Apple's Two New Bites

After selling more than 100 million iPods, Apple could slack off a little. The digital media players would probably still fly off the shelves if the company just altered their shape or color once a year.

That's how most companies go about their business in the consumer-electronics industry.

Instead, Apple keeps tearing up the iPod blueprint, replacing popular models with designs that owe little to their predecessors. This strategy has paid off so far, leaving competitors farther behind and customers more tempted to upgrade.

For iPod buyers, it also creates a challenge: Picking up a new iPod soon enough in its lifecycle so that it doesn't get replaced right away but late enough for early production glitches to be fixed.

Apple is sticking to its playbook with its new iPod Nano and iPod Touch. The Nano puts the video capability of the full-sized iPod -- now called the iPod classic -- in a device that can disappear in a shirt pocket. The Touch bridges the iPod and the iPhone, eliminating phone functions but keeping the iPhone's WiFi wireless networking and clever touch-screen interface.

The one likelier to succeed? The iPod Nano, a trim tablet, barely over 2 ounces, small enough to hide under a credit card and barely thicker than its headphone jack. It offers twice as much memory at the same prices as its ancestor: $149 for a 4-gigabyte model, $199 for an 8-gigabyte version.

But extra room for music isn't the new Nano's real appeal. It plays video and games as well as audio and photos. In other words, things once available only in a heavier, pricier full-sized iPod with hard-drive storage instead of the Nano's more durable flash memory.

The Nano's 2-inch screen, with the same resolution as its bigger sibling's display, makes pictures look as sharp as any print. Movies are surprisingly easy to watch. You may not want to take in a three-hour epic on this, but the stuff you might otherwise watch on a cellphone will look vastly better on the Nano. You can also plug a Nano into a TV with a $49 adapter cable.

For all its added utility, the Nano remains as easy to use as before, with all controls available through a simple click-wheel dial. Its battery lasts as long as ever, running through more than 26 hours of music playback and six hours of movie viewing.

Its flaws exist at the margins. Its shiny metal backside picks up scratches and fingerprints as easily as the first Nano's did, and some of its interface graphics look pointlessly flashy.

The iPod Touch represents a bigger gamble than the iPod Nano, and it doesn't quite pan out -- in part because of the expectations it raised. It appears to be a thin iPhone with more storage ($299 for an 8-gigabyte model, $399 for a 16-gigabyte unit), but it lacks more than just voice calling.

While the Touch includes music, photo and video playback (but not game support), it leaves out most of the extras that make an iPhone so useful. It has no camera, notepad or e-mail software.

The best offers iPod Nano

Via Washingtonpost

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Amazon Finally Launches MP3 Download Store; Pricing Still Wrong

It's been rumored for ages, but Amazon has finally launched its MP3 download store, hyping up the fact that it's DRM-free. Amazon had gone back and forth on this idea for a while, at one point apparently considering teaming up with Apple on iTunes, only to later plan to go it alone. At one point, the rumor making the rounds was that Amazon felt it would be too difficult to compete with iTunes and had temporarily scratched plans for an offering. That was until folks at the company realized that the achilles heel for iTunes might be its DRM.

And that brings us today, with Amazon launching a DRM-free mp3 download store. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but it's still got some problems. First, the selection is definitely lacking. While the company has brought together an awful lot of content, there are still many record labels (and bands) that fear DRM free music (ignoring, of course, that most CDs are DRM-free). The second problem is that it missed the chance to shoot at the real achilles heel of iTunes: the pricing model. The songs all cost either $0.99 or $0.89, which is way too expensive in an age where people can carry around iPods with 160 gigs of content. Now that labels are finally coming to terms with the fact that DRM is a dead-end concept, the next big revolution will be in the price of music. So while Amazon got the first part right, the second part is still open for those who now want to attack the achilles heel of both Amazon and Apple.


Via Techdirt

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Google Web ToolKit For iPhone

Google has plugged the Google Web ToolKit demonstrating an iPhone specific version of Google Reader.

The iPhone Reader combines the Google AJAX Feed API with a user interface geared for use on the iPhone. Google's Research Actualization Engineer Bob Vawter said that the primary take-away from this project is to say " The Google Web Toolkit can be used to create applications that, in the same code base, work well on an iPhone and a traditional desktop browser."

We haven't reviewed the Google Reader for iPhone before (not to be confused with the Web Toolkit Version) so I gave it a spin. It's not the most stunning iPhone specific site I've used so far (Facebook holds that honor for me) but it does work, and work well. I heavily use tags in Reader to categorize content; unfortunately the only way to quickly go back and forward between tags is by scrolling to the bottom of each post then tapping on a small link, as opposed to a more usable button that is always present.

Reader for iPhone also doesn't discriminate based on tags with content and without, so a tag list includes every tag you've ever used in Reader, meaning you have to scroll past them to return to the navigation options. I shouldn't complain too much however, being able to access this data on an iPhone is still light years ahead of my previous Nokia experience. Here's hoping Google has future improvements planned for it. Via Techcrunch

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Canon launches Selphy ES2 and ES20

Canon launched two new additions to its Selphy range of dye-sublimation printers, offering up to 6x4" prints with the minimum of hassle. The Canon Selphy E2 replaces the previous ES1 and sports an articulated 3.0" LCD, wireless printing via IrDA (Bluetooth with an optional adaptor) and may be powered from an optional battery pack. The Selphy E20 meanwhile features a fixed 2.5" screen and does without wireless connectivity and battery power.

Its ES line-up of SELPHY Compact Photo Printers with the launch of two affordable new models: the SELPHY ES2, which replaces the TIPA award-winning SELPHY ES1, and sister model the SELPHY ES20. Sporting stylish, space-saving vertical designs, both models offer improved ease of use for the ultimate in stress-free printing. Canon's Easy System, which uses handy integrated ink and media cassettes, is complemented by one-touch operation and a generous 50-sheet capacity. A DIGIC II processor ensures fast, photo lab quality printing, while an extensive range of creative printing options can be explored via a large colour LCD viewer of either 3.0" (SELPHY ES2) or 2.5" (SELPHY ES20). For added ease of use, the SELPHY ES2 incorporates Canon's intuitive Easy-Scroll Wheel, offering complete control of all key functions.

"Digital cameras are more popular than ever, but many users have yet to invest in a dedicated photo printer," said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. "With the SELPHY ES2 and ES20, we are able to offer two convenient, high-quality products that will allow digital photographers to share and store their photos for years to come."

Features at a glance:

• Unique integrated ink and media cassette � �� the Easy Photo Pack – colour coded for easy identification
• Stylish vertical design with small footprint and carry handle
• 3.0" tilt-up colour LCD viewer (fixed 2.5" on SELPHY ES20)
• Easy Scroll Wheel (SELPHY ES2 only)
• DIGIC II processing
• Direct printing from most popular memory card formats1
• Dedicated Creative Print button
• Image Adjustments including Image Optimize, Image Trim, My Colors, and improved Red-Eye Correction
• Wireless printing via IrDA (SELPHY ES2 only) and optional Bluetooth
• Optional battery pack (SELPHY ES2 only)

Printing Made Easy
For convenient, stress-free printing, the SELPHY ES2 and ES20 use Canon's Easy Photo Packs – special integrated ink and media cassettes that offer near-instant loading and sufficient ink and paper for 50 prints.2 Users can choose from three different printing sizes, with selected formats offering both colour and a dedicated Black and White version: all packs are colour-coded for easy identification, and include a slip to present at stores when replacements are required. Cartridges can be swapped quickly and easily mid-way through use, and because both ink and paper are stored inside the printer, the risk of dust affecting prints is minimised.

