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EeePC keyboards different on black and white models May 15, 2008

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Filed under: Laptops

Okay, this is pretty much for the crazy keyboard aficionados out there, but the crew over at Laptop says there's a distinct difference between the keyboards on the black and white Eee PC laptops. They compared the 'boards on a white 701, black 4G Surf, and white 900, and while the two white Eees had identical keys, the black unit featured different switches with deeper keypresses and more tactile feedback, smaller spaces between the keys, and rougher plastic. (Of course, if you actually use any keyboard for long enough, the plastic eventually wears smooth, so that's probably not an issue.) We doubt the difference is going to really sway anyone's purchasing decision -- the tiny Eee keyboard isn't exactly ideal for hardcore typists, after all -- but if you're looking for a tiebreaker between the black and white 700s, well, now you have one that will bore the pants off people at parties.

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Palm Treo 800w caught with its keys showing

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

This little bundle of plain-vanilla familiarity is seemingly the first live picture of Palm's upcoming Treo 800w for CDMA networks, known internally as the Zeppelin -- you know, the obsolete airships that had a tendency to spontaneously combust. Specs on this one are starting to shore up, with Windows Mobile 6.1, EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, a 320 x 320 touchscreen (still novel by classic WinMo standards) and a typical Treo look and feel that doesn't diverge terribly much from Palm's tried, true, and well-worn formula. Sprint's looking solid to pick it up come late July, but with those HTCs around the corner, just how much love at the register is this thing gonna get?

[Via PHONE Magazine]

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Mtron says its Pro 7500 is the fastest SSD around

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Filed under: Storage

We've had a little love affair going on with storage vendor Mtron ever since we saw that "battleship" SSD RAID array, and it looks like the company is after our hearts once again, this time with the Pro 7500 series of SSDs, which it says are the fastest around. That's really only half-true -- while the 120MB/s write speed is definitely the fastest we've seen, the 130MB/s read speed is the same those Greenhouse's DH-SSDGD drives we just saw a couple days ago. Still, that's mighty fast -- too bad these are probably going to be priced into the stratosphere like Mtron's other SSDs.

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Mtron says its Pro 7500 is the fastest SSD around

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Filed under: Storage

We've had a little love affair going on with storage vendor Mtron ever since we saw that "battleship" SSD RAID array, and it looks like the company is after our hearts once again, this time with the Pro 7500 series of SSDs, which it says are the fastest around. That's really only half-true -- while the 120MB/s write speed is definitely the fastest we've seen, the 130MB/s read speed is the same those Greenhouse's DH-SSDGD drives we just saw a couple days ago. Still, that's mighty fast -- too bad these are probably going to be priced into the stratosphere like Mtron's other SSDs.

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Levi Strauss 3G Slider

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The Levi Strauss 3G Slider offers a 2 megapixel as well as the following features:

* engraved with the Levi Strauss logo
* Tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900MHz)
* WCDMA (2100MHz) support
* 2" 262k color TFT, 176 x 220 pixel resolution display
* 80MB
* microSD card slot
* built-in MP3 player
* Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP support

Via MobileBurn.

Nokia 6212 Classic

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The Nokia 6212 Classic is a 3G handset offering a 2 megapixel camera as well as the following features:

* Near Field Communication (NFC)
* supports touch based NFC Bluetooth pairing
* includes three NFC sticker tags
* 2" QVGA (240x320 pixel) resolution display
* music player
* FM radio
* expandable memory with microSD slot that supports cards of up to 4GB

Via MobileBurn.

BenQ T60

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The BenQ T60 is a candybar phone offering a 3.2 megapixel camera as well as the following features:

* 2.2" 262k color TFT, QVGA (240x320 pixel) resolution display
* video camcorder
* MP3 player
* FM radio
* Bluetooth A2DP support
* supports GSM/EDGE connections on 900 and 1800MHz frequency bands
* 24MB
* microSD card slot (up to 2GB)

Via MobileBurn.

Samsung SCH-M470

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The Samsung SCH-M470 is a slider phone offering a 2 megapixel camera as well as the following features:

* HSUPA capable
* video telephony
* WiFi
* Bluetooth connectivity
* push email
* Google search

Via MobileBurn.

