Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, June 13, 2008

Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell swoop

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/310822152/

Filed under: Laptops

We got a nice helping of slides dropped on our virtual doorstep this evening, fleshing out Dell's upcoming netbook -- which they seem to be calling the "Dell E." Um, Eeenteresting name choice, but that doesn't seem set in stone, and there's plenty else going on here to ponder over. Dell's breaking the Dell E into two device types, a 8.9-inch model clearly meant to take on the Eee 900, and the 12.1-inch "E Slim" which actually looks positioned to take on the MacBook Air and X300, at a mere 0.8-inches thick, though perhaps in a lower-end capacity. Even the 8.9-inch model will have some distinctions, with E Classic model for super low-end use, and E Video and E Video+ for more RAM, larger flash storage, webcams and Bluetooth in the + model. Rollout looks to be slated for August for the E, August / September-ish for the E Slim, and a followup for both of those in October of WWAN, with WiMAX after that. Dell even has a second version of both devices slated for Q2 2009, but that's all we know about those so far. Perhaps most interesting is that all of these run Linux and Windows XP, and while it's not clear if there's a full-featured Linux OS onboard, there does seem to be an instant-on, Foleo-esque Linux included on all of them called BlackTop. We're not sure if there's any relation to Splashtop, but the janky-ass interface and email / calendar / contacts apps seem to be telling us no. BlackTop will support WWAN and WiFi, and Dell plans to move the 2.0 version to the Latitude and Vostro lines in a year or two. Peep the slides below for all the gory details. Oh, and the price? Dell E starts at $299.

Gallery: Dell E and E Slim revealed, taking on Eee and Air in one fell! swoop

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found it!

http://uservoice.com/

it is being used by

http://www.retailmenot.com

http://retailmenot.uservoice.com/

this is an off the shelf service to create something like Starbuck’s MyStarbucksIdea.com

my new favorite coupon site

http://www.retailmenot.com

Their key innovation is real-time feedback on whether a coupon worked or not -- leveraging the collective actions of the community to make it better and more useful for everyone else.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sony announces own backside illuminated CMOS -- take that OmniVision

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/309522345/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Well, there you have it: the BSI gauntlet has been officially thrown. Sony just announced its own backside-illuminated CMOS sensor meant to rival OmniVision's achievement. Sony's sensor features 1.75 micron pixels totalling 5 effective megapixels capable of 60fps and offers low noise at twice the sensitivity of traditional sensors at the same pixel size. That's a signal to noise ratio of +8dB (+6dB sensitivity, -2dB noise), nerds. Nice Sony, but OmniVision's 8 megapixel sensor targeting cameraphones (Sony's is apparently targeting digital cameras and camcorders) brings the pixels down to 1.4 microns (with 0.9 micron pixels on the roadmap) albeit with an undisclosed SNR. Regardless, we look forward to seeing our friends' chemically-spiked club shots in excruciatingly slovenly detail later this year.

BSI, learn it -- it's shaping up to do for imaging what perpendicular did for magnetic storage.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

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Toshiba's 1.8-inch 160GB disk hits 5400RPM for netbooks

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/309390245/

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Who makes a 160GB, 1.8-inch SATA disk spinning at 5400RPM? Nobody, until today. Toshiba just announced the industry's largest-capacity / fastest 160GB MK1617GSG disk for ultra-portables and netbook-class machines. While others have hit the magical 160GB mark in an 8-mm thick form factor, this is the first 1.8-inch SATA to reach 5400RPM. Oh, and because you're about to ask: no, it's too chubby for an iPod classic (where that speed wouldn't likely be noticed) or ultra-thin laptop like the MacBook Air or Envy 133. Thanks for asking though.

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