Hercules re-invents the netbook again, launches 10-inch Linux- and A8-powered eCAFE
March 31, 2011 No Comment
It’s perhaps a little too early to be feeling all retro-nostalgic for the netbook , with much of the industry moving on up to your notbooks and your tablets and such, so we’ll just say that Hercules is still kickin’ it old school by launching its eCAFE netbooks. There are two models, the Slim HD and EX HD, the former tipping the scales at 1.9lbs and measuring only .8-inches thick, while the EX model is a bit heftier at 2.5lbs and 1.1-inches, managing 13 hours of “real use” battery life. Both are said to smoothly play 720p video on their 10-inch, 1024 x 600 displays or export it over HDMI, running a custom flavor of Linux and powered by an ARM Cortex-A8 processor. Hercules says this “sets a new standard” in netbooks, but 8 or 16GB of flash storage and 512MB of RAM sounds all too familiar to us, and if that cramped, recessed keyboard is the future we’re quite happy to stick in the present, thanks. Gallery: Hercules eCAFE Hercules re-invents the netbook again, launches 10-inch Linux- and A8-powered eCAFE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Intel cares about you. It cares that your data is safe and secure in a sturdy storage silo of the solid state variety. In order to enlighten you on the dangers that old and dusty magnetic hard drives pose, it has kindly fashioned out a short film detailing graphically the fate of your 1s and 0s when they’re kept on an HDD that suffers an unexpected impact. It’s atmospheric, thrilling stuff, which we dare not spoil for you here. We’ll just say it ends on a pretty hilarious note and point you to the video below. Continue reading Intel posts a short film about SSDs and the folly of not using them Intel posts a short film about SSDs and the folly of not using them originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …PlayStation One games appear in Android Market, predictably restricted to Xperia Play
March 31, 2011 No Comment
If there was one thing that bothered us most about the Xperia Play , it was the dearth of original PlayStation games we could, you know, play on it. That’s getting a shot in the arm tonight with the introduction of five PS One titles to the Android Market: Syphon Filter , MediEvil , Cool Boarders 2 , Destruction Derby , and Jumping Flash . Each is priced at
Continue reading …DirecTV, Comcast, Vudu could start offering ‘premium VOD’ $30 movie rentals in April
March 31, 2011 No Comment
Despite the questionable appeal of watching movies two months after they come out in theaters for $30 a pop, The Hollywood Reporter reports Warner Bros., Sony, Fox and Universal are going ahead with their premium video on-demand scheme. According to the always helpful unnamed insiders, DirecTV will be launch the service nationally at the end of April, with Walmart-backed Vudu and a regional launch by Comcast soon after. There’s no word on DRM although apparently Paramount has taken a pass specifically due to piracy concerns — theater owners aren’t happy either — so we’ll just wait and see if the quality of scene rips suddenly make a jump by this time next month. Either way, expect some new variation of Gregor and his lap giraffe to make an appearance soon. DirecTV, Comcast, Vudu could start offering ‘premium VOD’ $30 movie rentals in April originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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An early prank this isn’t. Based on our sources (and the pictorial evidence above), Sprint’s fixing to whack a full Benjamin from the current $299.99 asking price on its Samsung Galaxy Tab starting on Sunday, making it one of the more affordable ways to get your hands on a 3G-enabled tablet of any kind — let alone a Froyo-based slate that’s received its fair share of compliments . Granted, the original Tab is aging at this point, and we still aren’t sure we’d be down for selling our cellular soul for two years just to get a spiffy up-front discount, but hey — at least you know the option awaits you. Oh, and if spending $429.99 sound a lot better than $199.99 in addition to 24 months of obligation, that’ll apparently also be possible. [Thanks, Anonymous] Continue reading Sprint dropping Galaxy Tab to $200 on contract starting April 3rd Sprint dropping Galaxy Tab to $200 on contract starting April 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Intels of Intel’s X79 chipset exposed: 14 USB 2.0 ports but not a one with 3.0?