Samsung SCH-M470

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The Samsung SCH-M470 is a slider phone offering a 2 megapixel camera as well as the following features:

* HSUPA capable
* video telephony
* WiFi
* Bluetooth connectivity
* push email
* Google search

Via MobileBurn.

Chicago’s CCTV network to be autonomously monitored starting this summer

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Chicago residents are no strangers to the city's many CCTV cameras by this point -- if anyone knows exactly how long to stop at Roosevelt and State to avoid the red-light cam there, you let us know, okay? -- but it looks like this summer is going to bring a new twist to the city's surveillance racket: automated camera monitoring. Video from the several thousand cameras in Chicago's Operation Virtual Shield project currently comes into the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communication's ops center, but starting this summer, it'll also be watched by an IBM-developed autonomous system that can be programmed to watch for specific activities or objects, like certain cars or unattended backpacks. Since the video is stored on a 60TB storage array for 30 days, law enforcement can also do retroactive searches using the tech. That's a huge step up from San Francisco's useless CCTV system, sure, but we've never really believed any of this stuff is actually effective at deterring crime -- hopefully we'll be proven wrong. Check out the the full news vid at the read link.

[Via Boing Boing]

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OLPC XO officially gets Windows XP, children of the world to be assimilated

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Filed under: Laptops

It's been a controversial decision, but it looks like the OLPC XO has completed its transition from revolutionary education project to just another tiny Windows laptop with a useless keyboard -- albeit one with a pleasantly whimsical design. Yep, it's official: Microsoft and OLPC just put out a joint press release saying that XP-loaded XOs will be available starting in August or September, with some countries to get the machines as soon as next month. Users will get all the regular functionality of XP -- it's basically the same build as on the Eee and other ultraportables -- but Microsoft's spent over a year developing specialized drivers for the XO's various features like e-book mode, the writing pad, and camera. (We're pretty certain that doesn't include mesh networking, but WiFi is supported.) XP is too big for the built-in 1GB flash chip, so it'll come preloaded on a 2GB SD card, leaving just about 1.5GB free total for apps and media. It seems like Microsoft is thrilled about this partnership, but it's a not going to make NickNeg's search for new vision at the top any easier. As for Sugar? You'll still be able to get it, but we have a sinking feeling about its future. Demo video after the break.

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Sprint and Samsung intro new XOHM PR, no actual service in sight

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Filed under: Wireless

In a press release today, Sprint and Samsung "declared" that mobile WiMAX technology is "now ready for commercial service." Sounds exciting right? Well, it's kind of like saying that a car is "ready to drive" -- you still can't do much without the keys and a road. Since Sprint has seen recent delays, litigation, and various other forms of badness, this does kind of come off as an empty PR move. Nevertheless, they want to let everyone know that XOHM has "met Sprint's rigorous commercial acceptance criteria including overall performance, handoff performance and handoff delay." Honestly, we hope it gets off the ground soon -- we've got a pile of WiMAX N810's here we need to fire up.

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Ask Engadget: Subnote or full-sized laptop for university use?

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Filed under: Ask Engadget, Laptops

We know, the vast majority of you either graduated or got past one more wave of exams this past week, but there's no better time to buy a lappie for school than when you actually have time to enjoy it, right?

"I'm looking to buy a laptop before I head off to college in a few months. I know there's too many choices out there in each category to ask for specific recommendations, but I'm wondering how current students feel about their machines. Is a subnote potent enough for university use? Is an ultraportable a better alternative? Or should I get a full-blown 15- to 17-incher as an all-purpose rig? My future GPA is hinging on your responses."

Let's hear it, bookworms. Is that CloudBook / Eee / 2133 Mini-Note treating you alright? Or would this poor freshman-to-be be better off with something larger? Toss out your opinions below -- friends don't let friends buy the wrong computer. If you'd like our readers to study a question of yours, send us an inquiry at ask at engadget dawt com, capiche?

