TI Brings OMAP 5 to MWC

A month ago we saw weeks old OMAP 5 silicon running at CES. Earlier this week we got a chance to see TI's OMAP 5 reference platform playing back 1080p video. As a refresher, OMAP 5 features two ARM Cortex A15 cores and is widely expected to offer a significant performance improvement over current A9 based designs. Cortex A15 is a much wider OoO superscalar architecture than the Cortex A9, drawing obvious comparisons to Qualcomm's Krait. We still don't know a lot about Krait's internals so I believe a direct comparison between the two is still premature. There's also the issue of availability. OMAP 5 is expected to ship in devices next year, although we may see some customer announcements/demos before the end of the year if all goes well.

TI also demonstrated a lot of augmented reality applications in its booth at MWC. We saw the standard miniatures in a room demo where you could interact on a tablet with virtual models layered on top of a physical stage. TI had one AR demo that allowed me to try on sunglasses after training it to my face. There's an advertising revolution in the works as soon as someone can figure out the right way to naturally deliver augmented reality to consumer devices. I'm not entirely convinced the smartphone will be the portal to the revolution but I can feel it building...

Gallery: TI Brings OMAP 5 to MWC

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Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X, Brings Back Features from Final Cut Pro 7

Apple has today issued an update for their professional video editing suite, Final Cut Pro X (FCPX). The update carries version number 10.0.3 and re-introduces some crucial elements, such as multicam editing. Multicam filming is widely used by video professionals as many scenes require multiple video angles, and it's obvious that you also need editing software that supports multicam editing in order to achieve the best outcome. Other new features include advanced chroma keying that allows color, edge and light adjustments; media relink that allows content to be modified with third party software and then be relinked to your project; import Photoshop graphics; and broadcast monitoring that allows video to be output to an external monitor using PCIe or Thunderbolt devices.

FCPX was strongly criticized by professional users when it was launched in June 2011 due to the lack of major features such as import of projects made on earlier versions of FCP, multicam support, and usage of 3rd party I/O devices for capture and output—all which were present in the earlier version of Final Cut Pro. Apple released the 10.0.1 update in September, which brought support for XML format, allowing FCP 7 and many other apps projects to be imported into FCPX. However, it took Apple more than half a year to support multicam editing, which is finally bringing FCPX more or less on-par with FCP 7 in terms of features.

FCP 7 was outdated in various areas, for example it was single-threaded, so it's evident that professionals with high-end Macs were craving for a new version but ended up being disappointed due to the lack of several essential features. This update is free for all users who have already bought Final Cut Pro X. For users who haven't, Apple offers a 30-day trial on Final Cut Pro X and the full version is priced at $299—both are available in the Mac App Store. Apple also offers Motion, an effects editor, and Compressor, a tool for project export, as complement applications and they are both priced at $49.

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Time Warner Cable app brings live TV to iPhone

Time Warner Cable has updated its iOS app to allow iPhone users to watch live TV through their smartphones.

The new iPhone-compatible app joins the iPad edition which was launched last year and also the Android version (which only offers DVR control rather than live TV streaming).

Now TWC customers who also have a broadband connection can stream live TV from almost 200 channels directly to their iPhone.

Control your TV world

The app also features an Interactive Programme Guide, which allows users to view TV listings up to 7 days in advance and even set them to record on their home DVR.

You can also manage your DVR recordings and use the app as a remote control for your set-top box.

The app comes at no extra cost to TWC customers, but you will need to be on your local Wi-Fi network.

The full list of channels available is available here.

Via: The Verge

Belkin Brings Home Automation, TV and Thunderbolt Solutions to CES

Belkin's product portfolio stretches across a huge range from A/V and networking solutions to iPod and Kindle cases. Their CES both focused primarily on their home electronics products with a layout aping your average small apartment. We took a tour and previewed some products that are ready to ship, and some still in development.

