Hasta La Gadget!

It never ceases to irk me that I can check out parks and streets around the world from me, yet I can’t see my own neighborhood on Google Street View. The Google Street View car rolled past my neighborhood, but didn’t bother to come through. Personally, I’d like a chance to play a nice  Street View prank.

While my neighborhood still lacks Street View detail, Google has announced the largest update to Street View in the feature’s history, having added 250,000 miles of roads around the world. The service has specifically increased coverage in Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

The covers also increased in specific tourist locations such as Catherine Palace in Russia and other locations in Taiwan, Vancouver, and other places around the world. That means you can explore parks and even castles in distant lands from the comfort of your desk chair – but still not my neighborhood in Texas.

This morning it’s time for a redesign of Google’s mobile homepage – for Android devices, anyway, and on Chrome mostly, as well as a new version of Google+ for both Android and iOS devices. Google has also begun recruiting Android “ambassadors” for their call center – people dedicated to the operating system in an intense way. The DoCoMo SH-02E ZETA is a brand new Android-based smartphone that’s the first to use Sharp’s own lovely IGZO display – intense!

You’ll be glad to know that Kickstarter is coming to the UK – if you live in the UK, that is, and around the world we’re about to see a brand new Nexus device from LG – believe it! Have a peek at the new Vizio 10-finger multitouch All-in-One PCs for Windows 8. Band & Olufsen have brought on a brand new Smart TV called the BeoVision 11 – their first!

Google Maps has gotten a massive bump in the Street View department with 250,000 miles extra added on to their archives. The iPod EarPod disposable packaging really does turn into a pile of mush when you toss it in the sink – right back to nature! There’s a Batmobile out there now from Kia and DC Comics that you can buy – for real this time!

In the science realm there’s just a bit of information that you’ll be absolutely baffled by – mice can sing! And they’ve got complex singing skills at that! All Things D’s own Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher had a talk this week with Google’s Eric Schmidt about all sorts of fun stuff including self-driving cars, patent wars, and the amount of Android devices that are on the market today.

Don’t miss our unboxing and first impressions with the 5th generation iPod touch right here at the start of its shipping process as well – it’s time for green backs and a 4-inch display!

SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: October 11, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Over the last few years, we haven’t seen the kind of gains in computing speed that one might expect if you’re strictly following Moore’s Law. We’re beginning to run into limits on the frequency of any single CPU or GPU, and one of the modern ways to get past this limitation is through the use of parallel computing architectures.

However, programming for parallel chips hasn’t been an easy transition for traditional programmers, and the technology has largely remained the domain of high-end engineering projects. However, one company is pushing an initiative to bring parallel computing to everyone.

Adapteva has been producing multicore chips with 16 cores for a little over a year now, and is now testing a 64-core chip. The plan now is to produce a low-cost parallel processing kit for as little as $99. The hope is by providing fully open source hardware and software, development for and adoption of parallel processing would increase dramatically. As this takes hold, the plan is to launch a computing platform called “Parallella.” According to Adapteva: “Once completed, the Parallella computer should deliver up to 45 GHz of equivalent CPU performance on a board the size of a credit card while consuming only 5 Watts under typical work loads. Counting GHz, this is more horsepower than a high end server costing thousands of dollars and consuming 400W.”

By launching its first kits on Kickstarter, the company aims to drive production costs down dramatically, and in exchange will open source the chipset as well as all documentation and software. The $99 kit will put an Epiphany-III based Parallella board in your hands, including a dual-core ARM A9 CPU, as well as 16 Epiphany cores on board and development software.

A pledge of $199 or more will get you the upcoming 64-core Epiphany-IV board – if the project is able to reach a stretch goal of $3 million. With 17 days left to go, the project has raised nearly $300,000 of its $750,000 goal, so there’s a way to go. If you’re into tinkering with the latest in technology, and want to see what you can do with an extremely powerful chip, then you might want to get in on the project and pledge.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has heaped extra emphasis on the company offering hardware rather than just software, describing “a fundamental shift” that could pave the way for more own-brand gadgets like Surface. Writing in a letter to shareholders, Ballmer suggested that “there will be times when we build specific devices for specific purposes” and portraying Microsoft “as a devices and services company.” The comments are unlikely to deter increasing rumors that Microsoft plans to launch more Windows 8 hardware of its own, and potentially a Windows Phone 8 range.

