Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/motorola-considering-nike-sportwatch-contender/

It looks like Motorola might be prepping to give the Nike+ SportWatch a run for its money. An intrepid tipster sent along a screenshot from a recent survey showing off what looks like a tricked out nano watch. Described as an "all-in-one fitness and music personal fitness device" (redundant much?) that packs a GPS for "accurate performance tracking," the as of yet unnamed gadget also sports a "smart music player" that compiles a list of songs based on the tunes that help you sweat your best. It also lets you wirelessly sync to your PC for workout analysis, and apparently does the same for Android devices. Among the possible names listed in the survey is the MotoActive, hinting at, but certainly not pinning down, Motorola branding. Of course this is just an online survey, so we wouldn't get too excited about your new running mate just yet.

[Thanks, Anon]

Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS confirms Eee Pad Transformer will get Android 3.2 update tomorrow

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/asus-confirms-eee-pad-transformer-will-get-android-3-2-update-to/

No leaks this time around, but Eee Pad Transformer users don't have to wait much longer to get their Android 3.2 fix. ASUS has now confirmed that the update will be rolling out tomorrow, July 28th. Unlike Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners, Transformer users shouldn't expect too many surprises in store here considering ASUS is sticking with stock Honeycomb, although there will hopefully be a few fixes included in addition to the more general Android updates.

ASUS confirms Eee Pad Transformer will get Android 3.2 update tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultrabooks to start arriving in September, more expensive than expected

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/ultrabooks-to-start-arriving-in-september-more-expensive-than-e/

Looks like those skinny Ultrabooks Intel was trying to sell us on at Computex will all be hitting the market at roughly the same time. Despite earlier suggestions that HP would beat ASUS's planned September launch, DigiTimes reports the Palo Alto company's Air competitor may not actually ship until as late as Q1 of 2012, thanks to LCD supply issues. Those problems scoring enough panels are also holding up similar systems from Acer and Dell. To make matters worse, it seems those promised sub $1,000 price points were a bit optimistic. ASUS told the Taipei Times that its UX line would only be able to hit such a price using slower Core i3 chips -- upgrading to a Core i5 and sticking in an SSD would push the price towards the $2,000 mark.

[Thanks, Marco]

Ultrabooks to start arriving in September, more expensive than expected originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notebook Italia (translated) | source

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NASA iPad app helps you discover life on Earth

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/nasa-ipad-app-helps-you-discover-life-on-earth/

Focusing on the extraterrestrial all day can probably make it pretty easy to forget about all that's going on here on Earth. NASA has shifted its focus a bit for its new iPad app, taking a look at the goings-on of the world around us. The app features videos, stories, and images explaining things like climate change and plant life from the vantage point of the organization's satellites. Like the self-titled NASA iPad app before it, the Visualization Explorer is available now as a free download from iTunes.

NASA iPad app helps you discover life on Earth originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers developing software to finger phony reviews

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/28/researchers-developing-software-to-finger-phony-reviews/

Opinion spam isn't a new version of your favorite meat treat, repackaged for discerning canned ham consumers. According to a team of researchers at Cornell University, it's a growing problem affecting user generated review sites, and the gang is working to stop it dead in its tracks with a new program that's aimed at tracking down fake reviews. That software, which has been tested on reviews of Chicago hotels, uses keyword analysis and word combination patterns to bust opinion spammers -- fakers, for example, use more verbs than their truth-telling counterparts. The as of yet unnamed program apparently has the ability to post deceptive opinions with 90 percent accuracy, but is currently only trained on hospitality in the Windy City. Ultimately, the group sees the software as a filter for sites like Amazon, but, for now, you'll just have to trust the old noggin to do the detecting for you.

Researchers developing software to finger phony reviews originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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