Mac Pro Server quietly introduced as Xserve heads for the grave, starts at $3,000
November 5, 2010 No Comment
Sneaky Apple… real sneaky. Just as the company announced that it would be axing its rack-mountable Xserve come January 31st, in flies an all-new Mac Pro to effectively take its place. The Mac Pro Server — which is slated to ship in “two to four weeks” — has joined the fray this morning on Apple’s website, with the workstation equipped with a single 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Xeon ‘Nehalem’ processor, 8GB (4 x 2GB) of DDR3 ECC SDRAM, a pair of 1TB (7200RPM) hard drives, one 18x SuperDrive, ATI’s Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 video memory, and a fresh copy of Mac OS X Server (the unlimited-client license version, for those wondering). Curiously enough, this marks the second time Apple has thrown a “server edition” into the mix, with the Mac mini Server popping up in June. As you’d expect, the $2,999 base price can be pushed far north by slapping in a pair of 2.93GHz six-core ‘Westmere’ chips (a modest $3,475 increase), 32GB of RAM (only an extra $3,400), a Mac Pro RAID card (pocket change at $700) and a quad-channel 4Gb fibre channel PCIe card (just an extra grand). But hey, financing is available! [Thanks, Adrian] Mac Pro Server quietly introduced as Xserve heads for the grave, starts at $3,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AUO showcases world’s largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties
November 5, 2010 No Comment
In case you haven’t noticed, FPD International 2010 is going on right now, and AUO is on hand with a stockpile of new kit. AUO Optronics just so happens to be a fairly substantial panel maker in the grand scheme of things, so people tend to pay attention when they roll out the planet’s largest Cinema Scope (read: 21:9 aspect ratio ) 3D LCD TV. A 71-inch version of the aforesaid device is on hand for the public to gawk at, as is a 65-inch QFHD 4K x 2K lenticular lens 3D TV. The former boasts a 240Hz double frame rate, LED scanning backlight and optimized parameters for better motion flow, and unlike most three-dee televisions these days, this one works with polarized glasses — you know, the ones that are dirt cheap, don’t require batteries and haven’t been known to give people headaches. The latter is a glasses-free solution, but unlike the company’s next generation 3D notebook panels, you’ll need to be located in one of eight viewing spots to dig the effect. In related news, AUO is also trumpeting a 4-inch 3D interactive touch panel suitable for use with smartphones, portable game consoles and tablets, but unfortunately, no release information is being doled out for any of this stuff. A heartbreaker, really. Continue reading AUO showcases world’s largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties AUO showcases world’s largest Cinema Scope 3D LCD TV, among other three-dee niceties originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
If yesterday’s preview of the GF2 wasn’t enough for you, here’s a little more eye candy to feast upon. We paired up Panasonic’s all-new Micro Four Thirds shooter with the GF1 that preceded it and collected a nice little gallery for your perusal below. The major difference between the two is in their dimensions — the GF2 feels a lot closer to your typical compact camera — though there are plenty of smaller modifications as well, such as the refashioned grip on the camera’s right side, the replacement of the jog dial up top with a stereo mic array, and the introduction of a luminous iA button for switching on the intelligent auto mode. The back of the GF2 is also quite a bit tidier, which has been achieved mostly by eliminating some buttons in favor of the touchscreen interface. Check it all out below or jump past the break for some video action. Gallery: Panasonic Lumix GF2 vs. GF1… fight! Continue reading Panasonic Lumix GF2 vs. GF1… fight! Panasonic Lumix GF2 vs. GF1… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …US Cyber Command achieves ‘full operational capability,’ international cyberbullies be warned
November 5, 2010 No Comment
A sword, a lightning bolt, a key, a globe, and a bird. These are the symbols of your United States Cyber Command , which you’ll be proud to know has “achieved full operational capability.” FOC is when a military organization basically has what it needs and knows how to use it, but we’re guessing our new cyber-commandos will be a little nervous at first, like a prom date just presented with a room key, or a Modern Warfare player with a new weapon attachment. Surely the USCC will get into its stride real soon, enabling it to “operate and defend our networks effectively.” You know what that means: feel free to be a little extra offensive when trolling on foreign soil today. Uncle Sam has your back. Continue reading US Cyber Command achieves ‘full operational capability,’ international cyberbullies be warned US Cyber Command achieves ‘full operational capability,’ international cyberbullies be warned originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Splitfish FragFX Shark extended hands-on: good for Call of Duty and little else
November 5, 2010 No Comment
