Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook: 9/2/12 - 9/9/12

Friday, September 07, 2012

JVC's $349 ADIXXION camcorder is shipping now, packs LCD, WiFi and live Ustreaming (hands-on)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/jvcs-349-adixxion-camcorder-is-shipping-now-packs-lcd-wifi-a/

After its mid-summer reveal, JVC's entry into the booming action sports camera market is now shipping and we got to spend some time with the questionably-named GC-A1 ADIXXION at the company's CEDIA booth. To compete with offerings from GoPro, Sony and our most recent favorite, the Contour+2, the GC-A1 brings its "Quad Proof" housing that makes it waterproof (to 5M) and shockproof (for falls of up to 2M), dustproof and freeze-proof, as well as built-in WiFi, integrated microphone, image stabilization and a 1.5-inch LCD on the side. It can use WiFi to make a video link with nearby Android or iOS devices as well as PCs so the wearer can check where the camera is pointing, and even stream video directly to Ustream via a hotspot, no PC necessary. For the $349 asking price a goggle mount, flexible mount, two lens protection covers, USB cable and a single battery are included. We didn't have a motocross track or snowmobile handy on the show floor, but in-hand it felt every bit the ruggedized, compact device that its advertised to be and the LCD was decently viewable. Check out a few more pics of it in our gallery below and some sample footage in the video embedded after the break.

Gallery: JVC GC-XA1 ADIXXION action camera

Continue reading JVC's $349 ADIXXION camcorder is shipping now, packs LCD, WiFi and live Ustreaming (hands-on)

Filed under: Cameras

JVC's $349 ADIXXION camcorder is shipping now, packs LCD, WiFi and live Ustreaming (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pe rmalink | | Email this | Comments

HTC's waterproof, WiMAX-capable J handset now available in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/htc-j-waterproof-hong-kong-taiwan/

Not to be outdone by Motorola and Nokia, HTC's quietly trying to steal some of the competition's thunder by unexpectedly outing a not-for-sale, fashion-driven variant of the One X and now with the announcement that its 4.3-inch waterproof J handset will be heading to a couple more Asian markets. Of course, let's not forget the Taiwanese outfit also has something else to show us at an upcoming special event in NYC. But, regardless of what we'll "see next," the J's actually here -- well, in Japan -- and with eyes set on Hong Kong and Taiwan next, making this the first time that Sense 4-loaded device is headed outside the Land of the Rising Sun.

Just a quick recap: the HTC J comes with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 MSM8660A, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, qHD PenTile OLED display, eight-megapixel camera and 1,810mAh battery. As for connectivity, you get quad-band GSM, WCDMA 2,100MHz, CDMA2000 800MHz and WiMAX 2.5-2.7GHz (for Japan and Taiwan only) radios, making it a fairly nice all-rounder albeit with limited regional compatibility for each of the faster connections. Oh, and about that waterproofing business: KDDI doesn't actually list it as a waterproof device, but HTC informed us that while the J meets global standards for waterproofing, it is not marketed as such in Japan due to particular criteria required by said carrier. We shall add more info here if HTC has more to say about this.

At any rate, Hong Kong folks will be able to pick up this waterproof device for HK$4,498 (about $580) unsubsidized, whereas Taiwan will have to wait until the press event next Tuesday for tariff details on Taiwan Mobile. For now, we got you a video of the J going for a swim after the break. You know, just for kicks.

Richard Lai contributed to this report.

