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Sunday, July 25, 2010

MSI's Core i7-equipped GT660R makes itself available to US consumers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/25/msis-core-i7-equipped-gt660r-makes-itself-available-to-us-consu/

MSI's GT660 has been kicking around in various forms for a few months now, but the latest edition (dubbed GT660R) is just now splashing down on a few e-tailer websites. Boasting a 1.73GHz Core i7-740QM processor, 6GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive (7,200RPM), Blu-ray combo drive and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 285M, this 16-inch beast is more than capable of handling whatever HD media and first-person shooters you've got sitting around. 'Course, you'll need to be fully prepared to lug around 7.7 pounds of heft, and the 1,366 x 768 resolution is far from ideal, but at least you're given a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium. It's up for order now at $1,699.99, but unless you've got a thing for atypically large pixels, we'd suggest springing for an alternative that'll display 1080p natively.

MSI's Core i7-equipped GT660R makes itself available to US consumers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung TV schedule points to Epic 4G in August?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/25/samsung-website-calendar-suggests-sprint-epic-4g-in-late-august/

On August 20th, at 4:30PM Eastern Standard Time, Samsung will show off the Epic 4G smartphone on their television support website. Why is this of interest to you? Simply because the last two times the company did such a thing -- for the Vibrant and Captivate, respectively -- these infomercials all but coincided with the phones' planned release date. We wouldn't go around making any wagers if we were you, but if someone asks you when we might see a Galaxy S with a physical keyboard, you'll be able to make a ballpark estimate instead of pulling numbers out of your hat. Don't know what we're on about? Read our full preview of the Hummingbird-laden device.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung TV schedule points to Epic 4G in August? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's consumer-grade 3D camcorder leaks out, the HDC-SDT750

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/25/panasonics-consumer-grade-3d-camcorder-leaks-out-the-hdc-sdt75/

We'd heard Panasonic was planning a more affordable stereoscopic 3D camcorder, but it looks like we won't have to wait until a mysterious July 28th Tokyo unveiling to find out for sure -- it's called the HDC-SDT750, and Panny's advertising it as the "World's first 3D Shooting Camcorder." Leaks at all the seams of the company's website afforded us the above picture, and the surprising revelation that the product may not be a brand-new camcorder, but rather an existing high-end 3MOS model (we'd guess the HDC-HS700) with a "3D conversion lens" attached. If the yet-to-be-activated product page's source code can be believed, the SDT750 will shoot in 1080p AVCHD at 60fps, feature Panny's proprietary Hybrid O.I.S. image stabilization technology, and come in a lovely shade of Henry Ford black. That's all we have for now (save a second tiny picture after the break) but rest assured we'll be keeping tabs on this one.

[Thanks, John]

Continue reading Panasonic's consumer-grade 3D camcorder leaks out, the HDC-SDT750

Panasonic's consumer-grade 3D camcorder leaks out, the HDC-SDT750 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence: 3D TV falls flat for me

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/25/entelligence-3d-tv-falls-flat-for-me/

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

It's generally a bad idea to extrapolate larger consumer behavior from personal experience and say "if I like it, surely everyone else will as well." It's a mistake that happens all the time, but there's is one case where I will use my personal behavior to at least start the foundation for analysis -- when I don't want a new gadget or technology. Granted, sometimes I'm just not the target audience, but even then I'm usually able to remove myself from the process and say it might not be for me but others will love this. In the case of 3D TV, however, I think my lack of interest doesn't bode well for the market.

I'm surprised by figures, forecasts, predictions and prophecies all showing a rosy outlook for 3D TV beginning as early as this year, because I've seen most of the 3D offerings available and I have no plans to buy -- not now and not anytime soon. I should be a part of the core demographic for 3D: I like TV, movies and video games. I'm am early adopter. I have reasonable disposable income. I'm not afraid of betting on the wrong standard. And yet, I'm not buying. Here's why.

Continue reading Entelligence: 3D TV falls flat for me

Entelligence: 3D TV falls flat for me originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturday, July 24, 2010

LightShot is a Lightweight and Fast Screenshot Capture Tool [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5594846/lightshot-is-a-lightweight-and-fast-screenshot-capture-tool

Windows standalone or Firefox/Chrome/IE: If you're looking for a snappy screenshot tool, LightShot is lightweight, fast, featured packed, and available as a stand alone application or a browser add-on.

LightShot is a lightweight screenshot tool available for Windows or as an add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and IE. You can capture screenshots in a variety of ways including uploading them to the internet via ImageShack, dumping the sreenshot to your clipboard, opening the screenshot for editing in Pixlr, or simply saving them to your computer as a JPG, PNG, or BMP. LightShot also supports hot keys for every major function—CTRL+E, for example, launches the online editor for your images while CTRL+D uploads it to ImageShack.

LightShot is a free tool and requires no registration. If you'd like to check out other screenshot tools make sure to take a peek at our previous Hive Five on the topic Five Best Screen Capture Tools. Have a favorite lightweight screen capture tool to share? Let's hear about it in the comments.

LightShot [via MakeUseOf]

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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Jeremy Innes-Hopkins | Email this | Comments

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.

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