It’s one of science’s ultimate goals, and perhaps the only thing that could prevent humanity’s ultimate depletion of the Earth’s resources — the ability to create more energy than is used to make it. Now, a new nuclear breakthrough has brought that feat even closer to becoming a reality.
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Nuclear fusion, the same process that powers the sun, could provide us with limitless cheap energy—but experiments to date have always used more power than they created. Now, though, researchers have apparently tipped that balance, making fusion a real possibility.
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Sennheiser, Klipsch, Phiaton… what is it about audio brands that don’t easily roll off the tongue? It’s the latter that interests us today, of course, after announcing two new sets of headphones for those who are serious about sound. The Chord MS 530 is a pair of beautifully designed Bluetooth 4.0 apt-X cans that pack active noise cancellation alongside dual microphones and 40mm titanium drivers. Rated for between 18-30 hours of battery life, the Chord will launch on October 8th for $350. If, however, that’s a bit rich for your blood, then the company is also launching the Fusion MS 430, which has been cast in lightweight carbon fiber and offers a pair of tangle-free leads and 40mm drivers, and a foldable design. The Fusion will launch on October 1st for $180, and so while you wait for Autumn to set in, check out the press gallery below. %Gallery-slideshow88672%
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video
VMware regularly upgrades its Fusion virtual desktop client to support major new operating systems, and it’s keeping up that tradition with today’s release of Fusion 6. The new Mac app is optimized for OS X Mavericks’ most important features, including a reworked full-screen mode that plays nicely with multiple displays. The software is equally ready for Windows 8.1 virtual machines, and lets users place shortcuts for Windows Store apps in a Mac’s Applications folder or the Dock. There’s also fine-tuning for Haswell-based Macs, a simplified setup assistant and support for virtual machines with up to 16 processors and 64GB of RAM. Fusion 6 Professional users get a few business-friendly upgrades, such expiring virtual machines and cloned machines that link back to master copies.
Both variants of Fusion 6 are available today, although pricing has increased significantly since Fusion 5. It now costs $60 for a stand-alone purchase of Fusion 6, and $130 for its Professional edition. Anyone who buys Fusion 5 between August 1st and September 30th can get the newer version for free, but they’ll otherwise have to pay either $50 (for a standard copy) or $70 (for Professional) to stay on the cutting edge. %Gallery-slideshow73880%
Filed under: Software
Source: VMware
AMD isn’t focusing all its attention on its entry-level mobile APUs today: it’s also providing details for the faster Richland-based models. The new A6, A8, and A10 mobile variants fall under the Elite Performance badge, and theoretically beat Intel to the punch with up to 71 percent faster 3D graphics than the current Core i5 family. They also muster about 7.5 hours of battery life with web use, or about an hour longer than we saw in the previous generation. The roster includes both regular power (35W) and low-voltage (17W to 25W) APUs, in dual- and quad-core editions.
We’re more interested in how well the chips play with other devices and software, however. Besides the face and motion gesture recognition that we’ve seen before, AMD touts a new take on Wireless Display with low enough latency for game sessions, support for 1080p60 video and native Miracast sharing. The Richland upgrade also introduces a new Dock Port standard that can feed both USB 3.0 and up to three external DisplayPort screens through one cable. If you like what AMD is pitching, you won’t have to wait to try it — Elite Performance APUs have already been shipping with MSI’s GX60 and GX70, and other vendors shouldn’t be far behind.
Gallery: AMD Richland presentation
Source: AMD
When Ford’s hybrid lineup has been rapidly expanding over the past year, it stands to reason that the company’s sales in the category would take off like an eco-friendly rocket. They have, and faster than you’d expect: the automaker now says it should break its yearly record for US hybrid sales sometime in May, with just under 6,000 cars standing between its current 2013 figures and an all-time high of 35,496 hybrids in 2010. The company has also more clearly established itself as number two, climbing from an estimated three percent of the US hybrid market share last April to 18 percent this year. While Toyota is still the clear frontrunner at 58 percent, Ford is ahead of its Detroit-based rivals — and when Prius sales are soft, the Japanese firm just might be nervous.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Bloomberg
The problem with exploring our solar system today is that we lack the technology to make voyages between planets quick enough. It’s nearly impossible to visit other planets because of slow propulsion systems that expose astronauts to cosmic radiation and require huge amounts of fuel. To solve this problem, researchers from the University of Washington working on a new fusion-powered spacecraft.
