Hasta La Gadget!

I clearly remember that back in the days when fat, chunky CRT TVs were the staple in any decent living room, the TV was divided into two categories – one that had a curved display, while the other was a pure flat display. Panasonic had the Tao, while Sony called theirs the Trinitron (where the name did date back further, of course). Well, one thing is for sure – Sony does come up with aesthetically pleasing devices from time to time, and they used to be well known for the build quality in their products. The thing is, no company remains at the top of their game without doing anything, and somewhere along the way, it did seem as though Sony must have gone off tangent, as their reliability ratings suffered, and more and more people moved on towards South Korean goods. Well, Sony’s foray into the computing world is a hit or miss affair with select models, but at least the Vaio name remained, and their latest PC expression comes in the form of the Sony Vaio Tap 20 PC.

The Sony Vaio Tap 20 PC is said to come with a bright, responsive 10-point multi-touch screen that boasts of engaging interactive applications, family computing options and being able to deliver new experiences in terms of mobile productivity. Steven Nickel , VP, Sony VAIO, said, “VAIO Tap 20 is creating a new category of PCs by combining desktop PC functionality, battery-powered mobility, and multi-angle viewing.This along with the innovative VAIO Duo 11 and the intuitive touch solutions incorporated across our existing PC portfolio, offers consumers flexibility to optimize their Windows 8 experience. Through the combination of compelling applications, Sony’s network services, and cross device connectivity, VAIO is leading the way in developing a new Touchworld experience. We expect when consumers think of touch PCs, they’ll think of VAIO.”

The VAIO Tap 20 might be classified as is a family tabletop PC, but it will be a whole lot easier to use than before, where it has been specially designed to take advantage of the intuitive ease of Windows 8. Boasting a 20” screen, you can lay this mobile desktop PC flat on a coffee table for the entire family to play games (make sure no one has greasy fingers!), while the presence of a removable battery ensures you are able to move the VAIO Tap 20 from room to room without worrying about plugging and unplugging the power cable.

Your ears will also be more than pleased, where the VAIO Tap 20 will incorporate stereo speakers that rely on Sony’s audio fidelity expertise, including Dolby Home Theatre v4 Audio Technology for one to experience full-impact surround sound.The VAIO Tap 20 is said to arrive at the end of this month in either black or white shades, where it will retail for $879.99 and above.

Press Release

[ Sony Vaio Tap 20 PC announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

What you see above can be pure speculation, as the image is provided by @NokiaPureview which claims of it being the Nokia Lumia 9xx (also known as the Lumia 922) for Verizon, sporting its rear camera with a whole lot of blur. Still, despite the lack of clarity, it is not too difficult to make out that what you see above is not the camera bezel belonging to the Nokia Lumia 920, as there is no Carl Zeiss metal plate that most folks are familiar with. Of course, you might argue that this is but a PureView 808, although it most probably isn’t as there seems to be the presence of a bulge that sends the camera raised upwards by a bit. Could this be the long awaited Nokia Lumia 920 variant that will finally be hitting Verizon Wireless?

Needless to say, we are going to treat this just like any other rumor – to take it with a generous helping of salt. After all, it might just be a crazy hoax put together by someone just to see what kind of viral reporting will happen afterwards, or it could be the handiwork of a panicked employee who did not know how to set the macro settings on his or her smartphone’s camera before quickly snapping an image of the purported Verizon Lumia 9xx. What do you think?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon Lumia 822 leak a possibility, Nokia Lumia 9XX (920 variant) headed for Verizon Wireless?,

The Messenger spacecraft has photographed some neat craters on Mercury’s surface and NASA thinks they look like the cookie monster. What kind of magic cookies are you eating, NASA? Hmmm, wait. I think they are right. More »

Researchers from Microsoft and Cornell University want to remove the tangles of cables from data centers. It’s no small feat. With thousands of machines that need every bit of bandwidth available WiFi certainly isn’t an option. To solve the issue, scientists are turning to two sources: the cutting edge of 60GHz networking and the 19th century mathematical theories of Arthur Cayley. Cayley’s 1889 paper, On the Theory of Groups, was used to guide their method for connecting servers in the most efficient and fault tolerant way possible. The findings will be presented in a paper later this month, but it won’t be clear how effectively this research can be applied to an actual data center until someone funds a prototype. The proposed Cayley data centers would rely on cylindrical server racks that have transceivers both inside and outside the tubes of machines, allowing them to pass data both among and between racks with (hopefully) minimal interference. Since the new design would do away with traditional network switches and cables, researchers believe they may eventually cost less than current designs and will draw less power. And will do so while still streaming data at 10 gigabits per second — far faster than WiGig, which also makes use of 60GHz spectrum. To read the paper in its entirety check out the source.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Science, Alt, Microsoft

Researchers turn to 19th century math for wireless data center breakthrough originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kamikaze attacks can utterly devastate an enemy’s morale but come at a steep price—namely, the pilot’s life. But what if there is no pilot? What if it’s just a kamikaze drone aimed straight at the heart of North Korean military targets? More »