OnlyHardwareBlog

General discussion, news & views about Hardware

Posts Tagged ‘3-D’

Latest 3-D laptops to hit the market

October 10th, 2011

Share

Sony Vaio VPC-F215FX/BI

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (very good)

The good: The stylish F215FX adds stereoscopic 3-D and backs it up with powerful components.

The bad: This is significantly heavier than other 16-inch laptops, and it’s very expensive. The battery life is disappointing.

The cost: $1,450 to $1,681

The bottom line: Sony makes some of the best-looking multimedia laptops out there, and the 3-D F215FX is no exception. But you’ll have to be willing to pay extra for that sharp design.
Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D290 Glasses-Free 3D

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (very good)

The good: The Qosmio F755-3D290 offers surprisingly good 3-D video playback, built into a decent high-end midsize laptop, with eye-tracking software to adjust the image on the fly.

The bad: The 3-D effect works best for a single viewer, and can still be finicky at times. Games and online 3-D video don’t work yet, although future updates are promised. Playback of 3-D content is at a lower resolution than 2-D content.

The cost: $1,700

The bottom line: More of a proof-of-concept than anything else, the glasses-free 15-inch 3-D display on the Qosmio F755 can be impressive when paired with the right content.
Dell XPS 17 3D

Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5 (excellent)

The good: The XPS 17 3D is a sharp-looking desktop replacement that can handle 3-D content, as well as output 3-D movies and games to a compatible TV. Highly configurable, the more-expensive options are powerful indeed.

The bad: Some wonky stereoscopic 3-D issues make this less plug-and-play than a 3-D TV, and the 17-inch version of the XPS did not get the same slim makeover the 15-inch version has.

The cost: $1,200

The bottom line: The XPS 17 3D is for those who want a powerful media and gaming 17-inch laptop, but in a more aesthetically upscale package than offered by Dell’s Alienware brand. The stereoscopic 3-D is gimmicky, but a certain breed of PC gamer will love it.
HP Envy 17 3D

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (very good)

The good: Slim, attractive design; full HD 1080p display; includes active-shutter 3-D glasses.

The bad: Clunky 3-D software; using 3-D kills video game frame rates.

The cost: $1,600

The bottom line: HP’s upscale-feeling Envy 17 3D offers great hardware at a decent price, but its 3-D implementation isn’t as good as that of laptops with Nvidia’s 3-D Vision.

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/09/BUVJ1LDR12.DTL&type=tech

Comments Off »

Posted in Hardware News

Tags: 3-D Hardware Laptop

3-D printing making an impression

May 30th, 2011

Share

As it turns out, there really is a great future in plastics.

“There’s nothing like working with plastic!” Marius Watz exclaimed to an appreciative crowd at the start of a recent talk in New York.

Watz, a Norwegian-born artist, was describing his work with the MakerBot, a consumer-grade, desktop-sized 3-D printer.

With some assembly and do-it-yourself tinkering, the MakerBot makes, or “prints,” three-dimensional objects from molten plastic, creating a piggy bank, say, or a Darth Vader head from a computer design at the touch of a button.

“I’d heard about 3-D printing in the ’90s, but at that time it sounded like some sci-fi technology – like laser guns,” Watz said. “Basically, it sounded totally awesome.”

Awesome was something of a buzzword recently at MakerBot’s inaugural open house at its warehouselike offices in New York, where Watz – the company’s first artist in residence – showed off his sculptural forms to a few dozen admirers and MakerBot owners, mostly guys in various stages of nerdy bliss.

After a burst of invention by three friends, the company was formed two years ago – “built on caffeine,” said a founder, Bre Pettis – and has since expanded to 32 employees and thousands of MakerBot kits sold.

Three-D printing has existed for years, but the machines were cumbersome and expensive, relegated to art and engineering schools, often monopolized by specialists.

The MakerBot, which tops out at about $1,300, gives anybody with a computer and an idea the same creative horsepower.

“It’s definitely baked into the DNA of MakerBot that this is a tool for creative people,” said Pettis, 38, who worked as a middle-school art teacher in Seattle before starting the company with Zach Hoeken Smith, 28, and Adam Mayer, 35, hardware and Web developers.

As part of their mission, the MakerBot’s founders also embrace sharing: Users are encouraged to post their designs for the machine on a company blog, Thingiverse, where anyone can have access to them, to print or modify.

“We’re obsessively open-source,” said Pettis, who, like many others in the MakerBot universe, speaks with the zeal of the technologically converted. “In this age of the Internet, the sharers are the people who will come out ahead – the people who make progress, then share it so that other people can stand on their shoulders.”

