Apple releases MacBook Air (mid-2011) EFI firmware update 2.1

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  • September 12, 2011 at 4:45 pm

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MacBook Air (mid-2011) EFI firmware update 2.1

If you own a mid-2011 MacBook Air you might want to hit the update button. Apple has just released an EFI firmware update which solves a couple of issues mainly dealing with Thunderbolt compatibility. The other issue deals with Lion Recovery from an internet connection.

The fixes should:

  • Enhance the stability of Lion Recovery from an Internet connection.
  • Resolve issues with Apple Thunderbolt Display compatibility.
  • Resolve issues with Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode performance.

To update, connect your mid-2011 MBA to a power source, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner and then “Software Update…”, then follow the dialogue boxes.
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Samsung Galaxy Note includes support for GLONASS, bids ‘do svidaniya’ to slow GPS fix

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  • September 12, 2011 at 1:12 pm

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Samsung Galaxy Note with GLONASS support

So, here is something we missed when we initially looked at the new Galaxy Note; when we had another look at the official mini-site we noticed that Samsung has included support for GLONASS in addition to GPS.

GLONASS is a radio-based satellite navigation system, the Russian equivalent to the U.S.’s GPS. GLONASS was initiated during Soviet Union times but had then fallen into disrepair, it has since then been upgraded in various stages and can now begin to rival GPS — GLONASS is actually more accurate than GPS in northern latitudes because of the positioning of its satellites.

The biggest benefits, however, come when you combine both systems together, GLONASS and GPS; this allows a device to get more accurate positioning and/or faster fix, particularly in deep urban environments. This is because you suddenly have access to the US GPS 31 satellites and the Russian GLONASS 24 satellites for a total of 55 active satellites.

Below is a test that was ran showing the improvement in accuracy by using both systems together:
Better fix accuracy using both GPS and GLONASS

Now, the specifications for the Galaxy Note mention “A-GPS, Glonass”, so there is good possibility that Samsung can enable the device to use both, for better positioning. Well, we shall see soon, when the Note finally lands later this year.
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Fuji Guys tackle the Fujifilm X10, 16 minutes of unadulterated gadget lust (video)

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  • September 11, 2011 at 6:26 pm

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Fuji Guys showing off the Fujifilm FinePix X10

The “Fuji Guys”, a.k.a. Billy and Greg from Fujifilm Canada, have posted a video demonstrating the new FinePix X10. There is a lot of marketing hype in the video, but you get to spend 16 minutes learning about every aspect of the new high-end point-and-shoot camera.

We’ve made particular note of:

  • Standard optical viewfinder, no information overlay.
  • High precision 4x manual zoom using a metal cam-driven mechanism. Twist lens zoom ring to turn the camera on. Optical image stabilisation.
  • 7 blade aperture system but no built-in ND filter.
  • 1cm macro.
  • Magnesium alloy construction and metal lens cap like the X100.
  • Software and buttons similar to the X100 with some improvements, mode dial instead of shutter speed dial. Fuji has kept the dedicated ‘Raw’ button… why?
  • 1080p video 30fps.

Video is after the break for your enjoyment.
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Is this the Samsung Nexus Prime? Google’s first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone

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  • September 10, 2011 at 9:02 am

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Google Nexus Prime Samsung's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone

After we got official word from Google’s own Eric Schmidt, that Android’s next iteration, 4.0, codename Ice Cream Sandwich, is coming in October or November, speculation on the first handset to run it, is running high.

All bets are that Samsung is the lucky Nexus manufacturer this time around and the name of handset is Nexus Prime — Nexus Galaxy wouldn’t sound right, now would it? The latest leak comes from an unlikely source; a UK retailer just posted a webpage for the Nexus Prime listing a number of specs which we’ve already seen rumored for the handset.

The site lists: Android 4.0, 4.6-inch Super AMOLED, 1.5GHz Processor, 5MP Camera + F 1MP, 1080p HD Video, WiFi, GPS.

