Monday, May 31, 2010

ARM: 'Eagle' to follow Cortex-A9, will support Google TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/30/arm-eagle-eye-to-follow-cortex-a9-will-support-google-tv/

ARM kicked off the long list of Computex press conferences this morning, and though most of the time was spent giving us a history of mobile computing, ARM president Tudor Brown did shed a bit of light on future plans. When showing off the current family of ARM processors, we couldn't help but notice the next generation "Eagle" above the current Cortex-A9 platform. While Brown didn't share any specifics on the ARM v7-based chip, he did say that it will provide improved performance, and would be fully announced at "a later date." Also, when asked about supporting Google TV, Brown noted that it's in the works; he also said that with the company's recent Flash and Chrome browser support, they plan to optimize for the TV-based operating system. That's all we've got for now, but as you'd expect, the outfit brought along a load of ARM-based devices for showcasing, all of which you'll find in the gallery below.

ARM: 'Eagle' to follow Cortex-A9, will support Google TV originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 23:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:30 PM

Hitachi-LG goes official with HyDrive: SSD-equipped optical drives landing in August

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/hitachi-lg-goes-official-with-hydrive-ssd-equipped-optical-driv/

Hitachi-LG outed most of the major details for its forthcoming HyDrive last week, but the company just officially took the wraps off the world's first SSD-equipped laptop optical drive. Frankly, it's sort of astounding it took this long for such an obvious idea to come to fruition, but now that we're here, we fully expect other outfits to follow suit. Put simply, the HyDrive is a standard form factor optical drive (DVD burner or Blu-ray will be available), but there's a 32GB or 64GB SSD (not just a strip of NAND, we're told) tucked below. When this gets stuffed within a laptop, you're immediately able to access an optical drive, an SSD (for your operating system and critical launch applications) and a spacious HDD for storing music, media, etc. Previously, this type of three-drive arrangement was only available in beastly Clevo's and the like, but this solution is obviously tailor made for even ODD-equipped ultraportables. Another plus to the HyDrive is the integrated Defect Management technology, which essentially caches information from scratched discs (DVDs, namely) in order to play the content back sans jitters.

More after the break...

Continue reading Hitachi-LG goes official with HyDrive: SSD-equipped optical drives landing in August

Hitachi-LG goes official with HyDrive: SSD-equipped optical drives landing in August originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 00:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:30 PM

MSI WindPad 110: a 10-inch Tegra 2-powered Android tablet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/msi-windpad-110-a-10-inch-tegra-2-powered-android-tablet/

Oddly MSI didn't officially talk about its Android-powered WindPad 110 during the press conference, but it definitely exists. The 10-inch slate runs Android 2.1 and is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It's got a different design to the WindPad 100, but retains the same 10-inch capacitive touchscreen and will have a USB port and video-out capability. While the tablet runs just stock Android, we're definitely digging the curved form factor and the ability to swap out the back cover for a more "stylish" option. We heard very conflicting things about the availability of the tablet -- one product manager told us that the company hasn't decided if it will bring it to market, while another told us that they plan to sell it for $399 by the end of the year. Hopefully we'll clear that up soon, but we've got some hands-on pictures below, along with a video after the break.

Continue reading MSI WindPad 110: a 10-inch Tegra 2-powered Android tablet

MSI WindPad 110: a 10-inch Tegra 2-powered Android tablet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 01:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:30 PM

ASUS Eee Pad official: Intel CULV processors, Windows 7, and a 10-hour battery life

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/asus-eee-pad-official-intel-culv-processors-windows-7-and-a-1/

Computex is really starting to ramp up now, as ASUS has taken the covers off its brand new Eee Pads. Of most interest will be the 12-inch EP121, which sports Intel's Core 2 Duo CULV processors, Windows 7, and a reputed 10-hour battery life. Sort of like a laptop sans the keyboard, you might say, which is probably why ASUS is also touting a "hybrid" dock/keyboard solution for those times when you want some more tactile feedback to your typing. The Eee Pad will also include an integrated webcam and at least one USB port. A 10-inch EP101TC is being announced today as well, though its specs are less detailed and it's set to run Windows Embedded Compact 7 -- you can see it after the break, along with the full PR. We'll be doing our best to bring you hands-on pics and video shortly.

