Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

NVIDIA working on Linux support for Optimus automatic graphics switching

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/nvidia-linux-optimus-driver/

Linux godfather Linus Torvalds may have a frosty relationship with NVIDIA, but that hasn't stopped the company from improving its hardware's support for the open-source operating system. In fact, the chipset-maker is working on the OS' compatibility with its Optimus graphics switching tech, which would enable laptops to conserve power by swapping between discrete and integrated graphics on the fly. In an email sent to a developer listserv, NVIDIA software engineer Aaron Plattner revealed that he's created a working proof of concept with a driver. There's no word on when the Tux-loving masses may see Optimus support, but we imagine that day can't come soon enough for those who want better battery life while gaming on their mobile machines.

Filed under: Laptops, Software

NVIDIA working on Linux support for Optimus automatic graphics switching originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:29:00 ! EDT. Pl ease see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contour+2 review: the best consumer helmet camera on the market

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/contour-plus-2-review/

More Info

It's been a little while since the two major players in the helmet cam industry, Contour and GoPro, refreshed their wares. Contour launched its Contour+ and Roam models last summer, while GoPro delivered the HD Hero2 late last year. As our extensive testing can attest, both companies put out great cameras, but with Sony about to get in the game with its $199 Action Cam, the pair need to raise their games -- and that's exactly what Contour is doing with the Contour+2.

This logically named fol! low-up t o the Contour+ is a big step forward on many levels, still delivering 1080p recording while offering many design and software improvements, including the ability to use your smartphone not just as a viewfinder, but to start and stop recording, too. Plus, at $400, it's $100 cheaper than last year's offering -- and that's despite coming with a fully waterproof case. Join us as we put it through its paces.

Gallery: Contour+2 review

Continue reading Contour+2 review: the best consumer helmet camera on the market

Contour+2 review: the best consumer helmet camera on the market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watching 49 Quadrocopters Fly and Swarm Across the Night Sky Is Pretty Freaky [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5940510/watching-49-quadrocopters-fly-and-swarm-across-the-night-sky-is-pretty-freaky

There's something unnerving about watching quadrocopters fly and dart around. It gets even creepier when the quadrocopters team up and become a giant swarm, morphing into different shapes like a living organism. So you can imagine what watching 49 quadrocopters littering the sky feels like. It's like seeing aliens on Earth.

The awesome show was blasted on the sky of Linz, Austria. According to DVICE, The AscTec Hummingbird quadrocopters teamed up for a show called, "The Cloud in the Web" and was programmed by Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies GmbH. I would probably pee my pants if I saw these flying killers in the sky. [AEC.at via DVICE]

$49 Cubieboard for developers is heavy on specs, light on the wallet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/cubieboard-for-developers/

You've already got plenty of options if you're in the market for a developer board, but it might be worth taking a look at the new $49 Cubieboard, which packs quite the specs given its price point. The board hosts a 1GHz AllWinner A10 Cortex A8 CPU with Mali-400 GPU, 1GB of RAM and 4 gigs of onboard storage. For ins and outs, you're looking at 1080p HDMI, Ethernet, one MultiMediaCard (MMC) slot, a SATA port, two USB hosts, an IR sensor and 96 extender pins for solder junkies. Cubieboard's Wiki page lists an additional MMC slot and USB OTG, but as this doesn't check out in the pictures, we assume they've either been scrapped, or they'll be added on for later production runs. As you would expect, several versions of Linux and Android are supported by the Raspberry Pi bully, which is expected to start shipping to select developers sometime this week. There's no word on when it may be available for general consumption, but by then you'll hopefully have a better product anyway -- if the pros have done their job, that is.

Filed under: Misc

$49 Cubieboard for developers is heavy on specs, light on the wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 02:59:0! 0 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Salt Water-Powered Lamp Could Run on Your Tears [Lights]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5940208/salt-water+powered-lamp-could-run-on-your-tears

The next time you go camping, instead of bringing batteries to keep your lantern running, you might only need to bring a salt shaker or a really sad book. Because Green House Co. Ltd., a Japanese company, has developed an LED light that runs on just salt water.

Using a dedicated water bag, campers would only have to mix up a saline solution of salt and H2O to keep the lamp glowing for up to eight hours at a time. The salty mixture serves as an electrolyte between a set of magnesium and carbon rods that function as negative and positive electrodes inside the lantern, producing electricity. It's not all virtually free energy, though. The magnesium rod is only good for about 120 hours of electricity production, but replacements will be sold separately when the lantern goes on sale sometime this month. [Green House via Tech-On!]

Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/04/amazon-epix-prime-instant-streaming/

Truth be told, Amazon's Prime Instant Video selection isn't the most comprehensive library on the net, but it's well on its way, thanks to a new licensing agreement with the Epix. The entertainment network, which partners with studios that include Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount, brings access to recent blockbusters like The Avengers, The Hunger Games and Thor, along with evergreen gems like Justin Bieber Never Say Never. Amazon's streaming service, which includes thousands of movies and television shows, enables customers subscribing to Prime for $79 per year to stream content without additional monthly fees, in addition to benefits that include discounted shipping and a Kindle book loan program. The terms of the deal have not been announced, but the press release (available in full after the break) lists the partnership as a "multi-year licensing agreement," benefiting customers in the US.

Continue reading Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless

Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AntiSec Leaks 1 Million Apple Device IDs Obtained During FBI Breach [Hacking]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5940183/antisec-leaks-1-million-apple-device-ids-obtained-during-fbi-breach

AntiSec Leaks 1 Million Apple Device IDs Obtained During FBI Breach Antisec has released 1 million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs), claiming that it obtained them after breaching an FBI computer. It also claims to have over 12 million IDs in total, along with user names, device names, cell phone numbers and addresses to go with them. In a statement Antisec explains:

During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of "NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv" turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc. the personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose.

Antisec suggests that the FBI is using the information to track citizens. It's not clear, of course, whether any of these claims are true—but if they are, the NCFTA acronym in Antisec's file name could likely stand for National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance, which "functions as a conduit between private industry and law enforcement." If that's the case, it could mean Apple is feeding the FBI user data though the NCTFA, that the FBI is mining its own data... or something else entirely. [AntiSec via The Next Web]

Modder builds $150 open-source thermal imaging camera to help insulate his house (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/03/iphone-thermal-imaging/

Modder Andy Rawson thinks he's found the secret to turning smartphones into super-cheap thermal imaging hardware. Inspired by his quest to find leaks in his old home and the high cost of professional gear, he set about building his own. A 64-zone temperature sensor connects to his iPhone via the dock, overlaying the data onto his camera display. He's planning to open-source the $150 hardware, and an Android variant of the hardware is currently in the works -- although details for both are currently thin on the ground, you can see his announcement video after the break.

Continue reading Modder builds $150 open-source thermal imaging camera to help insulate his house (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Peripherals

Modder builds $150 open-source thermal imaging camera to help insulate his house (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blackmagic Design starts shipping Cinema Cameras in limited quantity

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/04/blackmagic-design-starts-shipping-limited-quantity/

Remember that $2,995 Blackmagic Cinema Camera that shoots full-res ~~21:9~~ 16:9 video? It's now hitting shelves, or maybe we should say "a shelf," because the initial shipment was "rather small," according to the company. The arrival date was pushed back earlier, and now the 2.5k, 12-bit RAW, sub-four-thirds video camera won't roll out in volume until the "parts supply ramps up." Meanwhile, B&H got a handful along with several other dealers, but if you just decided to order one for tomorrow's shoot, you may wanna cool your ardor -- there's quite a back order to get through, first.

Filed under: Cameras, HD

Blackmagic Design starts shipping Cinema Cameras in limited quantity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TV Catchup for Android arrives on Google Play

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/04/tv-catchup-android/

TVCatchup, our favorite and most-used TV-watching service has brought its app over to Android. The service, which we've found to be much more reliable than the BBC's live streams on our flaky connection, lets you watch nearly 60 free-to-air channels available in the UK. The ad-supported app is available for free on Google Play right now -- as long as you've paid your license fee, folks.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Software, HD, Mobile

TV Catchup for Android arrives on Google Play originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, September 03, 2012

Bottle Blender Mixes Fresh Fruit and Water To Flavor Your Boring H2O [Bottles]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5939652/bottle-blender-mixes-fresh-fruit-and-water-to-flavor-your-boring-h2o

If plain old water doesn't quench your palate, but you don't want to spring for a fancy flavor-enhanced pre-bottled alternative, feast your eyes upon the Aqua Zinger DIY H2O infuser. It lets you imbue your water with everything from fresh fruit essences, to spices, to candy corn.

What's particularly neat is that you don't need to plug the $26 Aqua Zinger in or ever charge a battery. The blending mechanism is completely manual. You just fill the bottom capsule with whatever you'd like your water to taste like, and attach it to the bottle. The act of screwing it onto the Zinger's base pulverizes and blends what's inside, while a fine mesh screen ensures that only your water can flow between the chambers and absorb the flavors. The website suggests such ingredients as cucumber, mint, or lemon and lime. But deep down you know you've always wanted Evian to introduce a Skittles or Starburst option.

[Zing Anything via PSFK]

Shocker: smartphone users like bigger screens, market share may respond accordingly

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/03/shocker-smartphone-users-like-bigger-screens/

There's been a trend towards big smartphones. Sometimes, really big. Even so, concerns have persisted that the cart is driving the horse -- that customers are buying big phones because that's what's available, not because they have a preference. Kantar Worldpanel ComTech might not put that issue to bed once and for all, but its latest study suggests that there's at least some appeal to all that extra glass. Among Android phones sold in the past three months across eight countries, 29 percent of them had a screen larger than 4.5 inches. Their owners were unsurprisingly more active as well, using the internet and watching videos more often than those whose phones have more modest displays.

