1.2 can support two such monitors with one cable, or four 1920 x 1200 monitors. Many other combinations are possible, including multiple video sources, multiple displays (even at different resolutions) and multiple audio speakers.

Another new feature is the ability to support high-speed, bi-directional data transfer, allowing USB 2.0 or Ethernet data to be carried within a standard DisplayPort cable. For DisplayPort v1.2, the maximum data rate of this "AUX" channel has been increased from 1 Mbps (Mega-bit-per-second) to 720 Mbps, providing suitable bandwidth for USB 2.0. The DisplayPort cable can therefore support USB data to/from the display to support Display USB functions, in addition to sending the video and audio information. Standard Ethernet can also be transported in the DisplayPort cable.

DisplayPort v1.2 was designed to be compatible with existing DisplayPort systems and cables. To take advantage of the new capabilities, a PC will need to be DisplayPort v1.2 enabled, however existing standard cables can still be used, including those with the new Mini-DisplayPort connector. To achieve the 21.6 Gbps rate, the per-lane data rate is doubled from 2.7 Gbps to 5.4 Gbps, over the four lanes that exist in the standard cable. For a single display, this enables up to 3840 x 2400 resolution at 60Hz, or a 3D display (120Hz) at 2560 x 1600.

DisplayPort v1.2 also adds new audio enhancements including the following:
— Audio Copy Protection and category codes
— High definition audio formats such as Dolby MAT, DTS HD, all Blu-Ray
formats, and the DRA standard from China
— Synchronization assist between audio and video, multiple audio channels, and
multiple audio sink devices using Global Time Code (GTC)

DisplayPort v1.2 also includes improved support for Full HD 3D Stereoscopic displays:
— Life-like motion using up to 240 frames-per-second in full HD, providing 120
frames-per-second for each eye
— 3D Stereo transmission format support
Field sequential, side by side, pixel interleaved, dual interface, and stacked
— 3D Stereo display capability declaration
Mono, Stereo, 3D Glasses

"DisplayPort is a truly open, flexible, extensible multimedia interconnect standard that is ubiquitous in the PC, notebook and display markets and is rapidly gaining traction in consumer electronics applications," said Bill Lempesis, VESA's executive director. "DisplayPort Version v1.2 offers a complete set of benefits and capabilities that no other standard can provide. It is completely backward compatible with DisplayPort v1.1a and requires no new cables or other equipment, making it the standard of choice across the industry.

China's Loongson Processor Could Power First Natural-Born Chinese Supercomputer [PopSci]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/w0szndpYo7M/chinas-loongson-processor-could-power-first-natural+born-chinese-supercomputer

The People's Republic has unveiled more details on its quest to phase U.S.-made processors from its microchip diet. China's next supercomputer will run purely on Chinese processors, possibly before the end of this year.

China has been developing its own CPUs at the state-run Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) for several years, but iterations of its chip – known as Loongson or "Dragon Core" – have been incapable of breaking into the elite ranks of supercomputing. China's last supercomputer, the Dawning 5000a, was intended to run on Loongson processors, but was eventually constructed around AMD processors when the ICT couldn't deliver a powerful enough chip quickly enough.

The Loongson 3, under development since 2001, should change all this if the ICT can deliver on its promise. Based on the MIPS architecture, the chips theoretically can be strung in 16-core clusters to perform at extremely high speeds, possibly hitting the petaflop performance mark with just 782 16-core chips. That's one quadrillion operations per second, for those of you keeping score.

Right now, of course, this is all on paper (well, a quad-core chip is in prototype, but the proposed 16-core bad boy is still under development). But authorities in the supercomputing field seem to agree that the chips, running in clusters, can hit the performance marks necessary to create a top-tier supercomputer. This isn't the first time the Chinese have promised a home-grown high-performance supercomputer, but for the first time it looks like they are going to deliver.

[Technology Review]

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

HTC Apparently Abandons Tablet PC Plans For Now [Tablet]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/s8hGWqOBuf0/htc-apparently-abandons-tablet-pc-plans-for-now

The rumored HTC + Google Chrome OS tablet might have to wait, based on HTC's sales and marketing director claiming that the company will kill that off and focus on Android smartphones instead.

This doesn't mean that an HTC tablet is dead forever; I bet the company is just waiting for both Apple's tablet and Chrome OS to prove themselves first before sinking their development money into a completely new field. [Channel News via Electronista]

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