Apple iPad Just Tried To Assassinate Laptops

Only way to interpret the launch of the iPad? Apple has declared the PC dead. Well-crafted but closed devices are their future of consumer computing. And if no one else can match the iPad experience, they may be right.

"In many ways this defines our vision, our sense of what's next." – Jonathan Ive

PCs will be around as expert devices for the long haul, but it's clear that Apple, coasting on the deserved success of the iPhone, sees simple, closed internet devices as the future of computing. (Or at the very least, portable computing.) And for the average consumer, it could be.

It's the "internet device" vision of a decade ago all over again, except now Apple can offer what is arguably the best user experience for internet and media consumption combined with a very reasonable (for a brand new gadget) price.

It may not be good for you, because you're an internet dork who wants to do heavy video editing or run Photoshop. (Or, you know, multitask.) But for the average person off the street walking into a Best Buy, their laptop money may now be going to an iPad.

What happens when they find the iPad is all they needed in the first place? They never buy a laptop again.

http://www.apple.com/

For the Villans of the World!!

Here’s where you can build your army of robots….

Entire 3 million square foot former Chrysler fabrication, assembly plant and distribution center is up for sale. Apparently, that includes machines and equipment.

Credits: Gizmodo

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails

The 3-year service history of more than 30,000 laptops has been pored over, analyzed, and reduced to gorgeous comparative charts. The service was provided by SquareTrade, whose primary business is selling extended warranties, but that shouldn't completely prejudice  against reaching conclusions on the basis of the presented facts. Netbooks have shown themselves to be on average 20 percent less reliable than entry-level laptops, which in turn are 10 percent more likely to break down than premium machines. In other words, you get what you pay for. The big talking point, though, will inevitably be the manufacturer comparison chart above: here ASUS and Toshiba share the winners' spoils, while HP languishes in the ignominious last place, with more than a quarter of all laptops expected to suffer a hardware fault of some kind within three years. So, does your experience corroborate / refute this info? Keep it gentlemanly, okay?

PS3 – Super Computers!!

Good thing the PlayStation 3 dropped in price. The US Department of Defense ordered 2,200 more of the consoles to crank up their PS3 supercomputer, currently consisting of 336 of the devices in a Linux cluster. According to the official Justification Review Document required for the purchase of the PS3s, the game platform, with its IBM Cell microprocessor, is a much better value for the money than IBM's Cell-powered products designed for supercomputing applications. Ars Technica points out that the price difference comes in part because the PS3 is a loss leader for Sony. From the Justification Review Document:

With respect to cell processors, a single 1U server configured with two 3.2GHz cell processors can cost up to $8K while two Sony PS3s cost approximately $600. Though a single 3.2 GHz cell processor can deliver over 200 GFLOPS, whereas the Sony PS3 configuration delivers approximately 150 GFLOPS, the approximately tenfold cost difference per GFLOP makes the Sony PS3 the only viable technology for HPC applications.

Check this link for more detils: http://www.ps3cluster.org

Earth’s Core Plume Shifting Magnetic North Pole

The north magnetic pole is moving at 37 miles-a-year toward Russia. Arnaud Chulliat—geophysicist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris—says that there's a mysterious magnetic plume that is pushing the north pole at an increasing speed. The plume comes from deep in the Earth's core, says Chulliat, which is believed to be made of iron, with molten rock spinning around like a dynamo. This is what creates Earth's magnetic field.

Meanwhile, regular scientists have evidence that the Earth's magnetic field flips every 300,000 years. The problem here is that 780,000 years have passed since the last polarity change, which means that a new shift could be imminent. There's proof that the field's strength is falling down at a very fast rate over the last two hundred years, a fact that has lead some experts to believe it could disappear completely over the next 1,000 years before it flips. Other boffins believe that this is just a fluctuation in the field.

If the first theory finally happens, the whole process will have catastrophic consequences to human civilization and nature. Without a magnetic field, nothing will protect us against space radiation. The weather will go completely gaga, and the Sun will fry all our communications and navigation services, not to talk about all of us. At the same time, countless migrational species will get lost, affecting food chains and causing mayhem through the entire planet.

