Raspberry Pi’s new turbo mode boosts performance by roughly 50 percent, doesn’t void warranties

Raspberry Pi's new turbo mode boosts performance by roughly 50 percent, doesn't void warranties

Giving a Raspberry Pi extra voltage is a quick way to squeeze out additional processing power and void its warranty, but the folks behind the tinker-friendly board have devised a turbo mode that boosts performance by roughly 50 percent while keeping warranties intact. After studying the effects of temperature and voltage on the hardware’s lifespan, the team found that dynamic overclocking and overvolting doesn’t affect the Pi’s health appreciably. As a result, speeds can be pushed from 700MHz to 1GHz only when additional horsepower is needed, and things are reined back in when the CPU grazes 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 degrees Celsius). Benchmarks show the extra computing oomph makes the Pi 52 percent faster on integer, 64 percent speedier on floating point and 55 percent snappier on memory tasks. The new mode is available in the latest firmware update, which also includes temperature and frequency widgets, better analog audio, improved USB performance and support for WiFi dongles out of the box. For the technical nitty-gritty and more details on the upgrade, hit the source link below.

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Raspberry Pi’s new turbo mode boosts performance by roughly 50 percent, doesn’t void warranties originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 05:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceRaspberry Pi  | Email this | Comments

Social Finance Comes From China To Assist US College Students?

Social media has continued to evolve over the course of the last decade.
From social networking to social gaming to social commerce, the common
belief is that social will continue to bleed into other categories.
Social Finance is SM’s latest iteration and there are a number of
exciting start-ups trying to attack the trillion-dollar student debt
problem in the U.S.


Marvell and Stanford create SMILE Plug cloud computer, SMILE Consortium to get companies and devs to build a better education system

Marvell and Stanford create SMILE Plug cloud computer, SMILE Consortium to get companies and devs to build a better education system

Last time we saw the SMILE Plug cloud computer, it was nothing more than a render — an alabaster box with dual external antennas and a glowing green (or red) visage to let you know when it’s functioning properly. We were told that it would be a dev kit that creates an ad-hoc network within a classroom that serves up to 60 devices at once using Arch Linux, and can run off a wall outlet or a battery pack. Well, that bit of vaporware has coalesced into what you see above, and it seems that Marvell has delivered everything it promised. The final SMILE Plug packs 512MB of RAM, a 2Ghz single-core Armada 370 SoC and an enterprise-class 802.11 a/b/g/n Avastar WiFi chip to ensure high connectivity and power efficiency at a low monetary cost. It also has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual USB 2.0 plugs and a microSD slot for folks needing more than the 512MB of onboard storage. As currently configured, the SMILE Plug will cost around $30, and it’ll start shipping to Stanford’s SMILE (Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment) pilot programs next month.

Marvell doesn’t plan to be the only one building these cloud computers, however, which is where the SMILE Consortium comes in. You see, the SMILE Plug is but a reference design, and Marvell and Stanford are trying to get OEMs building their own SMILE Plugs. The consortium is dedicated to “developing innovative education solutions on an open platform” and is seeking both hardware manufacturers and software developers to meet its goal of changing educational environments around the world. What kind of classroom do Stanford and Marvell envision, and how does the SMILE Plug fit into it? Join us after the break to find out.

Continue reading Marvell and Stanford create SMILE Plug cloud computer, SMILE Consortium to get companies and devs to build a better education system

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Marvell and Stanford create SMILE Plug cloud computer, SMILE Consortium to get companies and devs to build a better education system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSMILE Consortium, Stanford  | Email this | Comments

NYU professor is not a fan of having laptops in his class

With the advancement in technology these days, course materials handed out to students in university has transitioned from being physical copies to being directed to online blackboard portals where the slides and notes can be downloaded digitally. With such systems in place, it is not an uncommon sight to see students in classes take out laptops and tablets to take down notes and refer to course materials rather than the typical pen and paper setup, but apparently not everyone is a fan of such conveniences. In an interview with NYU Local, Professor Vincent Renzi, director of the MAP’s program’s Foundation of Scientific Enquiry, revealed his particular dislike of having laptops in classrooms.