Market share might be following suit. Throughout the countries Kantar is tracking, Android still has roughly half or more of the market, ranging from 46.8 percent in Brazil to a staggering 86.8 percent of Spain. In Europe alone, it was up by just over a fifth from a year ago. We know iOS is taking a beating outside of the US as a result. Before anyone calls the trend irreversible, however, remember that we're on the edge of an unpredictable period: we know some mobile fans have been holding out for a new iPhone, and all the apparent rumors have Apple choosing a b! igger sc reen that might satisfy some outstanding gripes with screen sizes. We're also anticipating at least a few Windows Phone wildcards that could shake up the status quo and make this a three-horse race.

Continue reading Shocker: smartphone users like bigger screens, market share may respond accordingly

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Shocker: smartphone users like bigger screens, market share may respond accordingly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Use Gmail and Google Docs to Easily and Quickly Track Anything [Quantified Self]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5939539/use-gmail-and-google-docs-to-track-anything

Use Gmail and Google Docs to Easily and Quickly Track Anything Google Docs and Gmail can be used together to create a simple yet flexible way of tracking just about anything. For example, you can easily track your expenses, create a workout log, or set up a food diary. Here's how.

The Power Tips for Google blog offers this awesome tip for setting up a form in Google Docs and then quickly accessing it in Gmail. The system is really easy to set up:

Basically, create a spreadsheet in Google Docs and then go to Tools > Create form in the menu.
Edit the form to add the items you want to record (e.g., date, amount, payment method, description, categories, etc.)
Click on the "Email this form" button to email it to yourself.
Whenever you want to add log something and have it entered into your spreadsheet, you can quickly submit the form from within that email.

That's it!

Use Gmail and Google Docs to Easily and Quickly Track Anything Well, one more thing. For easy access to the form, enable the "Quick Links" lab feature (under Settings > Labs in Gmail) and you can add a permanent link to the form to your menu.

There are lots of ways you can use this. Our one-minute personal inventory form would be great to set up with this system. You can even share the form with other people, for simple group tracking.

Track Your Expenses Using Gmail and Google Docs | Power Tips for Google Docs

OLPC delivers big OS update with text-to-speech, DisplayLink and WebKit

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/02/olpc-delivers-big-os-update-with-text-to-speech-displaylink/

While most of its energy is focused on the XO-4 Touch, the One Laptop Per Child project is swinging into full gear for software, too. The project team has just posted an OS 12.1.0 update that sweetens the Sugar for at least present-day XO units. As of this latest revamp, text-to-speech is woven into the interface and vocalizes any selectable text -- a big help for students that are more comfortable speaking their language than reading it. USB video output has been given its own lift through support for more ubiquitous DisplayLink adapters. If you're looking for the majority of changes, however, they're under-the-hood tweaks to bring the OLPC architecture up to snuff. Upgrades to GTK3+ and GNOME 3.4 help, but we're primarily noticing a shift from Mozilla's web engine to WebKit for browsing: although the OLPC crew may have been forced to swap code because of Mozilla's policies on third-party apps, it's promising a much faster and more Sugar-tinged web experience as part of the switch. While they're not the same as getting an XO-3 tablet, the upgrades found at the source link are big enough that classrooms (and the occasional individual) will be glad they held on to that early XO mo! del.

Filed under: Laptops, Software

OLPC delivers big OS update with text-to-speech, DisplayLink and WebKit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/02/vidabox-unveils-vplayer-and-vstreamer-media-extenders/

Most VidaBox Media Extenders have borne a closer similarity to mini PCs than to the kind of equipment you'd stack on top of a home theater receiver. That's already been changing, but the company's new vPlayer and vStreamer are virtually invisible in the living room by comparison. Either has a newly streamlined, stackable design that feels entirely at home in the den and keeps the noisy buzzes and whines to a minimum through a new cooling system. Although VidaBox is wonderfully vague about specs -- both hubs tout a "dual core processor," for example -- its units have been modernized enough to use a thrifty 35W of typical power. The boxes lack dedicated media storage space and curiously have to be factory upgraded to get HDMI 1.4 instead of 1.3, but they'll output 7.1-channel audio and 1080p video while integrating with most common home automation systems over RS-232. We haven't been quoted prices to simplify any buying decisions; we expect the gap to be small between the two offerings, since the vPlayer and vStreamer are identical on the inside except for the vPlayer's Blu-ray drive. Dealers will have a better answer for you when VidaBox starts shipping the extender duo on September 4th.

Continue reading VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials

Filed under: Home En tertainment, HD

VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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