Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 480M is the steroidal notebook graphics card you’ve been waiting for (if you’re a huge nerd): The world’s fastest notebook GPU according to Nvidia, it’s the first mobile chip using Nvidia’s ridiculous Fermi architecture. More »
Nvidia – GeForce – Video card – GPU – Hardware
If you went to the midnight launch (qjnet/news/gamestop-will-have-midnight-launch-for-ufc-undisputed-2010.html), you’re probably bleeding through your eyelids by now and desperately needing sleep. Or you’re already asleep and not reading this babble. Anyway, UFC Undisputed 2010 packs a create-a-fighter
The netbook has made a bigger impact on the notebook segment than anyone thought it would. It came seemingly out of nowhere and proceeded to grab market share with abandon. Consumers liked the smaller, cheaper notebook and snapped them up in great numbers. The netbook is a great mobile computer, but that cheap price is not without an impact on the performance of the device. The Intel Atom processor is a great fit for the netbook, but it is no screamer at performance. With the appearance of “tweener” notebooks that are almost as cheap as netbooks yet have more capable hardware, is the future of the netbook in jeopardy?
I have used a lot of netbooks, and have always liked the devices. You can’t get more mobility in a fully configured notebook form than on a netbook. They are light, have great battery life and will do just about anything you want to do on a notebook. All of this capability is cheap, with some netbooks going for as little as $200. There are more capable models like my favorite HP Mini 5102, but those generally cost quite a bit more. Like all electronic devices, the more you pack in one the more it costs.
Netbooks have the Atom processor in common for the most part, a good processor for the genre. They also tend to have low resolution displays (1024×600) which keeps things cheap. This combination is fine for getting work done, but it’s getting long in the tooth for me. I find myself getting frustrated at the lag that is common on netbooks, and I want to see more on the screen at once than those displays show me.
Sure there are many netbooks with higher resolution options, but that generally drives the cost up. I also find the Atom processor lags get worse when the netbook is driving more pixels on the screen. I’m not the only one who gets frustrated at waiting for something to happen on a netbook, I have observed others complaining at the wait for an action to execute.
My disappointment at the performance of the netbook is driven by using low cost notebooks that are becoming more commonly available. These notebooks are only slightly bigger than the 10-inch netbooks, yet pack a “real” processor and higher resolution display into the case. The difference in battery life provided by these “tweener” notebooks and netbooks is getting smaller in my experience, too. Throw in the fact that you can often find these notebooks at reasonable prices ($500 or less), and the purchase decision gets even tougher.
I do think the netbook is here to stay, they are always going to be cheap enough that consumers will pick them up, lag or no. I am hoping that the technology is going to advance to address my concerns, and we’ll see some cool netbooks coming along that makes things better. I’m hoping that Kevin Tofel will come back from the Netbook Summit with some great information about new netbook technology that is coming to speed these babies up.
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Better Battery Life Motivates Mobile Chipmakers
Former American Idol judge Paula Abdul finds a new home in CBS in its upcoming reality competition ‘Got to Dance,’ reveals Reality TV World. CBS programming executive Jennifer Bresnan describes Abdul as a “perfect fit” for the program, her being a seasoned dancer and choreographer. She will act as coach, mentor, judge, executive producer, and creative partner of the said program.
Abdul is thrilled to be part of a show close to her heart. “I am thrilled to be creative partners with Reveille, Shine, and CBS and to present the best new dance talent to American audiences. Each and every week we’ll showcase the challenges and successes of a fantastic group of dancers, as they perform and compete…”
Reveille managing director Howard T. Owens thinks Abdul has the energy, and her presence will bring aspiration, mentorship, and compassion to the show.
‘Got to Dance’ premiered this year in the U.K., created by Princess Productions and Shine TV, and produced by Reveille. It features competing amateur dancers of any age and style.
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Today, the S&P/Case Shiller Housing Index shows some worrying, if unsurprising, statistics about the housing market.