Ease of use is enhanced by several additional features. The SELPHY ES2 improves on its predecessor with a large 3.0" tilting colour LCD viewer, while the SELPHY ES20 features a 2.5" fixed colour LCD. Both allow for optimum image preview and easier editing. Control buttons have been simplified, with the SELPHY ES2 also featuring Canon's intuitive Easy-Scroll Wheel for rapid image viewing and selection of functions. Both printers also incorporate carrying handles for easy portability – and for the ultimate print-anywhere experience, the SELPHY ES2 features an optional battery pack.

Design Focused
Resembling the stylish vertical design of the SELPHY ES1, both the SELPHY ES2 and ES20 achieve a compact design by outputting prints to the top of the printer – eliminating the need for a bulky paper cassette. Finished in attractive cappuccino (SELPHY ES2) and elegant white (SELPHY ES20) colour schemes, their smooth, modern lines complement virtually any home.

High Quality Prints
Both models use exceptional print head control technology to produce top-quality, high resolution glossy prints. Minimal graininess and professional-looking gradation are assured by a dye-sublimation printing process, which generates up to 16.8 million colours and ensures that prints are dry to the touch from the moment they emerge. Photos are finished with a durable, high-gloss protective layer, which guards against water, oil, gas and fingerprints; kept in a photo album, prints retain their quality for up to 100 years.3

As with the SELPHY ES1, Canon's powerful DIGIC II image processor is integrated into both models. This provides advanced in-printer processing of all images, helping to ensure optimum picture quality. It is complemented by newly improved Auto Image Optimisation, which provides automatic correction of common flaws: face brightness can be optimised with no effect on background levels, and overexposure and underexposure are detected and adjusted for improved results.

DIGIC II also allows the SELPHY ES2 and ES20 to be highly responsive: improved processing algorithms offer new rapid start-up times, plus card reading and image viewing times up to ten times faster than on previous models.

Do more – without a computer
Both models incorporate a range of fast, easy direct printing options: PictBridge compatibility, slots for most popular memory card formats and, for wireless printing from devices such as mobile phones, an optional Bluetooth adaptor. The SELPHY ES2 also offers wireless connectivity via IrDA. These options are facilitated by the most user-friendly SELPHY interface yet - with an improved control panel layout, and intuitive printer menu s in 24 different languages.

As well as applying useful edits such as improved Red-Eye Correction, image trimming and My Colors effects, users can transform their pictures using the dedicated Creative Print button. It provides a wide range of attractive album designs, calendars and impressive Multi-Layout prints – plus fun picture additions like speech bubbles, clip art and frames. The SELPHY ES2 also includes a selection of Filter Effects such as Faded Edges, Soft Focus and Star Lights.

Media
Available media includes:

• Post Card Size – (Easy Photo Pack E-P50, Easy Photo Pack E-P100)
• Post Card Size (Black and White) – (Easy Photo Pack E-P25BW)
• L Size (89mm x 119mm) – (Easy Photo Pack E-L50, Easy Photo Pack E-L100)
• Card Size (54mm x 86mm) – (Easy Photo Pack E-C25)
• Card Size Labels (54mm x 86mm) – (Easy Photo Pack E-C25L)

Software
The SELPHY ES2 and SELPHY ES20 are supplied with Canon's Solution Disk, containing easy to use software for managing, storing and printing images via PC. Software includes:

Windows:

• ZoomBrowser EX 6.0 (Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4/XP SP2/Vista)
• Ulead Photo Express LE 6.5
• SELPHY ES2/ES20 Printer Driver 2.0 for Microsoft Windows (2000 SP4/XP SP1/SP2, Vista 64bit)

Macintosh:

• ImageBrowser 6.0 (Mac OS X version 10.3-10.4)
• SELPHY ES2/ES20 Printer Driver for Mac

Purchasers are also eligible for membership of CANON iMAGE GATEWAY, 100MB of online 'personal gallery' space for sharing still images and video with family and friends.

Accessories

• NB-ES1L Battery Pack (for SELPHY ES2)
• BU-20 Bluetooth Unit

Technologies Explained

DIGIC II
Canon's purpose-built DIGIC II (DIGital Imaging Core) image processor is the key to the outstanding print quality of the SELPHY ES2 and ES20. All images undergo Canon's advanced i mage processing algorithms during the printing process, ensuring that the best possible results are achieved regardless of the camera used to capture the image. DIGIC II's high-speed processing delivers smooth and responsive operation, with rapid start-up, memory card reading and LCD playback. When used with the optional battery pack (SELPHY ES2 only), DIGIC II operates efficiently for a minimum of 50 prints on a single charge.

Via Dpreview

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$7,250 Speaker Cables Turn You Into a Dancin' Fool

If you thought Monster Cable was bad with its $80 HDMI cables, check out these Pear Anjou Speaker Cables, ringing up the cash register at an astonishing $7,250 for a couple of 12-footers. The most entertaining aspect of this sucker bait is the way the company got some gullible snob to gush about how he thinks he can actually hear a difference between these and the other presumably high-end wiring he's auditioned:

"... way better than anything I have heard...Simply put these are very danceable cables. Music playing through them results in the proverbial foot-tapping scene with the need or desire to get up and move. Great swing and pace--these cables smack that right on the nose big time."

Bullshit. Total bullshit. Danceable? Dance, fool, dance. [Pear Cable]

If you're the trusting type, you might not want to read this press release from Pear Cable:

"... simply way better than anything I have heard prior to their audition."

Editor of Positive Feedback Online, Dave Clark, Reviews the ANJOU Speaker Cables by Pear Cable

Newton, Mass. - September 21, 2007 - Pear Cable Corporation, a manufacturer of high fidelity audio cables for both home and car environments, continues to redefine the limits of what is possible in high-end audio cable design. The glowing review of Pear Cable's new ANJOU Speaker Cable, bolsters the argument for describing the cable as one of the world's best.

Dave Clark, Editor of audio review publication Positive Feedback Online describes the ANJOU performance as being "... way better than anything I have heard..." He goes on to say, "Simply put these are very danceable cables. Music playing through them results in the p roverbial foot-tapping scene with the need or desire to get up and move. Great swing and pace--these cables smack that right on the nose big time."

The ANJOU Speaker Cable represents the introduction of a completely new hybrid cable geometry developed by Pear Cable. Drawing upon the best characteristics of several more common cable geometries, the resulting hybrid design minimizes the sonic impact of the cable.

Annica Kjellberg, President of Pear Cable said, "We are extremely pleased that the unique geometry we developed for this cable is getting the attention we think it deserves. The numbers say that it is better, but it is critical to validate numbers with the human ear. This review further solidifies the ANJOU Speaker Cable as a class leading design."

Dave Clark concluded his review by declaring the ANJOU's "Highly Recommended." To read the review in its entirety please visit: Positive Feedback Online.

An 8-foot pair of ANJOU Speaker Cables retails for $5,250
For more detailed information on the ANJOU speaker cable, please visit:
ANJOU Speaker Cables

About Pear Cable, Inc.
Pear Cable is a manufacturer of high fidelity audio cables for both home and car audio. Using custom designed manufacturing equipment and cutting edge scientific principles; Pear Cable brings quality products to the audio marketplace.

Via Gizmodo

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Halo 3 Xbox 360 Swag Bag is Incredible

Usually, I hate the unnecessary swag. But this Xbox 360, Halo 3 Edition bag, is pretty much the best set of press junk I have ever seen. The duffel bag is printed with Halo 3 logos, my gamer tag, and the slogan "finish the fight." There are two limited controllers with figurines, dog tags that say Spartan "Ordnance," UNSC, with my gamer tag. MREs (Meatloaf and manicotti), gold subscription cards, a Halo 3 wireless headset, and of course, the game itself and the Xbox 360 Halo Edition. Did I mention the game came in a pedestal covered by a Master Chief helmet? (No, it does not fit, unfortunately.)


