An Australian researcher from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has come up with an idea to make broadband up to 100 times faster without multi-billion dollar investments in cabling infrastructure.
Dr John Papandriopoulos said his technique can dramatically reduce the interference which slows down data transmission in typical DSL networks and use less power in the process. Read more »
Gigantic TVs designed to go in your living room aren’t the only HDTVs out there, and not everyone wants a 60-inch television. People put TVs in their bedrooms and kitchens as well as their living rooms, and those people might still want to enjoy HDTV without going nuts on a behemoth. Well, Sharp is here for you.
Its releasing a 22-inch 1080p HDTV, the smallest full-HD set yet. It also has siblings that come in at 26-inches and 32-inches, in case you want something a little bigger. Unfortunately, with prices that will run $1,540, $1,700, and $2,050, respectively, you’d might as well take your money and go ahead and put a big screen in your bedroom, ’cause it’ll cost you about the same.
At the Flat Panel Display (FPD) International show this week, Samsung is announcing a host of new LCD displays.
The most important announcement, in my eyes, is 40″ HD LCD TV that’s just 10mm thick. While the exact model number is unknown, Samsung claims the LED backlit TV will be able to reproduce 92 percent of the NTSC standard for color saturation, and will consume under 90 watts of power. I figure hanging one of these things up on the wall would look more like a window than a TV. There’s no word on pricing yet, or when it will be available in the United States, but the sheer thinness of it really has me drooling.
While we’re all still waiting for the day when OLED TVs reach 40 inches and more affordable prices, Samsung will also be demonstrating a 14.1 active-matrix OLED screen. Sadly, there isn’t additional information about whether it’s just a prototype panel or a full blown television, like the Sony XEL-1.
Watching high-definition television does not always require a special converter box or hefty monthly fees from the cable company.
The new PCTV HD Ultimate Stick from Pinnacle Systems may look like an oversize U.S.B. drive, but it’s actually a receiver that lets you snag free over-the-air HDTV signals and display HD programs on your Windows computer — without having to install special software.
Pinnacle’s TV Center Pro software for watching and recording television programs comes on the device itself. Its flash memory can hold up to two hours of TV programs recorded in standard definition — making it easy to record a program to the PCTV stick on one computer and play back the show when it is plugged into another PC.
The PCTV HD Ultimate Stick, which sells for $130, includes a telescoping antenna for broadcast television. It can also accept input from coaxial, S-video and composite video sources; full technical details are at www.pinnaclesys.com. The gadget can also capture standard-definition video from camcorders, so when there’s absolutely nothing on TV, you can watch your own productions.
On Monday, Sony announced that in December they plan to be the first company to commercially launch a television that employs organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology, which doesn’t require a backlight and allows for extremely thin dimensions.
The first model will be 3 mm thick, but will only be 25.1 cm by 14.1 cm and cost $1,740. The innovative product gives a boost to a company that has recently taken a back seat to sensations like the Wii and iPod. The TV will part of their BRAVIA line.
The move marks a strong comeback for Sony at a critical time in the flat-screen market, and comes on the heels of new models that were announced in August, including one which will be larger than anything else currently available. Read more »
Using exploit tactics more in line with adware and spyware companies, Microsoft has updated the XP and Vista update engines of users without explicit or implied permission. Update 7.0.6000.381 bypassed the notification and permission dialog box.
The backdoor update was also reported in eWEEK and eWEEK labs confirmed the action as did ZDnet. Microsoft has not explained its intentions but a forum found that said updates would not work any longer unless 7.0.6000.381 was installed.
This is the second known time that Microsoft slipped in updates without permission. The first was when Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) was installed without user’s consent or knowledge. WGA was part of Microsoft’s anti-piracy program. Read more »
Control-Alt-Delete is a very popular keyboard shortcut for rebooting a Windows PC, NT logon or for invoking the Windows Task Manager in XP systems.
The time saving Ctrl+Alt+Del keyboard combination was designed by David Bradley, a designer of the original IBM PC.
Bradley originally designed Control-Alt-Escape to trigger a soft reboot, but he found it was too easy to bump the left side of the keyboard and reboot the computer accidentally.
He switched the key combination to Control-Alt-Delete, a combination impossible to press with just one hand.
Bradley did not intend Control-Alt-Delete to be used by end users - it was meant to be used by people writing programs or documentation, so that they could reboot their computers without powering them down. But the key combination went on to become a cultural icon especially for hiding the Windows 95 BSOD. Read more »
