Archive for July 12th, 2010

Motorola Droid X Launching with Limited Inventory

Here’s your friendly reminder for today: Motorola’s Droid X launches this Thursday. However, while the device itself is high profile, it doesn’t look like Verizon locations around the country are getting high profile numbers in the inventory category. According to some screen shots sent over to Droid Life , it looks like quantities are being kept at a pretty respectable level. Admittedly, the two stores in the included image aren’t actually high profile stores in of themselves, either. One of them is a kiosk, and the other is a smaller retail location. Though, in the latter’s defense, it is in the downtown area, so it should still see plenty of customers on a daily basis. And, considering both locations are only seeing about 20 units per store, it’s pretty safe to assume that the rumors we had been hearing over the weekend, about some locations only getting close to 70 handsets per location may be coming true, after all. Indeed, a call to several Verizon retail stores around our area reveals that the corporate store closest to us actually received only 44 units to sell on Thursday (they received 45, but one is used for the floor demonstration model). So, is Motorola keeping stock at a choke-point for a reason? Perhaps they don’t want to see what’s happening with HTC-manufactured devices, so they’re making sure they’ve got enough in the back-log (and for other online retailers) to keep making customers happy in the now, and not a month later. [ via Droid Life] ) View full post on Android Community

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2011 Peugeot 508

Look at the first official photos of the all-new Peugeot 508 . The new mid-size 508 designed to replace the 407 and the larger 607 models. 2011 Peugeot 508 will have its debut at the Paris Motor Show at the end of September, and go on sale early next year. Possible, buyers should expect a similar engine lineup to the Citroen C5 , upon which the 508 is based off, including 1.6-liter turbocharged petrols and a variety of four- and six-cylinder diesel engines. Peugeot will offer a hybrid variant combining an internal combustion engine driving the front wheels with an electric motor powering the rear wheels. Similar Posts: Peugeot RCZ sports coupe 2008 Peugeot 308 Peugeot 207 S16 Peugeot 308 CC Peugeot 3008 Crossover View full post on CARBLog

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DIY Water Powered Calculator

Instead of purchasing an eco-friendly water powered calculator and tossing out your old one, only for it to slowly rot in a landfill, you could make your own.  It seems to be a whole lot more eco-friendly to convert your current items into something eco-friendly rather than replacing the gadgets you already own.  Thanks to a tutorial, you could easily make your own earth friendly calculator.

The tools you’ll need include a calculator, carbon or copper rod, a 1 by 1 inch piece of aluminum foil, a small cylindrical container, two 3 inch wires, multipurpose pliers and a glue gun.  The materials are pretty basic, nothing you couldn’t get from your local hardware store.  I imagine this will work like any other calculator powered by water.  You just need to make sure to refill the battery with water when it’s needed.

Source: Instructables

Neckey Multifunctional Laptop Stand

If you’re worried about ergonomics, keeping your laptop cool, plus having it in the perfect position to view the screen, then this laptop stand could be worth investing in.  To have a well rounded laptop stand that allows for you to have an easy to use tabletop design isn’t exactly common.  Sure, some worry about keeping the laptop cool, but to have all 3 features is a great find.

The design is a patented one that allows a little bit of customization as far as the angles go.  The keyboard itself that comes with it can be customized to different languages.  If you’re worried about your laptop fitting, it’ll hold sizes from 10 to 14.1 inches.  Sadly it looks like you’ll have to contact the company to find out things like availability and the pricing.

Source: TechFresh

Vibrating Seats Alert You Of Nearby Cars

A researcher from Yale University has created car seats that will keep the driver alert and aware of their surroundings.  Instead of giving visual alerts it gives ones by touch.  It’s an interesting concept that may make you feel like you’re playing a video game, but if it helps then it’s worth a try.  Anything is worth cutting down on accidents in an area that is jam packed full of traffic.

It’s done by basically lining the seat with a whole lot of cellphone vibration motors.  When a driver comes up from the left, the left of the seat will start to vibrate more and more the closer the car gets.  In some ways it seems like it might get a little annoying, but I almost think it’d become just like listening to your turn signal.  Eventually you just get used to it.

