Fusion
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Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid test drive (video)
The Ford Fusion Energi joins the C-MAX Energi and Focus Electric as the company's third vehicle with a charging connector and access to California's HOV lanes. While it's a larger car than the C-MAX Energi, it weighs about the same and features pretty much the same plug-in hybrid powertrain with 195 net horsepower and three EV driving modes. It combines a 2-liter DOHC 16V Duratec (Atkinson cycle) engine and CVT with an AC synchronous motor powered by a 7.6kWh Lithium Ion battery. This pack takes about 2.5 hours to fill up with a 240V charging station and provides a range of 21 miles (100MPGe) at up to 85MPH in all-electric mode. Both autos share the same unfortunate battery protrusion in the trunk area, and while it's less of an issue in the Fusion sedan than the wagon-like C-MAX, it detracts from the overall package. The Fusion Energi also packs the company's latest and greatest tech, including MyFord Mobile, SmartGauge with EcoGuide, Eco Cruise and SYNC with MyFord Touch. Sure, that's pretty exciting, but how does it actually drive? Find out after the break.
Finding Steve's recovery partition: Solving an Apple mystery
Yesterday, fellow blogger Steve Sande hopped into the TUAW backchannel all fussed. As part of some iMovie troubleshooting he was doing with Apple's support wizards, he was trying to get his new iMac to boot into the recovery partition and was getting nowhere. Holding down the Option key during reboot wasn't showing the volume as an option the way he expected. Has this happened to you? Well, there's a reason the recovery partition didn't show up -- Steve was working with a Fusion drive-based system. We started by checking that the disk contained the recovery partition. To do this, I had Steve launch the Terminal app and enter "diskutil list" (no quotes) at the command line. As you can see in the screenshot above, there was a "Recovery HD" partition listed under /dev/disk1. After confirming the partition, I recommended that Steve use the standard Command-R trick. You press and hold Command-R during reboot to choose the recovery partition. (Using Command-Option-R starts Internet Recovery for completely hosed systems where you need to to install a new drive.) This worked. A few quick Google searches later, we realized that Fusion drives seem to disallow the option-key-then-select-Recovery-volume-to-boot-from trick so many of us are used to. Apparently, this applies to both Apple-shipped Fusion drives as well as roll-your-own solutions. Fusion Drives also use a unique version of Disk Utility. As this Apple knowledge base article points out, "The version of Disk Utility that comes with Fusion Drive is unique. Earlier versions of Disk Utility can't be used with a Fusion Drive."
Xi3 goes the crowdfunding route for future X3A, X7A modular PCs (update: official PR)
Xi3 has been one of the more inventive PC builders in the field, designing its Modular Computers in the belief that small, more upgradable desktops are the way of the future. The company is planning two new systems to further that dream, the X3A and X7A, but it wants our help: it's running a Kickstarter funding drive until October 28th to assist the development and garner some early adopters. Put down $503 or $603 and you'll get the entry-level X3A, a dual-core 1.65GHz (likely AMD E-450-based) PC with 4GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD and either Linux or Windows installed; splurge with $1,103 or more and you'll get the more performance-driven X7A, which jumps to a quad-core chip with a 3.2GHz peak speed, a Windows-loaded 64GB SSD and faster graphics. Assuming Xi3 makes its target, we should see the X3A and X7A arrive in January and February respectively, with Kickstarter supporters beating the larger herd by a week. Even existing owners are accounted for through a Primary I/O Board upgrade, due before the end of this year, that carries more Ethernet and USB 3.0 ports. Crowdfunding is an unusual approach to buying that next PC, without the certainties of shopping at an online store -- but we're also dealing with an unusual PC from the get-go. Update: Xi3 has put out full details of both the X3A and X7A through an official release three days later, which you'll find after the break. As part of the move, it's slashing the base price of the original X5A design to $499.
BlueStacks teams with AMD to optimize Android App Player for Fusion, Radeon chips (video)
AMD has a disproportionately large $6.4 million investment in BlueStacks, and now we're seeing one clear reason why. The two companies have teamed up to create a special version of the BlueStacks App Player that's tuned for AMD's Fusion-based processors and Radeon graphics cards, running Android apps with the full help of the chip designer's hardware in Windows 7 and 8 PCs. Accordingly, over 500,000 Android apps are invading AMD's new AppZone portal without any needed tweaks of their own, giving the service a much larger catalog than if it had gone with Windows alone. Both companies have a clear incentive to this melding of desktop and mobile: BlueStacks suddenly gets exposure to as many as 100 million AMD-running users, while AMD can tout a giant app catalog that may be preloaded on future PCs using its components. We don't know if the world needs yet another avenue for playing Angry Birds, especially when many AMD-based PCs won't have touchscreens, but the BlueStacks partnership could be a strong lure for new PC buyers who'd like an instant software library.