The good news is that the year-on-year index, the most-watched metric, gained, as from from March 2009 to March 2010 housing prices rose 2.35 percent. Economists had expected a gain of 2.5 percent. The bad news is housing prices declined 3.2 percent between the last quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. And the non-seasonally adjusted housing index declined from February to March, the sixth straight decline in home prices. Las Vegas and Detroit continue to be the worst, and still-worsening, housing markets. From the press release:
“The housing market may be in better shape than this time last year; but, when you look at recent trends there are signs of some renewed weakening in home prices,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “In the past several months we have seen some relatively weak reports across many of the markets we cover. Thirteen MSAs and the two Composites saw their prices drop in March over February. Boston was flat. The National Composite fell by 3.2% compared to the previous quarter and the two Composites are down for the sixth consecutive month.
“While year-over-year results for the National Composite, 18 of the 20 MSAs and the two Composites improved, the most recent monthly data are not as encouraging. It is especially disappointing that the improvement we saw in sales and starts in March did not find its way to home prices. Now that the tax incentive ended on April 30th, we don’t expect to see a boost in relative demand.”
The question is now whether housing prices are stabilizing, or whether they will continue to fall — particularly given how enormous the shadow inventory of homes is. You can see the worrying sign of a housing double-dip or stabilization on the solid line on the right side of the chart here.
Computex Taipei 2010 is the biggest IT show in Asia and one of the most important such shows in the world and we’ll be there next week to report on the hundreds of new products. One Computex new release certain to cause a stir is ASROCK’s AIWI, an Apple app which turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a Nintendo Wii-type motion controller for computer games, and maybe more importantly, using the touch screen as a touch pad for controlling the cursor and keyboard functions of a computer. It’s not just very clever and very cool – it might just have some serious implications for the future of the Computer (and TV) Human Interface. Our esteemed colleagues at Tweaktown.com have released a sneak peak video demonstration which is well worth a look…
Continue Reading AIWI turns your iPhone into a wii-like motion controller … and more
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First Gizmodo acquired an iPhone that was “left” in a bar. Now, Gizmodo decides to post a picture of the Verizon branded Motorola Shadow, or whatever they’re gonna end up calling it, which was apparently, “left” in a gym. Since when do prototypes get lost and found so frequenty? And more importantly, when did smartphones start going to bars and working out? Maybe these phones are so “super” that they’ve learned to sprout legs and flee their masters. Or, perhaps lost phones are just becoming the new blurry-cam leak.
Either way, this phone is a beast. I was surprised that there doesn’t seem to be a hardware keyboard. Motorola really seems to be pushing into HTC territory with this bad boy. Here’s what we’ve now confirmed about it:
I ‘m gonna go out on a limb and assume that the screen will not be of AMOLED origin. The picture seen above makes it seem a bit washed out and back-lit (but this could just be due to the lighting or camera). We’ve also yet to see a 4.3″ AMOLED screen put on a phone, leading me to assume there’s a technical reason behind it that we’re just not aware of. For now, everyone seems to be sticking with LCDs for these super-sized phones (aside from the 4″ Super AMOLED found on the Samsung Galaxy S). However, in this case, I’d love to be wrong.
Verizon customers can expect this device to launch around June or July time. Anyone interested?
Heavy metal band, Slipknot, announced the sad departure of its member, Paul Gray, after he was found dead in a hotel. The loud voiced band, with somewhat aggressive lyrics and masked outfits would go silent after Gray left their family. Body of the singer was found in an Iowa hotel room by an employee at the TownPlace suites in Urbandale. No reports of torture or foul play has been reported but an autopsy has been scheduled later in the day.
It is reported that Paul Gray had been staying at the hotel for several days. The hotel is only a few miles away from his childhood home. Gray, famous amongst the fans for wearing the black faceplate with dark sockets, rocked the crowd like anything.
Previous reports and investigations lead to his addiction to a few drugs. Back in 2003, he was arrested for possessing marijuana, cocaine and power syringes after he crashed his red Porsche. His original identity or I may say his face was revealed for the first time when Police unveiled his picture in public. Never before had anyone seen him.
The band spent a moment of silence and changing the front page of the site with Paul’s picture.
