Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Intel updated its processor list with new Core 2 chips for Macbook Air-class laptops and a crush of Xeon processors for workstations and servers.The number of new processor models is 20 in all.
Intel has introduced new power-sipping low-voltage (LV) and ultra-low-voltage (ULV) processor models for laptops such as the Apple MacBook Air and Dell Adamo.
The new LV and ULV processor models include the 17-watt SL9600 (2.13GHz, $316) and 10-watt SU9600 (1.6GHz, $289). More power-hungry Intel mainstream mobile processors are typically rated at 25 watts or 35 watts.
*~*~*
Two start-up companies are using new technology to resurrect old but crude strategies to combat hypertension, believing that they can achieve significant improvement in health without the side effects. The Wall Street Journal reports that the companies offered data at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Cardiology that indicated they were on to something big.
One of those companies, Ardian, developed an electrode that emits radio-frequency energy into the renal artery wall to kill nerves that play a role in hypertension, according to the Journal. And data from a 50-patient study indicated a significant improvement in average blood pressure rates. Minneapolis-based CVRx, meanwhile, created a device that is implanted and then emits electronic impulses that signal very high blood pressure, tricking the body to protect itself with all its natural abilities.
Both developers are now planning to mount larger studies to test the technologies.
*~*~*
Looking to scoop up a PlayStation 2? Starting tomorrow, April 1, Sony will cut the price of its gaming console to $100, down 25 percent from its current price of $130. Today's announcement is the third price cut for the PS2 since Sony's first discount in 2002.
Rumors had swirled in recent days that Sony was set to make a major PlayStation 3 announcement today. But that does not seem to be the truth and news updates are stating they have no ideas on lowering the PS3 price in the near future.
*~*~*
Ribbit, the VOIP platform that was bought by British Telecom last year, announced the winners of its $100,000 KillerApps challenge today. The contest was obviously meant to stimulate interest in Ribbit's APIs among developers, and judging from the line-up of winning applications, a lot of developers came up with highly creative ways of using Ribbit's platform in their apps.
Here are the winners of the five categories in Ribbit's KillerApps challenge:
Media, Advertising, Entertainment: Lucid Viewer
ribbit_lucid_small.pngLucitd Viewer is an authoring tool that allows developers to create interesting, immersive experiences. This demo here, for example, shows a 3D, Google StreetView-like view of a street in Rome, with the ability to call up stores directly from the Flash interface through Ribbit's service. Lucid Viewer also won the Grand Price in Ribbit's KillerApps contest.
Business: Sugared Frog
Similar to Ribbit's own integration with Salesforce, Sugared Frog integrates Ribbit with SugarCRM. With the help of Sugared Frog, users of SugarCRM's open source solution can use Sugared Frog to organize their voicemail, and dictate notes and memos right from their mobile phones.
Social Networking and Communication: Save A Life
Save a Life is an interesting Adobe AIR application that allows you to quickly reach a group of friends or community members by phone. Currently, the application focuses on blood donations (you can download the application here), though the program could be used for other donation campaigns or emergency services as well.
Breakthrough: CYHAA
CYHAA won Ribbit's free-form 'breakthrough' category. CYHAA, which stands for Control Your Home, Anytime, Anywhere allows users to control their smart home devices with their voice right from their phones.
*~*~*
Dell today introduced five new blade, rack and tower PowerEdge servers based on the new Intel Xeon 5500 Series processors. Dell designed its 11th generation of servers with input from IT professionals worldwide to help companies do more with less by simplifying data center operations, improving performance and energy efficiency, and lowering total cost of ownership.
The new Dell PowerEdge servers are available today starting at $1,599.
*~*~*
Apple is expected to begin production on a low-end 3G iPhone and a high-end version with 32GB of NAND flash memory beginning this spring, according to a research report released Tuesday by an analyst for Lazard Capital Markets.
Production is anticipated to begin in April, ramp up in May and the new phones could be announced in June, Daniel Amir, a Lazard Capital Markets analyst, said in his report.
