Archive for March, 2008
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Alright folks, it’s been a whole day with Vista SP1, and like any OS release, reaction is mixed — although we’re certain the people with problems are being more vocal than the rest. As you’d expect, major complaints seem to center around driver issues, that perpetual thorn in Vista’s side — sound cards seem to be the major problem, although there are also reports that NVIDIA drivers are also being finicky. For what it’s worth, Windows Update won’t offer SP1 to anyone running what Microsoft calls “problematic drivers,” until they’re updated, but that includes several machines sold with Vista pre-installed, which is causing some confusion. In addition, older versions of security software like BitDefender AV and Zone Alarm are flat-out blocked from running on SP1, but updates are apparently available. Obviously that’s a lot of chatter, so we figured we’d ask the experts — how’d it go? Any speed-ups or slow-downs to report? All your drivers and apps still working? Let us know in comments!
[Via Pocket-lint]
Read - Official Windows Team Blog entry on getting SP1 to appear in Windows Update
Read - List of problematic drivers
Read - PC Pro article on Vista SP1 problems
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March 19, 2008
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March 19, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones
The word is out, kids. Adobe has apparently gone against old Jobsy’s wishes, and it’s planning a Flash player made all special for the iPhone (ala Windows Mobile) despite Apple’s concerns that the technology — in its current incarnation, anyway — isn’t cut out for mobile duty. During a conference call today, Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen said, “We believe Flash is synonymous with the Internet experience, and we are committed to bringing Flash to the iPhone,” adding, “We have evaluated (the software developer tools) and we think we can develop an iPhone Flash player ourselves.” We wouldn’t be surprised if Adobe were to be given a pass on all those pesky SDK rules that would likely prevent a proper browser-based Flash component to be coded for the device, though those Apple dudes can be real sticklers for rules.
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.“
Today is a very sad day in our little world. It’s been reported that Arthur C. Clarke, among the most influential visionaries in technology and a personal hero of many at Engadget, has died at the age of 90. Along with his many written works (like the infamous and immeasurably influential 2001: A Space Odyssey), Clarke was possibly best known for conceptualizing the geostationary communications satellite — clearly one of the most important technological innovations in history.
Arthur, you’ll be dearly missed.
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March 18, 2008
Filed under: Robots
Apparently, the folks aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour aren’t wasting any time piecing Dextre together (or jamming to their iPods), as just days after we first heard about this creature’s future in space, now we’re hearing that he’s totally assembled and ready to rock. The bot, which is formally known as the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator, has been fitted with various tools and cameras and is all set to “undergo a series of tests and trials before it is asked to do major tasks.” Godspeed, young Dextre — hopefully you’ll have more success than Ted and Gadget.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras
Measuring just 8.5-mm thin, you’re looking at what Samsung claims to be the slimmest CMOS camera module of its kind. The 8 megapixel module is expected to supplant the 5 megapixel job found in todays top-end cameraphones sometime in the second half of the year. Fortunately, this isn’t just a case of megapixel marketing as the module also features anti-shake, a 1-cm macro, and face tracking technology. It also packs a smile shutter feature to snap that picture just as soon as a smile, or vinegar, is detected.
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March 17, 2008
Filed under: Transportation
Remember a few dozen years ago when we heard the first batch of 100 Tesla Roadsters had sold out? Us neither, but we’re assuming those were heady days. Since then we’ve seen delays, setbacks and untimely retirements, but Tesla Motors claims it finally has the car under production, and is naturally taking orders for the 2009 run — 900 cars have been reserved so far. Despite the concrete language in this press release, we’ll believe it when these silent beasts start hitting the road. And run our cycling-asses down.
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March 17, 2008
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
As we’ve seen already, algae is big business these days, and it now looks like the alternative source of fuel is getting another shot in the arm, with GreenFuel Technologies recently announcing a deal to build an “algae-to-fuel” plant in Europe. The company, as you may or may not know, is now headed (at least temporarily) by Ethernet pioneer Bob Metcalf, with its main claim to fame being a bioreactor that’s designed to grow algae from the carbon dioxide emissions of power plants. While complete details are still pretty light at the moment, that bit of technology was apparently enough to score it a $92 million deal with somebody (actually negotiated by the former CEO), which is reportedly contingent on it first building a small scale pilot plant and meeting cost and productivity goals along the way. As Xconomy reports, however, this latest development follows some hard times faced by the company, during which time it actually had to shut down one of its algae greenhouses after it produced more algae than the system could handle.
[Via Green Tech Blog]
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March 17, 2008
Apple has officially announced its Airport Express with WiFi-N (802.11N). Just as we said previously, it costs $99 and looks like the older one.
- Theoretical 5x boost , 2x range
- Backwards compatible with a/b/g devices
- Printer sharing
- Mac OS X 10.4 or beyond
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March 17, 2008
How much more corny can you get - this iPhone clone is known as ‘Cool999′, and surprisingly looks like the closest iPhone copy to date. You get Cupertino’s famous bitten fruit on either side of its 3.5″ display that features 320 x 240 resolution and a user interface that is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple iPhone. Ironically, it is powered by Windows Mobile 6.0 with Touch Flo technology - soemthing worth checking out to see if it is actually possible. Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, GPS navigation, video playback support and works where Java games are concerned. You will be able to pick up this clone iPhone for $310, which would be a pretty dumb move considering the real McCoy is a mere $89 more expensive.
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