Monday, 11 July 2011

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cables


Meanwhile, all sorts of drugs are somehow imported into the [super secure] borders of most countries (like the US for example), yet a little 'ol cable like the Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cables have been deemed by HDMI org to be illegal. HDMI org are the committee that oversees the HDMI specification, saying such wires are illegal and could soon disappear from stores.

HDMI org claim that any cable with a male Mini DisplayPort connector on one side and a male HDMI connector on the opposite side is unlicensed and shouldn't be sold on store shelves. HDMI org did back up its claims with a few lines from the HDMI specification, one line says that a HDMI cable consists of only HDMI connectors, nothing else is permitted.
If that's not enough, the group also said that all HDMI products undergo compliance testing as defined by the Compliance Testing Specification. Since mDP to HDMI cables aren't mentioned in the HDMI specification, there are no tests associated with the product, so they are unable to be approved. But, cables that include a male mDP connector alongside a female HDMI receptable are fine because a licensed HDMI cable is able to be used.

Thursday, 7 July 2011

BREAKING: Facebook announces Video Calling powered by Skype



During Facebook's "Awesome" event that is going on now at Facebook's HQ in Palo Alto, CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced "Video Calling".



It is a partnership with Skype and integrates into your current Facebook experience rather seamlessly. All you need to do is pop up your friends list in that chat area in the bottom right of the screen and select a friend. Then click on their name and click the "start a video call" camera looking icon.

For the first time you are asked to download the Facebook Video Calling Plug-in which is small and downloaded and installed very quickly. I'm going to give it a try right now! One last thought, now that Microsoft own Skype, does this mean we will see more Facebook and Microsoft joint efforts in the future?


Wednesday, 6 July 2011

Samsung Galaxy S II has over 3 million units sold in just 55 days



Samsung have announced (and most likely, very proudly) that they have passed the 3 million units sold milestone of their latest and greatest (and may I add, amazing) Samsung Galaxy S II Android-powered smartphone. The Galaxy S II is expected to launch in no less than 120 countries on over 140 mobile operators, so these numbers will expand pretty quickly. Keep in mind that the phone has only launched in South Korea and the UK, these numbers are mighty impressive for just two markets.


The phone launches in the US later this month. Samsung has modest ambitions for the Galaxy S II; sell 10 million units for the entire of 2011. If they've hit 3 million, in just two countries in less than two months, then I dare say Samsung have got their goals sealed up, ready to go and the Moet is on the chill.

Saturday, 2 July 2011

Samsung Intros Five More Series 9 Ultra-thin Notebooks


Samsung's ultra-thin Series 9 line-up of notebooks has just been extended with five more Intel powered models; three of which are 13.3-inch and two 11.6-inch sized ones. This family of notebooks are only 0.62-inches thick and no more than 1.31kg in weight.

All five models use SSDs and have an LED-backlit SuperBright panel running a 1366x768 resolution, Intel IGP, USB 3.0 support, FastStart technology (can ready up a machine in as little as 3 seconds), packed in a duralumin chassis with pre-loaded installation of Windows 7 Home Premium.



The three 13.3" models shape up like this :-

- NP900X3A-B01US ($1,349) - 1.6 GHz Core i5-2467M, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD
- NP900X3A-B02US ($1,649) - 1.6 GHz Core i5-2467M, 4GB of RAM, 256GB SSD
- NP900X3A-A05US ($2,049) - 1.5 GHz Core i7-2617M, 6GB of RAM, 256GB SSD

And the two 11.6" models :-

- NP900X1B-A02US ($1,049) - 1.3 GHz Core i3-2357M, 2GB of RAM, 64GB SSD
- NP900X1B-A01US ($1,249) - 1.3 GHz Core i3-2357M, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD


The 13.3-inch models are shipping right now, while the 11.6" ones are coming in August.





Friday, 1 July 2011

Two-way Skype video calling now possible on select Android handsets


For the folks on Android who are, or plan to make use of Skype on their mobile device, a significant update has just come out which now makes it possible to initiate two-way video calling.


As it stands, however, this feature is currently only functioning on four (Android 2.3) handsets; the Google Nexus S, HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo and Xperia Pro. Of course, support will be expanding in the near future.


Further to the two-way video calling ability, Skype 2.0 for Android has also had its interface tweaked up and SMS support has also been added.

Gmail gets a new look


Google are on a rampage this week, not only launching their social networking extravaganza Google+ (which is awesome btw) but now a new look Gmail is out and being previewed. The new look is virtually identical to Google+ which helps keep an overall theme for Google and has cut the clutter away and still keep it as a powerhouse e-mail solution. Google have stated it's a Google-wide effort to bring you, the user, an experience that is more focused, elastic and effortless across all of their products.



They've said that they are not going to change everything at once and will work on the upgrades gradually over the next few months which will allow users plenty of time to get used to it and incorporate feedback that will go into the ever-evolving design. Google are starting with two new themes for users to try as a sneak peak of things to come. Currently there's "Preview" and "Preview (Dense)" themes in the Themes tab in Gmail Settings.

Once you take a look around you'll realise it looks cleaner, with a more modern look yet has a few rough edges. Labs features will also look strange as they're not built for the current themes (yet). Google plan on fixing these issues once the changes are rolled out over the next few months. New themes will be released and will include the same design principles but are better suited to working in a dark environment (yay! I enjoy my dark Gmail background and will wait for this).


Google Calendar is also getting a new look, with users seeing the new change automatically over the next few days without needing to turn it on.




Click On Images For Large View:


 

Facebook Set To Launch "Something Awesome" Next Week, says Zuckerberg


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has confirmed the launch of a new Facebook feature/product which is set to be announced next week. Now, before you start salivating about what it could be, let's think. Could it be something to combat the huge positive launch of Google+, could it be video chat? Maybe the rumored iPad app?



It could be a photo-sharing app for iOS, or a total change for the site itself. The news comes from Reuters, with their editor reporting that Zuckerberg confirmed to inquiring reporters at their Seattle-based office that Facebook plan on launching "something awesome" next week.
Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg told reporters in a visit to Facebook's Seattle office on Wednesday that the company planned to "launch something awesome" next week.He said the project had been developed at the 40-person Seattle office, Facebook's only major engineering center outside of its Palo Alto, California headquarters.


Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More

 
Twitter Bird Gadget