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Fujitsu’s H. 264 Chip Encodes/Decodes In Full HD
Fujitsu just announced a world’s first H.264 chip capable of encoding/decoding 1920 x 1080 (60i/50i) video in real time. The chip features 256MB of onboard FCRAM and ultra low 750mW power draw when encoding video. That means lickity quick, MPEG-2 quality processing with only a third, or half the required storage. The Â¥30,000 ($247) MB86H51 chip is available to OEMs starting July 1st after which you’ll find it bunged into the latest up-scale, consumer-class video recorders.
There will be a lot of people looking forward to these. Real-time conversion will be a huge time saver!
Source: Engadget
Western Digital Launches 250GB 2.5″ Notebook Drive
Not to be outdone by Fujitsu which recently announced its 250GB 2.5″ 5400RPM MHY2 BH Series notebook HDDs, Western Digital today announced its new 250GB Scorpio notebook HDD. Western Digital’s 250GB Scorpio takes full advantage of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) and features a Serial ATA interface. Spindle speed for the new drive is a respectable 5400RPM.
First Fujitsu and now Western Digital. Where is Seagate in all of this? 5400RPM is no boasting matter, but having 250GB in your notebook certainly is.
Source: Daily Tech
OCZ Trifecta Win a 100 Best Products of 2007 Award from PC World
May 21, 2007—The OCZ Trifecta Series was honored by PC World with a 100 Best Products of 2007 Award. The article is available now on PCWorld.com, and will also be featured in the July 2007 issue of PC World, which hits newsstands June 12.
Source: OCZ Press Release
Rush ‘n Attack and Xevious Come to Xbox LIVE Arcade
A rescue mission to remember, “Rush ‘n Attack†is a heroic arcade action game, equipped with enhanced graphics, music, and sound effects. Fight through four stages of increasing difficulty to free prisoners of war using a trusty knife along with an array of other weapons from which to choose. Opt to rescue compatriots as a lone soldier, or form a united front with a friend utilizing Xbox LIVE’s multiplayer capabilities. “Rush ‘n Attack,†also known as “Green Beret,†will be available for download this Wednesday, May 23 at 2:00 a.m. PDT.
Source: Gamerscore Blog
80GB PlayStation 3 Exists, But Only in South Korea
Remember that rumor about the 80GB PS3? Well, it’s becoming pretty solid since Sony of South Korea just announced that they’re shipping out an 80GB version for the Korean market. As for Japan, the US and everywhere else? We’re just going to have to wait. Damn, first Starcraft II, then this?
I don’t consider a 33% boost to the hard drive to be such a big deal, but to each their own. It would make sense to see this spread onto our shores eventually, but even in this day and age, 80GB is small regardless of whether it’s in a console or not.
Source: Gizmodo
Death By Lawyer: 10 Cool Sites We Miss
Unfortunately, people are slowly accepting the fact that some cool things are gone- and they’re not coming back, because someone somewhere needs to make more money. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and remember some of the things that were taken from us.
Many of you will easily recognize half this list. Napster, SuprNova, Lik-Sang and Grokster to mention just a few. I particularly mis Lik-Sang, that site was great.
Source: Mashable
Penguin Car Earns Indy500 Spot
Despite generating over $12K in funds, well short of the $250K goal, the Tux 500 Project was able to secure a spot in the Indy 500 with driver Roberto Moreno piloting the Linux #77 Indy car. He’s back in the pack in 31st place (only 5.5 MPH separates 31st place from 1st) but was able to secure it by re-qualifying with an average speed of 220.299 MPH. Will Moreno be able to pilot the penguin-tipped Indy car to victory next week at the 91st Indianapolis 500?
As a Linux user, I am excited to see this actually happen. I have to wonder though, if it can be done with $12K, why was there an original goal of $250K? That is not a small difference! Either way, it’s great to see it happen.
Source: Slashdot
Intel P35 and G33 Chipsets Released
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There is no official word from Intel in the form of a press release yet, but it’s official: P35 and G33 are now uncovered. “Hard” launch will be closer to Computex however. For a quick primer on what you should expect, you can read our article here. Quick answer: No you don’t need to jump on the P35 band wagon right away.