Continue reading HTC's waterproof, WiMAX-capable J handset now available in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

HTC's waterproof, WiMAX-capable J handset now available in Hong Kong and Taiwan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

ePrice | Email this | Comments

EchoStar HDX-410 set-top box runs native ICS, supports terrestrial broadcasts (hands-on video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/echostar-hdx-410-ics-set-top-box-hands-on/

You may be familiar with EchoStar's satellite-based (Dish Network) and Sling Media (Slingbox) products, but the company also manufactures set-top boxes for third-party providers, as well as free-to-air services in the UK. It's this last grouping that'll be able to take advantage of the Android-based device we saw today, assuming it does in fact make its way to market. The HDX-410 runs native Ice Cream Sandwich, and is available in two versions -- one supports IP content and local storage exclusively, while a second can also accept terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) programming, letting you play back live TV shows in addition to content from a local server, pulled from the web or stored on attached media or an inserted microSD card. It connects to the web using Ethernet or WiFi, and includes USB ports on both the front and the rear, Bluetooth, HDMI out, digital audio out and a standard-definition connection. It's also paired with a QWERTY keyboard-equipped remote manufactured by Philips with gyroscopic or directional-pad curser control, along with pinch/zoom gesture capability.

We had a chance to check out the ICS box at EchoStar's IBC booth today, where the device was running Android 4.0.4 and an early version of the company's hybrid app, which groups "favorited" content alongside terrestrial channels, letting you use the standard channel up/down button to navigate through stored TV shows, IP content or live programming quite seamlessly, as i! f all of the media was playing from the same source. It's clearly not yet ready for primetime, but the interface was sleek and speedy -- the set-top box performed very well overall. EchoStar reps were unable to confirm whether or not the HDX-410 would be coming to market at all, but they did add that the solution may be made available to third-parties in the future. Click past the break to take a closer look in our hands-on video.

Gallery: EchoStar HDX-410 ICS-powered STB hands-on

Continue reading EchoStar HDX-410 set-top box runs native ICS, supports terrestrial broadcasts (hands-on video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

EchoStar HDX-410 set-top box runs native ICS, supports terrestrial broadcasts (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/sony-stitch-4k-hands-on/

Well, that's a mouthful of a headline. Going a bit more in-depth, a new professional solution from Sony allows broadcasters to capture side-by-side 4K video at, say, a sporting event, then use a standard camera zoom device to select small portions of each feed for 720p or 1080i output. On the receiving end, you'll see a live image that looks indistinguishable from something you'd capture with a moving camera, with a few extra benefits to boot. Sony demonstrated the system using feeds from an F65 4K camera earlier this year at NAB, but was only able to present a simulation at that point, with pre-recorded output cropped from larger-format footage.

Now, as we saw today at IBC in Amsterdam, the technique works in realtime, so an adjustable smaller portion of the video is pumped out seamlessly and instantaneously. The 4K video can also be recorded at full resolution simultaneously, letting you change the framing long after an event takes place. Sony only had the demo configured to pull live video from the left portion of the feed, but eventually the entire capture will be enabled, giving producers access to an entire football field, as you'll see in the hands-on video after the break. We wouldn't expect this solution to replace human camera operators anytime soon, but it's certainly a viable method for adding angles and placing a bit more control in the hands of production teams, even after the fact.

Gallery: Sony 4K Stitch hands-on

Continue reading Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video)

Filed under: Cameras, Displays, HD

Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

SwiftPreview Automatically Previews Links When You Hover Over Them [Chrome Extensions]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5940943/swiftpreview-automatically-previews-links-when-you-hover-over-them

SwiftPreview Automatically Previews Links When You Hover Over Them Chrome: If you want to quickly glance at a link within a news article but don't want to click on it, SwiftPreview is a simple way to do it. When you hover over a link, SwiftPreview shows a graphic preview of the page linked, and the extension is fully customizable so you can keep it from being annoying.

Right after you install SwiftPreview you're offered up a set of options to customize it. You can change the preview size, scaling, and block domains. You can also change its behavior so it only shows previews when you hold the shift key instead of every time you hover over a link. SwiftPreview is handy for avid news hounds that might want to get the rundown of a linked page without actually opening it up.

