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Nonvisual interface may allow blind people to drive cars

by Casey Johnston | Last updated July 5, 2010 7:00 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Software)

A newly developed driving interface may let blind people independently drive cars on the open road. Designed by engineers at Virginia Tech, the system incorporates various nonvisual cues into the driver's seat of a dune buggy that could help the blind navigate roads without assistance.

The project began in 2007, when a group of Virginia Tech researchers placed in a DARPA competition to develop a vehicle that could drive itself. Later, the same group received a grant from the National Federation of the Blind to incorporate the laser detection system that allowed the car to navigate and detect obstacles into an interface that could be understood through senses other than sight.

The new, nonvisual interfaces use a combination of tactile cues to inform the driver. One is called Drive Grip; it's a set of gloves that vibrate on various portions of the knuckles to signal the driver when it's time to turn.

The interfaces are set to be incorporated into a Ford Escape and demonstrated at the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 29, 2011. The ultimate goal is an ambitious one: the car could lead to a change in longstanding legislation that prohibits driving while blind, so long as the vehicle is equipped with the appropriate technology.

Courier lives, kinda, with new Toshiba dual-screen portable

by Peter Bright | Last updated June 21, 2010 3:40 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Gear & Gadgets)

Today Toshiba announced the Libretto W100, an ultra-mobile PC sporting a pair of 7" 1024 × 600 multitouch screens, a 1.2GHz Pentium U5400 processor, 2GB RAM, and a 62GB solid state disk. The all-touch device is designed to be used as a conventional laptop, and vertically, like a book.

The W100 includes haptic technology, giving the touchscreens tactile feedback; there's also 802.11b/g/n support, Bluetooth, and a built-in camera. This is all in a slightly bulky—7.95" × 4.84" × 1.2"—but lightweight—1.8 lbs (just a hair more than the iPad)—package. In spite of the size, it is certainly a fully-featured machine.

Toshiba is describing the W100 as a "concept PC," an acknowledgement that it won't be a machine suitable for everyone. It will hit the market in August, with prices starting at $1099, albeit with limited availability. The device was shown as part of Toshiba's celebration of 25 years of laptops; the first clamshell laptop was released by Toshiba some 25 years ago.

The company is positioning the W100 as an Ultra Mobile PC—something highly portable, but still in every sense a PC, with all the functionality that entails. The similarity to Microsoft's Courier concept, however, is striking. Courier paired the dual-screen, book-like form-factor with specialized software that fully exploited the touch capabilities to provide a natural, intuitive interface.

However, as with so many tablet-like devices before, the W100 does not do this. The W100 includes Windows 7 Home Premium, which is a perfectly good operating system, but it is not purpose-built for pure touch machines. The user interface is designed for a mouse and a keyboard, and though Windows 7 does include some concessions to touch (for example, it includes an on-screen keyboard with multitouch support, and it enlarges certain interface elements when used with touch machines), it still falls a long way short of the purpose-built interfaces found in so many cell phones and the iPad.

To fill this gap, the W100 does include some custom software: a "Toshiba Bulletin Board," that provides a touch-friendly, widget-based desktop, and "Toshiba ReelTime," with touch-friendly file management. The device can also be used as a more conventional laptop, with one screen serving as a keyboard. A number of keyboard layouts are supported, including a neat split mode for use with thumbs.

The software problem is a continued issue for Microsoft. Given the hardware specs of the W100, Windows 7 is in some ways a natural fit: this is a piece of hardware that's got the horsepower to run fully fledged desktop apps without a problem (in terms of computational capabilities, it has something like five times the integer performance of the A4 processor in the iPad). Using one screen as a keyboard—a keyboard with tactile feedback, no less—arguably also justifies the use of full Windows 7, as it makes the W100 functionally equivalent to a standard laptop.

But if that's all the device is going to be used for, it might as well abandon the second screen and just use a regular keyboard. The unique value of the W100 is that it can be tilted sideways and held like a book with a pair of screens—only it lacks the software to really make use of this mode.

As such, it's hard to see the point of the W100. A similar device based on, say, Android would make sense with the touchscreens, but would then be (in comparison to other Android devices) immensely overpowered, with the drop in battery life that implies. Sticking with Windows 7 limits the utility of the touchscreens, but justifies the stuff under the hood. Combined with the price, it's not hard to see why Toshiba is labeling this a "concept PC." The W100 is unlikely to emulate the iPad's sales figures, and isn't enough—yet—to herald a new era of portable computing.

