Computer Information - myOddPc
Panasonic's Toughbook CF-U1 UMPC eats Hi-K metal gate for breakfast
Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops
So you're the type who actually needs to scrub behind the ears? Good, this UMPC is for you. The Toughbook CF-U1 is a "fully ruggedised" UMPC which runs XP or Vista on Intel's Menlow platform. So rugged in fact, that only a case of glass and gravel can withhold it from Intel's new
Atom branding. We can't tell you much without an official announcement or any PR types around to drone on (and on) about its Mil-Spec or Ingress ratings. Regardless, it'll still look great strapped to the dash of your Hummer as you pull into the strip mall for a milkshake. And that's all that really matters right, Mr. Milquetoast?
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Pioneer says goodbye to plasma manufacturing
Filed under: Displays, HDTV
We
wondered why its so hard to find one of Pioneer's award winning Kuro plasmas on shelves these days, and here is the answer.
The Nikkei is reporting that Pioneer plans to stop producing plasma panels altogether, and only put together HDTVs with panels purchased from other sources. Panasonic and Hitachi remain as the only Japanese plasma manufacturers, Pioneer already has a deal with the former to purchase
plasmas for its 42-inch model, and will expand that agreement according to
The Nikkei. Honestly, this wouldn't be a big deal for most companies, as we've seen with the
Sony/
Sharp/
Samsung triangle in LCD manufacturing, but since Pioneer is the only manufacturer promising the
blackest black levels this side of
carbon nanotubes, we're freaking out a bit. Here's hoping Pioneer slides over the blueprints to the infinite contrast concept (and that sexy
9mm model) and keeps the party going.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in; via
CNBC; warning: reg required on read link]
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Toshiba CEO: HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
We had an inkling that the format war was soon to be over when Warner
announced it was going Blu-ray just before CES and HD DVD
canceled its press conference, but we didn't realize how quickly things would come to an
abrupt end. It looks like Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida was decisive in ending the battle, telling the Wall Street Journal that HD DVD didn't stand a chance after Warner left, and that if HD DVD wasn't "going to win then we had to pull out, especially since consumers were already asking for a single standard." That's interesting, especially since Toshiba issued all those
jilted-lover press releases as former partners defected and continued to
waffle for another month or so and even
air a Super Bowl ad, but we suppose PR people can't go running around saying things like "One has to take calculated risks in business, but it's also important to switch gears immediately if you think your decision was wrong," like the CEO can. Of course, the CEO probably shouldn't be saying Toshiba's upconverting DVD players are so good "consumers won't be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images" either, but give the man a break -- he's still in mourning.
[Thanks, ogscorpion]
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Inventor's patent application reveals "shape-shifting" dishwasher
Filed under: Household
It's not all that often we see advances in dishwasher technology, but inventor Paul Frigout of Coventry University looks to have been hard at work at just that, and a recent patent application has now revealed what he's been up to. There's no
robots or
waterless technology involved here, however, but simply a movable partition that lets you change the size of the washing compartment to accommodate various size loads. That'll apparently not only let you cut down on the amount of water used, but give you room to store clean dishes in the other compartment, or put 'em through an alternate washing cycle. Needless to say, there's no indication as to when we might actually see such a dishwasher, but it sure is a lot less far fetched than most of the
patent applications we see.
[Via
New Scientist Tech]
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Audiophiles can't tell the difference between Monster Cable and coat hangers
Filed under: Home Entertainment
We've always believed that the perceived quality boost that comes from using high-end cables is really just a trick of the mind (read: justifying the ridiculous cost of premium cables to yourself) -- if you've dropped enough cash, you can probably hear anything you want. Still, our belief is one thing -- cold hard proof is another, and it looks like a group of 12 self-professed "audiophiles" recently couldn't tell the difference between Monster 1000 speaker cables and plain old coat hangers. Yeah, coat hangers. The group was A-Bing different cables, and unbeknownst to them, the engineer running the test swapped out a set of cables for coat hangers with soldered-on speaker connections. Not a single one was then able to tell the difference between the Monster Cable and the hangers, and all agreed that the hangers sounded excellent. No wonder Monster has to
rig HD displays. Still, we bet people still fall for the hype -- oh hey, if you're looking for the ultimate in sound, we've got half a meter of oxygen-free, triple-wrapped double-insulated Sonically Shielded AmpliSized Egyptian Llama cable here that we'll part ways with for just a couple grand.
