Well, isn’t today our lucky day? Just a week after debuting on video, the Archos 7c Home Tablet is shipping in the US for $220 — more than a month ahead of its expected June arrival. As a refresher, this 7-inch tablet offers a capacitive (800 x 480) display, Android 2.1 ( Eclair ), and a Cortex A8 processor-RK2918 chipset combo that promises smooth 720p video playback. Other specs include 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, two built-in speakers, and that kickstand you see in the photo above. Of course, you’ll also have to forgo niceties like wireless-N, cameras, and access to Android Market. Are those trade-offs worth the dirt-cheap price? That’s a decision you’re going to have to make for yourself. [Thanks, Elliott] Gallery: Archos 7c Home Tablet Archos 7c tablet with Eclair, kickstand now shipping for $220 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Here’s some exciting news for all you data storage enthusiasts and academics out there: researchers in France have found a way to double the storage capacity of magnetic disk drives by constructing “3D towers” of information. The team from SPINTEC created these pillars out of bit-patterned media — separated magnetic nanodots, each of which carries one bit of data. By layering the dots in specific formations, the team created a “multilevel magnetic recording device” with an areal density of two bits per dot — twice what it started with. According to researcher Jerome Moritz, these findings could provide IT companies with a new way to circumvent physical limitations to their data storage capacities, allowing them to build up and over the vaunted one Tbit per square inch barrier. The team’s full findings were recently published in the American Institute of Physics’ Journal of Applied Physics . You can read the full article at the source link or, if you’re afraid of paywalls, just check out the PR below. Continue reading ’3D Towers’ double disk storage capacity, don’t require glasses ’3D Towers’ double disk storage capacity, don’t require glasses originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve already seen GigaPan technology used for plenty of impressive panoramas , but some researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have now gone one step further with their so-called “GigaPan Time Machine” project. Thanks to the magic of HTML5 and some time-consuming (but automated) photography, you can now “simultaneously explore space and time” right in your web browser — that is, zoom in and around a large-format panorama that also happens to be a time-lapse video. If you don’t feel like exploring yourself, you can also jump straight to some highlights — like the like the construction of the Hulk statue at the CMU Carnival pictured above. Ht up the source link below to try it out — just make sure you’re in either Chrome and Safari, as they’re the only compatible browsers at this time. Continue reading Carnegie Mellon’s GigaPan Time Machine brings time-lapse to panoramas Carnegie Mellon’s GigaPan Time Machine brings time-lapse to panoramas originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle
April 22, 2011 No Comment
Already a record holder for mashing protons together at 7 TeV (trillion electron volts), the Large Hadron Collider can now add world’s brightest beam to its list of accomplishments. Beam intensity is a way of measuring the number of collisions in its 17-mile-long track, and a higher intensity means more impacts — which, in turn, means more data, increasing the likelihood that the elusive Higgs boson will rear its head (should such a thing exist). The LHC smashed the previous luminosity record set last year by the Tevatron collider . What’s next for the CERN team, with two world records under its belt? Largest beard of bees. Continue reading Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, would you have a gander at that? That , friends, is Apple’s long-awaited , hardly-forgotten white iPhone 4 , and so far as we can tell, this is actually the real deal. We’ve seen retailers making space for the elusive handset over the past few months, and earlier today, we heard that Vodafone UK’s inventory systems were showing the white iPhone 4 as shipping in. Now, we’ve secured a few images of a 16GB model from a separate source that has seemingly made its way into the hands of one lucky customer (read: bloke) over in Britain. As the story goes, the carrier’s point-of-sale system rang it up as a black iPhone, and shortly after the sale went down, Voda sent out a notice to halt sale of these gems ” until next week .” Just so you know, the MC60 4 B/A model number shown here is particularly interesting when compared to our own in-house UK iPhone 4; the latter, which is also a 16GB edition, sports a model number of MC60 3 B/A. We suspect we aren’t going too far out on a limb by suggesting that the “3″ and “4″ are there to represent hue variations, and if you’d like to stretch the theory one step further, MC60 5 B/A represents the 32GB black iPhone 4. In other words, don’t be shocked when the white 32 gigger rolls in as MC60 6 B/A. So, is this the first legitimate sign that a white iPhone 4 is but days away from going on sale? We’re hardly experts in meteorology, but it sure felt like spring in Londontown today. P.S. – 9 to 5 Mac suggests that it’ll be landing on April 27th , at least in the Netherlands. [Thanks, Anonymii] Gallery: Vodafone UK stocks official white iPhone 4 Exclusive: White iPhone 4 lands at Vodafone UK originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles
April 22, 2011 No Comment
