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Wed20Aug20080849AM

Lucid's multi-GPU HYDRA technology explained

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Filed under: Gaming

Putting it simply, Lucid’s goal with its HYDRA technology is to “build a completely GPU-independent graphics scaling technology” which enables two completely different cards to work together in harmony with “little to no software overhead.” Let that sink in a minute. Now that a puzzled look has surely overtaken your face, we’d strongly recommend hitting the read link for a (very) detailed look at the technology, an explanation of how it works and even a few hard hitting questions addressed to the company. We’re trying to stifle our excitement here, but are hopes are escalating quickly.

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Wed20Aug20080849AM

Microsoft fesses up to a new, tweaked Xbox 360 controller

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Filed under: Gaming

According to gamesindustry.biz, Microsoft is confirming a slight revision to its Xbox 360 controller design. Apparently, the new iteration of the gamepad includes enhancements to its d-pad, which admittedly has always been somewhat lacking. In Microsoft’s words: “The new limited edition green wireless controller offers enhancements to d-pad functionality, which will add to the experience of playing games where the d-pad is the primary control mechanism.” We’d like to think that this d-pad tweak will finally give us an opportunity to level up in COD4 from Corporal to Lieutenant General in no time.

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Source: [Link]

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Wed20Aug20080849AM

MBTA affirms that vulnerabilities exist, judge lifts gag order on MIT students

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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

No surprise here, but the kids from MIT were (presumably) right all along. The three students who were muffled just before presenting their case at Defcon have finally been freed; the now-revoked gag order had prevented them from exposing insecurities in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ticket system, but during the same court setting, the MBTA fessed up and admitted that its current system was indeed vulnerable. Of note, it only confessed that its CharlieTicket system was susceptible to fraud, while simply not acknowledging any flaws in the more popular CharlieCard option. Pish posh — who here believes it doesn’t have dutiful employees working up a fix as we speak?

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Source: [Link]

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Wed20Aug20080849AM

OQO prototype shown with Intel’s Atom inside

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Filed under: Handhelds

Before you get too riled up here, let us point out that this Atom-based OQO is simply a prototype. According to the company’s Dennis Moore, the device we’re seeing here “is not a product launch or announcement,” but simply a demonstration of just how amazing and utterly life-changing the OQO + Atom combo is. Really guys, if there’s so much love in the house, why not get this thing on the production line?

[Via jkkmobile]

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Source: [Link]

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Wed20Aug20080849AM

Sony gets official with PSP-3000

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

It’s not like Sony could really keep this thing under wraps for much longer, but the company finally did the deed by announcing the PSP-3000 at the Leipzig Games Convention. The unit itself will look exactly like the PSP-2000 (shown above), though it will feature an “improved screen that’s better outside with no glare and a built-in mic.”

Developing…

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Source: [Link]

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Tue19Aug20080921AM

The Treo Pro makes its video debut, inches towards launch

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Filed under: Cellphones

Now that the Treo Pro’s been uncovered, the sleek black handset just can’t stay out of the spotlight — it’s popped up today in several more high-res shots, a quick hands-on video, and even what looks like official press photography. Specs are still up in the air — we’re hearing there’s a 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM behind that 320 x 320 screen and original Xbox-looking exterior, but we won’t know for sure until this thing gets official, which we’re guessing will happen within the week. Video after the break.

Read - Lots of hands-on shots
Read - Slashgear post with press photography

Continue reading The Treo Pro makes its video debut, inches towards launch

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Tue19Aug20080921AM

Powabyke X-6 reminds us just how boring we really are

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Filed under: Transportation

We’ve got the Jack Johnson playlist locked and loaded, our polarized Oakleys are firmly ensconced, and those khakis are tucked snugly into our tube socks. It’s time to ride, fool. The Powabyke X-6 is the electric bike for the bore in all of us, masquerading perfectly as a traditional road bike, complete with the old “battery disguised as a water bottle” trick. The six-speed electric bike weighs in at 48.5 pounds, with an battery-powered top speed of 15mph — the max allowed by law — and a 15 mile range. The battery can be detached and charged indoors, but replacements run a few hundred dollars, so don’t lose sight of that sucker. The X-6 should be out in the UK this September for £750, about $1,395 US.

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Source: [Link]

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Tue19Aug20080921AM

ASUS kicks out four new XP-based Eee PCs for Taiwan

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Filed under: Laptops

We know it’s been a tough few days since the last Eee PC launch, but ASUS has now thankfully come through with four more ever so slightly different models to feed your questionable appetite, this time for Taiwan. Those include the 1000HD XP, 904HD XP, 901 XP and 900 XP (16G), each of which, obviously, run XP, and at least two of which (the 901 and 900) come in some of the same eye-catching colors that Korea got a taste of the other day. Somewhat curiously, only the 901 XP is listed as having an Atom processors, while the others are simply described as packing an “Intel Mobile” processor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual range of specs found on countless similar models, with prices coming in at the local equivalent of $444 to $539.

