Imagination Technologies has launched two new variants of its Series6 “Rogue” GPU, giving manufacturers more choice for the loadouts of next-gen mobile devices, TVs and dash systems. The PowerVR G6230 and G6430 differ from the earlier Series6 cores in one single respect: they’re bigger, which means they’re designed for those who want to go “all out” for better performance. At this point it’s not clear just how much extra juice they’ll deliver, but in general the Rogue architecture is all about being “scalable” — Imagination can simply add more “compute clusters” to boost frame rates at the expense of power consumption and it says “further cores will be announced” that will extend the eye-candy possibilities even further.

Continue reading Imagination goes ‘all out’ with bigger PowerVR graphics cores: the G6230 and G6430

Imagination goes ‘all out’ with bigger PowerVR graphics cores: the G6230 and G6430 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether you’re looking to replace a damaged screen, swap a battery, or just make damn sure that the warranty of your HTC One S is void, DirectFix can help with its latest teardown video. This is the first time that we’ve seen a detailed inner peek at the smartphone itself, and those who appreciate fine craftsmanship are sure to dig this one. To get deep within the phone, you’ll need a nylon spudger, a Torx T5 and precision Phillips screwdriver, along with steady hands and — if the display’s adhesive isn’t cooperating — a hairdryer. Once the handset’s back cover is removed, it becomes quite easy to see how the battery pack dominates the inner space, which is complemented up top by a blue plastic shield that includes the lens cover and protects the main board. From there, many fragile connectors must be removed before the display can be separated from the handset, which is attached with adhesive. Naturally, putting the phone back together can be a bit tricky in its own right, which makes it quite a shame that YouTube videos can’t play in reverse.

Continue reading HTC One S teardown leaves little to the imagination (video)

HTC One S teardown leaves little to the imagination (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 23:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t put all of our focus on Verizon’s LTE lineup, lest we forget that there’s plenty of 3G phones that need some attention too. The one shown above is a leaked image of the Samsung Illusion, also known to some as the Viper or the SCH-I110, a conceivably lower-end Android device with Gingerbread. It’s difficult to pin down any more hard details on the device, as the components inside the phone seem to be even more of a hallucination than the phone itself; speculation, however, points to at least an 800MHz CPU, a 480 x 320 HVGA smaller-screen display and a few eco-friendly features (as indicated by its Sustainable Product Certification). Persuaded yet? Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Samsung Illusion gets pictured on Verizon, convincing us it’s not a figment of our imagination originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Typically, when a new gadget makes its way through the FCC, we have to do a fair amount of digging to get to the juicy details, put Pandigital’s latest 8-inch tablet / e-reader, the SuperNova, isn’t holding anything back. This Android 2.3-powered slate follows in the footsteps of its 9-inch predecessor, the Novel, acting more as a glorified e-reader than a real-deal tablet. Like the Novel, it comes with B&N’s Nook app pre-installed and lacks access to the Android Market — apps can be downloaded via SlideMe. What’s more, it’s got front (0.3 megapixel) and back-facing (3 megapixel) cameras, 4GB of internal storage, HDMI and mini-USB connectivity, support for 32GB micro-SD, and an 8-inch capacitive touch screen. Just about the only things missing from this FCC filing are price and availability, but we have a feeling the pair isn’t far behind. If SAR reports and tablet entrails are your thing, you can peek even more SuperNova details at the source link below.

Pandigital’s SuperNova Android tablet gets its FCC on, leaves little to the imagination originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The teases over at iriver are ready to show you what they’ve got: the neon-colored U100. We reported on the PMP, along with the P100 and the D2000 last month, but it looks like iriver is going to leave us guessing on the last two. The U100 sports a 3.1-inch (320 x 480) touchscreen, up to 16GB of internal memory, WiFi, microSDHC, and an FM tuner for those who still listens to the radio. It plays 720p video and touts 50 hours of battery life for audio playback and 11 hours for video. iriver isn’t ready to give us all the details quite yet — an official release date and pricing are still under wraps — but they have provided another video to keep us interested. Hit up the source link to see for yourself.

