Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, August 30, 2010

HP's Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/29/hps-phil-mckinney-teases-three-mystery-prototypes-on-twitter/

Well, this is certainly interesting -- that's HP CTO Phil McKinney pictured above in a pair of redacted shots that were posted to Twitter by HP's Mark Budgell. Described only as "early protos" by McKinney himself, the pictures show what appears to be phone-sized device, a tablet-sized device and, perhaps most curiously, something on McKinney's wrist (all mysteriously blacked out). Before you get your hopes up too much about a new wave of webOS devices, however, you might want to take a look at the second part of Budgell's tweet, which encourages folks to vote for McKinney's SXSW 2011 panel -- a panel in which McKinney promises to make some "bold predictions for the future - backed up with a number of breakthrough prototypes," and specifically talk about what the future will look like in "5 to 10 years." Now, we can't be certain of course, but that doesn't exactly suggest these are right around the corner. Head on past the break for a slightly bigger image.

Continue reading HP's Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter

HP's Phil McKinney teases three mystery prototypes on Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG to unveil LEX8 3DTV at IFA featuring 'Nano LED' backlighting

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/29/lg-to-unveil-lex8-3dtv-at-ifa-featuring-nano-led-backlighting/

Now that LED backlighting has trickled down to nearly every HDTV lineup, it appears the big manufacturers will have to find new ways to differentiate their products, like LG's upcoming LEX8 television. Set to debut at IFA in Berlin before going on sale in Germany and Korea next month (no word on the US), LG claims that thanks to a 'thin film of miniscule dots positioned in front of a full array of LEDs' its Nano Lighting technology -- perhaps of the Nanosys variety it licensed earlier this year -- makes for a clearer, smoother picture, with the slimmest and narrowest outline of any LED TV, ever, at just .88cm thick with a 1.25cm bezel. Of course LG's NetCast widgets and Magic Motion remote are along for the ride as well, while we'll have to wait until the show opens later this week to get our eyes on this beauty, check after the break for a few more pictures.

Continue reading LG to unveil LEX8 3DTV at IFA featuring 'Nano LED' backlighting

LG to unveil LEX8 3DTV at IFA featuring 'Nano LED' backlighting originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital Cowboy announces Xtreamer Pro NAS / media streamer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/digital-cowboy-announces-xstreamer-pro-nas-media-streamer/

Your media streamer options aren't exactly limited these days, but if you're looking for one that will also double as a NAS (and prefer to get your gear from Japan), you might want to consider Digital Cowboy's latest addition to its Movie Cowboy line: the Xtreamer Pro. This one packs the same dual 3.5-inch hard drives as the company's previous DC-MCNAS1 model (not included), but adds an HDMI port to directly connect to your TV, and what appears to be a whole new interface to let you access the wide variety of media the device supports. No word on any plans for a release over here, but you can look for this one to be available in Japan next month for ¥22,000, or about $260.

Update: Apparently this Digital Cowboy is a rebadge of the Xtreamer Pro announced in Europe back in February.

Digital Cowboy announces Xtreamer Pro NAS / media streamer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia C6-01 is a Symbian^3 touchscreen candybar with 8 megapixel camera?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/nokia-c6-01-is-a-symbian-3-touchscreen-candybar-with-8-megapixel/

The nerds over at Mobile Geek Inc did a nifty investigative piece revealing more details about Nokia's mid-level C6-01 candybar. After making an awkward early appearance on Nokia's Dutch online storefront, more pics along with the user agent profile have been located thus confirming its lack of QWERTY, 8 megapixel camera, and Symbian^3 OS. A nice alternative to the 5 megapixel C6-00 slider shackled to S60 5th. Look for the new C6 to get official with a very nice price either at, or around, Nokia World 2010 which kicks off September 14th in London. One more front-side pic after the break.

Continue reading Nokia C6-01 is a Symbian^3 touchscreen candybar with 8 megapixel camera?

Nokia C6-01 is a Symbian^3 touchscreen candybar with 8 megapixel camera? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New E-P2 kit and E-5 DSLR rumored, Olympus surprise parties ruined

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/new-e-p2-kit-and-e-5-dslr-rumored-olympus-surprise-parties-ruin/

New E-P2 kit and E5 compact rumored, Olympus surprise parties ruined

It's getting harder to keep a secret. Companies toil over surprise parties and then some blabber-mouth spills the beans. In this case the host is Olympus and the one holding the empty can is 43rumors who has word of a series of coming announcements from the company. First, on August 31, Olympus is said to be revealing a new E-P2 kit offering a 17mm lens and an external flash. Also announced will supposedly be a pair of new M.Zuiko lenses: a $900 75 - 300mm (150 - 600mm equivalent) f/4.8 - 6.7 model and a $300 40 - 150mm (80 - 300mm equivalent) f/4.0 - 5.6 model. More interesting, though, is a follow-up announcement said to be coming on September 14, when Olympus will supposedly announce the E-5, a replacement for the E-3 DSLR. This, we're told, will bump the megapixel count up to 12 from 10 and offer 720p30 video recording. Now that all that is out of the bag, the only question is: what will you be bringing to the parties?

