NEW YORK, 4:36 AM, FRI MAY 16 | 58 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@gizmodo.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS
UK | FR | NL | IT | DE | ES | JP | AU
Posts Tagged “

Upgrades

upgrades

PSP Firmware 3.95 Imminent

Sony has announced their firmware 3.95 update should be coming soon. It's a minor upgrade, only adding two small features to the platform...but one that I find completely necessary and long overdue. First, shutting off Remote Play will now no longer necessarily shut down your PS3. Second, and more importantly, PSOne classics can now be played with customizable button layouts. Retro ports on all platforms are notorious for wonky button mapping with little or no way to tweak. Good call, Sony. [kotaku]

upgrades

Sony Increases Hard Drive Storage Fivefold

Sony has announced that they've increased hard drive storage capacity by five times through developing a new method of writing information that's viable even for notebooks. Instead of writing via magnetics, the new system resembles current optical technologies, using a hybrid magnet/laser to write information to a disk at densities of 125GB/square inch. As we understand it, most elements of the traditional hard drive stay intact, but your current 320GB hard drive setup would see data storage reaching 1.6TB. Of course, there are no immediate plans for mass production. [itplus via electronista]

upgrades

4GB Asus Eee Finally in Five Colors

Asus promised us long ago that their Eee PCs would be available in a variety of colors, but for whatever reason (we're guessing that reason is the Eee PC's successful sales) Asus has taken their time colorizing the $399 Eee PC that most of us want, instead offering us only the $299 and $350 Surf models in more colors. But fret no more, as Asus has just announced that their $399 version is getting released in "Pure White, Galaxy Black, Blush Pink, Lush Green and Sky Blue." Do those adjectcolors look familiar? They should, since they are exactly the same as what's available on the Surf. Expect them in stores any day now. [mobiletechreview]


upgrades

CompactFlash Meets SATA Speeds

CompactFlash is going SATA-compatible through new CFast connectors. Why does this matter to you? Various electronics that use CompactFlash, like digital cameras, are now stuck in PATA (parallel ATA speeds) that can check out data around 133MB per second. New SATA (serial ATA) implementation will boost this rate to 3GB/second.

While CompactFlash will still have lower read/write limitations, this development is important in opening a potential bottleneck as well as paving the way for faster technologies. Sounds good to us. Hit the jump for the full press release.

More »

upgrades

LEDs Get Brighter, Again

I love going to bed at night, because every morning I wake up I have a machine that makes me breakfast like Pee-wee Herman there's another development in my geek fetish, LEDs. Researchers from the University of Glasgow have found how to make them even brighter—without a bit more energy consumption. And it's the most absurd, ridiculously simple idea you could imagine. The plan? Cut tiny holes in the surface of the LED. More »

upgrades

All PS1 Titles Now Playable on The PSP via Remote Play

It appears that todays new PSP and PS3 firmware updates include a "secret" Remote Play enhancement that allows users to play all PS1 downloadable titles and discs on the PSP. If you ask me, it is about time that Sony got in on all of the firmware hacking that has been going on. [Playstation Forums]

upgrades

New PSP Firmware Available, Too

Last night we mentioned that new PlayStation 3 firmware 2.1 was available (specs here, testing here). But we should also point out that PSP firmware 3.8 is available now as well. The big new feature? The device is now internet radio ready. You'll also score some fancy new visualizations. No, it's not a pocket DVR like the PSP update brings to Japan. But you should realize by now, if you want the cool tech, you have to cross the Pacific (or the Atlantic, and then keep going for a while). [ubergizmo]

upgrades

Gefen Home Theater Scaler Plus, 1080p Goombas

Home Theater Scalers are simultaneously becoming less and more relevant in my eyes: they're more relevant as more people own HDTVs, but less relevant as the HDTV buyers purchase other HD components. Still, the Gefen Home Theater Scaler Plus will be a nice solution for some setups. More »

upgrades

PSP Firmware 3.80 Brings Pocket DVR

Reason #1092 why Japan is way cooler than us: with the new PSP 3.80 update, Sony is offering DVR to every PSP that uses their optional 1seg (wireless digital video) tuner—think of as a completely wireless Archos. And the best part? While the PSP doesn't have the horsepower to record shows while you play games or surf the internet, it can record in Sleep Mode, meaning that keeping up with your favorite shows is feasible to battery life. And there are a few other decent updates as well. More »

upgrades

TiVo Now With 2 Terabytes of Storage (Unofficially)