Via Gizmodo

The best offers of the Xbox 360 Producs can find at nstuf.com

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John Harvard Is Master Chief

Some MIT gamers, stoked about the release of Halo 3, decided to prank Harvard. They dressed up the John Harvard statue in Harvard Yard with an assault rifle and Spartan helmet. Making him infinitely cooler in everyone's eyes. I'm glad they didn't change his shoes though, because they're sweet. I need a pair of those. This is pretty much the opposite of what happened here, which I continue to be broken up about (still crying a lot), if you want to know the truth.

One more of what John Harvard looks like at a luau, but without gun and helmet, after the leap.



Via Geekologie

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AMD Launches AMD X2 5000+ Black Edition

Advanced Micro Devices has launched its second "Black Edition" microprocessor, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor 5000+ Black Edition, an AMD spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The 5000+ is considerably cheaper than the 6400+ edition AMD launched in August. The price for the 5000+ model is $136, although AMD only quoted a price in distributor-volume 1,000-unit quantities.

The latest Black Edition is the first processor of its class to be made available with a customizable clock multiplier, "which enables amateurs and value-conscious enthusiasts to maximize the performance of their desktop computers," AMD said.

Via Extremetech

The best offers of the AMD

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D-Link gives DSM-520 access to hundreds of online TV channels

Evidently, loosing the DSM-750 Extender for Windows Media Center just wasn't enough for D-Link, as the firm seemingly felt the need to give loyal (and to-be) owners of the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player a nice bonus. Starting today, buyers of the aforementioned digital media adapter will have access to "more than 200 online channels," as the unit can now take advantage of active-TV technology. The service reportedly "allows easy access to internet video and entertainment sites with a remote control," and it also uses a "content aggregator developed by MediaMall Technologies." Some notable channels include Comedy Central, CinemaNow, Google Video, Movielink, ROOtv Music Videos, Akimb! o, MTV, Musicmatch, Napster, VH1, ESPN and FOX Sports, and there's also international content out there for those willing to branch out. The expanded DSM-520 should be shipping momentarily for $249.99, and existing owners can snag the update gratis on October 4th.

Via Engadget

The best offer of Wireless HD Media Player

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LaCie rolls out 500GB Ethernet Disk mini Home Edition

Apparently, releasing one external hard drive with 500GB of storage isn't enough for one week, as LaCie has now introduced its half terabyte Ethernet Disk mini Home Edition Personal Media Server. As with previous iterations, this drive is meant to "save, show, sync and share" your media, and it boasts the ability to "stream multimedia files through DLNA-compatible UPnP media players and act as an iTunes music server." Additionally, users can setup "free remote access to their personal information via LaCie's media portal," and aside from the gigabit Ethernet port and USB 2.0 socket, you'll also find an additional USB jack for backing up data to another external HDD! . This one's slated for an October launch and should carry a $199 pricetag.

Via Engadget

The best offers of LaCie External Hard Drive

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Vaio Holographic concept for the future?

The kids over at Yanko Design have done it again with a design for SONY of a Vaio holographic laptop straight out of the future. The concept design is wrapped around sheets of ultra thin transparent glass which works in a touch screen fashion.

When turned off, the screen becomes transparent again while the keyboard is more opaque. When you turn it on the screen and keyboard come to live holographically. Even the mouse and keyboard consists of holographic touch screens. As a concept, there is no hard data on battery life, benchmark stats, or accessories like hard drives, flash drives, or even motherboard layout. But if the idea has re! ached a design concept stage, you know someone is working to iron those issues out.

And the idea is a promising one as mobile technology moves to a more solid state way of thinking. Even the latest iPods have started to head toward flash drives instead of hard drives. And LCD & OLED displays have improved to the point where better displays can come while the weight and width of the laptop plummet. Solid state promises to be lighter, use less power, and have fewer moving parts. So it only makes sense that holographic interfaces just would be the next step.

But the issue here is, even though a holographic laptop promises to be very light, can anyone really see a mobile computer wrapped in glass? That's an accident just waiting to happen.

Via Coolest-gadgets

The Best offers of The Sony VAIO Laptops

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Ultreo Ultrasound Toothbrush is Not Recommended

The Ultreo ultrasound toothbrush is positioned against the popular Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush. Unlike its rival, the Ultreo actually uses ultrasonic waves to loosen plaque and kill bacteria. The Sonicare, on the other hand, simply moves its bristles at a very quick pace.

I've been using an Ultreo for a few weeks in addition to my Sonicare Elite—"in addition to" because I have yet to discover how to get the same feeling of clean I get from my Sonicare with the Ultreo.

It could be because my mouth is too small. The Ultreo's brush head has a tiny ultrasound transducer inside which provides the cleaning action. It doesn't make! for a huge brush head, but because the Ultreo's ultrasound only works when it is vibrating bubbles from your saliva, toothpaste, and water, I suspect that at certain teeth I'm not able to get the head at just the right angle while maintaining some "mouth juice" in between it and my teeth.

It's not been for lack of trying. The Ultreo, like the Sonicare, gives chirps every thirty seconds after its been turned on, marking out two minutes for you to brush all four quadrants of your mouth. I'd usually go rinse my mouth out, run my tongue along my teeth to find any rough spots, then give it another go. In a few spots I'd hold the Ultreo directly to the tooth and wait for its ultrasonic waves to shear off my tooth scum—no dice.

The "waveguide" portion of the head, which is used to channel the ultrasonic waves into the bubbles to produces the cleaning action, tends to squeak against my teeth when brushing if I'm not too careful.

The Ultreo is sol! d in a simple but attractive package, including a charger and ! a basic mobile case, but I can't recommend it over the Sonicare Elite series brushes. If you happen to be one of those who find the Sonicare too harsh or have problems with receding gums, the Ultreo might be a better option; its brushing action is far more gentle.

One final thing: Ultreo claims that its $160 brush will whiten teeth over time. I actually did see a noticeable amount of whitening over the first week, when I used the Ultreo exclusively. That's worth something, although perhaps not $160.


Via Boingboing

The Best Offers of The Electric Toothbrush

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Sony VAIO NR Laptops

Sony Electronics new VAIO NR laptops, described as fashionable entry-level PCs, are Sony's lowest priced laptops to date, with prices startng at $750. The Vaio NR series are vailable in three unique colors including Wenge (a rich brown with copper accents) silk (a bright white with a matte finish) and granite (a silver hue with natural tones) and they also feature a textured chassis with a smooth fabric-like feel, it you can imagine that. The PCs incorporate an Intel Core2 Duo processor, built-in 802.11 a/b/g wireless, and come pre-installed with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium.

The NR's 15.4-inch widescreen display has XBRITE-ECO LCD technology for sharp i! mages, and the NR series also comes loaded with LocationFree software allowing you to "place-shift" live TV, access your personal video recorder or DVD player, and view that content on the notebook via the Internet. The new laptops have an advanced DVD and CD burner, which enables a proud owner to record up to 8.5GB of home videos, movies, music, or digital photos on one double layer DVD disc. Sony has also added Click to DVD software which lets you present your digital video content in a professional-looking package, with interactive menus and customized themes.


Source Digitaltechnews

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Geomesh mirrored LED watch

If you can't immediately tell that it's 3:34 on the brushed-gunmetal watch shown above, then your childhood education has served you well. Of course you can't tell it's 3:34. Only the creators and owners of the Geomesh can do that!

They know that the 27 LEDs lighting up the mirrored grid are more than just something bright and sparkling to look at. They know that the vertical lights correspond to hours and that minutes are indicated by the horizontal lights, each of which can be configured to represent either one or five minutes.

Available now with blue, white, or multicolor LEDs for $147.

