Intel's Core i3 NUC mini-system bares it all for IDF (hands-on video)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/14/intels-core-i3-nuc-mini-system-bares-it-all-for-idf-hands-on-v/

What's red or black, 4 x 4 inches and exposes itself shamelessly on the show floor at IDF 2012? If you answered Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC), you'd be right. The diminutive PC was on display at Intel's Developer Forum along with its motherboard and cooling assembly. It comes in two flavors, a consumer-geared model with a single HDMI connector and Thunderbolt (in red) and a more business-centric version with two HDMI outputs and Ethernet (in black). Both mini-systems feature a third generation (Ivy Bridge) Core i3 CPU, QS77 chipset, two dual-channel DDR3 SoDIMM slots, mSATA and mini-PCIe interfaces (for SSD and WiFi cards), five USB 2.0 ports (two back, one front, two internal) and a socket for an external 19V DC power supply. The company hopes to get the attention of OEMs and DIY-ers alike when it makes this small, light and simple computer design available in October for about $400. Check out the gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Intel Core i3 NUC hands-on

Continue reading Intel's Core i3 NUC mini-system bares it all for IDF (hands-on video)

Filed under: Desktops, Misc

Intel's Core i3 NUC mini-system bares it all for IDF (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 06:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic video reveals Lumix GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera: 16MP, magnesium alloy, 60p video

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/14/panasonic-lumix-gh3-video/

Though the GH3 has yet to be formally introduced to the world, a video has just appeared on an official Panasonic YouTube channel that has either been posted accidentally or is deliberately intended to build hype in the run-up to Photokina. It mainly shows off the GH3 in a range of picturesque shooting situations, but the clip also spills a few key specs, including the presence of a 16-megapixel sensor, a new version of Panny's Venus Engine processor, a splash- and dust-proof magnesium alloy build and high-definition filming at up to 72Mbps and 60p -- although it's not clear if it handles full 1080 at that high frame-rate. We also see a a flip-out LCD that looks much the same as the GH2's, an f/2.8 12-35mm lens attached instead of the 14-42mm or 14-140mm glass that came bundled with that predecessor, and so far only evidence of a traditional black color scheme. Click onwards for the video!

Update: ...and just like that, the video has vanished.

Continue reading Panasonic video reveals Lumix GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera: 16MP, magnesium alloy, 60p video

Filed under: Cameras

Panasonic video reveals Lumix GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera: 16MP, magnesium alloy, 60p video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 03:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft gifts full-time employees with Surface tablets, Windows 8 phones and PCs

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/14/microsoft-employees-windows-8-surface-phone/

Reprising a Windows Phone 7 giveaway from back in 2010, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer announced at the company's annual event that all 90,000 or so full-time employees are getting a taste of its latest hardware. That's one Surface for Windows RT tablet and Windows Phone 8 phone (we're told that last time around these came with two year contracts) in late December, along with a new touch compatible office computer running Windows 8, presumably arriving sooner. Forbes indicates those PCs can be a desktop, laptop, ultrabook or tablet, and we have a pic of one employee's new Lenovo-built slate running Windows 8 on a Core i7 CPU with 8GB of RAM after the break. Pulling an Oprah, again, isn't just one way to improve employee morale, it also ensures everyone's familiar with the new products as they roll out and are ready to tell people about them. Will that provide the necessary bump to catch up with the competition from Apple and Google? Only time will tell, but if you're wondering what to say when someone asks if every single person wants a Surface then our advice follows after the break.

Gallery: Microsoft Employee meeting Windows 8 gifts

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Microsoft gifts full-time employees with Surface tablets, Windows 8 phones and PCs

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Mobile

Microsoft gifts full-time employees with Surface tablets, Windows 8 phones and PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's NEX-6 satisfies the FCC with paperwork, guts

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/sony-nex-6-fcc/

Still hungry for a closer look at Sony's WiFi-packing NEX-6 despite perusing our hands-on? Apparently the FCC feels the same, so it's used its government-granted authority to inspect the camera first-hand, and tear it apart in the process. This isn't the only time the 16.1-megapixel shooter has been given the ruler treatment, but a full copy of its user's manual has notably come along for its US visit. Check out the gallery below to view this NEX's guts, or hit the source link to gloss over a PDF of the instruction manual -- might as well get the boring stuff done before the package arrives in November.

Gallery: Sony NEX-6 FCC teardown photos

Filed under: Cameras

Sony's NEX-6 satisfies the FCC with paperwork, guts originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Supercomputer built from Raspberry Pi and Lego, managed by humans rather than Minifigs

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/supercomputer-built-from-raspberry-pi-and-lego/

If you're a computational engineer, there's no question about what you do with the Raspberry Pi: you make a supercomputer cluster. Researchers at the University of Southampton have followed their instincts and built Iridis-Pi, a tiny 64-node cluster based on the Raspberry Pi's usual Debian Wheezy distribution and linked through Ethernet. While no one would mistake any one Raspberry Pi for a powerhouse, the sheer number of networked devices gives the design both some computing grunt and 1TB worth of storage in SD cards. Going so small also leads to some truly uncommon rackmounting -- team lead Simon Cox and his son James grouped the entire array in two towers of Lego, which likely makes it the most adorable compute cluster you'll ever see. There's instructions to help build your own Iridis-Pi at the source link, and the best part is that it won't require a university-level budget to run. Crafting the exact system you see here costs under £2,500 ($4,026), or less than a grown-up supercomputer's energy bill.

