Hasta La Gadget!

Back during CES 2012, I had a chance to go hands-on with Vizio’s sexy new all-in-one PCs, and I was quite impressed with the industrial design, build quality and overall value at the time. With the impending release of Microsoft Windows 8, Vizio has announced two new AIO PCs with full 1080p touchscreen displays.

This only makes sense, given Microsoft’s touch-friendly user interface that’s the front doorway to Windows 8. What’s really cool is that these are actual capacitive-touch displays, allowing for full 10-finger input. I personally have an HP Touchsmart that used the older infrared sensing tech, and multitouch was limited to just 2 fingers – and not so good at that. This sort of display will provide the type of swiping, stretching and pinching interactions you’re used to on tablets and smartphones.

The systems are available with 3rd-generation Intel Core CPUs, and NVIDIA Kepler-Class GeForce GPUs for speedy graphic rendering. The 24″ comes with a Core i3-3110M running at 2.4GHz and 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive, while the 27″ comes with a speedy quad core i7-3630M, also at 2.4GHz and 8GB RAM. The 27″ system bumps up to a 1TB hard drive and has a small 32GB SSD built-in to cache OS and speed up the system even more. Both have GigE ports and 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.

Each has dual HDMI inputs for connecting external devices like a PS3, Xbox 360 or a satellite receiver, and a 2.1 sound system with an included 6-watt subwoofer that doubles as the system’s power supply. Best of all, Vizio continues to ship their machines with Microsoft Signature – which ensures that you only get the core operating system and anti-virus software – with no pre-installed crapware you’d just have to remove anyway.

The Vizio All-in-One Touch PCs start at $999 and top out at $1539 (USD), and available in both 24″ and 27″ screen sizes. If you’re looking for an alternative to a pricey iMac, you should definitely check these out. They’re not yet available for pre-order, but should be in time for the 2012 holiday season. You’ll also be able to find select configurations at major retailers including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Amazon.com and MicrosoftStore.com.

There will be wireless speakers in the future. Whether they will use DLNA, AirPlay, or Bluetooth isn’t certain—none of those technologies are quite perfect yet. But some, like Libratone’s new Zipp AirPlay speaker, are very close. And it’s better the previous Libratone Live in nearly every way. More »

Researchers at the University of North Carolina, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Research Office, crafted the beautiful design you see at the top out of germanium sulfide, which is a semi-conductor material. But they didn’t fabricate the nanoflower because it looked pretty. These beautiful real-life fractals could be the key to multiplying battery capacity and solar panel efficiency. (more…)

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Rockstar Games has produced some of the most popular video games around over the last several years. The company is particularly well known for the insanely popular Grand That Auto franchise. Rockstar Games has announced a new video game compilation collection called the Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1.

The compilation puts four full versions of popular Rockstar video games in one box and will be available in North America on November 6. The game collection will be offered for PS3 and Xbox 360 systems at a retail price of $59.99(USD).

The titles included in the game pack are Red Dead Redemption, GTA: Episodes from Liberty City, L.A. Noire, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition. That last game is a driving game, and includes every downloadable real-world vehicle and city section released since the game debuted. This pack should make a great gift for gamers this holiday season, and is a great deal, considering that each of the games originally sold for $59.99.

Billboard has been the way the music industry tracks what’s popular since 1936. The Billboard Hot 100 is generally considered the gold standard for what’s the most popular song in the United States, but there are also charts for subgenres: country, rap, rock, etc. The Hot 100 chart has been tracking digital downloads and streaming stats, but that 21st century attitude didn’t apply to genre charts.

Today, Billboard applied digital data to five genre charts: country, rap, rock, Latin and R&B. Before, those charts were basically 100% based on radio, which isn’t the primary way that young people consume music anymore. After adding Nielsen data from  Spotify, Rhapsody, Xbox Music and Rdio, the charts should be much more accurate. But not everybody is happy. Some are worried about crossover artists stealing spots from true genre artists. Others are just upset that Taylor Swift seems to be the most direct beneficiary. Regardless of whether Rihanna actually deserves the #1 spot on the R&B chart, this is a huge improvement for Billboard because any music chart that doesn’t include digital sales and streaming in 2012 is obsolete.

Billboard explains their changes here.

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