Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/02/acer-aspire-timeline-thin-and-lights-priced-for-the-us-600-to-9/


Acer's Aspire Timeline inexpensive thin-and-lights have been popping up here and there around the world since we first laid eyes on 'em in April, and now the CULV machines are ready to hit the States. Pricing is actually a little lower than we initially heard, with the base 15.6-inch 1.3GHz Pentium SU2700 machine coming in at $598, but you're more interested in the two smaller machines: the 14-inch, 4.2-pound 1.4GHz SU3500 Core Solo unit is $699, while the 13.3-inch, 3.5-pound 1.4GHz SU9400 Core 2 Duo pictured above is $899. All three machines feature 16:9 1366 x 768 LED-backlit displays driven by Intel 4500MHD graphics, and battery life exceeds eight hours, aided by a PowerSmart energy-saving switch. So -- anyone still thinking about an Adamo? Full press release and two more pics after the break.

Continue reading Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900

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Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Use Yahoo Pipes to Grab TV Show Feeds [BitTorrent]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ASxI9N8_IHE/use-yahoo-pipes-to-grab-tv-show-feeds

FeedMyTorrents is defunct, TVRss.net is in a coma of indefinite length—where does one go to get custom download feeds for favorite shows? You can use this handy Yahoo Pipes feed to scrub EZTV.it.

David, a fellow Lifehacker reader, was as dismayed by the vanishing of those feed sites as the next person who relies on magic of peer-to-peer to fill their television-on-demand queue. Not content to hunt and peck through the large offerings at EZTV, he wrote a Pipe to scrub the EZTV site and return all the shows. If this is your first time hearing about Yahoo Pipes, definitely take a moment to check out our guide to using and creating your own pipes. Once you're up to speed, you'll need a free Yahoo account to continue.

You can grab David's master Pipe here. He was also kind enough to whip up an example filter for those still learning the ropes of building your own Pipes. By plugging that filter into the end of the master Pipe, you'll be able to filter the feed before it's even created.

If today isn't the day you're going to get your hands dirty with some Pipes tinkering, you can check out previously reviewed ShowRSS—you get to pick and choose shows to make a personal feed but lose the granular control you get with a custom Pipe. Thanks David!

EZTV Releases RSS Feed[David.Segonds.Org]



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Five Best Netbooks [Hive Five]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/zd1iq87E2F8/five-best-netbooks

If you're thinking about picking up an ultra-portable laptop, this week's Hive Five is a great spot to start your comparison shopping. These are the netbooks are those most loved by Lifehacker readers. Photo by nDevilTV.

Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite netbook with us. We've tallied the votes and we're back to share the top five netbooks. While every Hive Five covers things that are closely related, netbooks are known for being particularly close in description. If you're using this list as a spring board for a potential netbook purchase, we'd urge you to focus on the usability details when comparing different netbooks. Something as simple as a particular netbook having a 93% sized keyboard instead of an 80% sized keyboard can be the thing that makes up your entire relationship with your new netbook. The difference between 1.33 GHz and 1.6GHz processors, on the other hand, won't be as noticeable or aggravating as a weirdly placed shift key or a too-small trackpad. Without further ado, the top five netbooks:

Samsung NC10 ($399)

The Samsung NC10 is a stylish little netbook, with obvious thought put into little things like the layout of the LED indicators and power button. The keyboard is 93% the size of a standard laptop keyboard and has silver particles embedded into the keys to make! them an ti-bacterial. The touch pad has a dedicated section for scrolling, handy for a machine that will likely see a lot of web surfing. Hardware-wise, the NC10 sports a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, WiFi b/g, bluetooth, a 1.3MP webcam and weighs in at 2.8 pounds.

Dell Mini 10 ($349)

The Mini 10, thanks to the clout of being marketed and distributed by Dell, has proven to be a popular netbook. The base models sport 1.33GHz Intel Atom processors, 1 GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi b/g, a 1.3MP webcam, a 10.1" display, and weighs in at 2.6 pounds. If you'd like to boost the specs up to the level of some of the other netbooks on today's list, you'll pay a chain of premiums to up the processor, add a six-cell battery, and add in Wi-Fi Draft-N and Bluetooth. One thing to consider when choosing between 1GB or 2GB of RAM is that the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard, making a future upgrade impossible. The Mini 10 has an HDMI port, but no VGA port, and can be upgraded to access to Verizon's EVDO network. Despite the drawback of having to pay a little extra to get features common on similar priced netbooks, if you're interested in making a hackintosh netbook, many people prefer the Dell Mini as an easy to use platform for installing OSX.

ASUS EEEPC 1000HE ($385)

When netbooks first appeared onto most peoples' radars, it was because of the earlier ! EEEPC mo dels gaining surprising popularity several years ago. ASUS has continued to crank out rock-solid netbooks, building their reputation in large part to some of the longest battery lifes. While they claim 9.5 hours under ideal conditions, under real world conditions it's more like 6—still radically better than the 3 hours you can squeeze out of most netbooks. The 1000HE sports a 92% size keyboard and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 1.3MP webcam, 10.1" display, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth for connectivity, and weighs in at 3.2 pounds. Every ASUS netbook comes with 10GB of online storage, free for 24 months after purchase.

Acer Aspire One ($349)

The recently revamped Aspire One now sports a bigger screen and a six cell battery for around 5 hours of run time. If you're planning on using your netbook for video conferencing or any webcam-dependent task, consider that the Aspire only sports a 0.3 MP webcam, with no option to upgrade. Other specs are more standard: 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 10.1" display, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, WiFi b/g, SD/MMC card reader, and a weight of 2.95 pounds. The Aspire can be upgraded to access WiMAX and 3G networks.

