Virgin America Unveils Plans for Next Gen In-Flight Entertainment

Virgin America, the first carrier to offer fleetwide WiFi in May 2009, will continue its commitment to in-flight digital innovation with the next iteration of its Red entertainment platform.

The new Red system, slated for a late 2012 consumer release, includes larger, high-definition touchscreen seatback monitors, full Wi-Fi connectivity and four times more entertainment content. It will also allow passengers to connect their own electronic devices to the system pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight.

“Red is still the most advanced entertainment system in the domestic skies,” says Abby Lunardini, VP of corporate communications for Virgin America. “Other airlines are not making an investment in in-seat entertainment; they’re just doing WiFi. Fleet WiFi will always be a focus for us, but our built-in entertainment system is still important, and we think we can offer the best of both worlds.”

Red usage has increased by 20% each year since 2008. Passengers tend to multitask in-flight, using both the entertainment system and WiFi on their personals devices, Lunardini says.

When the upgraded monitors and the new Red entertainment platform reach consumers in 2012 — the system is currently in development — the most noticeable change, apart from the larger screen size, will be the addition of full WiFi connectivity, providing passengers access to the unfettered web via the seatbacks in front of them. Although still being fleshed out, the new Red, as Lunardini envisions it, will also include applications for easy Facebook, Twitter and other social network access.

“This is a significant investment for us,” Lunardini says of the company’s commitment to reworking Red. “We want to stay ahead of the path … a lot of people fly with us because it. We’re an entertainment-driven brand … and we did not want to stand idle.”

The next iteration of Red is being announced Tuesday at the 2011 Airline Passenger Experience Association Expo in Seattle with Lufthansa Systems, Virgin America’s technology partner. Back-end testing of the system will start on #nerdbird, Virgin America’s Twitter hashtag-inspired Airbus A320.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Microsoft Unveils Un-Photogenic Patty Stress Test Robot

In what would amount as a historic occasion over at Microsoft Surface HQ, a team member officially blogged about Patty. There’s even a video of it in action. Wait, who’s Patty? Patty is a wonderful robot that conducts stress tests on the screens of Microsoft Surface units. See, with lots of touching and pressure involved when using a platform like the Surface, it’s important that the exterior can withstand the wear and tear.

Unfortunately due to repeated technical errors, a full embed is not possible at this time. For best results, open the source link down south for the good stuff.

Okay, all it shows is Patty going about her work. Not exactly a Michael Bay epic in the vein of those awful Transformers sequels, but certainly a rare glimpse into a real live machine. This reminds us of a recent development over at Foxconn, the Chinese company that’s the world’s leading maker of electronic gadgets: apparently a large percentage of the workforce will be replaced by robots. That would be interesting to see.

In the accompanying brief blog post, the author hinted at the Squiddy, which is another testing device kept under wraps at the moment. Though watching a robot at work is fascinating, we do lament the fact that robots are still pure function these days. When will form be as important? In other words, when can robots start getting sexy? After all, they’ll be part of our everyday lives in a matter of years.

Source Microsoft Square blog

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Samsung Unveils 830 Series SSD

Samsung has today announced a new line of solid state drives (SSD) the Samsung 830 Series. The new Samsung 830 Series SSDs builds on the success of Samsung’s 470 Series SSDs and provide full support for SATA’s 6Gbps max throughput. Making the new 830 Series capable of transfer speeds in the region of 500MB/s high sequential reads and 350MB/s write.

Samsung’s 830 Series SSD drives are encased in a brushed metal enclosure and are available in 64, 128, 256 and 512GB storage capacities.

The new Samsung 830 Series SSD come with an optional migration kit which includes a full retail copy of Norton Ghost. Together with Samsung’s Magician for SSD software a DOD compliant ATA level Secure Erase that doesn’t require you to exit into DOS, allowing you to complete an erase if your using the drive as a secondary drive without the need to leave Windows.

The Samsung 830 Series SSDs will be arriving in October 2011 , but unfortunately Samsung hasn’t yet revealed any pricing, but as soon as it becomes available we will keep you updated.

Source: PC Perspective

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Dell Unveils Its Thinnest Monitor Ever S2330MX (video)

Dell have today introduced their thinnest monitor ever the Dell S2330MX. A 23? ultra slim monitor that has been designed for home or business use. The new Dell S2330MX uses LED backlighting technology and has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution with a 2ms response time. Watch the video after the jump to learn more about this Ultra thin monitors specifications and see it in action.

The Dell S2330MX is scheduled to go on sale tomorrow August 18th 2011 but no information has been released by Dell on pricing or worldwide availability as yet.. But as soon as any specifications or prices are released we will keep you posted.

Source: Tech Connect

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

IBM Unveils New Chips That Mimic Brain-Like Functionality

IBM have announced the creation of two experimental chips by it researchers that are structured more like a human brain than a computer chip as we know it today. IBM are calling the new chips an “unprecedented” step forward in creating intelligent computers and is hoping the new experimental chips will become the building blocks for it to develop cognitive computing.

In developing these new chips IBM is hoping to create technology that more closely emulates human behaviours in the way they learn and take action. Providing the chips with the ability to be able to make decisions by processing immense amounts of data. “We aren’t there yet, but before long these chips will be able to rewire themselves on the fly,” says Dharmendra Modha, an I.B.M. researcher.

Both of the new chips developed by IBM have 256 neurons; one of them has 262,144 of what the company calls programmable synapses, while the other has 65,536 “learning” synapses. Just like the how our brains work the synapse establishes connections between digital neurons, and the more signals that are sent to a synapse, the stronger that synapse becomes.

“In today’s computers, there are some key fundamental limitations that are projected to come to an end,” – “The ever-increasing clock rates are unsustainable. In contrast, the brain is an ultimate computer.” - ”We now have the seeds of a new architecture that can allow us to mine the boundary between the physical and the digital world in an ever more efficient way,”

Lets just hope they have seen the Terminator films, and implant a power off switch that is easy to access.

Source: PC World : International Business Times

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Energizer Unveils iSurge Charging Station

If space within your travel bag is a little restrictive or you would like to cut down a little on the number of cables and adapters protruding from your plug socket. The new iSurge Charging Station created by Energizer might be worth a look.

The Energizer iSurge has been designed to provide an all-in-one AC adapter equipped with a top-mounted 30-pin dock for the iPod and iPhone, 2 x USB ports with 2.1 Amp output for fast charging of the iPad, 3 x standard, surge-protected AC outlets.

Not only does it have all those charging points but it also has a 180 degree rotating plug and doubles as a night light. The iSurge will be arriving in stores during October and will be priced at around $60.

Source: Ubergizmo

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.