Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 drives said to be failing at an alarming rate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/seagate-barracuda-7200-11-drives-said-to-be-failing-at-an-alarmi/

Rumors flying, sensational headlines, dogs and cats living together. Yes, its another apparent rash of hard drive failures -- this one centered on Seagate's spacious 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 drives. Apparently, the problem lies in a faulty firmware found on drives manufactured in Thailand, which causes them to fail before they're even able to boot up and leaves them completely inoperable, with some extensive data recovery measures the only option for those looking to hang onto their data. What's more, while Seagate is now said to be updating the firmware on newly manufactured drives, it's apparently not possible to update the firmware on the toasted drives, as they're not even able to be detected by the BIOS once they fail. Seagate still doesn't seem to be addressing the issue publicly, however, and as Tom's Hardware points out, they haven't yet issued a recall on unsold drives, so anyone planning on upgrading or building a new PC may want to proceed with caution.

[Via The Register]

Filed under: Storage

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 drives said to be failing at an alarming rate originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital Intervention at Point of Purchase: A Look at Two Systems

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AdvertisingAge/LatestNews/~3/1Bo4c_uqCRE/article.php

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In a continuation of our report from the National Retail Federation convention in Manhattan, we look at two specific vendors whose screen systems facilitate digital intervention at point of purchase. Both marketing-communications companies offer interactive jukebox and music merchandising services, as well as product demonstration and comparison systems. And both systems pump ad-supported entertainment content to consumers in retail venues.

Intel's Barrett on Paranoia, the Core Craze and the End of Gigahertz [Interview]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/58xQMcXjtn0/intels-barrett-on-paranoia-the-core-craze-and-the-end-of-gigahertz

At first, Intel chairman Craig Barrett struck me as a testy old dude.

This would be fair, considering his company was about to announce a sudden 90% plunge in profits. So it's understandable that, when I asked him about Nvidia's recent coup, getting Apple to swap out Intel product for GeForce 9400M chipset, he said with more than a hint of disdain, "You're obviously a Mac user." Here's a guy who is used to making judgments, and doing it quickly.

But when I told him I also built my desktop with an Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale chip, he reversed his decision. Laughing, he said, "You're alright for a kid that wears black Keds." This wasn't his first reference to my sneakers—they were Adidas, actually—and it wasn't his last either.

At 69, he is definitely one of the oldest guys running a powerhouse innovation company like Intel, and when he's sitting there in front of you, he conveys an attitude that he's seen it all. He hung up his labcoat for a tailored suit long ago, but talking to him, you can still tell that his degree from Stanford isn't some MBA, but a PhD in materials science. Nerdspeak flows easily out of his mouth, and he closes his eyes while calmly making a point, like a college professor. At the same, you get a sense of the agitation within. After all, he'll be the first to tell you that in business, he still lives by the mantra of his Intel CEO predecessor Andy Grove: "Only the paranoid survive."

In the end, I really liked the guy. He's tough but fair, like an Old Testament king. Here are excerpts from our conversation, chip guru to chip fanboy, about vanquishing your competition, the limitations of clock speed, the conti! nuing ra ge of the multi-core race and how to keep paranoid in your golden years.

What's the endgame of the multi-core arms race? Is there one?
If everything works well, they continue to get Moore's Law from a compute power standpoint. [But] you need software solutions to go hand-in-hand with software solutions...There's a whole software paradigm shift that has to be happen.

How involved is Intel in the software side of making that happen?
Probably the best measure is that if look at the people we hire each year, we still hire more software engineers than hardware engineers.

Where do you see Larrabee, Intel's in-development, dedicated high-end GPU, taking you?
The fundamental issue is that performance has to come from something other than gigahertz... We've gotten to the limit we can, so you've got to do something else, which is multiple cores, and then it's either just partitioning solutions between cores of the same type or partitioning solutions between heterogeneous cores on the same chip.

You see, everybody's kind of looking at the same thing, which is, 'How do I mix and match a CPU- and a GPU-type core, or six of these and two of those, and how do you have the software solution to go hand-in-hand?'

So what do you think of the competition coming from Nvidia lately?
At least someone is making very verbal comments about the competition anyway.

Do you see Nvidia as more of a competitor than AMD? How do you see the competitive landscape now?
We still operate under the Andy Grove scenario that only the paranoid survive, so we tend to be paranoid about where competition comes from any direction. If you look at the Intel history, our major competitor over the years has been everybody from IBM to NEC to Sun to AMD to you-name-it. So the competition continually chang! es, just as the flavor of technology changes.