Source Popgadget

Other Interesting Watch Including GPS, Fitness Computer with Heart Rate Monitor (The Best Offers From $79 to $200)

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AMD Barcelona Quad-Core Chip

Two weeks ago, we saw AMD's big announcement of its "Barcelona" quad-core chip. This week, it was mostly Intel's turn. Although its new chips won't ship until November 12, the Intel Developer Forum was filled with news of the upcoming Penryn server and desktop chips, next year's "Nehalem" chips and the move to the 32nm process. And Intel provided chips to several enthusiasts sites for review, so we have a pretty good idea of how the server chips, at least, will stack up against AMD's new offering.

Others have written more details about the IDF announcements, but here's what I found most interesting:

Penryn is on track for November 12 delivery of Xeon ("Harpertown") workstation and server parts, at 3GHz (80W), along with a 3GHz Core 2 Extreme quad-core desktop part ("Yorkfield"). (Some sites also say Intel will be releasing a 120 watt 3.16GHz Harpertown as well.) A total of 20 different microprocessors will be released with this architecture, with mains! tream desktop and notebook parts slated for release in early 2008.

Nehalem is on track to follow in 2008, with an integrated memory controller and a new interconnect (QuickPath, formerly CSI), which replaces the front side bus; up to 8 cores, each of which can execute two threads ("hyperthreading"). Intel's Pat Gelsinger said it taped out three weeks ago, and that it already runs both Windows and Mac OS - very good for first silicon. Intel demoed a system running 16 threads.

* Intel has 45nm working well. Intel says they have two fabs already producing 45nm (Oregon D1D and Arizona Fab 32) and two more (in Israel and Albuquerque) will be coming online on 2008. Each fab costs in excess of $4B.

* 32nm is on track for 2009. Intel showed a SRAM wafer built on its 32nm process that has a total of 1.9 billion transistors.

Much of the focus was on Harpertown, a 45nm quad-core version of Xeon with 12MB of cache, running in conjunct! ion with Stokley, which support a 1600 MHz front side bus. Int! el will also be releasing Wolfdale, a dual-core version with 6MB of cache. Although Penryn is primary a shrink of the existing architecture, rather than a complete new architecture, the new chips do s have some new features, notably including more cache and support for the faster bus; as well as a new divider that is supposed to be faster, and new SSE4 instructions.

Intel showed a number of benchmarks, including one showing that the Harpertown Xeon 5400 running at 3.20GHz would edge out AMD's unreleased 2.5GHz Quad-Core Opteron on SPECfp_rate2006. I'm always a little skeptical of such numbers - especially given the impact of different compilers, and noting AMD's general advantage in floating point applications.


Source Extremetech

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Petito USB Flash Drives Help Fight Breast Cancer

As with most late-Septembers, we're beginning to see a few pinked gizmos roll out in support of the impending National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This go 'round, we've got a special edition of ATP's Petito USB flash drive that touts a "Pink Ribbon" motif and comes in 512MB, 1GB and 2GB flavors. Aside from being fairly tiny, each drive sold will help fund breast cancer research and support "education, screening and treatment projects" around the globe. The trio is available now at a variety of retailers starting at $19.99.

Source Engadget


The Best Offers of The Petito USB flash

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IEye Concept Aims

Thomas Miller has come up with the IEye concept that was submitted as an entry to the "Create the Future Contest", and this concept touches on extending the life of personal media players by featuring the added functionalities of both a digital video still camera and a microphone. Granted, consumer electronics move at such a fast pace that the only �new� thing you have is always in the pipeline and never in your hands. Once you purchase something from a shop, it is already obsolete as there is always another faster, slimmer, and possesses better functions right ahead.

The IEye not only captures still images, it also doubles up as a storage device and a place wh! ere you can view the content which is being recorded. This content can later be transferred over to a computer for editing or burning purposes. In addition, the inclusion of a microphone turns your device into a portable video conferencing device that streams both audio and video wirelessly via WiFi or 3G. I wonder whether the IEye comes with its very own battery, as most devices these days are already starved for power so having another add-on leech even more juice would not be a very bright idea no matter what the added benefits are that come with it.

While this is a noble idea, I�m not too sure that such an add-on will really take off in the long run. After all, not all portable media players are alike, and some of them only play nice with proprietary connectors. Until there is a standardization of features across the board where all manufacturers adhere to, you can never fully roll out such an idea. Take the iPod for example - because of its immense popularit! y, it is able to connect to many different vehicles and speake! r docks. But what about accessories for more obscure and lesser known devices? Those definitely won�t fit onto the iPod, even though there are dock connectors around. Still, once an agreement is reached by all device manufacturers, it would be nice to see the IEye be a universal add-on without the need for adapters of any sort.


Source Coolest-gadgets

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Ateco Food Color Markers

These Food Color Markers from Ateco are perfect for the baker who likes to decorate. The food-safe colors allow you to write on fondant, royal icing and many other foods. Yum!


Source Cooking-gadgets

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USB Powered Rechargeable Shaver

Connectland's USB powered rechargeable shaver is just that, a damn USB shaver. Now I buy everything that has USB in the title, so of course I own one, and I've got to say it is not awesome. It is the opposite of awesome. If awesome were a supermodel, this thing would be my girlfriend. It costs $20, and doesn't even have a damn beard trimmer. Now I like shaving at the office as much as the next guy, but this thing just didn't work out. I was only a quarter done with my privates when the boss asked what I was doing in his office standing over the waste basket. I was quickly the opposite of hired.

Source Geekologie

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Infiniti's EX35 Around View Monitor system makes windows redundant

Infiniti looks to be upping the ante in in-car cameras considerably with its new Around View Monitor system, which makes its first appearance in the company's new Infinti EX35 SUV. As you can probably guess, the system includes cameras at the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle, which are apparently intended primarily to help with parking, but we're sure will also find plenty of use for practical jokes around the neighborhood. While they didn't take advantage of that particular possibility, the folks at AutoSpies did get to check out the vehicle first hand.


Source Engadget

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Ground Force Go-Kart

Every little kid would like a go-kart. There’s something so enticing about being able to drive your own powered vehicle and become the envy of the neighborhood. Here’s a ready-to-buy go-kart that’s parent friendly, inexpensive, and easy for kids to operate.

The long-standing issue with most go-karts is that they’re usually powered with a gasoline/petrol engine. They can be messy, noisy, and overall are not a great match for kids due to safety issues.

Enter the Razor GroundForce electric go-kart. It’s a rechargeable electric go-kart that does-away with the messy, flammable oils and fuels. Simply charge the batteries and then blast away at up to 12 miles per hour using the convenient thumb operated throttle. It’s built of durable steel with aluminum wheels and will run for up to 45 minutes on a single charge.

Grown-up kids (like me) need not apply though — there is a weight limit of 140 pounds. $240 seems pretty reasonable considering what you’re getting and the amount of fun it can provide.

So, does anyone have a GroundForce go-kart? Let us know how you like it in the comments below!


Source Coolest-gadgets

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Puzzle Format Placemat

The puzzle format placemat from La Tete Au Cube match up not just for style, but also to save space. The puzzle pieces, when slightly separated, allow for easy drink placement without coasters.

Source Cooking-gadgets

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Remote Control Laser Combat Cars

These tiny R/C cars are controlled via gamepad-like controllers and feature infrared lasers that can be fired to disable the competing car. To mix it up, each car has a faux "recoil" when the lasers are fired, while a button activates a five-second shield that protects the car from being tagged. And hey: "The manufacturer has confirmed that this item meets U.S. Federal toy safety standards for lead."

$100 at Hammacher Schlemmer, or $20 at Chinatown crap vendor within a few months.


