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WinFast HPVC1100 is world's first external SpursEngine encoder

by Darren Murph, posted May 12th 2009 at 8:53AM

Toshiba's Cell-based SpursEngine HD video co-processor has made plenty of appearances within monstrous gaming machines, but this marks the very first time where it has stepped out of the laptop chassis and into a portable enclosure. Granted, the language barrier is killing us here, but it seems as if the Leadtek WinFast HPVC1100 wraps a SpursEngine encoder into an on-the-go solution that can be lugged around with a standard laptop in order to churn through video while on set, in the field or on the road. Other specs include 128MB of RAM, a PCI-Express slot and a weight of 1.54 pounds; there's no word just yet on pricing or availability. One more shot is after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Continue reading WinFast HPVC1100 is world's first external SpursEngine encoder

World's smallest periscope provides multi-dimensional view of cells

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 2nd 2009 at 9:26AM

We never thought we'd say this, but the standard microscope's day may be coming to an end. Okay, so maybe that's a stretch, but a new device conjured up by scientists at Vanderbilt University sure could stand in as a suitable and deserving replacement. In what's being described as the world's smallest version of the periscope, the so-called mirrored pyramidal wells are being used to allow researchers to see several sides of cells simultaneously. The pyramidal-shaped cavities are molded into silicon "whose interior surfaces are coated with a reflective layer of gold or platinum," and when a cell is placed inside, it gives Earthlings a magical multi-dimensional view. It's said that this technology is actually stupendously inexpensive compared to other methods of 3D microscopy, and according to Vandy's own Ron Reiserer, this "could easily become as ubiquitous as the microscope slide." Them's fightin' words, no?

[Via Physorg]

David Reeves drops hint of Sony's shift to 45nm PS3s

by Donald Melanson, posted Feb 5th 2009 at 12:44PM

It's no secret that Sony has been eyeing a shift to 45nm Cell processors in the PS3 sooner or later, but the always talkative David Reeves (Sony Europe's president) has now finally dropped a bit more specificity on the matter, while naturally still leaving the company quite a bit of wiggle room. Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Reeves said that Sony is "always looking at ways to reduce costs," and that one of those measures is "replacing the current 65 nanometer Cell chip with a 45 nanometer one probably in middle of year." Reeves also expectedly talked up the PS3's multimedia capabilities, which he says will help the PS3 compete better with the Xbox 360 in the short term without the need for drastic price cuts, although he doesn't seem to complete rule out the notion of some increased affordability before the end of the year, saying "it will make progress" in that direction, no doubt with the aid of that aforementioned 45nm Cell processor.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Book details how Sony paid for Xbox 360 dev, let Microsoft borrow its car, acted like a doormat

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jan 1st 2009 at 9:02AM

This year we've seen the PS3's Cell processor pitch in and help break the petaflop barrier, exploit a major security hole in SSL encryption and enable adolescent hijinks on PlayStation Home. Obviously, this is one serious piece of kit. According to The Race For A New Game Machine, written by two of the folks responsible for designing the thing, the Cell (a partnership between Toshiba, Sony and IBM) was the product of a deal that opened the door to IBM selling key parts of the chip to Microsoft before they had even finished building it -- even though this was clearly not part of the plan. Essentially, Sony's R&D money was spent creating a component for their rival, helping the Xbox 360 make its launch date of November 2005, while the PlayStation 3 was pushed back a full year. It seems somewhat fitting that the troubled game system should have such dysfunctional origins, no?

