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Canon previews a handheld version of its MREAL Mixed Reality tech at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)
As a complement to its MREAL Mixed Reality headset, Canon is showing off a handheld version of the technology this week at SIGGRAPH. The new version functions much like the head-mounted one, enabling the use of markers or (as was the case here) sensors to render images in real space. Something you'll want to keep in mind: this is still an enterprise-focused device. That said, it doesn't make the tech demo and usage scenarios any less cool to gawk at. The demonstration we saw here in Anaheim involved a Kabuki dancer out in the center of the demo area. Details like shadows and wrinkles in the performer's clothes were rendered in real time -- just as if a real person were performing. A collection of sensors mounted around the top of the demo stage allowed us to look around the space while the projected image reacted to our position. Not once did we lose sight of the action. Two other demos for the head-mounted display (that can easily translate to the handheld unit as well) caught our attention, too. First, a boat motor was projected in real space using augmented reality markers, allowing the user to inspect a scale model of the engine for training or other purposes. The ability to deconstruct the engine and see how different portions of it worked was all available to the user. Next, we saw a set of markers wrapping a rectangle projected a model of a Canon DSLR housing. Both of these scenarios offer a more in-depth look at 3D models before the prototyping phase or any steps are taken towards production. A quick look at the Kabuki demo and our best in-dance commentary awaits on the other side of the break. %Gallery-194606%
Dell's leaked Latitude E6000 and E5000-series of laptops pack GPS, DisplayPort, WWAN, UWB and much more
Our week o' Dell scoops continues with what Dell calls its "mainstream" and "essential" series of Latitude E-series laptops. While the enterprise-ready, mainstream series packs just about everything (and more) that you could hope for in a balanced spec-for-size lappie, the essential series is only essential if you're on a tight budget and just can't live without the comparatively low-end chub. The 15.4-inch E6500 and 14.1-inch E6400 models will replace Dell's D830 and D630 whereas the "essential" 15.4-inch E5500 and 14.1-inch E5400 carry on the low-end tradition of Dell's D531 and D530. With any luck, these will be Dell's first Montevina / Centrino 2 class machines if they all hit the targeted June release date as planned. AMD fans will see the E5500a and E5400a configurations at about the same time. So what can you expect under the hood? Well, just look at the 5.1-pound E6500 which reads like a suit's, geek fantasy: UWB, Bluetooth 2.1, mobile broadband Integrated GPS, yes GPS New 84WHr slice batteries for "all day" computing LED backlighting, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, discrete nVIDIA graphics and DisplayPort out Hard, Hybrid, and Solid State disk drive options with eSATA jack for more Optional camera and mic Plenty of security options including contact-less smart cards and encrypted hard disks Time to pad those budgets a bit, eh CIOs? Full low-down in the gallery below.%Gallery-18965%
LG's 13.3-inch E300-AP75K laptop packs a 160GB hybrid HDD
LG's E300-AP75K isn't the first laptop this year from the company rocking a hybrid hard drive within, but it's just hard to gloss over a new machine with 160 gigabytes of HHD under the hood. Reportedly, this 13.3-incher sports a WXGA panel, a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, 2GB of RAM, a DVD burner, 1.3-megapixel camera, HDMI output, WiFi and ATI's Radeon X1250 handling the graphics. The unit shouldn't weigh you down much at just 2.86-pounds (um, for real?), and it's supposedly ready to launch in Korea for around $1,700.
Seagate launches first laptop HHD -- blames Vista drivers for poor performance
Finally, Seagate has joined the fray by shipping its first hybrid hard drive (HHD) to OEMs and thus making good on its pledge to the Hybrid Storage Alliance. The 2.5-inch Momentus 5400 PSD ships in 80-, 120-, and 160GB capacities with a SATA 1.5 interface, 8MB of cache, and 256MB of flash memory to buffer cached write requests to disk. Seagate's HHDs are said to reduce boot time from 40 to 32 seconds while cutting average power consumption from 0.78 to 0.45 watts. Not quite the hysterical orders of performance improvements and battery savings originally promised eh Microsoft, Samsung? According to Melissa Johnson, a Seagate product manager, the sub-par performance for all HHDs stems from first generation issues with both the BIOS and Vista device drivers, "they don't know how to utilize the flash." Oh dear.[Via Extreme Tech]
LG's XNOTE TX with 120GB Hybrid Hard Drive: library card not included
Nothing makes us think "educated" more than a Korean gadget-waif holding a text book twice the size of her skirt. Or so says LG who just launched their 12.1-inch XNOTE TX for the "young generation." The E200-series sports a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory, 1.3 megapixel webcam, super multi-drive DVD, and HDMI-out standard while being one of the first batch of laptops to pack a 120GB hybrid hard disk (HHD) with 256MB of flash. This 3.96-pound, WXGA laptop hits for ???1,400,000 or about $1,500.
