Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Will Intel's Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/will-intels-core-i7-sandy-bridge-e-cpus-ship-without-fans-or-he/

Over the past few months, we've peeked Intel's roadmap more than once, but all told we've been treated to scant few details about its high-end desktop line, Sandy Bridge E (that's "E" for enthusiasts). Today, though, VR-Zone is reporting that the next generation of these CPUs will ship without fans or heatsinks -- a tacit acknowledgment, perhaps, that Intel's home-brewed cooling system will be inadequate in the eyes of hobbyists anyway. We reached out to Intel for comment, and while the company stayed mum on the topic of cooling, it did go out of its way to clarify another point the folks at VR-Zone made in their report. The outlet had said that the forthcoming 3820, 3930K and 3960X CPUs will be rated at 130 watts, but will consume closer to 180W and draw up to 23 amps from the 12V2 supply rail -- all without overclocking, mind you. An Intel rep writes: "TDP expectations for the 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for socket LGA-2011 are in line with previous generations of high end desktop products." In other words, built-in cooling system or no, the TDP should be in line with what we've seen from other Extreme-branded processors. As for the cooling, it's unclear when, exactly, we'll get the full spill -- the CPUs are rumored to launch before the end of the year, with the quad-core 3820 arriving after the six-core 3930K and 3960X.

Will Intel's Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ExtremeTech | source

source

VR-Zone | Email this | Comments

Monday, August 15, 2011

TabCo reveals itself as Fusion Garage, unveils Grid 10 tablet and Grid 4 smartphone

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/dnp-tabco-reveals-itself-as-fusion-garage/

After months of teasing, TabCo finally revealed itself to the world -- as suspected, the brand is, in fact a reboot of Fusion Garage, the company that gave the world the much maligned JooJoo tablet. Company head Chandra Rathakrishnan took to the stage to unveil the new product, explaining that the teaser campaign had been put in place to give its new Grid 10 tablet a fair shake. The tablet runs the new Grid operating system, itself based on the Android kernel. According to Rathakrishnan, the 10-inch tablet has the highest resolution of any on the market, at 1366 x 768. Also on-board is a 1.3 megapixel front-facing webcam, 16GB of storage, Bluetooth 2.1, and a microSD slot.

The Grid 10 packs an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip and utilizes the newly announced Grid Shop, a Fusion Garage-specific app store, for which the company will be accepting applications in the near future -- though the operating system will support Android apps, as well. Among the departures from Google's operating system is the company's decision to support Bing -- the better of the two search engines, according to Rathakrishnan. The tablet will run $499 for the WiFi-only version and $599 for a WiFi / 3G model. It's up for pre-order now via Amazon and will begin shipping on September 15th.

Fusion Garage also took the wraps off of the Grid 4, a handset that also runs the Grid OS. The four-inch phone has a Qualcomm dual-core processor, 16GB of memory, an 800 x 480 resolution, and a front facing 0.3 megapixel camera and a rear facing five megapixel camera with autofocus. The phone will run $399 unlocked. It will begin shipping in Q4, with carriers announced closer to that date.

Gallery: Grid 10

Gallery: Grid 4

TabCo reveals itself as Fusion Garage, unveils Grid 10 tablet and Grid 4 smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Fusion Garage | Email this | Comments

HTC's bootloader unlock process goes live, Sensation prepares for custom ROM glory

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/htcs-bootloader-unlock-process-goes-live-sensation-prepares-fo/

Today is turning out to be a great day for the Android set, what with news of the Google / Moto deal and now -- HTC's unleashing its bootloader unlock tool for the masses. That's right, the company's Taiwanese team of engineers flipped the switch on the service that sees owners of a global SIM-unlocked Sensation working their way towards OEM-sanctioned root access. Unfortunately, stateside owners of the phone's T-Mobile variant, as well as the EVO 3D, will have to sit back and wait while further testing is conducted on their devices. So, what are you ROM fiends waiting for? Head on over to HTC's developer site and let us know your success in the comments below.

