Tech Gadgets Reviews

The most highly awaited subnotebook (that is not from Asus or Dell) just arrived on our doorstep. That’s right, MSI’s Wind is here, complete with its 80GB 2.5-inch hard drive, 10-inch display, and Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor. Our test model runs Windows XP and uses the 3-cell battery.

The Wind U100 has only been in-house for about two hours so there has not been much time to play with it, but so far it’s been a pleasure to use. The keyboard is generously sized, the display looks quite nice, and everything works out of the box. The Atom processor has been moving along nicely, though it’s going to take some time to see how it compares to the competition.

One note I would make so far–when the Wind arrived it appeared that wireless networking did not work. This was the case even though the drivers were installed properly. There is no hardware switch so it was not immediately clear why no wireless signals were being recognized (there are at least 40 in the area), but after a few minutes I figured it out. In retrospect it seems obvious, but this might confuse some people: you have to hit Fn+F11 to enable/disable WiFi and Bluetooth. This is the function command that toggles your radio and it may or may not be turned off when your notebook arrives.

And now, what you came for, the pictures:

Wind next to Asus Eee PC 701

The included carrying case

Accessories kit

That’s it for the preview! Be on the look out for the full review which we will be getting up as soon as possible. There will be a close look at the Wind, new pictures, and some decisions about how it stacks up against the other devices in the field.

Sometime in the not-so-distant future, graphic displays for computers, cell phones, and other devices may be something that is generated directly to your eye. No–you don’t have to worry about giving up your natural eyes for cybernetic replacement implants, unless you want that sort of thing. But rather contact lenses can be equipped with tiny circuitry that will include tiny light emitting devices.

Babak Parviz, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, has laid the groundwork for such a future and has developed a method to assemble tiny electronic circuits onto contact lenses. The method called “self assembly,” can integrate these electronic circuits onto glass or polymers.

While exciting of this sounds, unfortunately, these circuits have yet to be powered and that is the next step for the contact lens circuits. “We’re looking at two different ways to transmit power. One is radio frequency power transmission. We need antennae on these contact lenses anyway because we need to transmit data to them. The other way we’re looking at right now is to incorporate photovoltaic cells,” stated Parviz.

The other issue facing Parviz is how to display images with a device so close to the eye. The solution could come in the form of micro LEDs, low-powered laser diodes, micro lenses or a combination of technologies.

Read more at The Guardian.

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 1:03PM

We got this handy little Xbox 360 Pro cheat sheet sent to us by a GameStop manager, who also forwarded it to our BFF’s at Joystiq, which pretty much confirms those widely-spread suspicions of a 360 price drop. It looks to be the very real deal, and is good news for the Xbox fanboy looking to at last populate every room in his house with the charming white box, now selling at that magical $299.99 pricepoint, with refurb’d 360s dipping to $279. Obviously it’s not happening until Sunday the 13th, but that should give you the requisite time to scrape together those pennies. Unfortunately, it looks like the $279 price on the Arcade isn’t budging, but don’t stop believing. More promo material after the break.

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by Paul Miller, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 10:27AM

Those kind, gentle Canadians have been oh-so-politely demanding a few heads on sticks ever since Rogers’ super-spendy iPhone 3G price plans were announced. Well, apparently their cries have been heard, and now Rogers is launching a promotional offer along with the iPhone of 6GB of data for $30 a month — not quite unlimited data, but close enough — which can be added on top of any regular voice plan. The promo will be available for iPhone buyers who activate with a three year contract before August 31. Also, perhaps in a bid to dispel some nasty rumors about a major iphone shortage, Rogers will be hosting 8AM launch day events at six Rogers Plus stores in major Canadian cities, complete with a free breakfast. Mmm, breakfast.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 9:36AM

Not even ten months after rumors began swirling about the introduction of a 40GB playstation 3, we’re now seeing hints that Sony’s low-ender will soon be replaced. Based on this alleged Wal-Mart spreadsheet, the 40GB PS3 console “will be replaced with [a] new model in early August,” which seems pretty clear cut on the surface. Granted, this “new model” may just include a sweet plastic Olympics medallion to commemorate the occasion or a fancy new vibrating controller, so don’t go thinking that an entirely fresh form factor is just around the bend. Not that we’d complain about that, though.

