That is the question the new GeCube hybrid device would be asking (if it had a father). The GC-GENIE-JR aka the Genie PC, is a Linux tablet computer, but at night when no one is watching, detaches its screen and becomes a digital photo frame.
While the little device doesn’t have a touch screen, it does mount the mouse on the back of the screen, which will give you the ability to do the basics without the keyboard. It will also feature an unknown 300MHz Intel processor (didn’t know they had plans to make one either), 256M of ram with 2G of storage.
It also comes with rubberised keyboard (water proof maybe) and will of course come with a wireless standard built in. While it isn’t going to replace your desktop, for a measly $US229, it is almost disposable.
GeCube also have plans to take over the EeePC market, with a 10.2-inch ultra portable notebook, running a VIA C7, 512mb of ram and the option to run Linux or Windows. That little guy should start around the $US279 mark, and my guess would be, to grow from that point with memory and storage upgrades.
All-in-all the options from GeCube will be very interesting. Whether they come to fruition is another question.
For more info, click over to The Inquirer.
The Atom AKA Silverthorn is set to be in every upcoming MID device, and has already been demoed on a bunch of devices.I want to know how it will perform against other processor’s in its class? The people over at XTReview were lucky enough to sneak some benchmarks of a demo Asus MID device.
The results aren’t fantastic, with the 1.6GHz Atom in review doing very average on 1MB Super Pi benchmarks. It was beaten by the 900MHz Celeron, which could mean the EeePC will be faster then the upcoming MID’s. On the other hand, the Pi tests aren’t the bases of all results, and will have to wait for a complete benchmark to be completed (will it run Crysis?).
The advantages of the 45nm processors are the power savings, but considering that a lot of companies are expecting to be running Vista on these little devices, they may encounter some performance issues. Until I have seen all round benchmarks, including battery life, I will reserve my all mighty judgement.
For the benchmarks, click over to XTReviews.
P.S. A little less advertising and a little more design goes a long way XTReviews.
Most of the people reading this will have dozens of fans thought their house. In the computer you are sitting on (sometimes a few of them), in the ceiling to cool the house, in the oven to move heat evenly, in the bathroom to stop mildew and many other places. All these fans have something in common and that is the design of the blades, but that is going to change soon.
Whales have existed on earth for millions of years, and they have evolved (unless you believe that god made everything just perfect) to be incredibly aerodynamic. Their fins are so aerodynamic that WhalePower Corp, of Toronto, have spent the last year designing a blade that mimics the tubercles found on whales fins. The results were so positive that Envira-North Systems Ltd (they make most of Canada’s ceiling fans) have licensed the design to be used in a new series of ceiling fans.
The numbers have said things like 32 per cent less drag and an 8 per cent rise in lift, but what does this all mean for the average Joe out there? Imagine the computer fan being quieter and being able to move more air. Imagine plane propellers being more efficient and faster. Imagine the gains in wind turbine power, if even a percent, would create a lot more energy.
WhalePower have said that around dozen Canadian companies have shown interest as well as 2 US companies, which shows there is interest in the design. It shouldn’t be long till all fans could quite possibly be replaced with this new design, and I am one person who can’t wait for a computer that doesn’t sound like a helicopter.
For more info, click over to EcoGeek.
How much do you want a 9-inch LCD on an EeePC? Keep on waiting, because the screen that is coming is 8.9-inch (haha, I’m a funny man).
Rumour has it that Asus are going to announce the EeePC 900, which will feature the larger screen with a 1024×600 resolution, 1 GB of RAM and 12 GB of Flash storage. This will set you back a pricey $US600, but for an EeePC fan it will be worth it.
Unfortunately, it is believed that the little guys battery life will suffer (down to a possible 2.5hours). Also, now it is going to the $600 mark, is it sill going to be value for money considering it doesn’t feature a touch-screen or a fast processor (it is still a 900Mhz Celeron). Sorry Asus, but I’m waiting for Atom’s.
For more info, click over to Gizmodo.
Can you go past a 26-inch LCD with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 5ms response time and a DTV tuner option? With the attractive look of the Samsung T260, this is one display I will keep my eyes on (literary).
The screen will also have a couple of smaller brothers (or sisters), which are a 24-incher and 19-incher. All the screen will come with DVI, HDMI and D-sub. No price as yet, but that should be available further down this month.
For more info, click over to Engadget.