Recent Comments:
MacBook Air with Penryn launch imminent? {Engadget}
Aug 14th 2008 5:15PM Desired Mac-Book Air:
I'm willing to spend the money if they change a few things.
First, I agree with others and doubt that the CPU power will increase much, if any. The 45nm die is more efficient so for the same power draw we'll see more performance.
However, CPU performance is fine and there are other things I would change. Namely:
1) Hard Drive (a faster 2.5" SATA, not a 1.8" PATA)
2) HDMI or Displayport output (capable of playing a BluRay movie via USB)
3) eSATA
4) SDHC input (camera card or storage for video, music etc.)
5) Video hardware decoding/transcoding such as UVD (specs like an NVidia 8600M GS)
6) Stereo speakers
7) 2x USB connections
8) Ethernet connection
9) Digital audio output
10) removable, upgradeable RAM
11) removable battery (easy spare swapping)
Other:
1) HDMI audio is NOT just for movies, but covers ALL sound
2) internal SDHC for backups (SDHC cards are very small and dropping in price)
Is this asking too much? No, I don't think so. Most of these issues could easily be solved with minimal cost and space impact. Many people could get by with the MacAir the way it is but this is what I'd pay that much money for.
Psystar says it is "definitely still shipping" its Mac clones {Engadget}
Aug 14th 2008 2:29PM The BOTTOM LINE:
This issue can be compared to MP3 or DivX players. The difference is that this computer is advertised as being a Mac Clone. Since Apple clearly spells out in the EULA (End User License Agreement) for OSX that it is only legal to have it installed on Apple computers it is ILLEGAL. So advertising a product specifically for a use which is illegal is not going to fly with the court. Apple won't settle and this company will lose.
FURTHERMORE...
Apple's price point for its operating system also takes into account the sale of their hardware. Yes, the hardware is slightly more expensive but the fact that the software can be optimized for a small range of hardware is a big part of what makes it more reliable. How much is your time worth anyway?
OSX on a PC?
Nope, never.. at least not legally. Though I believe this battle is all over but the crying I think Apple will have difficulty as the price of hardware continues to drop and Linux (and maybe Windows) continues to improve.
Japanese researchers devise method for cramming 42GB on a DVD {Engadget}
Jun 30th 2008 11:14AM No. No. No.
This format offers absolutely nothing that BluRay isn't already accomplishing.
The only seeming advantage is the cheap price of DVD-R's, but would anyone spend $200 for a new type of recorder just to save money on discs. Don't forget that DVD-R media used to be really expensive. BluRay media will drop when/if demand increases.
It's interesting to note that DVD media is cheaper than CD media and not just on a Price per Gigabyte comparison. Hey, I know, let's increase the density of CD media and... uh.. oh.
Researchers crafting hybrid material to hasten computing processes {Engadget}
Apr 8th 2008 3:58AM Vague.
It has been my experience that the more vague and elusive the specifics are, the less likely we are to see practical applications in the near future.
Yes, dazzle me with "time-dependent, spin-current density functional theory" but I'd be more impressed with real-world estimates of power consumptions, access speeds and processing times.
Sony looking to stuff Blu-ray recorders in select LCD HDTVs? {Engadget}
Apr 8th 2008 3:35AM HOME SERVER!
HOME SERVER!
I don't want a BluRay recorder either. With cheap hard drives, if I had an integrated solution I'd use a 2.5" SATA for now. Let's also not forget that I need a CableCard for the HDTV to even receive the stations correctly and that's NOT here yet in Canada and to my understanding not fully supported in the USA (or anywhere?).
I'm still waiting for an inexpensive box used to store all my media. My BluRay movies, DVD's and music etc would all go to this box and stream to my HDTV's PC's etc. This is nothing new yet I still can't find a reasonably priced one that properly powers off and either plays the video or streams it efficiently to a device that can.
Actually, I'm a little miffed at the state of Digital Video Recording in general. My Rogers Cable provider has the exact same box for 3 years and hasn't even properly supported the manufacturer upgrades. Aside from a Home Server and/or a PC solution (PCI CableCard) most people just want a good, solid DVR with a hard drive (eventually SSD). Discs for DVR are dead!
