HP hopes Voodoo magic will defeat MacBook Air mojo
June 11, 2008
While most of the computing world is dedicating itself to creating the smallest possible laptops from baked bean cans and bits of string, it’s easy to forget that there is still a market for full sized notebooks that look good and weigh next to nothing. Hewlett Packard hasn’t though; it has just launched the Voodoo Envy 133.
At 0.7-inches thick and sporting a 13.3" display, there obviously one target in mind: the MacBook air. The Envy has a price tag of $2099, which also puts it in the same ballpark as the Air, and it offers the same choice of 1.6 or 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo CPUs and 64GB SSD or 80GB HDDs.
Rahul Sood, chief technology officer of VoodooPC, was keen to point out that the Envy 133 is in fact slightly thinner than the MacBook Air, however despite being made of carbon fibre, the Air still has the edge in weight by 0.44 pounds. The Envy does manage to come in any colour you want, with laser etching too.
The spec sheet doesn’t mention how much RAM is in it, although it is bound to be upgradeable. It does run Vista though so my guess is it’d come with a base 2GB which you can expand. Voodoo also includes a very unique system called IOS which allows you to quickly boot into a free version of Linux when you just want to do a quick spot of web browsing.
On the contentious issue of Voodoo selling out to the man, Sood reassured Voodoo fans that if they had wanted to sell such a system as an independent company, it would have had to charge $5,000 for the machine.
No word yet on whether the Voodoo Envy 133 will make it across to foreign shores; niche hardware like this seldom does, least of all niche hardware made by Voodoo.
Windows 7 to boast Multitouch screen technology
May 28, 2008
Speaking at the opening night of Wall Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital” conference in Southern California yesterday, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and fellow exec and long time business partner Steve Ballmer showed of some early features of the next Windows operating system.
Multitouch is apparently what we’ll be getting us all excited and fidgety. Multitouch is a pioneering new touchscreen technology that means the operating system can read and respond to multiple inputs at the same time. The prime example Microsoft uses in this instance, as has been done several times in demos of its Windows Table Top concept, is in dragging photos to enlarge them.
It’s really incredible stuff, and would certainly have been a lot more so if rival Apple wasn’t already selling a handheld device that does the same thing.
Here’s a video of it in action:
Of course, the comparisons to Apple’s iPhone technology are pretty trite. Handheld devices are a different kettle of fish to home computing. It is interesting that the video shows off the Multitouch system on a laptop though; laptops design is certainly going to affected by an enhanced touchscreen tech, but there are desktop computers to consider as well.
At the moment, desktop layouts don’t exactly make for an easy conversion to using touchscreen features, by virtue of simply being at the wrong angle or too far away from where you’re sitting. If Windows 7’s Multitouch system does win widespread appeal it’ll be extremely interesting to see how the role of home computing evolves and what it will mean for other PC functions like gaming.
Interviewer also brought up the question of mixed public reception to Windows Vista. Although the pair showed restraint on the topic, they did acknowledge that with hindsight some things could have been done differently.
Clearly that’s something that they’ll hope to rectify in Vista’s successor, whatever it might be called. We’ll reserve judgement over whether Microsoft actually has the capacity to take any of its Vista criticisms on board until the system gets considerably nearer a release, which is currently expected around the end of 2009, but that is obviously dependant on a great number of other factors.
via NYTimes
One Laptop Per Child reveals new XO-2 model - even lower price and no keyboard
May 23, 2008
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation has just unveiled its latest incredibly low cost laptop. Forget the $100 laptop that captured our imaginations last year; say hello to the $75 laptop.
It looks a whole lot smarter that its more expensive predecessor, but then we’re only seeing it at a distance. And in a conceptual form. The most important change is that there’s now no keyboard. Instead it is replaced by a touchscreen display.
Speaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte described the device: "You can fold it flat and use it as one continuous display," he explained. He also said that the clamshell design is modelled after a book and intended to be legible under direct sunlight.
Other improvements in the XO-2 include reduced power consumption. The XO only uses 2-4 watts (very little compared to the 20-40 watts used by normal laptops) and the XO-2 has cut that down to just 1 watt.
This seems like a good turn around for the company, which has been bogged down recently amidst high profile staff departures and withdrawal of support from hardware partners. However, Microsoft’s recent move to increase pressure on the ULPC market and specific deal with OLPC may have tipped the balance.
via Telegraph
Netflix announces new movie streaming set-top box
May 20, 2008
The Netflix Player by Roku doesn’t look like much but it highlights an ambitious new move by the online DVD rental giant.