The band was nominated for Grammy’s on seven occasions while winning one in 2006 in the best metal performance category for “Before I Forget”.
Cause of Death could also not be determined till the filing of the report.
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Although you can frequently find strawberries in the off season at supermarkets, it isn’t until berry season hits full swing in late spring that you start to see fresh strawberries just about everywhere. They’re hard to resist when they look like bright red jewels in their little baskets, waiting to be purchased – and there […]
Want to meet other people who’ve read REWORK? Want to talk with other business owners (or potential business owners) who believe ASAP is poison, meetings are toxic, planning is guessing, and inspiration is perishable? Or maybe you’re just curious about how these ideas can apply to your own business. Sound interesting to you?
Then check out a REWORK Meetup. They’re happening this June in nearly 100 cities across the world. These are face-to-face meetups in bookstores, cafes, restaurants, pubs, libraries, or anywhere else people agree to meet up and discuss REWORK and the ideas within.
I’ll be at the Chicago Meetup on June 3rd. Which one will you be at? Check out the REWORK Meetups, pick your city, sign up, and meet your fellow readers, thinkers, and doers.
Apple is once again throwing its annual free-iPod-with-a-Mac, starting from today and running through until September 7th. Anyone who buys a new Mac on their education-discount scheme gets a free 8GB iPod Touch model. [Apple] More »
Apple – iPod – IPhone – Peripherals – Hardware
Weeks after BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Politico reported that during the last 20 years, the company and its employees gave more money to President Obama than any other federal political candidate.
On Fox News Sunday, Sarah Palin tried to make it into a wider narrative. “I don’t know why the question isn’t asked by the mainstream media and by others if there’s any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration,” she said. Think Progress has the story on this inane charge in this repost (which is followed by a Media Matters excerpt).
Palin wondered if there is “any connection there to President Obama taking so doggone long to … grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico.” Mainstream media outlet the Wall Street Journal did ask and it appears the answer doesn’t give cover to Palin’s charges:
According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Republicans receive far more campaign money from the oil and gas industry than do Democrats.
So far in 2010, the oil and gas industries have contributed $12.8 million to all candidates, with 71% of that money going to Republicans. During the 2008 election cycle, 77% of the industry’s $35.6 million in contributions went to Republicans, and in the 2008 presidential contest, Republican candidate Sen. John McCain received more than twice as much money from the oil and gas industries as Obama: McCain collected $2.4 million; Obama, $898,000.
Moreover, as Time’s Michael Scherer noted, the Politico article on BP’s donations “fails to provide the context readers need” considering Obama ran for president, and the numbers aren’t adjusted for “campaign inflation.” Even right-wing blogger Ed Morrissey warned the GOP not to “overpay their hand on this issue.”
This was a Think Progress repost. Media Matters further notes:
Like clockwork, media outlets seized on Palin’s accusation and cited Center for Responsive Politics’ calculation that Obama had received $71,051 in BP-linked contributions for his presidential campaign. Only problem is, contrary to Palin’s and the media’s suggestions, all of that money came from BP employees, not BP the company. A spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics confirmed Monday that “the $71,051 that Obama received during the 2008 election cycle was entirely from BP employees.” The CRP spokesman also stated that “Obama did not accept contributions from political action committees, so none of this money is from BP’s PAC. And corporations themselves are prohibited from donating directly to candidates from their corporate treasuries.”
Why is this an important distinction? Because Obama raised far more money than any other candidate ever has, therefore, it is completely unsurprising that Obama also received the most amount of money from BP employees. Moreover, BP-linked contributions to Obama’s campaign are a drop in the bucket when compared to Obama’s total campaign haul. In addition to the $71,051 Obama received from BP-linked contributors in 2008, Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign raised $6,000 from BP-linked sources, bringing Obama’s total BP-related campaign contributions to 77,051. This represents less than .01 percent of the nearly $800 million that Obama raised for his campaigns.
