We hope you didn’t pull the trigger too quickly on one of the higher-end configurations for an EON15-S or EON17-S, because Origin PC just revamped its two gaming laptops extraordinaire with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 680M — a chipset so fresh that NVIDIA itself hasn’t made a full public reveal just yet. Springing for the upgrade gives them a more miserly, 28-nanometer Kepler-based graphics engine that will no doubt be a bit gentler on battery life and heat than the GTX 675M of old. While it’s not shedding full light on NVIDIA’s technology, Origin PC’s adaptation is known to stuff in a whopping 4GB of video memory as well as 1,344 CUDA (graphics and general-purpose processing) cores, or more than many desktop-level graphics cards. The company hasn’t initially said how much it costs to equip NVIDIA’s latest, though the previous $197 upgrade to a 675M might just be a clue as to how much of a premium you’ll need to pay for a speed lift in Max Payne 3.

Origin PC gives EON15-S, EON17-S a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 680M, games get a shot in the arm originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Origin PC gives EON15-S, EON17-S a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 680M, games get a shot in the arm

In The Atlantic, Alexis Madrigal recalls the otherworldly howl of a 56K modem negotiating its connection, and quotes our pal GlennF in his 1998 explanation of that characteristic anthem of the heroic bronze age of the Internet:

This is a choreographed sequence that allowed these digital devices to piggyback on an analog telephone network. “A phone line carries only the small range of frequencies in which most human conversation takes place: about 300 to 3,300 hertz,” Glenn Fleishman explained in the Times back in 1998. “The modem works within these limits in creating sound waves to carry data across phone lines.” What you’re hearing is the way 20th century technology tunneled through a 19th century network; what you’re hearing is how a network designed to send the noises made by your muscles as they pushed around air came to transmit anything, or the almost-anything that can be coded in 0s and 1s.

The frequencies of the modem’s sounds represent parameters for further communication. In the early going, for example, the modem that’s been dialed up will play a note that says, “I can go this fast.” As a wonderful old 1997 website explained, “Depending on the speed the modem is trying to talk at, this tone will have a different pitch.”

That is to say, the sounds weren’t a sign that data was being transferred: they were the data being transferred. This noise was the analog world being bridged by the digital. If you are old enough to remember it, you still knew a world that was analog-first.

The sound clip comes from The Museum of Endangered Sounds, where you can find “the mechanical noise a VHS tape made when it entered the VCR or the way a portable CD player sounded when it skipped.”

The Mechanics and Meaning of That Ol’ Dial-Up Modem Sound

(via JWZ)

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Why the modems screamed

Most Firefox updates over the last few months were relatively minor. Firefox 13, which is now available for download and which will go out to existing users tomorrow, is a bit different. This update actually introduces a number of consumer-facing updates that finally bring some of Firefox’s features up to par with Google’s Chrome. Most importantly, this new version finally features the long-promised new home and new tab screens. In addition, Firefox now supports the Google-backed SPDY protocol, which promises to significantly improve load times for those sites that support it.

Mozilla also made a number of other changes under the hood, including a tweak to how the browser loads restored background tabs. Instead of loading them all when you restart the browser, Firefox now only loads the first tab you see and doesn’t load restored background tabs by default to improve startup speed. You currently have to enable the tab restore feature manually, but it will likely become the default in one of the next versions of Firefox.

Most importantly, though, starting up Firefox 13 now drops you in a new home screen, which lets you quickly access and manage your add-ons, settings, download, browsing history and settings. Just like in previous versions, a Google-powered search form takes up most of the screen. When you open a new tab, Firefox 13 now presents you with a Chrome-like thumbnail view of your most visited sites. Just like in Chrome, you can also pin sites you frequently visit to this view and drag bookmarks into it as well.

Overall then, this is one of the more interesting Firefox releases in recent months. You can find the release notes with a more detailed overview of all the changes here. The official download links will go live tomorrow, but you can already download a copy of Firefox 13 for Mac and Windows now.

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Firefox 13 Arrives With New Home Page And New Tab Page, SPDY Support

Panorama9’s monitoring dashboard makes it easier to manage and track many machines.

Robert S. Donovan

Here’s a common small business headache: you have numerous computers scattered across your network that you don’t know anything about. Some are configured with more RAM or faster processors than others. Your newest machines are running different versions of Adobe Photoshop than the rest. Maybe you don’t know whether the employees that connect to your network from home have installed the latest critical Windows patch. And if one of your older laptops was stolen, would you even notice? In short, it’s an IT headache—assuming you even have someone handling IT management in the first place.

There are, of course, numerous software suites and applications that aim to solve this problem. Microsoft’s own System Center Configuration Manager is a popular choice for managing many Windows PCs, and can also handle software deployment and hardware inventory, among other things. Companies such as Symantec also offer deployment and security software packages that promise to keep software up to date and potential security holes patched. And of course, there’s no shortage of software—from Prey to iCloud—that promises to keep an eye on stolen machines.

However, there are a few problems with the current batch of options. Many are Windows or OS X-only, which can make such software ill-suited for mixed-machine environments. Other suites, such as McAfee Total Protection, provide a cloud-based interface and management, but tend to focus only on Web and e-mail security. But another company, new to the US market, is tackling the ambitious task of managing, well, everything, using a central dashboard in the cloud. And in many cases, it can work with your existing software, too.

