Filed under: Laptops
It’s safe to assume that if you’re using one of OLPC’s XO laptops, you’re not exactly a speed demon. Still, you probably wouldn’t mind squeezing a little more power out of that innocuous Geode CPU — and now there’s a way to do it. The cats and kittens over at OLPC News have discovered a way to (relatively) safely overclock your system using a shortcut at the open firmware prompt. At least one reader reports a 21.8 percent boost in system speed, and claims that bumping the 433MHz processor to 588MHz, and the 166MHz RAM to 233MHz has resulted in a much smoother ride with Ubuntu. Of course, if you decide to try this, keep in mind that just like overclocking the big boys, you could explode your system, restart the Cold War, or attract tons of vampires.
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Filed under: Laptops
It’s safe to assume that if you’re using one of OLPC’s XO laptops, you’re not exactly a speed demon. Still, you probably wouldn’t mind squeezing a little more power out of that innocuous Geode CPU — and now there’s a way to do it. The cats and kittens over at OLPC News have discovered a way to (relatively) safely overclock your system using a shortcut at the open firmware prompt. At least one reader reports a 21.8 percent boost in system speed, and claims that bumping the 433MHz processor to 588MHz, and the 166MHz RAM to 233MHz has resulted in a much smoother ride with Ubuntu. Of course, if you decide to try this, keep in mind that just like overclocking the big boys, you could explode your system, restart the Cold War, or attract tons of vampires.
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Filed under: Gaming
Details are still sparse (and primarily in Japanese), but our Tokyo bureau just let us know that Sony’s announced a fairly severe security vulnerability on the PlayStation Network, which would actually allow an attacker to access your account, personal information, and Wallet — but not your credit card on file — as well as change your password. Damn. More on this as it develops; in the mean time, keep a close eye on that account.
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Filed under: Features, GPS
Not much has changed since we got to play with a beta version of the OpenMoko-powered Dash Express GPRS / WiFi-connected GPS unit, but the packaging is quite nice and the final hardware feels top-notch — and there are some thoughtful details like a separate cradle power connection so you can just grab and go when you get to your destination.
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Filed under: Features, GPS
Not much has changed since we got to play with a beta version of the OpenMoko-powered Dash Express GPRS / WiFi-connected GPS unit, but the packaging is quite nice and the final hardware feels top-notch — and there are some thoughtful details like a separate cradle power connection so you can just grab and go when you get to your destination.
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Filed under: GPS
We’ve been drooling over the GPRS-enabled, OpenMoko-powered Dash Express for what seems like forever now, but it’s finally shipping — and what’s even better, the price has dropped $200 to $399. Pre-order customers can expect a note from Dash alerting them to a refund of the difference sometime soon, while the rest of us can take ol’ Benjamin and his three best friends over to Amazon, which is the exclusive retailer for the next 30 days. Unfortunately, the monthly services fees are still kind of high: although you can still use the device as a regular GPS unit after the initial three-month grace period, if you buy the premium service you’ll be out $13 a month, or $10 if you sign a two-year deal — but hey, that’s the price you pay to be on the front lines of the revolution, right?
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Filed under: GPS
We’ve been drooling over the GPRS-enabled, OpenMoko-powered Dash Express for what seems like forever now, but it’s finally shipping — and what’s even better, the price has dropped $200 to $399. Pre-order customers can expect a note from Dash alerting them to a refund of the difference sometime soon, while the rest of us can take ol’ Benjamin and his three best friends over to Amazon, which is the exclusive retailer for the next 30 days. Unfortunately, the monthly services fees are still kind of high: although you can still use the device as a regular GPS unit after the initial three-month grace period, if you buy the premium service you’ll be out $13 a month, or $10 if you sign a two-year deal — but hey, that’s the price you pay to be on the front lines of the revolution, right?
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Digital picture frames have quickly gone from expensive technological baubles to cut-rate commodities that you grab on your way out of the store. For not much more than the price of a professionally framed 8-by-10 print, one of these compact LCD screens can show off hundreds of vacation photos.
Filed under: Transportation
It’s only taken about a million years, but someone has finally decided that improvements are possible in automobile braking lights. Students from Virginia Tech have developed a new system that can show not just whether you’re stopping, but if you’re slowing down, when you’re about to stop, and how quickly you’re pressing the pedal. The concept uses an array of horizontally arranged LED lights — when you begin to slow, lights in the center glow orange, after a certain threshold side lights turn to red, and if you’re slamming on the brake, they’ll all flash red. The team, led by mechanical engineering Professor Mehdi Ahmadian, has plans for the system beyond the lab, though they speculate that it will be easier to add them as additional indicators on commercial vehicles at first. If this pans out, someday soon we may all be tailgating a totally psychedelic light show.
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Filed under: Transportation
It’s only taken about a million years, but someone has finally decided that improvements are possible in automobile braking lights. Students from Virginia Tech have developed a new system that can show not just whether you’re stopping, but if you’re slowing down, when you’re about to stop, and how quickly you’re pressing the pedal. The concept uses an array of horizontally arranged LED lights — when you begin to slow, lights in the center glow orange, after a certain threshold side lights turn to red, and if you’re slamming on the brake, they’ll all flash red. The team, led by mechanical engineering Professor Mehdi Ahmadian, has plans for the system beyond the lab, though they speculate that it will be easier to add them as additional indicators on commercial vehicles at first. If this pans out, someday soon we may all be tailgating a totally psychedelic light show.
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