Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

MSI brings Core i5, GeForce 310M to 15.6-inch CX623 multimedia laptop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/msi-brings-core-i5-geforce-310m-to-15-6-inch-cx623-multimedia-l/

Nah, it's no Core i5 ULV-powered X series, but MSI's latest does use a Core i5 processor and does have an X in the model name. Mind-blowing, right? The outfit's latest 15.6-incher is a multimedia powerhouse, humming along with a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 310M GPU, twin DDR3 RAM slots (plenty of space for 4GB), a 1,366 x 768 resolution display, six-cell battery, 1.3 megapixel webcam and a pair of stereo speakers. There's also a 320GB or 500GB SATA hard drive, 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI / VGA outputs, twin USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA socket, audio in / out, Ethernet and a "film print coating" over the palm rest area to minimize wear. Mum's the word on a price and release date, but we suspect we'll know a bit more on both of those points when we touch down at Computex in a fortnight.

Continue reading MSI brings Core i5, GeForce 310M to 15.6-inch CX623 multimedia laptop

MSI brings Core i5, GeForce 310M to 15.6-inch CX623 multimedia laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 05:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.1 becomes most used version, just in time to be obviated by Froyo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/android-2-1-becomes-most-used-version-just-in-time-to-be-obviat/

Rejoice, oh Android lovers. Thy OS of choice has finally graduated to the point where its latest variant is also the most used -- a statistic that is likely to last for only a day given Google's intent to reveal Android 2.2, or Froyo, at its I/O conference tomorrow. For the first time since El Goog's been keeping these platform version stats, 2.1 has risen above 1.5, the previous incumbent, having grown from 32.4 percent on May 3 (chart after the break) to 37.2 percent on May 17. This rapid ascension can only be expected to accelerate with more devices getting their Eclair permissions slips, and let's not forget that Google will be trying its hardest with 2.2 to make upgrades easier for phone makers to implement. Onwards and upwards we go.

[Thanks, Chris D]

Continue reading Android 2.1 becomes most used version, just in time to be obviated by Froyo

Android 2.1 becomes most used version, just in time to be obviated by Froyo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 06:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sanyo brings short-focus projector into the third dimension, may never look back

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/sanyo-brings-short-focus-projector-into-the-third-dimension-may/

Sanyo's been a relatively large player in the short-focus / short-throw projector game for awhile now, so frankly, this was inevitable. As everyone (and their third cousin, in fact) races to jump on the three-dee bandwagon, the aforesaid company has just pumped out its first 3D short-focus PJ. The PDG-DWL2500J doesn't boast the most amazing of specs -- the native resolution sits at just WXGA -- but it can project a 3D image from a distance as short as 2.4 centimeters. It also touts a maximum projection size of 110 inches, and it can be installed vertically or horizontally depending on your mood. There's also an HDMI socket, Ethernet port, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2,500 lumens of brightness, a single 10-watt speaker and a price tag that'll probably make you spit out your morning coffee. Word on the street has it that this one will launch next month in Japan for ¥450,000, and if that $4,868 conversion follows it stateside, you can bet only a handful will be lined up to drag one home.

Gallery: Sanyo PDG-DWL2500J 3D short-focus projector

Sanyo brings short-focus projector into the third dimension, may never look back originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic outs energy efficient, earth-friendly VOT125 nettop -- won't help that there oil spill

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/viewsonic-outs-energy-efficient-earth-friendly-vot125-nettop/

Way back at CES in January, we spied ViewSonic's full offering, and we caught wind then of the VOT125 nettop -- but we didn't really have any details to go on. Well, the company's officially announced the VOT125 PC Mini today, and the slim little guy looks pretty cute. Sold as a space-saving PC with green design, ViewSonic says that the VOT125 uses up to 90 percent less plastic than similar nettops, and consumes up to 90 percent less power, making use of a range of ultra low power Intel ULV CPUs. The VOT125 boasts 2GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, four USB 2.0 ports, plus DVI / HDMI. You can grab one up starting today, and it's got a starting price of $499. The full PR follows.

