Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, October 24, 2011

drag2share: Svelte Dell XPS 14z Ultrathin Laptop Comes To America [Laptops]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5852608/svelte-dell-xps-14z-ultrathin-laptop-comes-to-america/gallery/1

Dell calls its new XPS 14z the thinnest "fully featured" laptop on the planet. It's super slim at 23 mm, has a great display, is a zippy performer and weighs less than five pounds. And now, it's America's own.

The XPS-14z had already made news in China, but Dell is now shipping it here in the U.S. too. So let's get this "fully featured" thing out of the way first. Dell uses the term to mean the thinnest laptop with an optical drive and discrete graphics (a processing unit that's dedicated just to graphics). That's a marketing push. Dell should have dropped that language, because it just invites comparisons. It is much thicker than any number of laptops that lack an optical drive. However taken on its own, this a damn thin, damn fast little build with a great display.

Depending on how you spec it out, the XPS 14z comes with either a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, 7200 RPM SATA HDD in 500 or 750 GB options, or a 256 GB SSD if you don't dig platters. It's got a slot loading DVD +/-RW, optional NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M graphics card, and a seriously nice-looking 14" 720p (1366 x 768) display that seems like it just floats above the keyboard. The anodized aluminum body and island keyboard both feel quality. It has more ports than an island in the sea (Mini Display, HDMI 1.4, USB 3, USB 2, Ethernet, media card, microphone, headphone) and will play nice with your 3DTV. With a solid state drive, it weighs 4.12 pounds, the HDD version clocks in at 4.36 pounds.

It's at that magical price point where fast-selling faeries dwell, starting at $999 for the Core i5 version with integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics. It runs up to $1599 fully loaded with a Core i7 and discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M. [Dell]

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

drag2share: Turn Any Pair of Glasses into a Heads Up Display [Sports]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5852709/turn-any-pair-of-glasses-into-a-heads-up-display

Putting vital performance stats where they're always visible, the Sportiiiis adds a simple heads up display to almost any pair of glasses so an athlete doesn't have to glance down at a wrist monitor or smartphone to know if they're keeping pace.

The HUD easily straps to the arm of a pair of glasses, positioning a thin boom just below the wearer's right eye. And instead of using a complicated, cluttered stats display that's projected onto the lens, or even directly into the eye, the Sportiiiis has a simple set of seven colored LEDs that light up and flash to indicate an athlete's performance. The HUD wirelessly connects to existing performance monitors such as pedometers or heart rate chest straps using the ANT+ protocol, and the user can configure exactly how the LEDs light up in response to their current level of activity.

For example, the green LED in the middle could illuminate once they've reached their optimal heart rate, while the surrounding yellow LEDs would make it easy to tell when they're above or below their target. It could even be configured to serve as a simple speedometer while biking, or flash faster or slower based on the intensity of their current workout. The Sportiiiis also provides an audible cue of your current heart rate with a simple tap, while double tapping will easily switch between paired sensors currently in use. It will be available sometime in November for just $199, and come with more i's than any product name should ever need. [Sportiiiis via Gizmag]

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

drag2share: How Much the iPhone Camera Has Improved [IPhone]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5852832/how-much-the-iphone-camera-has-improved/gallery/1

When the first iPhone came out, the camera was an afterthought, only tossed in to feature match its competitors. Fast forward four years and it's an entirely different story, Apple has made it a point of emphasis and the camera in the iPhone 4S sh-sh-sh-shines.

But how much has it really improved? Lisa Bettany took the same picture with every iPhones (that's right, original, 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S) to see the differences and PetaPixel stitched 'em together to show you how each new generation improved upon the previous model (aside from the original and 3G, that is). And it's a HUUUGE difference. Like seeing the world for the very first time again different. The 3GS was the first big jump in camera quality but then it just went up from there with the lovely 4 and the king of the hill, stupidly detailed 4S.

Maybe you needed a point and shoot cam back when the first iPhones came out but if you have a 4S now, you're just lugging around a needless brick. Check out Camera+ to see more comparison photos with the Canon s95 and 5D Mark II. [Camera+ via PetaPixel]

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

drag2share: Amazon's new e-book format brings HTML5 support to your Kindle library

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/24/amazons-new-e-book-format-brings-html5-support-to-your-kindle-l/

"Great looking books." That's what Amazon is promising to deliver with Kindle Format 8 (KF8) -- a new, HTML5-based file format for Kindle books. According to the company, KF8 will allow publishers to produce picture books, comics and graphic novels with greater ease, thanks to the platform's rich formatting capabilities and design elements. In fact, this format brings more than 150 new formatting tools to the table, including fixed layouts, nested tables, sidebars and Scalable Vector Graphics, among others. It should be noted, however, that audio and video are not included on the list of supported HTML tags and CSS elements. At first, content creators will only be able to use KF8 for the Kindle Fire tablet, though Amazon says it'll gradually expand to its entire lineup of devices and apps "in the coming months." No word yet on when KF8 will become available as an update to Amazon's Kindle Publisher Tools suite, but you can find more details at the source link, below.

Amazon's new e-book format brings HTML5 support to your Kindle library originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

AppleInsider | source

Amazon | Email this | Comments

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

drag2share: Dell XPS 14z review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/24/dell-xps-14z-review/

As far as product launches go, Dell didn't exactly rip the Band-Aid off the XPS 14z. After teasing it back in September, the company let all the specs out of the bag, but stopped short of naming a price and ship date for the United States. Well, now we know: this 14-incher will be available in the US and Canada November 1, and will start at $1,000 -- a price that puts it in direct competition with the likes of the HP Envy 14 and Sony VAIO SA series.

Like these other laptops, the 14z commands a premium over cheaper models, with beefier specs and a (supposedly) more luxurious design. With Core i5 and i7 processor options, discrete graphics, USB 3.0 and an optional solid-state drive, it offers a lot of the same specs as its peers, though it manages to stand out in a couple key ways. One, it sports an LG Shuriken display, which crams a 14-inch screen into a chassis normally reserved for 13-inch systems (translation: its bezels are super narrow). And with a starting weight of 4.36 pounds, it's lighter than a lot of the other laptops you're probably considering. But are these bullet points enough to make it a smart buy? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Dell XPS 14z