Microsoft’s fixin’ to get its Windows platform inside, well, everything. That’s according to GM of Windows Embedded, Kevin Dallas, who says the tech giant is on track to create a new category for the division that centers around “intelligent systems.” It appears the time is ripe for “low-cost… high-powered microchips” to take advantage of MS’ emerging cloud services and integrate means of delivering data and immersive experiences to both enterprise and commercial end users, like in-car systems or point of sale terminals. Need a more specific visual of where this heavy-handed business jargon’s headed? Dallas claims customers in the medical industry are eager to implement Kinect’s gesture-based tracking into future equipment, so pretty soon you won’t have to worry about shaky hands splicing into your vital organs. And all of this is coming relatively soon, as good ‘ol Redmond plans to make its Windows Embedded platforms available shortly after the release of Windows 8 for PCs. So hold tight, there’s a brave new world coming and Microsoft’s holding the keys.

SOURCE via Microsoft

A few clever folk have had some fun with Siri lately, first by making it do the time warp with the Fat Mac and then by shoehorning it into an iPhone 3GS. Neither development is quite so intriguing, however, as a purported exploit that enables any device to access to Siri’s remote server. While this certainly holds great potential for Siri apps on numerous platforms, the mystical floodgates to the masses are unlikely to open any time soon. You see, the hackers have since learned that for seamless communication to take place, a unique identifier from an iPhone 4S must be provided to the mothership in Cupertino. While it’s certainly feasible to spoof these bits from an existing device, it’s also likely that Apple would simply blacklist any “unique” identifiers submitted en masse. In other words, unless you have a very trusting friend who’s willing to risk her handset join the naughty list, your best bet is to purchase an iPhone 4S — simply for the identifier alone. At any rate, it seems like a steep price to find a locksmith.

SOURCE via Applidium

Want Honeycomb on your TV? You can take your chances with a Google TV-enabled set from Sony, or you can get the full Android experience by adding a connected tablet to your HD mix — if Istanbul-based Ardic gets its solution out the door, at least. The Turkish company’s prototype uses a 10-inch Android Honeycomb-based tablet to power a 65-inch LCD with 1080p support for basic gestures, like pinch and zoom. The display currently has two touch sensors, but a version with four sensors is on the way, which will bring multi-touch support. The tablet is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 SoC, and includes 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash memory, dual cameras, HDMI, USB, microSD and 3G and WiFi connectivity. A dock enables instant connectivity with the OEM TV, including HDMI for video and audio, and USB for touch input (a wireless version is in the works as well).

The devs customized Android to support 1080p output, and it appears to work quite seamlessly, as you’ll see in the embedded video. And this isn’t simply another goofy demo or proof of concept — the Turkish company is in talks with education and enterprise customers and hopes to bring this setup to production as a more power- and cost-efficient smart board alternative. The company eventually hopes to offer displays in a variety of sizes, which will all be powered by a pocketable device, such as a smartphone, but watch in wonder as the 65-inch proto we have today struts its stuff in the video after the break. Read more…

It’s a tad later than Apple’s original “end of October” launch window, but the company has now officially rolled out its iTunes Match service to everyone with the iTunes 10.5.1 update. That will let you sync up your entire music collection with iCloud — including songs and albums you’ve ripped from CDs — which you can then listen to on any compatible device (i.e. an Apple device or a Windows PC with iTunes). In the case of songs already offered through iTunes, your music will simply be matched up with the tracks already available, and anything not offered will be uploaded, with everything offered in the usual DRM-free 256kbps AAC files. As expected, that convenience comes at a cost — the service will run you $24.99 a year. You’re also limited to 25,000 songs, although iTunes purchases don’t count against that limit.

SOURCE via Apple

Back in August, NVIDIA sneaked us a few deets about its curious Maximus project, now the joint CPU/GPU card is officially ready to rev-up your work-flow. The idea is simple: dramatically improve productivity by using one system to handle the graphics along with the processing to deliver it. You might say it’s got the looks and the brains. By melding the graphics ham of its Quadpro GPUs with the cheesy smarts from the Tesla C2075, NVIDIA has made one epic processing sandwich that ‘transparently’ delegates tasks to the right processor; also expect to see Maximus-optimized applications from the likes of Adobe and Bunkspeed in the not-too-distant future. Workstations can supe-up their core immediately, but whether the Maximus will ever be accompanied by a companion Biggus Diskus is unclear.

The iPhone and the iPad are card-carrying members. Modern Warfare 3 is, like, the President. I’m talking, of course, about the Million-Plus Preorder Club. Now the Amazon Kindle Fire has joined the ranks. Before anyone even touched a Kindle Fire.

How does that happen?!

Read more…

Hyundai has given its Genesis Coupe a facelift at the Korea Speed Festival 2011 in Yeongam, Korea. These official pics show the refreshed sports flagship in action on Korea’s Formula 1 track, and we can see that it now wears the company’s new face, plus new headlamps as well as the must have LEDs.

Under the hood of the Genesis Coupe is Hyundai’s latest Lambda 3.8-litre GDi engine, capable of 350hp and 400 Nm of torque. This means that the direct injection V6 is 43hp and 40 Nm up on the current V6, and the horse count also trumps six-pot rivals from America (Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang, and Chevrolet Camaro) as well as the 3.7-litre V6 in the Infiniti G Coupe.

Hyundai says that “in order to raise the emotional quality in the Lambda 3.8 GDi model, a sound generator is applied to replace the rough engine sound with a classy and sporty sound.”

The base engine has also been upgraded. Out goes the current car’s 2.0 turbo four that makes 210hp and 302 Nm, and in comes the Sonata Turbo’s twin-scroll turbo engine with a larger radiator intercooler. The new 2.0L lump churns out 275hp and 375 Nm, guaranteeing brisk performance.

There’s more good news for the markets that will get this left hand drive car. Both the V6 and inline-4 will be paired to Hyundai’s eight-speed automatic transmission. Previously, the base car made do with a 5-speed auto while the V6 had six speeds. Of course, both can be had with a good old six-speed manual ‘box as well. Yummy!