Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, February 17, 2012

Auraslate opens Android tablets up to developers, welcomes mischief

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/17/auraslate-opens-android-tablets-up-to-developers-welcomes-misch/

HTC aside, not every manufacturer is willing, ready and committed to opening up its device portfolio to the idle hands of hackers. Which is why Auraslate, a recently launched start-up, is stepping in to fill that void, instituting a sea change in how devs translate their unsanctioned software concepts into actual end user products. To do this, the humble outfit's offering up 7- and 10-inch Android tablets that range in price from $139 to $270 and come loaded up with an ARM Cortex A9 CPU, 4GB storage and a Gorilla Glass-coated capacitive touchscreen. Prospective haxxors can choose between two configurations available on the site: an Advance Development Kit which includes a source code disk and a cheaper Novice option. For the money, you'll get that aforementioned hardware, peripherals (usb plug, power adapter), as well as access to Aura's forums and ROM refreshes, although ICS is limited to its top shelf Lifepad 1026. So if you're tired of damning the Man with every OEM-issued, security-patching update and just want to be left to your coding best, it might be wise to bask in this company's glow.

Auraslate opens Android tablets up to developers, welcomes mischief originally appeare! d on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's 2012 HDTV family prices leaked?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/16/samsungs-2012-hdtv-family-prices-leaked/

In the market for a HDTV upgrade? Then you may be interested in hearing how much you'll need to pony up for Samsung's new screens. HDGuru's got its hands on a whole list of purported MAPs (minimum advertised prices) for its 2012 range and, sadly, they're slightly pricier than last year's models. You will, however, be getting some extra bang for your buck; its latest top-end sets include built-in cameras, speech recognition and gesture-sensing remotes. The LED LCD 8000 series of Smart TVs maxes out at 75 inches ($7,299), "shrinking" down to a 46 inch model ($2,699). These all pack a 3D screen alongside dual-core processors for TV-based apps. Meanwhile, if you're in the market for a plasma, expect to pay around $2,249 for the 51 inch model with the same specifications outlined above, while a 64 inch vista will necessitate 3,399 notes. Prices aren't set in stone just yet and could change depending on competitor's pricing ahead of hitting the shelves. We're hoping any potential price adjustments will be in the downward direction. Also of note: in 2012 you may not be able to find deep discounts at online shops like Amazon vs. big box retailers like Best Buy, as HDGuru mentions Samsung is reportedly looking to enforce Apple-style uniform pricing on its high-end products. Check the full -- and pretty darn comprehensive -- list at the source below.

Samsung's 2012 HDTV family prices leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our ! terms for use of feeds.

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Renesas MP5232 SoC promises dual-core processing and LTE connectivity for less cash

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/17/renesas-mp5232-soc/

Renesas' latest MP5232 SoC promises dual-core processing and LTE connectivity for less cash

There's a trend underfoot to bring high-end smartphone capabilities down to a price that even Joe Sixpack is willing to swill. We saw evidence of this from MediaTek earlier in the week, and now the crew at Renesas is looking to join the race with its MP5232 system on a chip (SoC). This entrant touts a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, along with HSPA+ and LTE radios on the same chip -- much like offerings from competitors Qualcomm and ST-Ericsson. Renesas estimates that with its SoC, a smartphone can be delivered to the customer for as little as $150 -- mind you, carrier subsidies should be able to swallow the rest. Renesas is also pushing its chip to tablet makers, and expects products with its internals to reach consumers in as little as six to nine months. If you're an OEM (or just wanna pretend), you'll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Renesas MP5232 SoC promises dual-core processing and LTE connectivity for less cash

Renesas MP5232 SoC promises dual-core processing and LTE connectivity for less cash originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The FBI Might Cut Off the Internet For Millions of People on March 8th [Security]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5885716/the-fbi-might-cut-off-the-internet-for-millions-of-people-on-march-8th

The FBI Might Cut Off the Internet For Millions of People on March 8th In an unprecedented move, the FBI may cut off Internet access to millions of people on March 8th to try to rid the country of a Trojan. Millions of computers are infected worldwide—maybe even yours.

