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Friday, June 22, 2012

AMD launches Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, demands rematch with NVIDIA

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/amd-radeon-hd-7970-ghz-edition/

If you've been missing out on the graphics card wars of late, then here's a quick rundown. AMD launched its high-end $549 Radeon HD 7970 at the end of last year, and it reigned comfortably for a few months until NVIDIA came out with the masterful GeForce GTX 680. That would have been the end of the matter, at least for this product cycle, except for one crucial factor: time. Having reached the market so much earlier, AMD has now had six months to not only tweak its drivers but also its 28nm silicon. That process has already culminated in 1GHz cards at the low- and mid-ranges, and today it leads to the (slightly predictable) announcement of a Radeon HD 7970 'GHz Edition' -- priced at $499 and expected to be available from a range of board makers from next week. To keep you amused in the meantime, there's plenty of detail in the gallery below and after the break.

Gallery: Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition official slide deck

Continue reading AMD launches Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, demands rematch with NVIDIA

AMD launches Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, demands rematch with NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Valve announces Steam for Schools, helps teachers create educational Portal 2 levels

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/steam-for-schools-helps-teachers-create-educational-portal-levels/

Who ever said being a scientific guinea pig couldn't be educational? With Steam for Schools, teachers can now use Portal 2's level editor to create lessons focused on boosting critical thinking, spatial reasoning and problem solving skills. Announced at the Games for Change festival in New York City, the educator edition of Steam comes with a free copy of Portal 2 and the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker. Students and teachers alike can use the tools to create puzzles, but distribution is handled by teachers alone. (That's right, kids -- no level sharing unless the teach says so.) An accompanying website serves as a gathering place for teachers to collaborate, and aims to provide sample lesson plans centered on science, technology, engineering and math. If you're an educator who can't wait to bring a Portal-assisted physics lesson to life, see the links below to sign up for the ongoing beta. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to "study."

Valve announces Steam for Schools, helps teachers create educational Portal 2 levels originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Joystiq | source

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All-carbon solar cell draws power from near-infrared light, our energy future is literally that much brighter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/all-carbon-solar-cell-draws-power-from-near-infrared-light/

What's this orange-like patch, you ask? It's a layer of carbon nanotubes on silicon, and it might just be instrumental to getting a lot more power out of solar cells than we're used to. Current solar power largely ignores near-infrared light and wastes about 40 percent of the potential energy it could harness. A mix of carbon nanotubes and buckyballs developed by MIT, however, can catch that near-infrared light without degrading like earlier composites. The all-carbon formula doesn't need to be thickly spread to do its work, and it simply lets visible light through -- it could layer on top of a traditional solar cell to catch many more of the sun's rays. Most of the challenge, as we often see for solar cells, is just a matter of improving the energy conversion rate. Provided the researchers can keep refining the project, we could be looking at a big leap in solar power efficiency with very little extra footprint, something we'd very much like to see on the roof of a hybrid sedan.

All-carbon solar cell draws power from near-infrared light, our energy future is literally that much brighter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our te! rms for use of feeds.

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AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition review roundup: a big, bad bruiser of a graphics card

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/amd-radeon-hd-7970-ghz-edition-review-roundup/

You know the routine: we looked this revamped card's spec sheet a few hours ago, so now it's time to find out how it fared in independent tests and whether it's worth the $499 outlay. On the face of it, this powerhouse of a card ought to be a champ, since it comes $50 cheaper than the original's launch price (although that non-GHz Edition has now dropped to $449) and brings crucial improvements in clock speed and memory bandwidth. In practice? Well, it wins -- but only on points. Read on for more.

Continue reading AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition review roundup: a big, bad bruiser of a graphics card

AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition review roundup: a big, bad bruiser of a graphics card originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Did a Car Company Really Just Make the Best Password Manager We've Seen? [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920197/did-a-car-company-really-just-make-the-best-password-manager-weve-seen

Imagine if when you sat down at your computer it recognized you and unlocked all of your web accounts. No more logging in to anything. That's the promise of this new app by Ford. Yes, the car company.

Like other companies Ford has been using NFC keys for a while. When you're close to your car, it unlocks. So easy. Now the company has created Ford Keyfree, a Chrome extension which does essentially the same thing for your passwords. Your "key" is your smartphone. When you're close to your car, your phone talks to the Chrome extension via Bluetooth and automatically enters all of your passwords. When you walk away, the extension logs you out. Brilliant.

