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Researchers tout efficiency breakthrough with new ‘inexact’ chip

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:43:00 +0000

Accuracy is generally an important consideration in computer chips, but a team of researchers led by Rice University are touting a new “inexact” chip (dubbed PCMOS) that they say could lead to as much as a fifteen-fold increase in efficiency. Their latest work, which won a best paper award at a recent ACM conference, builds on years of research in the field from the university, and is already moving far beyond the lab — some inexact hardware is being used in the “i-slate” educational tablet developed by the Rice-NTU Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics, 50,000 of which are expected to wind up in India’s Mahabubnagar school district over the next three years. As for the chips themselves, their inexactness comes not just from one process, but a variety of different measures that can be used on their own or together — including something the researchers describe as “pruning,” which eliminate rarely used portions of the chip

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Researchers tout efficiency breakthrough with new ‘inexact’ chip

Raspberry Pi team shows off pics of (and taken with) prototype camera add-on

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:33:00 +0000

While the main thing that would make Raspberry Pi’s diminutive $25 / $35 Linux setups better would be if we could get our hands on them faster , the team behind it is already working on improvements like this prototype camera seen above. The add-on is slated to ship later this year and plugs into the CSI pins left exposed right in the middle of each unit. According to the accompanying blog post, the specs may be downgraded from the prototype’s 14MP sensor to keep things affordable, although there’s no word on an exact price yet.

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Raspberry Pi team shows off pics of (and taken with) prototype camera add-on

Apple files (again) for a preliminary ban against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

daniel — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:29:00 +0000

If you found yourself longing for the minor tweaks Samsung made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany earlier this year, you may be in luck: Apple’s filed for a preliminary injunction against the slate stateside. It isn’t the first one, either, Cupertino filed something similar back in February, though it didn’t quite pass legal muster

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Apple files (again) for a preliminary ban against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Parkmobile adds NFC to its parking payment repertoire

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:21:00 +0000

Let’s face it, whether you’re down at the laundromat or feeding the meter on a busy street, you can never find enough quarters when you need’em. Know what effectively sidesteps that lack of foresight?

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Parkmobile adds NFC to its parking payment repertoire

FCC Fridays: May 18, 2012

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:52:00 +0000

We here at Engadget tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there individually, we’ve gathered up an exhaustive listing of every phone and / or tablet getting the stamp of approval over the last week.

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FCC Fridays: May 18, 2012

Microsoft patent application outlines system to recommend and transfer apps across devices

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:35:00 +0000

Ready for your latest tour through the dense and meandering wording of patent applications ?

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Microsoft patent application outlines system to recommend and transfer apps across devices

Amazon shops Kindle Fire home screen to advertisers

daniel — Sat, 19 May 2012 06:15:53 +0000

Amazon is reportedly meeting with advertisers to pitch the idea of welcome screen ads on its popular Kindle Fire tablet. The retail giant is asking $600,000 for prime placement on the slate, according to a report from AdAge . Amazon currently offers its entire range of Kindle eReaders with advertisements that appear on the devices’ screen savers

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Amazon shops Kindle Fire home screen to advertisers

Samsung Galaxy S III for T-Mobile hits FCC, brings future-proofed HSPA+ for good measure

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:14:00 +0000

There’s been hints of it coming as early as February , but we now have a smoking gun at the FCC: the Galaxy S III is coming to T-Mobile.

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Samsung Galaxy S III for T-Mobile hits FCC, brings future-proofed HSPA+ for good measure

Nokia sells New York headquarters

SBSToronto — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:30:07 +0000

Nokia has sold its New York headquarters, located north of Manhattan in the industrial town of White Plains. Purchased six years ago for $30 million, the struggling Finnish vendor sold the building to biotechnology firm Histogenetics for $12 million. ”It’s a great deal for 12 million bucks,” Michael Rao, president of the realtor representing Histogenetics, told LoHud.com . “The building is gorgeous.

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Nokia sells New York headquarters

Kiss Aero goodbye: Latest Windows 8 build reveals minimalistic desktop UI

daniel — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:28:00 +0000

It’s safe to say that anticipation is high for the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview , which will become available in the first week of June. While we’re still curious to see if Microsoft can better integrate the desktop and Metro environments of its latest operating system, the company has now revealed a significant change to the desktop portion of Windows 8 — a completely restyled visual appearance

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Kiss Aero goodbye: Latest Windows 8 build reveals minimalistic desktop UI