Thank God computers are satisfied with the one-way relationship we have with them. We put them to work every single day, asking them to check our e-mail, using them to follow the news, play with them by going on Facebook and making them creep to the darker corners of the Internet. What do they get for all that? Just dusty, hot and dirty.
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If you were looking for a bounce-back in the PC market after a sobering first quarter… well, keep looking. Both Gartner and IDC estimate that shipments fell about 11 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. The two analyst groups blame the decline on sluggish uptake in a few regions, most notably China and Europe, as well as a market that favors tablets over low-end computers. It’s easy to agree after seeing the numbers. Taiwanese PC makers like Acer and ASUS faced steep yearly declines as they switched their attention toward tablets and Ultrabooks, while even top-seated Lenovo took a small bruising.
There’s a silver lining to this cloud, however. Dell, HP and Lenovo all fared much better in the US than they have in recent quarters. Gartner and IDC attribute the resurgence to the corporate world, where the end of Windows XP support in 2014 may be pushing some upgrades to PCs running at least Windows 7. It’s not quite the broader recovery that vendors are hoping for, but it may have to suffice when any help from Windows 8.1 and OS X Mavericks is months away.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple, ASUS, HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo
The other day I went to the Apple Store to pick up my computer and I felt like a celebrity. The person assigned to help me ran over and asked enthusiastically if I was Lily Newman. I nodded and immediately assumed that he recognized my name from Gizmodo and was about to tell me how quippy and brilliant I am. Because that totally happens to me all the time. Instead he produced my laptop, grinned at me, and said, "This laptop had so much wrong with it. It’s ridiculous!" Soooo, yeah. My computer had been randomly freezing for awhile, but I didn’t know it was on the verge of becoming an incredibly expensive pile of garbage.
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Yesterday, The Korea Times reported that Samsung was to close its “unprofitable” desktop PC business as “demand for conventional desktop PCs is going down,” according to an unnamed spokesperson. The weirdly written article also quoted another Samsung official saying “tablets, all-in-one and hybrid PCs are Samsung’s current focus,” thus suggesting the company seemed to be singling out desktop PC towers or boxes.
Even though it’s been a while since some of us last saw a Samsung desktop PC tower (the latest models we covered date back to 2006, though there have been more recent efforts), something didn’t smell right here so we reached out to Samsung directly. The response we got was that this rumor is all “groundless,” and the company also specifically said it’ll keep an open mind about its PC tower business. Here’s the full statement:
“The rumor that Samsung is withdrawing from the PC desktop business is groundless. Samsung will continue to offer diverse products according to market needs, including our recently announced ATIV One 5 Style, a stylish all-in-one PC. We will continue to open all possibilities in PC business including our PC Tower business, to satisfy consumer’s diverse lifestyle and needs.”
So in a nutshell: nothing to see here, move along. And technically speaking, the Chromebox kinda counts too, right?
Update: Samsung just informed us that it actually launched a couple of desktop PC towers, the 700T3A and 300T3A, in January this year, but only for the Korean B2C market. We got them pictured after the break.
Filed under: Desktops
It looks like Jake Eisenmann has done it again. A couple of years after the hobbyist hacker built his first 8-bit computer, he’s cobbled together yet another one, but this time with a whopping 16 cores. Appropriately dubbed the DUO Mega, the multicore wonder is made with 16 ATMega328p microcontrollers, each connected to an 8-bit data bus and designed to interpret a custom bytecode that runs the software. Compiled inside a nondescript plastic bin, the machine is also comprised of 16MHz crystal oscillators attached to each of the aforementioned cores, three Arduino UNO boards, 32kb of SRAM, 512kb of flash memory, eight breadboards, an Ethernet shield, a VGA out port and a multitude of components that combine to look like that mess of wires seen above. Because of all that processing power, this relatively primitive machine multitasks beautifully and can perform complicated calculations at an impressive clip. To get a demo of what this marvelous feat of DIY computing can do, have a peek at Eisenmann’s video, complete with an 8-bit soundtrack, after the break.
Filed under: Desktops
Via: Hackaday
Source: DUO Mega
If you weren’t able to scrounge up enough coin to snap up the last few Apple I computers to be auctioned off, another chance to score one — and empty your bank account — is headed your way. Starting today, Christie’s will be auctioning a functional Apple I until July 9, with a starting bid of $300,000. If last month’s record-breaking $671,400 sale of a similar rig is anything to go by, this machine may rake in more than its estimated $500,000 value. The owner of the Apple I, who picked it up over three decades ago in a swap, modified it with a keyboard, monitor and a tape deck for storage – in other words, just the motherboard is original. Those more interested in window shopping can ogle the classic hardware at Mountain View’s Computer History Museum beginning tomorrow.
[Image credit: Christie’s Auction House]
Via: TUAW
Source: AP
We’ve already seen a number of new Samsung ATIV devices being unveiled today, but the company just dumped an all-in-one on us, and they’re calling it the ATIV One 5 Style. It’s a desktop computer with the internal components built inside the display unit (as most all-in-ones are), but the One 5 Style sports a
Sony has unveiled a couple new laptops this evening, among them being a new slider hybrid called the VAIO Duo 13. This laptop uses Sony’s Surf Slider design to switch from a slate into a laptop with a slider keyboard complete with a trackpad. Thus far Sony has only said the hybrid will be available
On this quiet Monday, Samsung decided to do a little teaser for its upcoming “Premiere 2013” roadshow event in London on June 20th. The above poster only mentions “Galaxy & ATIV,” which suggest the event will mainly feature Android and Windows-based devices. The remaining tiles show partial shots of three mysterious devices — possibly a tablet or phone, a convertible laptop (à la Sony VAIO Duo 11) and a camera (maybe the rumored Galaxy S 4 Zoom?). Obviously, we’ll be at the event to solve this mystery, so stay tuned for more.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Samsung
Via: The Next Web
Source: Samsung
Aside from its functional uses, mirrors come in pretty handy when you’re trying to achieve some cool optical illusions. A good example of this is the classic infinite effect. It looks like a pretty complicated effect, but it’s easily achievable and only requires a mirror, glass, and a light source.
Employing this effect to create an uber cool computer desk is Redditor Jacks_RagingHormones. His setup makes it look like his keyboard is on the surface of an abyss that has no end, which is what makes it so awesome.
Want to try and do what Jack and his raging hormones did? Head over to Imgur for more details on the build.
[via Obvious Winner]
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