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Technology: GSM
Announced Carrier: AT&T
Announced Release Date: June 6, 2010
The Rugby II is a ruggedized device that offers push-to-talk capabilities behind it’s military standard certifications (MIL-STD810G). Other key features include a 2MP camera with video capture, MobiTV, AT&T radio, 19.2 MHz processor speed, and internal memory of 70MB.
The Rugby II is now the third device behind the Palm Pixi Plus, and LG Vu Plus announced by AT&T with a June 6th launch date.
Facebook will launch “drastically simplified” privacy controls tomorrow, the site’s VP of product, Chris Cox, said today at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York City. Cox said the Facebook team has had an “intense and humbling couple of weeks” amidst outcry over confusing and invasive privacy controls. But until now — aside from the occasional condescending Q&A and avoiding-the-big-issues op-ed — Facebook has largely kept quiet.
Facebook VP product Chris Cox
Cox said that he doesn’t believe the fuss over privacy is just an overblown media story. “A lot of people really care [about privacy],” he said. Cox tried to justify Facebook’s reticence on the issue by saying the team didn’t want to just talk about better privacy controls, it wanted to have products to show for its efforts, built with the input of advocacy groups. And tomorrow that will happen, with a wide rollout of new features and descriptions of what they mean for users.
As for upcoming location features, Cox said the company would talk about what it’s doing when it has a product ready for users. “A lot of things on Facebook happen in the context of location,” he said. “In the long run, we’re a platform company. We want something where users can have whatever data they’re interacting with.”
Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):
Could Privacy Be Facebook’s Waterloo?
Please see the disclosure about Facebook in my bio.
A fresh-out statement from Geoff Morrell, chief spokesman for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, reacting to the proposed legislative language for repealing the military’s ban on open gay service and the general legislative strategy of putting the repeal in the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill:
“Secretary Gates continues to believe that ideally the DOD review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law. With Congress having indicated that is not possible, the Secretary can accept the language in the proposed amendment.”
Audi A1 "The Next Big Thing" Episode 4
Here it is, the fourth episode to “The Next Big Thing” starring the Audi A1, Justin Timberlake and Dania Ramirez. For those of you wondering, there are only two more episodes to go of this…well, whatever you want to call it.
Click here for more news on the Audi A1.
Hit the jump for the video.
Refresher: The 2011 Audi A1 will go on sale in Europe later this year with prices starting around 16,000 euros ($22,062 USD). Power will come from a lineup of 4-cylinder engines, which consists of two TDI diesels and two TFSI gasoline units with output ranging from 84-hp to 122-hp. Mated to a 7-speed S tronic transmission, fuel-economy will range from 44 mpg and 62 mpg.
– By: Kap Shah
Lt. Jeff Cobb had heard about the “castle” at Forward Operating Base Kanashin when he got his orders to deploy to Afghanistan with the Marines. But the 27-year-old wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he got there.
“The picture I got was a medieval Scottish castle or something like that,” he said looking at the structure. “Not quite the same. But it is a castle.
The “castle” is an ancient fortress made of mud brick walls the completely surround a number of buildings. There’s some dispute over exactly when the walls were built. Some say it was put up in the 1200’s to protect Ghengis Khan’s hunting lodge. Cobb says it could be even older than that.
“The rumors are that it was built by Alexander the Great when his army came across during the ancient times. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it looks like it’s that old.”
Alexander the Great and his men came through Afghanistan around 330 BC. However old it is, the fortress has been weathered down over the years by Afghanistan’s harsh elements. Some Marines joke that it looks like an ice cream cake that’s been left out too long.
Marines say the
The heat in this part of Afghanistan is enough to make anything melt. The day we were at Castle Kanashin it was 110 degrees. That’s a big change for Cobb, who is a native of Ypsilanti, Michigan. He says the temperature there rises to maybe 75 degrees this time of year. But he’s acclimating to the weather. He didn’t even realize the mercury had risen that high.
“Putting up with the temperatures the past couple of weeks, the difference between 95 and 110 isn’t very much,” he told us.
Cobb has been a Marine for 6-and-a-half years. This is his first deployment. He pushed for the assignment and is glad he was sent to the castle instead of one of the bigger bases.