There are countless reviews around the web as you would expect. We will be publishing our performance reports late this week or early next, due to lack of time with the hardware up to this point. Here are a few other great reviews circulating the web:
Over the course of our testing, we saw the new Intel P35 chipset and DDR3 memory combination offer up gains in the 2 – 5% range in various applications. This was largely attributed to the new Intel MCH and its improved access latency characteristics. There were several occasions where the P35 chipset driven Asus P5K3 Deluxe out-paced its 965 counterpart with the same DDR2 memory running in its DIMM slots. – HotHardware
Intel is going to be making a strong push once again into the chipset market with their P35 and G33 chipsets being announced today, though the real product for enthusiasts looking for dual-GPU support on an Intel board are going to want to wait for the X38 chipset later in the year. If you are going to be building a new Core 2 Duo system in the meantime and don’t mind the single GPU support and want to adopt the new DDR3-memory standard, then the P35 and G33 options look to be excellent products. – PC Perspective
Our P5K3 Deluxe motherboard overclocked like a dream, more easily than any other Core 2 motherboard we’ve tested. Any motherboard based on the P35 chipset should work with a 1333MHz front-side bus, too, so there’s “free” overclocking headroom built-in if you have a current Core 2 processor designed for 1066MHz front-side bus. If you don’t want to pay the premium associated with DDR3, the P35 works with DDR2, too. – Tech Report
Understanding Compact Camera High-ISO Modes
We believe consumers are being misled by the manufacturers when it comes to the actual performance of most cameras at higher ISO settings and in low light. So we decided to put together a short article on the truth behind those headline high ISO modes.
This is a great article if you are looking to better understand what higher ISO is all about. There are comparisons between high-ISO modes on both SLRs and compacts to help you better choose which is right for you.
Source: DP Review
So you are a big-wig CEO, but are you thirteen?
The buzz on the expo floor was about Silicon Valley gaming startup Elementeo and its precocious 13-year old founder and chief executive, Anshul Samar. “We inject fun into education,†the fast talking entrepreneur confidently proclaimed, touting his new fantasy role playing board game which he believes will change the way kids learn chemistry.
Yes, a thirteen year old really did say, “we inject fun into education”. Kudos to him for being so damn smart. At thirteen, I was addicted to videogames! So not much has changed…
Source: Venture Beat
Texting Teens Generating OMG Phone Bills
Last month, Washington high school junior Sofia Rubenstein used 6,807 text messages, which, at a rate of 15 cents apiece for most of them, pushed her family’s Verizon Wireless bill over $1,100. She and other teens are finding themselves in hot water after their families get blindsided with huge phone bills thanks to hefty a la carte text messaging charges.
Using a cell phone to send that many text messages is almost like buying a computer monitor just to play with it’s controls. This girl text messaged over 200 times per day! She must have thumbs of steel.
Source: Slashdot
phpBB3 Release Candidate 1 Released
We are very pleased to announce the availability of the phpBB3 RC1 package. This is the first release candidate which is meant to become the Gold release if no more bugs or problems arise. Of course there may be more than one release candidate.
phpBB users have a reason to be excited, although I am unsure at this point what all the new features are. Even though this is a release candidate, the RC1 is officially supported, which I assume means the release is very stable. If you like to live on the edge, you might want to give the latest version a go.
Source: Official phpBB Site
Microsoft Cracking Down On Indian Pirates
India news portals itVARnews and CIOL report about 350 dealers joined in a statewide bandh (that’s a general strike) initiated by Surat-based South Gujarat Information Technologists Association (SITA).
This month, six PC dealers in Gujarat received notices from Microsoft for selling pirated copies of Windows. Microsoft demanding a payment of 200,000 Rupee ($4,955) and a fine of 1,600,000 Rupee ($39,638) if the vendor continued to sell pirated copies of the OS.
The argument is made that Microsoft is charging far too much for their OS in India and that it should scale with the rest of the market. Even without knowing the prices over there, it’s hard to not believe when we see what Americans are being charged (upwards of $400).
Indian computer shops have stressed that they are not charging for the pirate copies, but simply wish to not sell legal copies because of the price. The only resolve we will see from this is for Microsoft to change their pricing structure in India, or we will see Linux usage skyrocket.
Source: The Register
Dell to Release Tablet PC in Q3
Clark notes that the device will be one of the lightest Tablets in its class and will feature advances in the touch-screen interface to make it more practical to use. The prototype that Clark showed off in the video features a 12.1″ widescreen display running Windows Vista. All of the usual connectivity options are there including Bluetooth and WiFi along with a fingerprint scanner.
Consumers have a direct need for tablet PCs, even outside of a working environment, so adding one to their lineup makes all the sense in the world. Why they took this long to come to that realization is hard to figure out.
