12,500 CPU Cores Were Required to Render Cars 2 [Factoid]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5813587/12500-cpu-cores-were-required-to-render-cars-2

As usual, Pixar is pushing boundaries when it comes to the CGI in Cars 2. Making the film required a render farm containing 12,500 CPU cores. And on average, it took 11.5 hours to render a single frame. [Cnet]

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Huawei MediaPad revealed: world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/huawei-mediapad-revealed-worlds-first-7-inch-android-3-2-table/

It's here folks -- the planet's first Android 3.2 tablet. Huawei just introduced a downright luscious new slate over in Singapore, with CommunicAsia being the launchpad for the 7-inch MediaPad. It's the first high-profile 7-inch tablet we've seen in quite some time, and somehow or another, it's managed to leapfrog most of the currently shipping Honeycomb tablets with a build of Android we've only ever joked about. Huawei tells us that Honeycomb 3.2 is essentially the same as 3.1, but specifically tailored to 7-inch tablets as opposed to 10-inch. Packed within the MediaPad's 10.5mm shell, there's a 217 pixels-per-inch IPS capacitive touchpanel, GPS, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, 802.11n WiFi, a battery good for around six hours of life and a bona fide racehorse as a processor: a dual-core 1.2GHz chip from Qualcomm. If all goes well, it'll ship in the United States in Q3 2011.

It's a fair bit chunkier than the newfangled Galaxy Tab 10.1 (8.6mm), but still slimmer than the original Tab, which clocked in at 11.98mm. It weighs in at 390g (0.86 pounds), supports full 1080p playback, includes HSPA+ (14.4Mbps) 3G support, offers 8GB of internal storage (as well as a microSD slot) and comes pre-loaded with Facebook, Twitter, Let's Golf and Documents To Go. There's also a Bluetooth module, an HDMI output for catching those high-def flicks on the go, and the Flash 10.3 player ensures that those websites won't be a problem. Unfortunately, the company's left a great deal to the imagination -- like pricing, which is being "sorted with retail partners and providers" -- and all we've got for system RAM is a promise that it's "working with partners on specifics." Oddly enough, the company has "no current plans" to produce a WiFi-only model, which definitely puts a damper on those who aren't interested in ponying for carrier data. You can bet we'll be digging for more, but even with the surrounding mystery, calling us "excited" would be a severe understatement.

Gallery: Huawei MediaPad press shots: world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet

Continue reading Huawei MediaPad revealed: world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU

Huawei MediaPad revealed: world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet, dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu K supercomputer now ranked fastest in the world, dethrones China's Tianhe-1A

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/fujitsu-k-supercomputer-now-ranked-fastest-in-the-world-dethron/

Remember the K -- the Fujitsu supercomputer that promised to do a whopping ten petaflops by the year 2012? Well, it hasn't reached that threshold just yet, but according to the latest Top 500 supercomputer list, it's still faster than any other machine on Earth. In fact, the top-ranked beast is more powerful than the next five supercomputers combined, consumes enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes for a full year, and is capable of churning out about 8.2 quadrillion calculations per second -- three times as many as what runner-up (and former number-one) Tianhe-1A can process. Today's announcement marks the first time since 2004 that a Japanese creation sits atop Top500.org's rankings, but Fujitsu isn't exactly resting on its laurels. Before deploying it next year, engineers at the Riken Advanced Institute for Computational Science are aiming to add about 100,000 cores to the K's collection of 548,352, which would provide it with even more computational muscle, and likely spell doom for all of humanity. Find out more in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Fujitsu K supercomputer now ranked fastest in the world, dethrones China's Tianhe-1A

Fujitsu K supercomputer now ranked fastest in the world, dethrones China's Tianhe-1A originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HotHardware surveys the Cougar Point motherboard horizon, spots a winner

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/hothardware-surveys-the-cougar-point-motherboard-horizon-spots/

There's an ocean of possibilities when it comes to choosing the right Socket LGA 1155 board to mother your Sandy Bridge processor. But a roundup review at HotHardware funnels it down to just five rivals within a $179-$267 price bracket and based on Intel's P67 chipset: two offerings from Asus, plus one each from ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI. The reviewers found clear favorites depending on what you're looking for: The ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional and MSI P67A-GD80 can both bring serious aesthetics to your super rig, and the former has a particularly good bang-for-buck ratio. The Asus P8P67 WS Revolution stands out with four full-length PCI Express lanes for crazy graphics, while the more conservative Asus P8P67 Professional has the lowest idle power consumption of the lot. Click the source link now if you'd prefer to discover the overall winner for yourself. Otherwise, all we can say is, viva la Revolution.

HotHardware surveys the Cougar Point motherboard horizon, spots a winner originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP TouchPad goes up for pre-order starting at $500, will be available July 1

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/hp-touchpad-goes-up-for-pre-order-starting-at-500-will-be-avai/

It's true, the TouchPad, HP's inaugural webOS tablet, won't go on sale in the states until July 1, but that doesn't mean you can't claim yours pronto. She's up for pre-order at a long list of retailers that includes Amazon, NewEgg, Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Radio Shack, J&R, Office Max, Office Depot, Costco, Sam's Club, PC Richard & Son, Micro Center, and even Nebraska Furniture Mart. You'll see it listed on HP's site, too, but the company's only accepting orders for businesses at the moment. As expected, the tab comes in two flavors: a 16GB version for $499.99 and a 32GB model that'll set you back $599.99. Both of 'em pack a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, stereo speakers, Touch-to-Share, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, and, of course, a gussied-up version of webOS optimized for that 9.7-inch display. Intrigued? Hit the exhaustive list of source links below to scoop one up for yourself.

[Thanks, Casey]

HP TouchPad goes up for pre-order starting at $500, will be available July 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbook News  |  HP, NewEgg, Amazon, Office Depot, Costco, Best Buy, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Micro Center, Sam's Club, Office Max, PC Richard & Son, Radio Shack, Staples, J&R  | Email this | Comments

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