We can’t say there’s been a shortage of WHDI-enabled laptop-to-TV streaming solutions in the last few months — ASUS has its WiCast , HP its Wireless TV and BriteView its HDelight — but we’ve got one major complaint about them all: the large size of the transmitter. As you’ve probably heard us whine about before, each of those products requires a fairly chunky box be attached to the laptop itself via both HDMI and USB. But it’s looking like it won’t be that way for too long — AMIMON, the company behind that WHDI technology, has engineered the WHDI Stick. The picture above is a clear sign of its prototype status, but the company’s created the 3.2 x 1.2 x .61-inch device to really let the world, or at least manufacturers, know that it’s shrunk down the package, but hasn’t messed with the features — it can still stream uncompressed 1080p/60Hz HD from a laptop to an HDTV with minimal (less than one millisecond) latency. We’re planning to check it out in action at CEATEC this week, but AMIMON doesn’t expect products based on the prototype to hit the market until the end of Q1 2011. Hit the break for the press release and the gallery below for some more pictures of the Stick. Gallery: WHDI Stick Continue reading AMIMON crams 1080p streaming into its WHDI Stick, your laptop might have a new BFF AMIMON crams 1080p streaming into its WHDI Stick, your laptop might have a new BFF originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Both KDDI and Sharp had a billion IS03s on display at CEATEC in Japan today (okay, not literally a billion, but quite a few), so naturally, we swung by to see what all the commotion was about. We’ll be honest — the phone didn’t feel particularly high-end, coated top to bottom in cheap-feeling plastic and weighing a little less than you’d expect a phone of these specs to weigh. Furthermore, it was pretty sluggish and Sharp’s UI skin atop Android 2.1 felt very “version 1.0,” so we think we might want to wait for these guys to hone their game a bit before jumping in. That said, the vaunted 960 x 640 ASV display definitely seems up to the task, delivering bright, crisp images in the face of the notoriously harsh trade show lighting — and the always-on LCD strip below the main display is a neat trick for glancing at the date and time without going to the hassle of powering on your phone. You might be worried that stacking it below the already-large primary display would make the handset too long, but we really didn’t feel like that was the case. Follow the break for video! Gallery: Sharp IS03 hands-on Continue reading Sharp IS03 Android phone hands-on Sharp IS03 Android phone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …It’s that time of the year again. Time to roam the halls of Japan’s Makuhari Messe and find treasures among the numerous parts and minerals suppliers, including robots, smartphones, 3D TVs and prototypes galore. We’re already on the ground running at 2010 Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies trade show, better known by its acronym CEATEC. Stay tuned, we’ve got lots to report. Kampai! (P.S. – Use this link for all our CEATEC 2010 coverage this week!) We’re live from CEATEC 2010! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Like your computers to be all-business and only available available in Japan? Then you might want to take a gander at NEC’s latest duo, which includes the thin-and-light VersaPro UltraLite VB laptop, and the Mate MG all-in-one desktop (pictured after the break). Both of those are fairly mid-range when it comes to specs, with the laptop (a 12-incher) boasting either a Celeron, Core i3 or Core i5 processor and a range of basic configuration options, while the 19-inch desktop packs your choice of a Celeron or Core i5 processor and a somewhat unique power saving mode that uses a motion sensor to shut of the display when you leave the room. While they may not exactly be high-end, it doesn’t look like these will come cheap — look for the base model of the laptop to run
Continue reading …Nation magazine editor Katrina vanden Heuvel made some truly disgusting remarks on MSNBC Monday. Chatting with Ed Schultz about Saturday’s “One Nation” rally, vanden Heuvel first offered a despicable racial comparison between the makeup of that crowd and the one at the “Restoring Honor” rally in August. Next, the unapologetic liberal said Glenn Beck and Fox News “shamed Martin Luther King’s great speech by appropriating that terrain” (video follows with transcript and commentary): KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL: But you had some great activists there, and you had this Rainbow Coalition which was such a beautiful departure from the Wonder Bread of Glenn Beck and Fox News which shamed Martin Luther King’s great speech by appropriating that terrain. This is offensive on so many levels it’s tough to know where to begin. Regardless of how many races were in attendance at the “Restoring Honor” rally, vanden Heuvel is saying that “One Nation” was better because it was more ethnically diverse. Is racial makeup now the determining factor of a gathering’s success? Isn’t that racist? As for the shaming of King’s speech, what the former civil rights leader would possibly be most embarrassed about was how few people showed up to a rally sponsored by the NAACP as it’s a clear indication of just how little influence this organization has today. He probably also wouldn’t have approved of the overtly political, hyper-partisan, divisive tone of “One Nation,” unless of course claiming that 40 percent of the country wants discrimination is what King would agree with 45 years after the last Civil Rights Act and roughly 23 months since America elected its first black president. In fact, the man that dreamed of a day when his children would “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” might have cringed at vanden Heuvel’s “Wonder Bread” remark. That a longtime editor of a national magazine doesn’t understand this is truly astounding.
