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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Nokia today launched the 5630 XpressMusic. The new mid-range phone in the company's media-focused lineup centers around a rare voice recognition system that will play artists, songs and other music content just through speaking its name.The 5630's music emphasis comes through dedicated side controls, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSDHC slot that comes with a 4GB card as well as room for up to 16GB. Nokia expects the UK and certain other countries to get a Comes With Music version that offers a year's worth of unlimited yet permanent music downloads for a higher price.
A 3.2-megapixel camera with flash, Wi-Fi and software N-Gage game support are also supplied with the handset.
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In other new tech gadgets, Sony Ericsson has launched a pair of handsets that both have features often left out of non-Japanese cellphones. The Cyber-shot S001 has the 8-megapixel camera still rare for the company but centers on an extremely sharp, 854x480 OLED display with enough color saturation to help previewing photos or watching 1Seg digital TV. The camera itself also has features closer to dedicated cameras with shooting up to the equivalent of ISO 1,600, image stabilization and detection of both faces and smiles.
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Joining Google's Android, Calendar, Docs, Mail, Maps, Reader and a few dozen other products today is a new application, PowerMeter. It's not launched yet, but when it is, it will help you keep track of your home power usage by tapping into information sent from your devices to your electrical meter, and from there on to the "smart grid".
What Google is showing of PowerMeter looks a bit like a line graph, with the X-axis representing time and the Y-axis showing both the amount of power used and which device used it. The theory is that if people can see how they're wasting electricity, they'll change their behavior. As its motto for PowerMeter, Google is using a Lord Kelvin quote: "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it."
Labels: cell phone, doodle 4 google, nokia, powermeter, sony
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tommy Hilfiger continues to bring music and fashion together with the global launch of TommyTV, an online evolution of the Hilfiger Sessions music series, staged in creative collaboration with Sony BMG Europe, that brings the excitement of live music to audiences around the globe. TommyTV, which goes live today, builds on the existing success of The Hilfiger Sessions, a series of established and successful music events. The Hilfiger Sessions feature high profile artists playing with new and upcoming talent in intimate gigs in cities around the world, with recent Sessions taking place in Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam hosted by artists such as Wyclef Jean and Kelly Rowland.
The live recordings of The Hilfiger Sessions form the centrepiece of TommyTV, allowing music fans to enjoy exclusive content and experience the thrill of live musical performances via unprecented online video presentation. TommyTV features:
- Exclusive content from the global Hilfiger Sessions concerts.Really? Must they do this? I'm all about surfing the web and know I spend far too much time doing just that but I would never dream of watching TommyTV. Sorry.
- Exclusive artist interviews and backstage footage.
- The chance to discover new music talent or for new artists to be discovered through the Hilfiger Auditions.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sony is spending $203.5 million into scaling OLED production technology up to medium and large panels.In case you're not quite sure what that means, their 27-inch OLED is about as thick as two credit cards stacked together. And if you're still lost then let's talk about what an OLED television really is. OLED is an organic light-emitting diode. Information week reported back in October, "OLED screens have brighter pictures, higher contrast, and better color than seen on today's LCD and plasma screens, analysts say. The reason is the technology uses an organic material that emits light, rather than depending on a backlight like other HDTV technologies."
Sounds good to me man, but also sounds like it's going to cost a pretty penny. Still, Sony thinks this will be the next big thing, but due to the cost of these sets it probably won't be a big thing for another 20 years.
Labels: new technology, OLED, sony
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