Archive for May 20th, 2009

Microsoft really, really wants to convince you that in the high stakes world of multiple displays, SideShow is the only way to go. To that end, the company has put together a little white paper meant to sell us on the idea of using their product to for extra screen real estate as you flail about Azeroth (or whatever it is that you do in your free time). And it’s not like we need to be sold on the concept — we love our Mimo as much as the next guy or gal — but as wary as companies have been of this technology, we’re guessing that it’ll take more than some fancy Photoshoppin’ to get hardware vendors on board. But who knows? Hit the read link to discover all of Microsoft’s thoughts on the subject.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Displays

Microsoft is desperate for gamers to adopt Windows SideShow originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 16:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things haven’t looked great for Sony Ericsson — which reported its sales were down 50% during the first quarter — for quite a piece of time now. Well, now Sony’s CFO has admitted that falling demand combined with a “gap” in its product portfolio has created problems for the company. He also acknowledged that the company needs to raise about 100 million euros by the end of this fiscal year (March of 2010) to keep on trucking. Sony Ericsson is reportedly considering numberless cash-raising options, but no plans are yet set in stone. We wish them luck!

Filed under: Cellphones

Sony Ericsson needs to raise 100 million euros to stay afloat, says CFO originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A clever DIY-er wanted to add some semblance of projector capability to his iPhone, without — you know — actually adding a projector to his phone. He chose instead to use the phone in tandem with a 5 x 7 laser matrix, five 8-bit D latches for controlling the laser pointers, a microcontroller, and a bit of (somewhat complex looking) code for the iPhone, resulting in the ability to “spell” out messages on a wall, or other surface. There’s a super exciting video demo after the break — check it o-u-t.

Continue reading Laser Matrix instructions will help you make an incredibly facile projector of your iPhone

Filed under: Cellphones

Laser Matrix instructions will help you make an incredibly facile projector of your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that Intel’s been slapped with a record $1.45b antitrust fine in Europe, it seems like the claws are coming out — AMD just put up that “Break Free” site, and today we’ve got NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang calling Chipzilla’s Atom pricing “unfair.” It seems that Intel sells the standard Atom chip for $45 on its own, but bundles the diminutive CPU into the oh-so-familiar netbook configuration for just $25, meaning NVIDIA’s Ion chipset isn’t price-competitive. Of course, this is just another twist in the endless argument about Ion, but despite the denials, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard whispers that Intel pretty much forces manufacturers to buy complete Atom chipsets — the dearth of Ion-powered netbooks in the market is fairly suspicious considering the GeForce 9400M at the heart of the platform is a well-known quantity. On the other hand, we’ve also heard this is all going to change and change dramatically at Computex next month, so we’ll see — either way, things are bound to get interesting.

[Via TrustedReviews]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

CE-Oh no he didn’t! Part LX: NVIDIA calls Intel’s single-chip Atom pricing “pretty unfair” originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, we think we’re starting to get a good picture for how T-Mobile’s Android plans for the year are going to play out (naturally, this is all subject to change — we doubt the manufacturers know precisely when they’ll be ready with this stuff, much less the carrier). That seemingly leaked roadmap has now revealed its final Android-based treasure, a Motorola “Morrison” that looks a heck of a lot like the device we’d seen leaked through some Wal-mart docs. Granted, there’s a silver bar at the bottom here that isn’t present in the earlier picture, but they could easily be different generations of rendered mockups, so we’re not putting too much weight on that discrepancy. The roadmap currently has the Morrison pegged for the holiday season, so there’ll be plenty of Android devices available to you before you get a crack at this one — which probably isn’t how Moto would like to see it work out, but hey, them’s the breaks.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Motorola “Morrison” rounding out T-Mobile’s 2009 Android offerings? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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QNAP’s already stuffed an Atom processor into a few of its NAS devices, but it looks like the company is still only just getting started, and it’s now rolled out yet another model in the form of the SS-439 Pro Turbo NAS. Like the similarly designated TS-439, this one will accommodate four SATA drives of your choice, although the SS-439 opts for 2.5-inch drives to keep the NAS even more compact. Otherwise, you can expect to get 1GB of DDRII memory in addition to that Atom N270 processor, along with support for RAID 0/1/5/6/5+hot spare configurations, three USB ports, two eSATA ports, and all the usual security measures you’d expect from a small business / SOHO-minded NAS. No word on pricing just yet, but it looks like this one should be rolling out to retailers right away.