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock

This mock-up of their Thunderbolt based dock sat temptingly alone on a desk, awaiting someone with a properly equipped laptop and an array of peripherals to connect. The port selection includes HDMI, GbE, Firewire, 3x USB 2.0, and 3.5 mm audio. Two Thunderbolt ports are present in order to facilitate daisy chaining devices. With a reported 20 Gbps total bandwidth (10 Gbps up, 10 Gbps down) the device will most likely be based on the Eagle Ridge chip. There's a glut of Thunderbolt peripherals at CES, and we're eager to test them out.

Belkin WeMo Home Automation

Several demonstrations were set-up for Belkin's new simplified home automation initiative, including two shipping products. The WeMo Home Control Switch places a WiFi connected switch between the outlet and your small home appliances or lights, allowing you to activate or deactivate them remotely through the iOS-only app. Paired with the switch is an available Motion Sensor that adds additional functionality to the switch. With these early devices, Belkin isn't trying to supplant more advanced home automation systems, simply make it more appealing and more accessible to users. 

Belkin's four other demonstrations indicate the direction we can expect the WeMo line to take. A WeMo Door Lock, in collaboration with Kwikset, would allow remote opening of locks, while retaining a keypad and traditional lock. Perfect for the forgetful person that leaves without their keys. (Ed. note: I need this.) A lighting solution was demonstrated with a outlet connected switch providing wireless control of a WiFi equipped light bulb. This particular demonstration is a favorite among home automation providers. Though not available for demonstration, mock-ups of a remote garage door opener and baby monitor were also available. I question the wisdom of having users pull out their iPhones to open their garage doors while driving home, but the baby monitor seems like a sound application for this line-up. 

Belkin Room Service Docks

Though most of their tablet peripherals are aimed at the iPad, Belkin did have a rather interesting line of docks targeting the Samsung Galaxy Tab family. Featuring Samsung's proprietary 30-pin connector, 3.5 mm audio out with volume control and power connection, individual docks could be placed in different spaces throughout your home and each trigger a different application from the tablet when it is docked. Their concept might involve triggering a recipe app while docked in the kitchen or a music or reading app when docked in the living room. 

Belkin Dyle Mobile TV and ScreenCast

Joining Samsung as a hardware partner with Dyle Mobile, a demonstration of a mobile digital television adapter for the iPad was available. Dyle Mobile TV utilizes spectrum from a consortium of content and broadcast partners to transmit digital television designed for mobile devices. At present the devices require an external antenna, in this demonstration the antenna is formed through a set of headphones connected to the dongle itself. Obviously, this makes for a somewhat inelegant design, but perhaps in the lead-up to release they will find a way to internalize the antenna.

With the ScreenCast TV and AV4, Belkin is trying to bring simplicity and lower cost to place shifting and home theater installations. The ScreenCast TV is their SlingBox competitor, with apps designed for iOS and Android being tested. The device connects via component to your source, say a cable box, and either wired or wirelessly to your network, and then allows you to receive your content stream on your tablet or phone from wherever you have a reliable internet connection. A DVR solution is also being considered which would allow remote scheduling, recording and viewing of content. The product is in the early stages, and the demonstration worked well. Being limited to component, though, means that 1080i and two-channel audio are the best that can expected. 

The ScreenCast AV4 is a product closer to production ready, and will appeal to those interested in keeping a clean and tidy TV viewing experience. The product uses two base stations, a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter can connect to up to four devices via HDMI and transmits the signals over a 5 GHz band to the receiver which is connected to your TV by HDMI. Audio and video are included in the stream (up to 1080p and 5.1 surround), and in an area where the 2.4 GHz is even more crowded than usual, the demonstration had no difficulties.  

Belkin N900 Dualband Router

The only new networking product Belkin had on hand was sadly not an 802.11ac device. The dualband N900 does bring specified performance parity to devices from Cisco and Netgear with the ability to transact up to 450 Mbps of data on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously for a total throughput of 900 Mbps. The 3x3 router includes Belkin's latest QoS implementation, four GbE ports, and 2x USB 2.0 ports for attaching storage or printers. The router won't be released till April and will be expected to retail for less than $200.  