March 31, 2011 No Comment
Finally all’s well in the Sandy Bridge camp, Intel exorcizing the demons and getting its current generation of hardware flowing smoothly. You know what that means: it’s time for the next, a revision called X79 that will supersede the current X58 chipset sometime toward the beginning of 2012. According to the leaked slide above, X79 motherboards will feature 2011-pin LGA sockets for E-series CPUs, where ‘E’ stands for “Enthusiast” not “Elephant.” 14 SATA connections are available, 10 of which will manage 6Gb/s, and another 14 USB 2.0 ports means you can have just about every USB-powered member of the Crapgadget Hall of Fame connected simultaneously. That said, there’s no mention of a single USB 3.0 port, something of a bummer for those hoping that standard would be, well, standard by 2012. Of course Intel’s thrown its weight behind Light Peak Thunderbolt , but curiously there’s no integrated support for that, either. Intels of Intel’s X79 chipset exposed: 14 USB 2.0 ports but not a one with 3.0? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Building and putting any sort of offshore wind turbine into place is a fairly impressive bit of engineering, but Denmark’s Vestas is truly going the extra mile with its new V164-7.0 MW turbine. Not only does it promise to provide seven megawatts of power but, as you can see above, each of the blades is longer than nine double-decker buses, which gives the turbine itself a larger total diameter than the London Eye. Of course, the company also hopes that there will eventually be not just a few of these but massive farms of the turbines at sea (the North Sea, specifically), although that won’t exactly happen overnight — Vestas only expects to have the first prototypes ready by the end of 2012, with full production expected to begin in the first quarter of 2015. Head on past the break for a video — don’t worry, nothing like this happens. [Thanks, Alex] Continue reading Vestas unveils massive 7-megawatt offshore wind turbine (video) Vestas unveils massive 7-megawatt offshore wind turbine (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s a bit less silly than the National Day of Unplugging , but unless your weekend starts on Thursday, there’s nary a snowball’s chance in Hades that you’re going to skip tonight’s network comedy lineup in order to do something that you can clearly put off until tomorrow. But what if, dear readers, your data doesn’t make until tomorrow? What if those images from your first date vanish into the ether? What if you spend $4,598 next week in vain as a perplexed computer technician asks you if you’d ever considered backing your critical data up? For those that choose to act on World Backup Day, that future isn’t one you’ll have to consider, and a host of online backup services are urging you to sign up today in order to protect what’s most important to you: your stash of decidedly unbecoming Facebook messages. We’d also suggest investing in a NAS or RAID setup for your home, but throwing everything into a fireproof safe four miles below Arches National Park probably isn’t a bad idea, either. You know — in case your fail-safe fails. Not that we’d ever consider fear mongering… World Backup Day reminds you to backup your world, today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Leviton announces Evr-Green 120 portable EV charger, pledges no unsightly shedding of leaves
March 31, 2011 No Comment
Lack of public EV charging stations got you down? Range anxiety a frustrating part of life? Wouldn’t life be grand if you could just carry around an outlet in your trunk? Smile, friend, because Leviton ‘s got just the bit your boot’s been looking for. It’s the Evr-Green 120 Level 1 Portable Charger, able to be plugged into any 15- or 20-amp household outlet before the other end goes into your car’s receptacle. Level 1 chargers are not the fastest, often taking 20 or more hours to put a full charge into big batteries, but if you just need to top-up and do it on the go this could be a great solution. It’s also one of the first truly portable chargers we’ve seen. The Best Buy charger for the Focus Electric (which is also from Leviton) is technically portable, but it’s obviously meant for bolting to the wall. This one looks to fit neatly in the trunk right next to all your hockey gear, though the ice might well be thawed before this releases — Leviton is only pledging a rather vague “2011″ for availability. Continue reading Leviton announces Evr-Green 120 portable EV charger, pledges no unsightly shedding of leaves Leviton announces Evr-Green 120 portable EV charger, pledges no unsightly shedding of leaves originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Never mind the cringe-inducing advertising , ASUS has given us a much better reason to care about its Tegra 2-toting Eee Pad Transformer : a $400 price. The 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet (with 1280 x 800 resolution on an IPS display) has quickly moved from its Taiwanese release , through yesterday’s UK pricing announcement, to today showing up at Best Buy in the US, so we suspect its global shipping can’t be far off at all. With a sticker that’s a clear $99 less than the cheapest iPad and a good deal more affordable than its Android competition like the Xoom and G-Slate , the Transformer could yet take the tablet world by storm. Do take note that the keyboard dock that inspires this slate’s name is an optional extra, but given the starting price, the whole package might still end up less than what others will ask. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer shows up at Best Buy for $400 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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