Day: May 16, 2011

Apple planning major product launch for 10th retail anniversary?

We have just received some information from a solid Apple source, and if they’re right, Apple may be planning something big for its 10th retail anniversary this Thursday the 19th. Here’s what we’ve been told:

  • There’s an overnight shift planned for around 10-15 individuals at each Apple Store to work from late Saturday all the way through mid-Sunday.
  • During the overnight shift, it’s going to be required that employees lock cell phones in the main office. They will also have to sign an NDA with Apple.
  • There are a wide variety of roles, we’re told, for the overnight shift. This includes all visuals staff, a manager, a business team member, a few Genius team members, one back-of-house employee, and a few generic Apple specialists.
  • Apple stores have apparently already received hardware to install, and are expecting more hardware to come on Friday or Saturday. All materials that Apple stores have received have been instructed to be under lock and key until after close on Saturday night.
  • Apple employees will be putting up black curtains at all stores so that people walking outside cannot see inside.
  • Employees have had to download gigabytes of data from Apple corporate labeled, “training” in a password-protected zipped folder that won’t accessible to managers or anyone else until Saturday afternoon.
  • Lastly, all Apple retail stores have mandatory meetings on Sunday, May 22nd. Most meeting are scheduled for the morning, but there are evening meetings as well.

The question is, what is Apple planning?

Thanks, Lindsey S.!

Originally posted here:
Apple planning major product launch for 10th retail anniversary?

E Ink and Epson to co-develop 9.7-inch high-res 300ppi electronic paper display

It’s pretty obvious that this year’s SID Display Week is shaping up to be a stage for the 300ppi extravaganza — Samsung and LG were first to announce their latest high pixel density LCDs, and then Toshiba chimed in with its 367ppi LCD for cellphones. Fortunately, fans of ePaper will also have something to look forward to here, as E Ink Holdings and Epson have just announced the co-development of a 300ppi ePaper display. To be exact, E Ink will be in charge of producing the sharp-looking 9.68-inch 2,400 x 1,650 display panel, whereas Epson will take care of the high-speed display controller platform to go with E Ink’s part. No availability has been announced just yet, but stay tuned for our eyes-on impression at the show.

Continue reading E Ink and Epson to co-develop 9.7-inch high-res 300ppi electronic paper display

E Ink and Epson to co-develop 9.7-inch high-res 300ppi electronic paper display originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corsair Force Series 3 SSDs: SandForce speed for modest money

Solid-state storage aficionados are well-versed in the virtues of SandForce controllers, and Corsair’s new Force Series 3 drives pack a fresh version of the technology. Like the firm’s Force GT, Series 3 delivers data using SATA III 6Gbps connections, but uses a newfangled SandForce SF-2281 controller to shoot your info to and fro at up to 550 MBps read and 520 MBps write speeds. The SSDs also perform 85,000 IOPS, which makes the 60,000 IOPS from similarly-priced offerings from OCZ look downright dilatory in comparison. Prices are $139 for 60GB, $219 for 120GB, and $499 for the 240GB version, so they still aren’t cheap, but it’s a small price to pay to dodge the dangers of disk-based storage.

Continue reading Corsair Force Series 3 SSDs: SandForce speed for modest money

Corsair Force Series 3 SSDs: SandForce speed for modest money originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 20:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ORNL energy harvester turns heat waste into electricity, converts hot machines into cool customers

We’ve heard of turning yesterday’s lunch into tomorrow’s electricity, but a new energy converter coming out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory harnesses the power of a different type of hot waste. The as-of-yet unnamed thermal waste-heat converter has the potential to cool electronic devices, solar cells, and computers while generating electricity from excess heat. Its creators see the new conversion process being used to reduce the massive amounts of heat generated by petaflop computers. The converter employs up to one thousand tiny cantilevers attached to a one square inch surface (e.g. a computer chip) to produce between one and ten milliwatts of electricity — admittedly a very small amount of energy. However, it’s creators are quick to point out that a slew of these converters could generate enough power to perform small tasks in the heat-generating device — things like sensing when a server room gets too hot for comfort. Sure it’s a small step, but if they can get this stuff to save our future babies from cooking, we’re all in. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading ORNL energy harvester turns heat waste into electricity, converts hot machines into cool customers

ORNL energy harvester turns heat waste into electricity, converts hot machines into cool customers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s ‘Welcome Back’ campaign apologizes to distraught PSN users with free games, good vibes

Remember the recent PlayStation Network outage? You know the one, right? It started in late-April and lasted up through this weekend’s phased restoration (and continues on for many un-phased users). Well, Sony would like to sincerely apologize for the whole thing the best way it knows how: free video games. The company today announced its “Welcome Back” program, which is letting all existing PSN and Qriocity users in North America pick two of the following games: Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP users, meanwhile, can chose two from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Kill Liberation. You can claim the games at some point in the next 30 days, and once you’ve downloaded, they’re yours to keep. The gesture may well prove too little, too late for many disgruntled users — but even they’ll likely have trouble staying angry at Sackboy’s adorable little dirt-stained mug.

Sony’s ‘Welcome Back’ campaign apologizes to distraught PSN users with free games, good vibes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones

Toshiba LCDToshiba just fired its own salvo in the pixel density wars at SID 2011. The company is showing off a range of LCDs for cellphones that top out at an almost imperceptibly fine 367ppi on its 4-inch HD (720 x 1280) model. Beyond just cramming more red, green, and blue dots in each inch, these panels also top the bar-setting Retina Display in the contrast department with an impressive 1,500:1 ratio. The company also brought a smaller 3.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 864 to Display Week that hits a respectable 300ppi. They’re not quite as impressive as these HAST LCDs, but who really needs to put 1080p in their pocket? (Want is a different story.) Of course, Engadget is on the scene and, if you’re lucky, we’ll let you live vicariously through us as we tour Toshiba’s booth — you know, as a reward for your loyal readership.

Continue reading Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones

Toshiba enters pixel density fray with 367ppi LCDs for cellphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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