Gallery: Belkin Brings Home Automation, TV and Thunderbolt Solutions to CES

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Canonical Brings Ubuntu To Televisions

Canonical, a services and software company that backs open-source projects like Ubuntu, recently announced they would be moving to compete in the Smart TV space. The project, called Ubuntu TV, would be based on Ubuntu Linux and would be open-sourced, though the project is not targeted at DIYers like XBMC, rather it is aimed at manufacturers to integrate within the TV rather than as a set-top box. A lot of questions remained after the initial PR, so we were glad to talk to members of the team on the show floor, here at CES.

The demonstration unit Canonical had on the show floor is very much a mock-up, with limited functionality and mainly serving to demonstrate the UI paradigm. On the left is an array of icons relating to apps contained on the device and arranged vertically. Selecting the app from a remote or keyboard would reveal that apps interface, with the primary demonstration being a content store. A search function would provide either in-app contextual search or universal search depending on which screen you were in. 

As a flavor of Ubuntu Linux, the end user would be able to install whatever Linux apps they please; accessing and using them from the TV optimized UI might pose a challenge, though. Custom UIs would obviously be a possibility, and community built applications for Ubuntu TV would be supported. But when we're talking content, a walled garden is always a necessity.

That's where Canonical comes in with their Ubuntu One platform. Unlike their Linux products, Ubuntu One is a closed-source client and server side solution that provides file and content distribution in a managed fashion. Though they didn't go into specifics, they would likely utilize an authorization based approach similar to Verizon FiOS' IPTV on Xbox 360 app. Users would purchase a television with a unique identifier, would register the device from their location with the content provider's service, and whenever they accessed their media, authorization would be verified through Ubuntu One. While the Linux community is not generally one to accept restrictions happily, some DRM is requisite in order to attract content providers and allow the platform to succeed. 

We were assured several times, though, that the software platform (separate from the content management component) would be fully-open sourced. And though the Linux platform is capable of running on x86 or ARM-based hardware, Canonical expects shipping products to be based on ARM chipsets and sees optimization of the software on a particular hardware platform as a source of monetization, along with providing the DRM solution. 

The Smart TV space is growing rapidly, and like 3D before it, will dominate the television market over the next several years. Unlike, 3D televisions though, the nitty gritty of these latest Smart TVs falls right in our bread and butter, so expect us to spend more time discussing and evaluating these devices as they make it to market. 

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j5Create Wormhole Switch Brings KVM and File Sharing Across Mobile and Desktop

j5Create first revealed their Wormhole Switch as a simple way to control and share files across two Windows PC's. Connect both ends of the included cable to the separate computers, allow the driver to install, and then control both PC's from the keyboard and mouse of the one PC. The solution is simpler than remote desktop access solutions typically employed by IT professionals and was made more appealing when a version was released that brought the same fuctionality between PC's and OS X devices. 

     5Create's Wormhole Switch connected to the PC (left) and the tablet dock (right)

More recently, KM functionality was expanded to include the iPad and Android tablets. The solution is effective and broadens the appeal of tablets as a second screen. In the demonstration, a docked Toshiba tablet was connected to a laptop, and the tablet was controlled using the mouse and keyboard on the laptop. This type of product isn't simply for people that shun the touch interface in favor of the keyboard/mouse paradigm; the broader appeal would be in being able to control both devices without ever having to shift paradigms, which could be a real productivity win. 

The Wormhole Switch uses Honeycomb's keyboard and mouse support, so though an app is necessary to operate, there's little overhead on the tablet in implementing the device. Pre-Android 3.0 devices don't have built-in external keyboard and mouse support, so for these devices j5Create has a new solution. The prototype version demonstrated produces a virtual machine instance of the phone on the desktop, like FXI's Cotton Candy device. The demonstration was rather slow at just a few frames per second, and demonstrates j5Create's challenge. In order to operate the VM at a more acceptable 30 frames per second, they need to optimize their software for the device and that requires access to source code. Until they get the access they need from a manufacturer, they're unlikely to put the device on the market. 

