Wednesday, June 10, 2009

InnoDisk's 128 GB NanoSSD Is the Size of a Matchbox, but Still Zips Around [Storage]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/EEkFWFFMS-8/innodisks-128-gb-nanossd-is-the-size-of-a-matchbox-but-still-zips-around

The InnoDisk NanoSSD amazingly packs 128-gigabytes of storage into a form factor not much bigger than a matchbox. And to top it off, InnoDisk claimes the drive still reads and writes at around 150 MB/s. Wow.

As part of the testing process, InnoDisk says they test the NanoSSD by hitting it with 20 Gs of of "accelerative force" while plugged into a motherboard, and TweakTown says it's designed to survive this. There's been no mention of when this will be available, and I'm sure you'll have to sell a couple of your kids into slavery to afford this thing. But it totally looks worth it. [TweakTown via Technabob]




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Posted by Augustine at 1:15 PM

Ultra-HD Military F-16 Flight Simulator Runs on 120 PC Graphic Cards [Flight Simulators]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gUzW1wr1Oiw/ultra+hd-military-f+16-flight-simulator-runs-on-120-pc-graphic-cards

This is the HD World, an amazing ultra-high definition military F-16 simulator that runs on 120 Intel Dual Core PCs with $400 graphic cards inside a special industrial casing. Looking at this video, I want one in my living room.

L-3 Link says that their simulator gives you 20-40 visual acuity—current sims do 20-80—which it is almost close enough to fool the eye. 20-20 is perfect visual acuity, but it's still not possible with current projector technology.

The simulator runs on their Simusphere—a 180-degree of field display that uses nine projectors combined—and 120 networked Intel Dual Core PCs with stock, top of the line graphic cards. Not as large as the Mersive 360-degree combat simulator but much more accurate and visually impressive.

In fact, according to the company, the 120 networked PCs give you the most complex and accurate flight simulator out there, with high-fidelity environments, actual world destruction and explosions with physics simulation, and up to 10,000 simultaneous entities on screen in urban environments. All while running the actual F-16 operational program. I don't know if it is the most complex and accurate, but I have to find a way to get one of these. Pronto. [Military.com]




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Posted by Augustine at 1:14 PM

Elektrobit Moorestown MID reference design is more like it

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/10/eleckrobit-moorestown-mid-reference-design-is-more-like-it/


We're kinda-sorta coming around on the MIDs now that we've gotten a chance to play with Moblin 2.0, but it'll take some great hardware to really convince us (or hell, anyone) -- like this promising first Moorestown reference design from Elektrobit. Yeah, it's not quite the amazing mockup device that Intel's been showing off for a couple years, but it's still pretty attractive, and it's actually pretty small at just a half-inch thick with a four-inch HD screen. You're also looking at HDMI out, either WiMAX or 3G mobile broadband, and voice capability. Sadly, none of this will ship until Intel delivers the Mooretown chips, so we won't be able to do anything except sniff vapor until 2010.

[Via Linux Devices]

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Elektrobit Moorestown MID reference design is more like it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 12:58 PM

iPhone 3G S supports OpenGL ES 2.0, but 3G only supports 1.1 -- will the App Store splinter?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/10/iphone-3g-s-supports-opengl-es-2-0-but-3g-only-supports-1-1/


When we were breaking down the meaty differences between the old-school 3G and the 3G S yesterday, we made an assumption about support for OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics APIs in the original iPhone 3G based on the fact that it had been available in the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK for several betas. Turns out, though, that the graphics processor in the 3G S -- the PowerVR SGX -- supports hardware acceleration of both OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 while the more pedestrian PowerVR MBX found in the iPhone 3G supports 1.1 alone.

What does this mean to you? OpenGL ES is the lightweight version of OpenGL, a powerful library of real-time 3D rendering APIs; many modern phones and other handheld devices support the older 1.1 specification, but 2.0 is less common -- it kicks things up a notch by supporting more complex textures and shading operations, which basically means games written to support it look more badass. Here's the problem, though: because OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0 are completely incompatible with each other, apps need to be written to support both if they're going to be maximally compatible. A 2.0-only app can't simply run on a 1.1-only device and not look as good -- it won't work at all.

Here's where it gets interesting. The App Store has already splintered a bit with certain applications being unavailable to iPod Touch users (dialers, for example), but language in Apple's iPhone SDK documentation leads us to believe that the company eventually intends to begin allowing it to splinter even among iPhone models, maybe as soon as the 3G S is released. That is, they'll allow apps that are only compatible with the 3G S because they're written to take advantage of OpenGL ES 2.0 and don't offer a 1.1 fallback:
"When de! signing your OpenGL ES application, the first question you must answer is whether your application will support OpenGL ES 1.1, OpenGL ES 2.0, or both... Your application should target OpenGL ES 1.1 if you want to support all iPhones and iPod touches."
Realistically, it was bound to happen; platform aside, hardware is always improving, and it's paralyzingly difficult to require that all apps be compatible with all of a platform's devices regardless of age -- particularly when it comes to gaming. We imagine this'll be an issue with apps taking advantage of the 3G S' other specific features like the magnetic compass and video recording support, too. Question is, what'll be that must-have game (or compass, we suppose) that spurs stubborn 3G owners into shelling out a few hundred bucks they didn't intend to?

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iPhone 3G S supports OpenGL ES 2.0, but 3G only supports 1.1 -- will the App Store splinter? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 12:58 PM

Eye-Fi Pro wireless SD card hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/10/eye-fi-pro-wireless-sd-card-hands-on/

We're all pretty spoiled in these digital days; not that long ago taking a look at a vacation's worth of photos required a trip to the store, a couple of hours (or days) wait, and then the better part of an afternoon getting fingerprints all over a stack of poorly composed shots that you daren't throw out because you just paid good money to have them printed. Now you pop a memory card into your computer, wait a few seconds for them to fly into an appropriately labeled folder, and then... probably forget you took them. It's so much easier it's hard to fathom the process getting even more simple, but that's what Eye-Fi has done with its line of wireless flash memory cards, which beam pictures directly from your camera. The company has just announced the $149, 4GB Eye-Fi Pro to make the process even more direct, letting you send pictures straight to a computer while also adding some additional features that pros and semi-pros will appreciate. We put it through its paces after the break.

Continue reading Eye-Fi Pro wireless SD card hands-on

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Eye-Fi Pro wireless SD card hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 12:58 PM

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