Day: April 25, 2011

Researchers build synthetic synapse circuit, prosthetic brains still decades away

Building a franken-brain has long been a holy grail of sorts for scientists, but now a team of engineering researchers have made what they claim to be a significant breakthrough towards that goal. Alice Parker and Chongwu Zhou of USC used carbon nanotubes to create synthetic synapse circuits that mimic neurons, the basic building blocks of the brain. This could be invaluable to AI research, though the team still hasn’t tackled the problem of scope — our brains are home to 100 billion neurons, each of which has 10,000 synapses. Moreover, these nanotubes are critically lacking in plasticity — they can’t form new connections, produce new neurons, or adapt with age. All told, the scientists say, we’re decades away from having fake brains — or even sections of it — but if the technology advances as they hope it will, people might one day be able to recover from devastating brain injuries and drive cars smart enough to avert deadly accidents.

Continue reading Researchers build synthetic synapse circuit, prosthetic brains still decades away

Researchers build synthetic synapse circuit, prosthetic brains still decades away originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix Now As Big As Comcast Cable

As Gigaom notes Netflix’s (global) subscriber base is now bigger than Comcasts national one, a happenstance that should send fear into the hearts of cable providers everywhere. The numbers came from an earnings call today.

In this past quarter, Netflix reached 23.6 million subscribers, up from 14 million last year. We know that Comcast ended 2010 with 22.8 million subscribers and assuming at even a significant uptick in subscriber numbers, we can assume that Netflix is on parity or has surpassed Comcast’s base.

Netflix also hit $719 million in revenue and expects to have 24 million subscribers by the end of Q2.

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Netflix Now As Big As Comcast Cable

Netgear’s N750 wireless router Newspeaks its way to 750Mbps

Netgear N750

Believe it or not, blazing-fast WiFi routers don’t have to look like anti-aircraft weapons. The new flagship device from Netgear, the N750, keeps its array of antennae stashed out of sight. Even without a gaudy design, this dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n router can hit speeds of 450Mbps over the 5GHz band and 300Mbps at 2.4Ghz, for an “aggregate combined data rate” of 750Mbps. Don’t get too excited though, all that means is you can connect one device in either band without dragging down the transfer rate of the other — you’re still bound by the 450Mbps speed limit. The N750 also includes a ReadySHARE USB port for network storage, parental controls, and guest access — not bad for $150, eh?

Continue reading Netgear’s N750 wireless router Newspeaks its way to 750Mbps

Netgear’s N750 wireless router Newspeaks its way to 750Mbps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Origin EON17-S Gaming Notebook Ships Overclocked, Running At A Mind-Blowing, Lap-Burning 4.5GHz


Never mind Alienware’s upcoming overclocked M18x, the Origin EON is shipping today and can be configured with a variety of overclocked Sand Bridge Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. The mad computer builds at Origin will even overclock and warranty the systems up to 4.5GHz. Your credit card limit is really the only barrier between you and a mobile powerhouse as the system can be configured with 2GB Nvidia GTX 485M GPU, 32GB dual-channel RAM, 480GB OCZ SSD, and the aforementioned CPUs. Even an optional $40 wooden shipping crate is available. The EON17-S can be ordered right now with shipping estimated for the middle of May.

ORIGIN EON17-S Laptops Overclocked up to 4.5GHz with Turbo Boost Available Now

The Highest Mobile Processor Clock Speed in the World

Miami, FL – April 25, 2011 – ORIGIN PC announced today the availability of overclocked processors in the EON17-S. Featuring 2nd generation INTEL “Sandybridge” processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M graphics cards, the laptops are the most powerful ORIGIN laptops available with mobile processors.

The EON17-S laptops have updated B3 stepping motherboards and feature overclocking and Turbo Boost technology allowing ORIGIN engineers to successfully increase the speed and power of the processor without impacting system stability or longevity. EON17-S laptops with overclocking are fully covered by ORIGIN’s unsurpassed warranty featuring free part replacement, free shipping, and free lifetime support.

EON17-S Features and Technology:
• 17.3 Full HD Widescreen, LED Backlit, 16.9, 1920 x 1080 (1080p)
• Customizable ORIGIN top cover
• 2nd Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 Processors
• Overclocking up to 4.5GHz with Turbo Boost on Core i7 Extreme Edition processors
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB or GTX485M 2GB
• FOUR Memory Slots for up to 32GB Dual Channel DDR3 1333Mhz or 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
• Bluray burner & reader, Hybrid and SSD drive with RAID options
• Full size keyboard with numeric pad
• HDMI Out; Optical Digital Out, up to 7.1 HD Audio with THX TruStudio support
• Built-In 802.11n & Bluetooth Support
• Bluetooth 3.0 & Wireless Video options
• Built-In TVtuner support
• Built-in USB 3.0 & E-SATA ports
• (W)16.22″ x (D)10.87″ x (H)1.65″ – 1.79”
• 8.6 lbs with the battery

“The EON17-S laptops are remarkably portable and with 2nd generation Intel processors overclocked to 4.5GHz, they are the fastest ORIGIN laptops ever built on an Intel mobile platform” said Kevin Wasielewski ORIGIN CEO and co-founder.

ORIGIN systems feature a 1 to 3 year free shipping and free part replacement warranty backed with the best in class integration, quality testing and support. ORIGIN offers a free life-time phone and online service guarantee and each customer has a dedicated support team and free life-time labor for upgrade needs.

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Origin EON17-S Gaming Notebook Ships Overclocked, Running At A Mind-Blowing, Lap-Burning 4.5GHz

Los Angeles pilot program offers up to $2,000 off EV charging stations

You can already get a pretty hefty federal rebate on an electric vehicle, and it looks like at least some folks in Los Angeles can now also save a good chunk of change on an EV charging station. LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa just announced a new pilot program this week that will provide rebates of “up to $2,000” on home EV charging stations — to the first 1,000 applicants, that is. That will apparently be expanded soon enough, however, with the city promising to begin accepting additional applications on May 1st, and eventually cover up to 5,000 EV chargers. Those receiving the rebate will also be required to participate in the LADWP’s Residential Time-of-Use Rate that offers discounts for charging during off-peak hours, and the city will monitoring charging patterns in an effort to determine how to best allocate resources. Head on past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Los Angeles pilot program offers up to $2,000 off EV charging stations

Los Angeles pilot program offers up to $2,000 off EV charging stations originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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