Filed under: Storage, Networking

QNAP rolls out 2.5-inch, Atom-based SS-439 Pro Turbo NAS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s nothing like a cheesy tech company promo video to make us all feel all warm and fuzzy with the promise of amazing sci-fi tech to come, and Microsoft’s Future vids are a pinnacle of the form, what with their vision of a pervasive natural computing interface. Of course, strident idealism is a ripe target for mockery, and the kids at Sarcastic Gamer are at it again, taking the piss out of the last Future spot with their own dysfunctional narration. Grins after the break!

[Thanks, Sean]

Continue reading Microsoft Future: hallucinating icons will be an everyday occurrence

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Microsoft Future: hallucinating icons will be an everyday occurrence originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 14:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all want the same thing right? The ability to watch any show we want, whenever we want, and wherever we want. Sounds easy, but even in this day and age to achieve this easily isn’t possible. Currently there are a few ways this might happen down the road, and one that looks to be coming our way sooner rather than later is Cablevision’s Network DVR. While a traditional DVR has a hard drive in it to store your shows, the Network DVR wouldn’t. Instead it would stream the content from a centralized data store, like VOD. You’d still have to pre-schedule your recordings and presumably you’d still have a set limit, but ordering DVR service wouldn’t require a new box and best of all, you should have access to all the same content in any room of the house. This has been in the making for a long time now — three years actually — but Hollywood has been tying it up in court. Luckily the courts have been on Cablevision’s side, but it does appear that the consumer may still get the shaft. That’s because it seems there’s a chance that the Network DVR won’t let you fast forward through commercials, which would obviously make it a show stopper for most.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Cablevision on track to deliver Network DVR this Summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel has been doing a lot of talking about big new processors and platforms as of late, and it’s now gotten official with one that’s soon to be ever-present: its next-generation Atom platform, codenamed Pine Trail. In case you haven’t been tracking the rumors, the big news here is that the processor part of the equation, dubbed Pineview, will incorporate both the memory controller and the GPU, which reduces the number of chips in the platform to two, and should result in some significant size and power savings. As Ars Technica points out, the platform is also the one that’ll be going head to head with NVIDIA’s Ion, which is likely to remain more powerful but not as affordable or efficient, especially considering that NVIDIA can’t match Intel’s on-die GPU. Either way, things should only get more interesting once Pine Trail launches in the last quarter of this year.

Filed under: Laptops

Intel details next-generation Atom platform, say hello to Pine Trail originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll admit, we were pretty skeptical that Moblin would ever amount to much after seeing the 1.0 build, but it looks like the elves at Intel have been plenty busy: the 2.0 beta is now available, and it’s looking pretty sharp. Unlike the first build’s more traditional Linux interface, 2.0 drops you into an attractive unified application shell reminiscent of HP’s MIE that also allows you to run regular Linux apps. Apps are grouped into “zones,” which function like virtual desktops, and switching between zones is handled by a taskbar-like interface. Of course, even Intel isn’t immune to sticking widgets all over eveything, and the main screen (called the m_zone) has plenty of ‘em, from calendars to Twitter to browser history thumbnails. All in all, it’s really slick stuff — check a quick video after the break.

[Via Hylke's Home; thanks Joey-Elijah]

Read – Ars Technica hands-on
Read – Moblin.org

Continue reading Moblin 2.0 beta impressively demoed on video

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Moblin 2.0 beta impressively demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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