Continue reading ViewSonic outs energy efficient, earth-friendly VOT125 nettop -- won't help that there oil spill

ViewSonic outs energy efficient, earth-friendly VOT125 nettop -- won't help that there oil spill originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic launches Skype for 2010 VIERA Cast TVs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/panasonic-launches-skype-for-2010-viera-cast-tvs/

We managed to get an early look at Panasonic's TV-friendly implementation of Skype back at CES in January, but the company has just now finally activated the app on all of its 2010 VIERA Cast-enabled TVs (including the VT25, VT20, G25, and G20 Series). To take advantage of it, however, you'll also have to shell out $170 for Panasonic's TY-CC10W webcam, which supports both VGA and 720p video, and packs four unidirectional microphones, an echo canceling system, and some beam-forming technology that promises to deliver clear audio over a typical TV viewing distance of three to four meters. Head on past the break for the complete press release, as well as Panasonic's requisite old-people-don't-get-technology ad for the TVs.

Continue reading Panasonic launches Skype for 2010 VIERA Cast TVs

Panasonic launches Skype for 2010 VIERA Cast TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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5 and a half reasons why I think Facebook's meteoric fall is coming soon (pics) - http://bit.ly/biU3zq

Monday, May 17, 2010

OmniVision announces 'world's smallest' 1080p camera module

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/omnivision-announces-worlds-smallest-1080p-camera-module/

Well, Samsung's had a nice one-month run, but it looks like there's a new company to claim the title of world's smallest 1080p camera -- OmniVision's just announced an in-bezel solution of its own with a z-height a full one millimeter smaller (3.5 mm compared to Samsung's 4.5 mm). To achieve that feat, OmniVision used its own 1.4 micron OmniBSI backside illumination technology, which the company says also helps to give its new OV2720 CMOS sensor low-light performance double that of similar-sized VGA sensors. Still no word on any specific products that will use the camera, but OmniVision says it's ideal for everything from netbooks to standalone webcams, and it's already slated to go into mass production this June. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading OmniVision announces 'world's smallest' 1080p camera module

OmniVision announces 'world's smallest' 1080p camera module originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate confirms 3TB hard drive for 2010, possible 32-bit OS issues

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/seagate-confirms-3tb-hard-drive-for-2010-possible-3/

Seagate has been pushing the areal density envelope for years now, but by and large, these "developments" we hear about typically fade into the cold, harsh winter night without ever amounting to anything tangible. Not so this go 'round, with the company confirming to Thinq (and reaffirmed on our end) that it will be "announcing a 3TB drive later this year." If you'll recall, 2TB drives have held the crown for the world's largest since early 2009, and if all goes to plan, we'll be able to buy drives 50 percent larger than even those before the dawn of 2011. The company didn't talk details -- we're still left to envision a price, release date and spindle speed -- but it didn't hesitate to mention a few issues that users with older operating systems may encounter. Essentially, you'll need to have a rig that's fully capable of handling the Long LBA (logical block addressing) standard, which means that you'll need updated drivers, an updated BIOS and either a 64-bit copy of Vista, Windows 7 or "modified version of Linux." As you'd expect, Windows XP users needn't pay this platter any mind, and while Seagate is hopeful that industry players will all rally in short order to support the new HDD, there's still a chance that these growing pains will lead to delays. What we're most jazzed about here, crazily enough, isn't the predictable jump in capacity -- it's the fantasies of ü! ;ber-che ap 2TB drives once they fall from the top.

[Thanks, JC]

Seagate confirms 3TB hard drive for 2010, possible 32-bit OS issues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 17:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese scientists demonstrate 2Mbps internet connection over LED

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/chinese-scientists-demonstrate-2mbps-internet-connection-over-le/

LED data transmission used to be all the rage -- we fondly remember beaming Palm Pilot contacts via IrDA. Then we got omni-directional Bluetooth and building-penetrating WiFi, and put all that caveman stuff behind us. But now, scientists the world over are looking to bring back line-of-sight networking, and the latest demonstation has Chinese researchers streaming video to a laptop with naught but ceiling-mounted blue LEDs. The Chinese Academy of Sciences claims to have realized a 2Mbit per second internet connection that transmits data simply by modulating the flicker of the little diodes, and imperceptibly enough to have them serve as room lighting as well. Like Boston University before them, the Chinese scholars see short-range LED networks controlling smart appliances. It's not quite the gigabit speed you'd get from laser diodes, but this way you'll get more mileage out of those expensive new bulbs, eh?

Chinese scientists demonstrate 2Mbps internet connection over LED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tablet PC shocker! Fujitsu LifeBook T730 official, smaller version of T900

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/tablet-pc-shocker-fujitsu-lifebook-t730-official-smaller-versi/

It's good to have options, right? And, bam! Just like that, Fujitsu announces a little something called the LifeBook T730. Sporting the same Intel Core i5-520M, i5-540M, or i7-620M CPU available on the LifeBook T900, this bad boy packs up to 8GB RAM, 320GB HDD (or 128GBSSD with encryption), Bluetooth, HDMI output, pen input (with optional capacitive multitouch), and a Super-Multi DVD writer into a comparatively svelte, 12.1-inch LED backlit package. Prices start at a Rockefeller-esque $1,869 and move skyward ever-so-quickly depending on your needs and budget.