Source: Daily Tech
Cell Phone Blocking Underwear
The briefs are purportedly constructed with threads made of silver, which the company claims will fend off harmful cellphone radiation; moreover, in an effort to really prove just how effective these undergarments are, it suggests that phone calls originated within the confines of your new underwear simply won’t connect.
Nothing like starting off a new week with one weird story, right?
Source: Engadget
Flickr Gone Censor Happy
But now, Flickr, you have upset Malingering. And Malingering isn’t as nice as Rebekka, and she doesn’t take photos like Rebekka, and she’s much more bitter when she gets screwed over. So Malingering gets home from work yesterday to find that her photos have been deemed unsafe.
Flickr seems to have gone nuts with censoring, as none of the photos shown here could be labeled improper by even the most rabid pervert. I can’t say I regret never signing up here.
Source: LAist
Maker Faire 2007 – Lots of Robots
There was a lot to see at Maker Faire 2007 — too much, really — but if you’re obsessed with robots like we are, this was THE place for you. Seriously, the last time we saw this many robot kits, sculptures, warriors, and automatons, we woke up in a cold sweat fearing the very destruction of mankind.
If you are a fan of robots or build them yourselves, chances are you were at this convention. But if you weren’t, Engadget has got you covered.
Source: Engadget
XXX Car Wash Gets Approval In Australia
Down Under at the Bubbles ‘n’ Babes car wash in Brisbane Australia, you can get a car wash from a naked woman and a lap dance, but it’ll cost you a cool $82. If that’s too much money for you, you can get the nude wash minus the up-close-and-personal element for $45. The establishment is owned by a strip club owner (shocking…we know), and it uses recycled water to keep in compliance with strict usage rules brought on by a prolonged drought.
+1 to the list of reasons I need to visit Australia. Of course I am kidding. $82 is a little extreme, any way you look at it. But hey, kudos to Australia.
Source: Autoblog
The $139 Linux PC
MadTux and Vector Linux today announced a Linux PC for the rock-bottom price of $139. The “Vector Linux Affordable Performance PC” comes with a 1.5GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 13.5GB hard drive, graphics and networking interfaces, and preinstalled Vector Linux, but requires a user-supplied monitor and keyboard.
It’s hard to beat $139 for a PC of any sort, let alone a full-fledged one.
Source: Desktop Linux
Optimus Maximus Pre-Orders Begin Today
The Optimus keyboard we have been promised for quite a while is almost here. According to their website, the pre-orders should be commencing soon. If you have $1,500 to spare for a keyboard, this one is made for you.
Source: Artemy Lebedev
5 DIY Wallets You Can Make This Weekend
Don’t have anything planned for this weekend? Then why not make a few spare wallets, using items you might have laying around the house — or not.
As you would expect from TechEBlog, these are some weird wallets. The best would have to be the wallet modeled out of an NES controller. How geeky you would have to be to use that in public.
Source: TechEBlog
New Commercial Product For Wii Hacking
Unfortunately, the press release mentions that it’ll require a little soldering of wires in order to get the little box that clips on the back into a working state. Most people won’t find that fun, but then again most people wouldn’t find the idea of accidentally injecting code that kills their Wii fun either.
Yes, you need to get a little dirty but it would be worth it if you are wanting to hack your Wii. Seriously, how many nights could you waste toying with it?! Pricing is unknown… as is the method to actually purchase it.
Source: Engadget
Dell Announces Ubuntu Models
It was also noted that people within Dell can now officially start discussing the desktop Linux situation with customers. It’s great to see this initiative being followed through on so quickly. I was hoping for a bit more than three models, but what’s more important right now is how those three models are actually rolled out.
Yes, indeed it is a good thing. Dell mentioned that expectations for the systems is less than 1%, so it’s no wonder they are not gung ho about things. Who knows, it might just surprise everyone.
Source: Linux Questions
Google Licenses 3D Mapping
Google has licensed technology that will enable Google to map out 3-D versions of cities world wide. According to a Mercury News report, the technology was developed by a team of Stanford University students and was used to run a robotic car that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge.
Google might just be looking to put all GPS systems to shame. If there was the ability to save such maps to a laptop so that you can actually use it on the go, it would prove an invaluable tool.
Source: Tech Crunch
Top 10 Mac OS X Tweaks
Mac OS X is a great operating system out of the box, but a few simple customizations can make it even better. OS X ships with some odd and sometimes inconvenient default settings, and it’s got a few nifty little perks for power users who enable them, no third-party software required.
Is it just me, or have top ten lists recently exploded in popularity? My favorite from the list would have to be the tab key enable. How such a useful feature could be turned off by default is strange.
Source: Lifehacker