iriver U100 PMP gets official reveal, P100 and D2000 leave something to the imagination originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s anything Microsoft’s Kinect has over the PlayStation Move — neither seem to have a killer app — it’s that peripheral manufacturers (hopefully) won’t be able to generate wave after wave of cheap plastic junk to wave in front of a camera. As you can imagine, PlayStation Move peripheral purveyors have no such problem, and Nyko, Mad Catz, Interworks, CTA Digital, PDP and more are pumping out plenty of plastic shells and chargers for those ball-tipped motion controllers. Hit the links below to just see how far we haven’t come.

Read – GamingBits Read – IGN Read – Amazon

PlayStation Move accessories charge controllers, keep your pesky imagination in check originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Constellation Carina, 20,000 Light Years Away. Warp 9. Engage! To the layman our modes of space travel can seem a little mundane. Giant boosters strapped to a rocket ship or built into it blast gallons upon gallons of fuel to propel the rocket into space. The closest propulsion engines in existence to the imagination of man are the ion engines that propelled the Deep Space 1 and Dawn missions. It’s the imagination of man that fuels the NASA space agency, and it’s the imagination of man that criticizes it at the same time. Because while the imagination of man might provide the drive to go forward, it also provides an unrealistic expectation of results. Recently at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, FL a group of Star Wars filmmakers and fans took the time out of collecting swag and spending money to stop by the NASA booth. They didn’t stop by just to pick up a pamphlet for the Kennedy Space Center, they stopped by to talk space travel . Specifically, faster than light space travel. You know, warp drives. While warp drives appear to have been used in Star Wars , most are familiar with them from Star Trek. Yes, this is another GeekDad post that mentions both Star Wars and Star Trek. The fans expressed that they’d like to see warp capabilities within their lifetime. While NASA is currently exploring new technologies, we have a better chance of seeing blaster rifles make an appearance before hyperdrive. Not to forget as well that NASA has direct ties with the military, and a lot of research and development has taken place under a military imposed black cloud. If they are working on a hyperdrive, you can bet your arduino that we won’t know about it until it’s in use. “I don’t think it’s too much of Star Wars fans to ask NASA to research exotic propulsion,” advanced propulsion expert Richard Obousy told Discovery News. “However, I do think it’s far too high an expectation that NASA will deliver any kind of faster-than-light ‘hyperdrive’ in the foreseeable future.” Plus, there is a lot to figure out first. Discovering hyperdrive, being able to bend the fabric of the spacetime continuum, and that tricky little thing known among the physics community as “negative energy.” Negative energy is a hypothetical based on the presence of “exotic matter” which is based on something called “tachyons.” Which don’t exist. Though those do sound familiar. Name an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where they didn’t mention something about a “tachyon.” So to be specific, there are two possible modes of interstellar space travel. Either warp drive or wormholes. So the presumption is that hyperdrive is the same as warp drive, even though the Millennium Falcon has a Isu-Sim SSP05 hyperdrive generator. While it seemed that Sisko and the crew of the Defiant took their sweet time crossing through that wormhole, it should have been instantaneous, according to current theories about wormholes . However, wormholes don’t exist within the current laws of physics. Warp drive does, at least theoretically within the laws of physics it’s more plausible than creating wormholes. “Warp drives are extremely speculative at this stage, and it would be irresponsible of me to suggest that a warp drive could ever be built,” Obousy added. “What does seem true, however, is that warp drives are allowed to exist within the known laws of physics, and can therefore be explored and investigated in a rigorous and scientific manner.” Sadly, Star Wars and Star Trek fans are going to have some waiting to do. If scientists are working on warp drive capabilities, they are doing it in their spare time. Until someone comes up with a working theory, and not some drunk guy helped by the Enterprise crew , we aren’t going to be warping anytime soon. Not to mention the theories surrounding the actual bending of the space and the time. While it may seem like moments, hours or days to someone traveling at warp speed, it could be thousands of years passing outside of the warp bubble. Recently we posted a piece questioning our place in the universe. When you consider Star Wars fans asking NASA for a warp drive, you have to consider the inhabitants of the universe they want to travel to. Planets like Hoth, Tattooine don’t seem like much fun. Then consider the Star Trek universe. Romulans, Klingons – the Borg! You know what NASA, if you are working on a warp drive, take your time. I don’t want to run into the Imperial Empire or the Borg anytime soon. Follow us on Twitter @cebsilver and @wiredgeekdad Image: NASA Read the rest of this entry »