New E-P2 kit and E-5 DSLR rumored, Olympus surprise parties ruined originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friday, August 27, 2010

Intel May Be About to Buy iPhone Chip Supplier Infineon [Intel]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5622997/intel-may-be-about-to-buy-iphone-chip-supplier

Intel May Be About to Buy iPhone Chip Supplier Infineon According to a Bloomberg report, Intel is closing in on a deal to acquire the wireless unit of Infineon AG. You know, the company responsible for the iPhone's baseband chips since 2007. That's one way to build a mobile presence.

Bloomberg sources say that the $2 billion deal could go down by the end of this week. If true, it would make Intel immediately competitive in a mobile market that they've thus far been largely shut out of. Infineon may not be a direct iPhone 4 supplier, but they works with both Apple on the iPad and iPhone 3GS. Their technology is also onboard Samsung's Galaxy S series.

When we interviewed Intel CTO Justin Rattner in June, mobile was clearly at the top of his mind (and ours). And Intel's recently strengthened alliance with Nokia proves that they're serious about getting into your phones—even if that means they have to buy their way. [Bloomberg]

What Do You Think the Most Important Tech Invention of the 21st Century Is? [Question]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5623109/what-do-you-think-the-most-important-tech-invention-of-the-21st-century-is

What Do You Think the Most Important Tech Invention of the 21st Century Is? A lot of amazing inventions, ideas, and technologies came about in the 21st century, but we want to know: Which tech invention do you think was the most important during this time?

Tell us which tech invention of the 21st century is the most important so far in the comments. Was it a small gadget? Or was it perhaps an elaborate technology? Was it something significant to you personally or something that changed society as a whole?

Image by Yuganov Konstantin/ShutterStock

Eureka is our week-long meditation on the wonders of invention, inventors and genius.

LG putting 9.7-inch color, 19-inch flexible e-paper displays into production

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/26/lg-putting-9-7-inch-color-19-inch-flexible-e-paper-displays-int/

LG's shown off plenty of display prototypes that may or may not ever wind up in actual products, but it looks like two of them are about to get real -- a recent SEC filing has revealed that LG is expecting to put both a 9.7-inch color e-paper display and a 19-inch flexible e-paper display into mass production by the end of the year. Details beyond that are expectedly light -- including any word on what type of products they'll be used in -- but the 19-inch display is apparently the same one we first saw back in January (pictured above). That could conceivably be used for a newspaper-sized device, or possibly things like digital signage, which might be a tad more likely given the constraints in tacking a touchscreen layer and other components on top of the display.

LG putting 9.7-inch color, 19-inch flexible e-paper displays into production originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freely distributed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/26/mpeg-la-makes-h-264-video-royalty-free-forever-as-long-as-its/

The H.264 codec that makes a good deal of digital video possible has actually been free to use (under certain conditions) for many years, but following recent controversies over the future of web video, rightholders have agreed to extend that freedom in perpetuity. Whereas originally standards organization MPEG-LA had said it wouldn't collect royalties from those freely distributing AVC/H.264 video until 2016, the limitless new timeframe may mean that content providers banking on WebM and HTML5 video won't have an expensive surprise in the years to come. Then again, patent licensing is complicated stuff and we'd hate to get your hopes up -- just know that if you're an end-user uploading H.264 content you own and intend to freely share with the world, you shouldn't expect a collection agency to come knocking on your door. PR after the break.

Continue reading MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freely distributed

MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freel! y distri buted originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lamborghini dishes out a Reventon you can actually afford: a 1:10 scale RC car

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/26/lamborghini-dishes-out-a-reventon-you-can-actually-afford-a-1-1/

At long last even us plebeian supercar lovers can afford to say we own a Lambo. And we wouldn't even be lying if we claimed it had an internal combustion engine (3cc, vroom vroom!), hydraulic shock absorbers, disc brakes, or permanent all-wheel drive. Such must have been the stringent requirements handed down from Lamborghini HQ to DeAgostini, which has scored the license to produce ~~a limited run of 65~~ 1:10 scale models of the Reventon. The radio-controlled mini-supercars haven't been priced yet, but we suspect they'll fall quite a few zeroes short of the real deal's $1.2 million sticker.

Update: As it turns out, these come in parts and can be built up if you keep buying a collection of 65 "booklets." Each one costs €8 and the remote control is priced at €60, leading you to a total around €580 ($737) [Thanks, wii_willie!]

Lamborghini dishes out a Reventon you can actually afford: a 1:10 scale RC car originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/netgear-announces-neotv-550-and-350-hd-media-players-plus-other-ne/

This week Netgear made a battery of new product announcements related to home entertainment and Powerline networking. On the media side, the NeoTV 550 & 350 HD players look a lot like last year's Digital Entertainer Elite, minus the 500GB of internal storage and access to VOD services like CinemaNow. Both are however capable of playing a robust list of codecs in full HD from a variety of attached sources like USB, eSATA (in the case of the 550) or SD storage, as well as streaming content from UPnP, DLNA or WMP11 networks. The 550 adds in support for external Blu-ray drives and BD-Live too, all for $219, which should appeal any of the poor souls with an unused standalone drive.

