Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Amazon launches Vine.com for shoppers who live life on the 'green' edge

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/amazon-launches-vine-com-website/

Love Amazon's renowned two-day shipping? How about organic eats and other miscellaneous environment-friendly products? If so, then today's your very lucky day. Adding to the endless list of shopping sites it already owns, Amazon has just introduced Vine.com; a site which aims to be a one-stop web store for folks looking to snag anything from organic ingredients to beauty products like all-natural shaving oils and Kiss My Face foam soaps -- and yes, as we stated earlier, there's an option to get that speedy two-day delivery service. While chatting with Bits Blog, a Vine representative said the goal isn't "necessarily about saving the planet," but that his team does "feel the products are useful in that regard." Currently Vine.com is live in beta form, though that doesn't mean folks interested can't go browse around and order some goodies -- to do that, give the source link below a quick tap.

Filed under: Misc, Internet

Amazon launches Vine.com for shoppers who live life on the 'green' edge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bits Blog | source

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Angry Birds sequel 'Bad Piggies' launches tomorrow, we go hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/bad-piggies-hands-on/

Finnish game studio Rovio went from relatively unknown to center stage with the Angry Birds franchise. And in record time, too -- the first Angry Birds landed on Apple's iOS App Store in December 2009, less than three years ago, and has since become an international sensation. The birds spawned a flock of sequels, branded tie-ins, and tons of merchandise. All this adds up to quite a bit of chicken scratch for Rovio, and also quite a bit of pressure to keep the money train rolling.

Today marks Rovio's first true sequel to the original Angry Birds, and it's focused on the other side of the farm: the pigs. Enter Bad Piggies. Unlike Angry Birds, Bad Piggies isn't about flinging anything towards a complicated structure in order to knock it down. Instead, it's about moving one very green, goofy sounding pig to various points on a map to collect items and reach a goal -- it's much more Cut the Rope than Angry Birds. The same physics-based game mechanics are at play in Bad Piggies that made both Cut the Rope and Angry Birds so popular, and they're just as fun in this time around. But how do you get said piggy to the goals? You build a contraption, of course.

Each level starts with a build section, allowing players to create all types of vehicles in order to transport the pig from point A to point B (while grabbing collectibles along the way). Only a small handful of build options are available, keeping Bad Piggies just as speedy of a game -- to pick up and play while commuting or while waiting at the dentis! t's offi ce -- as its wildly successful progenitor. It's hard to say if Bad Piggies will recapture the success that Rovio found with Angry Birds proper, but all the hallmarks are there: quick, fun gameplay, colorful characters, goofy sounds, and accessibility (we couldn't help but get all three stars on every level, but you don't have to in order to proceed, should it prove too difficult). Bad Piggies launches tomorrow morning for iOS devices, Mac, and Android.

Gallery: Bad Piggies (iPad)

Filed under: Gaming, Mobile, Alt

Angry Birds sequel 'Bad Piggies' launches tomorrow, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/final-ddr4-specification/

A couple of companies have been jumping the gun on DDR4 production, but the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association is finally bringing order to the industry by releasing its official standard for the next-gen DRAM. It calls for "higher performance, with improved reliability and reduced power" -- which we roughly take to mean: less gigs for better rigs. The DDR4 per-pin data rate standard is 1.6 gigatransfers per second (GT/s) at the minimum and 3.2 GT/s at the top-end, although this cap is expected to increase in future updates (given that DDR3 also surpassed its initial target). Speeds will begin at 2133MHz, a significant jump from your average DDR3 stick, and will also operate at lower power thanks to the Pseudo Open Drain Interface. Check out the PR below if you want to delve deeper into the specs, and if even that's not enough to sate you, head to the source link below to tackle the full documentation. Godspeed!

Continue reading JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

JEDEC announces final DDR4 RAM specification originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PCWorld | source

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Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/google-adds-mouse-lock-to-stable-chrome-22-for-3d-shooter-mavens/

Google's fast-track approach to updating Chrome gives a different theme to each update: last time, it was all about visual acuity. For the just launched Chrome 22 stable version, the focus swings to gaming. Web apps can now lock in the mouse control for first-person shooters, simulations and other 3D content that needs the full attention of the pointer during play. Not keen on action games through the browser? There's still some fine-tuning in place for those who live on the cutting edge, including Windows 8 users and Retina MacBook Pro owners. The update may already be sitting on your computer if you're running Chrome; if not, you can get your gaming-friendly fix (and the security notes) through the source links.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software

Google adds mouse lock to stable Chrome 22 for 3D shooter mavens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for ! use of f eeds.

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Google Chrome Blog | source

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From the lab: Lumia 920 low-light shootout with Nokia 808, iPhone 5, HTC One X and Galaxy S III

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/lumia-920-low-light-shootout/

It looks like Nokia's controversial marketing move, which involved using pro DSLRs to "simulate" low-light shooting, was even less necessary that the smartphone maker may have thought. During our visit to the company's Tampere, Finland research and development complex, we were given access to a comprehensive testing suite, enabling us to shoot with a Lumia 920 prototype and a handful of competing products in a controlled lighting environment. Technicians dimmed the lights and let us snap a static scene with each handset at just 5 lux -- a level on par with what you may expect on a dimly lit city street in the middle of the night. The 920 took the cake, without question, but the iPhone didn't fare too poorly itself, snatching up nearly as much light as the Nokia device. The 808 PureView also performed quite well, but the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III yielded unusable results.

It's one thing to snag proper exposure, though -- capturing sharp details with little noise and superior color balance is an entirely different beast, and the Lumia managed to do just that, as you'll see in our 100-percent-view shots further on. Later in the evening we hit the streets of Helsinki for a real-world shootout. The 920 did! present some issues with exaggerated shake and other rapid movements, but it offered up excellent results overall, even in scenes that were too dark for us to make out any details with our own eyes. Our nighttime shoot can be found in the gallery below, followed by plenty of comparison photos after the break.

Gallery: Nokia Lumia 920 Low-Light Shoot