HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/13/hp-envy-sleekbook-6z-review/

More Info

• HP unveils Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook, other thin-and-lights in various sizes
• HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon for good measure
• HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE

HP has been fleshing out its Ultrabook lineup as of late, most recently adding the metal-clad Envy Spectre XT to the mix, but the company is also addressing the lower end of the market with its Sleekbook line, announced back in May. Confusingly, these thin-and-light systems look exactly the same as the new Envy-branded Ultrabooks, except that the Sleekbooks are less expensive -- namely because for one reason or another they don't meet Intel's Ultrabook guidelines. One such notebook, the Envy Sleekbook 6z, stands apart from the Ultrabook fold with an AMD Trinity APU -- a spec that helps keep the starting price nice and low at $600.

That's not to say that all of HP's Sleekbooks ditch Intel processors, but given the choice between and AMD- and Intel-based model we quickly chose the former. After all, the 6z is the first Trinity-powered system we've had the chance to test, so we were naturally curious to see how it stacks up against recent Ivy Bridge machines -- and we imagine you are, too. So without any! further ado, let's get to it.

Gallery: HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review

Continue reading HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards

HP Envy Sleekbook 6z review: an inexpensive thin-and-light with AMD innards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Smart Headlights' Will Make Raindrops And Snowflakes Disappear

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/smart-headlights-make-raindrops-vanish-2012-7

Your car's old headlights may be getting a makeover. A new "smart headlight" invented by the brainiacs at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute purportedly has the ability to make even the thickest rainstorm or snowfall look like a light drizzle, drastically improving visibility. Here's what you should know about this innovative new technology:

How does it work?

When you're driving a car equipped with conventional headlights through the rain, their steady beams hit water droplets and reflect light back at you, making it harder to see. But this new headlight mounts an intelligent camera over a complicated array of tiny lights. The high-speed camera uses an algorithm to predict the path of individual rain drops (kind of like anticipating where blocks will fall in Tetris), and when a raindrop's path intersects with the precise beam of one of the individual mini-lights, the system briefly flicks that beam off. Result: A major reduction in glare. "A human eye will not be able to see that flicker of the headlights," says Srinivasa Narasimhan, associate professor of robotics. "And because the precipitation particles aren't being illuminated, the driver won't see the rain or snow either."

But what happens if the system fails? 

It "will not fail in a catastrophic way," says Narasimhan. Even if a smart headlight stops working for some reason, it just becomes a normal headlight.

How effective is it?

During lab tests at low speeds, the smart headlight was able to eliminate the appearance of 70 to 80 percent of visible rain during a heavy storm while losing only 5 or 6 percent of light from the headlamp.

When can I buy these headlights?

Not for a while. The project is still in its infancy, and the system will need to react faster to work at highway speeds, especially during snow or hail. But the team is "confident this is perfectly possible," says Kate Taylor at TG Daily, so stay tuned.

Sources: Daily Mail, R&D Magazine, TG Daily

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Web TV Service Aereo Plans To Be in Every Major US City By 2013 [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5925709/aereo-plans-to-be-in-every-major-us-city-by-2013

Aereo, the website which acts as an internet-based DVR for any channel you can get for free over the airwaves, drew legal attention as soon as it was announced earlier this year. Yesterday, though, Aereo won a court case trying to block the service in New York—and now it plans to roll out to every major US city.

Speaking to Bloomberg, 70-year-old billionaire and backer of Aereo Barry Diller spoke out to say he was confident of the service's future. He explained:

"We're going to really start marketing. Within a year and a half, certainly by '13, we'll be in most major [US cities]."

The court case against Aereo sought to obtain an injunction against the service while television networks pursued litigation. Sadly for the big names, a US district judge allowed Aereo to continue operating.

The ruling points generally in favor of the service—and analysts suggest it could be the start of some major upheaval for the economics of broadcast television. Certainly, from our experiences, we're tempted to agree:

It was sued by major broadcasters even before it was available, and with good reason: We took the service for a spin and it's good enough to make that cable contract feel even more useless.

For $12 per month, Aereo will serve as your web-based DVR for any channel you can get for free over the airwaves. There's no need for a special box or a cable contract-everything is controlled over Aereo's easy web interface.

The future of online TV, then, still looks strong—for now at least. [Bloomberg]

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BBC releases Olympics app, streams the glorious Games straight to your iOS or Android device

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/13/bbc-olympics-app/

The 2012 London Olympics Games are nearly upon us and the BBC just can't hold back its excitement any longer. The Queen's favorite broadcaster has released its Olympics app for both iOS (5.0 and above) and Android (2.2 and newer) devices, apps that for the most part look like wrappers for the company's mobile Olympics pages. But, that's not to say they don't offer some excellent features, like guides to every competition, the ability to save stories to read offline later and, most importantly, up to 24 simultaneous live streams of video -- once the Games actually get started in two weeks.

Update: We got a note from the Beeb indicating that there's an international version as well -- because those two dozen streams mentioned above certainly won't work when you're outside of the United Kingdom.

Continue reading BBC releases Olympics app, streams the glorious Games straight to your iOS or Android device

Filed under: Software

BBC releases Olympics app, streams the glorious Games straight to your iOS or Android device originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and 670 round-up: which overclocked card is the one for you?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/13/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-and-670-round-up/

Happy first-quarter birthday, Kepler. Your reference design is old enough for companies like EVGA, MSI, ASUS, Zotac to push your various clock speeds to the limit, while using custom coolers to avoid meltdown. Arguably the time to upgrade is now and that's why Hot Hardware has done a full-on round-up review, comparing some of the best GTX 680 and GTX 670 packages against each other and against the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition. If you prefer your morning news fresh and unspoilered, jump straight to the source link below. Or, if you just want the gist of it, click Read More.

Continue reading NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and 670 round-up: which overclocked card is the one for you?

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and 670 round-up: which overclocked card is the one for you? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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