John Abeela – a MakerBot hobbyist from Huntington, N.Y., who attended the show and tell with a bin of objects – said the appeal is that “Everybody sees it with their own slant.”

“My wife’s friends look at it, and they ask me for cookie cutters in shapes that don’t exist,” said Abeela, who is employed in network security. “At work, people see it and say, ‘Can that replace the missing part in the company pingpong table?’”

(Probably, although the MakerBot has its limits: It can print objects that are, at most, 5 inches on a side, at relatively low resolution.)

Another hobbyist, Ed Hebel, made a carrying case for a single cigarette.

“I go out, and I don’t want to take a whole pack of cigarettes,” said the engineer from upstate New York, demonstrating his small holder.

“This is called a Lucy. I thought of this like two days ago. I thought for like 20 minutes, and I thought of this. And an hour later, I printed it.”

Some Bot artists are just excited about the machine’s practical applications.

David Bell and Joe Scarpulla have labored for years on a stop-motion animated film and photo series with an elaborate miniature set.

On a whim, Bell and Scarpulla bought a MakerBot – a CupCake model, which costs about $700 – and found it to be a good fit as a custom manufacturer.

“Our first successful prop was a miniature toilet bowl,” Bell said.

“We’re outfitting an entire apartment in one-eighth scale. So far, we’ve done sinks and light sockets, a bathtub and pots and pans.”

Source:http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2011/05/30/3-d-making-an-impression.html?sid=101

Comments Off »

Posted in Hardware News

Tags: 3-D computer Hardware

Playstation 3 Blu-ray 3D support

September 17th, 2010

Share

Sony Computer Entertainment will push out a firmware update for Playstation 3 on the 21st of September, giving their flagship gaming console support for Blu-ray 3D discs. That’s right: support for Blu-ray 3D doesn’t require owners to buy new hardware!

Along with giving you the ability to watch the vast collection of 3D Blu-ray movie discs that you’ve no doubt prepared for this joyous occasion, this software update comes four days after Sony Pictures release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3D and Monster House 3D in Japan. The software update also comes with new features and security functions, such as the ability to report spam and Facebook Connect support.

Source:-http://en.akihabaranews.com/61541/home-entertainment/playstation-3-blue-ray-3d-support

Comments Off »

Posted in Hardware News

Tags: 3-D HP notebook

HP notebook PCs featuring advanced 3-D

September 5th, 2010

Share

HP have revealed new consumer notebook PCs that fuse advanced technologies with stylish designs to deliver a superior computing experience.

For maximum sensory appeal, HP delivers the thrill of 3-D entertainment to the HP ENVY 17 3D – the first 17-inch notebook PC to support 1080p 3-D and Blu-ray – and superb audio to the HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition.

The HP Pavilion dm3 notebook PC features an HP-developed intelligent cooling system to minimize heat and provide consumers with advanced comfort.

HP Wireless TV Connect allows customers to wirelessly experience 1080p high-definition (HD) Blu-ray multimedia content.

“With these new technology and design enhancements, we are offering customers visually stunning entertainment and an overall better computing experience,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer Notebooks, Personal Systems Group, HP. “These new HP notebooks and accessories deliver breakthrough technology, power and advanced styling to satisfy the most discerning user.”

HP ENVY 17 3D

With advanced 3-D technology as well as Beats Audio and an HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer, the HP ENVY 17 3D has the power and performance to deliver an unbelievable entertainment experience – just like in movie theaters.

Offering the best stereoscopic 3-D visual experience without compromising 2-D content, the 17.3-inch HP 3D Ultra BrightView Display provides crisp, 1080p full HD viewing and an ideal visual experience for 3-D Blu-ray content.

HP 3D Active Shutter Glasses provide a seamless viewing experience by wirelessly synchronizing each frame of the 3-D content between the display and the glasses, enabling a higher quality image.

Included content allows customers to experience instant 3-D gratification. As part of HP’s ongoing partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), select models include sizzling 3-D action from the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Additionally a 3-D movie trailer for the upcoming animated film “MEGAMIND” from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. is included.

Crafted in precision-etched brushed aluminum, the HP ENVY 17 3D offers a sleek and stylish exterior to match its powerful interior.

With up to 2 terabytes of storage capacity, powerful quad-core Intel® Core i7 processors and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 discrete graphics, the HP ENVY 17 3D has the horsepower and flexibility to handle the most demanding tasks simultaneously.

The HP ENVY 17 3D also offers an immersive visual experience with ATI Eyefinity Technology for multiple external display support.

HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition

HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition is designed and engineered to offer power and performance along with state-of-the-art audio technology and an overall superior PC experience.

This Beats Edition notebook includes Beats Audio, a unique, high-performance technology developed by HP and Beats by Dr. Dre to provide the optimal sound experience – the way the artist intended it – when playing music or audio through headphones or external speakers.

In a sleek and soft-touch, precision-crafted aluminum design, the HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition maintains the signature Beats Audio black and red design style and includes a red backlit keyboard and three custom Beats-themed wallpapers.

To take advantage of its powerful performance and entertainment capabilities, the HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition – as well as the HP ENVY 17 – includes Adobe Photoshop® Elements 8 and Adobe® Premiere Elements 8 software for photo and video editing on select models.

Offering up to 6.5 hours of battery life with the standard battery, and up to 13 hours with the optional HP Slim Fit Extended-Life battery, the HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition includes powerful Intel Core processors and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 graphics for demanding tasks.

Each HP ENVY 14 Beats Edition comes with Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Headphones from Monster with ControlTalk, and additional headphones may be purchased. Beats Solos have an advanced driver design for precise audio clarity.

Beats Audio was developed in collaboration with legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Unveiled last October in the first Beats Edition notebook, Beats Audio also is available on all HP ENVY premium notebooks as well as the HP Pavilion dv7 and HP TouchSmart 600.

HP Pavilion dm3

Thin and light, the HP Pavilion dm3 notebook PC is literally a cool notebook. Innovative HP CoolSense Technology combines advanced hardware and intelligent cooling software to pioneer a notebook that feels noticeably cooler and automatically adjusts cooling levels according to a customer’s personal preferences.

Advanced materials – metal alloys, soft-touch paint and non-conductive surfaces – plus strategically placed vents minimize heat and channel it away from the bottom of the PC for optimal comfort.

HP Thermal Assistant software detects how the PC is being used – for example, around the house or on a desk – and an accelerometer automatically shifts into either a maximum cooling mode or maximum performance mode based on the customer’s choice.

With HP Fences, users can effortlessly organize desktop multimedia content, such as photos, music and videos, by categories, then access them quickly, keeping the desktop uncluttered.

The HP Pavilion dm3 includes a 13.3-inch diagonal HD display, an island-style keyboard with optional backlit feature and a stylish and durable metal finish with soft-touch surfaces in matte black.

Offering up to 7.5 hours of battery life and measuring less than 1-inch thin, the HP Pavilion dm3 gives consumers the ideal balance of mobility and performance in an affordable, slim and light notebook PC.

HP Wireless TV Connect

Complementing HP’s PC portfolio, HP Wireless TV Connect allows customers to wirelessly stream 1080p HD multimedia content, such as Blu-ray movies, videos and photos, from the notebook PC to a TV or home entertainment center without the clutter of audio or video cables.

By simply connecting the PC adapter to the notebook PC and connecting the TV adapter to the HDTV via HDMI, users have the freedom to experience 1080p HD content without a timelag between the notebook PC and the display and without installing software. HP Wireless TV Connect fully supports protected content such as Blu-ray and DVD movies.

Additionally, the notebook adapter is powered off the USB port, freeing up the user to sit anywhere in the room. The Wireless TV Connect functions with almost any notebook PC with an HDMI port.

Source:-http://www.easier.com/76646-hp-notebook-pcs-advanced-3-d.html

Comments Off »

Posted in Hardware News

Tags: 3-D HP notebook

Affordable 3-D Arrives

July 28th, 2010

Share

Jeff David used to create his sports helmets the traditional way—sketch an idea on paper, hand-mold a clay model, and ship it to factories in Asia for it to become a plastic prototype. After two years and countless revisions, one might become suitable for mass production.

But often the helmet’s distinctiv e details “would get watered down or lost,” says Mr. David, who owns Troy Lee Designs in Corona, Calif. “And by the time we got to market, some of the design aspects were old news.”

Last October, Mr. David decided to invest $20,000 in computer software that could create the helmets in 3-D. He found the technology could better define the shapes. And the factories in Asia, after receiving the design by email, could produce an exact replica. Production is now about six months faster and about 35% cheaper, he estimates.

Historically, small businesses that used 3-D technology were predominantly in the engineering, industrial design and architecture fields. But now, as software costs have dropped, more consumer-product companies like Mr. David’s are finding it cost-effective to purchase sophisticated modeling tools, rather than outsource product development or use rudimentary in-house methods.

Autodesk Inc., which develops 3-D technology, repackaged its software systems two years ago to appeal to small businesses, lowering the price range to $4,000 to $20,000, though the highest-end products still sell for $65,000. Since then, the company has seen more customers in a variety of industries outside the design world, says Thomas Heermann, Autodesk’s director of conceptual design products.