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Researchers tout spreadable, self-powered OLEDs

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Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets

It looks like we could one day be buying our OLED displays by the jar or the bucket-full, at least if some researchers from Sumitomo Chemical and Mitsubishi Chemical have their way. They're now working on what they describe as "spreadable" OLEDs, which could either be spread or "painted" on virtually any surface, leaving an OLED screen that would be just 100nm thick. As if that wasn't enough, the spreadable concoction would also double as a solar panel that'd keep the OLEDs powered, something that's apparently possible due to the "similar, but opposite, principles" that OLEDs and solar cells work on. What's more, while the two companies are apparently still in the early stages of research, they say they're aiming to have usable prototypes ready within the next two years.

[Via OLED Info]

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Mitsubishi shows off XD211U DLP projector

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Talk about product overlap: just over a month ago, Mitsubishi introduced its XD500U, boasting a pixel count of 1,024 x 768 and brightness of 2,200-lumens. Now say "hello" to the XD211U, with the same pixel count, brightness, and BrilliantColor specs. The XD211U weighs in at 0.5-pounds lighter and does boast a new DDP 2230 TI microarray, however. The theft-deterrent security hook will protect the $1595 beamer from any grabby hands around the office or classroom. The projector might be secure, but you know some deadbeat is going to make off with the detachable keypad and render this thing unusable -- better order a spare keypad right up front.

[Via AboutProjectors]

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Mitsubishi shows off XD211U DLP projector

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Talk about product overlap: just over a month ago, Mitsubishi introduced its XD500U, boasting a pixel count of 1,024 x 768 and brightness of 2,200-lumens. Now say "hello" to the XD211U, with the same pixel count, brightness, and BrilliantColor specs. The XD211U weighs in at 0.5-pounds lighter and does boast a new DDP 2230 TI microarray, however. The theft-deterrent security hook will protect the $1595 beamer from any grabby hands around the office or classroom. The projector might be secure, but you know some deadbeat is going to make off with the detachable keypad and render this thing unusable -- better order a spare keypad right up front.

[Via AboutProjectors]

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Feds Indict Meddling Mom in MySpace Suicide Case

Posted by admin in : Tech Reviews , add a comment A federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Thursday indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide. Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist. Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.

Sumitomo may not actually produce OLED TVs in 2009

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Filed under: Displays

Whoops! Looks like Sumitomo President Hiromasa Yonekura was "misquoted" just a few days back, and there may actually not be any large OLED TVs churned out by the outfit in 2009. According to a new report, Sumitomo is currently "working with partners," thus the "timing of any product launch is not just its call." No worries -- we're fairly certain someone else will step up to the plate in your absence, right guys?

[Via OLED-Info]

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VIA reportedly set to roll out 45nm, dual-core processors by 2009

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Filed under: Desktops

Nothing seems to be official just yet, but it looks like VIA is set to both adopt an always-desirable 45nm manufacturing process for its processors and roll out its first dual-core processors by the end of 2009, at least if the "sources at the company" DigiTimes has heard from are to be believed. Unfortunately, there's apparently no further details on either of those tantalizing possibilities just yet, but the company has done a bit of bragging about its current CPU shipments, saying that it expects its shipments in the first half of 2008 to equal its total shipments in 2007 -- a number that only seems set to go up if Isiah's benchmarks are any indication.

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Beavers and bugs inspire robotic creations

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Filed under: Robots

Rest assured, this won't be the first or last time you hear of insects and mammals being used as inspiration for robotic creatures. Nevertheless, a recent MIT mechanical engineering course saw students craft bots that could handle "beaver-like tasks" such as "knocking down trees and gathering food in the form of street hockey balls" while fending off competitors in 45-second rounds. Separately, the EU-funded SPARK endeavor is seeking to "develop a new robot control architecture for roving robots inspired by the principles governing the behavior of living systems and based on the concept of self-organization." There's plenty more material to make your skin crawl in the read links below, just don't feed the mechs, okay?

Read - SPARK project
Read - MIT competition

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Beavers and bugs inspire robotic creations

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Filed under: Robots

Rest assured, this won't be the first or last time you hear of insects and mammals being used as inspiration for robotic creatures. Nevertheless, a recent MIT mechanical engineering course saw students craft bots that could handle "beaver-like tasks" such as "knocking down trees and gathering food in the form of street hockey balls" while fending off competitors in 45-second rounds. Separately, the EU-funded SPARK endeavor is seeking to "develop a new robot control architecture for roving robots inspired by the principles governing the behavior of living systems and based on the concept of self-organization." There's plenty more material to make your skin crawl in the read links below, just don't feed the mechs, okay?