MSI Wind ($329)

The MSI Wind is another heavyweight in the battery department. It comes standard with a six cell battery and lays claim to the same lengthy battery life the Asus 1000 series touts. The Wind has an edge-to-edge keyboard with well-spaced keys. While many people complain about how tightly packed the keys are on netbook keyboards, the Wind keyboard has keys that travel a little deeper and are just slightly ! further spaced than most netbook keyboards, which really helps alleviate the feeling that you're typing on a keyboard made for elves. The included Face Locker software allows you to program your face into the computer, so whenever you're not sitting in front of the computer, it will automatically lock itself and go into power saver mode. The MSI Wind sports a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 10.1" display, 1 GB RAM, 160 HHD, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth, 4-in-1 card reader, 1.3 MP webcam and weighs in at 3.2 pounds.


As we emphasized above, if you're fired up to go netbook shopping after perusing the Hive Five (or reading the 127th article about them in the tech press), make sure to pay attention to the details. In a world of fairly standardized 1.6GHz processors and 1.3MP webcams, it's the little details—the spacing of the keys, layout of the USB ports—that really make the difference in how comfortable your mini-mini-computer will be in actual use. If you can't get to a brick and mortar store to actually play around with the machines, try searching Google for comparison reviews and images of your top few choices. Many gadget and laptop review sites have pictures of comparable laptops stack on top of each other, side by side, and so forth so you can see if that extra .5" really matter to you.

Now that you've seen your fellow readers five favorite netbooks, it's time to place you vote for who will go home with the crown of mobile computing greatness:


Which Netbook is Best?(online polls)

Have some netbook related tips? Can't believe your favorite netbook didn't make the cut for the top five? Sound off in the comments below.



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Samsung 14.1-Inch and 31-Inch OLED TVs Are Now "Production Ready" [Oled]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/EEydiTv3qPk/samsung-141+inch-and-31+inch-oled-tvs-are-now-production-ready

Talk of 14.1 and 31-inch OLED TVs from Samsung has been going on for some time now, but decent-sized units have not materialized on store shelves thus far. Hopefully, that will change soon as Samsung deems these new AM OLED sets "production ready."

The 31-incher is the first OLED display to boast full HD resolution (1920 x 1080). It also features a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, a color gamut of over 100% NTSC and a ultra-slim design of only 8.9mm. That's all well and good, but I will hold off on any enthusiasm until it transitions from "production ready" to plain "production." [BusinessWire via OLED Display]




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Athlon II CPU Echoes the Glory Days as AMD's First Cheap 45nm Chip [Amd]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/c_F95skTYvA/athlon-ii-cpu-echoes-the-glory-days-as-amds-first-cheap-45nm-chip

It not's surprising right after its 40th birthday, AMD's trying to recall the better days: The Athlon II X2 makes an official sequel out of the Athlon name for its cheap 45nm chip, starting at $87.

Versus the previous generation Athlon X2, it starts at 3GHz, supports DDR3 memory and is part of the new AM3 packaging (which is backward compatible with AM2+). Also in the bag is the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition, which is their first dual-core Phenom chip—so it can hit $100—but it's overclocked.

Sadly, that's it from AMD for Computex—no Atom killer or new hotness from ATI either.

AMD Introduces Next Generation AMD Athlon™ II Processor, Adds Dual Core to Record-Setting AMD Phenom™ II Processor Lineup

− AMD Athlon™ II processor delivers new native dual-core architecture, efficient 45nm technology and 3 GHz performance at an affordable price −

− AMD Phenom™ II X2 Black Edition processor combines value and unlocked potential for gamers and tuners on a budget −

COMPUTEX 2009 (TAIPEI, Taiwan) - June 2, 2009 - Bringing its acclaimed 45nm technology to new high-volume processor designs, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced two new dual-core desktop processors. Building on 10 years of AMD Athlon™ processor innovation, the new 45nm AMD Athlon™ II X2 250 processor gives mainstream consumers exceptional performance, efficiency and value. For enthusiasts and overclockers, AMD also announces the AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Black Edition processor, the first ever dual-core AMD Phenom II CPU.* With this latest addition to the AMD Phenom II processor family, users can now experience the power of AMD platform technology, codenamed "Dragon," with dual-, triple- and quad-core configurations.

AMD Athlon II X2 Processor Details
The AMD Athlon II X2 250 performs exceptionally well when combined with AMD chipsets and integrated graphics solutions to create an all-AMD platform. Platforms featuring all-AMD technology can deliver up to twice the graphics performance of those with Intel integrated graphics.¹

Windows® 7 is optimized for multi-core processors like AMD Athlon™ II processors to give consumers an amazingly fast, simple and engaging PC experience.** For example, Windows 7 is tuned to make the most of the these new processors' power management features, such as AMD PowerNow!™ 3.0 technology. AMD power management technologies, in combination with Windows 7, can help OEMs and partners to build exceptionally green, cool and quiet PCs.
Based on AMD's acclaimed 45nm process technology, the AMD Athlon II dual-core processor has a TDP of 65W and can slash power consumption by up to 50 percent when doing basic tasks, up to 40 percent when running heavy workloads and up to 50 percent when at idle.²

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Details
AMD Black Edition processors, like the AMD Phenom™ II X2 550, help users to take control and unleash the maximum potential of Dragon platform technology's unprecedented performance tuning capabilities.* The same massive headroom that set world records in recent months is at users' finger tips, offering impressive performance at a price the competition can't beat.³

Users can also maximize their overclocking experience by utilizing the new features and capabilities of AMD OverDrive™ 3.0, designed to enable quick and effective tuning of their PC experience for optimal performance.*
With dual-, triple- or quad-core processors, AMD provides platform level solutions at multiple price points, each of which exceeds expectations for virtually any user.

[AMD]




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