Dell's ultra-thin Adamo XPS to ship soon for $1,799

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• Dell's ultra-thin Adamo XPS to ship soon for $1,799

Dell has finally fully disclosed the specifications of its newly crafted ultra-thin notebook, the Adamo XPS. The laptop is only .4" (just over a centimeter) thick and weighs just over 3lbs.

Specs include a 13.4" LED-backlit 720p display, 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage CPU, GS45 integrated graphics, 4GB of DDR3-800 RAM, a 128GB SSD, 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, DisplayPort, two USB 2.0 ports, a 20WHr (about 2.5 hours of life) or 40WHr (a bit over 5 hours of life) Li-Ion battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium X64.

The system ships with Ethernet, VGA and HDMI dongles, as well as an optional DVD burner, Blu-ray drive, and a 250GB or 500GB external HDD. Other noteworthy features include built-in location awareness, an unconventional hinge placement (which angles the laptop), capacitive touch-sensitive latching mechanism, and a full-sized keyboard with aluminum capped chiclet-style keys.

The Dell Adamo XPS' design appears to be very Mac-inspired -- and that includes its asking price. The notebook starts at $1,799 and will reportedly ship in time for the holidays.

Everyday Practical Electronics - November 2009

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• Everyday Practical Electronics - November 2009

English | 85 pages | PDF | 17.10 Mb


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Popular Science - December 2009 (US)

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• Popular Science - December 2009 (US)

English | 115 pages | PDF | 19.90 Mb

About Popular Science
The Whats New magazine of science and technology. Covering the latest developments in cars, electronics, communications, tools, energy, aviation, science, space exploration and much more.


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MacUser - 6 November 2009

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• MacUser - 6 November 2009

PDF | 101 pages | 30.2 Mb | English



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Road & Track - December 2009 (US)

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• Road & Track - December 2009 (US)

English | 150 pages | PDF | 52.65 Mb

Drive off with Road & Track for the ultimate in automotive journalism. Road & Track caters to vehicle enthusiasts by focusing on automotive subjects such as design, engineering, driving reports, road tests, racing coverage and detailed technical discussions. Also included in each monthly issue are profiles of personalities in the auto industry as well as auto-related books, art, history, and humor.

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Webuser - No.226 (5 November 2009)

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• Webuser - No.226 (5 November 2009)

PDF | 76 pages | 32.6 Mb | English

Webuser is a top UK's internet magazine featuring news, software and website reviews, funny websites, broadband price guide, technical help and forums.

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Car and Driver - December 2009 (US)

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• Car and Driver - December 2009 (US)

English | 144 pages | PDF | 23.00 Mb

Car and Driver is the most widely-read automotive magazine, and for good reason . Each issue comes jam-packed with detailed articles about the newest advances in automotive technology, exciting photography showcasing the hottest cars and profiles of the movers and shakers that make the motors run. Car and Driver is highly acclaimed for its automotive journalistic excellence.

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Digital Photographer December 2009

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• Digital Photographer December 2009

Digital Photographer December 2009


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Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA 6 Gbit/s Hard Drive Performance Review

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• Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA 6 Gbit/s Hard Drive Performance Review

Our drive was so new that it arrived in a less than OEM style box, it wasn’t even wrapped in an antistatic bag but we aren’t complaining about getting a drive right from the factory. Like nearly all of Seagate’s hard drives the label on the front shows the model name and serial number.

Introduction

Third generation Serial ATA technology is finally here. Today we are going to take a look at the new Seagate Barracuda XT, the first SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive to hit the TweakTown Test Lab.

A few weeks ago LSI sent over their first next generation SAS / SATA controller to review with a set of Seagate 15K.7 SAS drives that were also the first SAS 6 Gb/s products to hit the market. I think it is fair to say that Seagate is leading the charge when it comes to these next generation products that will improve the productivity of our daily computing experience for years to come.

When SATA was first introduced most SATA hard drives were ported from PATA with a bridge chip and the technology was little more than an improvement in the size of the cable used for connectivity. It wasn’t long before the four groups who are responsible for the standard realized the error in their ways and announced SATA 3 Gb/s, the second generation standard that brought us AHCI, Native Command Queuing (NCQ), staggered spin-up and hot swapping. Clearly SATA 3Gb/s was a significant update.