The DNSChanger Trojan originated in Estonia and might be lurking undetected on as many as a half-million computers in the United States, according to Brian Krebs. It has been found on the computers at half of all Fortune 500 companies and at 27 government agencies. The Trojan changes an infected computer's DNS settings to send users to fraudulent websites. What's more, the worm is particularly malicious in that it also prevents you from visiting security websites that might diagnose or fix the problem. While the men authorities suspect are behind the Trojan have been arrested, the Feds, working in concert with the Estonian government, have yet to put the final kill on the worm's botnet.

That's where the Internet shutdown comes in. The FBI has a court order allowing it to set up temporary replacement DNS servers so that those with infected computers or networks can get the worm off of their systems. The court order, however, expires on March 8th. Unless that order gets extended, anybody who hasn't cleaned up their act before it expires, might get cut off from the Internet altogether.

Luckily, it turns out kicking DNSChanger is manageable—as long as you know you've got a problem. To learn more about checking your computer or network for the Trojan check out the DNS Changer Working Group and the FBI. [Krebs on Security via BetaBeat via Geekosystem]

Image via the FBI

Clik for iPhone and Android: Magically Control Any Web Browser from Your Phone [Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5885817/clik-for-iphone-and-android-magically-control-any-web-browser-from-your-phone

Clik for iPhone and Android: Magically Control Any Web Browser from Your Phone So you have a YouTube video on your phone but you want to watch it on a bigger screen. Do you open a web browser and find that video again? Guh. That would take too long. Instead, use Clik, an app that magically pushes YouTube videos from your phone on to any screen with a web browser.

What does it do?

You point your web browser to ClikThis.com and then open the Clik app on your smartphone. Scan the QR code on ClikThis.com and that web browser now becomes a big screen to watch videos on (with the Clik app being your snazzy remote). You can search Clik for videos (videos are only populated from YouTube for now), browse random videos or find your favorites. After you find the video you want to play, just click it on your iPhone or Android phone and the video will start playing on your browser's screen. Boom. Bang. Big screen YouTube videos without any fuss whatsoever. All the playback controls are on your phone, all the video is on the bigness of a web browser.

Why do we like it?

TV manufacturers are always trying to find a way to make web video content more accessible on your TV. But the problem is without a keyboard and mouse, it's terribly annoying to do so. No TV, I will not use you to watch YouTube if it's not convenient. Clik is convenient! If you have a web browser on your TV, Clik lets you easily watch any video you want on a much more enjoyable screen. The execution is seamless too, after scanning the QR code, you have full control of what that portal displays. It's also stupid fast, videos loaded just as quickly as they did if you were navigating on YouTube. Your friends can even join in the fun because more than one smartphone can control what's being displayed on the browser screen. Basically, Clik turns any screen smart by using your smartphone. [Laptop Mag]

Clik

Download this app for:

The Best

Big screen!

The Worst

Only YouTube videos

Thursday, February 16, 2012

PSA: AT&T's Galaxy Note does not support AWS for HSPA+

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/16/psa-atandts-galaxy-note-does-not-support-aws-for-hspa/

PSA: AT&T's Galaxy Note does not support AWS for HSPA+

Specs aren't always accurate, especially when it comes to the frequencies supported by the devices we review -- something we learned the hard way with T-mobile's G2x last year. While both Samsung and AT&T list the radios in the awesome new Galaxy Note LTE as quadband GSM / EDGE, tri-band UMTS / HSPA+ (850 / 1900 / 2100MHz) and dual-band LTE (1700 and 700MHz, bands 4 and 17) we've read emails, tweets and comments suggesting that Samsung's giant phone (or little tablet?) is also compatible with AWS (1700 MHz) for HSPA+, which is used by T-Mobile in the US. Bell, which carries the same Galaxy Note in Canada, shows it supporting 1700MHz for HSPA+, further adding to the confusion. Of course, it's possible the Canadian handset is slightly different, but we wanted to verify the radio specs for AT&T's model so we unlocked our white review unit with the help from our friends at Negri Electronics. The verdict? AT&T's Galaxy Note does not support AWS for HSPA+ -- it's EDGE only on T-Mobile USA. Sure, it's rather unfortunate considering Samsung's flagship unlocked Galaxy Nexus features a pentaband HSPA+ ra! dio, but to be clear, the same restriction applies to the global non-LTE version of the Galaxy Note that we reviewed last year.