Taking on rivals from Apple (Apple TV) and Microsoft (Xbox Live Video Marketplace), Netflix’s set-top box enables Unlimited account users to stream movies directly into their living rooms.
Currently, the quality only goes up to that of a proper DVD (presuming your bandwidth supports it) but Netflix promises that proper high definition streaming is coming in future. The box itself supports that notion, boasting HDMI and Component outputs alongside older RCA and S-Video connections.
Audio can also be handled by an optical output.
So far Netflix’s direct competitors have each struggled to turn online movie rentals into the stunning success that it theoretically should be. One possible reason for this is severely limited content that both Apple and Microsoft’s services offer. Netflix at least has a very good shot at over coming that, although right now just 10% of its 100,000 strong DVD database is available for streaming.
Another flaw is that Netflix doesn’t seem to have overcome the problem of making it easy to navigate and select new rental titles from the box interface itself. Wired writes that this is weakest feature so far and you’ll want a laptop handy when browsing for something to watch.
The price is right though. The box itself costs a very reasonable $99 (made possible by the fact it has no built-in hard drive) and anyone on a $8.99 Unlimited account will have full access to all the titles currently available.
Microsoft steps in to prevent surge of Linux-enabled ULPCs
May 13, 2008
Asus took itself and the rest of the laptop manufacturing industry by surprise when it launched the Eee PC to the unsuspecting world. These cheap, lightweight machines - known as Utra Low-cost PCs - don’t have a lot of power under the hood, but have enough to get the job done and are easy enough on the arms and wallet to be more than worthwhile.
As a fad in the West they are doing just fine, but for emerging markets where affordability is key, they have a far more important role to play.
They pose a serious problem for Microsoft though. Even though most models are technically capable of running Windows XP, one way costs can be reduced quite significantly is to lose Windows entirely. Linux was once a daunting prospect for lifelong Windows users but the Eee PC went a long way towards proving that Linux can be made user friendly after all.
So not only are these machines paving the way for competition from Linux, they aren’t even powerful enough to run Vista, which makes Microsoft angry and confused.
Well, now it has an answer - cheaper copies of XP. Under a new deal with manufacturers (leaked by IDG News Service) Microsoft will be selling XP Home for emerging markets at $26 per copy and in the developed world for $32 per copy.
There’s a catch though. In return for this incredible generosity (pfft) the manufacturers have to promise to make certain concessions to the hardware specs of these machines. They may not have a screen larger than 10.2″, they may not not have a processor faster than 1GHz, they may not have more than 1GB RAM (not sure about expandability though) and they may only have up to 80GB of storage. So sayeth the Redmond overseer.
It’s easy to focus on the negatives here: that Microsoft is dictating how manufacturers should make their machines in order to secure its Operating System. It is a clear sign that the software giant is worried and is getting desperate to plug this influx of OpenSource OSs from eating into its massive cash cow.
“[Low-cost PC makers] have made some good inroads with open-source, and Microsoft wants to put a stop to it,” one Microsoft official said off the record.
On the other hand, so far the most powerful Eee PC and other ULPCs haven’t reached the limitations set by Microsoft, and it gives more people a chance to get cheaper hardware if they are only comfortable with XP, which in turn will give the manufacturers more power when it comes to negotiating the specs upward in future.
The main fear is that manufacturers will start building their hardware to Microsoft’s specifications rather than striving to bring as much power as they can for the price. I hope Asus will stick to its guns, pushing the Linux alternative and striving to continue to reduce the cost of mobile computing and increase the power.
via PC World
Back from the dead: Gizmondo boss planning relaunch by the end of 2008
May 13, 2008
If ever there was a text book example of a games console train wreck, Gizmondo would be it. If you ever thought the N-Gage was bad, it was a picnic compared to the Gizmondo.
While the games line-up left much to be desired, customer interest waned dramatically after an initial high profile launch and official sales figures always came with a hint of the farm yard about them. Behind the scenes, financial shenanigans sent the company spiraling towards bankruptcy while the execs lived it up with the investment cash.
Eventually, after a Swedish newspaper alleged that some high ranking execs were former members of mafia crime ring, people started resigning and a couple of months later Gizmondo declared bankruptcy. Eventually, one of the former execs was even arrested and imprisoned following a high profile crash in Ferrari Enzo outside Malibu.
All good fun and games of course, and it’s kind of nice that the games industry is not with its rock and roll elements to keep things exciting. However, Gizmondo’s greatest sin was that it was basically a rubish piece of hardware. It looked hideous, was overpriced and underpowered, and had an awful screen to support it all.
So it’s pretty laughable to hear that it’s coming back. In fact original Gizmondo founder, Carl Freer, has recently spoken out and expressed confidence that the device can make a comeback. He’s promising fresh support for those unfortunate enough to own one and even a whole new model.
