Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, July 24, 2010

HP Slate lookalike spotted in China, might beat the real thing to the market

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/hp-slate-lookalike-spotted-in-china-might-beat-the-real-thing-t/

Once again, China has proven to the world that it's the place to be for all sorts of gadgetry miracle. Just look at this 10-inch Windows 7 tablet here -- it may not be a full clone of the forthcoming 8.9-inch HP Slate, but it does come with a couple of interesting features: a 1366 x 768 resistive multitouch display (ideal for tackling the complicated Chinese characters with a stylus) and a webcam. You'll also find a handful of regular tidbits on this 1.66GHz Atom N450 device: a regular USB port coupled by a mini version, 3.5mm headphone jack, VGA port, LAN port, accelerometer, Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G. Oh, and you'll get a free stand, too, but we'll be minding our own business until this no-frills tablet gets a price.

HP Slate lookalike spotted in China, might beat the real thing to the market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry Bold 9780 leaks out with OS 6, QWERTY instead of touchscreen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/24/blackberry-bold-9780-leaks-out-with-os-6-qwerty-wifi/

Take this one with a grain of salt, but it's looking like our old friend the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is getting a wee bit of an update. Yesterday evening, CrackBerry discovered a RIM document that describes a QWERTY-packing, OS 6-rocking "BlackBerry 9780" destined for a GSM carrier near you... and less than 24 hours later, handset sleuth Salomondrin claims to have the first picture of the device. While we quite honestly can't tell the difference, the man who outed the Curve 2 says this device's chrome bezel is a tad darker than the original, and that it'll have 512MB of flash memory when it hits the scene. Of course, this could just be an Bold 9700 with a hacked ROM or a theme of some sort, but we certainly hope not; pepper it up with CDMA, and you've got a shoe-in for the Curve 3.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

BlackBerry Bold 9780 leaks out with OS 6, QWERTY instead of touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe Air peer-to-peer video call concept Android app hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/24/adobe-air-peer-to-peer-video-call-concept-android-app-hands-on/

If you recall, a few days ago we stumbled upon a cheekily-named concept app (which has since been renamed for obvious reasons) from Adobe that does video-calling on Android. This is pretty rad considering it's just Qik and Fring offering the same service for the green bot right now, so we trotted along to Adobe's London office to get a closer look at this demo. As with many things in life, not all went as planned as you can see after the break -- the video stream froze up on several occasions, but then again Adobe's Mark Doherty only spent three days cooking this simple app. Regardless, this should still help Android developers understand the beefed-up peer-to-peer capabilities in the forthcoming Air 2.5 runtime, which is now "feature-complete" and undergoing extensive testing ahead of launch later this year.

Things are less positive for Flash availability on other mobile platforms, though. While Nokia's just waiting for a Linux SDK before it can start porting Flash apps to its devices within 2010, Adobe implied that it's still waiting for two other vendors to respond -- Palm's already been shown a Flash build running on webOS devices, and it's just a matter of the company signing up for Adobe's device certification system; RIM, on the other hand, is a bit more vague, but we were told it's definitely interested in both Air and Flash. And here's the surprise of the day: no comment on Flash for iOS (not to be confused with its digital publishing tools for the iPad), but there's no stopping you from hacking it in yourself.

Continue reading Adobe Air peer-to-peer video call concept Android app hands-on (video)

Adobe Air peer-to-peer video call concept Android app hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CTIA sues San Francisco over cellphone radiation law

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/24/ctia-sues-san-francisco-over-cellphone-radiation-law/

San Francisco may have signed cellphone radiation labels into law, but the stickers won't stick without a fight -- the Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) just filed a complain in federal district court, claiming the new law supersedes the FCC's authority to regulate radio emissions and misleads consumers into believing some phones are safer than others. As we've discussed previously, the CTIA does have something of a point. Every phone that makes it to market is rigorously tested for cell phone radiation levels, and those that pass fall below a specific 1.6 watt per kilogram threshold already. But hey, we're all for bombarding our brains with that much less radiation, as long as our calls stay connected and our text messages arrive on time. If only there were a label for that. Read the CTIA's full complaint at our more coverage link.