Filed under: Desktops

Supercomputer built from Raspberry Pi and Lego, managed by humans rather than Minifigs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/panasonic-pt-ae8000u-projector-touts-brighter-smoother-3d/

Panasonic wasn't one of the quickest out of the gate with a 3D projector, having only unveiled the PT-AE7000 in the middle of last year, but it's making up for lost time with a follow-up. The PT-AE8000 puts most of the focus on that extra dimension through both a 20 percent brighter 3D picture and motion interpolation for the stereoscopic image. Fine-tuning is equally new through picture balance and monitor tools that help perfect the color and parallax effects before any 3D movie gets started. Traditionalists in love with 2D get their fill, too: a new 220W lamp produces deeper reds, a more visible 2,400 lumens of brightness and (with the help of plates and filters) an even higher 500,000:1 contrast ratio. We've confirmed with Panasonic that the AE8000U should cost the same $3,499 as the AE7000 when it reaches stores between late September and early October, which makes the new projector a tempting prospect if you've been holding off until now.

Continue reading Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikon unveils lightweight, full-frame D600 DSLR -- hands-on and low-light samples (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/nikon-d600-full-frame-dslr/

We've been watching out for the D600 since images leaked a couple of months ago, and today it's been made official: a full-frame DSLR that's priced ever-so-slightly closer to the reach of mortals (read: "high-end enthusiasts") who perhaps can't claim everything off their tax. At just shy of $2,100 (update: €2,150 in Europe), the 24-megapixel camera's US list price is significantly lower than that of the 36-megapixel D800, and undercuts Canon's rival EOS 5D Mark III and Sony's brand new full-frame Alpha A99.

What's more, aside from the resolution, you're getting something pretty close to the D800 -- including a weather- and dust-resistant magnesium alloy build, fast Exspeed III processor, and AF that works down to f/8 -- but here it's all contained in a body that sheds a full 15 percent off the D800's weight. It feels great to hold a full-frame DSLR like this, which is barely any heavier or more conspicuous than an APS-C shooter like the D7000.

Nikon is also making a big deal out of the fact that the D600 handles wireless transfers and triggers using the new WU-1b widget, which is identical to the familiar WU-1a we reviewed on the D3200 except that it plugs into the camera's USB port rather than the HDMI port. There's an Android app to allow your mobile device to communicate with the camera, and an iOS app is set to land by the end of September.

Read on a few more initial impressions and a quick look at the D600's high-ISO performance.

Gallery: Nikon D600 hands-on photos

Gallery: Nikon D600 publicity photos

Continue reading Nikon unveils lightweight, full-frame D600 DSLR -- hands-on and low-light samples (video)

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Nikon unveils lightweight, full-frame D600 DSLR -- hands-on and low-light samples (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/western-digital-brings-wafer-thin-5mm-hard-drives-to-idf-we-go/

We're a jaded bunch here at Engadget sometimes, and with most of us using SSD-based systems these days it's hard to get too excited about good old spinny disks. Still we're also suckers for impressive technology, so our interest was piqued when Western Digital announced its 5mm thin 2.5-inch hard drives the other day. Luckily, the company saw fit to bring samples of its skinny new WD Black hybrid drive and WD Blue HDD to IDF 2012 and let us handle both briefly. The verdict? These are impossibly thin -- perfect for all those nice Ultrabooks we're expecting to see hit the market in the next few months. Details on performance, availability and pricing are scarce since these drives are intended for OEMs. Take a look at our gallery below, which includes thickness comparisons with WD's upcoming 1TB 7mm thin HDD and a standard-sized loyalty card -- then peek past the break for our hands-on video.

Gallery: Western Digital 5mm thin hard drive hands-on

Update: yes, the loyalty card was demagnetized in the making of this video, and you now owe us all coffee.

Continue reading Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video)

Filed under: Storage

Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A server for the rest of us: hands-on with Windows Server 2012 Essentials

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/09/a-server-for-the-rest-of-us-hands-on-with-windows-server-2012-essentials/

Aurich Lawson / Thinkstock

Last week, Microsoft released the latest version of its server operating system, Windows Server 2012, along with a number of related versions and variants. But one member of the new Windows Server family hasn’t shipped yet—Windows Server 2012 Essentials, Microsoft’s version of the operating system for small networks.

Many small networks get along fine without a server (and with cloud-based e-mail and collaboration, that number has been on the rise). But others still need the sort of network services that a server provides, and they just can’t choke down the administrative burden (or the license fee) for a full-blown Windows Server.

The solution for Windows users has long been to use one of Microsoft’s “lite” server versions: Windows Small Business Server, Windows Small Business Server Essentials, or in some cases Windows Home Server. But all three of those have been eradicated under the Server 2012 license model, and the new Server Essentials is heir to their converged bloodlines.

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Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on)

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/sony-cyber-shot-rx1-compact-camera-packs-a-full-frame-senso/

Would you believe us if we told you Sony packed a full-frame sensor in a Cyber-shot-branded camera? It's true! Say hello to the RX1, a "compact" digital camera for pros that's packing the same 24.3MP Exmor CMOS sensor introduced today with the A99. Calling the rangefinder-esque one-pound shooter small might seem off-base, especially considering the Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.0 fixed prime lens protruding from its front, but it's not so huge (3-inches high by 4.5-inches wide) up against its tiny sibling, the RX100 -- taking into account how much larger the RX1's sensor is, well, that's when this editor's jaw basically dropped. While it's not a "pro-NEX" as many had hoped, Sony explained that it chose a fixed lens to avoid the bulk of a lens-mount. We were able to get some eyes-on time with an engineering prototype of the unit, so click past the break for more details, close-ups and a brief video overview.

Gallery: Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 hands-on

Continue reading Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on)

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Sony's Cyber-shot RX1 compact camera packs a full-frame sensor, 'fits in your palm' (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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