A project by Alon Zakai, of the Mobile Team at Mozilla, called Emscripten could ease a lot of work for those “porting” their native application to run on the web. Emscripten is an LLVM to JavaScript compiler; meaning that is can take LLVM bytecode, which can be generated from any language that can target LLVM (for example C++), and generate the corresponding JavaScript code.This is not to be confused with Google’s NaCl (Native Client). Google’s solution allows web developers to create applications which run natively on the end-user’s computer, making such applications more powerful as they run directly on the CPU instead of being interpreted.While NaCl runs native code itself through a plugin, Emscripten can convert code written in languages such as C++ to...
Asus U43JC Bamboo series laptopThe Asus U43JC poses a stylish and elegant design with a pre-dominant bamboo finish on the outer surface of the screen cover-lid. The bamboo finish extends to the palmrest and touchpad surface adding a hint of charm to the attractive keypad layout. It ships with a 14-inch LED backlit screen enclosed in a hard plastic frame, that also incorporates an integrated 2MP webcam at the top centre, just above the LCD screen. A thin steel lining decorates the delicate body contours of the laptop, while the steel coated power button and power mode modifier, add beauty to the fine human body curve design at the top of the keypad. Although the laptop is good looking, it is quite heavy weighing around 2.14Kg. Asus U43JC Bamboo - cover lidThe Asus U43JC incorporates a...
Nokia has released its first dual SIM phone, and is launching it first into the Indian market. While Nokia introduced the Nokia C2-00 as well, the Nokia C1-00 will hit the streets first, and already has a price: 1,999. While this is bit higher than we expected earlier (Rs. 1,700), this low-priced dual SIM phone is definitely a milestone for the company. Find the detailed specifications of the two phones on the next page…The Nokia C1-00 is a very basic Series 30 phone that offers only voice and SMS capabilities, along with FM radio, and a flashlight. It will come bundled with a stereo headset, apart from a charger. Some of the phone's unique features for its price include a speaking/alarm clock in local Indian languages, call tracker, and multiple phone books (one per SIM).The...
We recently got our hands on Nokia’s upcoming flagship Symbian^3 device, the Nokia N8, which is due to release at the end of September. We’ll be getting a test unit shortly, so stay tuned for our review of the device - a detailed look that will really let you know if the N8 is up to the mark compared to the other top-end smartphones available in the market today, as well as their competing operating systems and interfaces. In the meanwhile, our hands-on preview should whet your appetite …Build/HardwareVery well built, the N8’s body is constructed entirely out of aluminium, which is a first for Nokia, who till now relied on plastic, or at most, metal battery panels. It fits well in the hand, comfortably heavy at 135g. The body is completely scratch-proof,...
LG has decided to mass-produce a 19-inch flexible e-paper monochrome display, with a 9.7-inch e-paper colour display. The former is just about big enough to rival a real broadsheet newspaper, is just 0.3mm thick and weighs about 130g, which is light enough to hold for a while, especially for its size.It will apparently use minimum power, requiring it only when changing display. Apart informing the SEC of its decision to put these flexible displays into production, LG has not revealed their availability or pricing yet. ...
Given the tragic events of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers are hard at work looking for new ways to clean up future spills. A team at MIT has unveiled their solution: a solar powered, oil-guzzling robot.The robot is 16 feet long and seven feet wide, and uses a nanowire mesh that's able to absorb up to 20 times its own weight in oil. The mesh is run through a conveyor belt-like device that makes up the bulk of the robot and is powered by a large solar panel located on top of the device. The idea is that the robots will form co-ordinated teams of up to 10,000 units in order to clean up spills as effectively as possible.They won't come cheap, however, as researchers say that even if produced in bulk the SeaSwarm technology will cost around $20,000 per unit. That means a team...
If sewage can be used to power a Volkswagen Beetle, then why can't urine be used to power fuel cells? That's the question a team of researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland are asking.The team is currently investigating whether or not it can be used as an alternative to flammable hydrogen or toxic methanol, one which is both non-toxic and much cheaper. If successful, the researchers see the process being used in military applications, as well as in remote areas like deserts and islands."We are only at prototype stage at present, but if this renewable material can be used as a commercially viable and environmentally-friendly energy source, then we will be absolutely delighted, and many people around the world will benefit," Dr Shanwen Tao told the BBC.Tao...
If you think the housing market is bad, or the rental market in a city like New York is ruthless, maybe all you really need is The Bufalino, a three-wheeled concept vehicle designed for transportation and shelter. When you need to get to the office, simply fold up the driver's seat and hit the gas. When you've left work for the day and you find a nice place to park your ride for the night, you can fold the seat back down into a bed and settle in for a good night's sleep.The Bufalino, a mini-RV concept car from designer Corneliu Comanns, features a stove, a basin that works like a sink, and a connected water tank so you have running water, a small fridge, and both walls have slots for storing your clothes and personal possessions. There's even space for a desk and a workbench so you can...
