Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/lenovo-thinkpad-x100e-review/

Ever since we first met Lenovo's ThinkPad X100e at CES we've had it on a virtual pedestal as the perfect solution between a netbook and a larger 13- or 14-inch ULV ultraportable. That's because in addition to carrying the renowned ThinkPad brand, its AMD Neo processor / ATI graphics combo promise more power than the typical Intel Atom N450-powered netbook, and with an 11.6-inch screen the chassis can accommodate a wider keyboard and touchpad. Sounds like the perfect mobile computer, right? Unfortunately, there are two things that hold the $549 X100e from being all we wanted it be. Thought we were going to give it up that easily? Pssh. Hit that read more link for the full review.

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad X1! 00e revi ew

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Courier courts the creative

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/switched-on-courier-courts-the-creative/

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Call it Apple's populist paradox. The Macintosh's human-centered design inspired its being called the "computer for the rest of us," but the Mac also long been associated with exceptional creative individuals, a message Apple has driven home in campaigns ranging from "wheels from the mind" to "think different." In the early days of the Web, it was said that Web pages were created on Macs and viewed on PCs -- and served on Unix workstations.

Should the concepts in a video detailing a new Microsoft-developed device dubbed Courier come to fruition, though, Microsoft and Apple may find themselves on unfamiliar sides as an old rivalry turns to the new frontier of convergence tablets, with Apple providing the workaday access product and Microsoft providing a niche but empowering tool aimed at creative professionals.

Continue reading Switched On: Courier courts the creative

Switched On: Courier courts the creative originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrome brings Flash Player into the fold, trains it to kill iPads?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/chrome-brings-flash-player-into-the-fold-trains-it-to-kill-ipad/

If Apple had its way, we expect that the iPad would go down in history as the device that nearly single-handedly destroyed Adobe's empire of Flash. While HTML5 has been in development for years, content providers like the Wall Street Journal, NPR, CBS and more have only begun transitioning video services to the new standard (and subsequently, away from Flash) now that it's time for Cupertino's big release. But this week, Adobe has found an ally in Google, which has just announced that the Chrome browser -- and more importantly, Chrome OS -- will not merely support but natively integrate the technology. In the short run, what this means is that the Chrome browser won't require you to download Adobe Flash Player or spend time updating it before back-to-back YouTube viewings and marathon Newgrounds sessions. In the long run, Google explains that it intends Flash to become an integral, seamless part of web design up there with HTML and Javascript -- and if we extrapolate, an integral part of its new Chrome OS as well. Pardon us for thinking out loud, but it sounds like Google's found an exclusive feature to highly tout, when it inevitably brings a Chrome OS tablet to! market.

[Thanks, Adam]

Chrome brings Flash Player into the fold, trains it to kill iPads? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceOfficial Chromium Blog  | Email this | Comments

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AMD launches 12-core Opteron server chips, Intel counters with the 8-core Xeon 7500

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/amd-launches-12-core-opteron-server-chips-intel-counters-with-t/

You thought six cores were nifty? This week, AMD and Intel have begun the multithreaded battle in earnest -- if only on the IT front -- with chips that have up to double that core density. First up, AMD has officially brought us that Opteron 6000 series leaked last week, a set of 8- and 12-core processors aimed at dual- and quad-CPU servers that it claims have both higher performance and lower cost than Intel's recent hex-core offerings. Not to be outdone, Intel has just introduced a 8-core processor series of its own, the Xeon 7500, that it envisions deployed in mammoth 256-processor configurations. In bulk orders of 1,000, a single 12-core Opteron costs nearly $1,200, while the cheapest single 8-core Xeon will set you back a cool $2,461 in the same quantity. We don't doubt they're powerful, and we'd kill for a pair of either in our gaming rig. At those prices though, we'll stick to building our supercomputer out of PS3s -- oh, wait.

AMD launches 12-core Opteron server chips, Intel counters with the 8-core Xeon 7500 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink HotHardware  |  sourceIntel, AMD  | Email this | Comments

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LookTel's 'artificial vision' makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/31/looktels-artificial-vision-makes-windows-mobile-useful-to-bli/

There's a surprising abundance of tech geared toward helping out people with visual impairments, but you won't find too many smartphones populating that sphere of electronics. Aiming to reverse this trend, LookTel is in the Beta stage of developing so-called artificial vision software that combines a Windows Mobile handset with a PC BaseStation to provide object and text recognition, voice labeling, easy accessibility and remote assistance. It can be used, much like the Intel Reader, to scan text and read it back to you using OCR, and its camera allows it to identify objects based on pre-tagged images you've uploaded to your PC. Finally, it allows someone to assist you by providing them with a remote feed of your phone's camera -- a feature that can be useful to most people in need of directions. Skip past the break to see it demoed on video.

[Thanks, Eyal]

Continue reading LookTel's 'artificial vision' makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video)

LookTel's 'artificial vision' makes Windows Mobile useful to blind people (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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