[Via
BoingBoing]
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Philips wants to bring copy-and-paste to interior lighting
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
We'll be straight with you -- we've never actually waltzed through the rooms at Engadget HQ and had the urge to reproduce the exact output from light A with light B. Evidently, we're the exception and not the rule. According to a lingering patent application from Philips, it's seeking to create a system in which sensors could be used to detect "light attributes" from one location and paste them over to another location in order to produce perfectly uniform scenarios throughout the home / office / etc. Heck, it even details a memory bank in order to easily set the mood of the entire building when necessary. Can't say this is where we envisioned the future of
copy-and-paste going, but we suppose it'll do.
[Via
NewScientist, image courtesy of
Fusion Lighting]
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Microsoft and Harrah's confuse B-list celebs with Surface
Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs
We were originally supposed to see a "
limited rollout" of
Surface in 2007, which obviously didn't happen -- but despite the delays, Microsoft is apparently now feeling confident enough in the tech to let B- and C-list celebrities grope at it during the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship Drawing Party at Harrah's Casino. Unlike the standard demos we saw at
CES which involved relentlessly upbeat hipster presenters doing things like making custom snowboard designs, the motley crew at Harrah's was apparently only allowed to crudely write their names on photographs of themselves. You can almost see the joy in Jason Alexander's face, can't you? Sadly, it looks like Don Cheadle wasn't able to erase whatever's printed on his jacket (seriously, uh,
cool jacket, Cheadle) and poor Shannon Elizabeth didn't seem to be able make anything happen at all. Maybe Microsoft should have fired up that
Hungry Hungry Hippos clone and let these fools battle out instead. All the photos at the read link for the crazed VH-1 fans in the house.
Continue reading Microsoft and Harrah's confuse B-list celebs with Surface
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Greenhouse's 22-inch GH-JEF223SH-LB LCD monitor picks HDMI over DVI
Filed under: Displays
Nothing too spectacular here, but Greenhouse has introduced an all new 22-inch LCD monitor over in Japan. Aside from the perfectly average WSXGA+ (1,680 x 1,050) resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 1,000: contrast ratio and two-millisecond response time, the GH-JEF223SH-LB actually does away with DVI in favor of HDMI. Granted, there's still a VGA port in case you're in a pinch, but we would've preferred all three considering the somewhat steep ¥45,799 ($438) price tag.
[Via
AkihabaraNews]
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Acer ups the Altos easyStore SOHO NAS to 3TB
Filed under: Storage, Networking
Acer's been pretty low-key with its SOHO-targeted Altos easyStore
NAS offerings, but it's not just letting it wither away either, upping the capacity today to a max of 3TB. The black four-drive tower features a web interface to disk options like RAID levels and automatic backup schedules, and Acer bundles in a bootable CD that allows you to restore from catastrophic system failures. It's not clear when the 3TB easyStore is going to make it out, but the 2TB version has been available for large discounts and garnering decent reviews since August, so you may want to start poking around if you're looking to jump aboard the NAS train.
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Optimus Maximus keyboard for laptops? Yes, please.
Filed under: Laptops
Truth be told, the bona fide
Optimus Maximus keyboard is still quite a few bills higher than most folks are willing to pay, which makes the likelihood of a similar layout hitting laptops anytime soon that much slimmer. Still, we're sure the technology will become cheaper to produce over time, and we certainly dig any future that has products resembling the concept pictured above. No, we've heard nothing official regarding such a keyboard on a lappie just yet, but now that the idea is all out in the open, we're not going to be satisfied until it happens.
[Thanks, Maksim]
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