NVIDIA Optimus-equipped ASUS N61JV-X2, N71JV-X1 hit the US

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/nvidia-optimus-equipped-asus-n61jv-x2-n71jv-x1-hit-the-us/

Well, we'd heard the first NVIDIA Optimus-enabled laptops would roll out at the end of the month, and lo and behold, the first NVIDIA Optimus-enabled laptops have rolled out at the end of the month. Right now, those include ASUS' N61JV-X2 and N71JV-X1 models, which are just the first of five laptops that will be available from the company, and each of which cost the same $900. That'll get you a 16-inch screen and Core i5-430M processor on the N61JV-X2, or a 17.3-inch screen and a Core i3-350M processor on the N71JV-X1, along with the same switchable GeForce GT 325M graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB hard drive on each of them. Still unclear on what NVIDIA has brought to the table with Optimus? Check out our hands-on for some more details and a few benchmarks.

NVIDIA Optimus-equipped ASUS N61JV-X2, N71JV-X1 hit the US originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JooJoo ship date pushed to March 25 due to manufacturing issues

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/joojoo-ship-date-pushed-to-march-25-due-to-manufacturing-issues/

Well, that didn't take too long. Just a day after we pondered the shipping status of Fusion Garage's JooJoo tablet, the company's come clean and told us shipping will delayed to March 25 because of a manufacturing issue with the tablet's 12.1-inch capacitive screen. Yep, it looks like it's going to be at least 27 more days until you've got a JooJoo of your very own -- which means, of course, that Fusion Garage will now be trying to launch this thing during the same week Apple's scheduled to launch the iPad. Ouch. To its credit, Fusion Garage says it's not happy with the delay and has promised a free accessory to pre-order customers to make it better -- we're told it's likely to be the $30 stand. We'll see if that's enough to hold back the effects of Cupertino's coming media blitz, but either way we're quite excited about making a tablet sandwich at the end of March. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading JooJoo ship date pushed to March 25 due to manufacturing issues

JooJoo ship date pushed to March 25 due to manufacturing issues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Robotic Surgical Simulator lets doctors sharpen their skills by operating on polygons

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/robotic-surgical-simulator-lets-doctors-sharpen-their-skills-by/

These days you wouldn't jump behind the controls of a real plane without logging a few hours on the simulator, and so we're glad to hear that doctors no longer have to grab the controls of a da Vinci surgical robot without performing some virtual surgeries first. The Center for Robotic Surgery at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the University of Buffalo School of Engineering have collaborated to create RoSS, the Robotic Surgical Simulator. Unlike our Ross, who works odd hours and covers fuel cell unveils with innate skill, this RoSS allows doctors to slice and dice virtual patients without worrying about any messy cleanups -- or messy lawsuits. We're guessing it'll be awhile before consumer versions hit the market, but just in case we've gone ahead and put our pre-orders in for the prostate expansion to Microsoft Cutting Sim 2014[TM].

Robotic Surgical Simulator lets doctors sharpen their skills by operating on polygons originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer launching thin, Calpella-based notebooks this summer?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/acer-launching-thin-calpella-based-notebooks-this-summer/

The progression of ever-faster notebooks seems to have dwindled, but the quest for thinner and lighter goes on. Acer is said to be finding the balance between those two goals with its next suite of thin performers, starting with a range of mid- and high-end portables based on Intel's Calpella series of processors, the Nehalem spin-off that we haven't heard much about lately. Sizes are said to be 13-, 14-, and 15-inches, all will be manufactured by Wistron, and all said to be one inch thin at their thinnest point -- hopefully not much thicker elsewhere if they want to turn heads. These higher-performing machines will eventually phase out Acer's CULV offerings, which apparently have had unimpressive sales thanks to a perceived lack of performance by consumers. We can't imagine where they got that idea...

Acer launching thin, Calpella-based notebooks this summer? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tiny Chip Made of Paper Diagnoses Diseases and Costs Just a Penny

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/fingerprint-sized-paper-lab-chip-costs-just-penny

Puts medical diagnostic tools at the fingertips of everyday folk

Existing lab-on-a-chip designs can put the power of testing in the palm of your hand, but an upcoming model may represent the cheapest and most colorful one yet. A Harvard University chemist has created a prototype "chip" technology out of paper that could help diagnose HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases for just a penny each time, according to CNN.

A drop of blood on one side of the paper chip results in a colorful tree-like pattern that tells physicians or nurses whether a person has certain diseases. Water-repellent comic-book ink helps channel the blood into the tree-like pattern, as several layers of treated paper react to the blood and create the telling colors.

George Whitesides, the Harvard chemist, said that the colors can also reveal the severity of a disease rather than just saying if a person has it or not. It's not the most sophisticated lab-on-a-chip, but that's the point -- many of these could become cheap diagnostic tools for a developing world that often lacks physicians and clinics.

Patients in Africa or Asia could even take photos of their diagnostic results with mobile phones, which have become wildly popular even in the poorest regions. They could then send the photos on to medical centers for proper diagnosis.

Whitesides was one of the speakers at the recent TED Conference. Perhaps he should discuss his work with fellow TED attendee Bill Gates -- we know that the Gates Foundation has devoted $10 billion over the next decade toward vaccines as a method of combating childhood diseases. Maybe Gates could spare a bit of change for this nifty yet simple tech as well.

[via CNN]

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