AMD FX-4130 delivers 3.8GHz quad-core on a budget, A-Series chips get even cheaper
If you're building a starter desktop to get ready for school, you'll be glad to know that AMD is squeaking just a little more value for the dollar out of its processors. The new quad-core FX-4130 takes a 200MHz hop forward from its predecessor to a 3.8GHz base speed, and ramps up to 3.9GHz if it's feeling frisky. While it's thirstier than the earlier FX-4100 at 125W of maximum power draw, the unlocked chip's $112 retail cost is a potential sweet spot for those tailoring a system to a strict price. Anyone willing to trade overclocking support for yet more of a savings will be glad to know that AMD has been slashing the prices of its Fusion-based A-Series chips at the same time: the across-the-board cuts bring even the 2.9GHz A8-3850 down to $91. No breaks exist here for the performance crowd, alas, but AMD's new proposition might be just the excuse needed to build that budget Windows 8 PC.
VMware intros Fusion 5 virtualization software with support for Win 8, integration with Mountain Lion
With Mountain Lion newly available and Windows 8 on the verge of shipping, now was a pretty good time for VMware to update its Fusion virtualization software, dont'cha think? The company just announced Fusion 5 with 70-plus new features, including support for Win 8 and tight integration with OS X 10.8. For instance, you can now view Windows programs in Mountain Lion's Launchpad, while VMware software updates pop up in the Notification Center. Fusion also supports AirPlay for the first time, and you can also run either Mountain Lion or Mountain Lion Server as a virtual machine. The company also added support for Retina Display MacBook Pros, so that everything looks crisp on that 2,880 x 1,800 screen. Also of note: Fusion now supports USB 3.0, and Linux users get some love in the form of Open GL 2.1 graphics support. The standard version of Fusion 5 is available now for $49.99, but people who bought Fusion 4 since the release of Mountain Lion can upgrade for free. There's also a professional version ($100 for one license), which includes all the above features, and also lets IT departments lock down settings for employees' virtual machines.%Gallery-163118%
Ford underscores its love of electric cars, spends $135 million to make them happen
Ford really, really wants you to know that it's big on electric cars. Really. To that end, it's putting $135 million where its mouth is as part of the design and production for the electrified vehicles rolling out to dealer lots this year, such as the Focus Electric. A new research building in Dearborn is also being renamed as the Advanced Electrification Center to emphasize the uniform dedication to EVs and hybrids among the 1,000 researchers that call the Center their home away from home. We already know that the company plans to triple its manufacturing capacity to make 100,000 of the cars a year by 2013, but many of the supporting aspects are getting their own lift, Ford adds: it's hiring more engineers and doubling its battery testing capacity. The checklist of improvements you'll find after the break reflects some braggadocio on Ford's part, especially while it tries to stretch its jobs claims, but it's good news all the same. If the expansion keeps the likes of GM and Tesla on their toes, drivers hopefully win as a whole.
Visualized: Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine erupts in a web of lightning
Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine sounds like it belongs in a James Bond movie more than it does an Alberquerque research facility. Based on what it can do, that's not as far-fetched as it seems. What you see isn't the handiwork of some electric spider -- it's what you witness in the immediate fraction of a second after the Z's electromagnetic pulse kicks in and forks of lightning burst across the 108-foot distance inside. The pulse in question is key to Sandia's studies of fusion and the effect of very intense magnetic pressures on materials that normally refuse to change states. Even in 2006, the Z was putting out pressure more than 10 million times that of the atmosphere, and it successfully melted diamond at roughly half that strength. It goes without saying that we don't want to be anywhere near this kind of energy when scientists flick the switch, but we're glad to see that something so pretty and deadly can help us understand physics. [Image credit: Randy Montoya, Sandia National Laboratories]
Lenovo unveils toughened ThinkPad X131e for education, hikes price to $499
Lenovo must have struck a chord with schools looking for some rough-and-tumble ThinkPads, as it's bringing out the ThinkPad X131e even while teachers are still drafting their course plans for the fall semester. The new model keeps that better-than-military ruggedness in an 11.6-inch laptop while freshening the choices of AMD E-series chips or their Intel-made Celeron and Core i3 challengers. Dolby Advanced Audio even gives the speakers boost when it's not a matter of all work and no play. Educators, in turn, get the usual options for extended support or customizing the laptops with a little school pride. There's a premium to pay for putting classrooms on the cutting edge, however: at $499, the new systems are $70 more costly than the launch price of the X130e portables they replace, which leaves quite a bit less money for notebooks of the paper variety.
AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA
AMD has been suffering a conspicuous brain drain, with executives like ATI veteran Rick Bergman and CTO Eric Demers crossing over to tangentially or directly competitive companies like NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Chalk up another one for the list -- strategic development VP Bob Feldstein has bounded towards NVIDIA's (literally) greener pastures. The blow cuts deeper than usual through Feldstein's responsibility for graphics in most of the consoles from the past few years: he headed up work behind the Xenos chip in earlier Xbox 360s and the Hollywood core in the Wii, and he likely had some say in the Wii U's video hardware as well. While the staff shuffle won't directly affect AMD's Fusion processors or Radeon cards, it's hard to see much of a positive for AMD's future in video gaming, even in the light of rumors that the next PlayStation and Xbox might use some of Feldstein's work.
Ford wants you to meet its touchy, feely interior quality robot, RUTH 2.0
That's RUTH. In the end, she really amounts to a big robot arm with six joints, but Ford clearly has a soft spot for the faceless employee. First utilized in Europe, the Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics is currently at work helping to tweak the interiors of the company's 2013 Fusions, turning data collected from customers across the world into the hard to define concept of "quality," touching the trim, pushing buttons and turning knobs in the interior of the vehicle, in order to help provide what Ford says is, "the same type of quality they might feel if they were to buy a high-end luxury car." The version of the arm dubbed Ruth 2.0 is currently being used by Ford alone in North America, and the company has extended her quality checking to include seat comfort in the vehicles. Check out a video of the long arm of the car company after the break.
NIF sets record with 500 TW laser shot, lab-based nuclear fusion not far behind
In an effort to recreate the fusion reaction that occurs in start formation, the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, CA has been building up to some extremely powerful laser shots. Back in March, researchers fired off 411 terawatts, and we know that kind of power doesn't come cheap. NIF's latest test shot, fired July 5th, set a new record with 192 lasers producing more than 500 trillion watts of peak power and 1.85 MJ of ultraviolet laser light. Mind you, that's more than a thousand times more energy than the United States uses at any given moment, not to mention a hundred times more power than other lasers can fire consistently. More record-setting shots are sure to come, and in addition to enabling research on harnessing nuclear fusion, NIF's mega-lasers are helping inform the design of new laser facilities being built in China, Japan, Russia, France and the UK.
AMD shows off LiveBox mini desktop based on one of its Fusion chips (video)
Between the Raspberry Pi and the new Chromebox, we've been spending more time than usual lately talking about miniature desktops. Until now, though, AMD hasn't really entered the discussion; all of the models we've tested have featured either an ARM chip or Intel processor. So we were intrigued, then, when we found this mini PC hanging out at the company's Computex booth. It's called the LiveBox, and it runs one of AMD's X86-based Fusion chips. Before we get into specifics, though, have a gander at our hands-on photos and check out that funky design. In addition to being tiny, it has a two-pronged power connector attached, allowing you to plug it directly into an outlet. We're not sure individual consumers will prefer that cordless design, but we can see it translating well in businesses and schools -- precisely the sorts of places where AMD thinks these boxes might find a home. Again, the LiveBox is based on a Fusion APU (a 1GHz C-60 chip, to be exact), complemented by 1GB of RAM and Radeon HD 6200 graphics. As for storage, the unit on display had a Samsung-made 64GB SSD. Take a tour around the edges and you'll find two USB 2.0 ports (no USB 3.0), a Gigabit Ethernet jack and an HDMI socket. There's also a memory card reader, a SIM slot for quad-band 3G (WCDMA) and Bluetooth 4.0, in case you want to pair it with any wireless peripherals. As you can see in the video below, those modest internals are enough to output smooth 1080p video, which means this setup should suffice for basic things like email, web surfing and YouTube. Unfortunately, the machine on display was running Windows 7, not 8, which is a bummer. We also wish we knew more about the target price: AMD won't say what brand will be selling this, or when it will be available. Until then, it's tough to say where the LiveBox fits in. But hey, hands-on photos and video can't hurt, right?%Gallery-157460%
Buckeyes to fire 500 trillion watt laser May 15th in a short, cheap burst
High-energy laser fusion experiments evoke extreme numbers -- not only in power but also in greenbacks. Sure, the current champ at the National Ignition facility in Livermore, CA can pump out a 411 trillion watt pulse, but at what price? A taxpayer-busting $200,000 per shot, with a $4 billion original construction cost. Compared to that, the new Ohio State University's 500 trillion watt model seems bargain-basement, built with a mere $6 million grant from the US Department of Energy. Admittedly, that paltry sum get you a much shorter burst, lasting 20 picoseconds compared to the NIF's several nanoseconds. But with the ability to fire 100 or more times per day, instead of just once like it's pricier kin, Ohio State will be able to assist the NIF with their fusion experiments, while also carrying on its own science, like simulating star formation. And money aside, the possibility of unlimited fusion-powered energy is always a noble goal, no?