As visualization becomes more important—and visualization is key to what you and consumers want—then is it the CPU that's important, or the GPU, or what combination of the two and how do you get the best visualization? The competitive landscape changes daily. Nvidia is obviously more of a competitor today than they were five years ago. AMD is still a competitor.

Would you say the same competitive philosophy applies to the mobile space?
Two different areas, obviously. The netbook is really kind of a slimmed down laptop. The Atom processor takes us in that space nicely from a power/performance standpoint. Atom allows you to go down farther in this kind of fuzzy area in between netbooks, MIDs [mobile internet devices] and smartphones. The question there is, 'What does the consumer want?'

The issue is, 'What is the ultimate device in that space?' ...Is it gonna be an extension of the internet coming down, or there gonna be an upgrowth of the cellphone coming up?

Are you planning on playing more directly in phones, then?
Those MIDs look more and more like smartphones to me...All they need to do is shrink down a little bit and they're a damn good smartphone. They have the capability of being a full-internet-functionality smartphone as opposed to an ARM-based one—maybe it looks like the internet you're used to or, maybe it doesn't.

Intel and Microsoft "won" the PC Revolution. There's a computer on basically every office desk in the country. What's beyond that? Mobile, developing countries?
Well, it's a combination. There's an overriding trend toward mobility for convenience. We can shrink the capability down to put it in a mobile form factor, and the cost is not that much more than a desktop, point one. Point two, if you go to the emerging economies where you think that mobile might be lacking, really the only way to get good broadband connectivity in most of ! the emer ging markets is not with wired connectivity or fixed point connectivity, it's gonna be broadband wireless and that facilitates mobile in emerging markets as well.

So where does that take Intel going in the next five years?
It's pushing things like broadband wireless, WiMax...It's broadband wireless capability, that's the connectivity part. It's mobility with more compute power and lower energy consumption to facilitate battery life and all that good stuff. And it's better graphics. That's kind of Larrabee and that whole push.

You've passed AMD on every CPU innovation that it had before you did, such as on-die memory controllers, focus on performance per watt, etc. How do you plan to stay ahead?
The basic way you stay ahead is that you have to set yourself with aggressive expectations. There's nothing in life that comes free. You're successful when you set your expectations high enough to beat the competition. And I think the best thing that we have going for us is...the Moore's Law deal.

As long as we basically don't lose sight of that, and continue to push all of our roadmaps, all of our product plans and such to follow along Gordon's law, then we have the opportunity to stay ahead. That doubling every 18 months or so is the sort of expectation level you have to set for yourself to be successful.

Would you consider that the guiding philosophy, the banner on the wall?
That's the roadmap! That is the roadmap we have. If you dissect a bit, you tend to find that the older you get, the more conservative you get typically and you kinda start to worry about Moore's Law not happening. But if you bring the bright young talent and say, 'Hey, bright young talent, we old guys made Moore's Law happen for 40 years, don't screw it up,' they're smart enough to figure it out.

Workflow Charts Finally Put to Good Use Show Fundamental Men vs Women Differences [At The Office]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9baGVMytD24/workflow-charts-finally-put-to-good-use-show-fundamental-men-vs-women-differences

It's Friday. You are the office, watching another Powerpoint by Jimmy, the product development bozo. "Stupid Jimmy," you think, "these are the only two workflow charts we need after this long work week." UPDATED

Now my question is: Is it really this way? Because one of the most delightful, smartest, and sexiest woman I've ever met was drunk after three hours in a bar drinking beer with orange slices in it, while that night I was drunk with cocktails and my drinks matched my shoes. And I pee sitting down. At least at home, because it's more comfy, but that's another story.

Women. Men. TS/TVs. Speak. [Thanks Oscar]

Update: It gets better.

Apple To Use Nvidia's Atom-Powered Ion Platform For Something: Mac Mini or Apple TV? [Rumor]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/lgn0Ecg7pAw/apple-to-use-nvidias-atom+powered-ion-platform-for-something-mac-mini-or-apple-tv

Tom's Hardware says it's for the sad and neglected Mac Mini. Apple Insider says it could make more sense inside a revamped Apple TV. Either way, a dual-core Atom with Nvidia's 9400M sounds nice.

Tom's Hardware is pointing to an Nvidia source that confirmed Apple was the first to receive Ion test units, and said that Apple most certainly had an Ion-powered Mac Mini in the pipe. Apple Insider is more inclined to believe it's for the Apple TV, since a move to Atom would be a step up from its aging 1GHz Intel Crofton proc.

