We’ve heard vague allusions to Chrome OS hitting devices in the near future, but with Google’s official stance that it won’t be ready until sometime late next year, well, we were a little skeptical. Now we’re hearing reports that Chinese netbook manufacturers are doing everything they can to get little Chrome lappies running a “preview edition” of the OS out onto the Asian markets by sometime next month, and we’re still skeptical — but intrigued. These devices from a company called Lemote run a MIPS-based CPU called the Loongson, which currently powers a custom flavor of Linux named, get this, Loonux. That OS has been receiving criticism for things other than its title, so it’s not surprising that the company is interested in trying something new, apparently even if that new thing is still half-baked and rather doughy in the middle. That these devices currently sell for under $200 is even more intriguing, but even if they do indeed get a bit of shine next month don’t expect to find one locally — at least not for that price.
[Via jkOnTheRun]
Filed under: Laptops
Chrome OS coming to netbooks as early as next month? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you build a specialized type of hardware which, by design, rarely arouses emotions of physical desire in the general populace, you can see how you might have a bit of a challenge promoting your wares. How you get around that tiny issue is by pulling off a stunning steampunk mod while retaining the full functionality of the hardware, as British company Hi Tech have done with their Comptometer. The server controller, customized for use in live video broadcasting and editing, has already won a design award for what we understand to be “general awesomeness” and an unmissable video of its obscure workings lays just past the break.
[Via TechnaBob]
Continue reading Video: Comptometer does broadcast controls the steampunk way
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Video: Comptometer does broadcast controls the steampunk way originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Our amateur sleuthing skills tell us there might be a tiny bit of excitement about this N900 device. With the Maemo 5 environment already measured up, it’s the turn of the hardware to get exhaustively previewed. The My Symbian team took a look at a prototype unit and were immediately impressed by the 800 x 480 display and relatively compact dimensions for such a loaded phone. The resistive touchscreen was on par with the N97, though it picked up scratches too easily for their liking ( a screen protector is recommended), while the keyboard was deemed small but still a major improvement over the N97’s. Internals rated well, with the 600MHz Cortex-A8 CPU and “superb” video recording grabbing plaudits. Perplexingly, there was only 256MB allocated to application installs (see image after the break), which can be altered by those with Linux knowhow, but this may draw plenty of ire from mainstream, app-hungry consumers, considering the device is capable of holding 48GB of total memory. On the outside, the camera cover was found to scratch the case around the lens (but not the lens itself like on some N97 units) while sliding, and removing the stylus from its slot revealed some bare electronics, both of which rather undermined the overall feel of a well-built device. They did find connectivity on the device a pretty dreamy and trouble-free affair, but we’re still only scratching the surface here — hit up the read link for the whole enchilada.
[Via MobileTechWorld]
Update: Nokia has expressly stated that the retail phones will come with repartitioned memory, which will provide “plenty” of space for app installations and obviate the storage issue noted above. [Thanks, sockatume]
Continue reading Nokia N900 undergoes extensive preview, N97 found sobbing in a corner
Filed under: Cellphones
Nokia N900 undergoes extensive preview, N97 found sobbing in a corner originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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At 11 a.m. EDT on October first, the eighteenth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was born. He’s a little guy, but is likely going to grow up to be a tropical storm and get the name Olaf later today or tomorrow. He’s not, however, expected to reach hurricane strength.
Warnings have been posted in the extreme northeastern Philippines as Parma has powered up into a Super Typhoon, and its new forecast track takes it over the northeastern tip of the Philippines, and three NASA satellites are keeping tabs on it.
