Aug 06
America Meets Japanese Game Show, Survives
Posted in: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, Television, Today's ChiliVia Naked Tokyo
Aug 06
Intel still won’t talk Core i5 details, but you can order one anyway
Posted in: CoreI5, intel, processor, Today's Chili
It’s been a long, strange road for the Core i5 series of processors, first announced way back in March not by Intel, but by a motherboard spec sheet. Since then we’ve seen rebranding talk, lots of grids of various colors, and a delay purely for selfish reasons. Intel still isn’t saying how much they’ll cost or when they’ll ship, but that’s okay, because retailers have answered the first question and given us reason to believe the answer to the second is “soon.” Two computer hardware sites confirm that the Core i5 570 will have a 2.66GHz clock speed and sport 8MB of cache, matching expectations for this new mass-market processor, and the prices (as low as $233) are a fair bit cheaper than a comparably spec’d but higher performing Core i7. Mind you, both of those retailers list the chip as being out of stock, but we’re sure if you’re so inclined they’d be happy to put you down for a pre-order.
[Via PC World]
Read – Core i5 570 at Fad Fusion
Read – Core i5 570 at Computer Connection
Filed under: Desktops
Intel still won’t talk Core i5 details, but you can order one anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Aug 06
Mars Life Looks Increasingly Unlikely
Posted in: NASA, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
Despite the discovery of a meteorite on Mars the other day that looks vaguely like the famous one from the 1990s, hopes are beginning to dim for finding life on the red planet, Space.com reports.
That’s because while methane was found in the Martian atmosphere–which led to speculation that something living had produced it–a new study released today in the journal Nature said that the methane plumes were actually concentrated in one spot, the report said. That means they were probably generated by a chemical reaction within the atmosphere, instead of spread out across the atmosphere the way it happens with living beings. And the plumes are also destroyed quickly–within the hour.
“If observations of spatial and temporal variations of methane are confirmed, this would suggest an extraordinarily harsh environment for the survival of organics on the planet,” wrote Franck Lefevre and Francois Forget, of the Universitaire Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, in the journal. (Image: NASA)
Aug 06
Waterloo, Iowa Accepting 911 Texts
Posted in: Today's ChiliLet it be known that the people of Waterloo, Iowa won’t accept defeat–but they will accept emergency text messages. A call center in that city became the first in the country to accept SMSs sent to 911.
“I think there’s a need to get out front and get this technology available,” the county’s police chief Thomas Jennings told the AP.
Other call centers are apparently looking to follow suit. Texting is especially beneficial to the deaf and hard of hearing. For the time being, however, the service is limited to users of the local T-Mobile affiliate i wireless. The center is reportedly looking to expand to service to other carriers in the area.
Aug 06
Rumor: 8GB iPhone 3GS on the Way
Posted in: Today's ChiliIt’s little more than speculation at this point, but Boy Genius is reporting that Apple may well have an 8GB version of the iPhone in the works. The site has apparently received “a number of unconfirmed tips” that the phone’s Canadian carrier, Rogers, is about to ship the device.
No word on pricing or anything like that, of course, but the device is rumored to be replacing the popular $99 iPhone 3G, a leftover from the previous iteration of the Apple handset–a slower iteration, of course, because, as we all well know, the “S” is for “speed.”
Aug 06
Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim — a cellphone made from corn
Posted in: eco, green, qwerty, samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili
We love the Earth, and apparently so do Sprint and Samsung. The two companies have just introduced the Reclaim, a super-eco cellphone made from 80 percent recycled materials. The device — a stout, sliding, QWERTY message-friendly model — is constructed from “bio-plastic” materials made from corn, is free of PVC, and mostly free of BFR (brominated flame retardants)… which are apparently pretty bad. The phone also has a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, can accept microSD cards (we assume) up to 32GB, and has Sprint Navigation onboard. The packaging will be eco-friendly as well, as it’s constructed from 70 percent recycled materials and printed with soy-based ink. The carrier will be selling the Reclaim in “Earth Green” or “Ocean Blue” come August 16th for $50 (after a $30 instant rebate and $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year contract. Additionally, $2 of that profit will be funneled to the Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program. Finally, a phone that goes with your Prius.