Three new Powerline kits -- AV 200, AV 500, and AV+ 500 -- were also announced to help consumers avoid the pain of stringing Ethernet in every direction. The entry level AV 200 appears to improve on the previous HDXB101 kit by offering the same theoretical 200mbps in addition to push button security enhancements and greener power consumption. The AV 500 kit provides the same and ramps the networking speeds to up to -- you guessed it -- 500mbps, while the "+" version throws in a pass-through filtered AC socket to avoid sacrificing precious outlets. Priced all below $200, every kit will available by mid November for all the fall home networking networking your heart could desire. Peep the galleries and PR below for further details.

Gallery: Netgear NeoTV 550 & 350 HD

NetGear NeoTV 550 HD

NetGear NeoTV 550 HD

NetGear NeoTV 350 HD

NetGear NeoTV 350 HD

NetGear NeoTV 550 HD

Gallery: Netgear Powerline AV 200, AV 500, and AV +500

Powerline AV 200

Powerline AV 500

Powerline AV500 Bottom

Powerline AV 200

Poweline AV200

Continue reading Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies

Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung 90 and 30 series LCDs work hard as computer monitors, play hard as 1080p HDTVs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/samsung-90-and-30-series-lcds-work-hard-as-computer-monitors-pl/

Samsung 90 and 30 series LCDs work hard as computer monitors, play hard as 1080p HDTVs

The dividing line between computer monitor and HDTV grows ever thinner. Samsung is announcing two new series of multi-function monitors, displays that handle the computing you need with sizes ranging from 21.5- to 24-inches, 1920 x 1080 worth of pixels, and a response time of 5ms. But, they also handle the entertainment you want, with HDTV tuners, built-in speakers, and even remote controls. The $420, 24-inch 90 Series offers LED-backlighting and a retina-punishing 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, while the 21.5-, 23-, and 24-inch 30 Series makes do with a paltry 70,000:1 dynamic ratio at prices ranging from $270 to $330. All these genre-benders are shipping now, perfect for your dorm room escapades.

Continue reading Samsung 90 and 30 series LCDs work hard as computer monitors, play hard as 1080p HDTVs

Samsung 90 and 30 series LCDs work hard as computer monitors, play hard as 1080p HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viking Modular's SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/viking-modulars-satadimm-jacks-an-ssd-into-your-memory-slot/

Explaining the differences between DRAM and non-volatile storage is about to get that little bit harder, thanks to Viking Modular. The company's decided to "borrow" the DIMM form factor for its latest enterprise SSD offering, equipping it with a 240-pin array to draw power from your spare memory slots. Of course, you'll still need to hook up a SATA cable to get data flowing to this SSD -- at a very respectable 260MBps for both read and write -- but we must admit we're in love with the very idea of it. This new design offers another option for consolidating storage right onto the motherboard and should help case modders yearning for ever-slimmer enclosures. Alas, the SATADIMM is only available to enterprise and OEM clients for now, but we can't think of any reason why it won't test the consumer waters as well -- if not by Viking, maybe someone else?

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Viking Modular's SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot

Viking Modular's SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viewsonic ViewPad is an OlivePad rebadge?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/viewsonic-rebrands-7-inch-android-olivepad-as-viewpad/

Remember when Viewsonic was a respectable company? It made modest but reputable monitors that seemed to define the product category. Now the company is slapping its colorful finches onto just about any OEM device it can grab. Next on the agenda is the 7-inch Viewsonic ViewPad tablet, expected to launch at the big IFA show next week with an Android OS and 3G and WiFi connectivity. Thing is, the device leaked to Pocket-lint (pictured above) is the very same tablet known since July as the Olive Pad VT00, aka, "India's first 3.5G Pad." So line up now if you like your seconds served stale and without originality.

Viewsonic ViewPad is an OlivePad rebadge? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT Seaswarm autonomous robots coming soon to an oil spill near you (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/mit-seaswarm-autonomous-robots-coming-soon-to-an-oil-spill-near/

Think of it as an autonomous, swarming, photovoltaic legion of seagoing Roombas (or don't, if you're easily upset). The Seaswarm project at MIT takes a thin, hydrophobic material and drags it behind a robot outfitted with GPS and WiFi for determining its location and communicating within a swarm. When deployed, the group finds the outer edges of an oil spill, and works its way into the center, coordinating the cleanup with minimal human interference. The material itself can take on twenty times its weight in oil. And yes, the whole thing is re-usable. According to researchers, 5,000 of these relatively low cost devices could have cleaned up the BP oil disaster in a month -- which is more than we can say for Kevin Costner! See it in action after the break.

Continue reading MIT Seaswarm autonomous robots coming soon to an oil spill near you (video)

MIT Seaswarm autonomous robots coming soon to an oil spill near you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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