Read - SPARK project
Read - MIT competition

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Alltel commits to LTE, adds 1M customers in Q1

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

See, it's not all dour news in the wireless industry -- oft-overlooked carrier Alltel just announced that it added over 1M gross wireless customers in the first quarter, and that it's committed to LTE in the next three to five years. The LTE news isn't particularly surprising, since Alltel's got roaming agreements to maintain and both Verizon and AT&T are committed to LTE, but the company did specifically say that it was picking LTE over WiMAX. (Oh, and if you're keeping score, that pretty much puts the final, final nail in the coffin for Qualcomm's UMB -- good thing it's got those LTE-compatible chipsets in the works.) Alltel's actually growing pretty fast -- this is the second quarter in a row it's added over 1M gross customers, probably due to those sparkling call-quality survey results -- but we still have our doubts when the company claims it's "America's Largest Network." Should be interesting to see how this all shakes out as 4G gets built out, no?

Read - Alltel Q1 results [Warning: PDF link]
Read - Alltel commits to LTE

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Alltel commits to LTE, adds 1M customers in Q1

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

See, it's not all dour news in the wireless industry -- oft-overlooked carrier Alltel just announced that it added over 1M gross wireless customers in the first quarter, and that it's committed to LTE in the next three to five years. The LTE news isn't particularly surprising, since Alltel's got roaming agreements to maintain and both Verizon and AT&T are committed to LTE, but the company did specifically say that it was picking LTE over WiMAX. (Oh, and if you're keeping score, that pretty much puts the final, final nail in the coffin for Qualcomm's UMB -- good thing its got those LTE-compatible chipsets in the works.) Alltel's actually growing pretty fast -- this is the second quarter in a row it's added over 1M gross customers, probably due to those sparkling call-quality survey results -- but we still have our doubts when the company claims it's "America's Largest Network." Should be interesting to see how this all shakes out as 4G gets built out, no?

Read - Alltel Q1 results [Warning: PDF link]
Read - Alltel commits to LTE

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Medic Vision intros haptic Mediseus Surgical Drilling Simulator

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

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Medic Vision intros haptic Mediseus Surgical Drilling Simulator

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

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Screen Grabs: Metal Gear Solid 4 gets iPod and Sony Ericsson product placement

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Though we're breaking slightly from our typical Screen Grabs format (movies, TV), we could never live with ourselves if we didn't share these shocking gadget appearances from Metal Gear Solid 4. That's right, despite being on some kind of deadly spy mission, Solid Snake will find time to bro down with a fifth-generation iPod (above), while some lovely cohort of his dials up for pizza on a Sony Ericsson W62S clamshell. More pics after the break.

[Via iLounge / CellPassion]

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Screen Grabs: Metal Gear Solid 4 gets iPod and Sony Ericsson product placement

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Though we're breaking slightly from our typical Screen Grabs format (movies, TV), we could never live with ourselves if we didn't share these shocking gadget appearances from Metal Gear Solid 4. That's right, despite being on some kind of deadly spy mission, Solid Snake will find time to bro down with a fifth-generation iPod (above), while some lovely cohort of his dials up for pizza on a Sony Ericsson W62S clamshell. More pics after the break.

[Via iLounge / CellPassion]

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Metal Gear Solid 4 gets iPod and Sony Ericsson product placement

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Cradlepoint announces 3G-ready CTR500 travel router

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Filed under: Wireless, Networking

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Lotus Connects BlackBerry Users to Social Enterprise

Posted by admin in : Tech Reviews , add a comment IBM has released additional Lotus software for Research In Motion's popular BlackBerry platform, taking the set of applications further beyond the realm of simple e-mail and into the wild world of Web 2.0 social networking applications. Yes, that's social networking for the enterprise. While IBM already offers core Lotus collaboration software that includes Notes-based e-mail, portals, dashboards, messaging, calendaring and instant messaging, the company is adding BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections, which is IBM's social software for businesses.