[Thanks, Khattab]

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Tsukumo Japan has released two kick ass systems in the home country that will make any power hungry geek envy. The Gamer “GB30J” and “GB30A” Premium desktops are powerful machines with best of specs money can buy. You name the best available parts, and you get it here. So what are the specification like? Well, you get a quad core processor, Western Digital’s latest 10,000rpm VelociRaptor hard disk drive, and NVIDIA / ATI’s latest generation video cards.
[ Source ]

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) was released back in April, and with it came a slew of problems for users. First of all Microsoft had to halt the release for a week due to an incompatibility issue with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System. Then it was found anyone running XP with an AMD processor in their machine was getting endless reboots. Finally, Microsoft realised it was shipping SP3 with an out-of-date and vulnerable version of Flash.

Almost 2 months later and all of the issues seem to have been dealt with. At least, that’s what Microsoft hopes as it is about to roll SP3 out as an automatic update.

The actual timing of the release has yet to be pinned down, but take this as your warning that machines setup to auto update and install through Windows Update will get it soon.

Those of you who wish to block the update for a while longer can either manually deny the installation or use the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit.

Read more at ComputerWorld.com

Matthew’s Opinion
I think Microsoft has probably identified most of the major issues with SP3, but automatic update status means millions more PCs will apply the pack. It won’t go completely without a hitch and there are bound to be some more obscure bugs appear. All Microsoft can hope is that they aren’t big or newsworthy.

From what I have read SP3 isn’t a significant update unless you have a machine that has missed several major security updates. I have installed it on 2 machines so far, both of which were fairly up-to-date anyway. The biggest problem I had was the update download actually stalling. Once past that problem things ran smoothly after the obligatory Windows restart.

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 8th 2008 at 6:26PM

Continuing this day of iphone 3G impropriety, the Boy Genius has somehow secured himself a brand-spanking-new iPhone 3G, and has unboxed it for all the world to see. First off, our condolences to the AT&T or Apple employee who will probably lose their job over this one, and then a tip of the hat to BGR for pulling off such a daring stunt. The pictures, however, should be less exciting (since we’ve been seeing a lot of these today) — still, nice to know what you’re about to get into! We’ve included a few more shots after the break.

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 8th 2008 at 2:22PM

As the big auto manufacturers scramble to come up with fuel-efficient alternatives for us gas addicts, smaller companies are swooping in with both concepts and production models. In the latter category, we have Mindset AG with the solar electric Six50 concept you see here. The 2+2 seater is designed to weigh just 1,764 pounds and measures about 13 feet long with a slab of solar panels over its haunches. Designer Mura Güntak expects the Six50 to run just about 62 miles per charge (although an optional generator can be added to extend this), do 0-60 in 7 seconds, and plans to roll out 10,000 of these bad boys by 2009 at the cost of $78,000 each.

[Via Inhabitat]

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Filed under: Transportation

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 8th 2008 at 5:42PM

Willcom’s Atom-based D4 MID has been out and about for a little while now, but the folks at Direct From Japan have now thankfully gotten their hands on a Sharp-branded version of the device and offered up some of their initial impressions by way of UMPC Portal, along with a video. On the upside, they say that size and weight of the device is “perfect for a big pocket,” and that the screen quality and pixel density is “amazing.” They also seem to have been particularly impressed by the dock, which’ll let you charge a second battery, and by the device’s rather unique touchpad on the side of the screen. They were less impressed by the hefty $1,200+ price tag (or more when you factor in the optional dock), however, and by the small keyboard, though we doubt many were expecting anything otherwise there. Those outside of Japan also won’t be able to do much with the included W-SIM card but, if you’re still curious about the device, you can check out the video after the break.

[Thanks, TareX]

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Filed under: Handhelds