Another year, another Splitfish FragFX controller, determined to bring the accuracy of a PC mouse to your frag sessions on PlayStation 3. This one, the FragFX Shark, boasts a thumb wheel to manually set your mouse sensor’s dead zone, improved emulation algorithms and 50 hours of solid gameplay (and 500 hours standby) on a pair of AA batteries. As you might imagine, we weren’t able to test the latter due to a little thing called work, but we spent a good number of hours putting the peripheral through Call of Duty , Dead Space , Killzone 2 , The Club and more, and came away fairly disappointed. Find out exactly why after the break, and check out our gallery below. Gallery: FragFX Shark hands-on Continue reading Splitfish FragFX Shark extended hands-on: good for Call of Duty and little else Splitfish FragFX Shark extended hands-on: good for Call of Duty and little else originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Calvin Klein has never been afraid of associating itself with a bit of cheap marketing , so it’s no surprise that the fashion brand is now slapping its name atop some 3D-capable sunglasses. The patent-pending curved 3D glasses from Marchon3D have been adorned with the CK livery and, erm, we guess they’re that little bit more stylish than the usual pair of 3D goggles you might have thrown your way at the cinema. Now you just have to decide where your loyalties lie, Calvin Klein, Gucci , or Oakley ? Continue reading Calvin Klein plunges into 3D waters with pair of cool new shades Calvin Klein plunges into 3D waters with pair of cool new shades originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
As if you needed any further confirmation that Apple is a consumer company first and foremost, the Cupertino team has decided to discontinue sales of its Xserve enterprise server offering. The rack-mountable processing powerhouses will no longer be available for purchase after January, though full support of those already sold is promised, meaning that all warranties and extended service programs will be honored. To soften the blow for those who might still insist on using OS X in their servers, Apple has put together a “transition guide,” advising that users switch over to the Mac Pro or … the Mac mini , both of which come with the option to have Snow Leopard Server pre-installed. Honestly, the Mac mini! [Thanks, Jakob] Apple Xserve sales end January 31, support will continue originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Dell offering free Venue Pros to employees in exchange for their BlackBerrys
November 5, 2010 No Comment
You’d think working for a big tech company would have its gadget-related perks and in Dell’s case that’s very much true. The big PC vendor has demonstrated its commitment to building up its own smartphone services by offering to trade employees’ old and busted BlackBerry devices for the shiny new hotness that is the Venue Pro . If everyone takes up Round Rock on its offer, there’ll be 25,000 RIM smartphones looking for new homes soon, along with a sprightly start to Windows Phone 7 ‘s time in the limelight. The Wall Street Journal reports this’ll cut Dell’s mobile communications bill by a quarter, thanks to no longer having to support BlackBerry servers, while also noting that Android variants will be made available in the future as well. Where there’s Lightning , there’s gotta be Thunder , right? Dell offering free Venue Pros to employees in exchange for their BlackBerrys originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 06:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Last quarter was the first time ever that US pay TV subscription rates were down . Now, according to GigaOM’s calculations, big cable suffered another set back in Q3, waving goodbye to over 500,000 subscribers in total. Comcast was saddled with over half of the carnage and lost 275,000 customers, while Time Warner took a 155,000 subscriber hit. Charter Communications and Cablevision fared slightly better, but still added 63,800 and 24,500 respectively to the industry pit of despair. Naturally, the blame game for the poor numbers was aimed squarely at the weak economy and increased competition from over-the-top video providers. Before you call the undertaker away from his wrestling day job, though, remember that cable’s traditional backstop is to raise prices for remaining customers — vicious cycle, anyone? In fact, Comcast shared on its Q3 earnings call that average customer revenue rose by ten percent year over year to $136 a month. Charter’s similarly jumped by nine percent to $126, and while Cablevision’s didn’t increase by the same rate, monthly revenue per customer still amounted to a whopping $149 a month. So whether the reason is cord cutting or simply hard times, it’s hard to get worked up over self-inflicted wounds. Big cable loses 500,000 subscribers in Q3, we neglect to send flowers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 06:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
The DPRK’s not exactly the world’s healthiest economy. So it’s with some surprise that we’re now presenting you with North Korea’s newest (only?) touchscreen slab. Apparently, it’s available “in all the computer shops” and is being touted locally as something of a big deal by a Russian blog operating within Pyongyang. Unfortunately, it’s void of any radios of any kind — no GPS, no WiFi, no cellular, no Bluetooth. So really, it’s just an old school Windows CE (judging by the icons) PDA with an electronic dictionary, map of the country, games, media player, and word processor. It also features a handy stylus for poking about the resistive touchscreen and to identify enemies of the state in a crowded room. The high-end 8GB model with microSD slot is said to cost $140 in a country where the average worker is estimated to earn about $1 per month. And here we thought that our gadget addiction was bad. North Korea gets a PDA befitting its Dear Leader originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …