BizToolbelt

5.15 GHz World Record - Neah, 8,18 GHz - Yeah

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:21:46 -0700

Looking at my 1.5GHz Centrino Mobile processor in that laptop case I really feel little knowing that a bunch of guys from Tom's Hardware managed to overclock a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 to 5.1GHz using a cryogenic cooling system.

Apparently they're claiming world record, but sadly I'm gonna have to break it for them.

The OC team in Italy managed to overclock an Intel Pentium 4 631 up to 8.18 GHz (173-percent overclock). I'm pretty sure such a system can only work stable somewhere in Antarctica so until I get to move there, I'll have to work on my laptop.

[Via PC World]

Apple To Drop Intel Chipsets - RUMOR

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:06:53 -0700

Lately, I've heard a lot of rumors saying that Apple is not going to use Intel chipsets anymore. Apparently the company is interested in switching to AMD or VIA processors, but wouldn't count on it very much. I'm just as skeptical as Jon Stokes from Ars Technica, who thinks the change wouldn't be healthy for Apple.

However, if the Silicon Valley company decides to make the switch for desktops a good choice woud be NVIDIA SLI - since they love data parallelism. But what if Intel's Nehalem comes out as expected by the end of the year? No more change? As to laptops, Apple may only change the MacBook Air, for better integrated graphics processors.

My humble opinion? It's not going to happen, but rumors are constructive. Maybe Apple will bring something new, too!

via DeviceDaily

Phoenix lander is sampling water on Mars

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:07:36 -0700

Or at least that's what NASA says and I don't think there would be a reason for them to "lie". Do you? Since the Phoenix lander has identified water in a soil sample it collected in Mars earlier, they've decided to extend the mission for another 90 days to go look for more. We (they) don't have an analysis of the ice yet and should take like 3 to 4 months before we have real data. Does that mean we can prepare for a walk on Mars? Most likely, NOT, but it's cool to explore other planets don't you think?

BBC

New High-Tech ASUS Eee PC S-Series

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:13:28 -0700

The success of the small laptop - the Eee PC - that ASUS brought on the market, made a lot of other companies to invest in building their own. But wait, ASUS is not going to leave the first place to anyone and are going to come up with a new "high-tech" version of the Eee PC.

What you know, the company is going to bring the S-Series and should include great specs : dual-core Atom processors, 120GBs of hard disk, 32GB SSDs, a 10-inch LED backlit display (16:9 aspect) and a battery that should keep it on electricity for some 4-5 hours.

Sounds like a great plan if you ask me and I'm sure they'll break the sales once again. The prices should go from $700 to some $900 and should be availabe from September.

Cuil ( a.k.a Ciul, Cull, Kuil, Kool )

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:16:40 -0700

The buzz these days is that former Google engineers released a new search engine, dubbed Cuil. Apparently it should be read as Cool, but I wouldn't be so sure if that's what I'll say it.

Tom Costello and Anna Patterson (husband and wife) are the proud developers of a search engine that has 121 million indexed pages. They call it the biggest, but it's just a bad marketing move because Google has more than 1 trillion pages in their database.

The system is a little bit different. It's not like Google. Is semnatic, trying to understand how words are related and what do they mean. These guys managed to secured a total $33M in financing (two roudns) and are promising to take on Google. If anyone wants my opinion ... they will fail.

Have you tried Cuil so far?

German state gets €1.3 million to settle Bochum dispute

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:55:54 -0700

Oh, the Finish people from Nokia have to pay. Some €1.3 million in order to settle the Bochum dispute caused by the closure of the German factory (which reopened in Romania for much lower labor costs).

The payment will be addressed to North Rhine-Westphalia, which lost 2,300 jobs after all these, and adds to the "tens of millions" that the company has already relinquished.

Not sure about you but I don't think it's fair. Why would you fine a company for leaving your country if they can pay less for the same work in other countries on Earth.

Not really fair. What do you think?

via PhoneScoop

Brando's 4-in-1 desk lamp

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:31:01 -0700

The scenario is simple. You're tired at the office and you'd listen to some Buddha Bar music with a calm light that should help with the atmosphere. But you only have a standard light that's not very helpful to cheer you up. If you need a quick solution, we have this particular Brando USB 4-in-1 gizmo to get you out of trouble.

It's actually a standard desk lamp that features a web cam, has built-in LEDS, voice input device and fan. All for just $23.

The dimension are 75 x 75 x 228mm, it weighs 211g and can be attached to any neat surface - table, glass with a flexible sucker.

Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo spaceship carrier

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:34:37 -0700

Richard Branson and crew went to the Mojave Desert to make it the center of the private space industry. Why? They unveiled Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo spaceship carrier as promised.

Named EVE after Branson's mother, the spaceship apparently is now officially the largest all carbon-composite aircraft ever made, with a 140-foot wingspan. Rumors say that this piece of marveleous machinery could be ready to go (fly, break sound barier and such) after just 40 tests flights.They'll likely do a few more than that for good measure.

I love the way it looks. What do you think?

Read it all on Space.com

Fujitsu's Lifebook U2010

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:40:39 -0700

We've heard Fujitsu was up to something and it wasn't far from the truth. The new Fujitsu Lifebook U2010 is here and we got both pics and specs of this crazy and versatile device.

The miniature laptop (or call it a tablet if you like) will feature an Intel Atom CPU (at 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz), a 5.6-inch 1024 x 768 display, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, a 3G radio, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and will only weigh 680 grams (about 1.5 lbs).

Light and powerful, that's my kind of thing.

We don't know where the new Fujitsu Lifebook U2010 is going to be available but we know the price should be close to $1,300. Still gets my vote.

Vietnamese Forum : Tinhte

Lazy Geeks Need the Alien Mouse

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:25:14 -0700

If you're like me and you've been using a computer for the last 12 years then you know that mouse ergonomics is very important. I guess that's why Mizanur Rehman has tried to design the perfect mouse. It's called the Alien Mouse and apart comfort it offers a futuristic design, being build of soft gel and cellulose. My kind of mouse :)

It has a sphere-shaped section at the top, that never has to be moved, pointer navigation is done by a central joystick, which is placed between the left and right buttons and adds great functionality.

Too bad we don't have a release date or a price by now. We'll keep you posted because it's really wicked.

Aptera Motors gets $2.75M from Google.org

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:22:30 -0700

Google has a "thing" with eco-friendly projects and the fact that they've put $2.75M in Aptera Motors through their RechargeIT investment program, is a great argument. The makers of that absurdly futuristic gas-sipper we've been following so far, Typ-1, are really decided to make their $30,000 car available to the masses as soon as possible. What's so special about Typ-1? It can sport more than 230+ mpg, so you don't have to worry about high fuel prices. Would you buy it?

Source

2.5-inch 10,000rpm VelociRaptor HDD by WD

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:51:15 -0700

Western Digital has been ostentatiously displaying its VelociRaptor hard drive for some time, but it's available just now for low-power, high-performance blade server applications. The 2.5-inch, 10,000RPM enterprise SATA drive (WD3000BLFS) is specially designed to fit snugly within 1U and 2U rack servers and the biggest advantage is consuming 35% less power than the Raptor (up to 300 GB). Other than that it's has a 16MB of cache and a 1.4 million mean time before failure rating. It should be available next month, but we don't have a price yet. Can you wait for one month? You think it's worth it? - via PRNewsWire

Vista "not optimized" for Sophisticated SSDs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:50:12 -0700

SanDisk's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Harari, said that Windows Vista is not yet fully prepared for SSDs. Apparently the next generation of solid-state drives will use multilevel cell (MLC) technology, which will require a more sophisticated controller - a crucial component in solid-state drives.

"As soon as you get into Vista applications in notebook and desktop, you start running into very demanding applications because Vista is not optimized for flash memory solid-state disk. The next generation controllers need to basically compensate for Vista shortfalls.
We have very good internal controller technology, as you know...That said, I'd say that we are now behind because we did not fully understand, frankly, the limitations in the Vista environment," he said.

The capacities we will see in the next couple of months are going to hit 128GB, 160GB, and later, 256GB.

via CNET

Panasonic's LUMIX DMC-FX150 14.7MP pocket shooter

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:31:31 -0700

There's a new pocket friendly digital camera that Panasonic wants us to love. Dubbed Lumix DMC-FX150 it packs and absurd 14.7 megapixel sensor (why that much?), 28-millimeter wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens, a 3.6x optical zoom and a host of manual controls to boot. There are a few things that I like very much including RAW format shots, red-eye correction, optical image stabilizer, face detection or the intelligent ISO. Kinda pricey I say, at $395.95. Should be available next month.

[Via Impress]

Intel's 3.2GHz quad-core Bloomfield gaming CPU

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:22:46 -0700

Processors / chipsets market are continously moving and changing, therefore I don't think it matters if you're AMD, Intel or VIA. Everyone wants to know your next move. It's like a game of chess.

According to DigiTimes, Intel's next quad-core 3.2GHz Extreme "Bloomfield"-class gaming processor that will be included in overblown desktop rigs, will hit the market starting from $999. That's the bulk price when it's purchased by PC manufacturers. That's good news and takes the pressure off, little bit.

We should also expect $562, 2.93GHz and $284, 2.66GHz versions before the year is up, so congrats Intel. Just make sure you're not delaying them.