Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, November 13, 2009

Why Aren't More People Talking About the Palm Pixi? [Chart Of The Day]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/aj-QN92G4Ko/why-arent-more-people-talking-about-the-palm-pixi

We, as in the tech press, are all over Palm's new mini-Pre. But we, as in the internet, just don't seem to care about it—just ask Google.

Compared against the Droid Eris, the decidedly secondary, little-advertised rebranded Hero that happens to be launching alongside the Droid Droid (and also happens to be the cheapest new Android phone on the market), the Pixi's hasn't been driving much Google traffic at all, according to Google Trends. More odd is that even with reviews starting to hit, exciting deals showing up online and a release date rapidly approaching, the Pixi's buzz is flat. Yes, that Pixi—thelegitimately interesting handset aimed at a broader audience than its much buzzier predecessor. Hm.

A couple of points: Although I searched for "Droid Eris" in quotes, there's a good chance the Eris is getting a leg up on Google searches by piggybacking on the hyper-hyped Droid Proper. Also, I've seen three people, two of whom work with gadgets for a living, write "Pixi" as "Pixie" in the last 24 hours, which is funny! Also: probably a bad sign, for the buzz. But still, that explains a disparity, not totally flat interest, or the weirdly tiny bump in attention the phone got when pricing was announced back in October. General public: what gives? [Google Trends]

Intel Deems The Dual Core Atom 330 Too Hot For Netbooks [Intel]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6qiwMXeQs2A/intel-deems-the-dual-core-atom-330-too-hot-for-netbooks

We've been curious as to why Intel decided to keep the N330 chip out of netbooks, and now we finally know: The chip's just too damn hot and not even all that fast.

Testing done by computer builder Haleron revealed that the N330 couldn't match the, now used, two-chip N270 processor in speed all the while actually being worse on battery life. Guess that, along with its need for an internal cooling system, explains why resellers have been trying to get rid of the N330 as quickly as possible. [Newswireless]

Velcro Bus Ads Are Bound to End In Disaster [Advertising]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ptxiyi-O-3E/velcro-bus-ads-are-bound-to-end-in-disaster

I don't know what Coca-Cola was thinking when they used these ads to promote their Grip Bottle in bus stops. They are made with velcro, so if you lean or get anywhere near them wearing woolly cloths, you'd get stuck.

The ads were designed to highlight the better grip the new bottles offer. They placed them in bus stop shelters in Paris, ready to rip cashmere sweaters and expensive clothes. But instead of hating them, the French bought 3.8% more of their sugar water.

What I want to see is an image of one of these ads after a week of being there. I can imagine everything got stuck there, from giant balls of dust to cats to drunk people. [Daily]

MPAA Shuts Down Entire Town's Wi-Fi Over Single Illegal Download [Mpaa]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/sdtoxEltxB8/mpaa-shuts-down-entire-towns-wi+fi-over-single-illegal-download

The citizens of Coshocton, Ohio are without their free Internet after a single download prompted the Motion Picture Association of America to shut down the town's municipal Wi-Fi network.

This is by no means the first time the MPAA has stepped on the little guy in their crusade to eradicate piracy, but it is a particularly egregious instance of it. The free Wi-Fi network in Coshocton, Ohio supported anywhere from "a dozen people a day to 100 during busy times," all of whom are left without Internet after the shut down. As nations like Finland move to make broadband access a legal right, it is unfortunately clear that some powerful people in our country still consider it a privilege and not a necessity.

Let this be a lesson to those who not only enjoy but depend on free Wi-Fi networks. Enjoy it while it lasts, because if Dennis the Menace down the block can't wait for Transformers 3 to come out on DVD, you might be out a connection. [Via BoingBoing]

Dell's Inspiron Zino HD on sale now in America: starts at $229, doubles as an HTPC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/12/dells-inspiron-zino-hd-on-sale-now-in-america-starts-at-229/

Dell has taken its sweet time in bringing the 7.75- x 7.75- x 3.5-inch Inspiron Zino HD to market, but just 24 hours after it made its market debut across the pond, this little zinger is finally available to the Yanks in attendance. Starting at just $229, the mini PC is far more exhilarating than most ho hum nettops. Oh sure, the base configuration is fairly unexciting, but thankfully Dell enables you to add up to 8GB of memory, a 1.8GHz dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e CPU, up to 1TB of HDD space, an optional Blu-ray drive, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4330 discrete GPU and WiFi to the mix. 'Course, speccing it out will obviously raise the price substantially, but it's always nice to see more power than anticipated within such a minuscule box. Of note, Dell also mentions that an optional TV tuner, wireless keyboard and mouse are available, but at least for now, the TV tuner is nowhere to be found in the configuration pages. Other inclusions are a 4-in-1 card reader, four USB 2.0 sockets and a pair of eSATA ports. Who says HTPCs have to breathe fire?

Update: We've just heard that the TV tuner won't be available at launch (sounds a lot like what happened with the Mini 10), so there goes those dreams of immediately gratifying your urge for a new HTPC of the smallest scale.

Gallery: Dell's Inspiron Zino HD on sale now in America: starts at $229, doubles as an HTPC