Tuesday, October 23, 2012

ThrowMeApp: Yes, Toss Your Phone For Aerial Pics

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5954290/throwmeapp-toss-your-phone-for-aerial-pics

ThrowMeApp: Yes, Toss Your Phone For Aerial Pics Camera tosses are a well-loved tradition with photographers. You don't need professional gear to stage spontaneous pics of your own—you just need ThrowMeApp, an Android Phone and a little bit of hand-eye coordination.

What does it do?

Takes pictures when you throw your phone in the air. It activates the camera's shutter when your device is at the peak of its climb and the lens is facing downward.

Why do we like it?

The app uses the phone's accelerometer to sense how fast it's falling and calculate an average fall speed based on your earlier tosses. You don't have to do any decision making when it comes to the actual shutter snapping, either. Just tap the screen, chuck your phone, and hope for the best. This is not an app to be used by klutzes. [PetaPixel]

ThrowMeApp

Download this app for:

The Best:

Calculates fall velocity

The Worst:

Seems to be crashy

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AMD FX-8350 review roundup: enthusiasts still won't be totally enthused

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/amd-fx-8350-review-roundup/

DNP AMD's refreshed FX 'Vishera' processor benchmarked, enthusiasts not enthused

Now that AMD's fresh new FX processors based on the Piledriver architecture are out in the wild, the specialist hardware sites have seen fit to benchmark the top-lining FX-8350. Overall, the group feels that AMD has at least closed the gap a bit on Intel's Core juggernaut with a much better FX offering this time around, but overall the desktop CPU landscape remains unchanged -- with Intel still firmly at the top of the heap. Compared to its last-gen Bulldozer chips, "in every way, today's FX-8350 is better," according to Tom's Hardware: cheaper, up to 15 percent faster and more energy efficient. Still, while the new CPUs represent AMD's desktop high-end, they only stack up against Intel's mid-range Core i5 family, and even against that line-up they only edge ahead in heavily threaded testing. But if you "look beyond those specific (multithreaded) applications, Intel can pull away with a significant lead" due to its superior design, says Anantech. As for power consumption, unfortunately "the FX-8350 isn't even the same class of product as the Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors on this front," claims The Tech Report.

Despite all that, Hot Hardware still sees several niches that AMD could fill with the new chips, as they'll provide "an easy upgrade path for existing AMD owners and more flex! ibility for overclocking, due to its unlocked multipliers." That means if you already have a Socket-AM3+ motherboard, you'll be able to do a cheap upgrade by swapping in the new CPU, and punching up the clock cycles might close the performance gap enjoyed by the Core i5. Finally, AMD also saw fit to bring the new chip in at a "very attractive" $195 by Hexus' reckoning, a much lower price than an earlier leak suggested. Despite that, however, the site says that AMD's flagship FX processor still "cannot tick as many desirable checkboxes as the competing Intel Core i5 chips." Feel free to scope all the sources below to make your own conclusions.


Read - Tom's Hardware
Read - Hot Hardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Hexus
Read - The Tech Report

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AMD FX-8350 review roundup: enthusiasts still won't be totally enthused originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad mini coming to Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in mid-November starting at $459

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/ipad-mini-coming-to-verizon-att-and-sprint/

DNP iPad Mini Available from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint on November

Today, Apple finally announced its highly anticipated iPad mini. This 7.9-inch "little tablet that could" will be available from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint with shipping starting "a couple of weeks after" WiFi models go on sale on November 2nd. Available in black and white for $459 (16GB), $559 (32GB) and $659 (64GB), the company will begin accepting pre-orders on October 26th. So, if you plan on calling dibs on one of these little guys, we suggest that you plan accordingly.

Continue reading iPad mini coming to Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in mid-November starting at $459

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iPad mini coming to Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in mid-November starting at $459 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/asus-vivobook-x202-q200-s400-s500/

ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500

Remember when Ultrabook prices dropped to around $700 and everyone cheered? Well, get ready for some one-upping: here at a New York City press event, ASUS just announced a line of lightweight, touchscreen laptops, and let's just say the prices are pretty aggressive. The new family, which will carry the name VivoBook, includes 11-, 14- and 15-inch models, with the 11.6-inch Q200 (aka the X202) starting at $499 with a Core i3 processor. The 14-inch S400, meanwhile, will start at $599, while the 15-inch S500 will go for $649 and up. Across the board, there will be configurations with Core i5 and i7 processors, but again, i3 is the starting spec here. As you can see in the photo above, the design isn't all that different from the current-gen Zenbook Prime family, though they lack some of that line's higher-end features -- namely, 1080p screens and solid-state storage. ASUS so far hasn't said when these laptops will ship here in the US, but we'll be sure to follow up with more specifics as we learn them.

Continue reading ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500

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ASUS announces three budget-friendly laptops with touchscreens, the VivoBook Q200, S400 and S500 orig! inally a ppeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/asus-et2300-all-in-one/

ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt

If you're a PC maker launching a new lineup of Windows 8 devices, you're going to look awfully square if you don't have at least one touch-enabled all-in-one to show off. Clearly, ASUS got the memo. Here at a press event in New York City, the company announced the ET2300, a 23-inch desktop whose display can be pushed down to lie basically flat -- a pretty ubiquitous form factor these days. Starting with that IPS screen, it has 1080p resolution and promises horizontal viewing angles of 178 degrees. Under the hood, it runs your choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, with either integrated Intel graphics or NVIDIA's GT 630M GPU. (Even then, you can choose between one and two gigs of dedicated video memory.) Other specs include up to 8GB of RAM, up to 2TB in HDD storage, a slot-loading DVD drive, Intel Wireless Display and optional Thunderbolt connectivity. Additionally, like ASUS' other products (even its tablets and phones), it makes use of SonicMaster's audio technology. We haven't heard anything regarding pricing or availability just yet, but we'll update this post if we do.

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ASUS outs ET2300 all-in-one desktop with articulating, 23-inch touchscreen, optional Thunderbolt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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