Image: Laura Grace Weldon Learning is everywhere. It is constant. This one bit of wisdom is one that I keep with myself, always. It helps the kids see that the world has a lot to teach them, and new knowledge can come at any time from anywhere. Being more isolated than most students and teachers, homeschoolers also seek out wisdom, inspiration, support and advice from books and online. There are dozens of books out there on the topic. Some are how-to books, others are stories about one family’s experience. Depending on what you are looking for, there is a homeschooling book out there for you, even if your kids go to conventional school. Free Range Learning by Laura Grace Weldon is a new book about homeschooling. It isn’t a strict how-to, nor is it just about someone else’s personal experience. It’s a mixture of the two, intertwining real families’ experiences about teaching their children and lists of project ideas and resources. In between, there is plenty of guidance and information about teaching your kids, and even about scientific studies on how people learn. Yes, the audience of this book is mostly homeschoolers, but if you’re the kind of parent that tries to teach your kids during evenings and weekends, this book will have as much to offer you as it would a homeschooling parent. If you’re on the fence about homeschooling, or even if you’re just looking to make the most of the time that you spend together when the kids aren’t in school, I highly recommend this book. Either at the beginning, or at some point in the journey, most homeschooling parents doubt themselves at some stage of the process and then look for of advice. This book is very supportive and it gives tips and clues to even non-homeschoolers for how to help your kids learn in everything they do. I’m in the fortunate minority, though. In the four years I have homeschooled my kids, I have never felt the need for validation of my decision, never doubted my ability to teach the kids, never felt that we had to be friends with other homeschoolers (around here, secular homeschoolers are virtually impossible to find). Most of our friends send their kids to school. Yet I found this book incredibly helpful for me as well. What’s in the Book? Free Range Learning teaches you how kids learn and how to keep them learning. It teaches some things that are necessary to real learning, such as exercise, spending time outdoors and enjoying the learning process. This book is so full of wisdom that I could tell you dozens of good parts and there would still be hundreds more for you to discover. Almost every sentence of Weldon’s writing makes me want to take notes, or yell out, “Yes, that’s it exactly!” to whoever will listen. She verbalizes kid, learning and homeschooling topics incredibly well. Reading this book, I learned as much about myself, and how I learn and experience things, as I learned about my kids. So while this book deals with the teaching of children, it is equally applicable to anyone, grown ups included. The book is filled with quotes from experienced homeschoolers solicited by the author before publication. Some of the quotes in the book are from homeschooled children and adolescents who will surprise you with their self-knowledge and introspection. Weldon has done a superb job of matching up submitted quotes to the chapter and section topics. The book is broken into general subject chapters, then into many short sub-topics, some of which are only one page. This makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for, and easy to read a little bit at a time. Chapters and sub-topics include Natural Learning Happens Everywhere, Creativity, The Importance of Play, Friendships, Field Tripping, Science & Nature, Math, Critical Thinking, The Arts, History, Language Arts and many others. Many sections give you concrete suggestions of activities or projects that you can do with regard to that topic. The book lists resources such as websites, organizations and resources. Later chapters are full of actual project ideas for that chapter’s topic. The math section in particular has pages and pages of ideas, but other subject-specific chapters also include concrete tips. The whole book is food for thought. It is not a how-to book for how to homeschool, but it is full of examples of how Free Range Learning benefits kids in specific areas. It even goes into the science of learning using real data from studies to put into words what we probably already know about how our kids learn. It’s a book you’ll turn to on a regular basis for supportive words and advice. Why This Book Isn’t Just For Homeschoolers Free Range Learning is filled with some of the advantages of homeschooling. But if your kids are conventionally schooled, don’t let that stop you from reading