Windows 7. Windows 7. Windows 7. I have to write it three times just to believe that Windows 7 is reportedly the fastest selling operating system ever. Well it is according to Craig Beilinson, director of marketing at Microsoft.

Why am I not shocked? With all the publicity that it got from the house that Bill Gates built, you shouldn’t be either. I can’t wait til actual figures are released to see just how many copies of Windows 7 schooled its competitors.

Lifehacker


The Nintendo DSi XL hasn’t even launched in the U.S. and Europe yet, and already there is talk about what hardware the successor to the world’s best selling handheld video game system will have.

Straight from the man himself, President of Nintendo of Japan, Satoru Iwata stated in an interview with Asahi that the next DS system will have “high resolution graphics” and an “accelerometer.”

This adds fuel to the fire where rumors are stating that the next generation of handheld consoles will contain Tegra or Tegra 2 graphic chips, the same one that powers the Zune HD. The NDS has proved that N64-like graphics are possible, so it is only natural that we can expect graphics that are better than the PSP or close to Gamecube levels.

An accelerometer would put a DS2 on equal footing with the iPhone/iPod touch combo.

Asahi


Things are starting to get ugly. Real ugly. With the Consumer Electronics Show started, my head is hurting and needs a bag of ice to calm down how excited I feel. Within the last 24 hours, all the tech/gadgets that have been announced by tech companies has been overwhelming. 2010 is going to rock it like a pop boy-band from the mid 90s.

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer revealed yesterday at CES a Hewlett Packard made tablet/slate device. Its primary usage will be to function as a web browser, e-reader, and portable media player. It will be capable of multi-touch and will most likely run Windows 7 which is chock full of touch goodness.

This thing is beeeyoooteeeeful.

Check out the teaser video below.

Consider the ante officially upped Apple. Your move.

Engadget


According to Apple, three billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store since its opening. I wonder how many of those apps weren’t fart apps and clocks. *Throws confetti in the air* As much as I love the App Store for its ease, it still daunts me how many apps there are and how many keep getting approved. The quality of the apps seem to be declining in general. It feels like the market is becoming filled with “shovel-ware” just like the Wii and DS platforms that are home to a majority of the crappiest titles. Developers who want to quickly cash in don’t care for quality, so long as it just works somewhat. This is because the quality bar for approval isn’t as high as it should be to keep out the crap.

Apple


What is a DSLR, but isn’t as big as one, even the smallest Nikon D40/60/3000 or Canon XS/XSi/T1i series? It’s a Samsung NX10 that’s what. Samsung does one thing best, shrinks things and makes them thin (just look at their LED HDTVs). The NX10 does away with all the bulk that is a DSLR and brings a large 3.0″ AMOLED display along with 14.6 megapixels to satisfy all your photography needs.

This isn’t a micro-three fourth camera ala Olympus EP-2 or a Panasonic GF1. It’s a bonafide DSLR with a APS-C CMOS sensor. It forgoes the reflex-mirror and thus a regular viewfinder, but makes up for it all with a nice electronic viewfinder.

As with all DSLRs that have been designed in the last year or so, this one shoots HD video, 720p at 30 fps. Not the 1080p, but what do you expect in such as thin body.

Seeing it here side by side next to the EP-2 just shows off how thin this sucker is. Not only that but it even brings out the elegance of the EP-2 as even more drool-worthy.

Digital Photography Review


As mentioned in one of my previous posts, Tablets will be HUGE. So huge in fact that just days before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), tablets by the boatload are already being leaked out in specs and most of it falls into more or less what we’ve all been hyping them up to be. Internet-surfing on the couch will be the new American pastime.

I don’t want to bore you with every model that the industry players will churn out, but this one by Lenovo caught my eye. The Lenovo a tablet/notebook. The screen is undockable so to speak and it has dual operating systems. Windows 7 for when the screen is docked to get notebook/netbook performance and a flavor of Linux for when you pull the screen off tablet-style.

Specs include:

  • 3.8 pounds (tablet + dock; Screen = 1.6 pounds)
  • Intel Core2 Duo U4100 processor
  • 128GB SSD
  • 4GB RAM (512MB RAM in Tablet Mode)
  • 2x USB
  • eSata
  • VGA
  • HDMI
  • 4-in-1 card reader
  • 1.3 megapixel webcam

It should cost under $1000.

CrunchGear


2009 was a momentous year for I think everyone. It definitely was so for myself. Google compiled a video of the years memorable events (and there were quite a few) using Google Wave. One thing Google. Where the hell is the world’s newest and apparently biggest asshole – Tiger Woods? Can we get an update Google?

With that, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Get drunk, get crunk, get whatever it is you do to ring out the 2009 and in 2010, just go do something!


Dell is all smiles these days because it has officially secured the title for producing the thinnest laptop ever. Yada yada yada. We know already, we know, it’s 9.99 mm thin and makes Apple’s MacBook Air by comparison look like it has a bulging rear. Few people however own both. At last some photos have surfaced showing the Dell Adamo XPS side by side with the MBA.

As you can see, the Adamo XPS out-thins the MBA only because the chassis footprint is larger, allowing the components inside to be spaced out more.

So I suppose the Adamo XPS won’t fit inside a manila envelope will it?

b_d_solis on Flickr


Iron Man 2

30Dec09

Iron Man is the gadget guy’s gadget porn, besides Batman of course. Who takes the cake? I’m not sure, but Iron Man puts up a decent fight. Iron Man 2 is prepared to up the ante a little bit and satisfy tech geeks everywhere. I have no idea what what I’m talking about, this is just an excuse to show you guys the Iron Man 2 trailer that has Scarlett Johansson in it. There really are gadgets in the movie by the way…


This is a bit late, but earlier this month Sony celebrated 15 years of the PlayStation brand. Before the PlayStation, the only two real contenders making home consoles with any real market share was Nintendo and Sega. Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis ruled the living room. Sonic and Mario.

Then in 1995 after breaking up from a partnership with Nintendo that would have given birth to a CD-based Nintendo console, Sony launched the original PlayStation and took the world by storm ushering in the 3D gaming as the new standard. Nintendo launched the N64 the following year in Japan, refusing to go the CD route and the rest is history. They continued to lag behind in the PS1, and then the Gamecube’s kiddy image prevented it from fending off the PS2. Microsoft launched their Xbox and became the third real player in the video game industry. Since then all three companies have launched consoles that make up the current generation, with Nintendo and their Wii still dominating worldwide sales despite slowing momentum, and the Xbox 360 taking all the hardcore gamers away from Sony. The release of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan in Japan recently has significantly bolstered PS3 sales, but whether that small uptick can be maintained is still anyone’s guess.

Let’s not forget Sony also released several iterations of their PlayStation Portable to keep Nintendo from completely owning the handheld market. The world is a lot different now, Sony is no longer the number one electronics producer in the world, that title now belongs to Samsung. Apple is taking the world by storm with innovative hardware and software that work extremely well in tandem. Sony can no longer keep ripping off competitors ideas and changing designs just ever so slightly.

The last 15 years have been great for Sony, but what about the next 15? The PlayStation 3 isn’t the holy grail that the PS1 was. With competitors who are really stepping up and innovating, Sony is lagging. Sony has long stated that the life-cycle for its PlayStation consoles will last 10 years. Only time will tell.




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