Optimus Popularis First 3D Prototype

via community.livejournal 

Rumor: Firmware 2.40 will include in-game XMB and trophies

A rumor? Really? Let's be honest, here; this is all but confirmed. The general gist is that a document was sent out to developers yesterday detailing the next firmware update. Some sites, such as VideoGaming247 and Gaming Age, have seemingly been told a few of the details by inside sources and the word is spreading like wildwire. Even Insomniac's James Stevenson popped up in the NeoGAF thread to lend credence to the rumor and Jason Dobson over at Joystiq has also confirmed the news via his sources. There's no official word, obviously, so you're going to have to take their word for it.

Firmware 2.40 will apparently include in-game XMB and 2D XMB trophies. If true, this may be the firmware update that shuts the fanboys up. As for when it's coming, no-one really knows. Though there is a rumor that it will be out pre-MGS4 in order for the game to take advantage of the trophy system. Now that one is a rumor, so don't be surprised to see MGS4's release come and go without any word on 2.40. We're hoping to see an announcement soon. If we find out anything more, we'll be sure to let you know...

via ps3fanboy

Splashtop comes to ASUS Notebooks

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) May 29, 2008 -- DeviceVM today announced the release of their award winning Splashtop™ software on numerous ASUS notebooks. Splashtop is a light-weight operating system that allows consumers to use their computers seconds after hitting the power button. Models spanning a wide range of segments are to ship with Splashtop pre-installed by ASUS starting in June this year.

"The integration of Splashtop into notebooks represents a big step forward in portable computing, where instant 'on' and 'off' is essential," said Mark Lee, co-founder and CEO of DeviceVM. "We are pleased to introduce Splashtop to portable computing together with our partner ASUS."

With Express Gate, users will experience a new, fast, and secure way to surf, chat and play on ASUS notebooks for a new computing experience.

"ASUS is always committed to bring customers the most innovative solutions," said Henry Yeh, General Manager, ASUS Notebook Business Unit. "With Express Gate, users will experience a new, fast, and secure way to surf, chat and play on ASUS notebooks for a new computing experience."

ASUS booth will showcase Express Gate at Computex in Taipei International Convention Center TF1L & 101B, June 3-7. Please come by for more information.

About DeviceVM
DeviceVM, Inc. is a privately held software company offering Splashtop, an award-winning 'instant-on' platform that improves the personal computing experience. In cooperation with OEMs and system vendors DeviceVM integrates Splashtop into personal computers worldwide. Founded in 2006, DeviceVM is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Taiwan and China. Discover more at www.splashtop.com.

Useful Links:
http://www.splashtop.com/blog/
http://www.computextaipei.com.tw/

Press contact:
David Speiser
Stage Two Consulting
david @ stagetwoconsulting.com
650-515-6635

via emediawire 

 Iomega Makes the Move From Gigabytes to a New One Terabyte 'Super eGo' External Hard Drive

