Browsing Category: "Software"
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A Via CPU, paired with an NVIDIA GPU could be the platform for cheap multimedia computers. The idea is simple: with multimedia applications like a Media Center PC, most of the workload is “fixed”. SDTV resolution is fixed, 1080p resolution is “fixed”, Blu-Ray’s decoding workload is “fixed” and so on… |
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It means that you can tailor a system that is powerfull enough to address these needs, at the lowest possible cost (a $45 design). That’s what NVIDIA is aiming for, and they have a big advantage over the competition: they can make cheap graphics that actually perform (graphics is the hard part of multimedia). Here, Intel’s huge lead in CPU architecture doesn’t help much, simply because the Via CPU is basically “good enough” to handle these tasks. The flipside of handling “fixed” function for NVIDIA is that Intel will eventually catch-up to these basic graphics functions, and if they want this market badly enough, they can either try to lower the prices my squeezing their own margins, or use a better manufacturing process to reduce their costs. |
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Thomson just announced that they have made nice with Google so that they can add the GOOG-411 button to its DECT 6.0 phones.
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| So what does that get you besides an extra button imprint on your cheek? It’s free, voice-activated directory assistance via web giant Google. What more could you ask for? Well, you can also ask for the same service on your cell phone… and you can have it too, but you may have carrier charges to contend with
“In America alone, more than $18 million is spent on business information calls daily! That amounts to about $7 billion dollars spent per year,” says Tom Bratton, VP of sales and marketing for Thomson. “We believe that consumers will appreciate the ability to use GOOG-411, making free business information calls at the push of a single button.” GOOG-411 will be incorporated into more than a dozen GE phones. The systems that were just announced are priced between $39.99 to $99.99. Expect to see the first models pop up around April. |
Popularity: 19%
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QuickShareIt, which we covered a while back, has received an upgrade to 2.0, adding many of the originally promised features as well as a host of new ones.
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| QuickShareIt is a Mac app that provides online storage and file sharing with both Mac and PC users. It’s growing up amongst a host of similar products, but differentiates itself by offering some unique features centered around the teaming of its dock icon drop-box, “recent uploads” floating panel and web-based file access. For example, if you drag multiple images onto the dock icon, it will ask you if you want to create a gallery. When the upload finishes (with Growl notifications), it will give you a url that you can share and provide options for handling that gallery in the floating panel. It also accepts text clippings and creates a line-numbered, online document for quick sharing of code samples or text snippets. Previews for other filetypes are available.Right now uploading to QuickShareIt is anonymous and public access. The developers are rolling out registration options in the near future, as well as paid options with extra features. If you want to try QuickShareIt out, just download the application and run it. There’s no configuration or sign-up necessary (despite the option being present), just drag files or text clippings onto the dock icon and watch it go. |
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As the MacHeist 2 software scavenger hunt winds down this weekend, the release of the MH software bundle for full-fare paying customers is just around the corner. TUAW has learned that the contents of the bundle will be announced next week on January 9th, and pricing will be the same as last year ($49). As usual, MacHeist donates 25% of the purchase prices of the bundles to charity. What exactly is going to be in that package of code-y goodness? Well, the precise mix of apps is still under wraps; what we know right now is that there will be 10 or more products represented, with “some major names” among them. One thing that we are told will definitely be in the bundle is Pixelmator, so you’ll be looking at a bargain on the basis of one $59 app by itself. |
Popularity: 16%
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