Asus Marine Cool Motherboard Fights Heat with Ceramic Plates [Motherboards]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3aXxmBdcopI/asus-marine-cool-motherboard-fights-heat-with-ceramic-plates

Ceramic isn't just for pottery. It's used in military armor to stop bullets and the Space Shuttle to thwart heat. Now, Asus is reintroducing the material in its sci-fi-tastic Marine Cool motherboard.

If our best guess is correct, not only is the board built on a ceramic underplate, but all of those off-white structures on the board are "micro-porous ceramic" heat sinks as well. But not only do they dissipate heat from board components while looking ever so evil—the ceramic also improves the structure integrity of the board itself.

The only catch to performance clockers may be the inclusion of SO-DIMM slots—small form memory slots generally reserved for notebooks.

As of right now, the Marine Cool is a concept. But like their dual-screen laptop, if Asus actually brings this model to market, we'd all remember that the company is capable of creating a lot more than just netbooks. [Softpedia via Engadget]

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Leica's S2 Is What You Get When You Crossbreed a Tank With a 37-Megapixel Pro Camera [Tomorrow's Cameras]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3e7-e6KqwAM/leicas-s2-is-what-you-get-when-you-crossbreed-a-tank-with-a-37+megapixel-pro-camera

Sorry to already shatter your expectations. An exception to the mostly mainstream camera gear we're scoping today is this working prototype of Leica's super-high-end S2 DSLR, a spartan tank of a 37-megapixel camera.

It's heavy, like a piece of war equipment, and feels like its built to withstand aerial bombardment—though it's supposedly a bit lighter than Canon's pro camera 1Ds Mark III. Its sensor size is not quite medium format, but it falls in that range—way bigger than the 35mm-size full-frame pro cameras like the 1Ds or Nikon's D3. It's for studio pros who need massive sensors and megapixels, and will have an accordingly ridiculous pro price.

What I love about it is the interface and design—the back is absolutely barren compared to most cameras, with just a dial, a switch and four buttons for its quadrant-style menu system. Each button dives into a single section, where you adjust the relevant settings. Another neat touch is the focusing setup. Hold the shutter down halfway as usual to auto-focus, but if you want to switch manual, you don't have to slide a toggle—just turn the focus ring.

It's coming out later this summer for a pro photographer or super-rich guy near you. But it's always nice to window shop, yeah?

PMA is an annual show where we get to see tomorrow's digital cameras—the ones that'll be populating pockets and purses for the rest of the year. We'll be he! re for t he next couple of days.

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Gauging Samsung's TL320 OLED Display Point-and-Shoot [Tomorrow's Cameras]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RV0PPy3p8TA/gauging-samsungs-tl320-oled-display-point+and+shoot

See what I did there? Cause Samsung's TL320 HD video capable camera has an ooooOLED screen and cool retro analog gauges? So, just how great are they in person?

What I really wanted to do was play back 720p video on the TL320's screen to better divine the OLED difference, but it's pretty early in the dev cycle (it's not coming out till way later in the year) and was so buggy all it would playback is blue static, which wasn't very helpful at all. Looking at stills on the screen side by side with an LCD display on a different Samsung camera, the OLED screen was a little brighter and sharper, but it didn't make my eyes pop out get goo all over the display in the ensuing explosion or anything.

I wish the dials were a little bigger—or there were MORE of them 'cause there's totally room—but they're still super neat. When you turn the camera on, they reset by spinning wildly, like a Ghostbusters' EKG PKE meter if Satan was in the room. In a world where vaguely similar specs on almost every point-and-shoot makes eyes glaze over, it's little touches like this that grab attention and make your camera better than your friend's. Besides, I think every gadget should have retro gauges.

The interface on it is simple to navigate as well, which is good since cameras really need better UIs to accommodate the dizzying list of features they're being bloated with every year—it's sort of like a vertical version of Sony's XMB cross media bar. As you you move up and down to highlight items, the settings it adjusts pops up to the right of the main list, and then you press right to move over to the settings. It's probably my favorit! e Samsun g point-and-shoot so far based on look and feel, though we'll have to wait a bit to see what kind of pictures it delivers for a final verdict.

PMA is an annual show where we get to see tomorrow's digital cameras—the ones that'll be populating pockets and purses for the rest of the year. We'll be here for the next couple of days.

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DVR/BitTorrent Combo BlobBox Appears, Pirates and Studio Execs Shudder [The Dream Is Alive]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hp6aJQC0NLY/dvrbittorrent-combo-blobbox-appears-pirates-and-studio-execs-shudder

One of Chen's deepest, darkest fantasies is a set-top box that records shows and pulls in torrents at the same time. Italian hardware firm Telsey and software maker TVBlob just made it—the BlobBox—a reality.

It's not exactly a TiVo, and it's only capable of storing over-the-air TV (and in its current form, just European digital broadcasting protocols), but the BlobBox from Telsey and TVBlob has an impressive list of talents stashed in a single plastic case:

• BitTorrent searching and downloading (plus downloading via HTTP and FTP)
• YouTube playback and uploading
• Miro for podcast management
• DVB-T over-the-air dual tuner, for watching and recording at same time
• Support for DivX, Xvid, WMV, MP4, MOV, ASF and (soon) MKV
• Web browsing
• Access to Flickr and other photo sites for viewing
• UPnP and USB connectivity for accessing content on other devices
• HDMI output for true 1080p viewing

It's only got a 160GB hard drive, and not only does it just work on European DVB-T broadcasts, but it doesn't have anything like a CableCard either, and given the fact that the company is based in Italy with few or no US distribution, there's probably no plan for that either.

Bummers aside, the fact is, Telsey and TVBlob are taking us one step closer to Chen's dream, and we certainly admire anyone with the guts (and the stomach) to help Chen realize his fantasies. [PRWeb, TVBlob and Telsey via Engadget]

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Microsoft shows a glimpse at the future of computing and the people who can afford it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/microsoft-shows-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-computing-and-the-peo/

Hey, want to know what the future looks like? Okay, how about what Microsoft thinks the future will look like? If you're still reading, Stephen Elop, Microsoft's Business Division President, recently presented that vision as part of this year's TechFest. In an embedded video below you can get a glimpse, which includes plenty of augmented reality, a personal identification device that could (finally) replace your wallet, and naturally lots and lots of Surface action -- extending from tables to walls and beyond. Some of these conceptual clips are old, but overall it looks like something of a computing utopia to us, and according to Elop these are all representative of currently active projects. But, with the company shedding employees and surely focusing on tangible revenue right now, we're wondering how long they'll stay that way.

Continue reading Microsoft shows a glimpse at the future of computing and the people who can afford it

Filed under: Desktops, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Household, Portable Video

Microsoft shows a glimpse at the future of computing and the people who can afford it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 0! 9:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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