it. Chances are you homeschool your kids in the evenings and on weekends and don’t even realize it, so the content will apply to you as well. The book is filled with lightbulb moments that would have been especially helpful and inspirational when first starting out with homeschooling or when my kids were younger. One of the best bits of advice when teaching anything is, “There’s no need to look for external ‘motivators’ when children remain eager.” (p. 3) For those of you who are new to homeschooling, or for those that don’t homeschool, you might be amazed at how easy it is for an interested child to learn. While I believe strongly in homeschooling, I realize that not everyone can or wants to do it. This book will still be helpful for you since it is full of immediately applicable advice. The lessons and wisdom contained in it are universal. It’s the kind of book that should be issued to all new parents and read and re-read every few years as kids reach new stages. One of my favorite quotes from the book is this: “When children are deprived of meaningful family time their basic needs for belonging, acceptance and purposefulness do not go away.” (p. 139) This means that if kids don’t feel loved, appreciated and comfortable at home, they’ll find a way to feel that way elsewhere. If they go to school, this can sometimes lead to joining trendy cliques or feeling like they have to be just like all the other kids. Of course, it can also lead to finding groups that play D&D, but not everyone is so lucky. Reasons for Homeschooling One of the dozens of reasons why I homeschool my kids is so that their imagination and creativity remain intact. Both my husband and I remember having our creativity either squelched or not nurtured in public school. Free Range Learning puts so many of my feelings and opinions into words, such as how education isn’t separate from life, it is life (those are my words). And that we can’t expect a school to care as much out our children’s education as we do. In the end, it is our responsibility to make sure our children are well educated. Also, in regard to (most) homeschooled kids, “By the time they reach adulthood they are blessed with an appetite for lifelong learning.” (p. xiv) The book also talks about the issues with public education today, such as how more time spent in school does not translate to more learning. Regular schooling is often a one size fits all place, and that isn’t what some kids need to thrive. Education and learning aren’t just for a few hours each day. They are and should be a way of life, regardless of where kids get their formal schooling. Rather than giving kids more time to explore, try things out and choose their own interests, school districts sometimes think that the solution to today’s education problems is just more hours of schooling, such as on Saturdays or during the summer. In reality, if what you’re doing isn’t working, doing more of it isn’t going to help. Try something else, not just more of the same . Free Range Learning reminds us that for some kids, more rigor won’t increase test scores, no matter how hard you try. But an interested and engaged child can learn faster and better than they would in a traditional setting. “Nothing can replace direct observation and experience,” (p. 10) which is a good excuse to get your kids out in the world, traveling and exploring. Also, real life applications help motivate kids and help them understand. Knowing why they are learning what they are learning helps kids who don’t want to learn for learning’s sake. They want to know why they have to know this stuff. A quote from the publicity material sums up the book pretty well: “ Free Range Learning demonstrates that children thrive through naturally paced, interest-led learning without constant monitoring, intrusion and outcome-based testing.” While this makes it sound like the book leans toward unschooling , it really doesn’t promote any one homeschooling method. The advice is applicable to everyone from unschoolers to Classical homeschoolers to eclectic homeschoolers to non-homeschoolers. Free Range Learning is a useful and important read for parents of all kids, regardless of the child’s age or homeschool status. I know that I will be referring to this book time and again for its inspiration, support and extensive resources. It is currently available on Amazon for $17.96. Wired : A book full of useful advice and concrete ideas for helping your kids learn, not just for homeschoolers. Inspiring and motivating to read. Tired : A large portion of the book is devoted to quotes from homeschooling families and not Weldon’s writing, but the advice is so full of wisdom that it can also be seen as a plus. Note: I received a copy of this book for review. Read the rest of this entry »

