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MSI CR420 Notebook Introduced, Features Intel’s Wireless Display Technology

Evan Selleck — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:50:55 +0000

MSI has chosen to take the time and revise a member of their Classic notebook line-up. The CR420 has been introduced with a whole suite of new features, and with its 14-inch display, we can see this one definitely piquing the interest of someone in the notebook market, searching out their next purchase. But, most noteworthy of all, is the inclusion of Intel’s Wireless Display, or WiDi.

Just in case you may have forgotten, Intel’s WiDi is a way for you to stream content (including HD content) from your computer to your HDTV, all without wires. As long as your computer features Intel’s Core i3, i5, or i7 processors, and you pick up a stand-alone adapter box that connects to your HDTV via an HDMI cable, you’ll be good to go. As long as your computer can handle it, and has the necessary software to take advantage of the wireless streaming platform. Luckily, the new CR420 is one of the few notebooks on the market that can do as much.

Other features include a chiclet keyboard, a weight of only 2.2kg, beveled edges and a flush trackpad. You are fully capable of creating your own machine, and the base models start with the Intel Core i5 processor, and feature upwards of 4GB of DDR3 memory. You’ll find an HDMI and VGA output, integrated 802.11 b/g/n WiFI, two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA/USB port, and a 4-in-1 card reader. There’s a 1.3MP webcam, Bluetooth 2.1 support, and you can chose your hard drive size: 250, 320, or 500GB sizes. You’ll also find Intel’s HD integrated graphics, too.

The battery is of the 6-cell Li-ion variety, which should give you enough juice to not make you want to pull your hair out while you’re unplugged. Unfortunately, the press release doesn’t tell us anything about a price or official release date, but hopefully those key details get revealed soon.

Press Release

MSI Classic Series CR420
Optional Intel Wireless Display for Wireless Family Multimedia Entertainment
MSI’s new generation Classic series CR420 is equipped with the new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor and an optional Intel Wireless Display, taking laptops to a whole new level of computing characterized by high performance and wireless family multimedia entertainment.

Taipei—The MSI Classic series’ most recent addition, the 14-inch CR420 boasts the latest Intel® Core™ Series processors and is encased in MSI’s own cross-hatch color film print coating. Light and stylish, it’s your best partner for next-generation audiovisual enjoyment.

MSI Notebook Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that the CR420 is the newest member of the MSI Classic series of notebook computers and packs the all-new 2010 Intel® Core™ CPU. The cover and palm rest areas are protected with lustrous, scratch-resistant cross-hatch color film print. The CR420 also comes with a chiclet keyboard, a seamless touchpad, and beveled edge construction. Ultra-thin, the 14″ CR420 tips the scales at less than 2.2kg to give you mobility without sacrificing power or performance.

Ultimate style and entertainment
Cross-hatch color film print: The lid and palm rest areas are sheathed in MSI’s exclusive glossy, scratch-resistant cross-hatch color film print. The case is graced with 45-degree beveled construction, making the CR420 a leaner, meaner machine, weighing in at less than 2.2kg as well as the perfect portable entertainment center.

Chiclet keyboard: The CR420 features the latest chiclet keyboard to optimize your typing experience. Whether you’re doing word processing or instant messaging, it significantly reduces the possibility that you’ll hit other keys accidently. The smooth cross-hatch pattern on the lid and palm rest areas blends perfectly with the chiclet keyboard, so that this NB stands out from the crowd without being pretentious.

Classic Seamless Touchpad: The stylishly unassuming CR420 comes equipped with MSI’s own seamless touchpad with textured cross-hatch color film print for maximum comfort and enjoyment.

Superior processing and mulitimedia performance
All new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor: The CR420 features Intel Core i5 processor and HM55 chipset. It boasts lower power consumption than previous generations and 15% longer battery life. It also packs Hyper-Threading technology which gives dual core CPUs virtual quad core computing power. Integrated graphics core performance has also been significantly improved, offering users enhanced processing and display performance.

16:9 theater-class backlit LED screen: The CR420 also has a 14″ backlit LED display with 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio and high resolution, extending screen viewability by 14%, eliminating those annoying black bars above and below the picture, further enhancing film viewing.

Intel Wireless Display: The CR420 can be ordered with latest Intel Wireless Display option which currently supports up to 720p HD output. Wireless Display, a.k.a. WiDi, allows your HDTV to show high definition images or videos from your laptop computer via an external wireless transfer box. Now, it’s a cinch to enjoy high definition videos on your television set.

Innovative energy efficient technology
ECO Engine power saving technology: The CR420 comes with MSI’s exclusive ECO Engine power saving technology which allows you to select from among five power management levels—Video Game, Film, Presentation, Word Processing, and Turbo Battery, to automatically adjust display brightness, on/off switch, sleep mode, and processor performance settings, maximizing battery flexibility and use per charge.

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Researchers Develop Algorithms That Let Robots Deceive Humans, Other Robots

Evan Selleck — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:16:54 +0000

We will go ahead and skip the lamenting about the end of the world as we know it, as we think we’ve covered that well enough by now. But, that’s not saying this article isn’t worthy of it. No, certainly not. As the title suggests, a team over at the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing have managed to create algorithms that allow robots to deceive humans, as well as other intelligent robots.