Swarm robotics project further ensures our doom

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Filed under: Robots

Much to our dismay, this isn't the first swarm project that really makes us wonder how long humans will be running things on Planet Earth. MIT's own James McLurkin was recently down in Austin, Texas showing off a dozen or so of his hundred (is that even legal?) robots. The group was reportedly able to spread out, clump together, play follow the leader and circle the wagons, all of which were just ploys to distract us from seeing precisely how much they really know. Each of the appropriately-titled SwarmBots featured eight AA batteries, a 1.1-watt speaker, behavior LEDs, a radio, camera and an IR communications system. For those curious, each one cost around $2,000 to build, but Mr. McLurkin suggested that these were a bargain compared to typical research bots. It's all about perspective, baby.

[Via Futurismic]

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Square Band: the solar-powered wearable synthesizer

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables

Admit it: having a synthesizer in your pocket just isn't enough. No, you need one on your person in order to truly feel whole. If we just rang your bell, you should take a long, insightful look at the Square Band. The latest revision of the wearable synthesizer includes a volume control and a couple of flexible solar panels, the latter of which were added partly for aesthetics. Apparently wearers can simply trigger buttons tucked under their wrist with their fingertips, upon which a superabundance of cacophonic sounds will emerge and completely freak out any nearby bystanders. You have to have one now, don't you?

[Via MAKE]

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ATI Radeon 4800 series launch details revealed

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA had already heard enough about AMD's ATI Radeon 4800 series to bump up the launch date for its GeForce 9900 series cards, but TG Daily has now apparently turned up some more launch details for the mid-to-high-end cards, the first of which is reportedly now on track for a release in mid-June. That first card will be the Radeon 4850, codenamed "Makedon," which will boast 512 MB of GDDR3 memory, single-slot cooling, CrossFireX support, and a price tag between $189-$219. That'll be followed in July by a pair of Radeon 4870 cards (dubbed "Trojan"), with one boasting 512MB of GDDR5 memory and the other boasting a full 1024MB, the latter of which will come with a dual-slot cooler. Look for those to cost between costing between $249 and $279. The whole lot of them will also pack "game physics processing capability," along with 7.1 channel audio via HDMI support, DirectX 10.1 support, and, as you might have guessed, some pretty heavy power requirements, with a 450 watt power supply needed for a single card and 550 watts needed for a CrossFire setup.

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MySpace’s $230M Victory in Spam Case May Be Hollow

Posted by admin in : Tech Reviews , add a comment A federal court has awarded MySpace nearly $230 million in its suit against Sanford Wallace and his partner Walter Rines -- aka the "Spam King." The judgment -- especially given the size of the award -- represents a decided victory for e-commerce sites in their costly battle against spam. This is the largest award since the enactment of the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003. MySpace sued Wallace and Rines for tricking many of the site's users into revealing login information, mainly through the use of phishing scams involving third-party sites.

Sony TG3E / TG1 camcorder review

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We had the good fortune to receive a Sony HDR-TG3E (aka, HDR-TG1 for North America) review unit on the day we departed for a bit of tropical relaxation. As such, we return with a real world look at how the Titanium-shelled TG3E performed in the sun, surf, and sand of an honest to goodness family holiday. We set off with high hopes for the world's smallest 1080i (1920 x 1080/60i @ 16Mbps) camcorder, high enough that we left our trusty Xacti HD700 at home. Not high enough to leave behind our aging, but proven 5 megapixel point-and-shoot still camera though. So, how did it do? Review after the break.

Update: Added .m2ts video sample for download.

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Sony TG3E / TG1 camcorder review

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

We had the good fortune to receive a Sony HDR-TG3E (aka, HDR-TG1 for North America) review unit on the day we departed for a bit of tropical relaxation. As such, we return with a real world look at how the Titanium-shelled TG3E performed in the sun, surf, and sand of an honest to goodness family holiday. We set off with high hopes for the world's smallest 1080i (1920 x 1080/60i @ 16Mbps) camcorder, high enough that we left our trusty Xacti HD700 at home. Not high enough to leave behind our aging, but proven 5 megapixel point-and-shoot still camera though. So, how did it do? Review after the break.

Continue reading Sony TG3E / TG1 camcorder review

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Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000 (green)

Posted by admin in : Tech Reviews , add a comment Despite its uninspired software, the Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000 proves its worth with outstanding image quality, a funky and useful design, and low price.