CTIA sues San Francisco over cellphone radiation law originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, July 23, 2010

Microsoft becomes official ARM licensee, could an MS microprocessor be next?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/microsoft-becomes-official-arm-licensee-could-an-ms-microproces/

Microsoft becomes official ARM licensee for greater glory in the mobile space

ARM processors are so hot right now, especially in the mobile space, where they power many of the greatest smartphones, tablets, and mobile devices coming down the turnpike. Microsoft is apparently looking to merge in on that action, becoming an official ARM licensee. It's unclear exactly what MS will be doing with its new found technical rights, but General Manager KD Hallman said "With closer access to the ARM technology we will be able to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products." This likely means Microsoft will be better optimizing Windows Embedded and Windows Phone for the processor architecture, but also opens the door for Ballmer & Co. to create their own magical microprocessor and, ultimately, use it to rule the world with an iron fist. Terms of the agreement were not given, but hopefully nobody in Redmond had to lose any appendages to seal the deal.

Continue reading Microsoft becomes official ARM licensee, could an MS microprocessor be next?

Microsoft becomes official ARM licensee, could an MS microprocessor be next? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/ibms-zenterprise-architecture-makes-mainframes-cool-again-also/

IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient

There's a good chance you think mainframes are about as cool as pocket protectors, your parents on Facebook, and COBOL... the latter of which, of course, is largely executed on mainframes. If so, stand still while IBM blows the doors (and the dust) off of your mainframe misconceptions with its new zEnterprise 196, offering 96 5.2GHz cores, 3TB of RAM, and hot swappable I/O drawers for when you need to change pants in a hurry. All this is said to boost performance by 60 percent compared to its predecessor, the z10, while also reducing energy consumption by a claimed 80 percent -- though that could be compared to people sitting in tanning booths performing calculations with abacuses for all we know. However, you can drop consumption a further 12 percent by opting for the water cooling system, nice if your AC unit is already struggling. IBM will start shipping these behemoths sometime in the last quarter of this year and didn't mention pre-orders, so get ready to rent the biggest truck you can find and camp out in Armonk if you want yours on release day.

Continue reading IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient (video)

IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient (video) origin! ally app eared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai game streaming service evades also-ran status with investments from Intel and Limelight

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/gaikai-game-streaming-service-evades-also-ran-status-with-invest/

Since we're still reeling from the fact that OnLive actually works, it seems a bit premature to be looking for competition in the game streaming space. Still, the browser-based Gaikai service is coming on fast, with a planned September launch and EA on board for those mega-hit titles the kids are playing these days. For a bit of added reassurance, Gaikai just announced it's getting investments from Intel Capital and Limelight Networks, whose products it just happens to be using. Gaikai's servers will have 6-core Intel processors and Intel SSD drives inside, and Limelight is already on tap to make the whole distribution part work. We can't say we're happy to see yet another platform war in the gaming space, especially after it looked like Steam was going to let us all live in perfect harmony in computer land, but the allure of playing high-end games instantly from a browser is hard to deny.

Gaikai game streaming service evades also-ran status with investments from Intel and Limelight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Kinetic concept revealed in prototype form

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/nokia-kinetic-concept-revealed-in-prototype-form/

Impressed by Jeremy Innes-Hopkins' Nokia Kinetic concept the other day? Then take a good look at the image above. That's the actual prototype of the device, which unfortunately doesn't power on (or have anything to power on), but does look remarkably like the previous renders we've seen, and gives us a far better idea of the scale of the device. In case you missed it, the real hook of the concept is an electromagnet in the phone's base that allows it to stand up on cue, and be flipped down to dismiss an action (like an alarm or a video call). We also now know that Innes-Hopkins worked on the project at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London under the tutelage of former Nokia Senior Designer Silas Grant, who was responsible for many of Nokia's premium phones like the 8800 Scirocco. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: Nokia Kinetic prototype

Nokia Kinetic concept revealed in prototype form originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is why you should NEVER pay for impressions CPMs; pay only for clicks CPCs - http://bit.ly/b5OGc8

Poplar Science: Custom Proteins Drawn from Genetically Engineered Trees Expand Silicon Chips' Memory Capacity

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/poplar-science-leads-better-computers

In the future, we won't need rare-earth elements to make powerful computers. We can use poplar trees. Engineers in Israel have figured out how to use protein molecules from poplars to improve computer memory. The technique uses silica nanoparticles combined with poplar proteins, according to researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The nano-poplar approach marks a new way to miniaturize memory elements while also increasing capacity, according to a university news release. The findings were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The technology involves genetically engineering poplar proteins so they can hybridize with the silica nanoparticles. The nanoparticles attach to the inner pore of the protein, and the poplar pores are arranged in an array of molecular memory elements.

The research team, led by Prof. Danny Porath at the Institute of Chemistry at Hebrew University, found the memory elements can carry out stable computing activity. They hope the technology can provide an alternative to current computer memory fabrication processes.