 A Big Beauty in Three Striking Colors Arrives on the Desktop: The New eGo
1TB Desktop Hard Drive
SAN DIEGO, May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iomega Corporation (NYSE:
IOM), a global leader in data protection and security, today announced that
stylish data security has reached the 1TB* plateau with the worldwide
introduction of the Iomega(R) eGo(TM) 1TB Desktop Hard Drive.
This new single-drive HDD "Super eGo" is now available worldwide in
ruby red, midnight blue, and jet black. Its design is based on the popular
Iomega(R) eGo(TM) Portable Hard Drive, one of Iomega's best-selling line of
hard drives. The eGo Portable is currently available in 160GB, 250GB and
320GB capacities, and in several different colors, including new camouflage
and leather-wrapped models. The new eGo Desktop model houses a 1TB,
3.5-inch hard drive with USB 2.0 connectivity that holds up to 4,000,000
photos, over 18,500 hours of music or 1,500 hours of video.**
"By applying the award-winning style of the eGo design to a desktop
hard drive, Iomega is giving users a one-terabyte Super eGo that's all
about form and function, a beautiful and pleasing design for even the most
data-intensive applications," said Peter Wharton, vice president marketing,
Iomega Corporation. "Today's computer users want more style, capacity, and
data security out of their computer hardware; the colorful, dependable and
colossal one terabyte eGo Desktop Hard Drive delivers on all counts."
The new 1TB eGo Desktop Hard Drive is a complete storage solution out
of the box, including a license for EMC(R) Retrospect HD software (PC-only
download) for automatic backups, scheduled backups, or on-demand backups.
Compatibility
The Iomega(R) eGo(TM) Desktop Hard Drive is compatible with Mac OS X
10.1 or higher and with Microsoft(R) Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP,
and Windows Vista(TM). EMC(R) Retrospect HD backup software is available
for free download (PC only).
Price and Availability
The Iomega(R) eGo(TM) Desktop Hard Drive, USB 2.0, 1TB is now available
worldwide for $269.95 (pricing is U.S. suggested retail) from online
retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at
http://www.iomega.com.
About Iomega
Iomega Corporation, headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader
in innovative storage and network security solutions for small and
mid-sized businesses, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than
400 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980.
Today, Iomega's product portfolio includes industry leading network
attached storage products, external hard drives, and our award-winning
removable storage technology, the REV(R) Backup Drive. OfficeScreen(R),
Iomega's managed security services, available in the U.S. and select
markets in Europe, provides enterprise quality perimeter security and
secure remote network access for SMBs, which help protect small enterprises
from data theft and liability. To learn about all of Iomega's digital
storage products and managed services solutions, please go to the Web at
http://www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at
http://www.iomega.com/ipartner.
NOTE: The statements contained in this release regarding development,
production and distribution of the Iomega(R) eGo(TM) Desktop Hard Drive,
USB 2.0, 1TB, anticipated product pricing and availability, expected
product performance and specifications, future applications for the new
product and all other statements that are not purely historical, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements are
based upon information available to Iomega as of the date hereof, and
Iomega disclaims any intention or obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from
current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, the successful completion of
product development and testing, market acceptance of, and demand for, the
Iomega product, any difficulties encountered in ramping up production or
other manufacturing issues, including component availability and pricing,
co-development, production, and distribution issues, product pricing and
conformity to specifications, dependence upon third party suppliers,
competition, intellectual property rights and other risks and uncertainties
identified in the reports filed from time to time by Iomega with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including Iomega's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and its most recent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
* 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.
** 4 photos/MB - highly compressed 3-megapixel JPG photos; 1.1 min/MB -
128 kbps MP3 audio; 11 MB/Min - DVD MPEG 2 (720 x 480).
Copyright(C) 2008 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega, eGo,
REV, and OfficeScreen are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Iomega Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other
trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong
to their respective companies.
Media please contact:
Chris Romoser, Iomega Corporation, (858) 314-7148 romoser@iomega.com
Analyst/Investors, please contact:
Preston Romm, Iomega Corporation, (858) 314-7188...

via prnewswire 

Microsoft and Cannon PC Partner to offer CableCARD Media Centers

Cannon PC, the award winning Media Center specialty company, announced May 25th its partnership with Microsoft and will be offering dual Digital CableCARDs on its line of Media Center PCs and has plans to release quad cable cards systems in the near future.

"We are excited about our partnership with Microsoft and the opportunity to offer our customers Digital CableCARD" said Gregg Cannon of Cannon PC. "Cannon PC has worked hard over the years to establish itself and major player in the Media Center market and CableCARD will allow us to bring the next level of this exciting technology to our customers."

For those not familiar with Digital CableCARDs, they allow customers to watch and record their cable TV channels, including premium HDTV channels like HBO-HD and ESPNHD directly on their media center without the need for a set top box. You can even stream the HD content to other rooms in the house via Media Center extenders.

As the winner of nine national and international awards, Cannon PC has been designing Microsoft Windows based Media Centers for over four years. Their business model is specifically targeted to Media Centers and Media Center technology. "We contribute our success on focusing our resources on what we do best and aligning our self with strategic partnerships including A/V integrators, homebuilders and cutting-edge home automation companies." said Cannon.

Cannon PC offers a of line of Media Centers for the tech savvy consumer as well as a high end line of Media Centers tailored for the custom integration market. Cannon PC has a unique dealer program for qualified A/V installers and integrators that are looking to offer their clients reliable feature rich Media Centers at a competitive price. Unlike other Media Center manufactures, each system can be completely customizable to fits the customers need or the A/V project.

Their Home Series line of Media Centers consist of the AMD based ultra small form factor FX Series Media Center as well as the Intel based MX Series house in an A/V style case. Either system can be purchased through their online site.