How would you change Apple's MacBook Air? {Engadget}
Feb 11th 2008 8:10AM I actually think the slim design fills a niche such as businessman with computer. It has been commented that many people who would buy this would likely have a second computer. Having said this, I think a very minimal increase in size could have drastically improved the weak spots, the main one being hard drive access speed.
Recommendations:
1) 2x Internal SATA (capable of Hard Disk Drive + SSD or 2xSSD for double the speed via striping)
2) 1x eSATA (use a much faster, larger and cheaper 3.5" drive when at home; possibly a docking station)
3) DC battery slot (DC, not AC. Simply bypass or supplement the internal battery.)
Looking at my comments, it's nice to realize that faster, larger SSD's and more efficient batteries in a few years will take care of my only real beefs. This laptop would just rock with 2 SATA SSD's totalling 200MB/sec though wouldn't it?
Mystery of the Vista-alike Windows 7 build finally solved {Engadget}
Feb 6th 2008 8:04AM "Well, you don't care, so that obviously means nobody cares."
Please don't misinterpret. I do care. I see the potential in Vista that many do not. I don't mean to imply that nobody cares so maybe I could have worded this differently. This was meant to be a serious look at what Microsoft will be facing when Windows 7 launches and not a flip comment.
Mystery of the Vista-alike Windows 7 build finally solved {Engadget}
Feb 6th 2008 7:11AM Release date 2011/12.
Would anyone really want another Windows before then? Microsoft is going to face a huge problem with Windows 7. On one hand they realize that they have to essentially rewrite Windows from the Kernel out but this creates compatibility nightmares that far exceed Vista's issues. On many ways Windows 7 will be further from Vista than Linux will be from Vista.
By 2012 Linux will have really come into its own. People will face "upgrading" to Windows 7 or using a Linux distro which will be very stable. What about games for Windows? Who knows. We will definitely see games starting to appear on Linux in 2009 especially now that ATI has opened up their hardware to allow development of open source drivers.
At this stage it's 50/50 if I update to Vista even though I'm a gamer. Surprisingly, due to high hardware demands the visual experience at decent framerates on all existing DX10 games is best realized through DX9 on XP (that will change once code is optimized for newer games).
If I get Vista, I'll dual boot XP until I no longer still need XP. By 2009 I'll be dual-booting Linux and by 2012 Linux will most definitely be my main OS with Vista used for games. Ironically, when Windows 7 comes out Linux might be a better Windows than Windows.
The question of Windows 7 won't be "when" but rather "who cares?"
Sony Vaio VGX-TP1 announced, loaded up with HDMI out, DVD burner {Engadget}
Feb 6th 2008 6:47AM Points:
1) Until power management improves, I'd stick with a High-Def DVR for viewing and recording TV. I'm not aware of any PC's that can turn themselves on, record a show then turn off again and Sony just bundles existing parts.
2) At this point, combo BluRay/HD-DVD/DVD players for computers are getting cheaper. I'd build a system around this instead, like the LG GGW-H10N. I'm waiting for a $200 BD/HD burner.
3) Another important issue is the CableCard. Yeah, my Sony HDTV has its own tuners too but you are missing some information that a Cable/Satellite box provides. Also, you either have to leave your PC on to watch TV or purchase/rent a standalone box. Once computers idle at 25 Watts or less it's less of an issue.
If you can hold off there's some great things coming. ATI and NVidia already have hardware video decoders on inexpensive graphics cards, but ATI's working on a solution to allow automatic toggling between an efficient video chip and an add-on gaming card; this solves the main problem with putting a gaming computer in the living room as well as reducing fan noise.
Via launches Isaiah: 64-bit low-power, high-performance processors {Engadget}
Jan 24th 2008 3:06AM FYI, companies like AMD are working on new things like integrating the CPU and GPU on the same chip so it will be interesting to see if ideas like this force VIA out of the CPU business.