Both products make the most sense for a low-power, low-cost processor, but a dual-core Atom 330 running at 1.6 GHz would certainly be a step down from the Mini's current Core 2 Duo at 1.83 and 2 GHz, so I would place my chips in the Apple TV stack. The Nvidia 9400M would bring a nice boost to the Mini's paltry HD video capabilities however, and OS X config file snooping has turned up evidence for a 9400M-powered Mini recently (doesn't mean it will also use an Atom processor).

Or maybe they'll simply combine these two fairly confused product lines into one dimunitive full OS X machine (please) that's perfect for the living room. Tom's source says the new Ion-powered product will hit around March. We'll see about that. [Tom's Hardware, Apple Insider]

Sanyo's PLC-XF71 projector packs 10,000 lumens for extreme brightness

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/sanyos-plc-xf71-projector-packs-10-000-lumens-of-extreme-bright/

While not high definition like the company's most recent projectors, Sanyo's PLC-XF71 manages to compensate with 10,000 lumens for some serious brightness. By comparison, the recently-unveiled PDG-DHT100JL sports 6,500 lumens and its sub-$2000 PLV-1080HD just 1,200. Beyond that, it's got a 1024 x 768 picture and a 3000:1 contrast ratio. If you don't mind trading resolution for intense luminance, look for it to show up this month for a papered Abe Lincoln under $17,000.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

Sanyo's PLC-XF71 projector packs 10,000 lumens for extreme brightness originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FX150 reviewed, perfect for higher-end casual photographers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/panasonics-lumix-dmc-fx150-reviewed-perfect-for-higher-end-cas/

If you've been waiting for SLR quality pics out of a camera you can slip into your pocket (and we're not talking cargo pants here), Panasonic's 14 megapixel Lumix DMC-FX150 is sadly not your product. However, if you've been looking for something that can take shots approaching the quality of something like a Canon G10 but do so in a more slender form factor, keep reading. PhotographyBLOG's review of this higher-end of the point 'n shoot range finds it to be quite good, capturing great images in bright light with very few chromatic aberrations. However, darker shots (bane of the pocket cam market) are still somewhat problematic, as the built-in optical IS fails to keep images sharp and noise appears at ISO 800 and above. Despite those annoyances the $399 camera (yours for about $100 less if you don't mind bargain hunting) scored overall high marks, becoming one of the best quality shooters you can buy and have a hope of fitting in your skinny jeans.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FX150 reviewed, perfect for higher-end casual photographers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored Mac Mini refresh said to be Ion-based

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/rumored-mac-mini-refresh-confirmed-to-be-ion-based/

People trading in salacious gossip have been counting on an update of the Mac mini for ages now, with most of the rumors centering on it making its appearance at Macworld. Well, the festivities came and went without a peep about the mini -- but that hasn't stopped the rumors from swirling. The latest we're hearing is that the refresh will be built upon NVIDIA's new Ion platform, which houses a 9400M GPU -- the same graphics processor as the new unibody Macbooks -- and could mean an even minier mini than the one we already know. Tom's Hardware, the source of this newest rumor, also speculates on a March release date, though they're not guessing on the price just yet.

Filed under: Desktops

Rumored Mac Mini refresh said to be Ion-based originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists use single electron pump to take subatomic particles for a spin

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/scientists-use-single-electron-pump-to-take-subatomic-particles/

German and Latvian researchers at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have successfully demonstrated how a single electron pump can be used to give the elementary particles a predefined "spin." Aptly titled spintronics, the technology aims to manipulate a quantum-level property of electrons similar to the north-south axes in magnets. The results would be faster chips that require less energy than current electronics, which deal in electron movement. Of course, all of this is still a ways off from consumer use, so don't expect to be overclocking your electron pumps anytime soon. Science-minded readers would be advised to hit up the read link to peruse the research paper.

[Via Nanowerk and Spintronics-Info]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Scientists use single electron pump to take subatomic particles for a spin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips Ultra-Widescreen 21:9 Cinema LCD Moves the Letterbox Bars To the Side [HDTVs]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/HeN2P9PSAmk/philips-ultra+widescreen-219-cinema-lcd-moves-the-letterbox-bars-to-the-side

This is kind of ridiculous. Philips's new 56-inch LCD, bound for Europe, is boasting a 21:9 aspect ratio—displaying a full anamorphic 2.40:1 frame without letterboxing. But what about watching TV?

Or even watching the large number of films that aren't filmed in 2.40:1? If all you watch is big-budget blockbusters (2.40:1 is the aspect ratio of Panavision 70mm film), then this will be great for your rich-guy home theater.