The algorithms are actually set up to give the robots the ability to determine, on a case-by-case nature, whether or not it should deceive the subject in question. To go even more in depth, the researchers have given the robots the ability to determine the best way to go about deceiving people or robots, which will subsequently reduce the chances of that particular robot getting caught.

Here’s a quote from Ronald Arkin, a Regents professor that took part in the project:

“We have developed algorithms that allow a robot to determine whether it should deceive a human or other intelligent machine and we have designed techniques that help the robot select the best deceptive strategy to reduce its chance of being discovered.”

Alan Wagner, a co-author on the report that details the project, goes on to add that most robots will “probably, rarely” use deceptive actions, but that the ability is an important one to the development to interactive, intelligent, and social robots. Apparently, giving robots the ability to lie to their builders, or even to the general public, means that they will have more advantages in terms of general outcome, compared to other robots that don’t have the ability. We’ll leave this one up to you: should robots be able to lie?

[via GearLog]

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Lenovo Power Hub Features 4 USB Ports in the Power Brick

Evan Selleck — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:01:39 +0000

At one point in time or another, you’ve probably needed just one more port to get something you needed done, done. We’ve all been there. And while there’s plenty of options out there, some times you’re just looking for something a bit more “combined” than just having an extra box hanging around your laptop. Well, thanks to Lenovo, you now have the option to power your ThinkPad and connect four USB devices, without needing anything extra.

The Lenovo Power Hub is a ThinkPad charger that works with 65W and 90W machines. The set-up revolves around a break-out USB cable that plugs into a USB port on your machine, which then lets you connect up to 4 other USB-connected devices. You plug the charger into the wall outlet like you normally would, and your laptop keeps on charging, while you can charge your other devices at the same time. There’s no word on any kind of media sync with your ThinkPad itself, but considering it’s going through the power brick, we don’t think it will do anything more than charge your gadgets.

The Power Hub is available right now for your purchasing pleasure for only $74.99. There’s no word on whether or not Lenovo is going to start bundling this with their products, but we think that would be one of the best decisions they’ve ever made, if they chose to go that route.

[via Engadget]

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JPMorgan Ditching the BlackBerry, Launches Pilot Program to Let Employees Use iPhone or Android

Evan Selleck — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:38:52 +0000

For as long as most can remember, Research In Motion, by way of their BlackBerry brand, has been synonymous with the corporate world. Seeing a BlackBerry on a high-level executive, or anyone that works in a corporate industry, was just the way of the world. But, it looks like times are changing. A new report from Bloomberg delivers a huge blow to RIM and their BlackBerry foothold. It seems that JPMorgan has just turned on a brand new pilot program that will effectively ditch the BlackBerry, in favor of the far more popular iPhone and Android-based devices.

There’s no doubt that Google’s mobile Operating System is riding a tidal wave of prosperity and good will right now, and Apple’s iOS-based iPhone is no different. The two mobile platforms are the focal point of the mobile industry right now, and as their own corporate abilities increase, businesses are looking at them more and more for their employees. It’s already been rumored that some small companies out there are switching over to the iPhone, but with the news that one of the largest companies in the United States is moving away from BlackBerry, it definitely brings the problem into the limelight.

Despite the lack of mainstream consumer support, in light of the growth from iOS and Android, RIM has been able to remain strong in the corporate world. Against all odds, it seemed that the Canadian-based company would manage to stay alive in this market, if not just this market. But, today does indeed mark a turning point, as JPMorgan’s new plan, to let employees choose between an iPhone or an Android-based device, points to a change in the whole process of things.

JPMorgan employs somewhere in the ball park of 220,000 employees, so the pilot program likely won’t reach all of them right off the bat. And there’s no telling how long the test will go for. It is likely, though, that the “pilot” will turn into a finalized movement, and over a certain period of time, employees of the company will be allowed to switch out their BlackBerry.

And as if that weren’t bad enough, it sounds like UBS AG, a rival company to JPMorgan, is also kicking around the idea of tossing out the BlackBerry, and giving the iPhone far more attention. There are still plenty of other high-profile, major companies out there still using the BlackBerry, and it’s doubtful that a large-scale switch is right on the horizon, but if this is any kind of indicator, it would seem that RIM needs to start making some major changes, as they are gradually losing their footing even in the most firm of locations.

[via TG Daily]

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Amazon Kindle firmware v3.0.1 goes public

Chris Davies — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:55:03 +0000

Looks like Amazon were satisfied with just 24hrs public testing of their beta v3.0.1 Kindle firmware for the third-gen ereader, since they’ve now begun distributing it generally. Currently available to download, and set to go out as an OTA update “in the coming weeks”, Kindle firmware v3.0.1 promises various unspecified “performance improvements” together with the ability to set up a new Amazon account directly from the Kindle itself.

