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Friday, May 07, 2010

Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 and its Ion 2 innards reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/07/zotac-zbox-hd-id11-and-its-ion-2-innards-reviewed/

Small form factor? Check. Low power consumption married to 1080p video playback capabilities? Of course. Quiet cooling? Naturally. Those are the basic requirements for, and their fulfillment is the means by which we judge, a good home theater pc. They're also the highlights of Zotac's Ion 2-powered ZBOX HD-ID11 barebone (you have to add your own RAM, storage and OS) nettop, which recently visited AnandTech's labs for some old fashioned review action. It's a highly illuminating read, particularly for those interested in the differences between NVIDIA's Ion generations, which throws up a mixed bag of results. While you'll be quite alright watching Full HD Blu-rays on the ZBOX, Flash hardware acceleration -- yeah, that old nugget again -- is not yet implemented well enough, resulting in a maximum of 480p resolution before Hulu streams started glitching out on the reviewer. A June driver update from NVIDIA should rectify this issue, and we're encouraged to wait it out and see what we might see then. In the mean time, you can just delve into the complete analysis which awaits at the link below.

[Thanks, Wowzers]

Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 and its Ion 2 innards reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Omni-Focus Camera Sees Everything Perfectly [Research]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5532765/omni+focus-camera-sees-everything-perfectly

Omni-Focus Camera Sees Everything Perfectly There are well-known methods to extend depth of field. There are even digital cheats to extend depth of field. But imagine shooting macro photography and telephoto photography, all in perfect focus, as one image. A new camera makes it possible.

The Omni-Focus Video Camera, by researchers at University of Toronto, can accomplish such a feat—and yes, it does cheat a bit, of course.

The camera is really many cameras, all focused at various distances. But what the Omni-Focus does really well (through collaboration with another related project) is map each pixel that each camera is shooting in 3D space, then combine these pixels appropriately into one image.

Obviously, photographers often enjoy blur. But I could see the benefits for 3DTV programming, in which anything out of focus can cause eyestrain. Plus, there's obvious utility for the industrial, security and pervy spycam sectors, too. [Physorg via PopSci]

What Does a 1 Kilowatt Hour Exactly Mean? [Infographics]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5533309/what-does-a-1-kilowatt-hour-exactly-mean

Did you know that 1 kilowatt hour will get 29 DVD movies or 100 toasts—with jam—or 15 days of talk on a cordless telephone or 5 hours of video games or 11 espressos or 400 blended Margaritas?

That's what this simple interactive graphic—created by GE and designer Lisa Strausfeld—will tell you: What energy really means in real life. Neat. [GE via Unplggd]

Google Goggles starts to get useful, adds text translation

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/06/google-goggles-starts-to-get-useful-adds-text-translation/

In our experience, about the only thing Google Goggles is good for is telling you that your can of Coke looks like someone's face, but the company's just-released version 1.1 sounds like it might be on a whole new level of awesomeness. Basically, Goggles can now recognize text within the "region of interest" that you specify on the screen then give you the option to translate it to any language of your choosing. Between this and Google's already quite good Translate app, Android devices are getting dangerously close to letting monoglots (thanks for the great word, Google) travel safely and effectively in foreign lands. Other improvements in Goggles 1.1 include better barcode and image recognition (thank goodness), an improved UI, and the ability to initiate identification from your gallery, so it sounds like a must-download if you've got a phone running Android 1.6 or better. It's available now.

Google Goggles starts to get useful, adds text translation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Organic Light Emitting Transistors might make us forget all about OLED

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/06/organic-light-emitting-transistors-might-make-us-forget-all-abou/

Still waiting on that big-screen OLED TV? Yeah, so are we, but here's some news that could mean they're coming soon: OLED tech has just been obsoleted. Seriously. We still can't even afford an 11-inch model and now we have to start pining for something new: OLET. That's Organic Light Emitting Transistor, tech that researcher Michele Muccini at the Institute of Nanustructured Materials has just proven can be between two and 100 times as efficient as OLED. OLETs rely on three layers of material, with the bottom layers carrying a charge, the middle layer (the meat in this high-tech sandwich) emitting photons when excited by the bottom, and the top layer selectively letting those photos through. All three combined are just 62nm thick. It's this separation of layers and horizontal flow of current that gives OLET its efficiency and it's believed that it could not only be used for (next) next-generation displays but also for on-chip optical interconnects. When will an OLET HDTV will hit the market? Don't even go there.

Organic Light Emitting Transistors might make us forget all about OLED originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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