Source Boingboing

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Comcast Unlimited Cable Internet Caps

Although Comcast advertises an unlimited Cable Internet use policy, many heavy downloaders have run into an invisible cap, which triggers a call from Comcast's Security Department that flags their account for excessive use. The second time this happens, you're booted altogether—under the reason of hampering connection quality for your neighbors. The number 300GB has been tossed around in forums lately as the cap Comcast uses, but it could be closer to about 90 to 150GB.

A spokesperson for the cable company said their excessive use qualifies as anybody who downloads "30,000 songs, 250,000 pictures, or 13 million emails in a month." Since it's hard to quantify emails and pictures in terms of size, we'll have to judge by songs, which are usually about 3MB to 5MB depending on how high it's encoded. It's a bit lower than that 300GB that

But Comcast doesn't actually tell people exactly what this cap is, leading users to sit in fear of whether or not they'll go over and be booted. Although it's mostly heavy bittorrent users who have been subject to this, the rise of ABC, NBC, Amazon, iTunes and NetFlix video services have put regular people who really enjoy TV into the same group as well.


Source Gizmodo

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Warner's Blu-ray / HD DVD hybrid disc on indefinite hold

The story's in the search results with this one - after continually delaying its Total HD hybrid Blu-ray / HD DVD discs, Warner president Ron Sanders told TWICE that the format is "on hold for now," because the company fears being the only publisher of such discs could "be hard to make it go." Furthermore, while the studio is still planning on putting out both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, but its talking to both sides about exclusives and "it's kind of crazy right now." Indeed. Too bad all that craziness is terrible for the consumer, eh, Ron?

Source Engadget

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Chip Makers Seek New Technology

We're used to computers becoming obsolete almost as soon as they leave the store because of rapid advances in chip technology, but the whole science of silicon chips is starting to show its age

t's not clear what that new microprocessor technology will be, but some candidates are starting to emerge.

"We're at the stage now where we're sorting out the options," George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said during a panel discussion Friday that gathered representatives of some of the industry's largest companies with their partners in the academic world.

It generally takes the computer industry about 10 years to move a technology from the laboratory to commercial applications, so the successor to current silicon microprocessors probably already has been shown to work - somewhere - on a small scale.

"We have all of these alternatives," said John Kelly, a senior vice president at IBM Corp.'s research division. "If we only had one, I'd be extremely worried."

One promising avenue is "spintronics," which looks at the "spin" status of electrons rather than their charge. The research is not quite as exotic as it sounds: Spin is related to magnetism and already is exploited by some memory chips.

Logic gates - the basic building blocks of microprocessors - that use spin technology can be made out of the same materials as current chips but consume very little power.

Increased power consumption - and the waste heat it generates - is a showstopping problem for current technology, said Professor Alain Kaloyeros of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The latest chips produce more heat per unit of area than old-fashioned steam irons do, he said.

"Given that we're not in the business of making steam irons, and we don't want to use our laptops to iron our pants," it is imperative to find an alternative, Kaloyeros said.

One possible logic gate using nanotechnology - similar to current technology in that it uses electric charge - comprises a single metal atom suspended between two carbon-based molecules. Moving the atom one way or the other either blocks or lets through an electric charge.

Another application of nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter on an extremely small scale, is the carbon nanotube, essentially a sheet of carbon atoms rolled up into a tube. Researchers have been able for a few years to make logic gates out of nanotubes in different configurations.

It's not clear, however, whether it's possible to cluster enough nanotube logic gates to make a processor. The technology needed to accurately arrange millions of them would bear little resemblance to the semiconductor manufacturing of today, and it does not exist.

Other technologies that have shown promise - but which Friday's panelists thought would not be ready to take over from silicon within 10 years - include quantum computing, which seeks to take advantage of the seemingly bizarre way electrons interact with one another at the very smallest scales of matter.

"We do not think quantum computing is doable in our lifetime," Kelly said.

Another technology unlikely to be commercialized in the near future is photonic processing, where the computation is performed by particles of light rather than electrons. However, light is likely to become a dominant way to send information between chips, Kelly said.

Whatever new technology comes to dominate, it's likely that it will stand the semiconductor industry on its head. Companies like RCA that in 1950 were making vacuum tubes, the first electronic logic gate, did not evolve to become the ones making microprocessors in 1970. Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and others appeared to fill that need.

Paolo Gargini, director of technology strategy at Intel, noted that it's quite possible that whatever new technology is adopted will be easier to manufacture without the huge, multibillion dollar plants his company needs.

IBM earlier this year announced that its chip plants were going to start using a "self-assembling" process, in which material forms a nanoscale structure by itself, rather than being shaped with expensive lithography.

"If indeed these new options turn out to be easier ... maybe we'll have another type of industry," Gargini said.

Source Physorg

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Nokia at work an yet another flash memory format

In many ways, flash memory has become the darling of the storage industry. Not only do a huge variety of devices use flash for basic data storage, we're already seeing movement towards both SSDs (Solid State Drives) or hybrid drives that marry flash to a traditional hard drive seeking the best of both worlds when it comes to overall performance. All the hype around flash memory, however, doesn't translate into a unified flash product—which is why Nokia is leading a new drive to unify flash.

Nokia is partnering with some of its own competitors (Samsung and Sony Ericsson) as well as chip makers such as Micron, Spansion, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments to promote a single flash storage technology aimed at mobile phones. Currently dubbed Universal Flash Storage, the goal is to eliminate the need for various card readers and translation devices for the number of media currently available.

"Nokia will actively participate in the development of the UFS specification, which aims to provide future mobile devices with high performance and flexibility," said Seppo Lamberg, Nokia SVP of technology platforms. "This collaborative UFS effort will provide the industry with an open standard mass memory solution with optimal performance and interoperability."

Nokia's goal with UFS is simple: support very low memory access times, lower power consumption, and increase data retrieval speeds beyond those of current flash storage products. Nokia says that it wants to reduce access times for a 90-minute HD movie to a few seconds, something the company says currently takes as long as three minutes under current flash standards.

The new Universal Flash Storage standard is expected to be complete in 2009 with a shipping version debuting at some point after that, hopefully with both increased performance and reliability over current flash systems. If the standard is successful, it might succeed in what is, overall, an extremely fragmented market.

Even discounting the gap between the newer NAND standard and older NOR technology, Wikipedia lists 18 total memory card formats. Obviously some of these are far more prevalent on the market than others, but there's no reason for 18 separate formats to exist, period. With many of the 18 formats entrenched in the market, UFS is going have an uphill fight. But if Nokia is able to get other handset makers to support it—and Samsung and Sony Ericsson are on board—it may have a chance.

Source Arstechnica

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Garlic Genius

The Garlic Genius from Williams Sonoma simplifies garlic chopping. This is once again not a garlic press, but rather a garlic chopper.

Simply place peeled garlic inside and twist.

Source Cooking-gadgets

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AMD To Make Tri-Core Processors

AMD, in a move to differentiate their processor line, has decided to begin selling three core processors. Is it weird? A little. But customers will see speed boosts. And, as the Inquirer points out, the tri-core could allow AMD to salvage bad quad-core chips while offering consumers a wide range of models at various pricepoints.

AMD also went on record with the statement, "Seriously, who doesn't want a threesome? You never hear people asking for a foursome. It's the threesome that's all the rage." OK, they may not have actually said that.

Source Gizmodo

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D&G Medicine Man Bracelet Watch

We're not generally big Dolce & Gabbana buyers, but we love broadcast style. This Medicine Man watch is almost tempting enough to drop the $264. Constructed of stainless steal, the watch features quartz movement, a wonderfully pretentious "indigo" backlight and 50m of water resistance. What do you think, readers? Hot or not?

Short answer: hot. Long answer: We're not reading the comments of anyone who disagrees.

