Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Purported Specs Surface for Slimline 10" Acer Aspire One [NetBooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tv6QaoFRzlw/purported-specs-surface-for-slimline-10-acer-aspire-one

Yesterday's 10" slimline Acer Aspire One leak wasn't rich with info, leaving us nothing but our own speculations. Luckily, some guy got a hands-on with the machine, and took plenty of notes.

An anonymous tipster passed on these hands-on photos along and full spec list to NetbookNews, though we can't confirm its authenticity:

Housing: 2.4 cm thick, 25.5 cm wide, 18.5 cm deep
CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz
RAM: 1 GB
HDD: 160 GB
WLAN: 802.11a/b/g Atheros (goes with ath5k in the kernel 2.6.29er)
LAN: Attansic Gigabit (goes with atl1e in 2.6.29er kernel)
SATA: Intel ICH7 Controller SATA: Intel ICH7 controller
Display: 25.9 cm / 10.2 "diagonal with Glare (but bright enough that it doesn't matter)
Resolution: 1024 × 600
Sound: Intel HDA
VGA: Intel 945GME
Int.Cardreader: JMicron (goes with sdhci module after the command modprobe pciehp pciehp_force = 1)
Bluetooth: integrated (Broadcom chipset)
UMTS: "apparently" yes
Killswitch: for Wlan + Bluetooth
Touchpad: Synaptics (scroll down to the edge possible)
Battery: 3-cells (approximately 3 hours duration)

The only surprise here is the lack of an SSD. The spec list says it'll be a 160GB HDD, which is encouraging from a performance standpoint (the Aspire One's SSD's are slllooooooooow) but not so much from a toss-it-in-you-bag-without-thinking-about-it ! angle. T he smallish battery is also a bit alarming, as the Aspire One, even in its previous smaller incarnation, was never know for great battery life. As for the OS, I wouldn't expect a change from the current XP/Linpus situation—the SUSE installation you see in the photos was apparently not the OS that came with the netbook. [NetbookNews via Slashgear]]

Man-Made 'Happy Clouds' Float Over London [Emoticlouds]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/x9H1Hu2nG-k/man+made-happy-clouds-float-over-london

While a cloud floating overhead is traditionally heralded as a bad omen, the 2057 "Happy Clouds" released over London were simply meant to "cheer people up a bit."

Artist Stuart Semple released these smiley-shaped, pink-tinted clouds to celebrate London industry. Comprised of helium, soap and vegetable dye, a total of 2057 clouds were launched at a rate of one every seven seconds.

Sadly, the clouds lasted only 30 minutes apiece before they disintegrated away. Then again, there are only so many smiles I can take in a day before I just need to punch somebody. [Stuart Semple via designboom]

Samsung's laptop-accompanying LapFit display gets reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/25/samsungs-laptop-accompanying-lapfit-display-gets-reviewed/

Samsung has certainly carved out a curious niche for itself with its new LapFit display, which not only competes with regular LCD monitors, but laptop stands that accomplish the same basic goal for a fraction of the price. That said, the folks at TrustedReviews seem to think the display could still win its share of fans, especially considering its apparently low power consumption, and its more than reasonable sub-£100 price tag (or roughly $150). On the downside, however, it seems that the TN display is considerably lacking in terms of image quality, with it apparently displaying noticeable banding, poor grayscale performance, and a general lack of sharpness when it comes to text. The particular D190S model reviewed also just has a single VGA port, although the D190SU adds some DisplayLink over USB, and the LD190X tops things off with some wireless capabilities.

Filed under: Displays

Samsung's laptop-accompanying LapFit display gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DDR3 shootout pits OCZ, Kingston and Corsair against one another

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/25/ddr3-shootout-pits-ocz-kingston-and-corsair-against-one-another/

DDR3 modules aren't exactly new or anything, but given just how low the prices of big time kits have become, we figured it prudent to pass along one of the most thorough shootouts on the subject that we've seen. HotHardware grabbed a few DIMMs from the labs of OCZ Technology, Corsair and Kingston, threw 'em all in a Core i7 rig (not simultaneously, silly!) and benchmarked the lot until they literally fell asleep at the keys. The results? We'd love to tell you which sticks came out atop the pile, but that would just be spoiling the fun for you, now wouldn't it? Give the read link a look if you're ready for the action.

Filed under: Storage

DDR3 shootout pits OCZ, Kingston and Corsair against one another originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SanDisk ships first ever multicard readers with style

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/25/sandisk-ships-first-ever-multicard-readers-with-style/

Okay, so maybe you've seen a multicard reader or two in your day that wasn't unsightly to the nth degree, but it's a rarity, let us tell you. Furthermore, SanDisk's latest bunch are amongst the first we've seen that we'd actually feel somewhat proud to have sitting on our desks, and considering that there's only so much added functionality you can give these things, aiming for high fashion was probably a good move. The new line of ImageMate readers are currently shipping out to retailers in North America, with the All-In-One reader listing at $29.99 and the Multi-Card reader selling for $10 less.

Gallery: SanDisk ships first ever multicard readers with style