First Integrated HD DVD-ROM
Toshiba’s Computer Systems Division Europe, Middle East and Africa has introduced the latest addition to the Qosmio series of AV-Notebook PCs. The Qosmio G30 is the first notebook to come to market equipped with an optical drive under the DVD Forum’s new HD DVD media standard.
The integration of HD DVD-ROM into Toshiba’s flagship notebook PC enables users to enjoy high-definition content anywhere in the home or on the move. For richer sound the Qosmio G30 incorporates the world’s first one-bit digital amplifier in a notebook PC, technology which is often only featured in high-end audio systems, and new bass-reflex speaker technology from Harman Kardon, allowing greater amplification and clarity.
Furthermore, SRS Audio Enhancement System with SRS WOW HD and SRS TruSurround XT technology combines to create virtual surround sound and present a sound feature set which is unparalleled in the mobile computing space while the Dolby Home Theater delivers a richer, more engaging surround sound experience from stereo or multichannel audio sources through headphone, 2- or 5.1-channel speaker systems.
Complementing advanced audio functionality the Qosmio G30 offers an improved Toshiba TruBrite display with enhanced color saturation for more life-like images that supports resolutions up to 1080p signal format. Equipped with the QosmioEngine for high image quality, the Qosmio G30 comes with NVIDIA GeForce 7600 with 256MB VRAM graphics processing capabilities, providing high performance graphics when gaming or enjoying a favorite film.
The Qosmio G30 will be available in Q2 2006. Price and specific model number for the next-generation Qosmio with integrated HD DVD will be announced closer to availability.
What Did You Say?
LingoPal has launched a suite of applications for Java-enabled mobile phones that may render the traditional foreign-language phrasebook redundant. Initially available in seven European languages, the software employs high-quality audio recordings of foreign phrases, accurately pronounced by native speakers, which play across the phone’s loudspeaker.
The LingoPal Voyage is aimed at the general traveler, and includes the most-needed phrases used when visiting a foreign country. Categorized into 14 sub-directories such as Accommodation, Directions and Emergencies, to enable easy searching, the phrases can be individually stored in a Favorites folder to make the process even simpler. For more information click to http://www.lingopal.com/.
Desktop Device Simplifies Document Sharing
Quickly turning paper documents into digital files once required both patience and a computer. But a breakthrough in office innovation from Eastman Kodak Company now lets users simultaneously scan, store, and share documents on an office network and send them anywhere — without a computer.
The desktop Kodak Scan Station 100 enables users to convert paper documents — color, black-and-white and grayscale — into digital images for sharing via e-mail, routing to network folders, sending to networked printers or copiers or saving on portable USB flash drives.
In addition, a portable USB drive allows users to personalize and enable one-touch operation from the Scan Station 100’s color touch screen. The touch screen also allows users to preview documents scanned prior to sending.
The Scan Station 100 has an expected list price under $3,000 and will become available in May. For more information visit www.kodak.com/go/scanstation.
Technology Recreates History
Museums and history buffs have begun using SolidWorks 3D CAD software for an exciting new application — breathing life into centuries past. “Industrial archaeology” is the study and recreation of machines, parts, vehicles and buildings that may have vanished, been destroyed, gone obsolete, or perhaps never existed at all. The practice combines art, history, craftsmanship and, in a new twist, computer-aided design.
Industrial archaeologists like William L. Gould of Fallbrook, California, use SolidWorks software as an efficient, mechanically faithful way to illustrate, in three dimensions and myriad individual components, a piece of lost history. For example, Gould’s full-color 3D CAD model of the 1879 Mason Bogie, a steam locomotive rendered in SolidWorks and PhotoWorks software, exists as a 3D CAD model with hundreds of discrete parts. It is available as a fine art lithographic print or a set of plans in exacting detail. Gould’s locomotive model was a prizewinner in the SolidWorks World 2006 Design Contest.
For more information on industrial archaeology, listen to the podcast at http://www.solidworks.com/mediapodcast.