‘Last year in this letter I said that over time, the full value of our software will be seen and felt in how people use devices and services at work and in their personal lives. This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves — as a devices and services company” Ballmer writes. “It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses. The work we have accomplished in the past year and the roadmap in front of us brings this to life.”

Microsoft surprised its OEM partners with the unveil of Surface earlier this year, a pair of tablets – one running Windows RT, the other Windows 8 and adding in extra digital pen functionality – described as delivering the company’s vision for what a Windows slate should be. Although publicly welcomed as a vote of confidence in the platform, manufacturers are believed to have privately resented Microsoft stepping into their territory, particularly with the minimal notice the company gave about Surface’s launch.

Until that point, Microsoft had been content to leave phone and PC hardware direction pretty much up to OEMs, although it took a more directive approach with “appliance” style devices like Xbox. Wading into tablets, however, potentially paves the way for more Microsoft-branded hardware, something Ballmer hints at.

“There will be times when we build specific devices for specific purposes, as we have chosen to do with Xbox and the recently announced Microsoft Surface” the CEO points out. “In all our work with partners and on our own devices, we will focus relentlessly on delivering delightful, seamless experiences across hardware, software and services. This means as we, with our partners, develop new Windows devices we’ll build in services people want.”

Microsoft has repeatedly denied it has plans to launch its own Windows Phone 8 smartphones, instead selecting HTC’s new range as its “signature” handsets for the updated platform’s promotion. Nonetheless, there’s more possibility than ever that such a strategy could change if the company believes manufacturers need some Nexus-style motivation to take Windows Phone in the direction Microsoft wants.

Microsoft’s Ballmer teases more hardware: “Fundamental shift” underway is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga is a lovely rather-bendy converting notebook-to-tablet that we saw back at CES 2012 – both an 11-inch and a 13-inch version of this device are appearing today with assurances for launch side two new guns in the industry as well. Lenovo is also showing off the IdeaTab Lynx and the ThinkPad Twist, two more twisters and turners for the next generation of PC power with Windows 8, Windows RT, and more!

The IdeaPad Yoga is coming in two iterations, one of them with a 13.3-inch display, the other with an 11.6-inch display, both of them with great battery life and the ability to move 360 degrees and fold from laptop to tablet. The 13 model has Dolby Home Theater, IPS display technology, and a multi-touch screen so you can make full use of Windows 8! The Yoga 11 is just 15.6 mm thin and is made to balance power and mobility – so they say! You’ve got an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor inside and Windows RT for a full tablet experience.

The IdeaTab Lynx is a device that’s made for Windows 8 action in full-on tablet mode. You’ve got an 11.6-inch display with Dolby Home Theater as well as connectivity with printers, hard drives, and more with a full sized USB port via its base. The base of this device will also help to type out your plans for the future as it presents a full keyboard bringing on a full-function PC experience. Microsoft Word is aboard, as is 16 hours of battery life (provided you use the base, of course.)

The ThinkPad Twist is made specifically for Small Business Computing and has a 12.5-inch display to get it done. You can use this device as a fully functional Ultrabook or just twist the display and push it back down for a lovely next-level tablet. The ThinkPad Twist works with a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processor, up to Windows 8 Pro, and optional 3G mobile data connectivity. Inside you’ll also have up to 500GB of storage or 128 GB SSD. The Twist also works with a 350nit HD display – bright as heck – and mini-HDMI and DisplayPort jack for HD video on your 3rd party gigantic displays.

The IdeaPad Yoga 13 will be available starting on October 12 at Best Buy stores around the country for PRE-ORDER, after which the device will be in-store starting on the 26th of the month for $1,099 MSRP. The IdeaPad Yoga 11 will be available starting in December for MSRP $799. The ThinkPad Twist will be available starting on October 26th at a variety of retailers for MSRP $849, and the IdeaPad Lynx and optional keyboard will be available starting in December – MSRP $599 for the tablet and $149 for the keyboard.

See a selection of additional press images of the devices in the gallery below and get pumped up for their final release!

Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx and Twist introduced as Yoga 11 and 13 finalized is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.