Continue reading …It ain’t exactly summer, but we’ll take it. Launching just a few days after we’d been told to expect it, Barnes & Noble’s PubIt! self-publishing portal is finally open for business. As you’d heard before, this platform is essentially designed to give independent writers a venue for hawking their masterpieces, with PubIt! converting files to ePUB for use on a wide range of e-readers (read: not only the Nook ). Published titles will be available for sale within 24 to 72 hours after upload on the B&N eBookstore, and the company’s pretty proud of its “no hidden fees” policy. Unfortunately, the compensation model — which is being detailed today for the first time — has its quirks. For PubIt! eBooks priced at or between $2.99 and $9.99, publishers will receive 65 percent of the list price for sold content; for those priced at $2.98 or less, or $10.00 or more, publishers will only receive 40 percent of the list price. In other words, there’s a no man’s land in that $10 to $15 range, so you’ll probably be settling for a $9.99 price point or reaching for the skies at $19.99. But hey, at least all PubIt! ebooks will also be lendable for a fortnight — surely that counts for something. Right? Continue reading Barnes & Noble opens ‘PubIt!’ self-publishing portal, details compensation model Barnes & Noble opens ‘PubIt!’ self-publishing portal, details compensation model originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …It was back in March that we last heard about / saw ASUS’s O!Play HD2, so it’s totally understandable that you’ve completely forgotten about the sleek-looking multimedia server. Oh, but don’t you worry, ASUS is back now and ready to make sure you never forget the “w orld’s first USB 3.0 multimedia center.” Launching this week in the UK for
Continue reading …“On this first Monday in October, the Supreme Court opened its new term today,” an excited Diane Sawyer announced Monday night, trumpeting how it’s “making history for America’s mothers, sisters and daughters.” ABC reporter Terry Moran was even more thrilled, marveling that “the most remarkable thing in that courtroom today, on this historic day, was how unremarkable it was.” Despite the lack anything “remarkable,” however, Moran found new Justice Elena Kagan’s performance quite remarkable, trumpeting “the one word that leapt to my mind was ‘ready,’” touting how “she was confident and well prepared and fluent and probing” and, at one moment, “you could almost…imagine some of the other justices… looking down the bench at Justice Kagan like a major league scout might say, ‘you know, that kid’s got some real pop on her fastball.’” An eager Sawyer wondered: “How was Justice Kagan on her first day?” A giddy Moran expounded: Well, the one word that leapt to my mind was “ready.” Within minutes of the start of these arguments in this bankruptcy case, she was jumping into the fray of oral arguments. She was confident and well prepared and fluent and probing. At one point she asked a question of one of the lawyers that frankly seemed to stump them a little bit. A quiet kind of came over the courtroom as he gathered his thoughts. And you could almost sense or imagine some of the other justices and veteran court watchers kind of looking down the bench at Justice Kagan like a major league scout might say, “you know, that kid’s got some real pop on her fastball.” From the Monday, October 4 ABC World News: DIANE SAWYER: And on this first Monday in October, the Supreme Court opened its new term today — making history for America’s mothers, sisters and daughters. Terry Moran covers the court for us and tell us about this new day on the high court. Terry, good evening. TERRY MORAN: Good evening, Diane. It was a historic day. For the first time, three women took their seats on the high court, Justice Elena Kagan joining Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg up there. But Diane, the most remarkable thing in that courtroom today, on this historic day, was how unremarkable it was. The court really went about business as usual, a bankruptcy case, a sentencing case. No mention made of the history being made. But maybe Justice Ruth Ginsburg summed it up best in an interview she gave when she said: “When the schoolchildren file in and out of the court, they look up and they see three women, and that will seem natural and proper — just how it is.” And that is how it was. SAWYER: And how was Justice Kagan on her first day? MORAN: Well, the one word that leapt to my mind was “ready.” Within minutes of the start of these arguments in this bankruptcy case, she was jumping into the fray of oral arguments. She was confident and well prepared and fluent and probing. At one point she asked a question of one of the lawyers that frankly seemed to stump them a little bit. A quiet kind of came over the courtroom as he gathered his thoughts. And you could almost sense or imagine some of the other justices and veteran court watchers kind of looking down the bench at Justice Kagan like a major league scout might say, “you know, that kid’s got some real pop on her fastball.” SAWYER: So, no first day nerves for her. Thank you Terry Moran. Big day at the court.
Continue reading …Apparently Panasonic has been working itself into a frenzy over a new handheld video game console designed solely around the concept of taking MMORPGs with you everywhere you go — like you weren’t already wasting too much of your life. The makers of the ill-fated 3DO are returning to the gaming world with a portable system dubbed “The Jungle.” The clamshell device will allegedly sport a super high-resolution display, features a full QWERTY keyboard along with what looks like a touch sensitive d-pad and button arrangement, and may run atop a custom Linux build. The Jungle will also apparently sport a mini HDMI port, a micro USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. To our eyes, the system looks a little on the clunky side, with a definite air of something out of Nokia’s N-Gage line — not a good thing for a 2010 device. Alongside the system itself, Panasonic will launch a Battlestar Galactica title for the device, and a web show called Online Underground . We’re digging up more details right now, but the company (actually an offshoot of Panasonic called Panasonic Cloud Entertainment) has already set up shop with a site and a few teaser videos. Check out the mysterious new handheld in another pic and some videos after the break (including a look at the Battlestar Galactica title), and stay tuned as we unearth the full story on the Jungle. Continue reading Panasonic’s Jungle portable gaming system emerges, gets shown off on video Panasonic’s Jungle portable gaming system emerges, gets shown off on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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