Looking Inside Fruits and Vegetables With MRI

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/looking-inside-fruits-and-vegetables-mri

If you are what you eat, then it makes sense to know what your food actually is. Taking this notion to a perhaps extravagant but nonetheless entertaining degree, someone out there decided to run a bunch of common fruits and vegetables through an MRI machine. The resulting videos and images let you see the Earth's bounty in a whole new way (literally).

If that's not cool enough, someone else who saw the MRI foods on Reddit decided to stitch all the corn images together with the modeling software Maya, creating a scrumptious 3-D model just like Grandma used to make. Dig in.

[Above, the MRI cross section of a head of broccoli. Below, 3-D modeling software puts the broccoli together again]

Check out the video MRI fly-throughs of several different fruits and veggies here.

[Inside Insides via Kottke]

Spitzer Telescope Finds First-Ever Buckyballs in Space

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-07/spitzer-telescope-finds-first-ever-buckyballs-space

The space discoveries are piling up this week. Next up: Astronomers working with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered buckyballs in space for the very first time, putting an end to a decades-long search for the largest molecules now known to exist in space.

Buckyballs are so named because they resemble the geodesic domes associated with architect Buckminster Fuller (the little magnetic balls that some people keep around as a desk ornament are also a tribute to this structure). The 60-carbon-atom molecules were first created in the lab a quarter century ago and have been long since thought to exist in space, but for years they eluded researchers.

The carbon atoms in buckyballs are arranged in a three-dimensional spherical structure that gives them a soccer ball-like appearance, with the atomic bonds creating an alternating pattern of hexagons and pentagons. The structure is more than just elegant; it's unique strength and properties have made it a sought after molecule for a range of applications including armor and superconductors.

Perhaps as impressive as the buckyballs themselves is the fact that Spitzer found them at all. They were detected in a planetary nebula called Tc 1, where an aging star had likely shed a layer of carbon rich material into a cloud. Light passing through the cloud gave off the unique spectral signatures of the buckyballs, which only made their presence known because they were at the right temperature to be seen. It's impressive enough that Spitzer can peer out into the universe and analyze its contents down to the molecule. Looking at the right place at the right time, that's just cosmic good fortune.

$35 Dollar Tablet Will Cost $20, Eventually $10 [Computers]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5594441/35-dollar-tablet-will-cost-20-eventually-10

Dollar Tablet Will Cost , Eventually The Indian government has revealed its super-super-low-priced tablet computer, which it says it'll start selling to students this year—for $35. It's a bit bulky, but for $35 you can't really whine about the bezel size.

Indian authorities expect to be able to make and sell the chunky computer for $35 at first, before economies of scale bring that down to $20—and eventually $10. But it won't be a stripped-down, feature-light machine—the impressive hardware spec includes support for video conferencing, PDF and multimedia compatibility, internet access (with Flash!) and much more.

The full press release from the Indian government's HR department can be read here. [TNW]

Apple starts refunding Bumper purchases automagically

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/apple-starts-refunding-bumper-purchases-automatically/

Automatic refunds, or so the email says. We've been on the receiving end of a deluge of tips this morning pointing out that Apple has begun funneling cash back into its users' pockets -- a most unusual event, to be sure -- to live up to its retroactive promise of free Bumpers for all (who buy their iPhone 4 before September 30). If the particular wording is to be trusted, that should mean that even those who haven't yet bothered to put in a claim, but did purchase a Bumper, will find themselves enriched in due course. Apple estimates this bandaid solution to its antenna problems will cost $175 million in real cash money, but we suspect the biggest price to pay will be in the form of pride and reputation.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple starts refunding Bumper purchases automagically originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iMac refresh is imminent, according to reseller sources

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/23/imac-refresh-is-imminent-according-to-reseller-sources/

The latest word from behind Apple-authorized cashiers is that Cupertino has stopped shipping out fresh stock of its entry-level 21-inch iMac. The Core 2 Duo-equipped machines were already looking long in the tooth in this Core i-something era, and so predictably the latest speculation centers around the idea of Apple taking its full iMac range into Core i3, i5 and i7 territory. Nobody really knows any of the specs for the moment, but resellers are apparently being advised to sell through what stock they have and to "keep inventories lean" for the next few weeks. Considering Apple's last all-in-one overhaul coincided with the introduction of the Magic Mouse, we're starting to suspect the company might have another iMac plus touch input device combo coming -- potentially in the very near future.

iMac refresh is imminent, according to reseller sources originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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