But if you're thinking about watching HDTV (native aspect ratio of 16:9) or any of the many, many thousands of films shot in less-than-21:9, you'll have to throw some letterboxes on the side. You won't even get to enjoy those IMAX scenes from Dark Knight in their glorious full-frame beauty. But if you never take Iron Man out of your BD deck, this is the TV for you. Philips is looking at a Spring '09 release, with more details coming next month. [Philips via GadgetVenue]

Sony Vaio P Review [Review]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/L8YlxQevyHs/sony-vaio-p-review

I've had plenty of time to spend with Sony's bite-sized Vaio P, and now it's time to deliver a verdict on whether or not the 1.4-pound device really performs as advertised.

Sony's Vaio P managed to generate some buzz at CES, largely based around its minuscule footprint, 1.4-pound weight and ultra-wide LCD screen. Sony aggressively marketed this device as not being a netbook, but rather as a full-functioning laptop. They even went as far as to install Windows Vista Home Basic on the Vaio P despite an Atom processor, and gave it the 1600x768 resolution. This left two big questions to be answered: Is it suitable for real everyday use? And does it transcend the netbook category and enter the realm of media notebook?

If "everyday use" means some light multitasking focused around the internet, then you may be using the Vaio P with regularity. But assuming media notebook status entails watching HD Youtube vids while working in Photoshop, the answer to the second question is a definitive "no." On the other hand, any way you slice and dice it, the Vaio P is a netbook. I came into to this review with modest expectations, and tested it as such. I didn't beat the hell out of it by trying to install Adobe Premiere or play Crysis on the thing. But seeing as Sony was talking a big game, I tried to do more than browse pages, listen to music and check email.

The review unit I tested had a 1.33 GHz Z520 Atom Processor, 2 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD and Intel integrated graphics designed for MIDs. So I decided I would try to run three to five apps at any one time, essentials like SlingPlayer, Pidgin, Skype, VLC, iTunes and Gimp. Meanwhile, I'd have Firefox open, running Google Docs, Flickr and Youtube.

For the most part, this machine ran speedily, handling Pidgin and many-tabbed Firefox along with other apps. I wouldn't consider the Vaio P as fast as a standard laptop in a similar scenario, but it definitely feels faster than most netbooks. Resident netbook expert Mark Wilson also noted that in the short time he spent playing with the Vaio P, it felt two or three times faster running Vista than other netbooks running Vista.

I suppose it's no huge shock, but trying to play most video on the Vaio P was pretty rough. It could handle anything in the resolution ballpark of 320x240 without failure, but 640x480 fullscreen video would lag and 1280x720 video (from vids created on my Kodak Zi6 and from YouTube) would freeze within a few frames. Locally stored, non-HD DivX movies either ran in slow-mo or lost every third frame. The moral of the story: If Sony is going to be adamant about their product not being a netbook, adequate video playback is a must.

As far as battery life goes, if you're web browsing over wi-fi while listening to music and messaging you should get 2-3 hours out of the battery. I kept the brightness at 3/4 and had the power management set to "Vaio Optimized," and found the results to be acceptable, if average for these kinds of machines.

Sony also includes a Linux-based instant-on interface that uses the PS3-like Xross Media Bar UI but its implementation is a mixed bag. The raw functionality and design of the software is decent, allowing you to access music, photos, movies, messaging software and a custom version of Firefox. But some of the visual design and nuanced functionality are lacking to the point where you'd rather just launch Vista.

The fonts and background! s, speci fically, make the instant-on XMB environment look cheap and dated. It's also an issue in the web browser, which uses a totally different set of fonts that border on repulsive. (Sadly, the browser makes Gizmodo look particularly bad.) Also strange is that the Pidgin messaging app in this Linux UI lets you sign into Gchat or MSN Messenger, but not AIM. Maybe this is a remnant of Sony's long-standing bad relationship with AOL and AIM.

My final complaint with regard to the instant-on OS is that switching between keyboard and cursor-based navigation is done in a half-baked way that makes it all feel unfinished. Going from the XMB to the music player, for example, requires you to use the nub to control the play/pause/skip functionality, and that isn't easy. If we can't get keyboard control in these menus, then how about some dedicated media-playback buttons? It's not like this machine is a testament to minimalism or anything.

As for the hardware itself, it's got the build quality you expect from a premium-priced Sony product. It never feels like it's going to break or loosen up, and it's clear some time and effort was put into the design. And for its size, it feels neither too heavy nor too light, and really lives up to its claims of portability.