He feels that laptops create a physical barrier between the student and the lecturer, preventing “immediate interpersonal communication”. Next he also feels that laptops allow for outright transcription as opposed to “real” note taking. To a certain extent we know what he means – since typing is a lot faster than writing, students are able to record word for word what the lecturer is saying, instead of taking relevant notes that they would personally understand. Last but not least Renzi feels that laptops give students the opportunity to mess around on the internet instead of paying attention in class. All valid points, but what do you guys think? Do you agree with Renzi’s sentiments?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Tinkermite Tablet is a wooden toy that teaches your kids about technology, Apple reveals they sold twice as many iPads compared to Macs to the education sector,

New National School Speed Test hopes to help all K-12 students get effective digital learning

EducationSuperHighway launches National School Speed Test to help all K12 students get effective digital learning

With 99 percent of the nation’s K-12 schools hooked-up to the internet, you’d think online learning was an educational staple. Sadly, it’s also estimated that some 80 percent of those connections can’t provide the 100Mbps per 1,000 students bandwidth the State Education Technology Directors Association recommends. That’s why NPO EducationSuperHigway has announced the National School Speed Test initiative, with the goal to take actual stock of the state of internet connections in our schools. The NSST hopes to measure the internet capabilities of every K-12 school, and identify those that are lagging behind. Educational staff and students can also help out by checking their own school’s speeds on a dedicated website (linked below). The results of the NSST will be open to the institutions themselves, districts and state departments of education, enabling them to better plan upgrade strategies for the future.

Continue reading New National School Speed Test hopes to help all K-12 students get effective digital learning

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New National School Speed Test hopes to help all K-12 students get effective digital learning originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSchool speed test, EducationSuperHighway  | Email this | Comments

Google releases Course Builder, takes online learning down an open-source road

Google releases Course Builder, takes online learning down an opensource road

Google is well-known for projects with unexpected origins. It’s almost natural, then, that the code Google used to build a web course has led to a full-fledged tool for online education. The open-source Course Builder project lets anyone make their own learning resources, complete with scheduled activities and lessons, if they’ve got some skill with HTML and JavaScript. There’s also an avenue for live teaching or office hours: the obligatory Google+ tie-in lets educators announce Hangouts on Air sessions. Code is available immediately, although you won’t need to be grading virtual papers to see the benefit. A handful of schools that include Stanford, UC San Diego and Indiana University are at least exploring the use of Course Builder in their own initiatives, which could lead to more elegant internet learning — if also fewer excuses for slacking.

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Google releases Course Builder, takes online learning down an open-source road originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Google Research Blog, TechCrunch  |  sourceCourse Builder  | Email this | Comments

Toys R Us 7-inch Tabeo kids tablet coming in October for $150

Toys r us Tabeo

Toys R Us has posted a listing for a new 7-inch child’s Android slate priced at $150 called the Tabeo, saying it will go on sale October 1st in stores only. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company will announce more details later today, but pictures on the site indicate it will be more conventional in design style and not as “kiddified” as the toy store’s previous offering, the Nabi. Technical specs include a 1GHz processor, 4GB of built-in storage, upgradeable to 32GB, HDMI-out, 50 pre-loaded apps and — brace for it — it’s own native app store offering around 6,000 more. That might mean it’s aimed at older kids than the previous tab’s six-year old and up target, but it better have some killer features for the younger set — it’s up against a spate of similar products that have already hit shelves.

Update: This looks very much like an Archos Child Pad with different colors and $20 added to the asking price. Thanks all who spotted the similarity.

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Toys R Us 7-inch Tabeo kids tablet coming in October for $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 01:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tinkermite Tablet is a wooden toy that teaches your kids about technology

In this day and age where owning tablets is becoming more commonplace, it’s not unusual to see kids playing with them at restaurants or in school, and since this seems to be the natural progress of the culture and society we live in, why not make it an educational experience at the same time, right? Dubbed the Tinkermite Tablet, this is a Kickstarter project that aims to teach kids about technology and how things work (to a certain extent) without the aid of electronics, making this a learning experience that many of us were probably familiar with back in the day.