Labels: Apple, apps, Dell, intel, iPhone, medical technology, ps2, ps3, ribbit, server, sony, video game
Friday, March 13, 2009
If carrying around regular old business cards seems really old-fashioned (or you've just run out), Contxts is your SMS alternative. Hand out a username, and anyone can text for your contact details.The concept is pretty simple, and requires only a cell phone capable of sending text messages. Sign up at Contxts with a username and phone number, then customize the information you want to be given out over SMS. You can write whatever you want within 140 basic characters, and add social network contacts for visitors to Contxt's web site who want more info.
*~*~*
The Studio One 19 PC allows users to choose between Intel's Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad Core processors for their machine.
It also allows users to choose between Nvidia's GeForce 9200 or 9400 graphics, up to 4GB of memory, 750 GB of hard disk drive, six USB ports, web camera and optional Blu-ray disc player. What is unique about this home PC is the use of fabric as a material in the design. The Studio One 19 comes with fabric frames in different colors including blue, black, red and pink. An amazingly stylish PC, this one is definitely awesome.
*~*~*
Alabama is set to receive more than $127 million from the Obama administration to fund weatherization and energy efficiency grants.
The $127.3 million initiative, announced today, is part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding includes $71.8 million in home weatherization funding for low-income families in Alabama. The state energy program will get another $55.5 million.
*~*~*
The MPAA is following in the footsteps of the RIAA -- who recently laid off a bunch of folks. Apparently the MPAA quickly followed suit and drastically scaled back after the studios cut the MPAA's funding by about 15 to 20%. Apparently some of the entertainment companies are finally realizing that the strategies employed by the RIAA and MPAA (lobbying for favorable laws and suing the crap out of anyone who dares to innovate) aren't actually helping them build a stronger business.
*~*~*
JPEGSnoop is a small and portable application that sleuths through images determine if the image has been altered or edited.
JPEGSnoop starts by reading a JPEG/JPG file's EXIF data to give you a wealth of information about the photo: time it was taken, what kind of camera, lens settings, and so forth. Then it compares the compression patterns in the image against the patterns of known image editing applications—the program has a feature where you can report new patterns to the app database, if you find ones it is unfamiliar with.
The tool reports an enormous amount of data, but if you're not interested in the fine details, you can scroll to the bottom of the report for a simple assessment, such as "Class 1 - Image is processed/edited" or "Class 3 - Image has high probability of being original". I took an original image straight off my camera and ran it through JPEGSnoop, and it returned all the EXIF data and an evaluation that it was highly probable that the image had been unaltered. I then threw the image in Photoshop and made a small alteration, taking a few seconds to add fake "steam" to the latte. JPEGSnoop changed the assessment to indicate the image had been processed and reported the fix was made in Adobe Photoshop.
*~*~*
Sirius XM is planning to launch an iPhone application by June, in a move to expand the market for the struggling satellite service provider, according to a Reuters report.
The iPhone application will not only be available to Apple's U.S. iPhone users and Sirius XM customers, but also iPod Touch Wi-Fi users, according to the report.
The application is designed to allow iPhone and iPod Touch users to stream Sirius XM stations over the devices, according to a report in AppleInsider.
Labels: Dell, iphone app, JPEGSnoop, mpaa, riaa, sirius xm, stimulus, Studio One 19, text message
Thursday, March 12, 2009
In World of Warcraft: The Undermine, you will be adventuring to the homeland of the Goblins. The future new expansion to be released in last quarter of 2010!
New continent: Kezan; New playable race: Goblins; New class: Barbarian; and much, much more!
"A popular possibility for the next expansion after Wrath of the Lich King is either The Undermine or an entire great sea expansion, with The Undermine being one area of the expansion. Undermine is the center of goblin civilization."
*~*~*
20 months after acquiring Internet phone services startup GrandCentral for around $50 million, Google's finally re-packaged its technology into a Google-branded product. It's called Google Voice and it launches today.