Source: Switched

Verizon and Samsung team up to bring N150 netbook to the masses

Both Verizon Wireless and Samsung Electronics have come together this time round, offering a spanking new netbook (all right, so the netbook is not exactly brand new when it comes to a market release, but at least it isn’t pre-loved when yours arrives at the doorstep!) which comes in the form of the Samsung N150, merging a sleek design with a battery life which is able to last up to seven hours. Of course, while there are many places with free Wi-Fi connectivity these days, you would be pleased to know that this version of the Samsung N150 is able to deliver anytime, anywhere mobile broadband network connectivity thanks to the proliferation of Verizon’s network throughout the country.

The Samsung N150 has been ready for order since last week, and underneath the hood you will be able to find a range of specifications and features such as an Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz processor running the proceedings from within, not to mention Windows 7 Starter as the operating system of choice which is more than capable of handling a slew of applications without compromising on performance – at least within the confines of a netbook. We don’t expect you to run AutoCAD on a netbook, you know. There is also the presence of a pre-installed SIM Card that enables access to over 200 countries, where more than 110 of those are connected via 3G speeds so that you don’t have to tear your hair out while waiting on EDGE speeds.

Thanks to its integrated chargeable USB port, you can use the N150’s battery to juice up your range of mobile devices even when it is turned off, making it a whole lot more convenient as there is one less charger for you to tote around where USB devices are concerned. Tipping the scales at a mere 2.73 pounds, you need not worry about whether your shoulder breaking over a long distance flight or route compared to other traditional heavier notebooks. The inclusion of Wi-Fi N connectivity also helps you keep up with the times. There are several Mobile Broadband plans to choose from, ranging from $39.99 to $59.99 for monthly access with limited data, while those who want to take the prepaid route aren’t short of options either.

Press Release

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IBM Aquastar is a water cooled supercomputer

PC modding enthusiasts will know that if they want to overclock their rig to its full potential, there is always the water cooling route to take. After all, stock modification of its clock speed can only go so far before the chip becomes a useless piece of melted silicon, and fans aren’t exactly the best way to keep things running nice and cool no matter how large the blade is. Liquid cooling, on the other hand, helps unlock the full potential of the processor as it pushes everything to the extreme, so it is rather interesting to hear of computing giants IBM come up with the IBM Aquasar which by its name alone, you can tell that it has something to do with water. You’re right – the IBM Aquasar is the first-of-a-kind hot water-cooled supercomputer which is currently seeing action at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

This uniquely configured Aquasar computer will consume up to 40% less juice compared to a regular air-cooled machine, but thanks to the direct utilization of waste heat in the building’s heating system, it results in an 85% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Now how about that when it comes to keeping things nice and green? Imagine if all the supercomputers in this world were to run on such a principle, how different things would be then. At least it shows that nerds go out of their way to keep the world green for the next generation. Apart from that, it will require less powerful air conditioning within the server rook of a networked office building or data center, which will also yield greener results in the long run.

Installed at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zurich, the Aquasar comprises of three IBM BladeCenter H chassis with a total of 33 IBM BladeCenter QS22 servers (two IBM PowerXCell 8i Processors each) and nine IBM BladeCenter HS22 servers (two Intel Nehalem EP Processors each). Among them, one chassis is air-cooled while the remainder have micro-channel liquid coolers attached directly to processors and some components within the server which are then cooled with warm water (up to 60C).

Power USB – A USB Controlled Power Strip

By Andrew Liszewski

While it’s not the first power strip to come along that attempts to intelligently curb energy usage in your home, the Power USB does bring some interesting functionality to the table. On one end of the strip you’ve got a 6 foot extension cable, but on the other you have a rather unique 6 foot USB cable. That’s because 2 of the 4 outlets on the Power USB can actually be controlled VIA an application on your PC.

The program allows you to assign hot keys for manually powering up those 2 controllable outlets as needed, or they can be programmed to automatically turn on or off at set times. They can even be activated after you’ve performed a certain function on your PC, like when you print a document, so your printer is only on and using electricity when you’re actually using it. I also like that all 4 sockets on the Power USB are universal, meaning it accepts plug designs from all countries. Orders aren’t being accepted until sometime in August, so pricing info has yet to be announced, but hopefully the extra technology doesn’t add too much to the bottom line since it’s not going to save much energy if no one buys one.

[ Power USB ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

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