Kios Geek. It's All About Geek

Kinect won’t support voice recognition in some countries until 2011, putting on airs won’t help

The Oracle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:55:00 +0000

“If you see it, just say it,” says Microsoft’s Kinect, but only in the US, UK, Mexico and Japan to start — those are the only four countries that will support Kinect voice control by the motion-sensing peripheral’s November launch. So said Microsoft PR manager Lidia Pitzalis in an interview with Eurogamer Spain, adding that Germany, Italy, France and even Canada and Spain would have to wait for a Spring 2011 update for additional language support. Microsoft claims it’s a matter of accents throwing off the voice recognition, as the company’s already had to build separate software versions for US and UK English, but if you’re an Italian who can fake a good Cockney, you’re still out of luck, as Microsoft’s reportedly disabling voice control entirely in said regions until it can formally support it. And game companies wonder why we try so hard to hack those DVD drives…

Kinect won’t support voice recognition in some countries until 2011, putting on airs won’t help originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq | Eurogamer Spain | Email this | Comments
read full article from Engadget

Globalfoundries takes ARM Cortex-A9 into 28nm land, looks forward to 20nm chips in 2013

The Oracle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:12:00 +0000

Forget the numbers, here’s what matters: Globalfoundries’ new production capabilities will lead to “smooth production ramp-ups and faster time-to-market” for its customers. Now consider that this promise relates to scrumptious 28nm Cortex-A9 SOCs and feel free to rejoice. The chip fabricator has just declared itself ready to take orders for ARM’s systems-on-chip built using its high-k metal gate 28nm fab process. This fulfills its pledge for mass production in the latter half of 2010, but lest you think Globalfoundries is resting on any nanoscale laurels, it also has a 20nm roadmap to tell you about. It’s very simple, really: expect even smaller, even more power-efficient silicon in 2013. We don’t know if the future will be bright, but it sure looks like it’s gonna be small.

Continue reading Globalfoundries takes ARM Cortex-A9 into 28nm land, looks forward to 20nm chips in 2013

Globalfoundries takes ARM Cortex-A9 into 28nm land, looks forward to 20nm chips in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments
read full article from Engadget

Philips and O’Neill launch durable headphones — shaka bra!

The Oracle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:30:00 +0000

In what amounts to yet another co-branding marketing kerfuffle, Philips and O’Neill have teamed up on a foursome of so-called durable headphones. The Stretch headphones (pictured) are the toughest of the bunch, constructed from an ultra-durable, temperature-resistant, and awesome-sounding material called TR 55LX that boasts a surface hardness six times greater than the polycarbonate stuff found in most headphones. The Snug series boasts “bold graphics” and can fold flat, while the in-ear Covert buds brings an iPhone controller. Last, and apparently least, is the “stylish” Specked with tangle free cord. Amazing. All are said to have been tested by the “toughest O’Neill team riders.” As proof, O’Neill is trotting out Jeremy Jones, Mark Mathews, and Ane Enderud to promote its new gear, presumably because they want to and not because they are contractually obligated under the terms of their respective high-paying sponsorships. Needless to say, these headphones aren’t for you if you don’t know who these people are or you lack the fragile hipster ego required to wear them. No prices were announced, but you can expect them to match the “premium” description when these arrive for retail in Europe and the US sometime this month.

We did give Stretch a go for a quickie ears-on, and honestly, while the cloth cord was a nice touch and they do seem to be super rugged, we’d prefer that the team paid a bit more attention to the sound quality than the finish.

Gallery: Philips and O’Neill Stretch and Snug press pics

Gallery: Philips O’Neill The Stretch hands-on

Continue reading Philips and O’Neill launch durable headphones — shaka bra!

Philips and O’Neill launch durable headphones — shaka bra! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Philips | Email this | Comments
read full article from Engadget

Panasonic announces speedy new 8GB, 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards

The Oracle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:56:00 +0000

We’ve already heard some of the claims made about SHDC cards using the new UHS-I specification, and it looks like we’ll now soon have our first actual cards based on the spec courtesy of Panasonic. The company has just announced some 8GB and 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards at IFA, which boast a Class 10 speed specification and promise to deliver a maximum data transfer speed of 60MB/s, or about twice that of Panasonic’s current top-end cards. No word on pricing just yet, but Panasonic says they’ll be out this November. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic announces speedy new 8GB, 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards

Panasonic announces speedy new 8GB, 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink DP Review | | Email this | Comments
read full article from Engadget

Twitter for iPad review

The Oracle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:59:00 +0000

It’s no secret that Twitter for iPhone (née Tweetie) is often regarded as the gold standard for mobile apps — it blends functionality, performance, and usability together with a dash of playful quirkiness that works so well Twitter just bought the app and hired developer Loren Brichter back in April. That delayed the release of an iPad version, but Twitter’s finally come through — and as you’d expect, Twitter for iPad does things just as uniquely as its sister apps on the iPhone and Mac. In fact, we’d go so far as to say a few of its interface conventions will become as commonplace as slide-to-refresh, which was first introduced in Tweetie for iPhone — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Read on for more!

Gallery: Twitter for iPad review

Continue reading Twitter for iPad review

Twitter for iPad review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments
read full article from Engadget