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It Takes Two, Me And You 2007-07-11 08:56:00 No one can deny the power of 2. Two heads are supposed to be better than one. The number 2 is the smallest prime number and the only even one. It’s also the most divisible number. If that weren’t enough evidence, 2 is the number of DNA strands that make up the double helix structure. The common denominator here is the number 2 denotes cooperation and that’s where the Duofone concept begins. The Duofone looks like any other slick concept but this time, it’s not about megapixels, or screen resolution, or even smartphone abilities. It’s about putting two of them together to combine their screen real estate. It’s about sharing each other’s battery power if one is low. It’s about increasing its abilities when paired with its partner. It even looks like a couple in bed when docked to its charging cradle. Designer: Daewoo Kim ...

AMD Prepares Quad CrossFire 2007-07-11 08:53:00 RD790 to gain triple and quad CrossFire capabilities AMD is preparing to update its aging 580X chipset later this year with the upcoming RD790. The upcoming RD790 serves double duty as the single and dual processor platform of choice for AMD desktop products. RD790 introduces 41 PCIe 2.0 lanes to AMD’s Socket AM2+ platform for Stars-family processors.Motherboard manufacturers can distribute the PCIe lanes in many configurations, including four PCIe 2.0 x16 slots with eight-lane signaling. With all 41 PCIe 2.0 lanes, the RD790 chipset has a TDP up to 10-watts. AMD roadmaps reveal the multiple PCIe 2.0 slots are used for an improved CrossFire multi-GPU technology. The improved CrossFire multi-GPU technology supports up to four ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics cards in Quad CrossFire configurations.Unlike NVIDIA’s SLI, which supports dual or quad graphics cards in SLI, the improved CrossFire solution can take on three cards for improved performance. AMD claims CrossFire scaling ...

HDMI-Enabled Halo Special Edition Xbox 360 a Sign of Things to Come 2007-07-11 08:51:00 Halo-themed Xbox 360 hints at Microsoft making HDMI output standard-issue When Peter Moore lifted up the Halo Special Edition Xbox 360 console at its reveal at the Microsoft E3 press conference on Tuesday night, most onlookers were likely disappointed by the lack of any truly new hardware, such as a built-in HD DVD drive, or price drop. But easily overlooked is the fact that the Halo-themed console could offer a glimpse into the future hardware versions of the Xbox 360. Although central to the announcement of the green and gold Xbox 360 is its Master Chief motif, a closer look at the specifications of this special edition box reveal that it is equipped with an HDMI port. This in itself is not groundbreaking for the console, as the Xbox 360 Elite as it is currently carries the HDMI port. What is interesting to note is, that aside from the HDMI output, the rest of the console inclusions mirror that of the $399 Premium box – including the 20GB hard disk drive. Microsoft c ... Xbox

Xbox 360 Elite Launching in Europe August 24, Video Marketplace to Follow 2007-07-11 08:49:00 Europe, Canada to get Xbox Live Video Marketplace late 2007 At its E3 press conference, Microsoft was proud to say that its Xbox Live subscribership is nearing the seven million mark. What it wasn’t able to boast yet was that all of its members had full access to one of Xbox Live’s most compelling features – the Video Marketplace. On the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, users have access to purchase or rent standard definition and high definition TV shows and movies onto their hard disk drives. So far, the service is only available to subscribers in the U.S., though Microsoft said at its conference that it plans to introduce the service in Europe and Canada “by the end of this year.” With access to movie and TV show downloads, the 20GB hard disk drive that is a part of many Xbox 360 consoles suddenly seem to be grossly inadequate. Part of Microsoft’s answer to this is the 120GB hard drive, which is also standard on the Xbox 360 Elite. Although Canadian gamers a ... Xbox

Microsoft Readying Vista SP1 Beta for mid-July 2007-07-11 08:46:00 Microsoft plans numerous fixes including an update to ReadyBoost Microsoft officially launched Windows Vista for volume licensing on November 30. The company also simultaneously launched Office 2007 giving Microsoft a 1-2 punch in the realm of operating systems and productivity suites. "These are game-changing products," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the launch. "It’s an incredible step forward for business computing in a year of unprecedented innovation from Microsoft. We expect that more than 200 million people will be using at least one of these products by the end of 2007." Microsoft followed up with the retail launch of both products two months later on January 30. Both software products were made available in over 70 countries and over 40,000 retail locations. Windows Vista is not even a year old, but Microsoft is already orchestrating the launch of Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta 1 for the week of July 16. Many companies will not even touch a new Microsoft ope ... Microsoft

