| SandForce Updates SSD Controllers for Longer Battery Life, Better Performance in Ultrabooks Posted: 31 Jul 2012 09:23 AM PDT  LSI Corporation today announced an injection of enhanced features into its SandForce SF-2200 and SF-2100 series of client flash storage processors (FSPs) specifically designed to play nice with Ultrabooks. The new features are said to extend battery life by as much as one hour, cut down on resume times when waking from sleep mode, and "enhance the overall user experience."
One way the upgraded processors purport to do that is by enabling faster system boot times. Support has been added for "virtually all MLC flash product families," as well as SATA 6Gbps host connectivity, all while meeting the low Z-height product requirement of Intel's Ultrabook form factor. Affected SandForce processors include the SF-2141, SF-2241, and SF-2281, each of which can handle capacities ranging from 24GB to 512GB. This is good news for the Ultrabook sector, which typically employ slower SSDs (generally speaking) than what's found in the desktop and traditional notebook markets. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Computer Bug May be to Blame for Six Flags Roller Coaster SNAFU Posted: 31 Jul 2012 09:07 AM PDT  A dozen thrill seekers who jumped on board the Superman Ultimate Flight roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California got more than they bargained for when a malfunction caused one of the cars to stall at the very top of the ride. Sitting 150 feet above the ground, passengers in the stalled car sat stranded on the ride's zenith (in an upright position) for about 90 minutes before being rescued, and a computer malfunction may be to blame.
"This was not mechanical whatsoever," Six Flags spokeswoman Nancy Chan said in an interview, which is viewable at Los Angeles Times online. There are several possible culprits under investigation, and one of the front runners is that "it could be programming issues" that proved to be the Kryptonite, Chan added. Tests are currently under way, and in the meantime, Six Flags has taken the Superman ride offline. As for the passengers, they were compensated with free food and drink passes, along with free tickets to return to the park. Image Credit: Six Flags Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Samsung Galaxy Note Headed to T-Mobile on August 8th Posted: 31 Jul 2012 08:23 AM PDT  T-Mobile users with oversized hands or just a penchant for ginormous smartphones will be delighted to learn that Samsung's Galaxy Note is coming your way a week from Wednesday. T-Mobile, which had been a bit cagey to the Galaxy Note's launch, confirmed via Twitter that Samsung's 5.3-inch smartphone is headed its way on August 8, 2012 for $250 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and with a two-year service agreement.
"Note Takers - The Samsung Galaxy Note will be on T-Mobile Aug. 8th!," T-Mobile posted to Twitter. Some have dubbed the Galaxy Note a phablet (equal parts phone and tablet) due to its large size. Outside of its 5.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD display and S Pen integration, the Galaxy Tab also features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 16GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD card slot. 3.5mm audio jack, and a handful (literally) of other odds and ends wrapped in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. For more details, visit T-Mobile's Galaxy Note product page. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Amtrak Pulls Into Internet Era, Now Fully on Board with E-Tickets Posted: 31 Jul 2012 08:02 AM PDT  In the second Back to the Future flick, Stephen Spielberg envisioned a future with flying cars, one that according to the date on the DeLorean's dashboard is just three years away. That gives GM and company several months to get on the ball, but in the meantime, there are still trains, planes, and land-based automobiles to get from point A to point B. Getting with the times not a moment too soon, Amtrak announced it's now accepting eTickets on all of its trains. Welcome to the Internet era, Amtrak.
"eTickets deliver the convenience and flexibility expected by passengers and its innovative technology is transforming other aspects of how Amtrak does business," Amtrak chief Joe Boardman said in a statement (PDF). Amtrak's eTicket system lets travelers print their ticket at home and skip waiting in line at the ticket window, or present their eTicket to the conductor using their smartphone. Everything should run smoothly at this point, as Amtrak piloted the eTicket program on five routes prior to Monday's national rollout. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Samsung Chief: Apple's Fighting Us Over Rectangles Posted: 31 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT  The high-profile and long-anticipated Apple versus Samsung trial kicked off in San Jose, California yesterday morning with a jury selection process consisting of a 20-minute question and answer session in which a pool of 74 potential jurors was whittled down to 10. Those 10 individuals -- seven men and three women ranging in occupation from social worker to an unemployed video gamer seeking a software degree, according to CNN -- will hear arguments from Apple and Samsung in a case the latter described as "fighting over rectangles."