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Roku Streaming Stick Brings Smarts To MHL Equipped TVs

Smart TVs will be a big deal this year. If you sunk your money on one of last year's 3D sets, you probably don't want to do it again for a Smart TV. Not to worry, Roku has you covered. Introducing the Roku Streaming Stick, an over-the-top streaming solution squeezed into something the size of a USB drive. The device will bring the full Roku experience, including all 400 channels including Netflix, and Amazon Instant Videos; wirelessly and without any cables. 

The device is powered and delivers content through the Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) standard. The HDCP-compliant standard was established in 2010 and provides up to 1080p video, 7.1 channels of 192 kbps digital audio over a 5-pin interface that also provides 500 mA of 5 volt power. The 5-pin interface can be configured into various connectors, and can currently be found in a handful of devices from Samsung, though the consortium that formed the standard includes the likes of Sony, Toshiba and Nokia. That half amp of power is enough to power the BCM2835 that can be found in the Roku 2 line-up, so this could really be a case of efficient packaging. 

So, if Smart TVs will be big this year why not a Roku TV? Roku sees an issue with integrating the hardware platform directly into the television: upgrades. The hardware behind each successive generation of hardware streaming devices is a pretty big improvement over the last. So frequent platform changes drive thie software innovations we'll come to expect from a Smart TV market. Yet most consumers replace their TVs only every five years or so. Roku's solution is to provide a low cost, OTT, Smart TV platform that can be replaced when updated hardware is available. We'll be excited to see how well it performs in person at CES.

Gallery: Roku Streaming Stick Brings Smarts To MHL Equipped TVs

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Remote Desktop Beta Extension Brings Remote Access to Chrome

Google today introduced a beta version of its Chrome Remote Desktop functionality for the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. This functionality, news of which first made the rounds several months ago during Chrome OS's debut, comes in the form of an extension now, but Google's intent is to eventually roll it into the stable builds of its browser and OS.

Once downloaded and installed, the 19MB extension is added to the list of Apps on Chrome's default home page. After giving it permission to view your email address, you can establish a connection between any two computers running Chrome (whether Windows, OS X, Linux, or Chrome OS) and the extension by using a twelve digit number provided by the host computer.

In my brief test connecting my Windows computer to my Mac, the software worked as intended, though input was a bit laggier than using Microsoft's Remote Desktop protocol or Apple's Screen Sharing. Google suggests that the software could be used both in a help desk capacity, where an expert would share the user's screen to provide technical assistance, or to run legacy or "fat client" apps on Chrome OS. If Google can improve the functionality's responsiveness, it may just give enterprises another reason to consider Chrome.

Source: Chrome Web Store

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Annual Toshiba Refresh Brings Llano...and Some Style

Annual Toshiba Refresh Brings Llano...and Some Style

The regular refreshes that come from notebook vendors aren't often the stuff of exciting news. It's generally a processor update, maybe a slight change in shell design. With Toshiba's 2011 refresh that's not entirely untrue, but this year they've timed their update to coincide with the launch of AMD's Llano APU and NVIDIA's launch of the GeForce GTX 560M. Their Fusion finish is also getting a much needed update along with the top-of-the-line Qosmio. Bottom line: there's a lot going on at Toshiba.

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AMD Llano brings "Fusion" to hybrid graphics laptops @ arstechnica.com

Here is an interesting read from arstechnica.com. AMD's Llano CPU/GPU combo starts shipping...

AMD ships Llano, the ultimate HTPC processor

 

It has been five years since the AMD/ATI merger promised us the "Fusion" of a CPU and GPU onto a single die, and on Monday AMD finally made good on that promise with the shipping of the company's first true multicore CPU/GPU combo parts, codenamed "Llano." Sure, the Brazos platform launch was technically the first time that AMD put a CPU and GPU onto the same die, but Llano is supposed to be what the company originally intended with Fusion—a combination of CPU cores and vector hardware that's somehow more "integrated" than a normal on-die GPU. (The exact way in which the latter is true is not clear to me; if anyone knows, feel free to enlighten.)

The picture above is from AMD's blog post announcing that Llano is shipping to OEMs, and it shows the workers in the company's Singapore factory surrounding a box that presumably contains one of the first batches of Llano processors.

