Posted by on under gaming peripherals, kinzu, untrained eyes, mouse technology, fri, laser sensor, lten, xai, noes, steelseries, siberia, headsets, mousepad, footsteps, stab, mic, gamers, mice, cans, capabilities | 
We played with the original Siberia headset from
SteelSeries, which was specifically designed to emphasize "gaming noises" like grenade pin pulls and footsteps -- but didn't do much good for listening to anything else. The Siberia Headset v2 looks to solve some of that with slightly larger speakers, an enclosed design to reduce ambient noise, improved frequency response and increased volume. There's also a built-in mic now. We took a listen and found the music listening capabilities much improved, especially in the bass end, but still no challenge for "regular" over the ear headphones. Still, serious gamers should get what they need out of the cans, which will be offered in models with and without a USB 7.1 virtual surround soundcard in November. No word on price until then.
We also got a quick look at the new
Xai and Kinzu gaming mice. The ambidextrous-friendly nature of the pair is nice, materials are great, and mousing around briefly on a fancy SteelSeries mousepad certainly felt effortless and accurate, but mouse technology is so wild these days it's hard to differentiate one multi-megapixel optical or laser sensor from another -- to these untrained eyes, anyway.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
SteelSeries takes another stab at gaming headsets with Siberia v2 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tagi: gaming peripherals, kinzu, untrained eyes, mouse technology, fri, laser sensor, lten, xai, noes, steelseries, siberia, headsets, mousepad, footsteps, stab, mic, gamers, mice, cans, capabilities
Posted by on under fcc rules, net neutrality, iphe, network quality, fri, gatekeepers, minutiae, compas, free kids, influx, fcc, comcast, slate, 3g, p2p, discrimination, blackberry, winmo, bandwidth, amp |
Based on what we're hearing, a slate of soon-to-be-proposed FCC rules may
stop the likes of Comcast from
discriminating against P2P applications on their networks, and AT&T sure will have a tougher time justifying why it won't let the
iPhone's version of SlingPlayer run on 3G while giving WinMo and BlackBerry users all the bandwidth they can handle. Julius Genachowski, the
new chairman of the entity, is slated to discuss the new rules on Monday, though he isn't expected to dig too deep into the minutiae. Essentially, the guidelines will "prevent wireless companies from blocking internet applications and prevent them from discriminating (or acting as gatekeepers) [against] web content and services." We know what you're thinking: "Huzzah!" And in general, that's probably the right reaction to have as a consumer, but one has to wonder how network quality for all will be affected if everyone is cut loose to, well, cut loose. Oh, and if this forces telecoms to deploy more cell sites to handle the influx in traffic, you can rest assured that the bill will be passed on to you. Ain't nuthin' free, kids.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Wireless, Networking
FCC to propose new net neutrality rules disallowing data discrimination originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tagi: fcc rules, net neutrality, iphe, network quality, fri, gatekeepers, minutiae, compas, free kids, influx, fcc, comcast, slate, 3g, p2p, discrimination, blackberry, winmo, bandwidth, amp
Posted by on under fraunhofer institute for solar energy systems, solar energy systems, renewable energy laboratory, solar cell manufacturing, innovalight, solar cells, fri, ja solar, u s department, department of energy, nbsp, cnet news, silicon, gadgets, efficiency |
We've seen a few different approaches to
printable, and occasionally
paintable solar cells over the years, but it looks like JA Solar was particularly taken with Innovalight's so-called silicon ink-based solar cells, and it's now announced that its teaming up with the company to commercialize the technology. In addition to being "printable" and cheaper to manufacture than traditional solar cells, the company also claims that the silicon ink solar cells also boast an impressive 18 percent conversion efficiency, which has apparently just been backed up by both the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Details on the deal are otherwise a bit light, but JA Solar says that it'll manufacture the new cells using its existing solar cell manufacturing lines, which should lower the cost even further and, if all goes as planned, allow for "initial commercialization" sometime in 2010.
[Via
CNET News Green Tech]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
JA Solar and Innovalight team up to commercialize 'silicon ink' solar cells originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tagi: fraunhofer institute for solar energy systems, solar energy systems, renewable energy laboratory, solar cell manufacturing, innovalight, solar cells, fri, ja solar, u s department, department of energy, nbsp, cnet news, silicon, gadgets, efficiency
Posted by on under hybrid cars, power server, cpu system, p45, rag doll, fri, socket 775, dfi, mainboard, server system, gurus, starters, peripherals, atom, release date, nbsp |
These days, the word "hybrid" gets tossed around like a rag doll. We've got
hybrid cars,
hybrid SLI and
hybrid image stabilization -- and that's just for starters. But friends, this hybrid is one worth paying attention to.
DFI has been working overtime in order to concoct the next great mainboard, and if this thing can really deliver as advertised, we'd say the gurus responsible for it will succeed greatly. The Hybrid P45-ION-T2A2 motherboard can actually house a complete Atom / Ion-based system on one side, while handling a traditional Socket 775 CPU system on the other. In other words, this single motherboard can power -- let's say -- a low-power server system
and your next gaming setup. At the same time! We're still waiting on a firm release date and price, but 'til then, hop on past the break for a swell demonstration vid.
Continue reading Video: DFI hybrid motherboard runs two whole systems... simultaneously!
Filed under: Peripherals
Video: DFI hybrid motherboard runs two whole systems... simultaneously! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tagi: hybrid cars, power server, cpu system, p45, rag doll, fri, socket 775, dfi, mainboard, server system, gurus, starters, peripherals, atom, release date, nbsp
Posted by on under engadget, podcast, fri, chat room, high speed, fear, state lines |
Hey, Josh is currently making a high-speed run across state lines, but have no fear -- once he's suitably safe from danger the Engadget Podcast will be broadcasting live. Settle into the chat room below, and we'll see you at 6:30PM EST!
Update: Well, that was certainly a wild one, thanks for bearing with us -- and if you missed it, our usual post will be up tomorrow!
Filed under: Podcasts
The Engadget Podcast is live... now! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tagi: engadget, podcast, fri, chat room, high speed, fear, state lines