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Samsung's R55 sports "world's first" HHD
Just over a month since releasing their HHD to OEMs, out pops an 80GB Hybrid Hard Drive in Samsung's venerable M55 lowly R55 laptop. They're calling it an "industry first" even though we all know damn well that LG announced leaked their HHD-equipped R400 laptop back in March sporting Samsung's own MH80 hybrid. While Samsung is quick to tell us about all the efficiencies and robustness gained with the introduction of that 256MB of flash memory, they remain alarmingly quiet about the price differential when compared to traditional disks. Flash ain't cheap. So thanks for the update Sammy, but we're still curious about the pain for the perk.Update: It's the R55, not the M55. Post updated.[Via PC Joint]
LG's R400 hybrid hard drive laptop outed
Samsung's not the only mega Korean manufacturer with a little bit of hybrid hard drive action to show off this week. Apparently LG is getting into the game as well, as it's stuffed one of those flash-cached, speed-booting, battery-saving and performance-enhancing drives into the new R400, which should be launching at the end of this month. Along with the snappy 120GB drive, the R400 (not to be confused with Toshiba's flagship 12-incher) includes a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 graphics card, 14.1-inch LCD, 1.73GHz T5300 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM and Bluetooth. The Inquirer mentions a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam, but we're not spotting the camera in the pic above. The best news is that all of this appears to be going for the perfectly reasonable price of $1,199 Canadian -- about 37 cents in real people money! There's obviously some shadiness here, and we're looking forward to LG's official announcement to confirm the specs and maybe jack up the price a grand or so, but for now we sure are liking to looks of this here R400.[Via The Inquirer]
Samsung's Hybrid Hard Drive (HHD) released to OEMs
Samsung and Microsoft have been touting the wonders of the hybrid hard drive since 2005 -- in other words "forever" on a technology timeline. Now, finally, Samsung is pushing their ReadyDrive-friendly HHD out the door to OEMs starting today. The MH80 series of 2.5-inch drives build in 128/256MB of NAND flash to augment the traditional 80/120/160GB of traditional hard disk capacity. Samsung claims that their new HHDs offer 5x the reliability of conventional hard disks while shaving up to 50% off Windows Vista boot times and cutting power consumption by 70-90% to deliver about 30-minutes more laptop run-time off battery. Sweet. No prices given, but look for 'em to hit higher-end laptops as relatively costly (no prices given) options any day now. With any luck, the higher cost will be offset by more bang-for-the-buck.
Samsung's Hybrid Hard Disk in the fo' realz
It might not look like much, but that's no ordinary disk drive up there. That's the latest pic of Samsung's Hybrid Hard Drive (HHD) which like those from Seagate and others, are still expected to launch in January in leverage of Vista's SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, and ReadyDrive technologies. Yeah, nothing more to say about HHDs than we have already, just a new picture to prep ya for double-quick boot speeds, greater reliability, and 20-30 minutes longer battery life. Mmm flash memory... is there anything you can't do?
Hybrid hard drive due for this month?
We first heard about Samsung's and Microsoft's hybrid hard drive (HHD) over a year ago at last WinHEC 2005, and according to the Korea Times it would appear that after a year of waiting for the drive (and the operating system intended to run it -- Vista), it will be launched at this year's WinHEC. The world has yet to see what adding a 128MB buffer solid state storage area to a hard drive will offer in terms of performance and battery life when used in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows ReadyDrive (i.e. sleep / hibernation quick boot and suspend support), but we're all waiting with bated breath because anything to start moving us away from this whole spinning hard drive thing is fine by us, thanks.[The Inq]