This could be a solid leak or just the attempt of a retailer to drive some free trafic to its website, it really remains to be seen.
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Drawing on the Samsung Galaxy Note using the S Pen stylus (video)

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  • September 10, 2011 at 7:38 am

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Drawing on the Samsung Galaxy Note using the S Pen stylus

There are two things that make the Samsung Galaxy Note stand out, first is its incredible 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, and second, the stowable S Pen stylus. The S Pen is a pressure sensitive stylus which paired with a host of Samsung applications allows you to perform certain tasks, such as taking handwritten notes, but also to unleash your creativity by drawing directly on your phone’s screen.

Head over after the break to see a demo video of what someone with artistic inclinations can do on the Note.
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Nikon to introduce compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera

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  • September 9, 2011 at 12:56 pm

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Nikon Corporation

Reuters has conveyed Nikkei daily news of Nikon’s intent to enter the mirrorless interchangeable-lens digital camera (MILC) game. Panasonic and Olympus started it all with their Micro Four Thirds digital cameras in 2008 and many major camera manufacturers have since entered the lucrative market. Nikon and Canon have so far been absent and there were growing rumors that they would soon join.

With camera prices going down, MILCs still command quite a premium. Nikon is said to price its mirrorless camera and lens kit at around 70,000-100,000 yen ($900-1,300). To put things into perspective, Panasonic’s GF3 retails for around $700, Olympus’ EP-3 at $900, while Sony’s NEX-5N retails for $700 and the upcoming super high-end NEX-7 will retail for around $1,350.

Nikon is supposed to introduce its MILC by the end of the year. We said it before, but we’ll say it again, this is definitely the best year for compact camera lovers.
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Windows 8 to offer much faster boot-up speeds

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  • September 9, 2011 at 2:46 am

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System boot times, Windows 8 compared to Windows 7

Information on Windows 8 has been trickling from the official development blog, “Building Windows 8”, over the past few weeks, giving us an insight of what we should expect from Microsoft’s next operating system. The engineering team tackles one topic at a time, discussing the underlying issues and motivations, the challenges and what has been done in Windows 8 to address this. We can only say that this is a very engaging way of learning about Windows 8.

Today, Gabe Aul, takes us through what has been done to improve Windows cold boot-up times; that is, the time until you have a workable desktop from the completely off state — not from hibernate and not from sleep. Microsoft has been able to deliver significantly faster boot-up times in Windows 8 compared to Windows 7.

A quick search on YouTube will land you with tons of videos comparing Windows to MacOS boot speeds, an obviously important issue for the overall user experience and a benchmark of how “well” an operating system performs.

Although hibernating your Windows PC already leads to faster boot up times, a lot of users like to completely shut down their computers in order to start fresh.
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Zagat acquired by Google

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  • September 8, 2011 at 4:08 pm

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Zagat acquired by Google

Zagat is best known for its pocket-sized, burgundy colored, restaurant guidebooks offering reviews and recommendation based on the feedback from 350,000 surveyors around the world. Zagat also operates a website sharing the same crowd-sourced expertise. Today Google and Zagat Survey announced the acquisition of the latter and its inclusion in Google’s growing family.

Although the move is unexpected, it does make a lot of sense; Google needs the expertise and trusted opinions for its Maps/Places products and Zagat needs the traffic that Google can provide. I’ve used both Zagat printed guidebooks and its website and I’ve found the reviews to be mostly on the ball. I also love the convenience of discovering new restaurants and cafes on my smartphone using Google Places but honestly the reviews are hit-or-miss.

Zagat was founded in 1979 by Tim and Nina Zagat as a sort of social experiment, and now the company’s 30 point scale ratings include restaurants from around 100 countries. The terms of the deal with Google haven’t been disclosed.
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Motorola Droid Bionic now on sale from Verizon

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  • September 8, 2011 at 1:29 am

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Motorola Droid Bionic on Verizon launch

Drum-roll, please. The Motorola Droid Bionic has finally hit Verizon and is today available to order for $300 with a two year contract. We’ve been expecting the 4.3-inch, dual-core 1GHz, 4G LTE Android phone from Motorola for a while now and although it’s late to the party, we’re glad it’s finally here.

