Intel Ultrabooks get $300 million investment fund, prep for low-carb diet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/intel-ultrabooks-get-300-million-investment-fund-prep-for-low/

Intel Capital has stumped up $300 million to "drive innovation" in the burgeoning Ultrabook market. The cash will go to projects that refine user interaction (hint: more touchscreens), reduce power consumption and create devices no thicker than 21mm (0.8-inches). Intel is clearly hoping to lure back all those customers who have ditched laptops for tablets by undercutting the popular Samsung Series 9 and Macbook Air. The company's new mantra? "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

Intel Ultrabooks get $300 million investment fund, prep for low-carb diet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Surface-controlled robots to boldly go where rescuers have gone before (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/microsoft-surface-controlled-robots-to-boldly-go-where-rescuers/

Ready to get hands-on in the danger zone -- from afar? That's precisely what an enterprising team of University of Massachusetts Lowell researchers are working to achieve with a little Redmond-supplied assistance. The Robotics Lab project, dubbed the Dynamically Resizing Ergonomic and Multi-touch (DREAM) Controller, makes use of Microsoft's Surface and Robotics Developer Studio to deploy and coordinate gesture-controlled search-and-rescue bots for potentially hazardous emergency response situations. Developed by Prof. Holly Yanco and Mark Micire, the tech's Natural User Interface maps a virtual joystick to a user's fingertips, delegating movement control to one hand and vision to the other -- much like an Xbox controller. The project's been under development for some time, having already aided rescue efforts during Hurricane Katrina, and with future refinements, could sufficiently lower the element of risk for first responders. Head past the break for a video demonstration of this life-saving research.

Continue reading Microsoft Surface-controlled robots to boldly go where rescuers have gone before (video)

Microsoft Surface-controlled robots to boldly go where rescuers have gone before (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR packs photo navigation, augmented reality in a 16 MP digicam

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/fujifilm-finepix-f600exr-packs-photo-navigation-augmented-reali/

GPS, a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, 15x optical zoom -- we've seen it all before. But a feature that displays places of interest on the camera's 3-inch LCD? Well, that sounds a bit like augmented reality (AR)! The Fujifilm FinePix F600 EXR's new Landmark Navigator mode does exactly that, packing one million pre-loaded locations from around the world. Looking to find your way from Rome's Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps? The compact cam will point the way, including other stops along your route. You can also add your own locations, or launch Photo Navigation, which lets you easily return to places you've photographed -- or plot them on Google Maps once you get home. There's also 1080p movie capture, a 12,800 ISO high-sensitivity mode (that you'll probably never want to use), sensor-shift image stabilization, and a 24-360mm lens with an f/3.5 maximum aperture. But as you may have guessed, we're most excited about those AR features, so jump past the break for the full scoop.

Continue reading Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR packs photo navigation, augmented reality in a 16 MP digicam

Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR packs photo navigation, augmented reality in a 16 MP digicam originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi's Urban Concept heads to IAA Frankfurt, tickles our EV sensibilities

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/audis-urban-concept-heads-to-iaa-frankfurt-tickles-our-ev-sens/

The Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA) Frankfurt looms on the horizon, meaning its time for another round of bodacious concept cars we want, but sadly can never have. We've already seen BMW's entry and now it's Audi's turn to show off an electric city-dweller. Dubbed the "Urban Concept," this latest e-tron is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and wields a door contraption that'll put Lambos to shame -- assuming it ever makes it to market. And it just might, seeing as our friends over at Autoblog caught it slumming around Berlin in prototype garb. We'll hear more from Ingolstadt come September, but in the meantime more sketches and snaps of the development mule await you at the source links below.

Continue reading Audi's Urban Concept heads to IAA Frankfurt, tickles our EV sensibilities

Audi's Urban Concept heads to IAA Frankfurt, tickles our EV sensibilities originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's speedy 6Gbps SSDs shreds bits, blows minds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/12/samsungs-speedy-6gbps-ssds-shreds-bits-blows-minds/

For most of us, the decision to move to flash-based storage has been one wrought with compromise: suffer through a year of ramen to afford a capacious SSD, or splurge on steak and settle for a cramped one. While we await our platterless future, Samsung keeps on chuggin', having just begun volume production of a speedier line of solid state drives it calls the PM830. Available in 128, 256 or 512GB flavors, they tout 20nm-class MLC NAND flash and SATA 6Gb/s support -- which equates to 500MB/s reads and 350MB/s writes, or almost double last year's model. Before you reach for the plastic, know that the line is available only to OEMs -- you know, computer manufacturers -- with the firm promising consumer-friendly goodies for all you DIY types soon. Of course, no word on when that'll be or how much they'll cost, but at least the PR after the break's free, right?

Continue reading Samsung's speedy 6Gbps SSDs shreds bits, blows minds

Samsung's speedy 6Gbps SSDs shreds bits, blows minds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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