Tablet PC shocker! Fujitsu LifeBook T730 official, smaller version of T900 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DuPont can print a 50-inch OLED TV in two minutes, you'll be waiting a little longer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/dupont-can-print-a-50-inch-oled-tv-in-two-minutes-youll-be-wai/

DuPont can print a 50-inch OLED TV in two minutes, you still can't buy one

Right now LG's 15-inch OLED TV is the cheapest you can get -- but at about $2,500 it won't be rocking too many peoples' lives. We've heard promises of dropping costs thanks to printed displays for ages now, but never on a scale like this. DuPont has teamed up with Dainippon Screen to create a printing technique capable of line-feeding a 50-inch display in just two minutes. Two minutes! The printer is likened to a high precision garden hose, flying over the display surface at a speed of five meters per second depositing that good, good OLED juice in just the right places with nary a drip or an unwanted sprinkle. DuPont Displays President William Feehery says the technique "is worth scaling up" and could compete on cost with LCDs while delivering a 15-year lifespan. That's not quite the 100 years they promised us last time, but we'll take it. No word on when, or if, this technique will actually be deployed en masse.

DuPont can print a 50-inch OLED TV in two minutes, you'll be waiting a little longer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIYer combines iPhone 3GS with Show WX for pico projected gaming bliss (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/17/diyer-combines-iphone-3gs-with-show-wx-for-pico-projected-gaming/

The Moject project proved that smartphones and pico projectors do indeed have a thing for one another, but Ethan Janson has taken things one step further with an unnamed contraption that holds his iPhone 3GS, a Microvision Show WX and an "ancient" point-and-shoot camera. Put simply, the handmade thingamajig allows him to play his iPhone games on a far larger screen, and since the Show WX continually autofocuses regardless of distance from walls, there's never a blurring issue when flailing about in order to control the gameplay. The full skinny is down there in the source, but shortcut takers can head straight past the break for a video.

[Thanks, Ethan]

Continue reading DIYer combines iPhone 3GS with Show WX for pico projected gaming bliss (video)

DIYer combines iPhone 3GS with Show WX for pico projected gaming bliss (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Limitless, Cheap Chips Made Out of DNA Could Replace Silicon

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-05/limitless-cheap-dna-logic-chips-could-replace-silicon-processing-backbone

Silicon chips are on the way out, at least if Duke University engineer Chris Dwyer has his way. The professor of electrical and computer engineering says a single grad student using the unique properties of DNA to coax circuits into assembling themselves could produce more logic circuits in a single day than the entire global silicon chip industry could produce in a month.

Indeed, DNA is perfectly suited to such pre-programming and self-assembly. Dwyer's recent research has shown that by creating and mixing customized snippets of DNA and other molecules, he can create billions of identical, waffle-like structures that can be turned into logic circuits using light rather than electricity as a signaling medium.

The process works by adding light-sensitive molecules called chromophores to the structures. These chromophores absorb light, exciting the electrons within. That energy is passed to a different nearby chromophore, which uses the energy to emit light of a different wavelength. The difference in wavelength is easily differentiated from the original light; in computing terms, it's the difference between a one or a zero. Presto: a logic gate.

Rather than running computers and electrical circuits on electricity, light-sensitive DNA switches could be used to move signals through a device at much higher speeds. Furthermore, the waffle structures are cheap and can be made quickly in virtually limitless quantities, driving down the cost of computing power. Once you figure out how you wish to code the DNA snippets, you can synthesize them easily and repeatedly; from there you can create everything from a single logic gate to larger, more complex circuits.

A shift from silicon-based semiconductor chips would be a sea-change for sure, but semiconductors are reaching a technological ceiling and if the economics of DNA-based chips are really as attractive as they seem, change might be inevitable. DNA is already smart enough to be the foundation of life on Earth: why not the foundation of computing as well?

Diagram Designer Is a Free and Simple Diagram Designer [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5539057/diagram-designer-is-a-free-and-simple-diagram-designer

Windows: If you're looking for a quick and simple way to generate a flowchart, Diagram Designer is a free and lightweight tool for easy flowchart generation.