SwiftPreview | Chrome Web Store

Airbus imagines 'smarter skies' by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/airbus-smarter-skies-reduced-emissions-shorter-flights/

Airbus has been crafting its plane of the future for some time now, and while earlier visualizations focus on see-through aircraft with shapeshifting seats, the aviation company's latest ideas have the environment -- and passengers' precious time -- in mind. Airbus just unveiled its "Smarter Skies" conceptualization of what air travel will look like in 2050, and all signs point to shorter flights and less energy consumption. For one, the aircraft manufacturer imagines an assisted takeoff, dubbed "eco-climb" mode, where smaller, lighter airplanes would depart from shorter runways and reach cruising altitude faster. Once in the air, planes could pinpoint the most direct route and travel en masse -- a la a flock of birds -- along "express skyways" to reduce emissions and arrive at their destinations sooner. (That idea's totally gonna fly, right?) And when it comes time to land, aircraft could descend into airports with engines running in idle, allowing for reduced noise and emissions. Take a look at all five concepts in action in the video below the break.

Continue reading Airbus imagines 'smarter skies' by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

Filed under: Transportation

Airbus imagines 'smarter skie! s' by 20 50: reduced emissions and shorter flight times originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/nvidia-quadro-k5000-for-mac-hands-on/

NVIDIA just announced that its new Quadro K5000 GPU will be available on Mac Pros, offering 4K display compatibility and support for up to four displays, not to mention 4GB of graphics memory and about 2x faster performance than the Fermi-based Quadro 4000. While the Kepler-powered chip won't actually hit Apple systems till later this year, we got a first look at the K500 on a Mac here at IBC. NVIDIA demoed Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS6 on a Mac Pro with dual K5000 GPUs.

As you'll see in the video below, with 11 streams of 1080p video at 30 fps in Premiere Pro (and one overlay of the NVIDIA logo), GPU acceleration handles the workload seamlessly, letting us add effects in real time without any processing delay. Switching to software rendering mode in the editing program shows a night-and-day difference: video playback is extremely choppy, and processing moves at a crawl. Even with two K5000 chips in this desktop, Premiere Pro utilizes just one, but After Effects takes advantage of both GPUs. In this program, NVIDIA showed us ray-tracing, a computationally intensive 3D imaging feature, which only became available in After Effects with the release of CS6. Like in Premiere Pro, the program runs smoothly enough to let us edit images in real time. Take a look for yourself by heading past the break.

Gallery: NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac hands-on

Continue reading NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA Quadro K5000 GPU for Mac offers significant Premiere Pro performance boost, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this |&nbs! p;Comments

A Simple Explanation For Why Organic Food Is Destroying The World

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-simple-explanation-for-why-organic-food-is-destroying-the-world-2012-9

organic apple

Harvest season is upon us in New England and with it the opportunity to buy organic locally farmed produce for 2-4X what Costco charges to drag the same vegetable or fruit up from Mexico and dump it into your minivan in Waltham.

A variety of analyses on whether or not locally produced food is truly good for the environment have been made, e.g., http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/11/14/the-inefficiency-of-local-food/

I wonder if a simpler analysis would not apply. Let’s assume that every dollar we spend does a relatively constant amount of damage to the earth. If I give a person or a business an extra dollar, a fraction of that will be spent to buy gasoline, buy new manufactured products and discard old ones, buy electricity that will result in fossil fuels being burned, etc. There are some minor variations in how much damage will be done depending on the person or business that I give the dollar to, but in nearly all cases the more money spent the more damage will be done to the planet.

Thus if I buy local food for 4X the cost of food produced in Mexico, I am paying for New Englanders to drive around in cars, heat their houses with oil, purchase new smart phones and tablet computers, etc. Had I instead bought the produce from Mexico, I would have supported Mexicans who walk to work, heat just one room of their house and only when necessary, and make do with devices that they already own.

This analysis seems simplistic, but I am not sure that it is wrong. What do readers think? Is someone who buys local food at high prices hastening the destruction of the earth?

[Obviously there are other reasons to buy local food, such as taste, but this postin! g is pur ely about environmental damage.]