Update: ASUS has given us a $399 to $499 price range for the Eee Pads, but don't start salivating just yet. We were also told that the Eee Pad won't be out until the first quarter of 2011.

Update 2: As promised, we've now got a preview of both devices, which you'll find right here.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Pad official: Intel CULV processors, Windows 7, and a 10-hour battery life

ASUS Eee Pad official: Intel CULV processors, Windows 7, and a 10-hour battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use ! of feeds .

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

ASUS Eee Tablet: a notepad with impressive 2450 dpi touchscreen sensitivity (updated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/asus-eee-tablet/

Don't call it the Eee Pad, this is ASUS' Eee Tablet -- a digital notebook with a 2,450 dpi touchscreen and lickity quick 0.1 second page turns on a backlight-less TFT-LCD offering 64-levels of grey. As such, ASUS is calling its Eee Tablet one of the world's most accurate and sensitive note taking devices available. The other being paper and pencil of course. While the Eee Tablet will serve up texts and ebooks for reading just fine, ASUS is really pushing the note taking feature with built-in notepad templates and the ability to store, sort, tag, and annotate your notes on the fly. It comes packing a MicroSD slot and 2 megapixel camera for snapping lecture slides which students or professionals can then annotate and then sync back to a PC over USB. Battery life? 10 hours -- so yeah, it's not E-Ink... but then again it's not E-Ink.

Update: Uh, ok, we've received clarification here at Computex. Apparently, when ASUS says "a 2450 dpi touch resolution screen" they actually mean a 2,450 dpi input sensitivity. In other words, annotations probably will feel like writing on paper, or an 8-inch 1024 x 768 pixel panel, anyway.

Update 2: We've just been told to expect the Eee Tablet to cost somewhere between $199 and $299 of the green stuff when it launches sometime in September.

Update 3: Lookie here -- we've got a hands-on preview up, video and all.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Tablet: a notepad with impressive 2450 dpi touchscreen sensitivity (updated)

ASUS Eee Tablet: a notepad with impressive 2450 dpi touchscreen sensitivity (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 03:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

NVIDIA ushers in the '3D PC' with ASUS G51Jx-EE, Eee Top ET2400 and CD5390

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/nvidia-ushers-in-the-3d-pc-with-asus-g51jx-ee-eee-top-et2400/

Prior to heading across town to his own press event, ASUS' CEO (Jerry Shen) managed to show up donning a face-engulfing set of 3D glasses at NVIDIA's shindig in downtown Taipei. Aside from congratulating NVIDIA on its successes in the 3D category, the bigwig also took time to announce a trio of new PCs. Described as "3D PCs" -- an all new designation which ensures that computers include a pair of 3D active-shutter glasses, a 120Hz 3D-capable display and a discrete graphics processor -- the company is hitting just about every computer segment save for the ultraportable, netbook and tablet PC. But for the worrywarts out there, we feel pretty safe in saying that a 3D slate is somewhere on NVIDIA's workbench.

Kicking things off was the ASUS G51Jx-EE, a 3D-ready laptop that cuts out the IR emitter and relies on NVIDIA's 3D Vision active shutter glasses. Secondly, the Eee Top ET2400 provides similar capabilities on an all-in-one desktop (you know, for bedroom movie watchers). Finally, the CD5390 tower was hailed as the "world's most powerful gaming solution," equipped with a GeForce GTX 480 GPU and out-of-the-box support for a trio of 3D LCDs. Sadly, no further details on any of these rigs were shared, but we're hoping to hear more during ASUS' own presser.

Update: We've learned that the Eee Top ET2400 will roll with USB 3.0 support and a 23.6-inch LCD, but the other machines are still shrouded in mystery. We'll be scraping the show floor to find out what we can.

