Puma based Toshiba laptop benchmarks

Notebookreview.com was able to snag some benchmarks of the next generation AMD Turion X2 Ultradualcore processor (PUMA) based Toshiba laptop at this year's Computex exhibition.  Here are the benchmark results. The reason why it seems to be slower here is that the Toshiba laptop was an early engineering build and may not reflect the performance of the final version of the laptop when it finally comes out later this year.

Notebook / CPU
wPrime 32M time

Toshiba Satellite A305D (Turion Ultra ZM TL-80 @ 2.1GHz)
38.437s

Toshiba Satellite A305D (Turion X2 TL-64 @ 2.2GHz)
37.220s

Toshiba Satellite A305 (Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.1GHz)
36.442s

Asus M51S (Core 2 Duo T5550 @ 1.83GHz)
46.293s

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 (Core 2 Duo T5450 @ 1.66GHz)
50.184s

HP Pavilion dv6700t (Core 2 Duo T5450 @ 1.66GHz)
50.480s

Dell Inspiron 1525 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)
43.569s

Dell XPS M1530 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)

37.485s

Portable One SXS37 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)
41.908s

Sony VAIO NR (Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.5GHz)
58.233s

Toshiba Tecra A9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)
38.343s

Toshiba Tecra M9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)
37.299s

HP Compaq 6910p (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)
40.965s

Sony VAIO TZ (Core 2 Duo U7600 @ 1.20GHz)
76.240s

Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)
42.385s

Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)
37.705s

Alienware M5750 (Core 2 Duo T7600 @ 2.33GHz)
38.327s

Hewlett Packard DV6000z (Turion X2 TL-60 @ 2.0GHz)
38.720s

Samsung Q70 (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)
42.218s

Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)
42.947s

Samsung X60plus (Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2.0GHz)
44.922s

Zepto Znote 6224W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)
45.788s

Samsung Q35 (Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83GHz)
46.274s

ASUS Unveils Essentio CS5110 Mini PC

Taipei, Taiwan, April 8, 2008 – Extensive research and development have resulted in ASUS innovations that help pack more versatility and performance into compact frames. Packed with innovations, the ASUS Essentio CS5110 is a Mini PC that features exceptional graphics performance as its main focus – and is the world’s smallest Desktop PC equipped with a fully embedded discrete graphic card to give you high definition movie pleasure and smooth gaming fun.

Mighty Fluency - 1080P High Definition Pleasure
Playing HD movies easily and smoothly, the CS5110's superior graphic quality and HDMI display output allows for entertainment enjoyment in high definition. Through the HDMI-equipped TV or monitor, the digital video and digital audio can be transferred seamlessly.

Mighty Sound – High Quality Audio
The CS5110 supports S/PIDF-output and is equipped with 7.1 Sound output. By connecting to the user's 7.1 speakers or audio devices, it can deliver an experience of vivid surround-sound for movies and games.

Mighty Quiet – Low-noise Computing Experience
Through the world's first 2-in-1 thermal module that insulates heat from the cooling fan, the CS5110 has the fastest, most quiet and reliable heat dissipation system. The operation noise level is only at 23.9dB at idle mode, quieter than most other computer systems in the market to provide you with a very comfortable computing environment.

Mighty Versatile – 802.11n & Bluetooth 2.0 Connections
The CS5110 supports 802.11n wireless standard with transmission rates of 300Mbps – 6 times faster in speed and 8 times larger in coverage than the 802.11g standard. Its built-in Bluetooth™ also supports multi-linkage with Bluetooth devices, such as laptops, handheld devices (mobile phones, PDA, etc.), and head/ear phones.

SPLENDID™ Video Intelligence Technology
This technology optimizes the video performance with intelligent color, brightness, contrast and sharpness correction. It also provides video preset mode selections (via the hotkey) and 3 skin-tones to choose from based on the user’s preference. It produces vivid and vibrant colors by enhancing real-time depth and color intensity. With its advanced Area Pixel Processing Algorithm constantly evaluating and adjusting every pixel in every frame, the end result is a dynamically-optimized image with deep and strong colors that are very natural to the human eye. When the visual is dark, for instance night scenes, this technology is programmed to adjust the brightness output of each detail and create a well-balanced contrast so that rainy days will not just look like a total blur on the screen.

Mighty Stylish – Gloss Satin Finish
The outer case of the ASUS Essentio CS 5110 Mini Desktop PC is made by applying high quality double injection techniques, similar to that of famous Italian designer furniture for a luxurious feel. Then the double-injected molding is polished to create the crystal-like glossy dark look to give it that beautiful satin finish.

