While we’ve already seen that a four-barrel SD-to-SSD adapter will run you a stiff $258.50 sans flash cards, users who can’t seem to find a good use for those CompactFlash cards that used to rule to roost in your recently replaced Nikon D70 finally have a solution. The much more reasonable CF-to-SATA hard drive adapter simply takes any CompactFlash I/II card and snaps it into the 2.5-inch SATA HDD slot on the bottom of most lappies. The device then allows the CF card to be recognized as an “ordinary hard drive” which can even be “configured as a boot device” without any additional drivers. Moreover, it supports DMA and Ultra DMA modes, and is said play nice with just about every flavor of Windows dating back to 3.1, Linux, and OS X operating systems. The best bit, however, is the attainable price, as we could certainly see ourselves forking over $35.99 just to see how a CF boot drive would really effect performance.

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Streaming internet radio through the home most certainly isn’t new, but Tables Turned is making good use of its name by flipping the sequence in reverse and allowing users to create their own radio stations and blast them back to the web. The aptly-named Audiobot Pro is a Linux-based device which enables customers to “distribute audio to radio stations and music venues.” Made for those who adore simplicity, you simply connect up an audio source and it “automatically records, formats, and uploads MP3 recordings to any website.” Moreover, it can also broadcast an actual internet radio stream for others to tune into, and each Audiobot operator can control the device by inserting their own “uniquely encoded USB key into the front of the device.” Don’t expect to crank up your own pirate station without a bit of up-front costs, however, as the Audiobot Pro will set you back $1,200 right from the start.

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While Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) haven’t benefited from a good deal of buzz just yet, things could be taking a turn, as both Xilinx and Altera caught a few eyes at IDF. We’ve already seen the unique, albeit highly specific chips in a supercomputer, but the dedicated coprocessor / accelerator modules could be landing beside your Intel Xeon CPU. Essentially, the devices plug “directly into the processor socket of dual- or quad-socket servers” in order to provide “high performance application acceleration ranging from 10x to 100x compared to processors alone, while simultaneously reducing overall system power consumption.” The modules act as targeted CPUs, effectively computing very specific tasks in a much more efficient fashion than a general microprocessor can alone, which could boost the speed of scientific, financial, and life science applications that rely on very particular calculations. Of course, mainstream adoption still has quite a ways to go, but the quicker we get dedicated physics and AI coprocessors to go along with these snazzy new GPUs, the happier (and poorer) we’ll be.

[Via RobotSkirts]
Read – Altera demonstrates FPGA at IDF
Read – Xilinx demonstrates FPGA at IDF
from engadget

Cramming Bluetooth, iPod capabilities, or even entirely too many speakers into a boombox are all fair game, but Yamada’s latest rendition manages to include a seven-inch LCD for an all-in-one home threatre for the studio apartment set. Sure, we’ve seen LCDs big and small within sound systems before, but this media-centric conglomerate actually takes the video side of its duties quite seriously; you’ll find support for DVB-T, DivX, DVDs, and MPEG4 movie files, while it even provides for a 5.1 output to cap off the “theater going experience.” Additionally, the system purportedly hooks up to your TV if the built-in screen begins to hurt your retinas, rips your CDs, and also plays nice with MP3s, JPEGs, and FM radio when your video collection runs dry. The system itself reportedly packs 30-watts of RMS power, connects to your PC via USB, and will set you back around €220 ($300).

[Via CNET]
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from engadget

So you liked Kohjinsha’s sub-$1,000 SA1F00 ultra-ultra portable, eh? But man, if only it packed a touchscreen. We hear ya brother, we hear ya. Check it, Kohjinsha just announced the SA1F00V which not only adds a 100GB disk option (up from 80GB) but also slams in a touch-sensitive 7-inch panel for use with its built-in stylus or your conveniently built-in finger. Other than a slight increase in heft to 990-grams (2.2-pounds) and wee jump in MSRP to Â¥99,800 ($843), the rest of the specs, including the 5-hour battery, remain unchanged. Yeah, same 500MHz Geode LX800 too which is quickly aging next to the latest class of UMPCs, MIDs, and mobile Intel procs. Still, if you want über portability on the cheap then this is about as good as it gets in this price range.

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A year after introducing us to their tiny, one-trick B10 mini DMB television, iriver is finally set to launch their B20 followup. Their latest D-Clicker features up to 4GB of flash memory on-board, a slightly larger 2.4-inch, 320 x 240 260k color display, miniSD expansion, and the ability to record voice and some of that sweet, sweet DMB TV. In addition to the FM radio found on the B10, the B20 also supports media-a-plenty including MP3, WMA, OGG, MPEG-4, WMV9, and JPG files and a battery which should muster up to 26/5/4-hours for MP3/video/DMB playback. Expect the 4GB version to hit Korea first for â‚©248,000 ($267) starting April 25th or â‚©198,000 ($213) if 2GB is enough to see you through.

[Via Akihabara News]
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from engadget

Oh hey, what’s this? Thin GPS… can it really be? Fine Digital just announced their Finedrive M760 navigator with real-time TPEG traffic alerts for S.Korea. Of course, with a 7-inch, 480 x 234, LED-backlit LCD display, they just couldn’t resist slapping in some DMB television to up the distraction factor. Hell, it even features a little NIP (Navigation In Picture) so you’ll never have to look at the road again. The 25-mm (1-inch) slab also packs an SD card and 800mA battery to take your MPEG-4, DivX, WMV video and MP3, WMA, and WAV audio with you once you arrive. If you arrive, that is. It’ll cost you â‚©440,000 (about $483) for the pleasure starting next month.

[Via AVING]
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from engadget