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Green House's lantern runs on salt and water, powers your gadgets via USB

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/green-houses-lantern-runs-on-salt-water-usb/

Japanese company Green House Co Ltd has quite an eclectic product portfolio, what with its women-only camcorder and peripherals like a PCI Express interface card with USB 3.0 support. Its latest device falls under another category entirely: the rivetingly named GH-LED10WBW is an LED lantern that runs on just water and salt; no batteries required. The light source provides eight hours of electricity per dose of saline water, and the lantern comes with a dedicated water bag for mixing the solution. The salt / water combo acts as an electrolyte with the magnesium (negative electrode) and carbon (positive electrode) rods inside the lantern. Users can get about 120 hours of power with the Mg rod before they'll need to buy a replacement (the rod is sold separately to begin with). More than just supplying a battery-free source of light, though, the lantern can function as a charger, thanks to a USB port built into the casing. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the GH-LED10WBW will be available by mid-September.

Filed under: Peripherals

Green House's lantern runs on salt and water, powers your gadgets via USB originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Phys.org | source

source

Tech-On! | Email this | Comments

MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/mediawavepcs-mw6110-media-center/

Nettops and media-center PCs in many ways hang on opposite sides of the same saddle. MediawavePC's new MW6110 "Ultra Small Media Player" tightens the straps between these two types of machines, and adds an extra satchel with it. The 7.87 x 7.28 x 1.57-inch form gives it a discreet footprint, and supports Intel's Core i3- i5- and i7 chips. You can also add-in up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM, along with 1TB of storage. Connection-wise, you're well looked after with 6 USB ports, HDMI, LAN, plus Audio in / out and WiFi. So, plenty of scope to configure to suit your needs -- you'll just need the $499 base price to get started.

Continue reading MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player

Filed under: Desktops, Home Entertainment, HD

MediawavePC's MW6110 is a multipurpose Intel Core i7-supporting media player originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | MediawavePC | Email this | Comments

VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/via-epia-p910-stuffs-3d-display-support-quad-core-into-pico-itx/

If there's been a race in the Pico-ITX realm to catch up to full-size PCs, VIA just leapt ahead by a few bounds with the EPIA-P910. The tiny PC mates one of VIA's 1GHz QuadCore E-Series processors with a VX11H media core to handle the kinds of tasks that would break just about any other system its size: stereoscopic 3D displays and DirectX 11 3D graphics are entirely within the realm of possibility. Likewise, there's a surprising amount of expansion headroom compared to many of the P910's similarly small counterparts, such as the 8GB RAM ceiling and support for both HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.0. You'll need to get in touch with VIA if you want to find out how much it costs to work the new EPIA into an embedded PC, and it's more likely to be headed to corporate buyers than to homebrew projects. We're still looking forward to the shot of visual adrenaline, whether it's in a mini PC or a store display.

Continue reading VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size

Filed under: Desktops, Misc

VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size origina! lly appe ared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

source

VIA | Email this | Comments

NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/07/nvidia-quadro-k5000-for-mac-pro/

NVIDIA's Kepler-powered Quadro K5000 GPU will be making its way to Apple's Mac Pro systems, the company announced today at IBC. The professional graphics card made its debut earlier this summer and is slated to ship beginning in October for $2,249. Timing for the Quadro K5000 for Mac isn't quite so firm, with NVIDIA simply stating that it'll ship "later this year," though pricing is expected to be in line with the previously announced flavor. The next-gen GPU is said to offer up to 2x faster performance over the Quadro 4000, while also delivering 4K display support, quad display capability through two DVI-DL and two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors, and 4 gigs of graphics memory. Furthermore, each Mac Pro will be able to support up to two separate cards, should you need the extra power. You'll find full details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA announces Quadro K5000 for Mac Pro, brings 4K support, 2x performance over Quadro 4000 originally appeare! d on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Kindle Paperwhite Hands On: What a Beautiful Screen [Kindle]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5941101/kindle-paperwhite-hands-on-what-a-beautiful-screen

The Kindle Paperwhite's screen is so awesome you wouldn't believe it's e-ink. Hell, I just saw it and I still don't believe it. It combines the paper-like text of e-ink screens with the usability of LCD screens but none of the eye strain. No other e-reader even comes close to this right now.