“This is kind of the tip of the spear right here, the frontier,” he told us while showing us around.
Cobb is responsible for keeping track of all the manpower in the 1st LAR’s area of operation (AO).
“Nobody comes in and out of castle, or even the AO at large without me finding out about it. “
That means he’s sitting at a desk. But at the castle, it feels like a throne.
Lt Jeff Cobb
With the announcement of the next-gen iPhone just weeks away, Walmart have taken it upon themselves to lower the price of the soon-to-be-replaced 16GB iPhone 3GS to a borderline bargain basement price of only $97 on a two-year contract.
There isn’t really much more to say on this one. If you’re looking for a cheap, functional smartphone on AT&T, you can’t really go wrong with this deal. Unless you dislike Apple of course. Or can’t handle the thought of impending obsolescence. Or whatever.
I’m sure you know what you’re doing.
[via Gizmodo]
On May 27, thousands of students are graduating from Harvard. Each has a successful past to relate, and a promising future to embrace. In a series of profiles, Gazette writers showcase some of these stellar graduates.
Kim Snodgrass clearly remembers Dec. 11, 1998. It was her first day in the sixth grade, and the beginning of her steady education — as well as her salvation.
“From then on, I never missed a day of school,” said the master’s student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s (HGSE) Risk and Prevention Program, who will graduate today armed with ambition and a story of overcoming adversity.
Snodgrass, a fresh-faced, blued-eyed blonde, could be a poster child for the stereotypical Californian. She could also be a poster child for foster care.
As a young girl, she and her family were on the run. They camped out in the mountains and hopped to and from motels and shelters across southern California. They skipped out on apartments whenever the rent was due. They stole to survive, walking out of grocery stores with carts full of food, or filling up the car at gas stations, and then driving away without paying.
“That is what we were so used to, stealing things and getting what we needed whenever we needed it.”
Snodgrass watched as her stepfather and mother’s addiction to drugs and alcohol broke the family apart, gradually “disintegrating” her parents in the process. Eventually, her mother lost all rights to her five children. Between age 5 and 11, Snodgrass was in and out of at least 10 foster homes. Finally, at age 16, her long-term foster family adopted her, her younger brother, Max, and sister, Jennifer.
“I always knew from an early age what [my mother and stepfather] were doing was wrong, and I made a pact to myself that I was going to get myself out of this hole. I was not ever going to touch drugs or alcohol or smoke, and I was going to make it.”
Though she had only had sporadic formal schooling before sixth grade, she knew her escape route depended on education. She became a driven student and excelled academically.
“I used my education as my savior. It was like my thing that I could always go back to, no matter what happened in my life.”
Snodgrass attended the University of California, Irvine, where she studied community and public service. It was there that she dedicated herself to helping foster care children.
“When I entered college, I thought I needed a college degree to have a successful family. As a sophomore, I thought I needed a college degree to change the foster care population, as I found out that only 50 percent of foster youth graduate from high school. My junior year, I realized that I needed a graduate degree to really make an impact and help train others about how they can make change to make an even bigger impact.”
With her new master’s degree, she hopes to provide foster care children with access to support systems and mentors who can help them to develop important life skills and succeed in high school and college. As part of her program at Harvard, she developed an intervention method to help foster care youth transition to college and beyond, and is currently working with an HGSE alumna to explore using her program at a local nonprofit.
While at Harvard, she also produced an educational video about the foster care system, founded the club REACH (which stands for Realizing Every Action Creates Hope) to raise awareness about foster care youth in school, and worked on a model for a charter school designed for foster care children in connection with the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit in Santa Ana, Calif.
She also made time to teach at two local schools. The fast pace is the standard for Snodgrass, who admitted that the overachiever mentality is something of a coping mechanism, one that offers her life a certain kind of balance.
“I cram people into every second of the day. My schedule is back to back to back. It’s something that helps [keep] me from sitting down and crying. I don’t just dwell on the past, I think, ‘What can I do tomorrow?’”
After Harvard, “the possibilities are endless,” said Snodgrass, who sees herself getting a Ph.D. and working in the policy realm, or running a charter school or nonprofit.