Hands-on with Wii Classic Controller Pro: fingerprinty!

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated April 28, 2010 6:05 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Opposable Thumbs)

So we were sent a Wii Classic Controller Pro, the $20 update to the first-generation Classic Controller for the Nintendo Wii. Does it look more "pro" to you?

The controller is laid out very similarly to the first Classic Controller, with the exception of the fins coming down from the bottom of the controller. These fins are thinner than they look in pictures, and they take some getting used to. The idea here is to give the player a better grip than the SNES-style original, but in practice they never seemed to be positioned where we'd like them.

The black controller is also glossy, which means it looks like a mess of fingerprints within seconds of being taken out of its box. It also looks goofy as hell hooked into all my white Wiimotes. You can buy a white version of the controller for the same price if you're into a matching home theater set up.

As nice as the controller is, it never really seemed to fit perfectly in my hand. The Z-button is now placed behind the L and R buttons, giving you two triggers on each side, much like a Dual Shock 3. This also took a little while to get used to. For some odd reason it always felt as if it was going to fall out of my hands.

If you already have a Classic Controller, there isn't much reason to upgrade to the Pro. If you don't, however, head to your local game store and try them both out before making your purchase. More choice is never a bad thing.

Microsoft Asia prototypes fancy new inductive charging pad

by Peter Bright | Last updated February 24, 2010 7:37 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from One Microsoft Way)

Microsoft has applied for a neat patent for a smart inductive charger (via Being Manan). Inductive charging, used, for example, in the Palm Pre's Touchstone, allows for contactless charging of devices in close proximity.

The charger couples inductive charging with an LCD screen that can be used to show off "weather conditions, sports scores, news headlines, and/or other selected items" through a wireless connection to a PC. More useful, I would think, would be some indication of the charging status of the device.

Image from the patent application showing the basic design of the device

Apparent pictures of a prototype of the device have emerged. Though we can't be certain that it uses the patented technology, the prototype is all but identical to the design shown in the patent, suggesting that development is quite far advanced. The prototype is shown charging a wireless mouse. This seems a rather mundane use for such a fancy charger, and the thing is rather smaller than might be expected—the mouse covers the LCD screen when it's on the charger, which renders it all a bit useless.

A larger device that could be used to charge a range of devices (mouse, Windows Phone, some future Zune) would seem a lot more compelling—a one-stop charging shop for all your wireless Microsoft gadgets.

Microsoft patents automatic device pairing system

by Peter Bright | Last updated February 23, 2010 9:30 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from One Microsoft Way)

A recent patent application (via WMPowerUser.com) describes a system devised by Microsoft to enable automatic pairing of devices over short-range wireless connections such as Bluetooth and Wireless USB. After an initial manual pairing, say between a phone and a PC, the system would allow those devices to automatically pair with other related devices, such as a second PC.

The pairing mechanism would act as an alternative to the preexisting pairing mechanisms already built in to these protocols, and would require device support for both sides of the operation. Public key cryptography is used to securely share pairing information among different devices; that information might be transmitted via USB key, network connection or any other convenient method. The described system respects user identities, so merely pairing with a computer would not mean that anyone logged into the machine would be able to use an automatically paired device.

Scenarios in which suitably enabled devices would be useful are not too hard to envision. Having phones automatically paired to all the PCs you own is perhaps the most obvious example of when this would be useful, but more broadly, any peripheral could be used: headsets that you pair with your PC but also work automatically with your phone, mice that work with every PC you own, and so on.

Of course, filing a patent does not mean that this will ever materialize in any shipping product, and there's no indication thus far that this will form a part of Windows Phone 7 Series. That said, phones and PCs are probably the best-suited devices to this kind of technology as, being software-driven, they're the easiest to update to include this kind of extension. Seamless wireless syncing (Zune already performs syncing over WiFi, unlike the iPhone), including seamless wireless pairing, would certainly be another way in which Microsoft could distinguish its phone platform from the iPhone, and would enable the company to promote the more connected, less wired merits of Windows Phone.

The Ars Technica Guide to I/O Virtualization

by Peter Bright | Last updated February 10, 2010 11:30 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Uptime)

Virtualization is a key enabling technology for the modern datacenter. Without virtualization, tricks like load balancing and multitenancy wouldn't be available from datacenters that use commodity x86 hardware to supply the on-demand compute cycles and networked storage that powers the current generation of cloud-based Web applications.