HTC's bootloader unlock process goes live, Sensation prepares for custom ROM glory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

HTC Dev | Email this | Comments

Carriers testing LTE-enabled 4G iPhone?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/carriers-testing-lte-enabled-4g-iphone/

Earlier this year, Verizon CEO Dan Mead all but confirmed that an LTE Apple device would be making its way to Verizon. Eventually. And no 2011 Apple rumor spattering would be complete without at least a casual mention of the high-speed 4G network. Now, BGR claims to have received an internal iOS test build from a major carrier, revealing a property list file for LTE. This of course doesn't guarantee that Apple will be shipping an LTE iPhone flavor later this year, but that it at least remains a possibility. Still, an October iPhone launch would fall nicely in line with recent confirmation that AT&T will be releasing an LTE smartphone in "late 2011," and 4G compatibility could definitely explain Cupertino's holdup in announcing the iPhone 4's successor. So, will you be flying through the wireless web at lightning-fast speed later this year? Hopefully we need not wait much longer to find out.

Carriers testing LTE-enabled 4G iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

BGR | Email this | Comments

Anonymous Hacks BART Website, Leaks User Info and Passwords [Hacktivism]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5830830/anonymous-hacks-bart-website-leaks-user-info-and-passwords

It's been a busy weekend for the hacking collective known as Anonymous. Their Operation Fullerton may not have panned out, but Project BARTway was a rousing success. (If you measure success in Thousands of Civilians' Personal Information Being Compromised in the Name of Free Speech.) As they had warned, Anonymous has infiltrated Bay Area Rapid Transit System on Sunday, unfurling their pirate flag logo on the homepage of myBART.com — a promotional website — and, more disconcertingly, releasing the personal information of thousands of myBART.com users.

The action was a direct response to BART's attempts to block cellphone use last Thursday, in order to prevent a gathering at a San Francisco station to protest the fatal shooting of a homeless man by a BART police officer.

From a message to all myBART members sent out on Sunday afternoon:

Several hours ago, myBART account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our system. In response to this intrusion, we will temporarily shut down the myBART.org website, and have notified law enforcement authorities.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we know that an unauthorized person has obtained contact information from at least 2,400 of our 55,000 members. In most cases, the information consists of names, email addresses, and passwords. In some cases, the database also listed an address and phone number. No financial information is stored in the myBART database.

Indeed, the names, addresses, phone numbers and passwords of 2,001 myBART users were published on another website, the SF Chronicle reports. On Sunday evening, the site was still down, a white screen reading only, "This site is currently under renovation." And while the main BART site, bart.gov, appeared to be unaffected by the attacks, Californiaavoid.org, an anti-DUI traffic safety site, wasn't so lucky: As of post time, it was still crawling with Guy Fawkes masks. [@anonops]

BlackBerry Bold 9930 now available from Verizon for $250, on contract

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/blackberry-bold-9930-now-available-from-verizon-for-250-on-con/

We've already seen Verizon's BlackBerry Bold 9930 rear its head in a leaked video and now, it looks like it's finally gone all official on us. The slim, QWERTY-equipped handset has just popped up on Verizon's site, where users can now order one for $250 on a two-year contract, or $510 sans contract. Its specs, meanwhile, coincide with what we've already heard, including that 2.8-inch, 640×480 VGA touchscreen, 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor and .41-inch thickness. The 9930 also comes equipped with BlackBerry 7 OS, bringing voice-activated search and speedy browsing capabilities to the palm of your hand. No word yet on when the phone will arrive in actual stores, though rumor has it that August 25th could be the big day. For more details and ordering information, check out the source link, below.