Fun, huh? But fret not, my dear Earthlings, as this may not be related to the acceleration of the pole movement. We only know two things for sure: First, the magnetic north pole has been moving since it was first recorded. Around 1904 it was moving northeastward at 9 miles a year, accelerating in 1989 until it reached its current 34 to 37 miles a year speed in 2007. Chulliat says that it's difficult to forecast when the pole will arrive to Russia, if it finally does. Second, they need to adjust the maps orientation.

Whatever the case is, this is yet another reminder that life may be even shorter than it already is, so stop surfing the web now, go out, and enjoy it (National Geographic)

Living in a Capsule

For Atsushi Nakanishi, jobless since Christmas, home is a cubicle barely bigger than a coffin — one of dozens of berths stacked two units high in one of central Tokyo’s decrepit “capsule” hotels

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/02/business/global/02capsule.html

More tablet news

HTC Working On A Tablet To Crush The Apple Tablet

HTC is producing a tablet to battle the forthcoming Apple Tablet, according to Australian publication Smarthouse:

HTC, who have been working closely with Google for the past 18 months have several working models of a touch tablet including one model, is based on the new Google Chrome Operating System say sources.

An Android based device which is set to be shown privately to core HTC customers at the CES Show is set to incorporate new Qualcomm processors, touch technology and new software from Adobe

Space boat

If a suggestion to be made to NASA comes to fruition, vast lakes thought to be filled with liquid hydrocarbons near the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan, may one day be explored by boat.

A scientific team led by Dr Ellen Stofan from Proxemy Research in Washington DC in the US, has been studying the concept for around two years, and is now ready to submit a proposal to NASA.

The proposal is for a future mission to explore the Ligeia Mare and/or the Kraken Mare in the north of Titan by boat. Both lakes are huge, with Kraken Mare being bigger than the Caspian sea, the largest lake on Earth. If the mission eventuates, they would be the first lakes to be explored outside of Earth

More here: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/images/stories/PSDS%20Sat1%20Stofan-TIME.pdf

del.icio.us Tags: Space bot,Titan,NASA

Burj Dubai lightning strike!!

Think this is a very rare picture…

Not exactly! Being the world’s tallest building, easily attracts a lot of lightning into it.. Check more photographs & the video link

Hasselblad H3DII-50 MS

 

Hasselblad has announced a Multi-Shot (MS) version of its H3DII-50 medium format camera. First shown in the H3DII-39 MS in 2008, the system captures four shots in a row, moving the sensor by one pixel between each shot to record full RGB values at each position. THe H3DII-50 MS costs €23,000 with less expensive trade-in prices and a trade-up route for Hasselblad owners.

The Hasselblad Multi-Shot System, available with 39 or 50 million pixel sensors, allows you to capture even the slightest nuance of every detail, with definition crisp and clear enough to satisfy the most demanding client or to bring artists, scientists and conservators closer to their subjects than ever. And all this detail is created within the camera, requiring no extensive post-production or alteration. The Hasselblad Multi-Shot System ensures that what was created is faithfully preserved, indoors or outdoors, shooting to CF card or directly to your computer, enabling perfect quality reproductions and securing these works for future generations

Resignation….

This is how a disgruntled designer submitted his resignation…

Leica M7 limited edition

 

 

The Leica M7 Edition Hermes sees the classic M7 35mm camera get a silver chrome finish and a choice of either orange or etoupe calfskin leather. On top of that, your purchase includes a Leica SUMMILUX-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood, a LEICAVIT M rapid winder and a leather carrying strap, and will arrive at your doorstep in a linen-covered, silk-lined box. But you'd better jump now, 'cos only 100 of each color will be produced. Available in the UK this December from authorized Leica dealers and at the Mayfair Leica Store for a mere £8,550 (about $14,250).

Evolution of Storage

Interesting…click on the picture for a hi-res view

The future of DSLR Camera Forms..

The Nova DSLR Camera takes different forms with the mobility of the camera arms, giving comfort to left-handed and right-handed users. In addition, the buttons are located at the fingertips allowing users to simultaneously take pictures and easily locate the features they need. Whether the Nova is used with one or two handles, the flexibility of the camera's form gives users a greater versatility in image capturing along with an enjoyable experience while using the Nova camera

How to decide what HDTV to buy?