Continue reading NVIDIA ushers in the '3D PC' with ASUS G51Jx-EE, Eee Top ET2400 and CD5390

NVIDIA ushers in the '3D PC' with ASUS G51Jx-EE, Eee Top ET2400 and CD5390 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

OnLive offering one year free membership to pre-registrants

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/onlive-offering-one-year-free-membership-to-pre-registrants/

Smart move by OnLive today. The controversial streaming game service is offering to waive the $14.95 monthly access fee for a full year (originally it was 3 months) for anyone who enthusiastically pre-registered early -- many of you we suspect. It's even tossing in a coupon for a free game when you register for the offer. The only catch seems to be the credit card required to complete registration as proof that you're over 18. If you didn't pre-register then tough luck, no offer for you. But at least you can take comfort in knowing that a small army of gamers will be taking the service to task unencumbered by membership fees. In other words, we'll know right quickly if OnLive can live up to its "ultra high-performance" streaming gameplay on entry-level PCs and Macs.

[Thanks, Michael M.]

OnLive offering one year free membership to pre-registrants originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 05:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony's Alpha camera lineup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/nvidia-bringing-3d-images-to-sonys-alpha-camera-lineup/

Fujifilm's REAL 3D W1 didn't exactly get the warmest of welcomes, but even today it remains one of the few point-and-shoots that can natively take 3D photographs. Here at NVIDIA's Computex press conference, the company slid in this little nugget: Sony's new Alpha series of interchangeable lens compact cameras are now compatible with NVIDIA's 3D image processing software (3D Vision Photo Viewer). You won't get your Alpha growing a second lens or anything (at least not yet), but any image you shoot with it can be post-processed as 3D thanks to the new partnership. Details beyond that were few and far between, but the company's obviously stoked to have Sony onboard. 'Course, with Sony's own 3D obsession, we wouldn't be shocked to hear that every single one of the outfit's cameras will soon be on the three-dee bandwagon in some form or another.

Continue reading NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony's Alpha camera lineup

NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony's Alpha camera lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 05:25:0! 0 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC and EP121 preview

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/asus-eee-pad-ep101tc-and-ep121-hands-on/

At long last, the ASUS Eee Pads have arrived, but unfortunately they're just not working the way we've been imagining for all these months. We got a few minutes to toy around with the 10-inch EP101TC and 12-inch EP121, but both were barely working. And "barely" is being gracious. We can tell you that both models are incredibly well built -- they've got aluminum edges and matte back covers -- and neither was particularly heavy. The EP121 wasn't booting at all, but it was being shown off with a super sleek keyboard docking station, which will be used to turn the tablet into an ultraportable laptop of sorts. An NVIDIA Tegra-powered EP101TC was powering on, but its Windows Embedded Compact 7-based interface was still noticeably buggy, and the touchscreen quite unresponsive. The UI certainly looked attractive enough, and our swipe motions across the capacitive touchscreen were handled admirably, but ASUS definitely has a ways to go in terms of functionality. We wish we had more impressions to share, but it looks as if we'll have to wait for a less half-baked iteration to really dive in. 'Til then, feel free to peruse the gallery below and peek the video just beyond the break.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC and EP121 preview

ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC and EP121 preview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 05:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:29 PM

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 rounds up mostly positive reviews

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/nvidia-geforce-gtx-465-rounds-up-some-positive-reviews/

Well, it's not quite June 1, but the GeForce GTX 465 reviews have come flooding out all the same. The official specs are exactly as a recent leak indicated: 352 CUDA cores running at 1,215MHz, a 607MHz graphics clock, and 1GB of GDDR5 memory operating at a 3.2GHz effective rate and exploiting a 256 bit-wide interface. With an MSRP of $279.99, this Fermi-lite GPU scored plenty of admiration for the value it offers, with one reviewer going so far as to call it "quite possibly the most powerful DirectX 11 graphics card for under $300." Others weren't so enthusiastic, citing the far cheaper HD 5830 from ATI as a better choice, but it's true enough that the next best GPU, the HD 5850, tends to be at least $30 more expensive than the 465, depending on brand. You'll want to delve into the game benchmark numbers in order to make up your mind about which card might make for the best bit, but be warned that NVIDIA's 465 retains the GTX tradition of ravenous power consumption -- something to consider if you're rolling along with an old school 400W PSU in your rig.

