Nvidia GTX 480 Takes On ATI HD 5870 In Benchmark Gauntlet [GraphicsCards]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0FkkUbcoaFY/nvidia-gtx-480-takes-on-ati-hd-5870-in-benchmark-gauntlet

Nvidia posted a preview video of the GTX 480, their eyeball-popping, face-melting Fermi graphics card that is set for release "very, very soon." It bests ATI's HD 5870 in a benchmark, though maybe not by as much as you'd hope.

As Tom Petersen, Nvidia's director of technical management, explains in the video, the GTX 480 shines when it's tessellation time. During the tessellation-intensive parts of the benchmark, Nvidia's card outpaces ATI's considerably, though at other points they're neck and neck.

It seems obvious that Nvidia would choose something that really played to the GTX 480's strengths for its video debut, so we're hoping that the card lives up to our expectations for insane speeds when it shows up in the wild and people start running their own tests. [YouTube - Thanks Doug]

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Samsung Go N315 grabs a Pinetrail processor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/06/samsung-go-n315-grabs-a-pinetrail-processor/

Samsung hasn't yet abased itself to competing head-on with the lowest price netbooks out there, but its Samsung Go can at least vaguely keep up with the times spec-wise, notching up from the N310 to the N315 model name in the process. The $429 rubber-clad netbook has been bumped to an Atom N450 processor, along with Windows 7 Starter, 1GB of RAM and Intel GMA 1350 graphics. Just in case you were scared of getting bored, Samsung and The New York Times are keeping up with their chummy relationship, pre-installing Times Reader 2.0 on the laptop.

Samsung Go N315 grabs a Pinetrail processor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI caught showing off VoIP video conferencing phone running Android

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/06/msi-caught-showing-off-voip-video-conferencing-phone-running-and/

There are already plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to VoIP picture-frame phones, and only a few have succeeded in arousing us, but this well-guarded fella here at MSI's CeBIT booth seems to have some potential with its unusually large touchscreen. According to the label, the MS-9A31 landline-VoIP hybrid phone will support DECT, video conference call and instant messaging, all courtesy of Android. A quick glance around the phone also reveals two LAN ports, a USB port and a card reader -- the latter two presumably for stuffing multimedia files. No word on price or availability, but if MSI's prominence can win over Skype's heart then we might have a winner here (and ASUS better watch out). We gathered some shots, but there's also a video walkthrough after the break.

Gallery: MSI Android VoIP Phone

[Thanks, Andy]

Continue reading MSI caught showing off VoIP video conferencing phone running Android

MSI caught showing off VoIP video conferencing phone running Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI's Wind U160 netbook up for grabs in the US

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/07/msis-wind-u160-netbook-up-for-grabs-in-the-us/

Got a hankering for Pine Trail? We attest to a certain weakness ourselves, and now MSI's Wind U160 netbook is on sale for $380 to fulfill your Atom N450 snacking needs. We were intrigued by the little laptop when we played with it back at CES, particularly if its standard 6-cell battery hump can really produce the quoted 14 hours of life. For whatever reason Newegg and Buy.com are showing now-shipping right now, while Amazon's lagging with pre-orders only at this point, but we're sure you'll make the right retail choice, whatever happens.

MSI's Wind U160 netbook up for grabs in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Artificial Photosynthesis, A Bottle of Water Could Produce Enough Energy To Power A House

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/video-artificial-photosynthesis-produces-enough-energy-power-house-one-bottle-water

One of the interesting side effects of last year's stimulus bill was $400 million in funding for ARPA-E, the civilian, energy-focused cousin of DARPA. And in this week's first ever ARPA-E conference, MIT chemist Dan Nocera showed how well he put that stimulus money to use by highlighting his new photosynthetic process. Using a special catalyst, the process splits water into oxygen and hydrogen fuel efficiently enough to power a home using only sunlight and a bottle of water.

Like organic photosynthesis, Nocera's reaction uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy. However, whereas plants create energy in the form of sugars, this process creates energy in the form of free hydrogen. That hydrogen can either be recombined with the oxygen in a fuel cell to generate electricity, or converted into a liquid fuel.

In about four hours, water treated with Nocera's catalyst can produce 30 kilowatt-hours of energy. Moreover, the process is cheap. So cheap, in fact, that Nocera has no problem envisioning a day when each house generates its own fuel and electricity from photosynthesis.

But don't take my word for it. Check out this video and hear Nocera describe this process himself:

[Scientific American]

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