One gripe I do have, however, is with the keyboard and mouse layout. The key size and general spacing isn't really the issue, as I've used much smaller and much worse before, but the lack of space between the space bar and the mouse buttons is really problematic. I typed this entire review on the Vaio P, and one problem I kept running into is that every time I went to hit the space bar, I accidentally tapped the mouse button. It's so sensitive it would register a click without being fully pressed. So every 90 seconds or so, the cursor moved from where I'm typing to wherever my mouse pointer was and to! tally de railed whatever I was typing. Annoying.

To those who are wary of the lack of trackpad, and the return of the old Thinkpad-style nub, truth is a trackpad is more effective, but the shrinkage achieved by its omission is worth it. Considering the sleek and slim measurements of the Vaio P, I have no problem plugging in a mouse if I need more precise control.

As for my final verdict, the Vaio P is an undeniably attractive, fun, exciting gadget on design alone, but I'm not quite sure it lives up to its marketing hype or its $900 starting price—ours as tested was actually $1200. The Sony Vaio P works well as a machine for the living room or kitchen, and for style reasons fits well in those environments and is easily stashed. But it won't replace your workhorse laptop, not even on a part time basis, due to graphical limitations, an inability to run resource-heavy apps and that damned issue with the keyboard and mouse. [Vaio P on Giz]

Firehose, Meet Fire Missile Launcher [Concepts]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/qruaLX8Od_E/firehose-meet-fire-missile-launcher

We're not firefighters, so this idea may be completely crazy. But if we fought fires for a living, we'd feel a lot more comfortable doing battle with this mean-looking gas-propelled missile launcher concept.

We've all see those clips on the news, a firehose suspended from a lift shoots water into a burning building. It looks futile, as most of the water arcs toward the ground or just bounces against the brick. Only a small proportion was the water ever makes it into the window.

With the Jet Spray, gas pressure fires a hose-connected rocket into an open window a la Batman. Turning on the hose pumps the water directly into the room, dousing the flames with 100% of available water.

But how one is supposed to keep that hose from flailing all over and popping back out of the building...well, therein lies the rub. [Yanko]

BlackBerry Curve 8900 For Business Pricing Revealed [Cellphones]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bBElHltfm6k/blackberry-curve-8900-for-business-pricing-revealed

Rumors regarding the corporate release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 on January 19th gained momentum today with a $499.99 contract-free, $249.99 with a one-year contract and $199.99 with two year contract price structure.

Again, this information has not been confirmed as far as we know, but it all seems about right. If it is true, regular T-Mobile customers will most likely pay a similar amount when it is released to everyone on February 11th. [BlackBerry Rocks via BGR]

How To Install Windows 7 On Your Mac Using Boot Camp [Windows 7]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NmWmOz72wKw/how-to-install-windows-7-on-your-mac-using-boot-camp

Eyeing Windows 7 but feeling left out in Mac land? Well, if you have 10GB to spare and a DVD burner, here's how to join the Win7 party for free with Boot Camp.

Since the Windows 7 beta is free (for a time), it's also a great time to play around with Windows on your Mac via Bootcamp if you haven't done so yet (like me)—since you don't have to drop money or pirate points on a legit Vista or XP license.

SimpleHelp's guide is exhaustive, save for one little tidbit: running the 64-bit version may take a little tweaking, depending on your machine. If your machine officially supports the Boot Camp 2.1 64-bit update (any recent "Pro" model), grab that for you driver install under Windows. Recent Macbooks may also require a new video and audio driver—find them according to these instructions.

If you have a Macbook Regular or any other machine with 64-bit hardware but no official seal of approval from Apple, this thread on Mac Rumors can help you. You can also just run the 32-bit version.

The whole thing looks pretty painless, and I'm going to start it up tonight after my Time Machine backup finishes. [SimpleHelp via Lifehacker]

Emperor Workstation Priced at $40,000 [Workstation]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RiP18IDsouM/emperor-workstation-priced-at-40000

It's has been quite a while since we last heard about the Emperor Workstation, and everyone had to wonder how much this thing was going to cost. Well, try $40,000.

If that figure sent a shudder through your spine, I'm assuming, like most of us, that you could in no way afford this. For everyone else, this three-headed beast with THX 5.1 surround sound, air filtering, light therapy and touchscreen controls is available now. [NovelQuest via Gizmag]

Secrets of the Vaio P [Designmodo]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RuepTvBMFGk/secrets-of-the-vaio-p

Engadget Chinese took the time to interview the Vaio P's designer, Takuma Tomoaki, who sheds light on secrets of the super-widescreen LCD and never before seen accessories.

Tomoaki said the entire design of the Vaio P was based around the keyboard, which is roughly 90% the size of the VAIO TT keyboard. Tomoaki called this the smallest usable keyboard possible, and the rest of the shape was based around this, including the Vaio P's 120mm depth.