Read - Hot Hardware
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Continue reading NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 rounds up mostly positive reviews

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 rounds up mostly positive reviews originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:28 PM

Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI deliver driver software to allow iPad charging from the PC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/gigabyte-asus-and-msi-deliver-driver-software-to-allow-ipad-cha/

You one of those unlucky folks who found out about the iPad's dislike of low-powered USB ports on standard PCs after you'd already pulled the trigger? Well, you can stop crying yourself to sleep nights and finally do something about it: Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS have all come out with software that hops up their respective, fairly interchangeable motherboards and delivers extra juice to an iPad-plugged USB port. Of course, they built these softwares for their own hardware, but there's a video after the break of a reckless user putting the ASUS software to work on a myriad of non-ASUS (mostly Sony) machines. Your mileage may vary, but if you wanna play it safe we'd say look into who built your motherboard before installing: we're not scientists, but we hear extra electricity "does stuff."

[Thanks, Jeff F.]

Continue reading Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI deliver driver software to allow iPad charging from the PC

Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI deliver driver software to allow iPad charging from the PC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 6:27 PM

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Soundation Studio is a Flash-Based Music Mixer [Music]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5550778/soundation-studio-is-a-flash+based-music-mixer

Soundation Studio is a Flash-Based Music MixerSoundation Studio is a Flash-Based Music MixerIf you've ever had the urge to mess around with mixing your own electronic music, Soundation Studio is a free Flash-based editor that makes editing and mixing your own songs drag and drop easy.

Soundation Studio is simple enough that you can start mixing together a song with absolutely no experience or technical knowledge. If you're inclined to do so you can dig into the sub-menus in Soundation Studio and tweak any of the dozens of variables available—variables you may, if you're as much a novice in music mixing as I am, have to look up.

You build your song up from the hundreds of samples included in the Library or use the virtual instruments to create your own beats. When you're done you can export the song as a .WAV to your computer or save it on Soundation Studio and share it with a link. Soundation Studio is free and only requires a login if you wish to save your projects between sessions.

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Posted by Augustine at 7:30 PM

Enable Motion Interpolation for Movies on Your PC [Movies]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5551295/enable-motion-interpolation-for-movies-on-your-pc

Enable Motion Interpolation for Movies on Your PCThe debate over frame interpolation is starting to heat up, and you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Tech weblog Tested has a guide to enabling it on your PC and watching your movies with doubled frame rates.

While it is technically closer to what we see in real life, a lot of people are so used to watching video at 24 frames per second, that faster frame rates seem "fake" to them. Part of this is likely because the smoother motion is somewhat similar to what we see in soap operas (a lot of people describe it as the video looking like it's going 1.5 times faster, but actually moving at actual speed). If you haven't tried watching movies at a faster frame rate, or if you're already a fan but don't want to shell out for a 120Hz television, you can enable motion interpolation on your PC.

You'll need a fairly decent computer to pull this off; Tested recommends a good dual core processor for watching 720p video and probably a quad-core for 1080p. It also involves installing a few different programs and manually copying plugins into directories, as well as copying and pasting a bit of script, but it isn't too difficult—it just might take you a bit of time. Note that while the guide mentions re-installing ffdshow from scratch, it doesn't provide the link. You can get the installer package here.

I tested this myself and can confirm that it works on my 15" MacBook Pro in Windows 7 64-bit, and I did notice quite a difference. It's a bit distracting at first, but it definitely changes the way you watch certain types of fast-paced video, such as sports or some of today's cluttered, hard-to-follow action sequences (I'm talking to you, Transformers and The Bourne Ultimatum). It definitely takes a bit of getting used to, but if you're curious and want to see what it looks like before buying a new TV, it's definitely worth trying out. Hit the link for the full guide, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Posted by Augustine at 7:28 PM

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