That latter ability is handy for those picking up a Kindle in a retail store, such as when the ereader lands in Best Buy later this fall, or giving it as a gift to someone without a computer of their own. Until now, an existing account – established online – was needed. You can download the new firmware and manually update your Kindle 3 via USB from here.

[Thanks Tony!]

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Apple Spirals UI for iTunes and iPods tip hypnotic navigation

Chris Davies — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:02:40 +0000

Apple are seeking to patent a new UI for iTunes and iPods, which could replace the existing Cover Flow side-scrolling system of album covers with a spiral, helix, curve or even a map. As with most patent applications the examples are pretty broad, but the general concept is that spirals of artist names, albums and genres could be navigated down through various levels of detail, spawning sub-spirals to further drill down into individual tracks.

The spirals would also lend themselves to circular navigation controls; ironically it comes as the iPod nano ditches its click wheel in favor of a touchscreen. Still, Apple does say that it could use a “virtual” click wheel on touchscreen devices. The spirals themselves could be punctuated by album art or various shapes.

Meanwhile maps could be used to pinpoint where exactly the music comes from, or alternatively the original source of genre types. Whether we’ll actually see something like this on a future iPod or iPhone remains to be seen, but with Apple’s choice of mobile processors becoming more powerful with each generation, it’s not hard to imagine them using some of that grunt to drive more graphically intensive UIs.

[via Gizmodo and via Patently Apple]

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TI tip multi-platform ARM Cortex A15 “Eagle” mobile devices

Chris Davies — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:11:03 +0000

In the aftermath of ARM’s stonking new Cortex A15 “Eagle” chipset breaking cover yesterday, Texas Instruments are keen to play up their “lead Eagle licensee” role. TI OMAP manager Brian Carlson has been detailing some of the advances Eagle brings over at the company’s official blog, and one of the most interesting is the potential for “multiple, simultaneous operating environments”: more than one OS running concurrently on the same mobile device.

As Carlson points out, that sort of virtualization isn’t particularly new; earlier this week, VirtualLogix demonstrated Android 2.2, Chrome OS and Ubuntu Linux all running simultaneously on a Texas Instruments OMAP Blaze developer device (pictured above). The difference is in how efficient and flexible that experience is, with Cortex A15 apparently improving both performance and security, together with the new chip’s extended address space for larger memories and thus more complex applications.

“The combination of significant performance improvement, larger memory and virtualization” Carlson continues. “will open up many new opportunities, and will drive new use models and experiences for mobile devices.” Meanwhile power consumption could be even lower than previous generations of ARM-based OMAP chipsets, with 60-percent less required for browsing when using TI’s SmartReflex 3 engine. Of course, with the first ARM Cortex A15 chips not expected until 2013, there’s some time to go before we can expect multi-platform smartphones in our pockets.

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Rockchip tease with Android desk phone

Chris Davies — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:45:59 +0000

Android-based landline phone renders are one thing, but Rockchip has been quietly beavering away at the real thing. Tucked away at IFA 2010 last week was the Rockchip Android phone, a desk-bound device which apparently supports both landline and 3G connections, can be used for video calls and browsing the web.

As well as the touchscreen – no word on size, but we’re guessing somewhere in the region of 7-inches – there are hardware shortcuts and a set of stereo speakers, together with a proper handset for making calls. Full specs are in short supply, but we’ll presume Bluetooth and WiFi along with speakerphone functionality.

Unfortunately it seems Rockchip are putting their desk-phone idea out there as a spur to manufacturers to use their Android-capable chips, rather than testing the waters for launching it themselves.

[via MP4 Nation]

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Tokyoflash Japan shows off watch with words

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:51:55 +0000

Almost all of the watches that I see over on Tokyoflash are so confusing I don’t think I would ever be able to tell time on them without an instruction manual and even then it would be a challenge. A new watch concept is on the site now that is pretty cool and I can actually use it. The watch has a rectangular face and instead of numbers or arcane symbols, it just uses words.

The numbers are spelled out and run together all down the watch face. The grey words illuminate blue when the time is active and there is a symbol on the bottom for AM or PM that lights to show if its day or night.

The watch is easy to read and the image below would be 6:40 PM. The thing is a bit large and bulky, but so are many of the watches the company offers. Perhaps the coolest thing about this watch is that it was designed by a 14-year-old.

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Netflix now live on Panasonic Viera Cast

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:45:50 +0000

We have been talking about the new line of Panasonic TVs for a while now. Most of the new sets were on display at IFA recently and they looked really cool. One of the most interesting features of many of the new Panasonic TVs is the Viera Cast internet content service.

The Viera Cast service has all sorts of content that can be streamed from the web directly to the screen without needing a computer. Some Panasonic sets connect to the internet via WiFi so you don’t need an Ethernet cable. Panasonic has announced today that Netflix streaming service is now available on the Viera Cast content service.

With Netflix now available, the content delivery service Panasonic has cover Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg News, and more. I wish they would add Hulu streaming, that is the most interesting streaming service online to me so I can watch the shows I miss. The Panasonic sets with Viera Cast include the VT25, VT20, GT25, G25, G20, and several of the 2010 Blu-ray players.

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