More Efficient Solar Cells and Better Computer Chips in the Near Future?

Apparently physicists at Rutgers University have discovered a new material that will allow Solar Cells to run more efficiently and Computer Chips to have a better design.

"The scientists determined that a crystal made of bismuth, iron and oxygen can perform an electronic feat typically not feasible with conventional semiconductors. It acts as a reversible diode – essentially an electronic turnstile that lets current flow in one direction under certain conditions and in the opposite direction under different conditions. Traditional semiconductor diodes are not reversible – the direction of current flow that they allow is fixed during fabrication."

I am not a big fan of all the scientific talk, and I know I am not alone here, but this could be the laptop/notebooks answer for "Going Green" to help cut back on the ridiculous amount of energy that we, as a nation, like to consume. With the dispute of solar power being the future, and those still saying that it is not stable enough or we will not be able to produce enough (which is true in many aspects) to keep large areas up and running, this material could still be a great way to go.

Check out the full article over at ScienceDaily.

IGN review on Killzone 2 (Rated 9.4/10)

I know I am late on getting this review up, but I haven't exactly had a lot of time on my hands this past week (school and baseball runs my life). As many of you already know, Killzone 2 is being released next Friday, February 27. There is not a whole lot to say about this game, other than, it looks AMAZING!! This, plus God of War III and Uncharted 2, is yet another reason why I will be purchasing a Playstation 3 some time late in the summer (hopefully there will be a nice little price drop by then).

The biggest talk about Killzone 2 has been the graphics, which are not far from perfect. As many gamers know, graphics do not make the game. There has to be good gameplay, a decent enough story, and plenty of replay value for many to stay interested. With this IGN review, and a few other written reviews from Metacritic, it seems that Killzone 2 has just about everything a gamer could ask for.

Here is the review:

A look at the BenQ E2400HD 24" LCD Monitor

Take a look at what you can possibly start to expect in the future with LCD computer monitors. This BenQ E2400HD 24" LCD monitor will have a 16:9 aspect ratio and will display a native resolution of 1920x1080 (full HD/1080P).

Some basic specifications:

Display

• Screen Size: 24"
• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Pixel Pitch: 0.276mm
• Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 (1,000:1)
• Response Time: 5ms/2ms (GTG)
• Horizontal Refresh Rate: 30~83KHz
• Vertical Refresh Rate: 50~76KHz

Connectivity

• Input Video Compatibility: Analog RGB, Digital
• Connectors: D-Sub, DVI, HDMI (1 of each)

Power

• Power Supply: 90~264 AC
• Power Consumption: (On Mode): 57W(max), (Power Saving Mode): <2w

Convenience

• Stand Adjustments: Tilt
• Built in TV Tuner: No
• Built in Speakers: 2 x 1W
• HDCP Support: Yes
• Features: Kensington, Senseye+Photo, VESA Wall Mounting: 100x100mm

Get the BenQ E2400HD 24" LCD Monitor at newegg.com for $299.00!

The Motorola Renew W233 (T-Mobile)

I guess you could say the Motorola Renew W233 from T-Mobile is a cell phone provider's answer for "Going Green" (just in case you do not know what "Going Green" means, check it out here). The Renew is the world's first carbon-neutral cell phone made entirely of recycled water bottles. Hell, the plastic casing of the Motorola Renew is even recyclable (I would not recommend throwing this in the recycling bin, just a friendly suggestion).

A few basic features include:

• 500-contact phone book (SIM card holds an additional 250 names)
• Text and multimedia messaging
• Speakerphone
• Alarm clock
• USB syncing
• Support for T-Mobile's My Faves service
• Holds up to 2GB for a memory card
• And the Renew comes with Tetris and Sudoku
  

Here is a brief look at the Motorola Renew W233:



You can also head over to CNET for the full review!

Locate family and friends with Google Latitude

This Google Latitude is pretty nifty. You can locate your parents, children, friends, etc. by cell tower triangulation. I would not worry too much about this though kids, because you do have the option to block numbers from locating you.

