Dell Vostro V13 Hands On: Bruce Wayne's Laptop [Notebooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CaKJrXOJB6M/dell-vostro-v13-hands-on-bruce-waynes-laptop

Magnesium alloy. Aluminum. Zinc. That's what Dell's Vostro V13 is built with. It's as thin as Dell's primo Adamo at 0.65 inches, but it weighs less, 3.5 pounds. Yet somehow, it's $450.

Well, part of the somehow is that the default $450 configuration uses a Celeron processor and comes with Ubuntu. You don't play in Windows land 'til you hit $600, and don't reach ULV Core 2 Duo brains—which ain't exactly heavy duty—until you drop $650.

The V13 is a collision of high end—the design, angled and thin, heavily echoing the original Adamo's silhouette, and build quality, as sturdy as any non-unibody laptop we've tried to bend—and low rent—the keyboard is straight off Dell's budget Inspiron line and well, I already told you what's inside (there's other spec sparseness as well, like 2GB RAM, VGA out and 2 USB ports, one of which is a combo eSATA number). The 13.3-inch, LED-backlit, anti-glare display is nice enough though, at a resolution of 1366x768. The 6-cell sealed battery is rated for 4 hours and 42 minutes, according to Dell, but expect less actually using it, obviously.

Still, at $650, let alone $450—netbook level—you expect some compromise, and if it wasn't at the expense of the design and materials, it had to cut somewhere. (Conversely, you can buy raging monsters from Asus, filled with blistering silicon, but it's powering machines that are ugly, bloated plastic.) Un! -comprom ise is expensive, but the V13 straddles the line fairly skillfully, erring on the side that most don't, and that's something that's commendable. If the Adamo was Batman's laptop, this more human and vulnerable rendition for suits is Bruce Wayne's.

[Dell]

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Aluratek's $179 LCD-Based Libre eBook Reader Goes Cheap [Ebooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3R-YKP40HQk/alurateks-179-lcd+based-libre-ebook-reader-goes-cheap

The Libre eBook Reader PRO has a 2GB SD card with a monochrome reflective light LCD instead of an e-Ink display, which puts into a different bucket than the other eBook readers shipping recently. Plus, it's only $179.

The reader has 24 hours of continuous use (not too shabby for an LCD, even if it is monochrome), and supports MP3 and photos. It's 5 inches big, reads ePub and PDF as well as TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats. Those of you who like downloading books from "non-official" sources know that they usually come in one of those formats. But the Libre comes with 100 "free" books, which are most likely public domain books you could get for free.

We'll see how it stacks up to e-ink type readers when we test it, but on paper, this seems like a pretty decent (cheap) alternative. Especially because it promises a faster page-turn refresh rate than e-ink. It comes in black and white. [Aluratek]

Aluratek, Inc., a leading creator of sophisticated yet user-friendly computer peripherals and consumer electronic devices, announces Libre – the new eBook Reader with exclusive LCD technology. Libre provides the most affordable product in the category, featuring superior battery life with up to 24 hours of continuous use, auto-off and page advance features, MP3 and photo support.

Utilizing the latest monochrome reflective light LCD display technology, the Libre eBook Reader PRO provides a crisp black and white 5-inch screen with the same appearance and readability of printed paper. There is no backlighting, so reading on the Libre is as soft on the eyes as reading a book, while also preserving battery power.

The Libre supports A! dobe's D igital Edition software allowing Digital Rights Management (DRM) support for ePUB and PDF formats. This allows users to purchase new book releases from a variety of eBook content providers including eBooks.com, one of Aluratek's content partners.

With an MSRP of $179, the Libre is a cost-effective solution for anyone looking to experience the next generation of digital technology related to books. The Libre connects to any Mac or PC with an Internet connection for easy access to the newest book releases as well as timeless classics. It also comes loaded with 100 free eBooks on the included 2GB SD card.

