Category: Cool

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From Ars Technica: Korean company’s tiny quad-core ARM Linux computer packs a punch at $129

Hardkernel’s little Linux computer, with a quad-core Samsung Exynos CPU

Little Linux computers have attracted a lot of interest from hobbyists this year. The $35 Raspberry Pi ARM board, which met with huge demand when it launched in February, is a compelling solution for affordable embedded projects. But what if you need more power than the 700MHz ARM11 board can offer?

A Korean hardware manufacturer called Hardkernel is launching a high-end alternative. The company’s new ODROID-X board comes with a Samsung Exynos 4 processor, a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.4GHz. The board also has a quad-core Mali 400 GPU, 1GB of RAM, six USB host ports, an ethernet adapter, headphone and microphone jacks, and an SDHC card slot for storage.

With four times as much RAM as the Raspberry Pi and a much more powerful processor, the Hardkernel board seems like a nice option for more computationally-intensive usage scenarios. The system is still highly compact, measuring at about 3.5 x 3.7 inches.

 

from Ars Technica

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From Engadget: Nielsen has Android near 52 percent of US smartphone share in Q2, iPhone ekes out gains

Nielsen has Android near 52 percent of US smartphone share in Q2, iPhone ekes out its own gains

If there was doubt as to whether or not Android would soon become the majority smartphone platform in the US, that’s just been erased by Nielsen. Google crossed the tipping point in the second quarter after getting close in the winter, with 51.8 percent of current smartphone users running some variant on the green robot’s OS. As we’ve seen in the past, though, the increase is coming mostly at the expenses of platforms already being squeezed to within an inch of their lives, such as the BlackBerry (8.1 percent) and Windows (4.3 percent combined). Apple still isn’t in a position to fret: it kept climbing to 34.3 percent and swung the attention of recent buyers just slightly back in its direction. The real question for many of us might center on what happens in a summer where Samsung has thrown a Galaxy S III-sized curveball at Americans and any new iPhone is likely still a few months away.

 

from Engadget

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From Engadget: Google Maps adds walking directions for 44 African countries on web and mobile

Google Maps adds walking directions for 44 African countries, takes the fun out of safari

Whether it’s on two wheels, under cover or across the cruel watery mistress, Google Maps wants to get you there. But what about the long, arduous pedestrian plod? Well, from today, 44 African nations will never need to put a foot wrong, thanks to the introduction of walking directions to their web and mobile versions of the mapping service. The search giant is keen to remind you that the new feature is still in beta, so if you end up somewhere else, you might need to rely on other methods to find out where you are.

 

from Engadget

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From Engadget: New York MTA announces smartphone-based ticketing trials aboard Metro-North Railroad

New York MTA announces smartphonebased ticketing trials aboard MetroNorth Railroad

Like big sodas, paper ticket stubs may soon become a thing of the past in New York. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that, come next month, its employees will begin trials of a smartphone-based ticketing system aboard the Metro-North Railroad. While the grand experiment is currently closed to the public, it’s said that railroad workers will use their Android, BlackBerry and iPhone handsets to purchase rail tickets, which may then be validated directly from their smartphone. During the trial, the new system will be compared to the current purchasing scheme that combines both ticket machines and on-board purchases. Should everything prove successful, the MTA will expand the Metro-North’s new system to all-comers. Transit-minded folks will find the full PR after the break.

[Image credit: Masabi (Flickr)]

 

from Engadget

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From Autoblog: Video: This is how good car crashing in video games is about to become

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It is evident even with the most realistic car games that crashes have mainly been left off of the realism menu. Sure, hit a wall or another car and there will be some damage and crumpling, but it usually doesn’t look like a genuine car crash. A start-up company called BeamNG is working to change that, developing a physics modification for the Cry Engine 3 to create wrecks that appear to be lifted from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash-test video.

They team has been at it for a while, and the latest multicore version shows off one- and two-car collisions that feature shattering glass and more realistic deformations. They’re still at work on it and have promised more improvements, but the video belowshows off just how real things are about to get in the world of video games. Well, once a game maker decides to use the Cry Engine 3 for a driving game, that is…

 

from Autoblog

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From Autoblog: Official: 2013 Ford Focus ST gets 23 mpg city, 32 mpg highway ratings

2013 Ford Focus ST - yellow - front three-quarter view, dynamic

Ford has released the official Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy ratings for its 2013 Focus ST. The hottest of Blue Oval hatches will manage 32 mpg highway, 23 mpg city and 26 mpg combined from the turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecoboost four-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission. Ford notes those numbers best both the Volkswagen GTI five-door at 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway and the MazdaSpeed3 at 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. At 252 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, the Focus ST also bests the Volkswagen in power, but loses that fight to the Mazda.

Judging by our recent first drive, that doesn’t stop the machine from being plenty entertaining, however. With a conservative 0-62 mph time of 6.5 seconds and a top end of 155 mph, this is about as far from a rental Focus at the Hertz lot as one can get. For comparison’s sake, the base, naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder Focus is capable of up to 40 mpg highway with a special fuel economy package, but it also delivers 92 fewer horsepower and far fewer thrills. Check out the full press releasebelow.

 

from Autoblog