The BottleBob Bottle Cap Punch is a gimmick, a gee-gaw, a single-purpose uni-tasking tchotchke. But despite this, what it does is pretty awesome. It cuts holes in the metal caps of soda-bottles so, when you insert a regular plastic straw, it looks like you somehow punched that thing right through it, you old tough-guy you. The plastic and metal punch also falls firmly into the category of “tat”. For those unfamiliar with this word, it comes from British English (aka “quaint” English) and has the following meaning in the New Oxford American Dictionary: “tasteless or shoddy clothes, jewelry, or ornaments”. Still, imagine what this little widget could do for your reputation. If you can pierce a metal cap with a flimsy plastic tube, you could probably also… Well, I’ll leave that up to your imagination. $27, available now. BottleBob Bottle Cap Punch [Epaulet Shop] Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter. . Read the rest of this entry »

Image: GamingPaper.com I’m always on the lookout for something cool to bring to the gaming table. The one thing I’m never satisfied with? My battle map. A few months back, I put the Battle Graph Dry Erase Boards to the test and they passed with flying colors. They remain a regular feature in my Game Master toolbox. But every session is different, and every craftsman knows that there’s a tool for every job. Dry erase markers don’t hold up to the tests of time, so it’s hard–especially with a four year old in the house–to draw up an encounter in advance. By the time game day rolls around, the map is nigh unrecognizable. If I need to plan a session ahead of time, I don’t go for the Chessex mat or the Battle Graphs. I need something more permanent. And if I need to be in complete control of what’s on that map, I need a blank slate. One option is to head to your local office supplies store and buy one of those huge gridded easel pads . They’ll run you about $15 a pad. Each pad has 50 27″x34″ pages, so you’re talking 30¢ per page. Each pad will net you about 320 square feet of surface area, in 6.375 square foot chunks. You can draw all over these with colored pencils, crayons, markers, paints, whatever you want. Then fold it up and hide it ’til it’s time to play. You’re good to go, for 4.7¢ per square foot. But there is a better option. Instead of coming in a pad, Gaming Paper , sold specifically as a gaming aid, comes in a 12′ roll of 30″ wide paper. That’s 30 square feet total, and they’re $4 a roll. That’s 13¢ per square foot. So Gaming Paper is three times more expensive than the easel pad, but it has its added benefits. There’s a coating of clay on one side that prevents bleed-through and somehow allows the roll to lie flat against the table surface. Sharpies and wet-erase markers dry on the surface within ten seconds. It looks a lot better than white paper, too, almost like a browned and aged scroll. Even better, they have a version with hexes and even Gaming Paper Singles are in the works. Check out the Gaming Paper YouTube channel for a series of rather entertaining product demos. What are the drawbacks of using paper-products at the table? If there are any potion/Mountain Dew spills, it will decimate the playing field. Then again, an iron apparently works quite well on drying out and de-wrinkling Gaming Paper, so you might be back up and running in no time. Also, keep that orange-fingered Cheeto away from either type of paper unless you want to employ a grease stain terrain hazard against your PCs. Gaming Paper is particularly prone to turning hideously translucent with the stuff. Easel Pads Wired: Cheap. Totally blank, so your imagination is the limit. Can come gridded with one inch squares, which works with most RPG combat systems. Tired: No hexes. Limited to height and width of pages. Occasional bleed-through, which wastes paper and can mess up your furniture. Gaming Paper Wired: Blank, so you get full license to create the dungeon of your dreams/nightmares. One inch grids or hexes. Awesome clay coating means it lies flat and never bleeds through to the table. Super cheap at $4 a roll. Can have a larger continuous surface area than easel pad. Tired: Three times as expensive as gridded easel pad. Greasy fingers will leave marks. And gamers tend to have greasy fingers. Related Posts: RPG Battle Maps Square Off: Battle Graph Dry Erase Boards Store-Bought Supplements for your D&D Game Fan Creations Enhance D&D 4th Edition (Full Disclosure: I received two free rolls of Gaming Paper for review purposes.) Read the rest of this entry »