Source Gizmodo

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VDO Dayton PN 4000, PN 6000

VDO Dayton took advantage of the recent IAA International Motor Show to show off its two latest GPS devices, both of which boast DVB-T capabilities for some added in-car entertainment / distraction. From the looks of it, the new PN 4000 and PN 6000 models are identical in every respect except for screen size, with the former boasting a 4.3-inch widescreen display and the latter packing a slightly larger 5.3-inch screen. Otherwise, you can expect both to handle all the usual PMP duties in addition to the aforementioned DVB-T feature, with an SD card slot provided for storage, and real-time traffic info available with an optional TMC receiver. No word on pricing or availability just yet, although we wouldn't expect to see them outside of Europe.

Source Engadget

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Meowlingual - Chat With Cats

Meowlingual, much like the dog version Bowlingual, allows a cat owner to finally learn what their cat is trying to say to them.

So you take the Takara Tomy’s Meowlingual cat-langauge electronic interpretation device and hold it next to your cat as it meows. The palm-sized gadget will then interpret what your cats meows and purrs really mean.
“I can’t stand it”, is just one of the many phrases the device will announce after it has heard a meow from your cat, exact wording has not been decided yet.

The Meowlingual, coming this November, will run for about $75 and should be purrfect for all you cat lovers.

Source Weirdasianews

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AOL moving Netscape social news to Propeller.com

Less than a week after AOL LLC announced plans to remake Netscape.com into a more traditional news portal, the company said in a blog post that it will migrate its social news from Netscape.com to a new site, Propeller.com, that is slated to go live soon.

Although the social news site is still available at Netscape.com, it will soon be redirected to the new Netscape portal that is already available, according to the blog post. The Netscape portal looks like a more traditional news site that offers news stories and other features.

"You'll notice some elements of our social news site there in short order, so that it will be easy for you to go back and forth and engage in each if you like," the Netscape team said in its blog post. "We're working hard behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition before we officially launch at [the] new destination."

According to Netscape, redirecting the social news site will allow users to choose how they want to share and communicate with one another about stories of interest to them as well as take part in the community.


Source Computerworld

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Asus R300 and R700 GPS

Asus has been getting into all kinds of wild activity as of late, from its Eee ultra-cheap laptop, to wooden concept computers, and of course, entry into the GPS market. Well, hot on the heels of the R600 (the company's first foray into navigation) comes the R300 and R700, two new GPS / PMPs that do just about what you'd expect, and maybe a little bit more. The R300 has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a 400MHz Samsung CPU, 128MB of RAM, FM tuner, Bluetooth 2.0, can playback MP3, WMA, AAC audio and MPEG-4, H.263 video, and sports a microSD slot. The R700 has a larger, 4.3-inch touchscreen, and an integrated RDS-TMC traffic receiver, though otherwise the specs are pretty much the same as the R300. No word on price, but the units are expected to arrive sometime in November, at least in Europe.

Source Engadget

The Best Offers of Asus GPS

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More Ice Cream To Unhappy People

Everyone loves ice cream. I bet even those ridiculously built underwear models do. But owning an ice cream machine? Surely that’s a luxury reserved only for the gods. Nope, not anymore. (Or, ever, really, but let’s just pretend.) This has a twist, though.

Dr. Whippy (or Mr. Whippy, depending on whom you talk to—”Dr.” sounds better), as the machines is called, doles out ice cream based on how stressed out/angry you are. The angrier, the more stressed out you are, the more ice cream you get. (It measures the tone in your voice, “looking” for signs of stress.) And who could be mad while eating ice cream? I bet not even the Hypnotoad is angry while eating ice cream.

Unfortunately, golly gee, this is more of a prototype than anything else. It was on display at some electronics festival, but somehow I don’t se much VC money heading its way.


Source Crunchgear

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Tranquil's T7-HSA shipping with Windows Home Server

It's been quite some time since we've heard any noise from Tranquil, but apparently, the firm's T7-HSA server is finally shipping.

Notably, these wee machines not only utilize an energy-efficient, fanless design, but it arrives at your door with Windows Home Server under the hood.

Granted, you won't be encoding any movie clips or recording 16 tracks of simultaneous audio with the modest 1.5GHz CPU, but it should handle basic media serving / home automation tasks just fine. Nevertheless, those interested can get their orders in now starting at £338 ($686), and you shouldn't have to wait long before having it in your hands.


The Best Offers Of The Microsoft Windows Server and Othe Good Microsoft Software

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New Hard Drive Sensors to Increase Density 5x

Physics researchers are hard at work making sure you can store those episodes of House on your hard drive for as long as possible without deleting them with a new breakthrough using the magneto-electric effect.

Drives can possibly have a storage density of 1 terabit per square inch (up from 200 gigabits now), and a read time of 10GHz compared to say, 1GHz. It's all very dry and physics-y, but the bottom line is that you won't be seeing this in your hard drives for quite a few years yet, so either say goodbye to Hugh Laurie or start burning stuff to DVD.

Source Gizmodo


The Best Offers Of The Fast Hard Drives

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IBM uses nanotechnology to craft miniscule art

IBM
Originally uploaded by russell bassman

It's not like we haven't seen art on silicon before, nor is IBM any stranger to the more bizarre world of design, but the firm is nevertheless "touting one of the tiniest pieces of art ever made."

The project, which consists of an "image of the sun made from 20,000 microscopic particles of gold," was reportedly "etched on a silicon chip wafer" with a process that managed particles some 60-nanometers in diameter. Of course, IBM isn't planning on entering the abstract art business anytime soon, but the achievement could purportedly pave the way for "high-performance transistors in molecular-scale chips" while "leading to a nanotech race inside IBM and rival companies."

Source Engadget

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Securing Your Laptop

Your Laptop
Originally uploaded by aaron.kok

Each year in the USA, roughly a half-million laptops are stolen. Last night, Yours Truly became a statistic. We’re still not sure how it happened, but as I chatted with a friend and ate chicken curry, a clever thief figured out a way to pop the trunk of my car from the outside and made away with my prized Powerbook and my lovely Bill Blass bag.

In hindsight, it’s always easy to say, “I shouldn’t have left it there, even for a moment,” but that’s pointless. Sure, I could have taken security measures that would have prevented this from happening, but I’m part of the it-won’t-happen-to-me club. Well it did, so I’ve been researching ways to prevent it from happening again, and I’ve decided to share these thoughts with you.

The first thing, of course, is to use any common sense you have. While it wouldn’t have necessarily helped me in this case, it should for most other circumstances. Laptop thieves tend to be of the opportunistic sort, not pre-meditated masterminds. They see something they want, they go for it. By simply keeping your head about you and maintaining a secure environment, these brigands are foiled.

To that end, it’s important to do what’s simple: Keep an eye on your junk. Just turning away for a moment gives the thief the chance he or she needs, and once they’re gone, you’re likely never to see the laptop again. But that’s not always feasible. Desk locks are great for your home or office, and portable enough to keep with you. They’re the computing world’s version of bike locks, and like bike locks they’re not used often enough. They’re inexpensive, anyone sporting a laptop should think about them.

But I need something a little more robust. I’ve never been ripped off while using my gear, it’s always during the downtime. The idea of a safe that I can take with me is appealing, and there are a few on the market. In particular I like the $99 N-Case, though it seems rather large and bulky. The idea that the case is a safe, and can be secured, means it’s got a good combination of portability and security.

The idea of lugging it around, though, doesn’t sit perfectly. I found this Laptop Locker to be quite useful looking. By mounting a laptop-specific safe in my trunk, I’d be able to keep my nice, portable bag, while keeping it secure while I’m away. For me, it’s the right match.

There are technical solutions, as well. Companies like Vancouver’s Absolute Software use a technique of letting the stolen laptops phone home. When a covered laptop connects to the Internet, a signal with the identifying information is sent to their servers. If the laptop is listed as “missing”, steps are taken to track it down, and ultimately to recover it.