The Engadget Interview: AMD's Sasa Marinkovic
This isn't the easiest time to be an AMD fan. The company's eight-core FX-8150 desktop chip was widely panned on the review circuit, and then NVIDIA's GTX 680 graphics card ran off with Radeon HD's thunder. Even when you look at notebook processors, where AMD has long excelled with its Fusion APUs, the hype wars currently favor Ultrabooks and Ivy Bridge. Affection for the gamers' brand and its ATI back-story may make this stuff uncomfortable, but the predicament is already starting to mess with AMD's balance sheet. Which raises the obvious question: what's to be done? Sasa Marinkovic, AMD's Head of Desktop and Software Product Marketing, bravely took up the challenge of providing his side of the story -- even after we warned him that we'd try to disrupt his flow with accusatory glances. In the end, we did get him to acknowledge some recent hard knocks, particularly with respect to the FX chips and their (lack of) single-threaded performance. But we also got some insight into the mind of a chap who remains genuinely and abundantly confident about his employer's future. Read on and see for yourself.
Sandia National Laboratories generates neutrons in a radical way
The Responsive Neutron Generator Product Deployment Center (say that quickly five times) at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, NM has discovered a way to take the conventional cylindrical tubes out of the equation and introduce a more computer-chip like, mass-produced neutron source on an astonishingly smaller scale. For those seeking lay terms, we're hearing that possible practical applications include implantation close to tumors in cancer patients to minimize time in the hospital for treatment, and sensors for contraband. Sandia Labs' technical staff has created what it calls a "neutristor," which produces one neutron per transistor, a concept that was directly inspired by the two transistors per bit on microchips. The team is currently seeking funding to ensure future viability, and well, to pay for stuff. Check out the video after the break, as well as further information at the source.
Huawei Fusion hits AT&T's GoPhone lineup, prepaid Gingerbread for $125 (update)
Hey, not everyone needs a bunch-of-core superphone tied down to a two-year contract, so it's always nice to have some solid prepaid options, right? If you shook your head yes to that, you'll be pleased to know that AT&T's just added the Android Gingerbread-loaded Huawei Fusion to its GoPhone lineup. The device features a 3.5-inch (320 x 480) display up front, while on back there's a 3.2-megapixel shooter. Other goodies include Bluetooth 2.1, FM radio functionality and support for up to 32GB of storage via MicroSD. If you're still nodding your noggin, the Fusion and its (essentially) utilitarian specs can be yours for the keeping, sans contractual commitment, for just $125. You'll find more info at the links below. Update: Well, our mistake folks. It turns out this phone has been available on AT&T for quite some time now. Thanks to everyone in the comments for pointing this out.
AMD outs cheap Athlon II X4 Llano-based processors, minus integrated graphics
Given that superior integrated graphics was one of the key selling points of AMD's low-power Llano desktop chips, it might seem like a strange move to offer two new Athlon-branded variants that have been stripped of their GPUs. However, while one hand slaps your face, the other hand gives you more cash to spend on a proper graphics card for your ultra-cheap rig -- because both the Athlon II X4 641 and it's lower-power buddy, the 638, are priced at just $81. Go out and buy yourself something nice.
ASUS Eee PC Flare leaked ahead of CES, AMD and Intel models promised
Choosing is hard. And in the case of ASUS' forthcoming netbook line, totally not necessary. Just days after Intel snuck out details surrounding the next generation of its Atom line, out flows shots and information about what'll undoubtedly be one of the first next-gen netbooks to use 'em. The Eee PC Flare line is expected to supplant the long-standing Seashell range at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, with a smattering of models to be lining ASUS' booth. Outside of lively, sleeker exteriors, we're told to expect models with the new N2600 and N2800 Atom CPU line, a 12-incher powered by AMD's Fusion APU line and the token chiclet-style keyboard that we've all grown used to. It's also possible that we'll see revised 10-inchers alongside the big boys, with the 1225B, 1225C, 1025C and 1025CE named in particular. Naturally, we'll be bringing you more as we get it. Oh, and "netbooks are back, baby!"
CompuLab Fit-PC3 comes in many flavors of AMD, starting at $328
The march of the mini PCs continues, this time with a pumped-up little number from CompuLab. We've already reported on the Fit-PC3, which forgoes the Atom and Tegra 2 of previous models in favor of AMD's APUs, but it's only now that full pricing has been divulged. You're looking at $328 for the cheapest barebones nettop, which includes the fan-less case, motherboard and a 1GHz single-core processor with integrated Radeon HD 6290 graphics. Sure, some rivals might be cheaper, but the Fit-PC3 has above-average connectivity, including USB 3.0 and eSATA ports, HDMI, DisplayPort and digital audio out, as well as gigabit Ethernet and mini-serial. If you want a more powerful APU, or if you're too busy to go rummaging for your screwdriver, then there are plenty of dual-core and pre-built options up to $700 at the source link. Be advised though, only the pilot batch is currently available and end-users are being advised to wait a little longer.
