ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/oovoo-12-way-video-chat/

If there were some video chat corollary to Moore's Law, ooVoo is adhering to it. Almost a year to the day after announcing six-way calls, the company is expanding its offerings to include 12-way chats on both Facebook and ooVoo's iPad app. It would seem that on FB, at least, that means true 12-way, face-to-face conversations -- an obvious one-up to Facebook's native video calling app, which is powered by Skype. On the iPad, however, that 12-way claim comes with a substantial quid pro quo: while you can partake in chat with 12 people at once, you can only view up to four people's streams at a time. Moving on, folks using ooVoo on Android or the iPhone will notice some UI tweaks starting today, while people plugged into the desktop version will be treated to a more drastic overhaul. Rounding out the list of newsy bits, the ability to record and upload video chats to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is now free. You can get your update on now at ooVoo.com, the Apple App Store or Google Play, and we've got one last screen shot after the break to help illustrate what's on tap.

Continue reading ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift

ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/asus-zenbook-prime-ux21a-review/

More Info

• ASUS Zenbook UX31 review
• ASUS Zenbooks to get Ivy Bridge refresh, optional 1080p and backlit keyboards in tow?
• ASUS Zenbook Primes with 1080p IPS panels and probable Ivy Bridge CPUs are real, coming to Taiwan in June

It was only a matter of time before ASUS refreshed its line of Ultrabooks with Intel's new Ivy Bridge chips, but the truth is, the company needed to improve a little more than just the CPU model number. If you recall, the Zenbook UX31 ushered in a modern metal design and unbeatable speed, but our enthusiasm waned after spending a week with the flat keyboard and temperamental touchpad.

Well, friends, it looks like Chairman Jonney Shih and co. were listening: the outfit is about to bring four of its leaked Zenbook Prime laptops to the US. These include the 11-inch UX21A, which you see up there, along with the 13-inch UX31A, UX32A and the UX32VD -- essentially, the UX31A with discrete graphics. Though different configurations are bound to vary, they all bring retooled, backlit keyboards, refined trackpads and, of course, Intel's third-generation Core processors. And while the lower-end UX32A is stuck with 1366 x 768 resolution, every other model -- yes, even the tiny UX21A -- will be offered with a 1080p IPS display.

In general, ASUS isn't ready to talk availability for these four models, and has n! ot given any indication as to how much the UX21A will cost (it did reveal tentative prices for the other three). So these aren't shipping products you can buy just yet, but luckily for us, we got the chance to spend a few days with the UX21A. While we're holding off on calling this a review -- we need a price and final, production-quality unit for that -- we're good and ready to share our early thoughts. So what are you waiting for? Meet us past the break where photos, benchmark scores and detailed impressions lie in waiting.

Gallery: ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

Continue reading ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview

ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please ! see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Latitude 6430u: an Ultrabook tailored for suit-and-tie types

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/dell-latitude-6430u-an-ultrabook-tailored-for-suit-and-tie-type/

It's far from official, but from the looks of things, an update to Dell's Latitude line may be incoming. According to Dutch site Tweakers.net, the outfit's 14-inch refresh, bearing model number 6430u, will purportedly sport a 1366 x 768 display, dual-core i3, i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor and measure in at a slightly chunky 20.9mm thick. For the business-minded types that it's being aimed at, this enterprise-ready Ultrabook will also run Intel's vPro platform, giving IT departments worldwide easy access for data management and remote wipes, in addition to supporting a smartcard reader and an optional fingerprint scanner. As for its SSD innards, the unit should be available in configurations up to 256GB with a maximum of 8GB RAM allotted. Since this fella exists in a grey zone for now, there's no official pricing or release date to speak of, though rumors do point to a June bow. Check out the source below for a translated take on this pre-release kit.

Dell Latitude 6430u: an Ultrabook tailored for suit-and-tie types originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Research team shatters data sorting record, wrenches trophy from Yahoo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/microsoft-research-team-shatters-data-sorting-record/

Bruise inducing high-fives, anyone? They're handing them out in Redmond, according to one mildly injured researcher, after breaking a data sorting record Yahoo set in 2009. The ruckus surrounds a benchmark called MinuteSort, which measures how much data can be sorted in 60 seconds. Microsoft's Distributed Systems group utilized a new file system architecture, dubbed Flat Datacenter Storage, over a full bisection bandwidth network to burn through the competition.

Not only did the nine-person crew best the old record nearly by a factor of three, it gave itself a handicap -- sorting 1,401 GB of data at 2 GB/s over a remote file system, forcing the system to crunch data at a slower speed than the technique is capable of. It's not all about bragging rights, however, Bing has its eye on the newfangled file system in hopes of boosting its RPM. Microsoft suspects the tech could also pick up the pace of machine learning and churn through large data sets in a jiffy. You can catch Microsoft Research's detailed explanation in all its glory at the source.

Microsoft Research team shatters data sorting record, wrenches trophy from Yahoo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 05:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/22/alienware-laptops-to-use-killer-wireless-n-1202-wifi-cards/

You might recall that Killer Technology launched the Killer Wireless-N 1202 card as a bit of an orphan: without an immediate laptop partner or an aftermarket reseller, it wasn't clear how and when gamers would get their hands on the low-lag WiFi add-on. Alienware is stepping up and making that much easier as of today by planning to use the Qualcomm Atheros-owned technology across its laptop line. The PC builder didn't say which models are getting the treatment, although it made clear that more than one of the newly refreshed arsenal will tuck the 1202 inside. If you're the sort that needs to crush newbs with the lowest ping times, but don't want to leave the comfort of Starbucks WiFi to plug in an Ethernet cable, your solution now looks to be at hand.

Continue reading Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop

Alienware laptops to use Killer Wireless-N 1202 WiFi cards, guarantee a few frags at the coffee shop originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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