 

Size Matters

Job one is to pick the right screen size for your needs. HD LCDs range from 19” to 65” and plasmas from 42” to 65”.  LCD screens 37” and smaller generally feature 720p resolution, though there are a few sets as small as 32” offering 1080p. There are 42” and 50” 720p plasma sets as well, with all plasma sizes available in 1080p.

Which size is right for you? Consider your budget, room size, seating positions and finally if it’s an issue for you, the size of the cabinet in which you’re placing the set. Our exclusive HD Guru viewing distance chart (link) tells you how close you need to sit to see full resolution with a given 720p or 1080p display. Sit further away and of course you will still get a great picture, but  human vision limitations will prevent you from seeing the set’s full resolution.

LCD or Plasma?

LCD is your only choice if size or budget constraints limit you to a below 42” size. While you have a choice of plasma or LCD at 42” and above, HD Guru and most other experts agree that plasma beats LCD (including those labeled “LED”) in overall picture quality.

Why? Plasma offers uniform picture quality as you move off-axis, meaning everyone in the room essentially sees the same picture. LCD does not. Off axis, all LCD displays exhibit changes in color, black level and brightness, though some that will be recommended in an upcoming article, offer better off-axis performance than others.

Plasma offers overall better black levels, with blacks always appearing deeper when viewed off-axis compared to LCDs, because plasma has the ability to shut light off at a pixel level. Because LCD is a backlit technology, the best it can do—and not all LCDs have it—is dim large blocks of pixels using a feature called “local dimming.” It’s not nearly as precise or effective as actually turning off individual pixels and adjacent high contrast images often produce a halo artifact.

CCFL Or LED Backlit LCD TV?

A relatively recent advance in LCD technology uses LEDs (light emitting diodes) to illuminate the picture in place of the more commonly used thin fluorescent tubes called CCFLs. Though some set manufacturers choose to call their LED backlit sets “LED TVs” they are still LCD TVs!  However, LED backlighting has a number of advantages, one of which is lower power consumption compared to both traditional backlit LCDs and plasma. For a given screen size, plasma and CCFL backlit LCDs have about the same energy efficiency.

Another LED advantage is the production of very bright images, which makes them preferable to both CCFL backlit LCDs and plasma if you day a lot of daytime viewing, especially in windowed rooms that lack shades or curtains.

Edge Versus Backlit LED

Manufacturers use LEDs to either edge light or back light their LCD sets. Edge lighting can produce thin profile sets that are just over an inch deep. Back lit sets are deeper but  offer the aforementioned advantage of local dimming, which can produce extremely dark black levels.

Edge lit LEDs have white and black uniformity issues at the picture perimeter while off-axis brightness of both LED formats tends to fall off somewhat more rapidly than does the same panel lit using traditional CCFLs. However, overall, LED backlit sets produce the best LCD pictures.

60Hz/120Hz/240Hz

Standard LCDs incorporate a 60 Hz refresh rate. This produces motion resolution of around 320 lines (per picture height) out of a possible1080 lines. 120 Hz refresh ups the motion resolution to around 600 lines, while 240 Hz kicks it up to 900 lines or higher.

Some sets incorporate circuits that produce even more frames per second in an attempt to further smooth motion, but the added smoothness comes at a price, which is an increase in picture artifacts (see related story here link).

For the best LCD picture, either traditional or LED backlit, choose one with either a 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rate. However, all 1080p plasma sets produce artifact free, full 1080 line motion resolution. Panasonic’s V and Z series plasmas offer a 96Hz refresh rate that produces images free of the judder found in all 60 Hz  panels (plasma and LCD) without the artifacts associated with 120/240Hz LED/LCDs.

Special Features

If you’re looking for the most accurate image reproduction, consider THX Certified designs that provide near ideal out of the box color temperature and color point accuracy when set to the THX picture option. User calibration controls included with many top of the line HDTVs allow (with proper test equipment and signals) near perfection image fine tuning.

Stantum's unlimited multitouch

The company's back with its proof-of-concept Slate PC. Based on the Dell Mini 10 platform, this bad boy features a 10.1-inch "unlimited" touchscreen and new, compact case. In order to save space, the company did away with not only the keyboard and trackpad, but the webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, and one of the USB ports (bringing the total down to two) as well -- which just might limit the appeal for resellers.

Evoluce ONE : 47 inches of multitouch surface to play with….