"Unlike e-Ink displays which require multiple flashes for each page advance, I believe the reflective LCD technology the Libre offers will be a welcome change compared to other eBooks currently on the market" said John Wolikow, VP Sales and Marketing for Aluratek. "The ability to store thousands of your favorite books in the Libre is not only convenient but it's also good for the environment by saving trees."

Libre comes with a 2GB SD card, and supports SD and SDHC cards up to 32GB. The audio player feature lets users also listen to their favorite MP3s, and the picture viewer supports BMP, JPG, GIF and animated GIF. Versatile for any user, Libre offers five font size options and also supports Adobe DRM, ePUB, PDF, FB2, TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF formats.

Other key features of the Libre include: table of contents, bookmark list and page, content search, jump to page, zoom, auto page turn, background music, multiple language formats, auto power off and a help menu.

The Libre eBook Reader PRO is available in either black or white with an MSRP of $179. For more information about the Libre eBook Reader PRO, or any of Aluratek's other innovative products, please visit www.aluratek.com.

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Lumino Project: Next-Generation Lego Crossed With Microsoft Surface [Surface]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FO7TPaqiZHk/lumino-project-next+generation-lego-crossed-with-microsoft-surface

Lumino may look like generic building blocks, but it actually marks a new phase in the life of Microsoft Surface: The recognition of the third dimension. The UI implications are pretty staggering.

We've seen the Surface identify and react to physical objects before (you might remember the 2008 election coverage's Obama and McCain bobbleheads), but this is the first time we've seen it recognize an object's third dimension. These Lumino blocks can be stacked, and the Surface will behave differently to two stacked blocks.

Aside from the obvious checkers implications (KING ME!), it's very simply the next step in the evolution of Surface and other touch interfaces to recognize the third dimension. It could enable all kinds of different gestures we haven't even thought of yet. Lumino itself is kind of a tech demo at the moment, but definitely a promising one. [DesignBoom and New Scientist]

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Iron Samurai Watch for the Budget Conscious and Style Averse [Watches]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/i0IvwVVAJI8/iron-samurai-watch-for-the-budget-conscious-and-style-averse

The Iron Samurai watch, a spectacularly ugly bracelet-style watch made from "Samurai sword carbonized steel folded 1000x over," is available from Chinavision for a questionable $15. It also comes with one of the weirdest/funniest product descriptions I've ever seen.

The watch, a form of which we've previously seen as a concept, hides red LEDs inside the pattern of the bracelet, which is kind of cool in theory but dorktacular in practice. Some highlights from the bizarre product description:

[It has] blood red numerals encased in stark samurai sword steel like the final battle between all the forces of good and evil in the multiverse

Yes, The Iron Samurai has been known to increase its wearers' strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma by as much as 20 points each! Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal are said to be Iron Samurai owners, as is David Bowie and Brian Eno. In reality, this watch is perfect for Presidential dinner crashers, Facebook celebs with over 1000 fans, Youtube directors with over 2,000,000 views, anyone who can play the entirety of Neil Zaza's I'm Alright on electric guitar, iPhone 3Gs owners, or anybody who is a somebody.

Yes, it's garish as all hell, but how many products can claim to be owned by both Steven Seagal and Brian Eno? [OhGizmo]

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Five Possible Futures of Computer Memory [Memory]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0R9896evW8M/five-possible-futures-of-computer-memory

New Scientist has a feature on five conceptual successors to flash memory. These are all technologies currently under development that could fit terabytes of information on a single tiny chip—and some of them aren't too far off.

The five here considered are MRAM (using two thin layers of magnetic material), FeRAM (which creates polarization through ferroelectrics), PCRAM (using lasers, sort of like with CDs and DVDs), RRAM (a variation on PCRAM that uses electrochemical reactions instead of heat-induced changes), and Racetrack (which, frankly, I understand even less than the other four, hard as that is to believe). If you're not a sciencey type, descriptions of these technologies may sound like adults in Charlie Brown's world, but they could be the next revolution in data storage—so read up. [New Scientist]

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