BlackBerry Bold 9930 now available from Verizon for $250, on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Phone Arena ;| source

source

Verizon | Email this | Comments

M-Disc holds your data 'forever,' we go hands-on for a few minutes (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/m-disc-holds-your-data-forever-we-go-hands-on-for-a-few-minut/

It was two years ago when we last wrote about Millenniata and its Millenial Disc for ultra long-term data storage of somewhere between "1,000 years" and "forever." If you'll recall, it works using a "synthetic, rock-like" layer that your data is "etched" into, rather than burned onto like other writeable discs so files don't corrupt over time. Since then, the disc's been given DoD certification for data retention in extreme conditions and redubbed M-Disc, while Hitachi-LG has signed on to produce drives. We recently got the chance to check out a few of these discs and see whether this tech will fly like a Frisbee or sink like a stone.

Gallery: M-Disc Hands-on

Continue reading M-Disc holds your data 'forever,' we go hands-on for a few minutes (video)

M-Disc holds your data 'forever,' we go hands-on for a few minutes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

The Intel Upgrade Service: Once again charging you $50 to do stuff your CPU already does

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/the-intel-upgrade-service-once-again-charging-you-50-to-do-stu/

Fans of creative nickel-and-dime schemes will love this: Buy an Intel i3-2312M, i3-2102 or Pentium G622 and it just isn't powerful enough, you can grab a $50 upgrade card. Enter the card's code online and hidden capacity in your chip will suddenly become available for use. Those with longer memories will find this offer familiar, because Intel did the same thing last year with the Pentium G6951. You may be peeved at the idea of buying the same thing twice, but remember that the company is only targeting the limited service at low-end consumers who want a little bit extra from their budget desktop. If you're interested in how much performance can be wrung from these chips, check out the source link below.

The Intel Upgrade Service: Once again charging you $50 to do stuff your CPU already does originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AnandTech | source

source

Intel Upgrade Service | Email this | Comments

DSLR Controller Lets You Operate Your Canon DSLR from Your Android [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5830453/dslr-controller-lets-you-operate-your-canon-dslr-from-your-android

iOS users have long had the ability to control their cameras with their iPhones and iPads, but DSLR Controller now brings that to Android for your Canon DSLR.

The software is currently in beta, but getting it working took less than a minute. You just grab it from the Android Marketplace and connect your Canon DSLR via USB (you'll need a USB host cable if your Android device doesn't have a regular-sized USB port). Presuming the app is loaded and your camera is on, you should see what your camera sees in the main viewer on the screen. Because all this data is happening via USB, it updates really quickly and is far more usable than the Live View support you'll get over Wi-Fi on an iPhone app.

In addition to Live View, DSLR Controller lets you adjust pretty much every setting on your camera (e.g. aperture, exposure, ISO, etc.), can take photos, and more. While the app is currently in beta and might not work for every camera, it worked great with my 5D Mark II and support should broaden in the future. If you've ever tethered your camera to your computer or an iOS device before, you know the experience is not ideal. DSLR Controller, on the other hand, isn't cumbersome or slow. It's a very promising option for tethered shooting.

DSLR Controller (~$8.50) | Android Marketplace

You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Twitter's the best way to contact him, too.

Xkcd Password Generator Creates Long, Easy-to-Remember Passwords [Passwords]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5830355/xkcd-password-generator-creates-high+security-easy+to+remember-passwords

Web comic xkcd notes that "through 20 years of effort, we've successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember, but easy for computers to guess." The comic above makes a compelling (if knowingly imperfect) argument for password length over obscurity, and in response, one developer put together the xkcd password generator. It does what the comic suggests: strings together four random words to create a tough-to-guess password that's easy to remember.

Of course you don't need a generator to do this for you. You can just as easily pull four words out of the air to create your own lengthy but memorable password. Or you can go with one of our tried-and-true favorite methods and create an obscure and memorable password using the first letters of, for example, the lyrics to a song. (For example, a Jackson 5 lover might extract a password from the lyrics "Oh baby give me one more chance to show you that I love you" that looks like obgmomctsytily.) The benefit of the multi-word method is that the longer your password, the harder it is to crack—which is true for passwords made of both common dictionary words and randomly generated strings of text. Yes, the long, non-dictionary password will be more secure. But good luck remembering a completely randomized 25-character password.