Other systems use GPS monitors to pinpoint your lost lappy, though they’re quite a bit more expensive.

Another way to keep your notebook out of harm’s way is to use camouflage. If you’re carrying around a $15 nylon Targus bag, thieves are going to know what’s in there. I used a very nice Bill Blass attaché case. It fit my Powerbook wonderfully, and had enough room for a power supply and many (many, many) gadgets as well. It didn’t look like a laptop bag at all, thought that didn’t stop my thief from grabbing it straight away.

In all, the laptop’s worst weakness is also its greatest feature: portable things are easier to steal. While you could make it 100% secure, you’d also make it so un-portable that the point of owning it becomes debatable. But by following a few of our suggestions here, you’ll be better off than the average laptop victim.

Source Crunchgear

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Unlock The Potential Of Your Canon

Canon
Originally uploaded by ESkAP

After switching to a DSLR from a typical point-and-shoot camera I’ve left my tiny Canon somewhere in my junk drawer, but after finding this gem I may have to dig it back up.

It’s pretty exciting because you can get features like live histograms, depth of field calculation, under and overexposure highlighting, and, more importantly, the ability to shoot RAW. You just need to replace the firmware and voila. That’s all well and good, but you have to load the firmware every time or store it onto an SD card. Sounds like a real in the arse since it’s still a point-and-shoot.

Source Crunchgear

The Best Offer of Canon Digital Cameras

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TiVo Confirms TiVoToGo and Multi-Room

TiVoToGo.
Originally uploaded by michaelkpate

The rumors we posted are true: TiVo is finally getting its balls back. TiVo has confirmed with Gizmodo that TiVoToGo and multi-room viewing have returned to the new Series3 boxes—including the TiVo HD—and will be available in November. We are told that the hold up was DRM—getting the rights stuff figured out with CableCard was a hassle. But once that was solved, insiders say it took a "LONG time" to get the software to work right on the Series3 platform.

Here's what TiVo platform product manager Andrew Morrison told us about the funky timing:

"This was a stategic release for TiVo. We have been focused on shipping our HD platforms giving our customers what they have been demanding, while continuing to work on the advanced features our early-adopter customers value. By delivering MRV and TiVoToGo in November, we will be able to offer this advanced functionality not only to those purchasing a new HD TiVo for the holidays, but also to our valued long-time customers who have grown attached to the benefits of multi-room viewing and TiVoToGo."

This is what TiVo's Bob Pony recently posted to the TiVo Community Forum:

"I know you've been anxiously awaiting TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing on your Series3 and TiVoHD boxes.

I wanted to let you know that development has been progressing smoothly, and all is well. You can expect TTG & MRV to be available for Series3 and TiVoHD this November.

These features will provide support for video transfers between Series3 & Series2 systems and between a Series3/Series2 system and a PC. High Definition content will not be supported for transfer or playback on a Series2 system (Series2's just can't play HD), and copy-protected High Def or Standard Def content cannot be transferred (same as our current Series2 products)."

Source Gizmodo

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Pee Powered Batteries On Sale in Japan

Pee Batteries
Originally uploaded by onikasi

n February we talked about a Pee Powered battery that was in the testing phase in Japan. Now it would seem they have made it to the store for the Japanese to buy and use.

NoPoPo (Non-Pollution Power) Aqua Batteries are available in both AA and AAA form, although the company page shows they are producing the technology for all sizes of battery, and can only be currently purchased in Japan.

The batteries can be recharged with various different fluids using the new development which forms electric power using liquid as a catalyst.

The basic principle is that a mixture of magnesium and carbon reacts when mixed with a liquid to produce, in the case of the AA battery, up to 500 milliamp-hours (mAh) of life.

Each time the battery is recharged it has a lower power level than the time before and the life cycle allows for about 3 to 5 recharges before disposing of the battery. Each battery can potentially keep its charge for up to 10 years which could be great for many life saving devices in remote locations.

Since the battery does not contain mercury and other harmful materials, it can be easily disposed of without worry for the environment.

So the next time your batteries let you down, just pee on them. (*Will probably help if they are produced by NoPoPo.)

Source Weird Asia News

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InFocus debuts IN38 office projector

InFocus has a new projector for us in its IN38 DLP model, which features an impressive brightness of 3,500 lumens, XGA resolution, and a 2000:1 contrast ratio.

It features an M1-DA DVI connection alongside VGA, Component, and S-Video. It's clear that you're paying more for the extra lumens, as the price will be a penny short of $2000 when the projector hits in September. At least you get a free carrying case.

Source Engadget


The Best Offer Of The InFocus Office Projector

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Machines might talk with humans

Robot Humanoid
Originally uploaded by mr_tentacle

While robots can do some remarkable things, they don't yet possess the gift of gab. Since the 1970s, researchers have been trying to develop a speech-based human-machine interface, but improvements are gradual, and some fear that the performance of current systems may not reach an adequate level for real-world applications.

Roger Moore, a computer scientist at the University of Sheffield in the UK, thinks that the current bottom-up architecture of speech-based human-machine interactions may be flawed. He is concerned because, although the quantity of training data for machines has increased exponentially, machines are still poor at understanding accented or conversational speech, and lack individuality and expression when speaking.

Moore has recently suggested an alternative model for speech-based human-machine interaction called PRESENCE (PREdictive SENsorimotor Control and Emulation). While the conventional reductionist architecture views spoken language as a chain of transformations from the mind of the speaker to the mind of the listener, PRESENCE takes a more integrative approach. As Moore explains, PRESENCE focuses on a recursive feedback control structure, where the machine empathizes with the human by imagining itself in the human’s position, and then changes its speech patterns accordingly.

“The main difference between PRESENCE and current approaches to spoken language technology is that it offers the possibility of, one, unifying the processes of speech recognition and generation (thereby reducing the number of parameters that have to be estimated in setting up a system) and, two, linking low-level speech processing behaviors to high-level cognitive behaviors,” Moore told PhysOrg.com. “This should give a PRESENCE-based system a considerable advantage over more conventional systems that treat such processes as independent components, and then struggle to integrate them into a coherent overall system.”

Moore’s model is inspired by recent results in neurobiology—such as the communicative behavior of all living systems, and the special cognitive abilities of humans—that aren’t directly related to speech. Nevertheless, the results have provided a number of implications for human-machine speech, such as the strong relationship between sensor and motor activity, and the power of negative feedback control and memory to predict and anticipate future events.

“A key idea behind the PRESENCE architecture is that behavior is driven by underlying beliefs, desires and intentions,” Moore explained. “As a consequence, behavior is interpreted with respect to one organism’s understanding of another organism’s beliefs, desires and intentions. That is, the ‘meaning’ of an observed action is derived from the estimated beliefs, desires and intentions that lie behind it—an individual is only able to make sense of another’s actions because they themselves can perform those actions. This is precisely a manifestation of the empathetic or mirror relationships that can exist between conspecifics (members of the same species).”

In a preliminary investigation, Moore constructed a humanoid robot called “ALPHA REX” that uses the PRESENCE hierarchical structure to demonstrate the relatively simple task of human-machine synchronization. As a human uttered the words “one, two” spoken at regular intervals, the robot generated taps. An overall control loop generated an error signal, which in turn modified the robot’s tapping rhythm until it matched the human’s words. Synchronization occurred by the eighth count, whereas a conventional model would require the robot to compute complex analytical solutions and suffer system delays. Further, because ALPHA REX could anticipate the human’s behavior, it tapped one extra time after the human ceased counting.

