More details emerge on AMDs Bulldozer for high-end desktops

AMDs Bulldozer is the company’s anticipated high-power rival to Intel’s Core i7 and the company just released a slew of new information about its internals. Now, pay attention 007 — the “Zambezi for Socket AM3+” chips will include four modules, each with two cores and 2MB of L2 cache. Operating above these is a single Northbridge with 8MB of L3 cache to direct data between two 72-bit DDR3 channels and 4 x 16-bit receive / transmit HyperTransport links. Finally, the “Turbo Core” increases the whole chip’s click speed when taxed or kills power to idle cores when it’s not. Hustle on down to the source link to see the slides yourself.

[Thanks, Bertrandsbox]

More details emerge on AMDs Bulldozer for high-end desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tom’s Hardware  |  sourceComputerBase  | Email this | Comments

Olasonic PC speakers review: They’re good eggs

While the Olasonic TW-S7 speakers have some sound limitations, they have an eye-catching design, sound decent enough at close range, and offer the convenience of USB power from your notebook or desktop computer.

New York judge denies government warrant for Verizon location data

Beating the man at his own game on Monday, a federal judge from the Eastern District of New York denied the US government’s application asking Verizon Wireless to hand over 113 days of customer location data. Washington has long debated whether or not the Constitution protects modern day communications that include a third party (like cell phone conversations supported by a carrier company), and non-conversational meta data (like cellular GPS location data). Some say that buying a cell phone and using a carrier’s services waives one’s privacy rights in that data, while others claim we have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such info under the Fourth Amendment. In making his decision, Judge Nicholas Garaufis held that “the fiction that the vast majority of the American population consents to warrantless government access to the records of a significant share of their movements by ‘choosing’ to carry a cell phone must be rejected.”

As communications tech continues to change, these questions will likely be revisited. That’s why Judge Garaufis went on to say that “in light of drastic developments in technology, the Fourth Amendment doctrine must evolve to preserve cell-phone user’s reasonable expectation of privacy in cumulative cell-site-location records.” Get the full opinion by clicking the source below.

New York judge denies government warrant for Verizon location data originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourceArchive.org  | Email this | Comments

Crave 54: Hammer not included (podcast)

HP ruins the tablet party for everyone else, Stormtroopers ride in style, and Eric weaves in Geek Pop segment on comic movie news.

Robot pilot describes challenges at Fukushima plant

A blogger operating robots at Japan’s leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant describes the difficulties of his work.

Apple granted patents for solar-powered charging, method of video navigation

Lately, Apple’s become synonymous with a flurry of hotly-contested patent disputes, but in a nice change of events, the company’s actually been granted a bunch by the USPTO. The recently awarded patents range from the mundane to the utilitarian, covering designs for a customizable docking peripheral, in addition to a solar-powered solution for charging those iDevices. But the real additions to Cupertino’s legal arsenal are its patents for what appears to be cover flow-like navigation for video, and display rotation for images captured via iOS cameras. Alright so none of these patents are particularly revolutionary, and they certainly aren’t tipping us off to the next iteration of the iPhone, but think of the lawyers, will you? This is the stuff their litigious dreams are made of.

Apple granted patents for solar-powered charging, method of video navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Patently Apple  |  sourcePatent 8,004,113, Patent RE42,639, Patent 8,006,185, Patent 8,006,002  | Email this | Comments

Rumor: iPhone 5 to Debut on Sprint in October

The iPhone 5 will come to Sprint’s network in mid-October, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.

That’s also the time frame that Apple’s next-gen iPhone is expected to land on larger U.S. carriers Verizon and AT&T.

It’s been widely reported that Apple is testing LTE models of the iPhone, but it’s unclear if LTE will be embraced in the iPhone 5, or a later model. Generally, the iPhone 5 is pegged to look similar to the iPhone 4, with a speedy A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera, a flat metal back and curved glass front, and possibly NFC technology. And as is the case with many Apple products, a large portion of the public is anxiously awaiting Apple’s release of the iPhone 5.

Speculation initially suggested September as the expected launch month for the iPhone 5, but the Journal’s report seems to corroborate with an October launch date rumor that’s been perpetuated for the past few weeks.

In the past, the iPhone has typically been unveiled in June, and up until this past January, was only available on AT&T’s network.

It’s not too surprising that the iPhone will finally be available on Sprint, as a market analyst pointed out earlier this summer. It would provide Apple with increased distribution, which it desperately needs to battle the multiplying ranks of Android smartphone owners.

When the iPhone 5 launches on Sprint, the carrier will also begin selling the iPhone 4, according to the Journal.

Photo: Sam Gustin/Wired.com


Desktop Composition Software Changes the Face of Music

Nodal helps visualize the musical structure of Beethoven's Für Elise. Photo Michele Travierso/Wired.com

It’s the quintessential image of a classical composer: the gifted musician sitting with a thousand-yard stare at his piano, quill and paper ready to be inked with a new concerto or symphony. Today’s equivalent could just as likely be a musician staring at a computer screen.

Nodal, a new program designed to create and visualize music, aims to have the same sweeping impact on music composition that the Information Age has had on other creative domains.

Developed by researchers and musicians at the at Monash University in Clayton, Australia, Nodal allows you to visualize the musical structure (i.e. intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-outro for the most basic pop song to more complex structures of symphonies) of any composition in a new visual form (i.e. a series of “nodes,” or singular musical events). Essentially doing away with sheet music, Nodal makes it easier for you to change or improvise compositions as they play in real time.

I gave it a test run, and readily concede I am devoid of musical talent. I launched one of the examples Nodal comes with (Fur Elise). It plays fine enough, if not automated and lacking soul. With a few clicks of my mouse, I incorporated a piano loop that I didn’t hate. All further attempts at producing anything decent were unsuccessful.

Ultimately, my one melodic success was less a feat of musical prowess than a stroke of luck. While Nodal may be of interest to professional composers, it’s no tool for the masses.

Nodal has a built-in synthesizer and works with MIDI compatible hardware and software. You can download a 30-day trial version of Nodal or buy it for $30.


Sprint offering no-contract data plans for Evo View 4G

Owners of the 7-inch Android tablet can now purchase data based on their needs and without a long-term contract.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Origami Concept Clock Sports Funky Folds

The foldable F.O. Clock concept is inspired by two Japanese art forms. Furoshiki (literally “cloth wrapping”) was popularized by cartoons in the eighties and nineties. The other stems from the Japanese art of folding paper, or Origami.

When folded, the F.O. clock is sleek, shiny and could fit right in at a modern art exhibit. When unfolded, the F.O. shows off its carefully crafted rib structure.

Straight from the brain of New Zealand designer Shiping Toohey, the F.O clock is composed of 18 tessellated pieces and a digital clock unit whose LEDs are readable from a shiny, semi transparent covering.

(Via Yanko Design)