The Cannon PC Pro A/V Series consists of three models; the LX, EX and RX. The LX has been redesigned to include a stylish new case that integrates gold plated front audio connectors, quick access USB and Fire Wire connections as well as a 28 in 1 media card reader. The EX features a 12" HD touch screen and room for over 6 TB of disk storage. The RX unit is a sleek rack mount system that will fit nicely into any standard A/V rack and each system comes standard with a blu-ray DVD drive.

All Cannon PC Media Center comes standard with features such as a 28-in-1 media card reader, front IO, USB and fire wire connections, dual NTSC and HDTV tuners (with CableCARD shipping soon), 8 channel HD audio, P35 Express chipset, Quad Core and Dual Core Processor, high end ATI or NVIDIA graphics cards, up to 8 GB or RAM and up to 6 terabytes of internal SATA hard disk storage. Each system uses state of the art motherboards and components that utilize cool and quiet technology to ensure that their systems are whisper quiet and low on heat. All systems are backed by a 1 year factory warranty.

Cannon PC has been designing high end Media Center since its founding in 2004. To learn more about Cannon PC Media Centers, visit them online at http://www.cannonpc.com.

For information contact:
sales@cannonpc.com
832-364-6608

Cannon PC, LP is a Windows Media Center PC computer company. For more information, contact us at (832) 364-6608

# # #

Read more Press Releases from Greg Cannon:

• Cannon PC Releases Pro A/V Series Media Centers
• Cannon PC Media Center Named Top 100 Products of 2005
• Cannon PC Awarded 2005 Top Newcomer Award for Media Center
• Best Product Award Given to Cannon PC Media Center
• Cannon PC Releases Two New Media Center PCs for Home Automation and Home Theater
• Cannon PC Announces Partner and Affiliate Programs - Discount Pricing to Home Automation, Home Theater Stores.

• Emirates Computers Wins Dell 'Partner of the year' Award
• D-LINK Products now Available through IPSYSTEMS in the Philippines
• Eventmingle Creates Fewconnect.Com For World'S Largest Ethanol Conference.
• The Timeless Group of Companies Announces the Release of the Timeless Professional Services Website
• Integrity Hypnosis Announces Their Newest Program, "Go Green, Go TeleGroup Hypnosis!" - A Hot Ticket During a Time When CO2 Levels and Gas Prices are Soaring to Record Highs.
• Used Mac Sellers Take Advantage of Free Estimator Tool at MacofAllTrades.com
• CarFolks.com Names Robert W. Lawson Chief Financial Officer
• Emirates Computers Earns Outdoor Wireless Mesh Authorised Technology Provider (ATP) Status from Cisco
• Emirates Computers Participates in Dell's Future of Computing Tour
• Prominent Gamer-Girls Break Ranks & Announce New Co-Ed Gaming Clan: DSO (Delta Special Ops)...
• via 24-7pressrelease

Apple concept would warn iPhone users ahead of dropped calls

The first filing describes methods of providing iPhone or iPod touch users with an "out of range" warning that includes an estimate of the amount of time remaining until the devices are out of range of a WiFi network, thus presenting the users with an opportunity to take corrective measures if they so desire.

Apple said such warnings can take many forms, such as a vibratory warning, audible warning, or visual warning. More interesting, however, is that in the context of iPhone on a cellular network, the concept would aim to warn users when it appears as if a call is likely to be dropped and allow them reposition themselves to prevent a disconnection.

" If the estimated amount of time until the wireless device projected to be out of range is less than [a] threshold, a tangible warning is issued to that effect," Apple said. "In this way, warnings are only issued for those situations where the loss of signal would affect the user in the here and now and thereby prevent unnecessary (and potentially annoying) warnings being issued."

What's more, the Cupertino-based electronics maker said its concept would also allow a warning to be wirelessly transmitted to any other person currently in communication with the user of the wireless device indicating that the call may be dropped.

The invention is also well suited to be incorporated with mobile devices that are equipped with guidance systems (GPS, accelerometers, etc.) thereby providing an accurate value of the location, velocity, acceleration, elevation, etc. of the wireless mobile device that can be used to give a more precise value of the time remaining until the out of boundary condition is reached," Apple added.

Meanwhile, a second filing by the company describes a method and system for locating objects using Bluetooth, such as the tiny Bluetooth Headset it sells for iPhone that almost everyone has lost in the crease of their couch or car seat one time or another.