Whatever route your choose for your password, I'd still strongly recommend making said password the master password for a password manager like LastPass, KeePass, or 1Password, then, for all the rest of your logins, use your password managers to spawn long, randomly-generated passwords that are both hard for you to remember and hard for computers to guess. You should only need to remember one password, but you shouldn't use the same password everywhere. That's what password managers do for you: Let you memorize just one strong password and obscure the hell out of the rest. You only need to know the one password; your password manager will fill in your unmemorable passwords for you. Get one, set it up, and use it. We really like LastPass.

Update: As commenter doug_gilbert points out, the four-words method could also work nicely with the shift-to-the-right method.

xkcd Password Generator | Password Strength at xkcd

Build Websites Without Having Any Coding Knowledge, With Adobe Muse [Adobe]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5830808/build-websites-without-having-any-coding-knowledge-with-adobe-muse

Adobe has a new Muse—graphic designers. While "Muse" is just a working title, the beta of the graphic design software has gone live which lets users work around the fact they don't know a scrap of code.

This means they can publish HTML websites without actually writing any CSS3 or HTML5. Check out the free beta download of Muse now, or a few more scant details in the press release below. [Adobe Muse]

Public Beta of New Software for Designing HTML Websites Without Writing Code
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Aug. 15, 2011 - Today Adobe Systems Incorporated unveiled the public beta of Muse (code name), software that enables graphic designers to design and publish professional, unique HTML websites without writing code or working within restrictive templates. Leveraging the latest Web standards including HTML5 and CSS3 where browser support exists, Muse combines precise design and creative freedom with innovative frameworks for adding navigation, widgets and HTML to include advanced interactivity on a site.

"The ability to build websites as easily as laying out a page in InDesign is one of the most popular requests from our design customers," says Lea Hickman, vice president of Design and Web product management at Adobe. "Those who have tested Muse are thrilled that something this intuitive yet powerful is now available."
Designers are invited to learn more about Muse by visiting http://muse.adobe.com where they can download the free beta (English only), see a gallery of Muse-created websites, and access instructional tutorials.

Plan, Design and Publish Unique and Interactive Websites:

· Easy-to-use sitemaps, master pages, and a host of flexible, site-wide tools make it fast and intuitive to plan the website layout.

· Designers can combine imagery, graphics, and text with complete control, flexibility and power, similar to the functionality in Adobe InDesign. Muse provides drag and drop customizable widgets like navigation menus. Users can add fully customizable interactive elements including slideshows, Tooltips and remote rollovers.

· Muse embeds HTML code snippets from sources including Google Maps, YouTube and Facebook.

· Muse allows for the creation of Adobe-hosted trial sites for testing and review purposes. A site can be sent to clients, converted to a paid Adobe-hosted site or exported for FTP to other hosting providers.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider shows off its specs, may launch in September

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/14/asus-eee-pad-slider-shows-off-its-specs-may-launch-in-september/

ASUS' Eee Pad Slider is fast becoming just as mythical as the flying horse the company's named after. We've had several encounters with potential release windows for the slate, only to see it continually creep back into fall. Well, judging by a recent report from Notebook Italia and the tab's new product page, it looks like we may actually see a September launch for the 10.1-incher -- in Italy. Contrary to prior rumors, the company will be offering the Slider in two storage configurations -- 16GB and 32GB at potential €479 and €599 price points overseas, while $400 and $550 models should hit the US. We've also got a slew of official specs for the Honeycomb-based device, which should ship with Android 3.1 installed, with a promised 3.2 upgrade to follow. The QWERTYfied tablet packs a 1280 x 800 WXGA display, dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of memory, 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, USB 2.0, mini-HDMI, microSD card reader, WiFi and Bluetooth. The company's also thrown in one year of "unlimited ASUS Web Storage" for your cloud computing needs. Will the electronics maker finally commit to a concrete launch for the Slider? We'll find out in a month's time.