The only bad thing about this is the possibility of someone you do not want having your number, some how coming up with it (a stalker would come to mind).

There are times where the location of the person can be way off, but that is mostly due to bad cell phone reception of the area.



P.S. - Natali Del Conte (the senior editor in this video) will one day be my wife....she just does not know this yet.

Philips to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide

The result of the 6,000 jobs being cut would be from the huge fourth quarter loss of £1.4bn (sorry, but I do not feel like converting this to the American dollar). This should not come as too much of a surprise with the financial economy in such a (pardon my French) shit hole. Competitors like Samsung and Sony carrying their weight pretty well throughout these times has not helped Philips gain any steam back in the electronics market.

Philips chief executive Gerard Kleisterlee said the firm was giving "absolute priority to cashflow, at the expense of profit if necessary, and to speeding up restructuring and adjustment measures".

"The fourth quarter results reflect the serious consequences of the global financial and economic crisis and the measures taken by management accordingly," he said.

Philips just seems behind in every category of what they produce, especially their sound and vision and PC products. You may be thinking they have plenty of other products to offer, and with this statement you would be right, but their sound and vision and PC products costs the most to make along with bringing in the most profit. Philips may have to go back to the drawing table, because they are going to have to release some "WOW" products to gain a bit of reputation back once again!

Source: Sky News

3D gaming on your PC!

This may be old news to some, but the new Nvidia GeForce 3D Vision glasses will allow to play hundreds of games on your PC in 3D.

To those who may not know much about these glasses, here is some brief information from Nvidia.com: "Upgrade your PC to a fully immersive stereoscopic 3D experience with NVIDIA® GeForce® 3D Vision™. A combination of high-tech wireless glasses and advanced software, GeForce 3D Vision automatically transforms hundreds of PC games into full stereoscopic 3D. Just slip on the stylish glasses and pair them with an NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU and a "GeForce 3D Vision-Ready" display to experience characters and environments come to life on the screen. In addition, you can watch 3D movies and 3D digital photographs in eye popping, crystal-clear quality. Give your eyes something to talk about with GeForce 3D Vision."

Now I don't know about you, but these glasses are probably the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. It may seem a little awkward to play a game with the characters and action right in your face, but hey, I would definitely be up to the challenge!

I will not rant any longer about how exciting it would be to immerse myself in a game with these glasses, but I will provide you with a video to get a brief glimpse at them:

iPod beginning to take over.....again?

In its third holiday quarter, the Microsoft Zune rolled down the hillside once again. The Zune revenue fell $100 million, and sucked away about 60% of Microsoft's earning in their Entertainment and Devices Division.

The iPod hit a new quarterly record with 22.7 million units sold, and this does not include the iPhone sales. The iPhone sold over 27 million devices over the last quarter, and that number seems to be growing each year.

The massive amount of features (especially Wi-Fi) within the iPod Touch and the iPhone just keep the sales coming. When you compare all of the features given to those of the Microsoft Zune, you can see why sales are on the decline.

Do not get me wrong, the Microsoft Zune is by no means a bad purchase, you just do not seem to get every bang for your buck like you do with the iPod Touch or iPhone. Maybe down the road Microsoft will start to throw some new innovative features into the Zune to keep fans happy and build sales back up, but I would not be expecting it to happen any time soon.

Note: You may not care, but my next (I guess you could call it "big purchase") will be the 16GB iPod Touch (2nd Gen).

Source: AppleInsider

The HP Mini 2140 Laptop

I recently posted a look at the Sony P-series Lifestyle PC laptop, and now you will get a brief, but pretty cool, look at its competitor the HP Mini 2140 laptop. I am usually not a big fan of the smaller based notebooks, but this HP has caught my attention with the good list of features and design.

Take a look:

The Sony P-series Lifestyle PC Laptop

Get a glimpse at the new Sony P-series Lifestyle PC Laptop from CNET:



I like the fact that Sony is trying something new with their Vaio, but the design is just not for me. I still prefer Dell over anything else, and it is just my humble opinion!