PSA: AT&T's Galaxy Note does not support AWS for HSPA+ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel releases Core i7-3820 CPU, proves Sandy Bridge E isn't entirely elitist

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/16/intel-releases-core-i7-3820-cpu/

The cost of entry to the LGA-2011 party just tumbled by around $250 thanks to Chipzilla's Core i7-3820 processor. It's a proper Sandy Bridge E processor with PCIe 3.0 support and more PCIe lanes, more memory bandwidth and room for more RAM compared to older platforms, but of course it's also lower specced than the pricey 3960X and 3930K. It 'only' has four cores (and eight threads), 10MB of L3 cache and it isn't fully unlocked -- as denoted by the lack of a K or an X in its title. Priced at around $300, it looks like a steal when stacked up against an LGA-1155 cousin like the $332 Core i7-2700K, which has the same 3.9GHz base clock speed, 8MB of L3 cache and none of the added benefits of Sandy Bridge E. However, once you factor in the cost of an X79 motherboard and perhaps also a new cooling solution, Intel's pricing starts to make more sense. AnandTech reviewed and benchmarked this chip a while back and reached a glowing conclusion -- check it out at the More Coverage link below.

Intel releases Core i7-3820 CPU, proves Sandy Bridge E isn't entirely elitist originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ROI of Social Media Is Still Zero - Agree w/ me or tell me I'm stupid - http://bit.ly/cV9z3J

Nikon WT-5 WiFi dongle wins FCC approval, fires off a ring of D4s to celebrate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/nikon-wt-5-wifi-dongle-wins-fcc-approval/

Okay, so Bullet Time actually used Canon cameras, but Nikon D4 owners should soon have their own means of messing with space and time. The WT-5 dongle can control up to ten of the mammoth DSLRs simultaneously or, in more usual set-ups, allow a single camera to share its shots over a network. This'll mean you're no longer tied down by the Ethernet cable that we were forced to use in our recent networking hands-on with the D4. We don't know if this will arrive in stores at the same time as the camera itself, or how much it'll cost, but at least it's now passed through FCC without getting shot down. Click past the break for a few product shots, and note that the status LED glows solid green when there's a network connection, flashes to indicate a transfer in progress, and radiates nasty orange to inform your lead actor that he'll have to bend over backwards for yet another take.

Continue reading Nikon WT-5 WiFi dongle wins FCC approval, fires off a ring of D4s to celebrate

Nikon WT-5 WiFi dongle wins FCC approval, fires off a ring of D4s to celebrate originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast slows the flood of video customer losses in Q4 2011

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/comcast-slows-the-flood-of-video-customer-losses-in-q4-2011/

It's not often that a company announced it lost 17,000 customers in a quarter and that's considered good news, but for Comcast that's exactly the case when it comes to cable TV. Compared to the 135,000 customers lost in the same period a year ago (which was also lower than the year that preceded it), it's a slowing of a trend over the last few years and if you believe cord cutting is taking a toll on Big Cable, could indicate that is tailing off as well. That's not all of the good news however, as it also increased the number of customers picking up extra services like internet and phone. We didn't get too many tidbits from the earnings call, but did hear a mention that it's investing in new cloud-based software for its TV boxes -- hopefully that means we'll see that new Xfinity TV guide roll out widely sooner rather than later.

Comcast slows the flood of video customer losses in Q4 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T Galaxy Note review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/atandt-galaxy-note-review/

It was once said that if a phone or tablet used a stylus its hardware designers had blown it. It was also said that if the software on that device contained a task manager that coders had similarly missed the mark. The Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T contains what many would consider a stylus and, if you hold down the Home button, you're presented with what can only be described as a task manager.

So the Galaxy Note, Samsung's massive 5.3-inch "superphone," is critically flawed then, right? No. It is, in fact, one of the best phones to hit the market since another Samsung powerhouse -- the Galaxy Nexus. It's a device with a lot to love and is the kind of phone that would make almost every Android aficionado swoon. However, with its massive 5.3-inch display and generally understated styling, it isn't for everybody. We reviewed it before in European guise, but now read on to see if AT&T's $300 LTE version of this big brute is just right for you.