Specifications

Chipset	- NB: G35 - SB: ICH8
CPU	- Intel Core2 Duo/Pentium Dual-Core/Pentium 4/Celeron D - 800~1333 MHz FSB
Memory	- DDR2 800, Dual Channel - So-DIMM Slot: 2 - Support max. 4GB
ODD	Slim slot-in Blu-ray SuperMulti or DVD SuperMulti
HDD	3.5" 250G~1TB SATAII
Graphic	MXM MN8600M GT 256M
AUDIO	- Azalia 7.1 Sounds - S/PDIF out (Optical)
LAN	1000/100/10 Mbps
WiFi	802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
IR Receiver	Built-in
Front IO	- 1 x 1394 (4pin) - 1 x 10-in-1 Card Reader - 1 x Headphone - 1 x Microphone - 2 x USB 2.0
Rear IO	- 1 x HDMI - 1 x VGA - 1 x DC Power in - 1 x Line-In/Line-Out(Front L/R)/Mic-in - 1 x Back Surround LR/Side Surround LR/Center LFE - 1 x SPDIF out (Optical) - 1 x RJ45 LAN - 4 x USB2.0
OS	Vista Home Premium
Dimension (mm)	200mm (D) X 290mm (H) X 80mm(W)
Weight	3.4 kg
Power	120W
Accessory	- 1 x Slim Multimedia Keyboard/Mouse - 1 x Vista MCE remote controller(IR) - 1 x HDMI to DVI adapter - 1 x Anti-Slip Pad

Atari Mod: The Mutari 2600

Marshall, who is an extremely talented modder made this amazing portable Mutari 2600 which is based on the Atari 2600 and comes packed with 32 games! Check it out! This is how portable arcade games should be!

Crave's Hands On Sony's NWZ-A820 Bluetooth Walkman

This little gadget had CNET Crave pretty excited! Follow the link to read more about it and watch the CNET video.

Read More

Source: Crave

New PSP Firmware 3.95 Coming Soon

The new firmware update adds minor enhancements but nothing major like the Skype support of the previous firmware update. The firmware update makes the buttons configurable while playing PSOne games along with some other minor improvements.

MobiBlu Cube 3 will get released in the US on May 1st

The MobiBlu Cube 3 will come at a street price of $99 and will come in a 2GB storage option. The MP3 player also works as a picture viewer, radio recorder, video player and FM radio. The Cube 3 can play most music formats including MP3 and WMA and its OLED screen is capable of playing a lot of standard video formats as well. Look for it after May 1st when it hits the stores.

Sweat Ducts may act as giveaway antennas

Here is a snippet from the news story,

Our skin may contain millions of tiny "antennas" in the form of microscopic sweat ducts, say researchers in Israel. In experiments, they found evidence that signals produced by bouncing electromagnetic waves off the tiny tubes might reveal a person's physical and emotional state from a distance.

The research might eventually result in lie detectors that require no physical contact with the subject.

Source: NewsScientist

Yahoo! Responds to Microsoft's 3 Week Ultimatum

In a response to Microsoft, a letter signed by CEO Jerry Yang and chairman Roy Bostock, Yahoo! stated that, "We will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value." they further add that, "We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction."

Quake 3 on iPod Touch

Its not just Quake 3 on an iPod Touch but its also playable on LAN. I wonder how long it will take to play games like Crysis on portable devices. That would be uber cool! On the downside, the more powerful portable devices get, the more I come to think that the era of PC gaming is coming to an end with a brighter future for portable and console gaming instead. Being a hardcore PC Gamer myself, its kind of depressing =( But ah, anyway enjoy the video.

Hydrogen Powered Plane Takes Flight

The plane developed by Boeing took flight in the south of Madrid! Here is a snippet from the news story,

It was powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which produce only heat and water as exhaust products.

The tests could pave the way for a new generation of greener aircraft, the company said.

Boeing's chief technology officer John Tracy said the flights were "a historical technological success" and "full of promises for a greener future".

Source: BBC

Microsoft sets 3 week deadline for Yahoo!

Here is the snippet, "The software giant threatened to launch a proxy fight to unseat Yahoo's board of directors, as well as take its case straight to Yahoo investors should no deal be reached in that period.

And as a further cattle prod in getting a deal consummated, Microsoft threatened to lower its existing bid, citing how Yahoo's value will be hurt if it needs to resort to such hostile means." The deadline is three weeks or the 26th of April 2008!

Source: BBC

Pizza.com has been sold for $2.6M

BBC is reporting that the domain name, "Pizza.com" has been sold for $2.6 Million in an auction. Here is the snippet.

In January, Mr Clark decided to sell it after hearing that another domain - Vodka.com - was sold for $3m in 2006.