TiVo chop shop WeaKnees is offering the biggest Series 3 TiVo they can muster. Cramming in a 1TB drive internally along with an external 1TB eSATA, they're offering ready-to-run TiVos with a whopping 2TB of storage space, or enough for 292 hours of HD programming. But when you have enough storage for well over 100 HD movies, it's gonna cost you. More »

upgrades

Windows XP to get 10% Performance Boost

According to software development firm Devil Mountain Software, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP is a "must have" update. Because when they ran the Office productivity test suite on a preview version of SP3, they found performance boosts of 10%. So in case Windows users needed another performance-oriented reason not to upgrade to Vista, they just got one. [yahoo via lifehacker]

cellphones

Software Radios Boost Crappy Cellphone Reception Cheap and Easy

Mid-Tex Cellular systems out of De Leon, Texas is currently running both GSM and CDMA network using a software-based radio system on nine of of their cellular towers. Because the Vanu, Inc. designed software can be upgraded easily, there is no need for costly new hardware when supporting new or incompatible networks. If this technology is widely adopted, cellphone carriers will be able to upgrade and adjust to new standards more cheaply and users will see bigger, better, and possibly cheaper coverage. More »

upgrades

YouTube Getting HD in Three Months

YouTube co-founder Steve Chen has just announced that YouTube is currently testing higher quality video streams (probably HD, but accounts from the live event differ) for the site. And within three months, these higher quality streams will become available to the public. While I for one cannot wait to see bottle rockets shoot from rear orifices in stunning higher resolutions, Chen points out that there are still a few problems with the idea. More »

upgrades

8GB Asus Eee PC To Get Bigger Screen

We thought the only difference between the different pricepoints of Asus Eee PCs would be the storage and a few tiny features, like the $299 version lacking the $399 version's webcam. But Asus's upcoming 8GB model will not only feature an extra 512MB of RAM, but a screen size of nearly 3" over its counterparts—10" in all. More »

upgrades

New Zune Software and Firmware Available

To all of the Giz readers who own first gen Zunes, your Zune 2.0 is available for download now. For a less cryptic version of exactly what we mean, hit up our hands-on with Microsoft's free upgraded Zuneware. For everyone else who doesn't care, we are so, so sorry for distracting you from what looks to be an otherwise productive workday. Did you make those little post-it airplanes? Nice. [zune.net via gadgetlab]


NVIDIA has just announced their new GeForce 8800 GT. It makes all those new Direct X 10 accessible to your midrange budget. Look for the cards for $199-$249 starting...NOW! [nvidia]

gaming

PS3 Firmware v1.94 to Add DualShock3 Support?

According to Shacknews, the latest PS3 software update, v1.94, will add support for the upcoming DualShock3 rumble controller. The update will also include Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, the first PS3 game to take advantage of DualShock3. Apparently the rumble feature can be toggled by pressing the PS button in the middle of the controller and selecting it via the options screen. Unfortunately those of us in the US and Europe won't be able to take advantage of this new/old functionality until this spring, when the DualShock3 is released to the masses (outside of Japan of course.)[Shacknews via Kotaku]

upgrades

First WiFi Blackberry (8820) On Sale Now

The Blackberry 8820, the first WiFi-equipped Blackberry, is on sale now at Amazon for use with AT&T. It's an update to the 8800 that adds a little 2005 razzle dazzle to the aging but solid line of push email products. Listed for $199, you'll have to wait 2-4 weeks for delivery. So until then, we recommend absolutely not leaving your house, instead relying upon a hardwired connection to get Giz updates. It's a small sacrifice for the greater good. [amazon via bgr]