Speaking in a very short interview with Gizmondoforums, he claimed “There is still incredible value in the Gizmondo.” Adding “With the enhancements we’re adding (i.e. Open Platform etc) we feel it’s only the beginning of where we can go with the product.”
Well, you could go stick it in a skip for a start.
Nikko Electronics reveals an updated R2-D2 for home entertainment
May 8, 2008
Nikko Electronics unveiled the R2-D2 home projection ‘droid’ last year and it has now received its first update – which some have christened R3-D2. Unlike the Star Wars inspiration, this R2 unit is not for hacking Death Stars, serving drinks at smuggler parties or repairing star fighters. It will however play obscure messages on loop if you want it to, but general home entertainment is its primary purpose.
It is completely motorised, allowing you to send it scurrying around your house, and it contains a Texas Instrument DLP projector and a built in CD/DVD player. The controls can also be used to tilt the angle of beam to reach whatever bizarrely placed surface you wish to view it on. This time it will also project a 1024 x 768 XGA image of up to 260” wide with 1800 ansi lumens and decent 1800:1 contrast ratio.
On top of that, apart from the optical Dolby 5.1 output, it contains an FM transmitter allowing you to send the sound out wirelessly. Or you could use the built-in virtual surround sound. It has a host of other connections too, ranging from S-Video, RCA and DVI, to a USB slot supporting MP3 music, JPEG photos and Mpeg 4 video.
The remote control is probably the best (and worst) bit. It’s hidden in the arse end of a replica Millennium Falcon. Utterly impractical for ordinary use, but cool as hell. At least you won’t lose that down the side of the sofa.
Check out the video of it in action here, revel in the terrible music, and try to work out whether this thing has to be plugged in all the time to work. It probably does – mmm, darkened flat, moving trip hazard… that’ll be one awesome Star Wars party.
Given the practicality and *ahem* aesthetic issues, it’s not much of a surprise these are only available in strictly limited quantities. The 4000 odd models are available to Europe for Euro 2,799 or £2,900.
Guitar Hero Goes Handheld
February 12, 2008
One of the biggest hits of Christmas ‘07 has to be Guitar Hero III. Today the battle persists between the Guitar Hero franchise and the newcomer Rockband. Guitar Hero just got a leg up in the battle because toy maker Basic Fun will be launching a handheld version of the game at the International Toy Fair, February 17th – 20th at the Javits Center, New York, NY.
Basic Fun’s Guitar Hero Carabiner features a playable and portable take on the original Guitar Hero with a few noticeable differences. The first is the size – the Guitar Hero Carabiner, at about 75% the size of the original, measures 7 ¾” X 3”. The second is the price. Basic Fun’s Guitar Hero Carabiner retails for a suggested $14.99.
“Basic Fun has worked with Activision and Red Octane, the game’s original developer, to bring the Guitar Hero experience to this unique, pocket sized format,” said Basic Fun President Alan Dorfman.
I don’t know about you but I have never been a fan of these handheld LCD games. I remember playing the sports ones as a kid but I never liked them much. It might have been because my brother always kicked my ass on the football game we had.
No word on song selections but don’t expect stereo sound or MP3 riffs coming out of this thing.
Nintendo Goes Blue
February 1, 2008
Starting on February 10, 2008 you will be able to buy the new Cobalt Blue/Black DS Lite. Cobalt Blue/Black marks the seventh color in the Nintendo DS Lite palette. It joins Polar White, Coral Pink, Onyx, Crimson/Black and the limited-edition Gold and Metallic Rose. Now there’s a Nintendo DS color to complement any outfit.
So, anyone willing to place their bets on when the Wii gets a color makeover?
KPC - The $199 Linux PC
January 15, 2008
At CES this year Shuttle showed off a number of new PCs. The one that caught everyone’s eye was the new KPC line of computers.
These new machines come with Linux pre-loaded for $199 or in a bare bones configuration for $99.
- Preliminary Specifications:
- Intel 945GC Chipset
- Intel Celeron 420 Processor
- GMA 950 Graphics
- 80GB Hard Drive
- 512MB DDR2 Memory
- 4 USB Ports
- Ethernet Port
- 5.1 Channel Audio
- Linux OS with Shuttle Theme
Shuttle has not released any information on internal drive bays and/or PCI slots but you could easily add a USB based optical drive to the machine. The Celeron CPU runs at 1.60 GHz with a Front Side Bus speed of 800MHz and 512KB of L2 Cache.
These machines are also smaller than their XPC line of computers so there may not even be enough room in the case for an optical drive.