Even though it has been used pervasively in datacenters for the past few years, virtualization isn't standing still. Rather, the technology is still evolving, and with the launch of I/O virtualization support from Intel and AMD it's poised to reach new levels of performance and flexibility. Our past virtualization coverage looked at the basics of what virtualization is, and how processors are virtualized. The current installment will take a close look at how I/O virtualization is used to boost the performance of individual servers by better virtualizing parts of the machine besides the CPU.

The AMD Radeon HD 5570 has bowed and the usual suspects have reviews up.

Read More: Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, [H]ardOCP

Nehalem Mac Pros take 20% performance hit when playing audio

by Chris Foresman | Last updated February 3, 2010 6:22 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Infinite Loop)

Apple's latest Mac Pro, jammed with multicore Nehalem-based Xeon processors, is designed to be a computing beast with power to spare for the most demanding tasks. Since the current Mac Pros became available in October of 2009, though, numerous users have reported a glitch, which appears to be related to audio processing, that causes those Xeons to run much hotter than expected. The problem also saps a surprising amount of performance as well.

It turns out that the most recent revisions of the Mac Pro—"Early 2009" as well as "Late 2009" models—exhibit very unusual behavior when playing any source of audio. The problem manifests as what has been described as excessive increases in power use and processor core heat when playing songs in iTunes, watching videos via Quicktime, or even when keeping USB or FireWire-based audio interfaces plugged in and active. While hardware monitors only report a small percentage of processor use, it can still cause performance decreases of up to 20 percent for other tasks.

PS3 motion controller coming in fall, still no name or price

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 20, 2010 9:22 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Opposable Thumbs)

Sony's upcoming motion controller for the PlayStation 3 was slated for a spring release, but without any hands-on time with the peripheral, any details on launch games, or any real details at all, it should come as a very mild surprise to learn that controller has been pushed back to autumn 2010.

"We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users," said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

"We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from SCE Worldwide Studios but also from the third party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with. We look forward to soon unveiling the exciting software line-up that further expands and defines the PS3 platform as the ultimate entertainment system for the home."

Hurray for marketing-speak! Sony wants to warn us that "motion controller" is a tentative name, and you will need to use the PlayStation Eye to take advantage of the unnamed, unpriced peripheral. Also, is it just us, or does this sound like a threat? "SCE will vigorously promote the Motion Controller as the de facto controller of the PS3 platform along with the DualShock series controller and will deploy various measures to enhance the software title line-up for the Motion Controller, delivering groundbreaking interactive entertainment only possible on the PS3 platform."

Get ready for some competition this fall, when the Sony Motion Controller (tentative name) goes up against Microsoft's Project Natal (tentative name). If nothing else, we're in for an interesting E3, where both technologies should be shown in detail.

A tale of two qubits: how quantum computers work

by Joseph B. Altepeter | Last updated January 18, 2010 11:15 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Nobel Intent)

Quantum information is the physics of knowledge. To be more specific, the field of quantum information studies the implications that quantum mechanics has on the fundamental nature of information. By studying this relationship between quantum theory and information, it is possible to design a new type of computer—a quantum computer. A largescale, working quantum computer—the kind of quantum computer some scientists think we might see in 50 years—would be capable of performing some tasks impossibly quickly.

To date, the two most promising uses for such a device are quantum search and quantum factoring. To understand the power of a quantum search, consider classically searching a phonebook for the name which matches a particular phone number. If the phonebook has 10,000 entries, on average you'll need to look through about half of them—5,000 entries—before you get lucky. A quantum search algorithm only needs to guess 100 times. With 5,000 guesses a quantum computer could search through a phonebook with 25 million names.

Poll Technica: are you getting your wallet out for 3D?

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 18, 2010 9:54 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Media)

This year at CES the big story was 3D. Every meeting, every speech, and every party was, at some point, interrupted by some executive or PR person telling us to put on our glasses. Sony famously brought out Taylor Swift, and then asked you to watch Taylor Swift perform live in 3D on video screens... even though she was right there.

You can read our own Jon Stokes' take on the differing 3D displays and technology from CES to get caught up on the story. The question is: did the show sell you on the idea of 3D? The technology seemed mature and ready for your home—as long as you don't mind wearing those ubiquitous glasses—but will interest from the press and electronics giants translate into consumer spending? We're throwing the question to you.

While PC market rebounds, Apple slips into 5th place in US

While PC market rebounds, Apple slips into 5th place in US

by Chris Foresman | Last updated January 14, 2010 2:40 PM

Early estimates for fourth-quarter PC sales are in, painting a much rosier picture than the past several quarters. Even Dell, which had a significant drop in market share for 2009, managed to turn in a slight increase in unit shipments for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, HP moves into the top spot in the US, while Apple, despite showing an increase in units shipped, moved down to number five. Dell also took a hit worldwide, being bumped from the number two spot by Acer.

