Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, April 03, 2009

Intel turns Moblin over to the Linux Foundation

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/02/intel-turns-moblin-over-to-the-linux-foundation/

Alpha version of Intel's Moblin OS released for brave netbookers

If you love something, set it free -- and if it truly loves you back, it will return as the market's dominant MID and netbook OS. We're pretty certain that's what our mom said to us when we were kids -- it's a fairly hazy memory -- and it sounds like Intel's heeding that advice with Moblin, turning over "stewardship" of the fledgling OS to the Linux Foundation. It's an interesting move that seems to be more about politics more than anything else -- Intel still employs all the lead developers, so it'll basically be in charge of things, but companies that want to use Moblin can do so secure in the knowledge that it's formally controlled by a neutral body. Very clever. So -- now that that's out of the way, can everyone get back to work on that insane concept MID we've been drooling over for two years? Thanks.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Desktops, Handhelds, Laptops

Intel turns Moblin over to the Linux Foundation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SGI to sell itself for just $25m, throw huge sadness party

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/02/sgi-to-sell-itself-for-just-25m-throw-huge-sadness-party/

Man, the difference a few ~~years~~ decades makes. In the 90s, Silicon Graphics helped create silver screen mega-hits like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, and in 1997, its fiscal year sales totaled $3.66 billion. Today, the company's mired in its second bankruptcy, which has occurred just three years after the first. In order to just terminate the dream before it gets any more nightmarish, SGI has announced plans to sell itself to Fremont-based Rackable Systems for a mere $25 million -- and some analysts are even concerned that the suitor here could be sinking its teeth into a sour deal. The agreement still has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge, and of course, there's still a few more inches of red tape to cut through, but we'll be sure to let you know when the fantasy ends and the wake begins.

Filed under: Desktops

SGI to sell itself for just $25m, throw huge sadness party originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell's 21.5-inch SX2210 monitor now available to order

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/02/dells-21-5-inch-sx2210-monitor-now-available-to-order/

In Dell's usual roundabout way of launching non-luxury products, this new SX2210 monitor first appeared on the company's website with little fanfare last month, but it looks like it's now actually available to order, and for the very reasonable of price of $279 (before the inevitable flood of discounts). That'll get you 21.5 inches of screen real estate, along with a full 1920 x 1080 resolution, a fast 2-millisecond grey-to-grey response time, a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, both HDMI and DVI ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and even a built-in 2 megapixel webcam that supports facial recognition in Windows Vista. Sold? Then hit up the link below to get your order in.

[Thanks, ALCie]

Filed under: Displays

Dell's 21.5-inch SX2210 monitor now available to order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Light-activated lock could revolutionize drug delivery

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/light-activated-lock-could-revolutionize-drug-delivery/

The Gators may not be in the Final Four this year, but the brainiacs on campus are still toiling away, regardless. Researchers at the institution (that'd be the University of Florida) have just stumbled onto a remarkable discovery that could eventually "starve cancer tumors and prevent side effects from a wide range of drugs." The magic find? A "lock-like molecule" that clasps or unclasps based on exposure to light. Sure, we've seen our fair share of newfangled drug delivery tools, but none that have been this noninvasive or simple to activate. In tests, gurus found that they could use visible or ultraviolet light to open or close a clasp, letting blood flow or creating a clot; in theory, this could one day be used to "prevent the formation of tiny blood vessels that feed tumors." Everything about this sounds just fantastic on the surface, but seriously, can you imagine how dead we'd be if the robots ever got ahold of this?

[Via Physorg, image courtesy of NanotechNow]

Filed under: Science

Light-activated lock could revolutionize drug delivery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/03/mit-builds-battery-from-bacterial-virus-humans-to-power-machine/

We've been tracking MIT professor Angela Belcher's attempt to build batteries and nano-electronics from viruses since 2006. Scientifically speaking, the so-called "virus" is actually a bacteriophage, a virus that preys only on bacteria while leaving humans of diminishing scientific knowledge alone to doubt that claim. Now, in a new report co-authored by Belcher, MIT research documents the construction of a lithium-ion battery (pictured after the break) with the help of a biological virus dubbed M13. M13 acts as a "biological scaffold" that allows carbon nanotubes and bits of iron phosphate to attach and form a network for conducting electricity. Specifically, MIT used the genetically engineered material to create the battery's negatively charged anode and positively charged cathode. Best of all, MIT's technique can be performed at, or below room temperature which is important from a manufacturing perspective -- a process that MIT claims will be "cheap and environmentally benign." Already MIT has constructed a virus-battery about the size of that found in a watch to turn on small lights in an MIT lab. Belcher claims that just a third of an ounce (about 10 grams) of the viral battery material could power an iPod for 40 hours. In time and with enough effort MIT expects to scale the technology to power electronic vehicles. Remember, when the time comes choose the red pill.

[Via Scientific American, Thanks James]

Continue reading MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012

Filed under: Misc. Gad! gets

MIT builds battery from bacterial virus, humans to power machines by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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