Filed under: Cellphones
Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim — a cellphone made from corn originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 06
We’re still not entirely sure what to make of Creative’s Zii EGG handheld, as the last demo we saw of the product looked interesting but also somewhat devoid of features. Now Creative has confirmed an important one: web surfing. The device can officially run either Android or the company’s own flavor of Linux dubbed Plaszma, and for that latter, poorly spelled one Opera has been chosen as the defacto browser. Given the open source underpinnings users will have plenty of other options to install if they like, but the Opera Devices SDK also enables the easy creation of webby widgets to clutter that 320 x 480, 10-point multitouch screen. The hope is this will speed up software development for the… thing, thus opening the door for a flood of useless applications the likes of which we haven’t seen since the last App Store update.
[Via anythingbutipod]
Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video
Creative rents tuxedo, selects Opera for Plaszma-based Zii EGGs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 06
Sprint Launches Samsung Reclaim, Announces Environmental Efforts
Posted in: Environment, samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili
Sprint and Samsung have unveiled the Reclaim, an eco-friendly cell phone that’s made of bio-plastic and other recycled materials. The 3G QWERTY slider includes GPS, a 2-megapixel camera, and stereo Bluetooth support, and comes in Earth Green and Ocean Blue. (The green one looks perfect for anyone who owns one of these.)
The Samsung Reclaim will hit retail channels on August 16th for $49.99 after a two-year contract and various rebates. Whenever someone buys the phone, Sprint will donate $2 of the proceeds to The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, which highlights land conservation and natural habitat preservation across the U.S.
Sprint has also launched several new environmental initiatives. It has established a set of design criteria for all future phones, it’s adding dedicated display areas in stores to remind customers of its eco-friendly nature, and it’s also committed to reducing paper usage by 30 percent over the next five years.
[Our sister blog GoodCleanTech attended the launch event this morning at New York’s Cooper Hewitt Museum; check out the post for more info and pics.]
Aug 06
My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots
Posted in: bluetooth, palm, palm pre, PalmPre, pre, Sprint, Today's Chili, wifi
Official application portals like Apple’s App Store and Palm’s App Catalog are the big box retailers of the mobile space: plenty of choices, but to get the really good stuff you have to go elsewhere. Case in point: My Tether, an app that, naturally, allows tethering through a Pre, and does so quite comprehensively. Palm’s savior can be directly attached through USB, but Bluetooth and WiFi are also available, thus delivering the connectivity trifecta. It’s a lot easier to enable than the last option we found, and though the fully-automatic, self-installing version costs $10, there’s a free one if you’re feeling cheap (and know your way around a shell prompt). We’re still waiting to see whether Palm or Sprint will put an end to these 3G hijinks, since the pair are obviously not in favor of them, but right now this particular carrier needs every selling point it can get — even unofficial ones like this.
[Via Palm Infocenter]
Filed under: Cellphones
My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 06
Sprint has just announced a couple of new devices in the hot new area of Wi-Fi enabled, personal cellular routers. Both of these let you share your Sprint 3G or WiMax connection to a number of Wi-Fi equipped devices, like notebooks, cellphones or even Eye-Fi cards, although if you want WiMax service right now, you’ll have to head to Baltimore.
The main differences between the two boxes are size, and capacity. The smaller Personal Hotspot PHS300S (left in the picture) lets you connect just four devices and the bigger brother, the MBR-1000 will let 32 people hook up, and is aimed at setting up a mobile office.
Neither are as svelte as the little battery-powered MiFi, also available for Sprint (and which I am using to post this article from the Great Outdoors), but then, they’re really meant for getting work done rather than messing around in the park.
The boxes will cost $160 for the little one and $250 for the antenna-sprouting MBR-1000 and can be had only in areas which offer WiMax (Sprint will expand to Portland, Atlanta and Las Vegas in August). We have a feeling these handy little hotspots are set to take off, although it’s still a pain to have to carry two devices. What’s really needed is, say, a cellphone with both 3G and a Wi-Fi radio inside. We’d suggest the iPhone but that’s still gelded by AT&T.
Press release [Sprint]
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