Gallery: Ceramic White AT&T Galaxy Note LTE overview

Continue reading AT&T Galaxy Note review

AT&T Galaxy Note review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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32GB GSM Galaxy Nexus canceled, Google hopes you really like streaming

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/32gb-gsm-galaxy-nexus-canceled-google-hopes-you-really-like-str/

Galaxy Nexus

This probably won't matter too much to our American readers, but the 32GB version of the GSM Galaxy Nexus has been canceled according to Expansys and Negri Electronics. Initially the latest Nexus device was supposed to be sold in both 32 and 16 gigabyte varieties. But, for whatever reason, the larger capacity model never made it to market. Now, word is that it may never happen. A couple of importers are saying they've been notified by Samsung that handset has been discontinued, which is particularly bad news since the Gnex (as the cool kids are calling it) doesn't have a microSD slot. We hope you like streaming all your media.

32GB GSM Galaxy Nexus canceled, Google hopes you really like streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gigabyte GSmart G1355 leaked ahead of MWC, offers dual-SIM goodness for small wallets

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/gigabyte-gsmart-g1355/

Gigabyte doesn't crank out handsets with the same frequency as, say, Samsung or HTC, so it's a momentous occasion to see a new addition to its lineup getting dressed up and ready to go. The outfit's latest model, the GSmart G1355, is getting some unofficial face time before Mobile World Congress and appears to keep things simple: it's said to bring dual-SIM capability to the table as well as a lightly-skinned version of Android 2.3, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7227T CPU with 512MB of RAM and Adreno 200 GPU. The 11.5mm-thick device also sports a 4.3-inch WVGA display, which is par for the course in today's smartphone market but a behemoth when compared to the rest of Gigabyte's offerings. Since it hasn't officially been announced, we also are unsure about the pricing and availability, but the specs certainly indicate that it's aiming for entry-level status. The G1355 is expected to make its official debut in Barcelona, and we'll be there to get some quality one-on-one time with the new handset.

Gigabyte GSmart G1355 leaked ahead of MWC, offers dual-SIM goodness for small wallets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC to give sneak peek of Sense-coated ICS to a few lucky Europeans

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/htc-ice-cream-sandwich-with-sense-preview-in-europe/

HTC's already said it plans on handing out ICS treats in late March, but the Taiwanese mobile sensation wants to give a selected few the chance to join an early taste test. The Ice Cream Sandwich party is a fairly exclusive affair, with HTC restricting admission to those of you living in the EU and rockin' a Sensation or its Beats-sporting XE variant. The outfit's given no further deets as to how it'll spread the goods -- and to how many more handsets -- or if the teaser will ever make its way to US-based folks. Regardless, we're sure you're hoping to be amongst the chosen ones -- and please do hit us up if at any point you're surprised by a tasty 4.0 update.

HTC to give sneak peek of Sense-coated ICS to a few lucky Europeans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA reports Q4 2012 earnings: annual revenue up 12.8 percent, net income doubles

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/15/nvidia-q4-2012-earnings/

NVIDIA Q4 earnings

If you thought we were done with the numbers game, think again. NVIDIA has just pushed out its figures for Q4 of FY 2012 and things are looking good. Revenue for the quarter was $953 million, a 10.6 percent decline over Q3, but if you look over the entire year revenue increased 12.8 percent over fiscal 2011. Net income, too, was down compared to Q3, but looking annually, when compared to 2011 income more than doubled, from 253 million to 581. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang was predictably pleased with the outcome, saying: "We expect continued growth ahead, as Tegra 3 powers a new wave of quad-core super phones and Kepler, our next-generation GPU architecture, sets new standards in visual and parallel computing." We're expecting plenty of great devices too -- the Transformer Prime TF700T in particular.

Continue reading NVIDIA reports Q4 2012 earnings: annual revenue up 12.8 percent, net income doubles

NVIDIA reports Q4 2012 earnings: annual revenue up 12.8 percent, net income doubles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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