Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Micron's RealSSD P320h PCI Express SSD gets reviewed: wildly fast, but a little unstable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/micron-realssd-p320h-pci-express-ssd-reviewed-video/

Micron's RealSSD P320h PCI Express SSD gets reviewed wildly fast, but a little unstable

"Taking one's sweet time" just took on an entirely new meaning. Well over a year after Micron first introduced its RealSSD P320h PCI Express SSD, the aforesaid device is finally hitting the general availability stage. And with that, the flood of reviews begins. What sets this guy apart right out of the box is its native stature; much like Fusion-io (and very unlike most all other rivals from OCZ, Intel, LSI, etc.), this thing sidesteps the mishmash of SATA / SAS controllers and opts for a direct-attached PCIe approach. At around $7,000, it's clearly aimed first at enterprise, but given Micron's history in the consumer space, one could assume that this kind of wizardry will eventually trickle down. The fine folks over at HotHardware found their tester to be shockingly quick, easily outpacing its rivals when it came to read and write performance. Unfortunately, the Windows drivers provided weren't exactly mature, which led to a few booting issues when swapping in varying motherboards. Of course, no one ever said the Ferrari of PCIe SSDs would purr without a bit of finagling. Hit up the links below for the full spiel.

Continue reading Micron's RealSSD P320h PCI Express SSD gets reviewed: wildly fast, but a little unstable

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Micron's RealSSD P320h PCI Express SSD gets reviewed: wildly fast, but a little unstable originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 5:46 PM

Toshiba kicks off pre-orders for Windows 8 PCs, all due to ship October 26th

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/toshiba-windows-8-pcs-pre-orders/

Toshiba kicks off preorders for its Windows 8 PCs, all due to ship October 26th

Not to be outdone by Korean rival Samsung, Toshiba has become the latest manufacturer to announce it's now accepting pre-orders for its loaded repertoire of Windows 8 PCs. Naturally, this contains an array of options for all different types of budgets and preferences, including the Japanese company's Satellite S, P and L laptops or the U series of Ultrabooks, the Qosmio X875 for gamers and, for those who enjoy a more desktop-friendly setup, the LX815 and LX835 all-in-ones are also there for the taking. As expected, Toshiba will be shipping online pre-orders on October 26th, while folks who decide to go the brick-and-mortar route should be able to physically pick one up on that very same day. There's still a lot more where this came from, but you'll have to head over to Toshiba's site to see what else the outfit has to offer -- link to the store is just down below.

Continue reading Toshiba kicks off pre-orders for Windows 8 PCs, all due to! ship Oc tober 26th

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Toshiba kicks off pre-orders for Windows 8 PCs, all due to ship October 26th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceToshiba  | Email this | Comments

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Posted by Augustine at 5:46 PM

JVC BlackSapphire 4000 Ears-On: This 55-Inch 3DTV Wants to Kill Your Soundbar [Televisions]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5952513/jvc-blacksapphire-4000-ears+on-this-55+inch-3dtv-wants-to-kill-your-soundbar

JVC BlackSapphire 4000 Ears-On: This 55-Inch 3DTV Wants to Kill Your SoundbarIf you own a 55-inch 3DTV, chances are you've invested in at least a cheap soundbar to match the power of the picture on the screen. You basically have to; the built-in sound on most sets is horrendous. The sound system in the new 55-inch JVC BlackSapphire 3DTV is way burlier than the sound in comparable TVs, and from what we just heard in a hotel room in New York, it may be good enough not to need a soundbar boost.

The TV has a built-in 45-watt, 2.1 channel sound system, which can mimic surround sound using proprietary JVC processing. (The TV is actually made by a OEM called AVC, which is using the JVC name under license.) Consider that most other 55-inch TVs have 18-20-watt systems. I can confirm that it's loud; at just 50-percent volume the action from a scene in Transformers was enough drown out anything else in the room.

But more than the wattage, the overall sound was clearly an improvement over your standard set. For example, you could make out dialog from background ambiance. There was even some totally passable bass coming from the 4.5-inch subwoofer. Spinning helicopter blades that sound realistic straight from an 3DTV is actually incredible given the sorry state of the sound from flatscreens. The effect isn't earth-shattering, but for people squeezing big the big TV into a medium-sized room it's probably enough.

The main drawback is that to improve the quality of the sound, the manufacturer had to add some heft; The 55-incher is 1.5-inches thick, which is hardly flat. Besides the sound, the rest of the BlackSapphire's specs are more or less what you'd expect from a $1300 Wi-Fi-connected 3DTV. Not bad, not great. But maybe worth it if you don't want to bother with all that extra audio gear. [JVC]

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Posted by Augustine at 2:30 PM

Don't call it a GIF: Lightt is an app that lets you upload silent, looping clips for your friends to comment on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/lightt-ios-app-announced/

Don't call it a GIF: Lightt is an app that lets you upload silent, looping clips for your friends to comment on

Technically speaking, it would be incorrect to call Lightt the Instagram for GIFs, but really, it's tough to explain it any other way. In short, it's a new app for iOS which captures short, soundless clips that play back in an endless loop. (See? Looks like a GIF and is mesmerizing like a GIF, except it's actually a proprietary file format.) Once you record a clip, or "Highlight," you can upload as many as you want, and then share them to either Twitter or Facebook. (Careful: the default privacy setting is public.) Then, once you offload those segments onto the company's servers, people can like them or leave comments. Similarly, too, anyone with a browser can see your feed, though you also have the option of viewing people's images from within the app itself. The Insta-comparisons end there, though: with Lightt, you can't run your clips through any sort of artsy filters.

As with other social networks, you can follow users you find intriguing. There's also a "Featured" list, curated by Lightt, but you can't currently search for things based on tags, which is how you might discover cool stuff on other sites, like Tumblr or Pinterest. There's an element of randomness, then, when it comes to unearthing new things, though you can at least find friends on the site by importing your contacts from other services. Interestingly, too, all your images live online: even when you view your feed on your phone, the app is simply pulling it in from the web. Still, if you really like something, you can save a still frame to your device. The app is available now for free in the App Store (no word on if it'll ever come to other platforms), and we've also got a gallery of screenshots at the ready below.

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Don't call it a GIF: Lightt is an app that lets you upload silent, looping clips for your friends to comment on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLightt, App Store   | Email this | Comments

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Posted by Augustine at 2:29 PM

Facebook Just Launched Its Next Billion-Dollar Business (FB)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-paid-app-installs-2012-10

mark zuckerberg

For months, Facebook has been testing a new kind of ad on mobile devices—ads for other apps.

Now it's officially launched the app-ad program to all developers.

Here's how it works: Developers place ads on Facebook's website and its mobile apps. When users install their apps, developers pay a fee.

Because Facebook has a huge audience, and because its fast-growing base of mobile users have already shown they're willing to download Facebook's own app, it's a natural audience for these ads. TinyCo, a mobile games maker, reported having 50 percent higher click-through rates. Companies like Zoosk, the online-dating service, and Fab, the e-commerce site, have also been running ads in tests.

Facebook has been swiftly laying the groundwork for this business, first launching its App Center, a centralized place for promoting apps, in May and rolling it out internationally.

Having proven it can drive traffic to apps through the App Center and through ads placed in Facebook users' News Feeds, Facebook's now seeking to make money off of that traffic.

Here's a bonus: It keeps iPhone and Android developers, who might otherwise favor tools built into Apple and Google's mobile platforms, loyal to Facebook, s! ince add ing Facebook's social features to their apps is pretty much a requirement to get distribution—paid or unpaid—on Facebook.

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Posted by Augustine at 2:14 PM

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