Kevin Packingham, Samsung's Chief Product Officer, sat down for an interview with Wired ahead of the trial to discuss the dispute and patent wars in general. In response to a question about Apple's focus on design patents, Packingham broke it down into simple terms. "I would say the patents we're struggling with -- where there's a lot of discussion and litigation right now -- are around these very broad design patents like a rectangle," Packingham told Wired. "For us, it's unreasonable that we're fighting over rectangles, that that's being considered as an infringement, which is why we're defending ourselves." As far as Packingham sees it, consumers clearly want their smartphones and tablets in the shape of a rectangle, and the fight with Apple is "whether you can deliver a product in the shape of a rectangle." "A rectangle did not come out of R&D investment that we've made," Packingham continued. "Some of our products happen to be in the shape of a rectangle, but I wouldn't consider that to be an art or a science that we've created." Samsung's rectangular theme figures to be a major theme in the jury trial, and it underscores how silly patent law has become. There's a neat write-up in InformationWeek that argues the real losers in this trial are "you, your company, and our economy," and we'd have to agree. Apple's claim against Samsung is that its Galaxy products copy the look and feel of Apple's iPad and iPhone devices, and for that, the Cupertino company wants $2 billion in damages. Samsung's products could also be banned from sale in the U.S. if the jury sides with Apple. The situation stinks for consumers, but as they say, don't hate the player (Apple), hate the game (patent law). Image Credit: Modified from wynapse.com Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Vizio's Full HD 1080p Ultrabook Bucks Tradition, Now Available Online Posted: 31 Jul 2012 06:24 AM PDT  As much as we're in love with the Ultrabook category's thin and light form factor, we're not nearly as smitten over the low display resolution that plagues the majority of first and second generation models. Even larger models like Acer's 15.6-inch Timeline and HP's equally sized Envy both sport 1366x768 screen resolutions, while Samsung's 15-inch Series 9 taps out at 1600x900. Well, as luck would have it, I stumbled upon Vizio's online collection of PCs, including a 15.6-inch Ultrabook model that finally gets the resolution right.
The fact that Vizio's 15.6-inch Ultrabook boasts a 1920x1080 display resolution isn't some grand revelation -- after all, Vizio revealed as much a little over a month ago when it officially announced a line of PC products that were first introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. However, it's now available to purchase, and as I've discovered, 1920x1080 is a rarity in the Ultrabook space. Full HD comes at a cost. Vizio, traditionally a value oriented brand, kicks off its 15.6-inch Ultrabook category with a $950 model that also includes a Core i3 3217U processor clocked at 1.8GHz, 4GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, Intel HD 4000 graphics, 128GB solid state drive, 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi, HDMI output, two USB 3.0 ports, 1.3MP webcam, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. For $50 more, Vizio upgrades the processor to a Core i5 3317U clocked at 1.7GHz, while it's flagship $1,250 model features a Core i7 3517U processor clocked at 1.9GHz and twice the amount of solid state storage (256GB). These aren't inexpensive Ultrabooks, though they are larger than most -- 15.6 inches versus 13.3 inches and 14 inches -- with a screen resolution to match the added real estate. For the record, Vizio also sells a series of 14-inch models starting at $900, all of which feature a 1600x900 resolution and solid state storage. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Spotify's Spiffy Update Adds Radio Streaming to Android App Posted: 31 Jul 2012 05:44 AM PDT  Good news for Android users who are fans of Spotify. The spunky streaming music service just launched its free unlimited radio feature on the Android platform for users living in the U.S., bringing the service up to par with its iOS counterpart that received the same upgrade about a month ago. Previously the only way Android users were able to listen to free music on the go with Spotify was to sign up for a 48-hour trial.
"Exciting news for Android users! Starting today, you can now enjoy Spotify on your Android for free!," Spotify announced today. "Our latest app now offers free radio - the only radio where you can save the songs you love. It's never been easier to discover, save and enjoy an unlimited amount of music on the go." The entire catalog -- "millions of songs" -- is available on mobile. Music listeners can fine tune their streaming experience by creating stations based on artist, album, or playlist, and then give songs a thumbs up or thumbs down. Essentially the same can be said about Pandora, and like its rival, Spotify will interrupt the stream with occasional ad breaks for free users. Unfortunately for Kindle Fire users, Spofity is still not available in the Amazon Appstore for Android. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