Google Voice is currently only available to GrandCentral subsribers. But when it opens to the general public in a few weeks, here's what Google Voice will do:
Will Google Voice make money? Charging for international calls, it already earns enough to pay for itself, GrandCentral cofounder and Google product manager Vincent Paquet told the New York Times.
Eventually the service could compete with Skype. But not yet, says RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Sandler.
"Skype is light years ahead in terms of video, simultaneous chat and voice, and the installed base is huge," Sandler told the Times. "I don't think they have anything to worry about."
*~*~*
A team of MIT scientists have invented a new battery technology that is able to recharge in mere seconds. Best of all, this breakthrough simply enhances traditional lithium batteries - the kind found throughout all manner of rechargeable tech, from mobile phones and MP3 players, up to electric cars - so there's a much better chance of it actually reaching our pockets in the near future.
The MIT boffins discovered that changes to the surface of the lithium iron phosphate electrode allowed it to absorb ions 100 times faster than normal. The upshot: ultra-fast charging.
The report of their findings was published in Nature. "The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes," it concluded.
Finally, we'll be able to crack a shiny new mobile out of its box and play with it straight away without having to wait forever for the battery to charge up. Fantastic.
*~*~*
Dell today unveiled the company's first all-in-one PC to bear the Studio badge. The Studio One 19 is more consciously fashionable than the XPS One and has the same basic "hanging" design concept as the iMac. Like the Studio Hybrid, though, Dell lets users customize the Studio One's colors (here the outer frame and wireless input devices). It centers on an 18.5-inch display with a 16:9 ratio, 1366x768 resolution that optionally supports multi-touch input for media playback as well as image, music and video editing.
New continent: Kezan; New playable race: Goblins; New class: Barbarian; and much, much more!
"A popular possibility for the next expansion after Wrath of the Lich King is either The Undermine or an entire great sea expansion, with The Undermine being one area of the expansion. Undermine is the center of goblin civilization."
*~*~*
20 months after acquiring Internet phone services startup GrandCentral for around $50 million, Google's finally re-packaged its technology into a Google-branded product. It's called Google Voice and it launches today.
Google Voice is currently only available to GrandCentral subsribers. But when it opens to the general public in a few weeks, here's what Google Voice will do:
Will Google Voice make money? Charging for international calls, it already earns enough to pay for itself, GrandCentral cofounder and Google product manager Vincent Paquet told the New York Times.
Eventually the service could compete with Skype. But not yet, says RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Sandler.
"Skype is light years ahead in terms of video, simultaneous chat and voice, and the installed base is huge," Sandler told the Times. "I don't think they have anything to worry about."
*~*~*
A team of MIT scientists have invented a new battery technology that is able to recharge in mere seconds. Best of all, this breakthrough simply enhances traditional lithium batteries - the kind found throughout all manner of rechargeable tech, from mobile phones and MP3 players, up to electric cars - so there's a much better chance of it actually reaching our pockets in the near future.
The MIT boffins discovered that changes to the surface of the lithium iron phosphate electrode allowed it to absorb ions 100 times faster than normal. The upshot: ultra-fast charging.
The report of their findings was published in Nature. "The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes," it concluded.
Finally, we'll be able to crack a shiny new mobile out of its box and play with it straight away without having to wait forever for the battery to charge up. Fantastic.
*~*~*
Dell today unveiled the company's first all-in-one PC to bear the Studio badge. The Studio One 19 is more consciously fashionable than the XPS One and has the same basic "hanging" design concept as the iMac. Like the Studio Hybrid, though, Dell lets users customize the Studio One's colors (here the outer frame and wireless input devices). It centers on an 18.5-inch display with a 16:9 ratio, 1366x768 resolution that optionally supports multi-touch input for media playback as well as image, music and video editing.
Labels: battery charger, Dell, google, skype, Studio One 19, WoW
the archive
support a cause
the latest reads
search the site
get your geek fix