Ford Keyfree is a slick, intelligent piece of work. It turns out Detroit CAN innovate. As you can see from the video above it's obviously a marketing gimmick, and there are some practical security concerns. Isn't it kind of weird that all someone needs to get into my sensitive accounts is my phone? What's the proximity radius? Furthermore, since the app uses Bluetooth, it'll put a strain on your battery.

The app is only available in France right now. Ford reportedly plans to bring its password manager to America soon. [Fast Company]

Brilliant Spinning Heatsink Cools CPUs 30 Times More Efficiently [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920224/brilliant-spinning-heatsink-cools-cpus-30-times-more-efficiently

Most computers use a two-step process to cool the CPU. First, a heat exchanger pasted to the processor draws the warmth away. And then a combination of a heatsink and fans dissipate it away from the PC. But by merging those two steps into one, this spinning cooler ends up being greater than the sum of its parts.

The Sandia Cooler was developed by the Sandia National Labs who do enough research to know a thing or two about how to effectively cool a computer. The most interesting aspect of the cooler is that it doesn't attach directly to the CPU using thermal paste—which isn't possible given it's always spinning. Instead, it sits a mere thousandth of an inch above the processor, which creates what's called an air bearing that's actually just as efficient at transmitting heat.

And as the heat moves from the CPU to the cooler, it's almost immediately blasted away via a series of fins spinning at 2,000 rpm. As a result, Sandia claims the system is at least 30 times more efficient at cooling a processor than traditional heatsink and fan methods.

And not only is it also far quieter, but the blades are spinning far too quickly to ever collect dust. So while it lets you safely overclock your system, it's also automatically keeping it clean at the same time. And maybe that's the real innovation here. [Sandia National Laboratories via Dvice]

Google files for a patent on peer-to-peer location finding, says cell tower triangulation is for chumps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/google-files-for-a-patent-on-peer-to-peer-location-finding/

Crowdsourcing map data itself isn't a surprise; it's been the cornerstone of OpenStreetMap and is about to get a big boost through iOS 6. Crowdsourcing actual positions is still a relatively untapped resource, however, and Google thinks that it might just be the ticket to getting a device's location when GPS alone doesn't cut it. Much as your current phone uses triangulation between cell sites to help speed up a position lock, a technique in a new Google patent application uses the physical distances between nearby devices to get a complete picture, even if GPS is completely on the fritz. The peer-to-peer technique still needs an internet connection to reach the central service piecing information together -- there isn't much help if you're in areas where reliable internet access isn't always guaranteed. Likewise, there's no certainty that Google will use the patent in a future build of Android or Chrome OS. If it does, though, at least some of us may say goodbye to the days of our map positioning going haywire the moment we drive through a tunnel or step into an office without WiFi.

Google files for a patent on peer-to-peer location fin! ding, sa ys cell tower triangulation is for chumps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb [Led]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920090/here-it-is-the-worlds-first-remote+controlled-led-light-bulb

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb Don't you hate getting all bundled up under the covers, your pillows in the perfect scrunch position under your head, only to realize you didn't turn out the lamp on the opposite end of the room and there's no way you'll be able to sleep with that bright bulb shining in your eyes all night? I do. And I do this all the time.

Luckily for everyone, INSTEON, manufacturers of the best-selling and most reliable home-automation technology today, have come up with the perfect way to avoid finding yourself in the predicament ever again: the world's first remote-controllable LED light bulb.

The 60W, $29.99 bulb can be dimmed via a remote control available for both iOS and Android. As soon as the bulb is screwed in, its unique network address (which is printed on the bulb itself) is instantly recognized by the INSTEON network (or any nearby devices)—which means you'll be able to easily swap bulbs out without having to go through an annoying linking process.

With the most reliable, expandable, brilliant remote control system built right in, it's easy to grow your home network. Link one INSTEON LED Bulb to as many controllers as you want-including keypads, motion sensors, door sensors or even your smartphone. Or, link multiple bulbs to a single controller and turn them all on or off at the same time.