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

PlayStation 3 used to hack SSL, Xbox used to play Boogie Bunnies

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Dec 30th 2008 at 5:41PM

Between the juvenile delinquent hordes of PlayStation Home and some lackluster holiday figures, the PlayStation has been sort of a bummer lately, for reasons that have nothing to do with its raison d'etre -- gaming. That doesn't mean that the machine is anything less than a powerhouse -- as was made clear today when a group of hackers announced that they'd beaten SSL, using a cluster of 200 PS3s. By exploiting a flaw in the MD5 cryptographic algorithm (used in certain digital signatures and certificates), the group managed to create a rogue Certification Authority (CA) which allows them to create their own SSL certificates -- meaning those authenticated web sites you're visiting could be counterfeit, and you'd have no way of knowing. Sure, this is all pretty obscure stuff, and the kids who managed the hack said it would take others at least six months to replicate the procedure, but eventually vendors are going to have to upgrade all their CAs to use a more robust algorithm. It is assumed that the Wii could perform the operation just as well, if the hackers had enough room to spread out all their Balance Boards.

[Via ZD Net]

Leadtek intros SpursEngine-packing PCI-E card

by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 3rd 2008 at 1:37PM

Well, it looks like Toshiba isn't just keeping its Cell-based SpursEngine chip confined to its laptops and super-resolution DVD players, as Leadtek has now also taken the wraps off a PCI-E card that'll let you add some of that "faster than real-time" HD video transcoding to your desktop PC. Dubbed the WinFast PxVC1100, the card promises to encode and decode H.264, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video with ease (and entirely in hardware), and it includes 128MB of 1.6GHz XDR memory to aid in the process. Just don't expect it to come cheap, as the card's apparently set to demand ¥30,000 (or $286) when it hits Japan later this month.

[Via Custom PC]

Sony and Toshiba to begin mass producing 45nm cell processor in 2009 -- cheaper, slimmer PS3s to come?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 22nd 2008 at 7:43AM

Japan's Nikkan is reporting that Sony and Toshiba will begin mass production of the 45nm Cell processor in 2009 -- not this autumn as previously rumored. The smaller chip which cost less than the current 65nm Cell to manufacture also require 40% less power to run. This opens the door to possible price drops on existing PS3 consoles in 2009 as well as slimmer, cooler running rigs should Sony decide to refresh the industrial design.

Video: Toshiba's gesture control coming to its cell-based TVs?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Sep 19th 2008 at 7:16AM

Remember that Qosmio G55 laptop with gesture control? Yeah, the one with the Cell-based SpursEngine under the hood. Well it looks like Tosh is bringing that so-called "natural" gesture input to its future cell-based televisions. Judging by the latest video alone, the gesture control seems more at home on the big-screen TV than smaller-screened laptops that require a higher degree of precision and closer viewing proximity. Demonstrated on a prototype, Toshiba hints that the tech might come to future Cell-based TVs -- interesting what with the cell-based ZF televisions already announced for Europe. While we find pushing buttons on a remote about as natural (and lazy) as it gets, here's hoping for this arm-flailing gesture control on future Toshiba TVs just for the nerdiness of it. Video of the G55 gesture input as well as the prototype television show at IFA after the break.

[Via AVING]

Continue reading Video: Toshiba's gesture control coming to its cell-based TVs?

Multitouch Oy demos Cell multitouch display

by Nilay Patel, posted Sep 1st 2008 at 10:19PM

Microsoft had better hurry and get more than one Surface rig out on the market, because there are plenty of other companies working on large-format multitouch hardware -- the latest is Finland's Multitouch Oy, which recently demoed its Cell display for jkkmobile. Just the usual photo pinching demo, but it's running at an impressively fluid 60fps on desktop hardware, even with multiple users. Multitouch Oy says it'll run about $7,000 for a 32-inch model when it hits -- yeah, we'll stick with the DIY kit for now. Video after the break.

[Via jkkmobile]

Continue reading Multitouch Oy demos Cell multitouch display

Toshiba's new ZF LCDs include Cell-based Resolution+ upscaling

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 28th 2008 at 6:33AM

As expected, Toshiba is offering a new (supposed) world's first here at IFA: a true upscaling TV, finally getting rid of the middle man for upconverting those SD sources. The new ZF Series LCDs include Cell processors and Toshiba's home grown Resolution+ technology, which does similar edge and detail enhancement to Toshiba's XDE upscaler -- sharpening detail, smoothing edges, and leaving the rest of the image alone -- but with the added fun of Cell power in the mix. As for the actual displays, Toshiba will be shipping the 40ZF575D (40-inch) and the 46ZF575D (46-inch), both offering 1080p, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 6ms response times and Active Vision M100 HD 100Hz 5:5 pulldown processing, along with four HDMI plugs, component video, RGB and PC input. Right now this is just a Europe launch, and we don't have exact ship dates or pricing, but hopefully Toshiba will soon rectify that.