In July 2008 SATA-IO, one of four groups that work on the SATA standards introduced the latest standard, SATA 6Gb/s. This updated version allows for the following changes (via Wiki):

• A new Native Command Queuing (NCQ) streaming command to enable Isochronous data transfers for bandwidth-hungry audio and video applications.
• An NCQ Management feature that helps optimize performance by enabling host processing and management of outstanding NCQ commands.
• Improved power management capabilities.
• A small Low Insertion Force (LIF) connector for more compact 1.8-inch storage devices.
• A connector designed to accommodate 7 mm optical disk drives for thinner and lighter notebooks.
• Alignment with the INCITS ATA8-ACS standard.

The enhancements are generally aimed at improving quality of service for video streaming and high priority interrupts. In addition, the standard continues to support distances up to a meter. The new speeds may require higher power consumption for supporting chips, factors that new process technologies and power management techniques are expected to mitigate. The new specification can use existing SATA cables and connectors, although some OEMs are expected to upgrade host connectors for the higher speeds. Also, the new standard is backwards compatible with SATA 3 Gbit/s.

In order to avoid parallels to the common SATA II misnomer, the SATA-IO has compiled a set of marketing guidelines for the new specification. The specification should be called Serial ATA International Organization: Serial ATA Revision 3.0, and the technology itself is to be referred to as SATA 6 Gbit/s. A product using this standard should be called the SATA 6 Gbit/s [product name]. The terms SATA III or SATA 3.0, which are considered to cause confusion among consumers, must not be used.

Now that we have the standards down, let’s move on and focus on the Seagate Barracuda XT.

Ideum's 100-inch MT-50 multitouch table supports 50 simultaneous touch points (video)

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• Ideum's 100-inch MT-50 multitouch table supports 50 simultaneous touch points (video)

Surface? What Surface? Ideum, which popped out a rather gigantic MT2 multitouch table earlier this year, is now introducing another model that makes that fellow look like child's play. The 100-inch MT-50 is an outright beast, boasting 86 viewable inches, a 16 x 5 aspect ratio and a stunning 2,304 x 800 resolution. It was engineered for the Space Chase Gallery at the Adventure Science Center, which is one of several high-tech exhibits the company has deployed at the Nashville, TN-based science center. The table itself can support over 50 simultaneous touch points, and while the Flash-based software is obviously tailored for learning applications, there's nothing stopping this thing from becoming the world's next great arcade fixture. Hop on past the break for a drool-worthy vid.

November 6: stores open at 6AM for DROID, Droid Eris?

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• November 6: stores open at 6AM for DROID, Droid Eris?

So, you're a prospective Moto DROID customer. You've soaked up the review, studied the manual, and even built your own cardboard dock in anticipation of the big November 6 street date. What's next, you ask? Well, set your alarm early -- if the rumors are true, Verizon Wireless will be opening its retail shops at 6:00 AM sharp. Of course, all that is in addition to the Droid Eris, which is rumored to be making its debut on that auspicious date as well. So what's the plan, guys -- wake up early or camp out the night before?

SkyNews - November/December 2009

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• SkyNews - November/December 2009

English | 48 pages | PDF | 17.45 Mb

SkyNews - the magazine of astronomy and stargazing, features complete observing information, expert equipment reviews, star chart — everything beginners and intermediate amateur astronomers and astrophotographers need. Edited by astronomy author Terence Dickinson, published in Canada, columnists include equipment guru Alan Dyer, comet hunter David Levy, Ken Hewitt-White, Gary Seronik, Ray Villard.

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Macworld - December 2009 (US)

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• Macworld - December 2009 (US)

English | 116 pages | PDF | 15.90 Mb

Macworld Magazine: Since its inception in 1984, the Macintosh has been pioneering the world of computers. And Macworld magazine keeps you abreast of the continuing computer developments being made by the Mac. Macintosh users can rely on Macworlds incisive product reviews, in-depth feature, articles, technical pointers, buying tips and Labs-based performance reports. With specialized up dates on desktop publishing, graphics, connectivity and telecommunications.

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