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb

With intuitive tap, double-tap and press-and-hold controls, customize INSTEON LED Bulb's settings to suit any ambience through smooth dimming transitions and a wide range of brightness levels. And installing INSTEON LED Bulb is as easy as 1-2-3:

Here it Is: The World's First Remote-Controlled (LED) Light Bulb

It's a modern tech twist on the old clapper. "App on—app, app—App off—app, app."
[Press Release]

The Retina MacBook Pro Can Drive Four Screens Simultaneously [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920134/the-retina-macbook-pro-can-drive-four-screens-simultaneously

The Retina MacBook Pro Can Drive Four Screens Simultaneously The new Retina MacBook Pro is an incredible piece of hardware. On its spec sheets, Apple claims it can support "up to two external displays", but it turns out that's bull. In fact, it can support three external monitors.

Hey now. That's some impressive graphics performance from a laptop. This set-up has been tested by several people independently—including The Verge and OWC—and the results are impressive. OWC in particular reports being able to run the following displays:

Retina on laptop @ "best for Retina"
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt/DisplayPort
LG monitor @ 1920 x 1200 via HDMI

Perhaps more impressive is the graphics performance on each and every display—after all, a static display on four monitors isn't much use unless you can actually do something useful with it. Again, leaning on OWC's test, it seems the MacBook has no issues:

"Moving images and media didn't create any lag and we were able to play video on all four displays simultaneously."

Four videos, simultaneously, with no lag. On a laptop. That's pretty sweet. For the record, Apple officially claims the MacBook "simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays." But we know better.

Of course, running three external displays from a laptop is (i) a pain in the ass and (ii) not as efficient as using a beefier computer. But it's still nice to know it can handle it. [The Verge, OWC]

Image by The Verge

Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini: Leaner, Meaner, Faster, Thunderbolt-Equipped [Storage]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920071/drobo-5d-and-drobo-mini-leaner-meaner-faster-thunderbolt+equipped

The Drobo family of products are generally respected amongst professionals and tech nerds, but the one complaint was that the dynamic storage arrays were too slow. Drobo listened, and now they're answering back with the Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini, two devices designed to handle the most demanding of file transfers.

For the uninitiated, Drobo is a storage controller that isn't unlike a RAID array or home server. But unlike those devices, Drobo doesn't just mirror one drive onto another drive; rather it finds the most efficient ways to mirror data between drives, constantly rearranging and optimizing its data backup, but always ensuring that your files are redundant.

The Drobo 5D isn't radically different from previous-generation devices, as it can still accept up to five 3.5-inch drives, and allows you to swap them out on the fly. though there are a few noticeable additions. First there's USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity, which means that it has the throughput for blazing transfer times. Secondly, Drobo says they've updated the internal guts of the storage controller, so that those new connections aren't lost on hardware that is bottlenecking itself. And finally, an SSD has been added to speed up data access and read times. Drobo says that there will be a 3x-6x performance boost over older models.

The Drobo Mini is an all new product, designed for the travelling creative professional. The Mini accepts up to 4 2.5-inch drives, and like the Drobo 5D, has Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connections. The portable array has been ruggedized to survive the bumps and knocks generally associated with travel, and also has an SSD for a speed boost. Expect to see the Drobo 5D and Mini release this summer for $800 and $600, respectively (and no, that doesn't include actual storage). [Drobo]

Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/chromium-os-gets-ported-to-raspberry-pi/

DNP Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi

Hexxeh has already proven his love for Chromium OS and the Raspberry Pi, obviously the next step was for the hacker to combine his passions into one project. Thus was born Chromium OS for the tiny ARM-powered computer from the UK. The initial commit of the port was officially approved by the Chromium team, meaning that anyone lucky enough to get their mitts on the board can download the code themselves. Of course, there's a long road to hoe before we see a stable version -- if we ever see such a thing. Right now the OS does little more than boot up, but if the embedded version of Chromium can be made to function without issue it could make browsing the web on the Broadcom SOC-sporting PC much less painful. Then again, performance is a big question mark. Seeing how much the 700MHz ARM11 chip struggled with the Midori browser, we wouldn't hold our breath for miracles. Then again, the underlying system is far less demanding than a full fledged Linux distro with a desktop. Hit up the source link to download Chromium OS for the Raspberry Pi yourself.