Since Kinect entered the world, modders have been hacking it for everything from playing Tetris to controlling a web browser . And really, Microsoft never seemed to mind . In case it wasn’t obvious how much the company wants you to help find new uses for the technology, the folks in Redmond have filed a patent application for custom profiles. We can see that having implications for gaming and even Windows shortcuts , but for now Microsoft expects it to improve Kinect’s accuracy by learning how you move — after all, no one jumps or points or apes Lady Gaga’s dance moves in exactly the same fashion, right? In other cases, the system might note that you prefer to make an “X” sign instead of a checkmark when selecting an object onscreen. And those personalized settings can roam over a network, shadowing you as you switch devices. Personally, we’re stoked about the idea of making our best Julian Assange dance a bona fide gesture, but we’ll be happy enough if Kinect can make up for our natural ungainliness. Continue reading Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We were a bit unsettled when Sony suddenly discontinued the NEX-3 after just eight months on the street, but if these leaked images are in fact authentic, then we might just have a worthy successor on our hands. The NEX-C3 is rumored to include the same 16.2 megapixel image sensor used in the Sony Alpha A55 DSLR, as well as HD video capture (as expected) and the new flash seen in the image above. Leaked photos on Sony Alpha Rumors reveal an LCD with the same tilt capability we love on the NEX-3, as well as minor adjustments to the controls. The blog also got its hands on some leaked images of the Sony Alpha A35 DSLR (added after the break), but details on that camera are a bit spotty. Rumor has it Sony originally intended to announce both cameras earlier in the month, but plans were delayed in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake in Japan. No word on cost or availability, but we’d expect to see pricing on the NEX-C3 in line with last year’s model — around $500, with lens. [Thanks Andrea!] Continue reading Sony NEX-3 successor NEX-C3, Alpha A35 images leaked? Sony NEX-3 successor NEX-C3, Alpha A35 images leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The federal government may be cutting corners left and right, but that hasn’t stopped the NSA from requesting nearly $900 million to help beef up its supercomputing capabilities. According to budget documents released by the Department of Defense yesterday, the NSA is looking to construct a massive new High Performance Computing Center in Maryland, designed to harness plenty of supercomputing muscle within an energy efficient framework. As with many other data centers, the NSA’s $896.5 million complex would feature raised floors, chilled water systems and advanced alarm mechanisms, but it would also need about 60 megawatts of power — the same amount that powers Microsoft’s gargantuan, 700,000 square-foot data center in Chicago. According to the DoD, however, the NSA would use that juice judiciously, in the hopes of conserving enough water, energy and building materials to obtain LEED Silver certification. Another chunk of the funding, not surprisingly, would go toward fortifying the facility. The NSA is hoping to pour more than $35 million into building security and perimeter control, which would include a cargo inspection facility , advanced surveillance, and systems designed to detect any radiological, nuclear, or chemical threats. If all goes to plan, construction would wrap up by December 2015. NSA wants $896.5 million to build new supercomputing complex originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The US Army is calling upon Android app developers to help make military life a little less stressful — and, perhaps, a lot safer. Under a new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment (CE), third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps, using the military’s CE Product Developer’s Kit. The framework, originally prototyped by the folks over at MITRE, represents the latest phase in the Army’s ongoing campaign to incorporate smartphone technology on the battlefield. Any app operating under the CE system will be interoperable across all command systems, and, as you’d expect, will be tightly secured. The kit won’t be released to developers until July, but the Army has already begun tinkering with its baseline suite of Mission Command apps, which includes tools designed to facilitate mapping, blue force tracking, and Tactical Ground Reporting. On the hardware side of the equation, the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps. The JBC-P will be tested this October, and will likely be issued on a wider basis in 2013. US Army developing Android-based smartphone framework and apps originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Logitech’s Squeezebox Controller app makes the transition from Android to iOS
April 22, 2011 No Comment
After launching the Squeezebox Controller app on Android last month , what could Logitech do next other than release a version for your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. The features and interface appear to be identical, letting users control any or all Squeezeboxes on the WiFi network complete with metadata and album art. iOS equipped owners of the ‘boxes can get their AirPlay-free distributed audio lifestyle going by clicking the link below to download the free app (and see how it compares to the existing $9.99 third party iPeng remote app) from iTunes. Logitech’s Squeezebox Controller app makes the transition from Android to iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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