Archive for January, 2009

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Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

This is true art, friend. The amazing "brotato" (rhymes with potato, in a perfect world) has hacked together netbook components, an ancient keyboard and a 14.2-inch LCD into this classy case, dubbing the project "The Poor Man's Netbook." The box is running Windows XP, but he tested it out with Windows 7 and Mac OS X and it performed beautifully, except for the Bluetooth 2.1 module. The box is based on a Mini-ITX Intel D945GCLF2 Dual Core 1.6Ghz Atom motherboard, with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and 802.11n WiFi -- though you'll have to hunt down an outlet, there's no battery power here. The best news is that he's selling the whole conglomeration on eBay, perfect for completing that piece of horrible cyberpunk fiction you've been slaving over on your boringtop.

[Thanks, Ryan]

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Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WiFi Rail finalizes 20 year deal to bring internet to BART trains

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Nearly a year to the day after we heard that WiFi trials were beginning on some of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit trains, WiFi Rail has announced a deal that'll last a score and provide high-speed WiFi "throughout the BART transit system and on all BART commuter trains." Reportedly, the network has successfully been tested to handle loads and provide speeds in excess of 15Mbps on trains moving 81 miles-per-hour. As it stands, four downtown San Francisco stations and some segments of the tunnels are already fully functional, but it'll take until the end of 2010 before the entire network is complete. There's no mention of what the price table will end up looking like, though we are told that subscriptions will be available by day, month or year. Now, if only this would filter out to every other mass transit entity in America, we'd be just jolly.

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WiFi Rail finalizes 20 year deal to bring internet to BART trains originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips’ 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV: not for Americans

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Oh, bollocks! If one particular spokesman who opened up to ZDnet today is accurate, Philips' totally sweet 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV won't ever be sold on American soil. Quite frankly, we're wondering what's up with Philips and its apparent disdain for the US market. It farmed out its Blu-ray / DVD and TV operations in North America to Funai, it didn't even bother showing up in Vegas for CES, and anything even remotely swank that it produces seems to be reserved for those overseas. What happened to the worldwide love, Philips? Did someone give you the impression that Yanks wouldn't buy one of these completely mesmerizing new panels? Sigh.

[Thanks, Sean]

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Philips' 56-inch Cinema 21:9 HDTV: not for Americans originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Nikon’s D3x DSLR?

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Look, we fully understand that only a handful of you were willing to force your kid to pay for their own education while you spent that eight grand in savings on the D3x, but for those hardcore enough to do just that, here's your venting post. This beast of a DSLR has been rumored, teased and taunted for what seems like ages, and now that the 24.5 megapixel shooter is finally making its way out on armored UPS trucks, we're anxious to see what early adopters are loving / disappointed in. For starters, was it worth the price? If not, why? What could Nikon have tweaked to justify the sticker (if anything)? Get vocal in comments below!

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How would you change Nikon's D3x DSLR? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon D700 gets tweaked to shoot video via live-view

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Some Canon die-hards have already managed to coax their DSLRs to record video via live-view, and it looks like Nikon aficionados are now able to do the same, albeit not quite as easily just yet. That's because the mod requires both access to Nikon's SDK for the D700 and the necessary skills to actually do something with it, in this case capturing video from the live-view feed via USB. The good news is that the modder responsible for the hack, Olivier Giroux, is planning to "productize" the software and make it publicly available, but until then, you'll have to make do with the sample video after the break which, while not quite 480p, still looks pretty decent, all things considered.

[Via MAKE:Blog]

Continue reading Nikon D700 gets tweaked to shoot video via live-view

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Nikon D700 gets tweaked to shoot video via live-view originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Vista SP2 RC may be in the hands of testers as we speak

Friday, January 30th, 2009
Sure, the big hubbub's been Windows 7 (give us some time and we'll figure out how to install it on a toaster!) but Microsoft is betting that quite a few folks will be stranded in Vistaland (Vista Town? Vista Village? The dreaded Vista Flats?) for some time to come, and they'll need provisions -- like blankets, candles, water, and service packs. According to Tech Arp, Windows Vista SP2 RC is meeting testers sometime this week as an escrow build, which means that the public could see this thing as soon as early Q2 this year. You've been warned...

[Via Computerworld]

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Windows Vista SP2 RC may be in the hands of testers as we speak originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maingear intros Remix workstation for the creative professional

Friday, January 30th, 2009

We tell ya, Maingear doesn't get a lot of play amongst the big timers like Dell and HP, but it sure knows how to crank out machines that are just different enough to be worth examining. Enter the Remix workstation, a desktop designed for creative professionals who dabble in graphic design, video production and pro audio. As expected, there's plenty of horsepower under the hood including a Core i7 CPU, Quadro FX / CX GPU options, up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM, RAID 0 HDD configurations, gobs of ports and an advanced liquid cooling system to keep the fans from making too much racket. The "handbuilt in America" machine starts at $1,999, though you can easily push that figure above the four grand mark with just a few tweaks. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Maingear intros Remix workstation for the creative professional

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Maingear intros Remix workstation for the creative professional originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nortel quits the mobile WiMAX game

Friday, January 30th, 2009
Sure, Clearwire is still busily rolling out its mobile WiMAX network across the US, but the fledgling wireless standard isn't having the best time of it lately -- Nokia just discontinued the N810 WiMAX Edition, which was easily the highest-profile WiMAX product on the market, and now Nortel is closing down its entire mobile WiMAX division. Considering Nortel's struggle to stay afloat in our super-awesome economy, the move isn't too shocking -- but at least Nortel partner Alvarion is working to pick up the pieces, so hopefully the impact on the broader WiMAX market won't be too huge.

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Nortel quits the mobile WiMAX game originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gridplane releases hazy NXE mockup that never was

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Design / animation studio Gridplane's recently unloaded photos of a mockup it contributed to the Microsoft Xbox team in charge of revamping the Xbox user interface, which eventually became the New Xbox Experience, AKA NXE. There are a few things here we like -- the design has a clean, other-worldly feel to it that's semi-appealing. However, we're not so into the milky haze that could have separated us from our beloved, fashionable avatar. Check out a few more shots of the proposed design after the break.

[Via Joystiq]

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Gridplane releases hazy NXE mockup that never was originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GigaPan Epic imager released, your party photos will never be the same

Friday, January 30th, 2009
You may have heard about that absolutely giant (1,474 megapixel) photo taken of the Inauguration using a Canon G10 and a GigaPan Imager. Well, today the company's launched the GigaPan Epic for commercial sale. It works with most point-and-shoots, and composes a single photograph from many (the inaugural photo was 220) shots. A robotic mount attached to the camera automates the process of taking all of those images, so you don't need to worry about missing any of the details. The GigaPan Epic is available now for $379, and a GigaPan Epic 100 for larger point-and-shoot models is expected "soon." Full PR after the break.

[Via Photography Blog]

Continue reading GigaPan Epic imager released, your party photos will never be the same

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GigaPan Epic imager released, your party photos will never be the same originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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