iPhone Review Part 1 - It’s Good 2007-07-06 00:21:00 Here at Yanko Design, it’s not often we get to paw our grubby little hands on real products. Much of what we feature here are concepts - envisages of the future. These products exemplify cutting edge industrial design so when one of those makes it to production you can be sure we’re first in line. The new Apple iPhone is one of those exemplary products. But how does it rate? Where does it stand in the sea of smartphones and the upcoming onslaught of “me too” copies? Hop on over to my own blog to read part 1 of a very extensive review on the Apple iPhone. Review: Electro^Plankton ... Iphone

Report: O2 Scores iPhone Deal in UK 2007-07-06 00:19:00 O2 gets exclusive rights to the iPhone in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom will soon have access to Apple's new iPhone. According to the Times Online, the iPhone will be tied exclusively to O2. Vodafone, Europe's largest mobile phone carrier, had been the early favorite for an iPhone contract. Although the exact details of the deal haven't been disclosed, it is thought that O2 will share a portion of revenues generated from each iPhone customer with Apple. Thousands of customers ditched their mobile phone providers in the United States to hop on the iPhone/AT&T bandwagon. O2 expects to see the same fortunes when the iPhone is released in the UK. However, what’s good for O2 likely won’t be good for potential buyers currently on competing networks. Early disconnect fees are likely to add even more to the initial purchase cost of the iPhone (just as they do across the pond). While O2 is tipped as being the sole provider of iPhone service in the UK, T-Mobile is ... Iphone

Apple Announces $85.95 iPhone Battery Replacement Program 2007-07-06 00:17:00 Replacing your battery will cost $79 plus $6.95 shipping When the Apple iPhone was first announced, one of the major criticisms of the device was its lack of a user-replaceable battery. With the complaints levied against the batteries used in Apple's iPod music players, the thought of not being able to replace the battery in a cell phone weighed heavily on many minds. Apple looks to put some of those worries to rest with its announcement of a battery replacement program for the iPhone. Should your iPhone's battery ever need replacement, Apple will do the deed for $79 plus $6.95 shipping. Apple says that the repair will take three business days not counting shipping to and from the repair center.All data on your iPhone will be erased when you send it off, so Apple suggests that you backup all of your important information with iTunes before sending it off.Considering that an iPhone sent in for servicing could be out of the owners hand for as much as a week or more (including ... Apple  Iphone

Apple Sells 525,000 iPhones in Three Days 2007-07-06 00:05:00 Apple and AT&T score big with iPhone launch Everyone knew that the iPhone was going to be big from the moment it was announced in early January. Apple CEO Steve Jobs hailed the device as the ultimate in mobile communications given that it could function as a phone, a mobile Internet device and as an iPod. As the months progressed, the hype mushroomed even though the iPhone lacked a user-replaceable battery, physical keyboard, expansion slot, voice dialing, A2DP, MMS, iChat, flash support, copy and paste ability and video recording -- not to mention that the iPhone was tied solely to AT&T. It appears that all of the minuses stacked against the iPhone weren't enough to phase buyers who lined up days in advance to purchase the latest "it device" from Cupertino. Not even the $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) price tags were enough to keep Apple from selling around 525,000 iPhones from 6:00 PM Friday evening through close of business on Sunday. Nearly all of AT&T's stores wer ... Apple

The Credit Card Of The Future 2007-07-02 10:38:00 I prefer using my bank card over physical cash and here’s why. With a card, I can’t view real-time data on my account usage. In a way I feel I can keep shopping all willy nilly without a care in the world and not feel guilty since I can’t see what it’s doing to my checking account - no doubt bleeding from my frivolous shopping trips. Designer Jacob Palmborg’s solve for shopaholics like me is an RFID card linked to every account you have. A small interface indicates your own economic situation and forecasts what effects your purchases might have on your future economic status. The whole thing works wirelessly so no actual date is stored on the card. The card also has biometric security so only you can access it. This opens up the possibility of it being your driver’s license, student ID, passport, etc. Now if it only had customizable wallpapers, I’m sold! Designer: Jacob Palmborg ...