It's not just the screen either; the new Kindle Paperwhite makes the old Kindle look downright cheap. The obscenely clean black buttonless bezel of the Kindle Paperwhite makes a mockery of the old Kindle's painted plastic. E-readers should have always looked like this. The new Kindle Paperwhite is ever so slightly smaller than the old Kindle but it's hardly noticeable when you hold it in your hand. The weight seems to be about the same too.

But the screen. Oh, the screen. It's crisp, clear and delightfully bright without feeling like you're burning your eyes with liquid crystal daggers. The light is dispersed evenly throughout,, making it feel more like a LCD/E-ink love child than an e-ink screen trying to fake the funk. The front-lit display in the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight's looks like a splotchy birthmark in comparison.

The feel of the new Kindle is really great. There are no weak points, no creaky plastic—it's as nice as the older model but slightly better to touch. Using it is significantly more pleasant because the screen's refresh rate is so much faster and the touchscreen has been upgraded to capacitive. Not only that, but the screen itself even feels a bit like paper. Go figure.

It's not all biscuits and pudding, though; there's still a slight lag when you turn pages, because the E-ink screen still needs a little more time to refresh (when compared to LCD). And that ghosting that troubled the previous generations of Kindles has improved some, but will still haunt you every fifth page or so. There also doesn't seem to be a new headphone jack on the new Kindle, if you ever used one.

Amazon has also built, basically, an iPad Smart Cover for the Paperwhite. It uses a magnet to automatically wake it from sleep when the case is opened. And for what it's worth, it looks a lot nicer than the one that came with the touch last year.

Amazon Announces New Backlit Kindle Reader For $119 (AMZN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-announces-new-backlit-kindle-reader-2012-9

amazon kindle fire

Amazon announced a big update to its Kindle Touch reader today called Kindle Paperwhite. The new reader has a backlight for reading in the dark, and a higher resolution for crisper text.

It'll cost $119 and start shipping on Oct. 1. The 3G version will cost $179.

The regular Kindle will stick around and now cost $69. That device starts shipping on Sept. 14 and you can order it right now.

Here's a breakdown of the Kindle Paperwhite's specs:

The backlight will work in direct sunlight.
62% more pixels than the last kindle. Higher contrast between black and white colors.
Eight weeks of battery life.
9.1 mm thin, 8 weeks of battery life.
Has a "Cover Mode" so you can see the covers of all the books you own, just like the Kindle Fire.
You can adjust the brightness with touch controls on the screen.
You can see how much reading time is left in a book at the bottom of your screen.
X-Ray feature lets you see which characters are in a book and where in the text they appear.

Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Amazon Just Unveiled A New 7-Inch Kindle Fire Tablet That Costs $159 (AMZN)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-announces-new-kindle-fire-tablet-for-160-2012-9

amazon kindle fire

Amazon has unveiled a new, more powerful version of its Kindle Fire 7-inch tablet and cut the price to $159.

The biggest news in this update appears to be a price-cut, which undercuts Google's 7-inch tablet, the Nexus 7, by about $40. That makes it one of the cheapest tablets on the market, and a pretty good deal for the specifications.

The new device looks identical to the old one, but it sports better, more powerful guts, including a faster processor that makes the tablet run "40 percent faster."

The new tablet will be available September 14, and you can order it today.

The Kindle Fire runs a "forked" version of Android that has a custom interface built by Amazon, as well as other goodies like streaming from Amazon Prime.

It also has a longer battery life and twice as much RAM, which will make it better at multitasking and running apps.

Amazon also unveiled a newer, bigger tablet called the Kindle Fire HD, which appears to be more of a competitor with the iPad.

Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)