This is what birthed the 1600x768 screen, which apparently packs such a high resolution because it's intended for native 720p playback. ORLY?!. Last time I checked, the Vaio P could barely playback standard video, let alone HD. A larger screen was actually planned too, but those pesky wi-fi, 3G and Bluetooth antennas got in the way.

The top panel of the Vaio P is an aluminum alloy, the middle is plastic and the bottom panel is carbon fiber.

Tomoaki says there are plans to integrate functionality the Vaio P with that of the Playstation and Walkman line of products. He didn't say much beyond that, but I'd guess it'd have to do with media related features.

There are plenty of other details in the interview apparently (translate at your own risk), such as aborted plans to manufacture a line of accessories which, I kid you not, included a leather Vaio P fanny pack, and a white furry wallet. Yikes. [Engadget Chinese via Engadget]

Java-based Bolt Joining the Mobile Browser Wars, Doesn't Look Horrible [Mobile Browsers]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eD2DvaS3gTU/java+based-bolt-joining-the-mobile-browser-wars-doesnt-look-horrible

Bitstream is working on a mobile browser called Bolt, based on WebKit and compatible with pretty much any J2ME-compatible handset (read: almost everything). CrackBerry ran it through its paces, and it looks promising.

The version you see above is for BlackBerry, though functionality should be almost identical between platforms. Like Skyfire of Opera Mini, Bolt performs a good deal of page optimization server-side, meaning that it's fast. In fact, compared to the Bold's stock browser, it's really fast. Rendering accuracy looks about as good as any other WebKit-based mobile browser (Safari, Chrome, S60 default browser) but appears significantly snappier than its competition.

Bolt is in a private beta for now, but you can request an invite here.

J2ME is nearly ubiquitous, barring the obvious iPhone/G1 exceptions. That means Bolt will run fine on your BlackBerry, S60 and Windows Mobile phones, among many others. [CrackBerry]

Laser Hard Drive boasts 1Tbits/s access time, doesn't exist yet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/laser-hard-drives-boast-1tbits-s-access-time-doesnt-exist-yet/

Whenever we uncover promising new research into lasers, we can generally be sure that it will sound really awesome, and that it will be a long time before it trickles down to the consumer electronics scene (if ever). That said, research into light powered computing has shown considerable promise -- with some folks estimating that commercial laser-drive hybrids (with picosecond pulse lasers doing the work that magnetic read/write heads once did -- something considered impossible until very recently) will be available in five years time. Although the first drives will only achieve a humble 1 TBits/s, in the future we might see femtosecond-based laser drives reaching speeds beyond 100TBits/s. And you know what they say... that's a lot of terabits.

Filed under: Storage

Laser Hard Drive boasts 1Tbits/s access time, doesn't exist yet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dream G2 doesn't get the irony of ripping off an open-source OS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/dream-g2-doesnt-get-the-irony-of-ripping-off-an-open-source-os/

So we guess we gave Sciphone too much credit when we thought its G2 was running real, actual, genuine Android. "Why would anyone ape the user interface," we thought, "when the codebase is available to whomever wants it?" Silly us! Turns out the G2's guts have absolutely nothing to do with Android other than the fact that the UI does a commendable job of looking like the real thing, though the presence of a stylus gives credibility to its KIRF roots. The hardware (which even gets a "Google" logo on the back) actually doesn't look that bad -- and it's loaded with some apps that you won't find on a G1 -- but we'll hedge our bets and wait for a new HTC, thank you very much.

[Via Android Central]

Continue reading Dream G2 doesn't get the irony of ripping off an open-source OS

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Dream G2 doesn't get the irony of ripping off an open-source OS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Apple could learn from Palm's webOS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/what-apple-could-learn-from-palms-webos/

In case you missed the keynote, Palm took some special moments to let everyone know that they're not trying to compete with Apple -- which is of course exactly what they're doing with the Pre and webOS. Sure, there's plenty of room in the market for multiple operating systems and manufacturers, as both companies have pointed out, but we can't help but think that Palm took a long hard look at where Apple was at with its ultra-successful mobile OS and what they could improve upon, and we would like to assume that Apple is looking very carefully at webOS right now (and hopefully the Pre's physical keyboard, but we're dreamers) and comparing it with its current iPhone OS. So, if you'll indulge us, let's look at a few of the iPhone's existing shortcomings that Apple might try and shore up -- or perhaps already has fixes in the works for -- now that there's some very serious competition on the scene. Plus, with Steve on the sidelines, we can imagine there's some extra pressure on the company to prove that innovation at Apple is not just about one man.