But one thing is certain. Citing research that shows that children who face difficult challenges often succeed with the support of just one encouraging voice, Snodgrass sees her future mission clearly.
“So many people helped me get where I am today. I want to go back and help others. My mission is to be a child advocate, and become that voice for them.”
Her Harvard experience has helped her too, and prepared her to help others.
“Harvard was 100 percent where I was supposed to be,” said Snodgrass. “I am going to have a big tool kit when I leave.”
More graduate profiles will be available in the May 27 print issue of the Harvard Gazette as well as online.
Inside an office where Julia Child used to film her cooking show, Jason Luke is whipping up another kind of dish: Commencement.
It’s a historic backdrop like Child’s set that adds extra mystique to Luke’s job as associate director of custodial and support services for University Operations Services. That’s a mouthful, but behind the long title is a Frank Sinatra-loving ultra-preparer. And he has to be. It is spring, after all.
April and May are no ordinary months. Commencement is easily the busiest time at the University, but especially so for Luke. That’s when he — to quote a sticker on a file cabinet in his office — earns the moniker “The Man.”
“When Yardfest [an annual spring concert for undergraduates] gets here in April, I’m like ‘OK, here we go,’ ” said Luke. “Then after that, it gets pretty intense.”
In the off-season, Luke oversees a staff of 250 custodians and handles logistics and support for other Harvard events peppered throughout the academic year. But nothing compares with the end-of-year weekly soirée of Class Day, Morning Exercises, alumni reunions, and the hundreds of other happenings, which he helps coordinate under Commencement Director Grace Scheibner and the Harvard Alumni Association. Then, after months of intense planning, Luke rounds up his crew, a bevy of student workers, and gets cookin’.
There are countless components that make up Commencement, according to Luke, ranging from the small to the massive. Take, for instance, dorm rooms. Those have to be turned around for alumni visitors after vacating students are gone, then turned around again in time for summer school. And think of all the technical equipment that goes into staging a large-scale production — cords and cables and speakers, oh my!
“Commencement is a year-round thing,” said Luke, who also coordinates labor, seating, staging, tenting, setting up, and breaking down. “But at the beginning of May, we start taking the equipment out of storage. We take inventory, we see what’s damaged or missing, then we start working in the Yard.”
But who better to tackle all this than one of Harvard’s own? Luke, a one-time concentrator in English and American literature, graduated in 1994. As a student, he worked for the student dorm crew on facilities maintenance, a precursor to the 15 years he has now worked at Harvard.
Right before Commencement, Luke moves onto campus to better manage his massive workload. “I set up another office in Sever Hall, and then I usually stay in Wigglesworth for 10 days,” he said. “I just don’t go home at all.”
“I pull a couple of all-nighters, at least,” he says. “I probably get about three or four hours of sleep a night for 10 days.”
His assistant stays in the dorm room with him. “We don’t want to oversleep, so we can wake each other up this way. The pace of the week is just so hectic.”
Imagine, for instance, setting up chairs and other infrastructure for about 32,000 Commencement attendees.
“There’s a very, very specific setup for the chairs,” said Luke. “It takes several days. We have specific counts for each section.” He and his staff arrange them meticulously well before Commencement. But because events are already going on, Luke and his team don’t just arrange them once, but several times.
“People are coming into the Yard, moving the chairs, things get changed,” he said. “You’ve got to redo it, recount it, over and over and over.”
When Commencement ends, there are more events on Luke’s horizon. Sustainability is another project he is working on. He has helped to integrate four nontoxic products into everyday cleaning use, including a disinfectant, and he has brought in microfiber cloths in place of throwaway paper towels.
But by July or August he vows to take a well-deserved vacation. He’ll stream a little Sinatra (whose mug bedecks Luke’s office walls), or maybe Nat King Cole and Bobby Darin. He’ll don his trademark Tilley, an indestructible and UVA/UVB ray-blocking hat, and get down to the business of just relaxing. “If people need to find me,” he said, “look for the hat.”