The scientists believe that the fusion-powered spacecraft would theoretically be able to get astronauts to Mars and back in only 30 days – siginficantly faster than current technology. NASA currently estimates with modern liquid-fueled rocket engines a round-trip to and from Mars would take four years and cost at least $12 billion. The Fusion Drive involves “a type of plasma is encased in its own magnetic field” according to the researchers. The process is also described as a “unique manipulation of nuclear fusion.”
According to the researchers, using fusion fuel material the size of a grain of sand would have the same energy content as a gallon of rocket fuel. The fusion drive project is being funded from NASA via the Innovative Advanced Concept Program. NASA was so impressed with the research that it gave the project additional funding.
[via PCMag]
The Ford Fusion Energi joins the C-MAX Energi and Focus Electric as the company’s third vehicle with a charging connector and access to California’s HOV lanes. While it’s a larger car than the C-MAX Energi, it weighs about the same and features pretty much the same plug-in hybrid powertrain with 195 net horsepower and three EV driving modes. It combines a 2-liter DOHC 16V Duratec (Atkinson cycle) engine and CVT with an AC synchronous motor powered by a 7.6kWh Lithium Ion battery. This pack takes about 2.5 hours to fill up with a 240V charging station and provides a range of 21 miles (100MPGe) at up to 85MPH in all-electric mode. Both autos share the same unfortunate battery protrusion in the trunk area, and while it’s less of an issue in the Fusion sedan than the wagon-like C-MAX, it detracts from the overall package. The Fusion Energi also packs the company’s latest and greatest tech, including MyFord Mobile, SmartGauge with EcoGuide, Eco Cruise and SYNC with MyFord Touch. Sure, that’s pretty exciting, but how does it actually drive? Find out after the break.
Gallery: Ford Fusion Energi test drive
Filed under: Transportation
Xi3 has been one of the more inventive PC builders in the field, designing its Modular Computers in the belief that small, more upgradable desktops are the way of the future. The company is planning two new systems to further that dream, the X3A and X7A, but it wants our help: it’s running a Kickstarter funding drive until October 28th to assist the development and garner some early adopters. Put down $503 or $603 and you’ll get the entry-level X3A, a dual-core 1.65GHz (likely AMD E-450-based) PC with 4GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD and either Linux or Windows installed; splurge with $1,103 or more and you’ll get the more performance-driven X7A, which jumps to a quad-core chip with a 3.2GHz peak speed, a Windows-loaded 64GB SSD and faster graphics. Assuming Xi3 makes its target, we should see the X3A and X7A arrive in January and February respectively, with Kickstarter supporters beating the larger herd by a week. Even existing owners are accounted for through a Primary I/O Board upgrade, due before the end of this year, that carries more Ethernet and USB 3.0 ports. Crowdfunding is an unusual approach to buying that next PC, without the certainties of shopping at an online store — but we’re also dealing with an unusual PC from the get-go.
Continue reading Xi3 goes the crowdfunding route for future X3A, X7A modular PCs (video)
Filed under: Desktops
Xi3 goes the crowdfunding route for future X3A, X7A modular PCs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
AMD has a disproportionately large $6.4 million investment in BlueStacks, and now we’re seeing one clear reason why. The two companies have teamed up to create a special version of the BlueStacks App Player that’s tuned for AMD’s Fusion-based processors and Radeon graphics cards, running Android apps with the full help of the chip desgner’s hardware in Windows 7 and 8 PCs. Accordingly, over 500,000 Android apps are invading AMD’s new AppZone portal without any needed tweaks of their own, giving the service a much larger catalog than if it had gone with Windows alone. Both companies have a clear incentive to this melding of desktop and mobile: BlueStacks suddenly gets exposure to as many as 100 million AMD-running users, while AMD can tout a giant app catalog that may be preloaded on future PCs using its components. We don’t know if the world needs yet another avenue for playing Angry Birds, especially when many AMD-based PCs won’t have touchscreens, but the BlueStacks partnership could be a strong lure for new PC buyers who’d like an instant software library.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software
BlueStacks teams with AMD to optimize Android App Player for Fusion, Radeon chips (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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