Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, January 31, 2011

NewerTech adapter turns eSATA into USB 3.0, makes legacy external HDDs feel young again

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/newertech-adapter-turns-esata-into-usb-3-0-makes-legacy-externa/

There's a powder-blue USB 3.0 port on the side of your shiny new computer, whispering your name, but you simply can't afford to replace your perfectly good eSATA external hard drive for the sake of compatibility. You could simply resist the urge entirely, but if you have the need for speed, there's a USB 3.0 to eSATA adapter with your name on it, and it just might come in a NewerTech case. Sure, Addonics, Siig and Bytecc sell similar, but as Everything USB points out, NewerTech did the legwork here, benchmarking the cable to be sure it could handle 206.4MB / sec writes and 247MB / sec reads. That's enough to handle most solid state drives, and you should be completely covered when it comes to anything with spinning magnetic plates. You'll find it for $30 this week at the likes of OWC.

Continue reading NewerTech adapter turns eSATA into USB 3.0, makes legacy external HDDs feel young again

NewerTech adapter turns eSATA into USB 3.0, makes legacy external HDDs feel young again originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everything USB | source

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LG G-Slate makes guest appearance on MysteryGuitarMan's YouTube channel (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/lg-g-slate-makes-guest-appearance-on-mysteryguitarmans-youtube/

LG's promotional strategy for the G-Slate seems to be to keep officially mum about the device, while letting random pseudo-celebrities tease it out in brief glimpses. A week ago, K-Pop artist Seungri gave us our first sighting of the dual-camera array on the back of the G-Slate, which has today made its triumphant return to YouTube, courtesy of one MysteryGuitarMan. The rear of the device here doesn't look identical to the one in Seungri's video, however the metallic strip separating the cams and its "with Google" branding look nearly identical to what LG has on the back of its Optimus 2X Android smartphone. We're also seeing a single LED flash for the first time, there are a couple of unidentified connectors at the bottom, at least one of them likely to assist docking in landscape mode, and we do get to see the tablet in profile for an idea of how thin it is. Video after the break.

Continue reading LG G-Slate makes guest appearance on MysteryGuitarMan's YouTube channel (video)

LG G-Slate makes guest appearance on MysteryGuitarMan's YouTube channel (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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@KevinLyHD (Twitter) | source

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AMD has a 5W Fusion APU to put in your future tablet of choice

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/31/amd-has-a-5w-fusion-apu-to-put-in-your-future-tablet-of-choice/

The same Singapore event that brought us our first look at AMD's humongous Radeon HD 6990 has also served as the stage for the company's first showing of a new, even lower-powered Fusion APU. The regular dual-core Ontario (C-50) variant requires a 9W power budget to operate, but AMD's managed to shrink that down to 5W in a chip designed specifically to be used in tablets. Clock speed remains at 1GHz and the core count hasn't bee touched, but the memory controller has been dumbed down and peripheral ports have been reduced to one of each type. This streamlined C-50 has already found a home in Acer's 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet and should prove decently popular among manufacturers looking for an x86 alternative to the coming tidal wave of ARM-based devices.

AMD has a 5W Fusion APU to put in your future tablet of choice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Softpedia, Netbook News | source

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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Intel's mSATA SSD 310 reviewed: a pint-size performer through and through

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/intels-msata-ssd-310-reviewed-a-pint-size-performer-through-an/

The forecast for speedy, razor-thin laptops is looking pretty sunny right about now, because it seems Intel's SSD 310 truly does bring the power of a full-sized solid state drive on a tiny little board. Storage Review and The SSD Review thoroughly benchmarked the tiny 80GB mSATA module this week, and found it performs even better than advertised -- easily tearing through 200MB / sec reads and 70 MB / sec writes -- which put it slightly behind Intel's legendary X25-M series but well ahead of the company's X25-V boot drives. While we're still not seeing Sandforce speeds from Intel's tried-and-true controller and 34nm silicon and they might not make Toshiba's Blade run for the hills, we can't wait to test it out in some new Lenovo ThinkPads when they integrate the SSD 310 later this year. Oh, by the way, that big green board up above isn't the drive. It's actually the tiny one on top.

Intel's mSATA SSD 310 reviewed: a pint-size performer through and through originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus XZ-1 reviewed: $499 for sweet simplicity

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/30/olympus-xz-1-reviewed-499-for-sweet-simplicity-in-a-compact-sh/

We had a feeling the Olympus XZ-1 would be a winner, and Digital Photography Review seems to think so, too -- it called the 10 megapixel, full-manual point and shoot "the best photographers' compact currently available" at the end of a thorough review. Most of the praise was heaped on that F1.8-2.5 Zuiko lens, providing an "unbeaten combination of range and brightness" whose potent, detailed low-light performance was practically enough to cancel out the publication's worries about the lack of a adjustable noise reduction setting. Though the publication admitted that the camera lacked the customization of certain Micro Four Thirds cousins, it didn't miss most of the advanced controls, preferring the streamlined menus and manual dials for easy access to common adjustments. (Battery charging over USB and a dedicated movie button were also deemed nice touches.) In fact, the only major ding DPReview had for Olympus was the complete omission of auto exposure and autofocus locks for focus-and-recompose shooting, but if you're willing to snap shots using Olympus's 11 AF points and aren't looking to tote a set of expensive interchangeable lenses around, this might be the one. Dive into our source link to find out for sure.

Olympus XZ-1 reviewed: $499 for sweet simplicity originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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