These are by no means the only two phones that matter right now, but there are enough parallels and common ancestry (a certain John Rubinstein) to make this a natural first round of comparison. All the magic happens after the break.

Continue reading What Apple could learn from Palm's webOS

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

What Apple could learn from Palm's webOS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OCZ introduces Apex series of 2.5-inch SATA II SSDs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/ocz-introduces-apex-series-of-2-5-inch-sata-ii-ssds/

Another month, another new line of SSDs. This go 'round, we're having a glance at OCZ Technology's Apex Series, a midrange line of solid state drives of the 2.5-inch SATA II variety. The drives will be made available in 60GB, 120GB and 250GB flavors, and all three will offer 230MB/sec read and 160MB/sec write speeds. As with most every other SSD, these were also designed with low power consumption and reliability in mind, and the lightweight alloy housing keeps things secure during those unsettling installation procedures. There's no mention of price, but the trifecta should be available to upgraders everywhere soon.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Storage

OCZ introduces Apex series of 2.5-inch SATA II SSDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eizo debuts pair of new color-accurate FlexScan LCDs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/eizo-debuts-pair-of-new-color-accurate-flexscan-lcds/

Apart from the occasional foray into unconventional remote controls, Eizo is best known for its often-specialized monitors, and the company has returned to its stomping grounds with its latest announcement: a pair of new FlexScan LCDs that promise to cover 95% of the Adobe RGB color space (and 92% of the NTSC color gamut). Those include the FlexScan S2242W-H and FlexScan S2232W-E, both of which are 22-inchers, with the former boasting a full 1920x1200 resolution and the latter dialing things back slightly to 1680x1050. Otherwise, the two seem to be mostly identical, with each sporting a 1,200:1 contrast ratio, a 12ms black-to-white response time, VGA and HDCP-capable DVI ports (but no HDMI), a pair of USB ports, and pair of built-in 0.5W speakers. No indication of a release over here, as usual, but folks in Japan will be able to pick 'em up next month for ¥69,800 yen and ¥62,800 (or roughly $780 and $700).

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Displays

Eizo debuts pair of new color-accurate FlexScan LCDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 / 295 review roundup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/15/nvidia-geforce-gtx-285-295-review-roundup/

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 295 is only a week old at retail, but that hasn't stopped the company from turning around and releasing yet another card -- the GTX 285 -- today. The reviews for both are in and from what we've read, the GTX 295 seems to match or outshine its AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2 counterpart in most performance tests. As for the GTX 285, the general consensus is that it's the fastest single-GPU graphics card on the market right now. It's only slightly better-performing than the GTX 280, however, so if you've already got that, it's probably not worth the upgrade. We're not gonna pretend to understand every benchmark result, but we'll gladly point you in the right direction.

GTX 285
Read - TweakTown
Read - PC Perspective
Read - HotHardware

GTX 295
Read - TweakTown
Read - PC Perspective
Read - HotHardware

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 / 295 review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on! Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic kicks 29mm wide-angle LUMIX DMC-FS15 and DMC-FS7 out the door

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/panasonic-kicks-29mm-wide-angle-lumix-dmc-fs15-and-dmc-fs7-out-t/

Panasonic is beefing up its Lumix FS-series today with the introduction of two new shooters. The 12.1 megapixel DMC-FS15 with 29mm wide-angle 5x zoom lens with Mega OIS (optical image stabilization), intelligent ISO and exposure, face detection, and AF tracking to lock onto moving subjects. A dedicated iA button on the top of the camera allows for quick access to the Intelligent Auto Mode (iA) without getting lost in the menu. The 10.1 megapixel DMC-FS7 dials the zoom back to 4x and loses the auto exposure and AF tracking. Both cameras feature the Venus Engine IV image processor, auto-adjusting LCD, and the ability to record WVGA (848 x 480) video at 30fps in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Expect both models to land in March -- the $200 FS15 in silver, black and blue or the $160 FS7 in the additional colors of pink and green.