SolidWorks Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, says it has seen an influx in small businesses interested in its computer-automated design software in recent years, as the price for most small-business packages is about $4,000. “It’s hard to compete without it once one company in an industry has it,” says SolidWorks founder Jon Hirschtick.

Some products today cost less than $50 retail or, in the case of software such as Google Inc.’s SketchUp, are free to download. But those products typically lack the more-sophisticated features and are primarily used by designers to conceptualize an idea rather than prepare it for market.

Despite the growing small-business customer base, however, 3-D technologies still have drawbacks. Design systems are often memory-intensive and require powerful hardware to operate effectively—an upgrade that could be pricey for firms on a shoestring budget.

And parts of the process still have to be outsourced. For example, after the product is designed on the computer, it needs to still become a physical object through a 3-D printer or molding machine. Such devices have become more affordable—Objet Geometries Ltd. recently lowered the price of its desktop printer to $25,000, and Z Corp. just introduced a printer for about $15,000—but the highest-end printers can top $250,000.

Also, many programs, especially those that have evolved from highly technical design systems, still have a steep learning curve. Mr. David at Troy Lee knows that first hand. Before making the investment in an Autodesk product, he hired a recent art school graduate who was familiar with Autodesk’s Alias Surface software. Today, that employee remains the only proficient person on staff, but Mr. David is considering in-house training for the other designers.

Some companies have attempted to make their products more user-friendly. SensAble Technologies Inc. has an application called FreeForm that doesn’t use mathematical commands or lines drawn with a mouse, but rather, a haptic device—like a joystick sculpting tool—that gives the user the same sensation as molding clay or other materials.

FreeForm used to be primarily purchased by large companies with prototyping departments but it now can be licensed for about $17,500.

Beme International LLC, a San Diego firm that sells curtain rods, hooks and other decorative drapery hardware to retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Lowe’s Cos., purchased FreeForm in September. The firm’s 30 employees, which included artists and sculptors, had been used to working with waxes, clays, resins and urethane modeling materials.

One of the technology’s biggest benefits is its resizing capability, says Brian Graves, executive vice president of sales and marketing. Previously, when retailers would want to see versions in multiple sizes, the staff would have to make separate pieces. Now, the software automates that, leaving more time to create new designs.

The software performs the work of two employees, Mr. Graves says, and sales are up 15% from last year, which the he attributes to the new production development process.

But, Mr. Graves says, while it’s great that he can show retailers prototypes the week they request them—rather than three weeks later—he sometimes worries that the expedited process “discounts the value and the artistry,” he says. “You don’t want it to be like anyone in the world can do it.”

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940904575395362192878590.html

Comments Off »

Posted in Hardware News

Tags: 3-D Affordable

Sony relies on one-two-three punch of 3-D move and games

June 15th, 2010

Share

Nintendo had new 3-D hardware to show off while Microsoft has been touting new motion-sensing technology.

Sony had both at its E3 press conference along with bunch of games that it hopes will keep its PlayStation at the heart of the living room for years to come.

Sony began by talking about its 3-D technology for the PS3, which recently got a software update enabling 3-D games on all 35 million PS3s out there. When paired with a 3-D capable TV display, the PS3 will be able to play a bunch of new and reconfigured existing games in glorious 3-D.

Sony said there are handful of 3-D games available now on PlayStation Network and another 30 or so coming by March including Killzone 3, Motorstorm: Apocalypse and Gran Turismo 5.

Sony’s other big hardware announcement was PlayStation Move, its new motion-control system that it says is more precise than the Nintendo Wii and more robust than Microsoft’s Kinect. Move will launch Sept. 19 in North America with a bundle — including a controller, a PlayStation Eye and the Sports Champions game — available for $99.99 and a complete bundle available for $399.99 including a new PS3. There should be 15 Move titles available at launch and another 40 titles, some reworked existing games, coming through the holiday season.

There was also a lot of talk about games including looks at a exclusive like a new Twisted Metal game, Little Big Planet 2, InFAMOUS 2 and Final Fantasy 14.

While Sony still maintains a stable of exclusive games, it also worked to make cross-platform games more attractive on the PS3 by announcing new limited editions of Medal of Honor, Dead Space 2, Mafia II and Assassin’s Creed, which will feature extra content only available on the PS3.

Sony also announced a new subscription plan for its PlayStation Network called PlayStation Network Plus that will cost $50 a year and will feature new content, discounts, early beta entries and other stuff.