AMD is calling Llano's combination of a CPU and GPU on the same die an APU, for "accelerated processing unit." Whatever you call it, it's pretty certain that even tech-savvy customers are never going to see Llano as anything other than another CPU/GPU combo part like Brazos and Sandy Bridge. No matter, though—the Llano parts will have their own place in the processor ecosystem, and it will be different from that of Sandy Bridge.

There is no chance that Llano's CPU core will outperform that of Sandy Bridge, given that the former is a straight-up derivative of AMD's existing Phenom II core. But Llano's GPU is another matter entirely. AMD has used their considerable experience in building best-in-class integrated graphics processors (IGPs) to pack a ton of GPU performance onto each Llano die. Llano will be a great gaming portable, and Llano desktops should offer extremely good price/performance ratios for gamers.

If Intel can get the performance of Sandy Bridge's trailing-edge GPU design up to the point where it can outperform low-end discrete graphics cards, then Llano should do even better. Llano's DirectX11-class GPU will beat Sandy Bridge's GPU by a comfortable margin, and should compete with mid-range discrete solutions. Intel won't have anything comparable until its Ivy Bridge launch early next year.

So from now until Ivy Bridge comes up, AMD will have the budget performance notebook and desktop segment pretty much to itself with Llano. Llano will also make a monster of a home theater PC chip, because you'll be able to build a relatively cheap HTPC with some serious gaming chops.

AMD has said that the first Llano parts will show up in laptops, with desktop parts likely to follow later in the summer. The company isn't giving out any details on which specific products are shipping, though—we'll probably get this info as part of an official launch, soon.

 

SAPPHIRE Brings Back AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series with New Xtreme Editions

Hailed as the most exciting development in graphics for several generations, the original SAPPHIRE HD 5800 series not only included the fastest single GPU available, but was also the first family of video cards in the world to support the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and multi-monitor displays in Eyefinity mode. Now it’s back – with the exciting new SAPPHIRE HD 5800 series Xtreme Editions! Two models will be available from April 2011 – the SAPPHIRE HD 5850 Xtreme and the SAPPHIRE HD 5830 Xtreme. Both will represent spectacular value for money – and support all the latest games and applications.

With a 150GB/s memory interface to 1GB of the latest GDDR5 memory, and a GPU architecture with a total of 1440 stream processors and 72 texture units, the new SAPPHIRE HD 5850 Xtreme speeds through older DirectX10.1, DirectX 10 and DirectX 9.0 games and applications – as well as delivering stunning levels of performance, detail, transparency and lighting effects in the latest DX11 games and applications. Not far behind is the SAPPHIRE HD 5830 Xtreme Edition with its 1120 stream processors and 56 texture units. With its core clocks of 800MHz and 1GB of DDR5 memory with speeds of 1000MHz (4GHz effective), it represents a breakthrough in value for money for the gamer. Both cards feature new SAPPHIRE original cooler designs, and optimised voltage regulation, which together with clock and memory speeds can be adjusted with the SAPPHIRE TriXX overclocking tool (free for users to download) to enhance performance. Both cards offer support for all the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and deliver spectacular video clarity, speed and visual effects.

AMD G-Series Brings APUs to the x86 Embedded Market

The embedded market is dominated by SoCs based on RISC processors such as ARM and MIPS. The low power consumption of these SoCs make them attractive. Other than ARM and MIPS, PowerPC and x86 also play a role. Intel, AMD and VIA have been trying their best to enable x86 to gain a strong foothold in the embedded space. Today, AMD is bringing the power of the Brazos platform Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) into the embedded space.

Let us take a look at what the AMD Embedded G-Series brings to the market.

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CES 2011: Intel WiDi 2.0 Brings New Media Extenders

One major feature of mobile Sandy Bridge is support for Intel WiDi 2.0. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, WiDi 2.0 uses SNB’s Quick Sync engine to encode, in real time, the frame buffer and send it over 802.11n to a compatible WiDi receiver attached to your TV. The WiDi receiver decodes the content and displays your mobile desktop on whatever TV you have attached to the WiDi receiver, wirelessly. All you need is a SNB laptop with an Intel WiFi controller. Unlike wireless HDMI, the cost is much lower since you’re relying on the host CPU to do the video encoding. All you have to pay for is the cost of the WiDi receiver.