ASUS Eee Pad Slider shows off its specs, may launch in September originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for us! e of fee ds.

Permalink | source

source

Notebook Italia (Translated), ASUS | Email this | Comments

Telex anti-censorship system promises to leap over firewalls without getting burned

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/14/telex-anti-censorship-system-promises-to-leap-over-firewalls-wit/

Human rights activists and free speech advocates have every reason to worry about the future of an open and uncensored internet, but researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Waterloo have come up with a new tool that may help put their fears to rest. Their system, called Telex, proposes to circumvent government censors by using some clever cryptographic techniques. Unlike similar schemes, which typically require users to deploy secret IP addresses and encryption keys, Telex would only ask that they download a piece of software. With the program onboard, users in firewalled countries would then be able to visit blacklisted sites by establishing a decoy connection to any unblocked address. The software would automatically recognize this connection as a Telex request and tag it with a secret code visible only to participating ISPs, which could then divert these requests to banned sites. By essentially creating a proxy server without an IP address, the concept could make verboten connections more difficult to trace, but it would still rely upon the cooperation of many ISPs stationed outside the country in question -- which could pose a significant obstacle to its realization. At this point, Telex is still in a proof-of-concept phase, but you can find out more in the full press release, after the break.

Continue reading Telex anti-censorship system promises to leap over firewalls without getting burned

Telex anti-censorship system promises to leap over firewalls without getting burned originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

Telex.cc (1) | Email this | Comments

Citrix app opens Windows for Chromebook owners

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/14/citrix-app-opens-windows-for-chromebook-owners/

Google hasn't made any bones about its desire to position Chrome OS as a presence in the business space. But for plenty of users, the relatively limited functionality of Chromebooks doesn't quite get the job done when it comes to doing serious work. The latest offering from Citrix could change that for a number of Chromebook-sporting business-types, offering access to Windows applications and desktops. Citrix Receiver Tech Preview is free from the Chrome Web Store (but requires a MyCitrix login). So now there's no excuse for not getting any work done -- except maybe a bad connection.

Citrix app opens Windows for Chromebook owners originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PC World | source

source

Chrome Web Store | Email this | Comments

HTC Holiday prototype shows up on Craigslist, gives us reason to celebrate (update: AT&T-bound))

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/14/htc-holiday-prototype-shows-up-on-craigslist-gives-us-reason-to/

This isn't something you see up for sale on Craigslist every day, but what you see here may very well be a true-blue HTC Holiday. According to the XDA thread, the person responsible for the pictures noticed the device was being sold on the famous classified site, purchased it, and splattered the images online as evidence. Certainly, the resemblance to the render we saw in May is uncanny (minus the unfortunately cracked screen), and if the specs stay true to what was rumored at the time, we can expect to enjoy a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM on a 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540) display -- all confirmed by the screenshots -- as well as Android 2.3.4 and dual cameras consisting of an 8MP rear and 1.3MP front. The smartphone was rumored to be heading to AT&T's lineup, ~~though no branding could be found~~. Either way, this particular dream machine is destined to turn more than a few heads. Check out the gallery below for a few more angles.

Gallery: HTC Holiday leaked shots

[Thanks, Michael]

Update: The "myATT" logo in the bottom right of the Holiday's app menu is a pretty obvious indicator that it is, indeed, on its way to AT&T -- so at least it's going through the testing rounds right now, and we'll see if it gets the final approval to get pushed to stores.

HTC Holiday prototype shows up on Craigslist, gives us reason to celebrate (update: AT&T-bound)) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

XDA-Developers | Email this | Comments

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)