On the fateful day when Microsoft will reveal it’s best browser to date — hopefully with a UI to match — Facebook will drop support for the antiquated Internet Explorer 6.The near-universally hated browser has been getting snubbed quite a lot these days, not only have major websites such as Google Docs, GMail etc dropped support from it, but it has been facing criticism from the governments of France, Germany, and Australia, and even from Microsoft itself. Microsoft’s own Office Web Apps don’t support IE6.With more popular websites giving up supporting Internet Explorer 6, one would expect the browser share to drop to marginal values, however there are still offices which refuse to upgrade to more appropriate browsers. Still, as people realise that...
AMD released its ATI Catalyst 10.8 drivers recently, and now, some codenames of upcoming GPUs have been found listed in them. What's certainly perplexing is that even though everyone knows the Southern Islands GPUs are the next slated release, these codenames have NI, or Northern Islands, attached to them, even on some obviously Southern Islands of the West Indies, such as Antilles, Barts, Caicos, Cayman, Seymour, and Turks. Whistler and Blackcomb are the only two actual Northern Islands of the Caribbean on the list .The consensus so far is that the 35 new cards listed in the atiicdxx.da_ file are the codenames of what's coming up next, i.e., 40nm, and we can expect the temporarily shelved 32nm Northern Island GPUs much later.While a lot of correlation with the naming schemes of the...
Computer users, whether they are a n00b with a troubled PC or an expert working on friend / client's computer, may need to know the computer's specifications most often to be able to resolve the issue. Even though you know your PC specification very well, it is difficult to know / remember the exact configuration with minute details of the entire system without a third party application.Speccy is a system information utility from Piriform. This is the same company that has provided us with other useful utilities like CCleaner, Recuva and Defraggler. It has a very user friendly interface, but that doesn't imply it's only meant for computer newbies. It has an option to display advanced information about the system, which collects and displays detailed information about the currently...
Moser Baer just launched a new family of slim USB drives, which is available in two models – 4GB for Rs. 750, and 8GB for Rs. 1,150. It claims that the 8GB model happens to be the thinnest 8GB flash drive in the world. Well it certainly is thin, measuring in at just 29.4 x 12.4 x 2.3mm, and weighing in at a feather light 1.3g.Moser Bear says it managed to squeeze in 8GB into such a small case using "Chip-on-Board technology". They are both available in vivid variety of colours - red, pink, orange, green, and yellow. The USB 2.0 drives will also come with a 5-year limited warranty, and are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, apart from support with the legacy USB 1.1 interface. An added bonus is the password protect feature, and MyZone media organizer tools. ...
The new slim Xbox 360 250GB Kinect-ready console is now available in India, for Rs. 21,990. Unfortunately no Indian pricing has been revealed for the Kinect as yet. More power efficient with a brand new and first of its kind SoC inside, the new console also comes with Wi-Fi 802.11n, a Kinect port, touch sensitive buttons, and an HDMI-out port (HDMI cable to be purchased separately).While the new console does have a 250GB HDD, it won’t be able to use your old memory cards without a data transfer cable, which also has to be purchased separately. The Xbox 360 250GB console comes with a headset, one wireless controller, and a composite AV cable. ...
Note: The performance ratings and pros & cons section to be displayed at the top have been omitted, since this is a comparison review. Thus the ratings, pros & cons are provided within the article itself. MSI Wind U130 (Snow White)The MSI Wind U130 is built with a solid plastic body, strong and sturdy lid with a metallic finish on the outer surface. The lid has adequately flexible hinges. The netbook shows off a snow white keyboard with closely spaced keys and a small match-box sized touchpad. The special function keys are arranged sequentially at the top row of the keyboard and highlighted in blue. It includes keys to turn on/off Bluetooth & Wi-Fi (F11), sleep mode (F12), webcam (F6) etc, which can be accessed by the Fn modifier. Adding to the charm, there is a blue-lit...
Fujifilm Finepix S1800 - 18x super-zoom digital compact cameraFUJIFILM India Pvt. Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, Japan, which is one of the world’s largest photographic solutions companies, has reportedly introduced the Finepix S1800 - 18x super zoom camera, at a very affordable price.Mr. Kenichi Tanaka, Managing Director, Fujifilm India, has reportedly stated, “The feature rich S1800 which comes up with 18x optical zoom is a perfect camera for any shutterbug. Holding, looking and feeling like a DSLR, the S1800 offers full manual photographic control for the more experienced user and an Automatic Scene Recognition mode for beginners. With a very competitive price tag this camera is sure to get a wide and serious attention.”FinePix S1800 is...
