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Thursday, January 12, 2012

drag2share: Production begins for Raspberry Pi's $35 Model B Linux computer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/raspberry-pi-begins-production/

Good news for everyone who's hoping to lay down petty (or exorbitant) change for a relatively well-equipped Linux computer: the Raspberry Pi Model B has officially begun production. Unlike the Model A, this $35 computer board features both an Ethernet adapter and 256MB of RAM (rather than 128MB). Although the company had initially hoped to produce these devices in England, it has since decided to move production to China and Taiwan to satisfy both cost restraints and demand. Designed with the budding programmer in mind, the $25 Model A will enter production at a later time. Unfortunately, there's no firm ship date as the company hasn't yet decided whether to receive its order of 10,000 units in one push or incremental amounts. They tell us to stay tuned, and we're more than happy to oblige.

Production begins for Raspberry Pi's $35 Model B Linux computer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Hands-off with the Golden-i head-mounted computer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/hands-off-with-the-golden-i-head-mounted-computer/

Until now we've only seen the Golden-i shown off as a concept, but now it's actually shipping. The wearable computer (manufactured by Motorola, using technology licensed from Kopin, running software created by Ikanos) has 512MB of RAM and a TI OMAP under the hood. Currently it's a series 3 with a maximum clock speed of 1GHz, but the next iteration should move to a 1.2GHz 4 series CPU. Instead of relying on a touch screen, keyboard or mouse you control the Windows CE machine using voice commands and by moving your head, thanks to the six axis accelerometer and dual mics which provide rather impressive noise cancellation. (Neither of the two demo units had any trouble understanding us on the crowded show floor.) It also packs WiFi N and Bluetooth radios, and there's talk of a forthcoming 4G dongle from Verizon.

Gallery: Golden-i hands-off

The display is on an arm which not only pivots and tilts, but can also easily be popped off and moved from one side to the other. It's meant to just sit just out of your line of site, but you do have to keep it somewhat in your peripheral vision to clearly focus on the interface. We found that the units were a little overly sensitive to our head motions, but we were able to quickly adjust and (as an Ikanos and Kopin rep were quick to point out) the units weren't calibrated for our use -- they were simply pulled out of the box and popped on our domes. That's particularly impressive considering that, in the roughly 20 minutes or so we spent barking commands at the Golden-i, the Nuance-based voice-control system only balked once (and, of course, it wound up in the video after the break). The system is available now, but the $2,500 asking price is sure to make even some of it's industrial and security targets pause.

Dana Wollman contributed to this report.

Continue reading Hands-off with the Golden-i head-mounted computer

Hands-off with the Golden-i head-mounted computer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Mushkin debuts three new SSDs at CES

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/mushkin-debuts-three-new-ssds-at-ces/

We love us some speedy NAND Flash here at Engadget, and Mushkin's just unveiled a trio of SSDs full of the stuff packing Sandforce SF-2281 controllers. The Chronos Go offers 560MB/s sequential writes and 525MB/s reads in drives up to 480GB in size. The Atlas mSATA SSD does sequential writes at 535MB/s, maxes out at 240GB, and will be available to be dropped into the Ultrabook of your choosing. Both the Chronos Go and Atlas are scheduled for a Q1 release. Lastly, the Scorpion PCIe modular SSD lets you chain up to four SSDs in a RAID array to get sequential writes up to 1275MB/s and reads up to 1500MB/s when it drops sometime in the first half of this year.

[Image Credit: DailyTech]

Mushkin debuts three new SSDs at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Toshiba FlashAir wireless LAN SD card hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/toshiba-flashair-hands-on/

The first card using the SD association's Wireless LAN standard is Toshiba's FlashAir and we've just spent some time with it here at CES. It's much like existing Eye-Fis insofar that it also crams WiFi into a diminutive SD card, but instead of merely being able to join a network, the FlashAir creates its own outright. The 8GB class six card broadcasts an 802.11b/g/n hotspot, replete with its own web server onboard, which means its contents -- like say pictures you've previously snapped in your camera -- can be accessed in a browser by any connected device.

Despite some false starts (CES is where WiFi networks go to die...) pictures from a point and shoot appeared as quickly as we could refresh http://flashair/ -- the address from where one accesses its contents. Once there, you can browse individual folders, splaying pics (and we'll assume other contents) for your perusal. As previously planned, it'll start shipping in February at around $70 and we were told more capacious units will follow at a later date. Video demo of the tech awaits in the video after the break.

Gallery: Toshiba FlashAir wireless LAN SD card hands-on (video)

Continue reading Toshiba FlashAir wireless LAN SD card hands-on (video)

Toshiba FlashAir wireless LAN SD card hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/11/samsung-smart-interaction-gesture-controlled-hdtv-demo-video/

Samsung revealed some of its 2012 HDTVs would include a built in camera and mic to enable a feature it calls Smart Interaction, which is just a brand name for voice and gesture control. We stopped by the company's massive CES booth today and squeezed between all of those 55-inch OLEDs to get a quick demo, and found it mirrored the suddenly common Kinect functionality we've become accustomed to closely. Like Microsoft's add-on, Samsung's setup has a keyword that activates it (Hi TV) and like the recently upgraded Xbox 360 dashboard, there has been a lot of work done to make sure it recognizes many real words. A key difference from the Kinect however, is that Samsung has also developed a Bluetooth-connected IR blaster that can sit in front of your cable box and extend the control to other devices that way. As you can see in our video of the presentation the control was generally tight and responsive, however it still lacks truly natural communication and the test volunteer had some trouble turning the TV off. Check out the video after the break and see if a future of talking to the TV is for you -- we'll be on the couch with our remotes.

Continue reading Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video)

Samsung Smart Interaction gesture controlled HDTV demo (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feed! s.

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drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)