If you’ve been holding your breath for this, head over to Verizon’s page to order yours today; or you can wait just a bit longer for the iPhone 5 or even the Nexus/Droid Prime, which shouldn’t be too far off.
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Eric Schmidt confirms Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be released in October or November

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  • September 7, 2011 at 4:03 pm

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Well, well, well, it doesn’t get more official than this. Google Chairman and former CEO, Eric Schmidt, incidentally confirmed that the next big Android release, named Ice Cream Sandwich, should be coming this October of November. Eric Schmidt was at Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco when he incidentally mentioned the timeframe for the release:

We have a new operating system, internally known as Ice Cream Sandwich, for some reason, which is being released in October/November; which everyone’s really excited about.

Ice Cream Sandwich is the update that will supposedly unite the smartphone (Gingerbread) and tablet (Honeycomb) versions of Android into one. This will hopefully make it easier for developers to create apps for different screen sizes and resolutions. It will also give smartphone users all of the new Honeycomb features, allow tablets to connect to peripherals and hopefully a few tasty surprises. As always, Google pairs a new Android version with a Nexus smartphone and this time around all fingers are pointed to Samsung’s rumored Nexus Prime.

You can check out the whole keynote video after the break, just letting you know that Eric’s comment is at exactly the 30:27 mark.
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Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Cinema Display finally shipping to stores, pre-orders get mid-September estimates

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  • September 7, 2011 at 8:44 am

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Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Cinema Display

If you’ve been waiting on a new Apple Thunderbolt display then we have good news. The new 27-inch LED Cinema Display, that was announced back in July, is finally shipping to Apple Stores and resellers this week, according to MacRumors. At the same time, Electronista reported that, online pre-orders could be shipping in mid-September. The $999 display is the first to feature Thunderbolt I/O technology offering two 10-Gbps channels in both directions.

The 27-inch Thunderbolt Cinema Display has wide 178-degree viewing angles thanks to its IPS technology and edge-to-edge all glass front. It features a 2,560×1,440 resolution (16:9), LED backlighting, a FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speakers, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and of course a Thunderbolt port.

Thunderbolt technology allows daisy-chaining of up to five additional devices, such as hard drives and peripherals as well as up to two displays. So that, you can have two displays running from one computer; just not the new MacBook Air.
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Seagate calls first on 4TB external hard drive

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  • September 7, 2011 at 3:14 am

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Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 4TB

There is a certain satisfaction in calling out first, that Seagate must be feeling right now. Seagate just announced the world’s first 4TB external hard drive, which has been added to their growing GoFlex Desk line. The standard unit comes with USB 3.0 support (USB 2.0 backwards compatible) and is available now for $250, while a Mac version will be coming out soon with Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 connectivity. But, as with all GoFlex drives, the base can be swapped for different connectivity options; like something more interesting perhaps, let’s say Thunderbolt?

Seagate also managed a design refresh, giving the drive a more “industrial” look. The unit weights 2.38 lbs and measures 6.22 x 4.88 x 1.73-inches and has enough space for 2,000 HD movies, or you know, those “documentaries” you like watching late at night. Full press release after the break.
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HP TouchPad running Android 2.3.5 with full multi-touch (video)

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  • September 6, 2011 at 4:40 pm

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HP TouchPad running Android with full multi-touch

Following HP’s discontinuation of the TouchPad and the ensuing fire sale of said tablet for as little as $99, a lot of lucky individuals managed to snap the nevertheless capable tablet. Although HP committed to continue to provide updates to webOS devices, few developers will be willing to port their applications to it, leaving ultimate users with few third-party apps to load onto their devices. Hence started the race of porting Android onto the TouchPad.

The most prominent team so far has been Team-Touchdroid, which regularly uploads videos onto YouTube with updates of their efforts. So far, they had been able to load Android but were lacking touchscreen drivers for any form of touch control. The latest video however, shows that the team has managed to get full 10-finger multi-touch support on a TouchPad running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. TouchPad owners anxiously waiting to see the results head over the break to view the video.
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