Now instead of getting kids to fit shapes in their respective holes, the Tinkermite Tablet will actually show the anatomy of a tablet, teaching children about technology and how some of the gadgets they play with these days works. The innards of the tablet can be disassembled and reassembled as a smartphone, both of which are reminiscent of the iPad and iPhone, so let’s hope there will be no lawsuits headed their way! Jokes aside, the Tinkermite Tablet will show where components like the camera goes, the CPU, the memory, and etc. It certainly sounds like great idea and a great way to get kids involved and interested in technology, so if you’d like to learn more about the project or donate to it, head on over to its Kickstarter page for the details.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The BERO Kickstarter project is a 4″ robot that can be controlled via your smartphone, The Instacube is a gadget that will let you stream Instagram photos,

Cambridge University helps new Raspberry Pi users break the crust with free guide, tutorials

DNP Raspberry Pi

It all looks so simple, doesn’t it? A little board, a cute name — why, you’ll be up and robot-ing in no time, right? Well, just ask one of our techiest editors, who tried to learn a similar product, the Arduino — and failed — boards like the Pi are not cake. So, to push you in the right direction, Cambridge University is offering a free guide to creating a simple OS for the device called “Baking Pi.” It’s part of a course for new students of the institution’s computer lab (who each get a Pi as part of their tuition), but the guide and a tutorial series are free to the public, as well. Programming experience is not required “if you are smart and persistent,” but it will certainly be easier if you have some, according to the Pi website. The campus, which is the seat of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, certainly has a vested interest in getting new coders to the board — not that they need to create any more demand. Check the source and coverage below for the guide and tutorials.

[Image credit: Mark Foss]

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Cambridge University helps new Raspberry Pi users break the crust with free guide, tutorials originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge, PC Pro  |  sourceRaspberry Pi Foundation, Cambridge University  | Email this | Comments

Climate Change rate said to kill more species than it creates

This week evolutionary ecologist Peter Mayhew has presented a set of findings which show the rate of climate change in the Earth to be detrimental to the number of species of animals on our planet. While findings in the past have shown that periods of warmth on our blue globe have also been times when the number of different species of animals has risen, the speed at which the Earth is warming here in the present is, as Mayhew suggests, too rapid for the increase in species to outweigh the number of species that are becoming extinct. The new study Mayhew presents works with a new way of looking at the number of species in each geological period studied with only well-sampled periods rather than with simple tallies of the first and last appearances of each species.

The results of the newest findings here with Peter Mayhew’s group resolve a previous contradiction in the study of climate change in which high and low temperatures both showed growth or decline in numbers of species on the planet. The current article referred to this week “Biodiversity tracks temperature over time” will be appearing in PNAS immediately if not soon, and includes authors P. J. Mayhew, M. A. Bell, T. G. Benton, and A. J. McGowan, who let it be known that with their new findings worked with number of known families of marine invertebrates and sea-surface temperatures over the course of 540 million years.

OF SPECIAL NOTE – Scott Wing, palaeobiologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, reacted to the article in a couple ways – the first of which will be important to those of you looking for information on what this all has to do with us humans:

“This article has nothing to say about the effects of global warming at any timescale of interest to most humans.” – Wing

So keep that in mind – you can certainly take what you want from it, but note that the paper does not comment on the effect climate change is having on humans – that’s a talk for a different day.

What findings in this study do show is that when temperatures were high in the history of our planet, biodiversity was high, and when temperatures were low, biodiversity was low as well. These findings, as the group make clear, contradict previous work (that includes work by Mayhew’s group, amongst others), which showed temperature to have the opposite effect on biodiversity.

The rate at which the planet gets warmer or cooler, the group reports, has a direct effect on the biodiversity of the planet. The rate of change can have giant effects on how biodiversity is affected. With the rate of extinctions that are occurring at the rapid change in temperature we’re in now, for example, diversity will likely not rise fast enough to make up for the loss.

Professor Tim Benton, Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds, reacted to this particular possibility according to U of York:

“Science progresses by constantly re-examining conclusions in the light of better data. Our results seem to show that temperature improves biodiversity through time as well as across space. However, they do not suggest that current global warming is good for existing species. Increases in global diversity take millions of years, and in the meantime we expect extinctions to occur.” – Benton

Mayhew adds that the next step is to study longer periods of time, and as Shanan Peters, palaeobiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, notes: the more interesting study in the future will be findings on major climate transitions, like the one we’re very possibly in right this minute.

“The time periods we’re really interested in now are decades and hundreds of years — at maximum 1,000 years. … You can’t get that kind of detail by looking into the deep past. If you want to know how temperature change is affecting things on that timescale, you’re going to have to look at the more recent fossil record.” – Mayhew

*EDITORS NERD NOTE: Though it would be ironic beyond comprehension if it were true, the ecologist Peter Mayhew and the actor Peter Mayhew are not one in the same. SlashGear awards 5 bonus nerd points to anyone who knows Peter Mayhew’s most famous and iconic role without looking it up!


Climate Change rate said to kill more species than it creates is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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