While it sounds simple, these kinds of coordination, reaction, and prediction abilities are necessary for the PRESENCE model, where behavior is quickly altered in response to the environment in order to achieve a desired state. As Moore explains, PRESENCE is less about speaking or listening, but about the human and machine interacting to meet each other’s needs. Again, this is in sharp contrast to conventional models that rely on the breakdown of components such as speech recognition, generation and dialogue.

Future machines that use PRESENCE could provide a variety of applications, such as robot companions or hands-free, eyes-free information retrieval. Moore predicts that PRESENCE machines could produce appropriate vocal intonations, volume levels, and a degree of emotion that is absent in current systems. He even suggests that the new machines could help unify currently divergent fields, such as speech science and technology; natural, life and computer sciences; and provide insight into fields in neurobiology that inspired PRESENCE itself.

Finally, Moore explains that it is very difficult to predict the speed and degree of progress in the future of human-machine speech.

“If we simply continue with the current research paradigm (which is mainly training on more data),” Moore said, “then for automatic speech recognition to compete with alternative technologies (e.g. keyboards etc.), it would need to be half as good as human speech recognition (i.e. it doesn’t need to be ‘super-human’)—and that is five times better than it is today. And the time until this would happen? In about 20 years if progress of the past 10 years can be sustained, or, if it can’t (which is most likely), then [possibly] never!”

Source Physorg

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The SanDisk Sansa

SanDisk Sansa

So you might remember that earlier this year SanDisk introduced, and then somewhat abruptly cancelled, the Sansa View, a new widescreen flash-based portable media player. At the time they said they wanted to "re-scope the product" and "develop a PMP that will meet the needs of the market." Well, the result is the all-new Sansa View, a completely different device that seems more like a proper successor to SanDisk's much-loved Sansa e200 series than a follow-up to the product we played with at CES back in January.

The result is a smaller player that less video-centric, but does improve on the e200 series in lots of important ways. They've upped storage to 16GB (there's also an 8GB version coming out), made it thinner (it's about 8.8mm at its thinnest), added better video codec support (it handles MPEG4, WMV, and h.264), increased the screen size and resolution (to 2.4-inches and 320 x 240 pixels, respectively), eliminated that dedicated voice recorder button which we were always accidentally pressing (yes, we should have disabled it in the preferences), and replaced the sub-par music control buttons with a clickable scroll wheel (which we're hoping is as good as the one on the Sansa Connect). There's also an FM tuner, integrated digital voice recorder, a microSD memory card slot that can handle microSDHC cards up to 8GB in size, support for playback of MP3, WMA, and WAV audio files, and enough battery life for playback of at least 30 hours of audio and 6 hours of video. Should be out sometime early next month, with the 8GB model retailing for $149.99 and the 16GB model going for an extra fifty bucks.

Source Engadget

The Best Offers Of The SanDisk Sansa

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HP introduces iPAQ 600 and 900 series

HP iPAQ

In its fray of iPAQ introductions today come two new phones from HP - the first since the rather bland 510 - potentialy throwing the once-dominant Windows Mobile force back into the hunt. First up, the 600 series Business Navigator comes equipped with integrated GPS a generous 2.8-inch touchscreen, 128MB of RAM, 256MB of ROM, 3 megapixel autofocus cam, WiFi, and Windows Mobile 6 Professional, all sitting atop a Marvell PXA270 putting along at 520MHz. The 600 rocks a numeric keypad; a dealbreaker for some, yes, but the nifty touch-sensitive scroll wheel integrated into the keys may be enough to sway a few back. The 900 series, meanwhile, swaps out the numeric pad for a standard QWERTY outfit and steps down to a 2.46-inch display, but the specs remain otherwise similar to its stablemate. Look for both to ship before the year's out.

Source Engadget


The Best Offers oF The HP iPAQ

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iPhone SIM free

Iphone sim free

So the iPhoneSIMfree guys have some news today. First up, they called to let us know they did in fact delay the launch of their iPhone SIM unlock software (which was clear by the fact that no one has it yet) -- but it's now due Monday.

Today iPhoneSIMfree also sent a couple of publications (including this one) a demo version of their unlock app and trial access to their back end reseller tool. The demo software and reseller tool do not yet actually unlock phones since iPhoneSIMfree hasn't yet flipped the switch on the activation service end. But as proof that their end-user app does exist, the demo app shown here coursed through its normal routines (about 3-5 minutes start to finish) to show us what an unlock should be like.

Their reseller backend tool, which we also have shots of, allows bulk purchasers of iPhoneSIMfree unlocks to add customers' IMEIs to the unlock whitelist. Once added, apparently resellers merely have to just provide their customers the unlock app, which initiates the remote unlock service -- the whole thing is a little like Windows Activation where only whitelisted IMEIs can proceed with unlocking. Naturally, we documented all this on an iPhone -- but again, to be clear, the iPhoneSIMfree app that was sent out won't unlock iPhones. That all supposedly goes down on Monday.


Source Engadget


The Best Offer Of The Iphone Sim Free

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The battle over loudness

Anais
Originally uploaded by pierre-jean G.

You may not realize it, but, if you're listening to music, you're taking part in an ongoing battle over its sonic features that has been brewing since recording entered the digital age. The fight has played out over the characteristic termed the "dynamic range" of recorded music, which is a measure of the contrast between the loudest and quietest portions of a composition. It appears to be a three-way competition that may leave the typical consumer in danger of simply becoming tired of music in general.

Recorded music has always had the ability to swing between barely audible to loud enough to cause pain when kept on a single volume setting. But according to the IEEE publication Spectrum, that loudness has been limited by the media music was distributed on in the past. Louder music requires larger grooves to be cut in vinyl, essentially limiting the amount of loud music that would fit on a single side of an LP record. As such, there were clear advantages to limiting the total loudness of a collection of music.

Those advantages have evaporated as recording technology has kept signals in digital form from start to finish; there is essentially no penalty to making a song or a collection of tracks consistently loud. In fact, there may be marketing advantages, as a loud track is more likely to grab the attention of listeners. Given that the highest-volume portions of tracks are already pushing levels that might induce hearing damage (which is bad for sales in the long term), studios have increased average loudness by reducing the dynamic range of recordings. Quiet portions are boosted, and loud regions receive a relative reduction, essentially producing a track that's all loud.

Studios have apparently latched on to this attention-grabbing technique, as the article cites figures that indicate the average loudness of a CD has increased tenfold since the 1980s. But a large market segment may also be benefiting, as these increases have accompanied the rise of the iPod and other personal audio players. Anyone who has tried to listen to classical music (which has retained a wide dynamic range) on rapid transit can attest to the advantages of a reduced dynamic range. The wide difference in loudness within most classical music turns what's intended to be a relaxing experience into one that requires near-constant interventions with the volume control.

The clear losers in the loudness war are those who value the music-listening experience the most: the audiophiles. Those who have purchased high-end equipment and carefully arranged their listening environment to get the most out music's contrasts find themselves bombarded with sound that's been adjusted to work well on the N train. But the article suggests that the other sides in this three-way struggle might be losing as well. Comparing the "all loud" sound to being constantly yelled at, it concludes that even average listeners might be suffering from music fatigue (though it provides no figures to back that claim up). This ultimately may be hurting the studios by contributing to the reduced sales that have been plaguing them.

I would have preferred to see hard numbers, but the argument makes a degree of intuitive sense. As always, technology may ultimately provide a solution, as chips that can compress dynamic range on the fly should make subway-appropriate loudness an option for those carrying their music into noisy environments. But those solutions will need to rely on studios returning to music with a wide enough dynamic range that it needs this sort of adjustment. Given their shortsightedness in many digital matters, that's anything but guaranteed.

Note: "Loudness" is used here is a shorthand term for a compressed dynamic range that reduces differences between relatively high and low volume portions of a single track.

Source Ars Technica

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