Diagram Designer offers easy chart creation with a library of flowchart nodes and connectors. Text in each element is customizable with a variety of tags and connectors automatically attach to points on each node. Every element is scalable and your charts are exportable in a variety of formats like JPG, PNG, and more.

Diagram Designer supports customization of nodes and importing of image files to the flowchart but it really shines with quick bare bones flowchart creation. Diagram Designer is freeware, Windows only. Have a favorite flowchart application online or off? Let's hear about it in the comments.

Diagram Designer [via Download Squad]

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools [Hive Five]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5540019/five-best-bookmark-management-tools

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools The web—and web browsers—evolve extremely quickly, but if there's one web browsing feature that's stood the test of time, it's browser bookmarks. Manage your bookmarks effectively and efficiently with one of these five bookmark management tools.

Above photo is a composite of images by kmg and flaivoloka.

If the only bookmarking you're doing is simply bookmarking web sites in your default browser using the default bookmarking tool, it's only a matter of time before you either end up with an overwhelming and incomprehensible pile of bookmarks, you lose your bookmarks file through some unforeseen problem, or both. The following tools will help you organize your bookmarks and avoid losing them to the long digital goodnight.

Weave (Web-Based/Firefox, Free)

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools
Mozilla Weave is an add-on for Firefox focused on unifying your Firefox browsing experience across platforms and locations. Weave syncs your bookmarks, bookmark toolbar, smart location bar, tabs, browsing history, and passwords across all the instances of Firefox you use—your desktop, laptop, mobile phone, and Firefox portable. In addition to syncing the files across all instances of Firefox, the settings are stored on Mozilla's servers so even if you crash your laptop and you're away from home you can quickly rebuild your bookmarks and browser settings from the Mozilla servers.

Xmarks (Web-based, Free)

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools
Formerly known as Foxmarks, Xmarks is more than just a bookmark tool. Xmarks syncs bookmarks, shares bookmarks, syncs profiles, and depending on the browser, will even sync tabs, passwords, and mobile bookmarks—check out the compatibility and feature comparison chart here. If you're privacy conscious and want to keep your bookmarks and browser settings in your own hands, you can even set up a private Xmarks server on your own web server to keep the entire process under your control but still keep your bookmarks seamlessly synced between browsers.

Diigo (Web-Based, Free)

Diigo is different from most bookmarking tools; it allows you to not only save the URL of a website, but annotate it, archive it (instead of merely saving the address of it), and share both your bookmarks and archived research with others. Even if you're currently only interested in a bookmarking service, it's nice to know that if you wish to expand your scope to archiving pages and collecting text in addition to just bookmarking URLs, you can do so easily with Diigo. You can access Diigo through their website, via the Diigo toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer, via bookmarklet, or via the Diigo Chrome extension.

Delicious (Web-Based, Free)

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools
Delicious is a social bookmarking service. By default, your Delicious bookmarks are public—unless you check the "private" box in the bookmark adding dialog. Delicious is focused on sharing bookmarks and engaging in social interaction around them. The public lists of what is hot and trending and the ability to easily share bookmarks with friends and the greater public are solid features of Delicious that really set it apart from less social bookmark tools. The most notable feature about Delicious is the tag-based organization system. There is no hierarchy in the Delicious system for saving and organizing bookmarks, everything is driven by tags—saving, searching, and organizing. You can add bookmarks to and access bookmarks from Delicious through the web site, via bookmarklet, and numerous Firefox and Chrome add-ons.

Google Bookmarks (Web-Based, Free)

Five Best Bookmark Management Tools
While some bookmark services, notably Delicious (see below), are focused on public sharing, Google Bookmarks is a private bookmarking tool with some public elements tacked on for those who desire them. The default mode of operation with Google Bookmarks is to keep your bookmarks private. You can save bookmarks in Google Bookmarks by using the Google Toolbar, starring search results while logged into your Google Account—this works with any browser so long as you're searching at Google and logged into your Google Account—or using the Google Bookmarks bookmarklet. Bookmarks can be organized into private, semi-private, or public lists for organizing your research for personal use, sharing among friends, or sharing with the public respectively. You can access your Google Bookmarks from any browser by logging into your Google account.

Now that you've had a chance to look over the top five contenders for bookmark management tools, it's time to cast your vote for your favorite tool for the job:

Which Bookmark Management Tool Is Best?online survey

Have a favorite tool, trick, or tip you want to share that wasn't highlighted here? Let's hear about it in the comments. Have an idea for the next Hive Five? Send us an email at tips@lifehacker.com and we'll do our best to give your idea the limelight it deserves.

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