| Lenovo's ThinkPad T430u Ultrabook finally arriving this month for $779 Aug 8th 2012, 23:43  Remember the Lenovo ThinkPad T430u? The Ultrabook aimed at business users (and one of the first PCs with a Thunderbolt port, we might add)? If it fell off your radar, we wouldn't really fault you: it was announced all the way back at CES (read: seven months ago). At the time, Lenovo warned us it wouldn't ship until Q3, and indeed, it's about to go on sale later this month, starting at $779. In case you need a refresher, this was one of the first ultraportables we saw to really test the meaning of the word Ultrabook: it has a 14-inch (1366 x 768) display and will be offered with Ivy Bridge processors, up to 8GB of RAM, a choice of HDDs or a 128GB solid-state drive and an optional NVIDIA GeForce GT620M CPU with 1GB of video memory. All told, not a bad proposition for road warriors who can't bring themselves to spend $1,400 on an X1 Carbon. Filed under: Laptops Lenovo's ThinkPad T430u Ultrabook finally arriving this month for $779 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Google Chrome for Windows gets more secure Flash player, gives users a browsing sandbox safety net Aug 8th 2012, 23:37  Chrome turned 21 last week, and in that new version, Google's made playing Flash videos in its browser even safer... for Windows users, anyway. This latest release puts Adobe's Flash Player plug-in for Windows in a sandbox, much as Chrome 20 did for Linux. This sandbox is "as strong" as Chrome's extremely robust native version -- even in Windows XP -- which means that Flash-borne malware can't hurt Microsofties. Securing the Flash Player plug-in is the result of two years of work, and was made possible by a new plug-in architecture Google co-developed with Adobe. In addition to the security benefits, the architecture has also brought performance improvements by way of a 20 percent decrease in Flash crashes and GPU acceleration for smoother scrolling and faster Flash rendering. And, while the immediate good news is for Windows users, Google has assured us that a port for OS X is in the works, and it hopes to ship that Mac version soon. Filed under: Internet, Software Google Chrome for Windows gets more secure Flash player, gives users a browsing sandbox safety net originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  The Verge |  Chromium Blog, Google Chrome Blog | Email this | Comments | | Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 official: Windows 8, NFC and a fingerprint reader, arrives in October Aug 8th 2012, 23:00  If you've been paying attention, you not only knew Lenovo was readying a ThinkPad-branded Windows 8 tablet, but you probably already noticed all the leaked specs, too. Indeed, we first saw this thing all the way back at Computex, where Lenovo gave us a fairly hands-off peek, taking care to conceal most of the device's specs. Later, it turned up in the FCC and in official documents, letting us know the slate would actually be arriving quite soon. And here it is! As we previously reported, this is a 10-inch slate running Windows 8 and an Intel Atom processor. And yes, it will replace the current ThinkPad Tablet, which runs Android. Other key specs include a 1,366 x 768 IPS display, a 10-hour battery, optional 3G / 4G, micro-HDMI output and a pair of 2MP / 8MP cameras. For the most part, that cellular connection will take the form of HSPA+ but in the US, at least, the tablet will be available on AT&T's LTE network. And, as we learned in more recent leaks, this 9.8mm-thick tablet makes room for an NFC radio, along with a fingerprint reader and a pen, which can be stowed in a slot on the tablet. Additionally, it will be sold alongside an optional keyboard, as well as a dock with three USB ports, HDMI-out and an Ethernet jack. The one thing we don't know? The price. So far, Lenovo is only saying the tablet will be available in October, when Windows 8 starts shipping. For now, we've got a mix of glossy press shots for your viewing pleasure, along with some hands-on photos we took in advance of tonight's announcement. Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 official: Windows 8, NFC and a fingerprint reader, arrives in October Filed under: Tablet PCs Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 official: Windows 8, NFC and a fingerprint reader, arrives in October originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Raspberry Pi teases finished Gertboard I/O extender, revs creative engines Aug 8th 2012, 22:41  The Raspberry Pi faithful have been looking forward to the Gertboard almost as much as the main device itself: Gert van Loo's I/O extender promises to flash lights, spin motors and otherwise take on the tasks that the Raspberry Pi doesn't directly manage on its own. While we've seen work on the project since late 2011, the expansion now looks to be closer to reality following a fresh teaser. The refined design's biggest tweak is replacing its original PIC controller with an Arduino-powered chip -- an element no doubt familiar to the crowd that would already be looking at a very hackable, miniature Linux computer. Most everything else is a refinement, although Gert has brought in three physical buttons and two-channel analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. We'll learn the full story later this week, and until then we'll be dreaming of all the off-kilter Arduino projects that might be made better with a little Raspberry Pi companionship. Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals Raspberry Pi teases finished Gertboard I/O extender, revs creative engines originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Raspberry Pi | Email this | Comments | |