Update: While Panny doesn't include them on its site, dpreview lists a new DMC-FS6 (like the FS7 only with 8.1 megapixel sensor) and budget-minded 8.1 megapixel DMC-LS85 with Mega OIS and AA battery power source.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic kicks 29mm wide-angle LUMIX DMC-FS15 and DMC-FS7 out the door originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's Inspiron 15 ready for ordering, consumption

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/dells-inspiron-15-ready-for-ordering-consumption/

We heard that Dell's Inspiron 15 would go on sale later this month, and apparently that means now. Dell's latest 15.6-incher is up for order as we speak, and as expected, $699 gets you in the door. Those with extra cash to burn can upgrade to 4GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, 320GB of hard drive space and a 9-cell battery. So, you in or what?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Laptops

Dell's Inspiron 15 ready for ordering, consumption originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey Sony, where's the 1.6GHz VAIO P for America?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/hey-sony-wheres-the-1-6ghz-vaio-p-for-america/

Sure, we Americans are enamored by flashy designs, but that doesn't mean we don't appreciate performance. For whatever reason, consumers in the UK, Japan and the Principality of Sealand (among other locales) can order up Sony's oh-so-cute VAIO P with a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, while we Americans can't get anything other than the stock 1.3GHz chip. So, what gives Sony? Supply chain problems? Too much haterade? None of the above?

[Thanks, James]

Filed under: Laptops

Hey Sony, where's the 1.6GHz VAIO P for America? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC looking to NVIDIA's Tegra platform for high-performance phones?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/16/htc-looking-to-nvidias-tegra-platform-for-high-performance-phon/

We've been waiting patiently since Tegra's announcement half a year ago for some seriously awesome Tegra-powered hardware (well, any hardware) to get unveiled, but so far, you could hear a pin drop -- we've gotten nothing. That should hopefully change in a big way in 2009, and at least one analyst is predicting that HTC will play a role in getting that mobile NVIDIA silicon into pockets around the world. There's no question that HTC's supposed leaked lineup contains devices that would fit well into Tegra's high-function, multimedia-heavy aspirations, but on the flipside, we've also got rumors that the company moving toward Ericsson chipsets. Tegra's definitely flashier than anything in Ericsson's stable, and HTC's big enough to pursue multiple chipset strategies at the same time -- they have with software platforms, after all -- so let's hope this high drama all resolves itself by MWC next month, eh?

[Via wmpoweruser.com]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC looking to NVIDIA's Tegra platform for high-performance phones? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Cadillac WTF: All New For the Year 8000 [Concept]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0YXXxKnrxYE/the-cadillac-wtf-all-new-for-the-year-8000

The appropriately titled Cadillac World Thorium Fuel or "WTF" has features you are not going to find anywhere else. It runs on clean Thorium nuclear fuel and offers maintenance-free service for 100 years or more.

Not only that, each wheel is actually six individually powered wheels aligned side by side. Now that's an absurd level of redundancy you can trust. Unfortunately, this car is only a concept by designer Loren Kulesus, but if you can hang around until the year 8000 or so, you just might be able to pick one up. In the meantime, these pretty pictures will have to do. [Coroflot]

Next Intel Atom's Biggest Upgrade is Its Price [Intel]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/wkPhHZni65U/next-intel-atoms-biggest-upgrade-is-its-price

Some details have emerged about Intel's Atom N280 processor, the successor to the wildly popular N270 that drove last year's netbook craze. In short, it's not looking like much of an update.

The N280 gets three performance boosts: the speed will inch up from 1.6GHz to 1.66GHz, the front side bus will climb from 533MHz to 667MHz, and the bundled graphics hardware, the Intel GN40, will likely fare better than the old 945GSE in terms of Blu-ray playback and light gaming.

Despite a H2 2009 expected release, which would make the Atom more than a year old, this by all counts incremental upgrade will cost end users $14-$19 dollars more than the current-gen processor, with the chipset. This doesn't sound like much until you consider that the Atom sells for a mere $46, and that some of the netbooks it's bundled with can dip below $300.

A likely reason for planning this refresh is added pressure from Nvidia's Ion graphics unit, which promises huge increases in graphics performance in Atom netbooks over Intel's lethargic offering. [Digitimes—Thanks, Adam]

Buffalo Draft N Wireless Dongle Makes Your Netbook Look Huge [Wi-Fi]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/I-jqqvM88KA/buffalo-draft-n-wireless-dongle-makes-your-netbook-look-huge

Buffalo Electronics is claiming that their WLI-UC-GN Wi-Fi dongle is the smallest Draft N 2.0 adapter in the world. Is it? Who knows. But it's definitely tiny, and surprisingly cheap.

At 33mm by 16mm, this dongle really couldn't be much smaller—the brains of the unit are almost the same size as the plug itself. Nor could it be much more affordable. Though it's only available in Japan for now, the price translates to about $25.

It doesn't appear to be crippled in any serious way either, claiming official B/G certification for assured backwards compatibility, base station operation for bridging connection between peripherals or other PCs, and the automated WPS security system, along with Buffalo's own AirStation One-Touch Secure System. The main selling point here, obviously, is size—the WLI would make a great company for a netbook that needs to make the Draft N jump. [Buffalo via Akihabara]