In the US, PC shipments were up 25 percent for the quarter, and about 6 percent overall for the entire year. That contrasts sharply with the doom and gloom expected for the year as an effect of the recession, with huge holiday sales preventing the year from ending on a sour note.

Smaller, cheaper, rubber: Nyko's gift to the Wii

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 14, 2010 10:47 AM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Opposable Thumbs)

Nyko didn't show us many things at CES that we would consider sexy, and certainly nothing that matches the OMGWTF styling of the R.A.T. mice from Mad Catz. What the company had on display was simply a better solution to the Wiimote and Motion Plus monstrosity Nintendo has created. The Wand+ from Nyko takes the company's existing Wand design and adds Motion Plus support. Simple.

The kicker is that both peripherals are now contained in one controller and are smaller than Nintendo's offering. At $39.99 you can pick up a Wand+ for $20 less than it would cost to get a name-brand Nintendo Wiimote and a MotionPlus module. After playing with the controller for a good session of Wii Sports Resort it felt just as good as the original, with comfortable rubber grips and a good heft. It's cheaper, works just as well, and may even feel a little better in some hands. Where's the downside?

The Wand+ also supports what Nyko calls its "Trans-Port" technology, allowing you to remap the buttons on the controller if you plug it into another Nyko accessory. For instance, the Perfect Shot Pro is a gun controller that now has rumble support, so the gun has a more powerful shake than you'd get with a standard Wiimote plugged in. When you use it with the Wand+ you'll be able to map either the "A" or "B" button to be the trigger, allowing the accessory to work on any game, even if the title doesn't support different key configurations.

We'll be taking a closer look at these products when they launch in the coming months, but I've personally always felt the Wiimote, with the MotionPlus, with the big rubber condom attached... it's kind of a bulky thing. The Wand+ brings all that tech into one tiny package and then cuts the price. It's a good thing.

Update: As it was pointed out in comments, you can find the Black Wiimote and Motion Plus combo for $50, making this product only $10 cheaper.

Intel's MacBook Pro update slip: what to expect

by Chris Foresman | Last updated January 13, 2010 2:41 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Infinite Loop)

Desktop versions of Intel's next-gen processor architecture have made appearances in the top-end iMac models, but we shouldn't have a long wait for mobile versions to show up in Apple's portable line. A sales promotion for Intel retailers offers a chance to win a MacBook Pro featuring a Core i5 processor during the month of January, though such a machine does not currently exist in Apple's lineup.

Promotional materials sent this week to members of the Intel Retail Edge Program, which gives technical information and sales incentives to retail employees, describes a contest which features 2 MacBook Pros as the top prize. "Pass this month's trainings for 2 chances to win one of 2 MacBook Pro laptops with the accelerated response of an Intel Core i5 processor," the promotion reads. The materials were sent to multiple countries—including France, Spain, and the UK—suggesting that the error wasn't merely a typo.

R.A.T. 9 mouse long on features, Michael Bay-good looks

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 13, 2010 1:41 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Opposable Thumbs)

At CES we met with SteelSeries, and the company stressed that the gaming gear it creates isn't ostentatious; there aren't many glowing logos or crazy designs. Mad Catz seems to have gone the other way with the R.A.T. series of mice, and you would be forgiven if you thought you were gaming with Megatron's left testicle.

Even though the design is pure Michael Bay, it's remarkably comfortable in your hand, as all the places where skin meets mouse are smooth and comfortable. Even better, you can adjust the size, the weight, and the thumb rest. You can add a rest for your pinky finger on some models if you want. The chassis is made of metal, so you can go ahead and slam it on your desk after a bad match... the desk may break, but the mouse should be fine.

My favorite feature? Under your thumb you'll find a button that lowers the DPI settings on the mouse, making it more precise when you press down. "It's a sniper button!" I exclaimed. The company rep smiled and nodded.

The basic model will run $49.99, but the R.A.T. 9 will cost a dizzying $129.99. That gets you all the bells and whistles, plus wireless capabilities, an extra battery with a charging station that also holds any of the weights you're not using in the mouse, and a horizontal metal scroll wheel you can hit with your thumb. An allen wrench allows you to adjust nearly every aspect of the experience.