First Fully Assembled Boeing 787 Dreamliner Rolls Out 2007-07-02 10:34:00 An eager photographer catches the 787 Dreamliner in the buff It has been a long time coming, but the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner has rolled off the assembly line. Charles Conklin -- an avid aviation enthusiast -- managed to snap some pictures of a fully assembled Dreamliner sans paint. According to Flightblogger, the official roll-out ceremony for the Dreamliner is on July 8 with the first delivered scheduled to take place in May of next year. The production run of aircraft is completely booked until 2013 at the earliest. The Dreamliner is the next generation of airliners for Boeing and makes use of composite materials in 50 percent of its body and wings. The use of composite materials has helped Boeing keep the weight down which allows the Dreamliner to be 20 percent more fuel efficient than its closest rivals. Top speed for the aircraft is Mach 0.85. Business travelers will appreciate the integrated networking capabilities on the Dreamliner. Boeing had initially plan ...

Dell Says Goodbye to Dimension Desktops 2007-07-02 10:32:00 Dell drops Dimension line after nearly 15 years of service When Dell announced new Inspiron desktops yesterday, many people were puzzled by the naming. Dell's Inspiron nomenclature had traditionally been reserved for mainstream notebooks while the Dimension line has consisted of mainstream desktops. But alas; the Dimension brand is no more and it has been fully supplanted by Inspiron desktops. Dell made no formal announcement of its decision to drop the Dimension line even though it has been the backbone of its desktop sales for the past 15 years. Dell's current consumer desktop lineup will now consist of Inspiron, XPS and XPS Gaming desktops. The systems feature base prices of $349, $899 and $1,699 respectively. The new Inspiron desktops can be equipped with either AMD or Intel processors and feature new case designs that are 40% smaller than the previous Dimensions. In addition, selected Inspiron desktop models come pre-loaded with Ubuntu Linux.Reference:Brandon Hi ... Dell

IBM Announces PetaFLOP Blue Gene Supercomputer 2007-07-02 10:30:00 IBM's Blue Gene/P triples the performance of its previous supercomputer IBM has announced Blue Gene/P, the second generation of the world's most powerful supercomputer. Blue Gene/P nearly triples the performance of its predecessor, Blue Gene/L – which also held the title of being the world's fastest computer. The Blue Gene/P scales to operate continuously at speeds exceeding one petaFLOP – or one-quadrillion operations per second – and can be configured to reach speeds in excess of three petaflops. The performance jump from Blue Gene/L and Blue Gene/P is due to several factors. In hardware, the Blue Gene/P supercomputer doubles the number of processors per chip, with each processor operating at a higher clock speed. More memory is added along with an SMP mode to support multi-threaded applications. This new SMP mode moves the Blue Gene/P system to a programming environment similar to that found in commercial clusters. The system’s software is also upgraded fo ...

Researcher Displays Parallel Processing Prototype 2007-07-02 10:25:00 A promise of a parallel processing system that is simple to program forResearchers at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering claim to have developed a computer system that is 100 times faster than today’s desktops. The research group, lead by Uzi Vishkin, developed a system based on parallel processing technology. The team built a prototype with 64 parallel processors and a special algorithm that facilitates the chips to work together and make programming for them simple. "Suppose you hire one person to clean your home, and it takes five hours, or 300 minutes, for the person to perform each task, one after the other," Vishkin said. "That's analogous to the current serial processing method. Now imagine that you have 100 cleaning people who can work on your home at the same time! That's the parallel processing method." "The 'software' challenge is: Can you manage all the different tasks and workers so that the job is completed in 3 minutes instead ...

Dell Launches 13.3" XPS M1330, Inspiron Notebooks 2007-07-01 04:57:00 Customization is king with Dell's new line of Santa Rosa notebooks Although Dell's XPS M1330 was leaked to the press earlier this month, today marks the official launch of the new 13.3" Santa Rosa-based notebook. Dell's follow-up to the XPS M1210 measures 12.5" x 9.4" x 1.43" and weighs in at under four pounds. The XPS M1330 is powered by Core 2 Duo processors and backs its 13.3" TrueLife display (LED backlighting is optional) with a 1280x800 screen resolution. The standard graphics solution on the notebook is Intel's X3100 integrated GPU. Paying extra will get you an NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS dedicated graphics card. When it comes to connectivity, Dell provides a wealth of options. There are no less than three WiFi solutions offered (802.11b/g, 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n). Dell also offers an optional broadband modem for Sprint/Verizon (EVDO Rev A) or AT&T (HSDPA). Hardwire connections include two USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port and HDMI-out. Other niceties includ ... Dell