Chromium OS gets ported to Raspberry Pi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/project-moonshot-take-two-hps-low-power-gemini-servers-let-go/

Last we'd heard of HP's Project Moonshot, that effort to create low-energy servers was set to ride on the back of the Calxeda SoC. But for the rollout of its production-ready "Gemini" models, the company's changed tack, replacing the previously announced ARM chips for Intel's Centerton. Why the sudden swap? Well, it seems that new Atom processor delivers the same energy-sipping promise of its predecessor, while also adding 64-bit support, a broader software ecosystem, error correcting code memory and hardware virtualization. That's all well and good, but when you boil it down to layman's terms, HP's really just angling for the ultimate in efficiency and it plans to do that by providing these compact servers in "a [smaller] footprint" than currently available setups. The system's still not quite ready for primetime consumption, given its very recent public outing, however, demo units are in the pipeline, with a planned launch for the end of 2012. If this sort of back-end geekery gets your blood flowing, feel free to hit up the official presser after the break.

Continue reading Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton

Project Moonshot take two: HP's low-power Gemini servers let go of ARM's Calxeda for Intel's Centerton originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Windows Phone 8 Will Be Powered By a Snapdragon S4 Plus Processor [Guts]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920057/windows-phone-8-will-be-powered-by-a-snapdragon-s4-plus-processor

Qualcomm and Microsoft are continuing their cozy relationship with Snapdragon S4 Plus processors set to power Windows Phone 8.

A couple weeks ago, Qualcomm launched tiers for the Snapdragon platform. The S4 Plus is built for a wide array of smartphones. It's dual-core, up to 1.7GHz, up to Adreno 305 GPU, it has built-in 3G and 4G LTE, USB 2.0, and Bluetooth. It's a nice bit of kit, and for the geeks out there it will be the Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960, specifically, according to Qualcomm.

It's interesting that they would only mention the Plus at this point, because Microsoft said today that Windows 8 would support multiple cores (up to 64 cores, which are of course powered by fairy earwax and happy thoughts). The S4 Pro is the one that can have up to four cores and an Adreno 320 GPU, but we've not seen any of these yet, so perhaps they're just waiting to announce that at a later date. Regardless, nice to know where your guts are coming from. [Qualcomm]

CinePro Turns Your iPhone into a Digital Cinema Camera [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5919808/cinepro-turns-your-iphone-into-a-digital-cinema-camera

CinePro Turns Your iPhone into a Digital Cinema Camera iOS: One of the drawbacks of using the video camera on your phone is the complete lack of control. While good automatic settings are useful in a lot of situations, there are times when they fail to achieve the look you want. While our expectations are fairly low for these tiny cameras, they don't have to be. CinePro supercharges your iPhone's video recording capabilities, providing everything from manual controls to fancy filters.

CinePro offers a lot of cool features. To start, you can set the frame rate, white balance mode, exposure, autofocus mode, and ISO. You can leave certain settings on auto and others on manual. The entire top row provides you with quick access to all the changes you can make. On the bottom row, however, you can choose filters and even make adjustments to them. CinePro includes several stock filters to start you off, but allows you to add more for $1 per pack (as an in-app purchase). Even if you don't go crazy with all the filter packs, the $1 it'll cost you to just get the standard app is worthwhile if you want a little more control over your video recordings. It's not going to turn your iPhone into a true cinema camera, but it's a great step in the right direction.

CinePro ($1) | iTunes App Store

Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/kinetis-l-series-mcus-use-arm-cortex/

Freescale aims to drag 8- and 16-bit manufacturing into the modern era with a 32-bit MCU that's cheaper than a cup o' Joe. The ARM Cortex-MO+ based Kinesis L series MCU is now available in alpha to interested parties, it's capable of sipping a scant 50 µA/MHz of power and will cost just $0.49 when you buy 'em in lots of 10,000. While the cheap chips will no doubt go on to help power the internet of things, the associated debut of a $12.95 development board coming in August will also be a boon to developers and hobbyists. The platform will allow "quick application prototyping and demonstration" according to the company, and provide a GUI tool for generating start-up code and device drivers. So, if you've gotta have that new beer dispenser mock-up running at a full 32-bits, check the PR after the break.

Continue reading Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order

Kinetis L Series MCUs use ARM Cortex-MO+ to sip least power, cost 49 cents each per 10K order originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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