We'll be looking at the SteelSeries gear very soon, but the Mad Catz R.A.T. line is impressive, and very desirable if you can never seem to find a mouse that works well with your hands, or you just love to be able to tweak and adjust your gear. The line will begin shipping this spring.

PC prices may rise, reversing six-year trend

by Eric Bangeman | Last updated January 12, 2010 10:48 AM

Your next PC may cost you a bit more than expected if you buy later this year. Market research masters Gartner say that the price of building PCs will climb this year, reversing a six-year trend, due to component scarcity. That's going to pose a bit of challenge to manufacturers who have focused on pumping out cheap netbooks during the economic downturn.

The biggest driver of the likely price increase is memory. The DRAM industry is in the midst of moving from DDR2 to DDR3, which means less of each type of RAM is being produced. DDR3 spot prices are up 23 percent over the last month; with memory comprising about a tenth of a PC's overall cost, that's a significant cost for OEMs to absorb.

It's not just RAM: LCD panels and hard drive prices are on the rise, with the cost of the former expected to jump by as much as 20 percent. Optical drives are also suffering from supply constraints.

As a result of the recession, component manufacturers reduced capacity and delayed building additional plants. While investment is on the way back up, it takes time for new facilities to come online. In the meantime, OEMs face a dilemma: how much of the additional costs can they pass on to consumers and businesses without scaring them away from new hardware?

CES in pictures: the good, the bad, the Elvis

by Ars Staff | Last updated January 10, 2010 11:45 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Gear & Gadgets)

CES is a daunting show to cover, filled with emerging technologies, new products hoping to change the world, and a few goofy surprises here and there. What you don't often see is what goes on around the fringes of the show: the products that don't get written about, the booth designs intended to draw your eye and get you to walk in, and the weird tricks companies try to get your attention.

This year every major player wanted you to put on glasses to look at content, you could get your picture taken with Elvis at a few different places, and if you knew were to look you could sit in Captain Kirk's chair. Welcome to our CES, in pictures.

Guitar Hero gets real: the hidden genius of the "You Rock"

by Ben Kuchera | Last updated January 10, 2010 8:30 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Opposable Thumbs)

Any story about Guitar Hero or Rock Band isn't complete without some yahoo in the comments claiming that people should stop having fun playing games and should start learning how to play an actual guitar. One product at CES was pitched to us as an advanced Guitar Hero controller, but what we saw at the booth was a surprisingly robust musical product that will retail for $179.99.

The guitar, called the "You Rock Guitar" from Inspired Instruments, features six metal "strings" and a full-sized neck with rows of pressure-sensitive lines that act and feel like the strings of a real instrument. You can strum, you can fingerpick, and you can play chords and solos. The controller has clearly laid out sections for Rock Band, and by hitting a button on the body of the guitar you turn on "game mode" so you can use it on your video game system—a $25 add-on gives the guitar Bluetooth support for wireless play—but the guitar has many more tricks up its sleeve.

Steve Ballmer reportedly set to preempt Apple tablet at CES

by Emil Protalinski | Last updated January 6, 2010 12:29 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from One Microsoft Way)

During his CES 2010 keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will show off an Hewlett-Packard tablet with multitouch, e-reader, and multimedia functionalities. At least that's what the The New York Times is reporting, citing unnamed sources. The "slate-type computer" is supposed to be "available by mid-year" and we may already have heard the name publicly.

"This is my Zeen. It is the key to my Airlife." These mysterious sentences were part of recent HP trademark filings uncovered by the NYT that cover "mobile computing devices and wireless lifestyles."

Along with a few netbooks, HP this week actually announced the HP TouchSmart tm2, a touch-enabled notebook PC that could be confused with the rumored tablet. However, the HP TouchSmart tm2 is expected to be available in the US on January 17 (much sooner than this supposed HP tablet) in all colors with a starting price of $949. Furthermore, while it has multitouch and multimedia capabilities, there's nothing e-reader-related mentioned, so these two are likely separate devices.

It's not clear how much control Microsoft had (if any) over the development of this rumored slate device, though if Ballmer is going to be showing it off, it's safe to say that it will be running some Microsoft software, at the very least Windows 7. In fact, we would not be surprised if Ballmer shows off multiple tablet devices running Windows 7, and nothing else.

The HP device in question should not be confused with the Microsoft Courier, images and details of which leaked out last fall. The dual-screen device has been in the works at Microsoft Research (not HP) for many months, and is supposed to be one of the many ways the software giant is experimenting with and prototyping the tablet form factor.