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Solving IT headaches with a monitoring dashboard in the cloud

If your heart says Ultrabook, but your bank says ultra broke, this may be welcome news. Intel claims to have had a breakthrough in chassis design that might point prices of the slim line laptops in a southerly direction. Using existing plastics, and some internal rearrangement aka “structural reduction analysis,” the chip maker says it’s found a way to make housings that are of equal strength and quality as existing ones. As the materials are widely available already, there isn’t the extra cost associated with new materials, or expensive machined aluminum. Reuters reports that this could equate to savings between $25 and $75 per PC. The processor giant will share the new design with current partners so that it can find its way onto real-world devices, some time next year. Plenty of time to fill up the piggy bank while you wait then.

Intel claims chassis design breakthrough could mean cheaper Ultrabooks, eventually originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 03:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel claims chassis design breakthrough could mean cheaper Ultrabooks, eventually

Microsoft has pushed out a new patch for Windows.

Microsoft.com

Microsoft released an emergency Windows update on Sunday after revealing that one of its trusted digital signatures was being abused to certify the validity of the Flame malware that has infected computers in Iran and other Middle Eastern Countries.

The compromise exploited weaknesses in Terminal Server, a service many enterprises use to provide remote access to end-user computers. By targeting an undisclosed encryption algorithm Microsoft used to issue licenses for the service, attackers were able to create rogue intermediate certificate authorities that contained the imprimatur of Microsoft’s own root authority certificate—an extremely sensitive cryptographic seal. Rogue intermediate certificate authorities that contained the stamp were then able to trick administrators and end users into trusting various Flame components by falsely certifying they were produced by Microsoft.

“We have discovered through our analysis that some components of the malware have been signed by certificates that allow software to appear as if it was produced by Microsoft,” Microsoft Security Response Center Senior Director Mike Reavey wrote in a blog post published Sunday night. “We identified that an older cryptography algorithm could be exploited and then be used to sign code as if it originated from Microsoft. Specifically, our Terminal Server Licensing Service, which allowed customers to authorize Remote Desktop services in their enterprise, used that older algorithm and provided certificates with the ability to sign code, thus permitting code to be signed as if it came from Microsoft.”

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“Flame” malware was signed by rogue Microsoft certificate

Two displays in one tablet? Yes you can. ASUS’ new TAICHI series packs displays on both the front and the rear, letting you use the device in a variety of configurations. In ‘notebook’ mode, you can use TAICHI with a backlit QWERTY keyboard and trackpad. Once you close the lid, however, it’s stylus time. TAICHI includes Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7 processors, 4 gigs of RAM, SSD storage, dual-band 802.11n WiFi, FHD/Super IPS+ displays and, naturally, dual cameras. Despite the display duo, both the 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch configurations are reportedly as thin and light as the Zenbook line. Both variants will offer 1920 x 1080 pixels on each side, and displays can be used independently, so you can even share the device with a friend — with completely different content on each LCD.

We spent a few minutes with the 11.6-inch version at ASUS’ launch event at Computex today, and while the device we saw was clearly an early prototype, it functioned as described and looked quite polished, so this certainly isn’t merely a concept at this point. The touch panels were very responsive, and quite bright, even at their lowest setting. The rear LCD had visible backlight bleed around the top and bottom, which we of course don’t expect to see on production samples. Despite the thin design, there’s no shortage of connectivity options — the left side of the device (in tablet mode, at least) packs a power button, lock toggle, mini VGA, USB 3.0 and power ports, while the opposite panel includes a headphone jack, a second USB 3.0 port, micro DVI, a volume up/down switch and a rotation lock button. There’s no pricing and availability just yet, but you can see it in action right now — our hands-on video is waiting just after the break.

Continue reading ASUS reveals TAICHI convertible notebook / tablet with dual 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch displays (update: hands-on photos and video)

ASUS reveals TAICHI convertible notebook / tablet with dual 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch displays (update: hands-on photos and video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS reveals TAICHI convertible notebook / tablet with dual 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch displays (update: hands-on photos and video)

Which clever inventions will shape life in the next few decades? The editors of the New York Times have 32 suggestions, including a monitor that reduces eye strain and improves your posture:

If you slump down when you’re typing on an ErgoSensor monitor by Philips, it’ll suggest that you sit up straighter. To help office workers avoid achy backs and tired eyes, the device’s built-in camera follows the position of your pupils to determine how you are sitting. Are you too close? Is your neck tilted too much? Algorithms crunch the raw data from the sensor and tell you how to adjust your body to achieve ergonomic correctness. The monitor can also inform you that it’s time to stand up and take a break, and it will automatically power down when it senses that you’ve left.

Read the rest at the link. Which one do you think will have the most impact on your life?

Link -via @BrainPicker | Image: Philips

Link:
32 Innovations That Will Change the Way You Live

Good news, everybody! The iCade Mobile, a Bluetooth case that slides around your iPhone, allowing you to play games using a trackpad and read buttons, is now shipping for $80. The iCade Core, an arcade joystick for the iPad, is also shipping. It costs $100.

Announced a few months ago, folks have been waiting breathlessly to play Megaworm with a trackpad. The devices should be available at ThinkGeek and you can check them out here. You can check out the Core here.

The joysticks support over 400 games, a marked improvement over the first iCade versions, and are presumably great for arcade-style shooters.

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iCade Mobile, The Gaming Adapter For iPhone, Now Shipping

terrancem writes “A new tool developed by NASA and other researchers shows where forest is being chopped down on a quarterly basis. The global forest disturbance alert system (GloF-DAS) is based on comparison of MODIS global vegetation index images at the exact same time period each year in consecutive years. GloF-DAS could help users detect deforestation shortly after it occurs, offering the potential to take measures to investigate clearing before it expands.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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NASA Tool Shows Where Forest Is Being Cut Down