 

At the end of last month, German company Evoluce announced its 47-inch multitouch display, touting Full HD (or 1920 x 1080) resolution and "Integrated-Through-Screen-Optics," which allow it to recognize an unlimited number of simultaneous inputs. The ONE also features haptic feedback and is compatible with Windows 7's multitouch features right out of the box, with support for some "other OS" also planned.

Press Release:

Large-format interactive LCD-screens enable collaborative work directly on the screen surface. Evoluce developed sensing technology for the first time reveals the full potential of multi-touch applications.
"Windows 7 launched at the end of October 2009. Our Evoluce ONE is launched too. The 47 inch multi-touch LCD supports not only Windows 7, but also a variety of other innovative multi-touch applications coded in Flash, C++, WPF or Silverlight. Our developed "Integrated-Through-Screen-Optics" (ITSO) technology enables true multi-touch and multi-pen applications, that can be controlled simultaneously by pen, finger, gesture and object recognition," said Wolfgang Herfurtner, CEO of Evoluce AG.
The comfortable multi-touch operating on the surface is achieved by a scratch-resistant coating. The screen has been designed for easy horizontal and vertical integration or can be a stand-alone device.
MIM, the in-house developed multi-touch input management tracking software, recognizes an unlimited number of simultaneous inputs ("true multi-touch"). The tracking data can be accessed via universal interfaces by the multi-touch application.

ASUS G51J 3D sports NVIDIA 3D Vision with 120Hz display to bring 'real' 3D to laptops

 

ASUS G51J 3D has the technology edge in the nascent 3D laptop category. The laptop is using NVIDIA's 3D Vision tech for extensive game compatibility (around 400 games currently work with it), and a 120Hz, 15.6-inch screen paired with some active shutter glasses. The shutter method is typically a more enjoyable 3D experience than polarized solutions, with no knock on frame rate or resolution. The GeForce GTX 260M card with 1GB of DDR3 memory doesn't hurt either, but that hugegantic USB IR blaster that has to sit on the desk and sync up with the glasses could be a problem for 3D-on-the-go. The benchmark friendly Core i7-based G51J which this machine is based on (the only real difference is the screen) was never much of one for portability. The laptop will be out soon, with a starting price of $1,700

ATI Radeon 5970 – World’s fastest graphics card

 

ATI just announced its latest greatest polygon cruncher on the planet: The  Radeon HD 5970. The new card card is also one of the first to support Microsoft DirectX 11 and Eyefinity multi-display (driving up to three displays at once for a 7680x1600 maximum resolution) with ripe potential for overclocking thanks to the card's Overdrive technology. Instead of relying upon a single GPU like the  Radeon HD 5870, the 5970 brings a pair of Cypress GPUs linked on a single board by a PCI Express bridge for nearly 5 TeraFLOPS of computer power, or a mind boggling 10 TeraFLOPS when setup in CrossFireX. Naturally, the card's already been put to the test by all the usual benchmarking nerds who praise the card as the undisputed performance leader regardless of game or application. It even manages to keep power consumption in check until you start rolling on the voltage to ramp those clock speeds.

SixthSense

Remember the scene in the movie Minority Report where Tom Cruise uses hand gestures instead of a mouse to interact with a computer screen displayed on the wall? See the Video…

The idea isn't really that far-fetched and software developer Pranav Mistry has been working on making it a reality.

Mistry is the creator of SixthSense, a wearable gesture interface that uses a camera and tiny projector to display data and information onto surfaces, walls, and even your hand. Special fingertip sensors let users manipulate the data and use their hands to interact with it. The PhD student announced plans to release SixthSense under an open source license in the coming months.

"I notice that it's hard to for these kind of things to market in some sense. . . because I don't want this to comply with some of kind of corporate policy," says Mistry. "Rather than waiting for that time to come, I want people to make their own system. Why not?"

"People will be able to make their own hardware. I will give them instructions how to make it. And also provide them key software...give them basic key software layers. . . they will be able to build their own applications. They will be able to modify base level and do anything".

The device, which can be built for about $350, has fascinating implications beyond its infinite coolness. SixthSense has the ability to sense objects around you and displays content relevant to your environment. If you're in a bookstore, for instance, and hold up a copy of Learning the Vi and Vim Editors, SixthSense shows you pricing guides, information about the author, and so on. Mistry's device puts the Internet literally at your fingertips.