Gallery: Toshiba's new ZF LCDs include Cell-based Resolution+ upscaling

PS3 SKUs compared, no PS2 backwards compatibility found

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Aug 26th 2008 at 9:32AM

It's been at least an hour since Sony has released a new PlayStation 3 SKU, so our friends at Joystiq took the time to take a breath. In that moment, they came up with a handy -- and somewhat startling -- chart that explains which PS3 model has what, including Cell chip size (the more efficient and quieter 65nm vs the older 90nm), USB port count, pack-in freebies, and which ones have PS2 backwards compatibility. It's charts like that remind us that no currently-shipping PS3 comes with HD video cables or PS2 backward compatibility, for better or worse. Hit the read link for the breakdown, and start your fanboy engines.

MIT working up microbatteries to power implantable medical sensors

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 24th 2008 at 7:07PM

In the never-ending quest to make even the smallest devices on Earth a touch smaller, a talented team of MIT engineers have developed a method for creating and installing microbatteries, which could eventually power a plethora of diminutive devices including "labs-on-a-chip and implantable medical sensors." It's bruited that this is the first time in which "microcontact printing has been used to fabricate and position microbattery electrodes and the first use of virus-based assembly in such a process," and while you'd likely have to be a colleague to even digest that, the take away is that these gurus are one step closer to generating battery-powered Scrubbing Bubbles. And your shower could use 'em.

[Via PCMag]

Sony wrangles Cell chip into ZEGO BCU-100 video rendering system

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 7:43PM

Not that most of us are on the hunt for 1U server blades to build a rendering farm out of, but it's always fun to see Sony's PS3 hardware put to a use that actually earns Sony money. The Cell-based ZEGO BCU-100 includes the PS3's RSX graphics processor and is designed for processing HD video. Sony plans to work with software developers to take advantage of the unique architecture, and will be launching 'em later this year in the States. No word on price.

[Via Electronista]

Toshiba Qosmio G55 features SpursEngine, visual gesture controls

by Ryan Block, posted Jun 14th 2008 at 3:15AM

Looks like Toshiba's not too far out from a new Qosmio called the G55, which LAPTOP says is on sale next month for $1,550. Listed among the specs are an 18.4-inch (1680 x 945) display, Centrino 2 CPU, GeForce 9600M GT, 4GB of RAM, dual drives, and the "Quad Core HD processor" (probably the commercial name for the Cell-based SpursEngine), which powers many of the media functions, including its camera-based visual gesture control system. LAPTOP calls the gesture system groundbreaking, but we're clearly two sides to the same coin: the demo they gave looks cumbersome, inaccurate, and incredibly frustrating. And besides the fact that it requires "steady hands" and "can't be used by people with wrist problems," even if the gesture controls were well done, holding your arm in the air for minutes at a time is nowhere near a practical for regular use. Is it sad that we still kind of want it, though?

Toshiba's SpursEngine chip dominates in transcoding demonstration

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 9th 2008 at 9:19AM

Toshiba has let us know just how incredible its SpursEngine SE1000 chip really is, but all that talk has never amounted to much -- until now. Packed away in a dusty corner of Computex 2008 was Corel's demonstration booth, which just so happened to have a few rigs set up with a Cell-optimized version of its DVD MovieFactory application. One station utilized the SE1000, while the other relied solely on a 3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU to transcode 1080p H.264 video to 480p. According to onlookers, the SpursEngine-based machine completed the task nearly twice as fast as the hamstrung opponent, proving that maybe Toshiba does have something worth waiting for on that PCI-Express card. Too bad there's still no mention of a price.