Similar to the discovery feature of traditional cordless phones, the concept would allow iPhone users to ping paired Bluetooth devices, which could then emit a high pitched sound or light.

Again, however, Apple takes the concept a bit further by suggesting that it could also sell and market a tiny Bluetooth device that could be attached to almost anything, from a set of keys to a household pet, that would similarly aid in locating those objects in the event they become lost. An interface on the iPhone (master device) could manage several of those devices (slaves) at once, according to the filing.

"The distance between the devices can be calculated by comparing the amount of time delay between the transmission of the signal sent from the master device to the slave device and the reception of the return signal from the slave device," Apple said. "With a precise timing system, the master device can be capable of performing such measurements. Since the speed of the radio waves is known, the distance can be calculated using the time information".

Once this distance is calculated, it can be displayed to the user through the interface on the iPhone. This information can also affect an auditory or visual signal emitted by the slave device, Apple added. For example, a beeping alarm might change in pitch, rate of beeping, or volume as a user approaches a second device. In that instance, the beeping could get faster as the user gets closer to the missing device, or the sound could get louder as the user gets closer.

An alternative method would use directional antennas to determine the direction towards a slave device from the master device. In this case, directional information would be presented to a user through a the iPhone interface to direct the user to the missing slave device.

"Calculating the slave device's location can [also] involve using multiple transmitters or receivers to triangulate the position of the missing device," Apple added. "In order to triangulate position, a system can determine the distances from a device to at least three other known locations. A Global Positioning System, for example, could be used to triangulate a device's location in accordance with the principles of the present invention."...

via appleinsider 

Toyota's 'Night View' Depends on Vehicle Speed, Brightness, Weather

Toyota Motor Corp's "Crown Hybrid" released in May 2008 is equipped with the "Night View" system that displays the view of the road ahead at night.

In the previous model, the view of the road ahead is displayed on the windshield, and it is overlapped with the view right in front of the car. But the latest model ensures a clear view in front of the car by displaying the view of the road ahead on the LCD meters, even though the driver has to look back and forth between the front view and the meters.

The newest Crown Hybrid employs pattern recognition to recognize pedestrians. Multiple sets of image data on the shapes of pedestrians have been prepared and, the shape of the image shot by the system is compared with the data. When the system determines that a pedestrian is present, yellow frames are displayed around the pedestrian as well as the entire image on the screen.

The yellow frame surrounding the entire image helps driver to recognize pedestrians without moving the sight to the LCD meter.

The LCD meter has a resolution of 1280 x 480 dots. The size of the image indicated by the Night View system is 614 x 346 dots. Vehicle speed, brightness and weather are the conditions that affect the activation of the pedestrian detection function of the Night View system.

According to Toyota, the requisite vehicle speed is 15-60km/h, because it is difficult to recognize pedestrians with the current processing circuit at speeds exceeding 60km/h. The pedestrian detection function will not be activated either, when it is too dark to turn on the low-beam light. Furthermore, the wipers operated in rain will lower the recognition accuracy, thus also preventing the function from being activated.

Toyota plans to consider incorporating a function to recognize bicycles and animals, in addition to pedestrians, because the company has received a number of requests for such a feature from users.

Meanwhile, LCD meters increase the cost, although they have matured technically. According to a demonstrator from Toyota, it is "several times more expensive than the existing meters." The company aims to reduce the cost by increasing the number of models equipped with an LCD meter and by providing greater variation in sizes...

via techon.nikkeibp 

Asustek stops taking Eee PC 900 orders in preparation for upcoming 901 launch

Asustek computer has stopped taking orders for its Eee PC 900, launched just one month ago, in order to prepare for the upcoming launch of the Intel Atom-based Eee PC 901, according to industry sources.

The Eee PC 900 was unveiled for the Asia Pacific market during late April and for the US market on May 12. But Asustek is said to have stopped taking any more Eee PC 900 orders as the Eee PC 901 is set to launch on June 3, the sources said.

Industry players commented that the Eee PC 900, based on an Intel Celeron processor, was a transitional product launched to compete with Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) VIA Technologies C7-M-based Mini-Note PC, while Asustek waited for Intel to start deliveries of Atom CPUs...

via digitimes 

Alienware Area-51 7500 Desktop

Computer Shopper does not currently have pricing information for this product. It may be available directly from the manufacturer's Web site....

via computershopper 

Asus to launch 10-inch Eee PC on Tuesday: Confirmed