[Via Slash Gear]

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Tue19Aug20080920AM

Retro Space arcade cabinet dispenses with (most of) the throwback formalities

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Filed under: Gaming

Yeah, we get it, those arcade glory years were indeed glorious, but we’re a bit past the point of needing a retro cabinet at home large enough to house an entire army of quarter gremlins just to rock a bit of MAME standing up. Retro Space chucks the cabinet chubbiness, keeps all those mashy buttons, robust joysticks and spinny white ball things we know and love, and adds in a full-powered PC and a 24-inch 1920 x 1200 LCD. It’s a tad bit boxy, but we’ll probably manage to overlook that for another decade or two. No word on price, but expect something in the two or three thousand dollar range.

[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]

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Source: [Link]

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Tue19Aug20080920AM

Google lays out Android roadmap, devs scheduled to get more love

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Google feels really badly about that several month-long stretch where it kept any and all updates to its Android SDK out of the public limelight, developers, honest, but it wants to make it up to you. It seems that yesterday’s 0.9 release, which represented the first official SDK available with a platform even remotely resembling what Google intends to release on retail devices this fall, was just the first in a string of goings-on leading up to the grand 1.0 launch in the coming months according to a new roadmap published on the Android site. To start, there’ll be “additional Android 1.0 (pre) SDK releases made available, as necessary” in September, followed by the first 1.0-compatible release in the Q3 to Q4 timeframe (that’s any time between now and the end of December, for you calendar-disadvantaged folk). Finally, the Android source will leak out in the fourth quarter along with the first “Android 1.0 devices” — pay special attention to the plural “devices” there — and an announcement about Android Developer Challenge II. It gives us a warm fuzzy to see that Google’s interested in keeping its devs engaged with these contests on an ongoing basis, because let’s be honest: “prize money” has a much nicer ring to it than “VC money” ever will.

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Source: [Link]

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Mon18Aug20080936AM

Two mammoth solar plants to generate 800 megawatts in California

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It’s one thing to see competition unnecessarily push more and more megapixels into palm-sized cameras, but this game of leapfrog is one we can actually get behind. A pair of giant solar plants will soon be installed in San Luis Obispo County in California, covering 12.5 square miles and promising to generate around 800 megawatts of power. OptiSolar will be responsible for laying enough panels to generate 550 megawatts, while SunPower — the same company associated with the 14 megawatt installation at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada (pictured) — will provide the other 250. The energy will eventually be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric, though any sort of pricing arrangements are strictly under wraps for now. C’mon Nevada, you gonna let the Golden State do you like that?

[Via Slashdot]

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Mon18Aug20080936AM

RFID-activated retrieval system brings urns up for viewing

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

This one’s a bit morbid, but the technology behind it all is actually quite interesting. Japan’s own Nichiryoku has evidently created a unique urn retrieval system that enables family members with deceased loved ones to return to a reverent storage facility, swipe an RFID card, and watch their late mother / father / etc. emerge from the underground for viewing. Aside from saving space and money, this also provides mourning kin with a sense of security, as we’re told that the urns are kept where even minor acts of God won’t disturb them. Check out a demonstrative video just after the break.

[Via CScout]

Continue reading RFID-activated retrieval system brings urns up for viewing

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Mon18Aug20080936AM

Analyst says first Android phone will ship in November, possibly without Exchange

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Filed under: Cellphones

The HTC Dream may have already cleared the FCC, but at least one analyst that has actually seen the very first Android-based device, Moe Tanabian of IBB Consulting, says that it will only be hitting stores around Thanksgiving in November, and not September or October as many were expecting. He also says that its “unclear” whether the phone will support Microsoft Exchange or not (at least right out of the gate), and that users may have to rely on Gmail if they want to receive push email. Among other tidbits, he also confirms that the device will have access to T-Mobile’s own App Store-like service, and that it’ll come with Google’s advertising software pre-installed, which he says could not only lower the cost of the phone, but allow for lower monthly service fees as well. Of course, you’ll have to take that with all the usual analyst caveats for the time being, but we’re sure we’ll be hearing plenty more to back it up or shoot it down before the September / October / November launch.

[Via Electronista]

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Mon18Aug20080936AM

Open source license ruled enforceable, hippies rejoice

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Good news, open source fans — copyleft licenses just got a big boost from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which ruled last week that the open source Artistic License is valid and enforceable, and that violating the terms of the license constitutes copyright infringement. (You might be familiar with the Artistic License — it’s what governs Perl.) That’s a big deal, as it’s the first open source license to get put to the test — while traditional EULAs have been upheld for years, open licenses hadn’t been directly litigated like this yet, and it means that similar licenses like the GPL and Creative Commons now stand on firmer ground. As you’d expect, OSS advocates like Lawrence Lessig and the Open Source Initiative are all pretty pumped about the ruling, with Lessig calling it “huge and important news.” We’d agree wholeheartedly, but here’s some food for thought while you celebrate in the comments: if you’re okay with FOSS software developers enforcing open-source license agreements, are you also okay with commercial software developers enforcing their own EULA restrictions? We can think of one in particular that seems to have people pretty ticked off.

Read - InformationWeek article
Read - Lessig blog post

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Mon18Aug20080936AM

Popcorn Hour’s A-110 HD media streamer / B-110 motherboard reviewed

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you’ve been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour’s evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here’s a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won’t spoil the rest for you — head on down to have a look for yourself.