Hardware posts

The latest “buzz” in the tablet race comes from a video released yesterday by Motorola. “Tablet Evolution” walks us through a virtual museum with the progressing forms of tablet “technology” represented, starting with Egyptian Hieroglyphics. The format is clever, listing a positive element of each followed by the drawback that plagued them. Their jab at the iPad was particularly clever, saying that, “It’s like a giant iPhone, but… it’s like a giant iPhone.” We’ll know more about it next month at CES, but the presence of a bee at the end of the video has many speculating that it is the predicted…

Digitimes is reporting that Apple is apparently working on a new MacBook Pro and iMac to launch in the first half of 2G’s+11. The piece claims a new MacBook chassis design, but perhaps most intriguing is an alleged lower price point for the iMac. I love Macs, and swear by their overall superiority in certain areas, but let’s be honest: as it is, they’re too expensive. Any hardware you can get in a Mac, you can generally equivocate in a PC for half the price. Even as a total Mac ‘fanboy’, I can admit that part of what you’re paying for is that wee little apple laser-cut into the chassis. Considering that,…

As the world’s second most powerful computer, the Jaguar has been called on to do many things, particularly for the US Department of Energy. In 2011, it will be asked to use its tremendous power to fight crime. It’s going pedophile hunting. Scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee where Jaguar is housed are working with local and national law enforcement to put Jaguar’s incredible processing abilities to work with Artemis, a program that finds pornographic images and videos on computers and networks. Named after the Greek goddess of the hunt, the program quickly scans computers…

The CR-48 marks a huge transition by Google into several potential new markets that it has scarcely touched over the last decade. Hardware, operating systems, technical support – a year ago all of these were a dream. Most industry experts have expected two out of the three (a Google technical support team that the public can access has always been a far-fetched expectation) at some point and now we are on the verge of having them. With all of the innovations, differentiators, and unique offerings that the CR-48 represents, there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense until you dig deeper: why on earth…

According to RIM’s co.CEO Jim Balsillie, the BlackBerry PlayBook will launch in Q1 2011 – and cost less than $500. That certainly doesn’t sound like bad news, especially considering the cheapest WiFi-only iPad is $499. While smaller than the iPad (7 inches, as opposed to 9.7), the PlayBook’s still got cool stuff the (current) iPad hasn’t, including two cameras and Flash support. Not that I’m a die-hard Flash hanger-on or anything, but even if it’s dying, it still accounts for a large part of the internet. Big Steve, I’d like to be able to see it. But let’s not go turning the comment section into a Flashwar…

Are you thinking about purchasing a new HD television? You could, but you might regret it, especially after you read this. Samsung has apparently developed a new 70-inch 3D-enabled television. But what makes this television so special is that it is twice the resolution of the standard 1080p television available today. So just how well can real life be portrayed on Samsung’s 70-inch television? Well, start off with an 3840 x 2160 resolution and a 240Hz or 480Hz refresh rate (for newer models). They are calling it “Ultra Definition.” Considering that I’m sitting in front of a 60-inch Samsung LCD…

Sony has announced that the cassette Walkman will be discontinued in Japan, having ended manufacturing in April. As we speak, the final stock is being sold out (and probably will continue to be for years). But don’t fret just yet! North America is in no danger of going Walkman-less, and the 31-year-old portable music player will continue to be manufactured in China for the overseas market. Rest easy, buttercup, knowing that your ability to rock out shall continue unaffected. But seriously, though, is this a thing? Did anyone here even know that the Walkman (in its cassette incarnation) was even…

You hear the term ‘iPad Killer’ an awful lot, don’t you? Well, like, I guess you would if you read tech blogs with any regularity. If you’ve trickled all the way down to Techi, I’ll assume you do, and I’ll also assume ergo that you have, in fact, heard the term ‘iPad Killer’ an awful lot. So we’ll start with that. Anyway, I’m not going to talk about an iPad Killer today. Good grief, am I ever not. Today, I will regale you with a tale of the HP Slate, the real goddamned expensive tablet that sucks out loud – for the price, anyway. To be fair, the Slate isn’t the worst machine in the world; this is, of course, presuming…

I’ve seen some pretty ballin’ casemods lately, not the least interesting of which was a Hackintosh-in-a-box that needed to be hotwired just to turn off. But where that boxmod got my propers for being ghetto, this one what I’m about to get drrty on gets them for being blinged to the nines. How much space does your desktop have? What’s the norm these days, like, 1TB? 2? I think I’ve got just shy of 3. Most of us will never use that much space. I’m an insatiable media pirate and even I’m still reasonably comfy. But some of us just can’t get enough. Observe and behold: straight outta Russia comes this casemod…

All I can say is that I definitely paid too much for my Mac Pro. One of the fellas at One Block Off the Grid was having trouble running AfterEffects on his Mac. It was time for a new machine. So, after purchasing 800 bucks worth of parts on Amazon, he decided to assemble them not in a PC case, but in the very box they came in. The result is a laugh-worthy (and ugly as hell (and totally awesome)) assemblage that needs to be basically hotwired just to turn on. I don’t think there’s ever been a machine more worthy of the ‘Hackintosh’ name. High five, guys….