So when Microsoft announced that the Courier was just a concept, people were let down. Here comes Toshiba to the rescue. The question is, is it the same as the Microsoft Courier? From looking at other articles on the web, it’s heading in the right direction, but no dice. Just hardware wise it has a pretty decent spec. Two screens (capacitive), a decent processor that isn’t an atom processor thank god. The Libretto has a very portable design. When folded open, it’s as big as an iPad. When folded it’s around three or four time thicker that an iPad. The device weighs less than 2 pounds. Probably what most want is a full featured on OS on a device and the Libretto offers that with having Windows 7 Home included.
In my opinion, it’s a cool gadget, but I could always get a netbook since the second screen will most likely have the keyboard input. The only thing the second screen will be used for is if you’re reading an ebook or looking at 2 documents at the same time or web surfing. You can also view a document or window in full mode that spans the two screens, but who want to do that when there is a huge gap between it. The screen looks really small from the videos. Good for Toshiba for making something totally different, but for portability they would have to design something that is one thin and two have great battery life. I’m sure powering two screens is good for the battery. If you’re a gadget freak this is a must, but the for the general public save the cash and just get an iPad or even better just get a netbook for less that half the price of the Libretto.
We’re only a couple of years away, but Sony has done the unthinkable. They have a created a hologram like those that you see in Star Wars and the like. Called the Raymodeler (a prototype), this device is able to show full 3D without the need of glasses. Granted the viewing area is small, but it really works. Walk around the back and you’ll see the back of the person. Granted they used 8 or more camera to do this, but it’s way better than what we have today. Now if one was to do CG, they’d have to do so many renders that it would take forever to create. You can see in the video that they have at 15 views to create the 3d. They showed this thing off at Siggraph, but it didn’t seem like a lot of people were interested. Weird. Gotta say a lot of things we see in scifi movies are actually coming to life. Check out the video below to be amazed.
Just when you thought you were gonna get a DSLR or a m4/3 camera, Sony bust outs their very own compact camera with interchangeable lenses. It’s not the first (take a look at the Panasonic gh1 or olympus), but sure is one of the smallest. Sony created the Nex series of cameras. This is a new section in the camera world. It’s not a DSLR (though the sensor is), but it’s not a point and shoot either. It’s right in between. I think it will boom in the next couple months, with rumors that Canon and Nikon are getting in on the action.
About the Nex camera themselves. Well, right now there are only two, the Nex-3 and thee Nex-5. Both seem to be pretty identical in spec with the only thing differing is the size and video modes. The Nex-5 is slightly thicker (if I’m correct) and the video modes is 1080 60i compared to the Nex-3’s 720p video recording. Everything else seems to be identical.
Now if you can wait, Sony will be releasing the Nex-7, where rumor has that it will be able to do 1080p (most likely 24/30) and 720p at most 120. That’s right, it’ll do slow motion. It’ll be using a newer version of the alpha sensor and supposedly the Nex-7 body will be a little bit bigger. Sony just make sure it doesn’t look like a DSLR otherwise what’s the point of having the Alphas series then.
I can’t wait until Sony’s Nex series camera comes out. With the great pics, video, and awesome iso levels, Sony looks like they have a winner.
This is a milestone. The Android OS is running natively on the iPhone. It’s still in the alpha stage and it only works on the 2G version (aluminum backing). In time and with the help of donations, we’ll see it for all versions of the iPhone. I’ve been waiting for this forever. Now it’s only a matter of time before we don’t have to toss our old iPhones and save around $500 in the process. By changing the OS, it opens a whole new world.
As you can see from the video, it is working pretty well for an alpha. It’s freaking smooth. Calls, wifi, data, and touch are all working. I would have liked to see the navigation on it as that is one of the great things about Android as well as it’s openness. Yeah, we’re not stuck with iTunes anymore. As you can see he mapped some of the buttons differently. In the end, it looks very promising. If you’re afraid of doing this or are sick of the OS, you can always revert back to the Apple OS since all you’re doing is dual booting. Don’t forget to donate so they can speed the process up. Don’t drool too much cause you’re about to see what’s really “magical”. For donations or to contribute head on over to linuxoniphone.
It looks very plausible. Gizmodo has the actual device on hand. I’m surprised that they have it. Apple even wants it back, but Gizmodo still has it. Interesting. With how big Apple is, I’m wondering if there’s gonna be some legal action taken or not.
Now you’re wondering why we have Apple news even though some of our articles are against Apple, well it’s new technology and whatever bias we have isn’t gonna stop us from posting hot news.
Now, if you’re too lazy to head on to Gizmodo, here are some things to know. The screen rez is higher, front facing camera, better camera and flash on the back, new design, larger battery, and the use of micro sim. Now who knows if this is how it will look since it could be a prototype, but with how everything leaks nowadays, this is probably gonna be what we’ll see in Apple’s June announcement.
Man, I wonder if the person who lost this is still working for Apple.
I don’t think we’ve mentioned any books on this site. Contrary to your beliefs, the Renderphase crew does read books. I’ve recently finished “Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals. While it is a business book for people who want to start or improve their own companies, it’s also a great book for everyone else who wants to start or continue creating projects of any kind. I’ve seen Jason Fried in a Chicago Convergence discussion panel a few years ago and the first impression I got was that he seems a little full of himself alluding how small companies are better than the big gorilla companies. I’m glad I read this book as now I think Fried and his 37Signals band seem like a bunch of cool folks. The co-author Hansson built the “Ruby and Rails” framework. Unfortunately, I work with a company that develops with Microsoft platforms, so I’ve never had a reason to use Rails. One day I’ll probably try it out as big sites like Twitter uses the R&R framework. In any case, it’s great seeing a fellow young Chicago/foreign dude like Hansson shaking up and making an impact on the tech industry.
As for the book, expect a quick read with concise sentences that drives its points to your brain without being preachy. The chapters are small and the line spacing is around 1.5 in height, so you don’t have to worry about it being humongous like some 1000 page WROX technical book. If you’ve worked in a small company before, you’ll definitely agree with some of the advice/ideas presented in the book. For example, if your small company lacks a marketing department, it’s not something you should be concerned about. The book also stresses the importance of “alone time” as a key element to productivity. I don’t know about you guys, but the projects I’ve been most proud of required a lot of “alone time” to produce. The book has other ideas regarding hiring, company culture, competitors and more. It’s a good book, so go buy it! As of this writing, it’s only $12 at Amazon!