With the original WiDi, Netgear was the only company that made a WiDi receiver. The receiver was fine but generally it’s nice to see more than one company offering a technology. This time around Intel plans to have many more partners with WiDi receivers. At CES last week Intel had a D-Link WiDi receiver hooked up to a SNB notebook:

Sandy Bridge WiDi also supports HDCP and 1080p, so you can now stream Blu-ray content from a SNB notebook to a TV connected via WiDi.

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Computer Boots Up and brings to the Welcome Screen and Freezes

Date Fixed : 04.10.10

Owner : Ms. Elain Rebutante

Processor : Intel 1.8 GHZ PGA

Motherboard : ECS P4-M800

Memory : 256 GB

Hard Disk Drive : Maxtor IDE 80 GB

Operating System : Win XP Sp 2

Technician : Drokz

URL : http://clhidohsr.blogspot.com

PROBLEM :

Boots up, then freezes at Windows Xp Welcome Screen. No keyboard response. System can only be shutdown by holding the power button for few seconds.

CLIENT REQUESTS:

Data Backup

Antivirus Installation

DVD RAM Installation

INTERVENING FACTORS:

ECS P4m800 Driver lost.

Possibly Defective Hard Disk ( Clicking sound in the hard drive when the system is turned on )

OBSERVATION :

- Upon turning on the system, the clicking sound of the hard disk is clearly audible. With that unusual sound, any technician can directly point out that it might be defective or most probably be causing the problem.

- As the system starts to show the Windows Welcome Screen, the system freezes and locks the keyboard.

TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURE

- First, we need to check if the hard disk is the peripheral that is failing. It is quite obvious that the internal clicking sound indicates a mechanical inconsistency. So I removed the hard disk and restarted the system (computer) to see if the error is really related to that of the hard drive or might be the other failing failing peripherals.

- But upon restarting, the system stalled on POST. The hard disk might not be the cause of the problem.

- So I opened the side cover of the system unit and check for blown or leaking capacitors on the motherboard because these capacitors when they malfunction gives the same problem as observed - system stalling or not no booting up at all. But as I have checked on the mobo, there seemed to be no blown or leaky capacitors. So I decided to check the other peripheral that has capacitors in it - the Power Supply Unit.

- I then removed the Power Supply from the system case. And as I opened the Power Supply Unit, I saw 3 blown capacitors! The Power Supply is practically to be replaced. It is not advisable to replace the capacitors in the Power Supply Unit for it might contribute a chain of troubles to the rest of the components of your computer including primarily your motherboard, hard disk, and your precious CPU.

- An hour after, the requested power supply arrived. After installing the new power supply, the system was turned on and it did not stall at all. It continued the Power on Self Test (POST) and seeks for a bootable disk! At last we found the culprit. I then will try to check the Hard Disk if it is still functional.

- The hard disk drive was then installed back and restarted the system unit. Not a surprise to me, there was an error indicating a disk scan or a scheduled check disk. The hard drive needs to be restored, this might be due to the defective power supply, it already affected the hard disk and should not be long enough be replaced immediately.

-So I turned off the system, installed her new DVD RAM and then run the XP SP2 cd to restore the installed XP Operating System of her computer. ( Restoring the XP OS in not yet covered in tis tutorial - you may ask for information thru commenting here and you will get your answers via email - we will discuss your problem in this blog so others may learn also. :-] )

- After the Operating System restoration, the system works just as fine but I recommended Ms. Elain to buy a new hard disk for her computer. The hard disk will fail any sooner.

REPORT:

- Stalling / Freezing on Welcome screen or on Power on Self Test (POST) was contributed by the defective power supply unit - which in the case of Ms. Elain's Computer, it was replaced.

- A defective Power Supply corrupts an Operating System ( Win XP ) , and even worse your Hard Disk Drive.