"I thought, 'Why don't I just try to see what the level of interest is?'

Mr Clark said."If someone's willing to pay that much for Vodka.com, maybe there's more interest in pizza.com."

The online auction was launched on 27 March. The first bid was $100, jumping to $2.6m a week later.

Source: BBC

AMD 780: Part 2 - Gaming Capabilities

AMD demos the latest PC games on the AMD 780 Chipset vs, Intel's G35.

AMD 780: Blu-ray Playback Demo

AMD shows the Blu-ray playback performance of the AMD 780 Chipset vs. Intel G35.

Geforce 8 series of 3d cards will gain Physx

Huang revealed that Nvidia's strategy is to take the PhysX engine and port it onto CUDA. For those not in the know, CUDA stands for Compute Unified Device Architecture, and it's a C-like application programming interface Nvidia developed to let programmers write general-purpose applications that can run on GPUs. All of Nvidia's existing GeForce 8 graphics processors already support CUDA, and Huang confirmed that the cards will be able to run PhysX.

Last, but not least, Huang said developers are "really excited" about the PhysX-to-CUDA port. "Finally they're able to get a physics engine accelerated into a very large population of gamers," he explained. Huang was unwilling to get into a time frame for the release of the first PhysX port. However, considering this will be purely a software implementation and Nvidia now has Ageia engineers on its payroll, the port may not take too long to complete.

It will be pretty interesting how this turns out! Certainly looks like a smart move on NVIDIA's behalf!

S3 announces DX 10.1 based Chrome 400

"S3 Graphics has developed a product that will deliver incredible, high quality 1080p HD playback for Home Media Centers, Desktop PCs and Ultra Thin and Light Notebook PCs without creating the unwanted noise and heat often associated with high performance components," said Dr. Ken Weng, GM of S3 Graphics. "The feature-rich capabilities in the Chrome 400 Series will provide the end-user with a broad spectrum of new visual capabilities in a leading performance-per-watt product."

The GPUs will be launched this same month. For more details, head over to S3's website.

NVIDIA to Acquire AGEIA

NVIDIA sent out word today that it is going to acquire AGEIA and according to the press release there are 140 games being developed under the Physx support and will all now come under NVIDIA's control. The acquisition will allow NVIDIA to integrate the Physx processor into their GPUs giving the a clear competitive edge over ATI.

"The AGEIA team is world class, and is passionate about the same thing we are—creating the most amazing and captivating game experiences," stated Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA. "By combining the teams that created the world's most pervasive GPU and physics engine brands, we can now bring GeForce®-accelerated PhysX to hundreds of millions of gamers around the world."

Read the official press release here.

Why Google's Android is going to be a success...

Google created a lot of buzz about a month back over the introduction of its Android technology. Android will be the first open and free mobile platform for developing applications. Its going to be big...but why? Well, currently developers for mobile phones face a plethora of issues including:

• Applications for browsers on mobile phones are based on the Javascript based Ajax. This has many limitations for dynamic storage based applications as there is no way to store data on the mobile phone being dynamically updated.
  
• The browser based applications cannot access the different core functions of a mobile phone (e.g. the camera).
• No customization options for a mobile phone's GUI. Most people have to stick with the look which ships with the mobile phone's operating system. (Honestly a lot of the GUIs in modern phones look horrible and I have always wished to customize them)
• Applications designed for specific mobile phones won't work on low end phones because of different programming architectures as well as features.
• No operating system on mobile phones is open source and the programmers are limited to only what the operating system allows them to do and volunteers cannot modify it according to their needs.

Here is why Android will change all the above issues:

• Andriod is open source, anyone who wants to contribute to interface improvements or core changes can do so.
• Andriod is scalable, it will have its high end features reserved for higher priced mobile phones while lower end mobile phones can benefit from its basic features as well.
• Everything about it will be customizable so you won't be stuck with the GUI which shipped with the mobile phone for the rest of your damned life!
• Database support to dynamically store and retrieve data on a mobile phone.
• Dozens of hardware manufacturers will support Android. Thus HTC based mobile phones will be able to run the same applications as Samsung mobile phones which will all support Andriod in the future.
  

Andriod opens a whole new set of possibilities for the mobile market. I think Nokia did a major blunder by not supporting the Android platform. Sure, Apple's IPhone is a short term threat to Nokia...but it won't last forever, I think they should have thought harder over it. Android will one day be run on the majority of mobile phones all over the world developed by multiple mobile phone manufacturers. Today, Nokia is in the majority, but once the smaller companies unite and take down the bigger fish by using a unified platform, then Nokia won't have time to look back and correct its mistake. Android is the future ladies and gentlemen!