There is going to be a lot of tablet hype in the year 2010, and rumors have shown it's not just Microsoft that is interested in getting competitive. Apple is rumored to be announcing its own tablet later this month. Meanwhile, there are also rumors that Google has a tablet in the works, running Android of course, and developed by HTC. Ars will have liveblog coverage of the Microsoft keynote, so be sure to tune in.

The format wars: of lasers and (creative) destruction

by Anders Bylund | Last updated January 4, 2010 11:30 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Gear & Gadgets)

I have this love/hate relationship with format wars.

No, it's not reality television versus talk shows, or Top 40 radio against "the best of the '80s—and more!" The wars I'm thinking about pit technologies against one another, usually in a battle to the death of one or more of the contestants. It's One format to rule them all every time, and the streets are littered with the remains of the losers.

These wars are loathsome because we consumers have to pick a side or else lose out on something awesome, and then the ones who picked the wrong one have to pay up again for the winning technology. But format wars also keep the carousel of progress spinning and fan the flames of innovation. Join me for a brief look back at the format wars of yesteryear, and a look ahead at what will replace them.

Economic woes plagued the semiconductor industry in 2009. According to Gartner, worldwide revenue dropped $29 billion, an 11.4% drop from '08.

Read More: Gartner

AMD may have the lead with DirectX 11 tech, but so what? That's NVIDIA's take on the situation, and the GPU maker says it won't matter in the long run.

Read More: PC World

Rumor: Apple to include new i7-980X in upcoming Mac Pro

by Jeff Smykil | Last updated December 15, 2009 5:33 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Infinite Loop)

Regardless of recent updates to the Mac Pro line, rumors are circulating that Apple could be upgrading its pro line of desktops early next year with faster processors that sport more cores and consume less power. The information was allegedly leaked from Intel, and the new processors (codenamed Gulftown) will reportedly make use of six cores on a 32nm die with 12MB of L3 cache per chip. Currently, Apple's high-end machine offers only four cores per processor with 8MB of L3 cache.

According to AppleInsider, the i7980X will start at a clock speed of 3.33GHz, which happens to be the clock speed of the fastest quad-core processor you can currently order in a Mac Pro. The i7-980X will supposedly replace the i7-975 in the Extreme tier of Apple's three-tier system. According to the roadmap, the processor will see a launch in the first quarter of 2010.

Speculation has arisen that Apple may work with Intel to be the first company to use the new processor and, if you ask us, the timing seems right. The speed bumps to the Mac Pro line earlier this month were done quietly, leading us to believe the increase in clock speed is merely a stop-gap before a larger overhaul. A March rollout would certainly put a NAMM release into the realm of possibility. More cores and perhaps Blu-Ray would definitely appeal to the audio/visual crowd too. It seems likely Apple already has samples of the processor and is in the testing process.

The i7-980X would not only mean better performance for consumers, but also lower power consumption, allowing Apple to make further strides toward being a greener company. It would potentially mean smaller machines, less fan noise, and smaller heat sinks due to the lower power consumption and heat output. It seems only likely that the same processors will eventually go into the Xserve line where these same improvements are even more important.

The next revision of your favorite gadget may have a bit more memory. Toshiba has launched new 64GB embedded NAND flash modules, which it says are the first in the industry. Samples are available now with mass production beginning this winter.

Read More: Toshiba, Engadget

A review of the iMac 27" Core 2 Duo: yep, it's still an iMac

by Jacqui Cheng | Last updated December 13, 2009 11:30 PM

Expand Excerpt (Cross posted from Infinite Loop)

Though users in general—and Mac users in particular—are quickly moving to a notebook-dominated world, Apple's iconic iMac remains a strong seller in the desktop market. And for good reason: aside from the obvious portability offered by a notebook, the sleek machine offers more bang for your buck than a mobile, but without any of the ugliness that typically comes with a desktop machine. Apple's latest iMac offerings continue this trend by refining the cosmetic aspects of the machine and adding just enough new stuff on the inside to make things interesting.

It has been just over two years since Apple last revamped the iMac's design, and the refinements are largely worth it. The new iMac now comes in three processor flavors and two screen options. The stock processor options are either the 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (the same processor offered in the last-generation iMacs, but with faster configurations) or a 2.66GHz Intel Core i5 (the first quad-core option to come to the iMac), and you can get a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 as a build-to-order option. For the display, the 21" iMac has now morphed into the 21.5" (to accommodate a 16:9 aspect ratio), and the high-end option is now 27".