YouTuber x313xkillax somehow managed to get his hands on a protoype model of the HP Slate. As you can see in the video embedded above the Slate has a myriad of ports and switches around the edges (including one that reveals an on-screen keyboard) and it boots fairly quickly into a full-fledged copy of Windows 7. IE8 seems to run Flash content without hiccup (advantage HP, iPad). Since Windows 7 isn’t all that optimized for touchscreen implementation I am anticipating a future HP tablet running multitouch-friendly WebOS. HP bought Palm so they can do that, you know.
Want more deets on the Slate? A second video surfaced that previews the tablet in greater detail. The back of the product box lists the following specs: 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 with GMA500 and Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video accelerator, 8.9-inch WSVGA screen, 2GB DDR2 RAM, about 60GB storage capacity, Windows 7 Home Premium, 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, SD card reader, 2-Cell 30WHr Lithium-ion Polymer battery. There are also back and front-facing cameras. Apparently the Slate will ship with a dock that comes complete with a kickstand, two USB ports, HDMI out, and a headphone jack.
Update: Both videos have been “removed by the user” due to obvious reasons. However I was able to find another copy of the original preview video and it’s embedded above; the more extensive preview is nowhere to be found, unfortunately.
It’s mid-September, my favorite time of year. Brand new television programming begins and old favorites return. I’m going to run through the new network and cable shows that I’m most anticipating, let you know which returning shows you should be watching, and I’ll hypothesize about which new shows are likely to get the axe. Not so interested in my opinions? Simply click here to view the 2010 fall schedule for the big four networks (including synopses, cast/creator info, and trailers) and decide what to watch on your own terms.
CBS: There’s a reason why CBS is the most watched network–they mostly air procedural crime dramas that do not force viewers to tune in every week. Take, for example, the CSI franchise (which now includes CSI, CSI: NY & CSI: Miami) and the NCIS franchise (NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles). Sprinkle in some fantastic comedies like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Motherplus popular reality shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race, and Undercover Boss and you’ve got a worthy lineup that does not require weekly viewing. Though I am not not the biggest fan of the procedurals, The Mentalistdoes a fine job of drawing me in when I happen to channel surf to the network. Also, I’ve only heard good things about The Good Wife, so you might want to give that a try as well.
Of the five new shows premiering this fall on CBS, there’s only one that I’m fully interested in: Hawaii Five-O. Again, crime procedurals are usually not my cup of tea but there’s no denying how action-packed and fun this 1960s reboot looks. (The show originally aired on CBS for 12 seasons from 1968-1980.) Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Fringe) serve as executive producers and stars Alex O’Loughlin (Three Rivers), Scott Caan (Entourage), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), and the beautiful Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan) will work together to take down the villains. Except tons of explosions, violent action scenes, and quick, witty banter from Caan. It only helps that the backdrop to all of this is Oahu! Premieres Monday, September 20 at 10PM.
After spending some time out of the limelight, Kanye West has returned to entertain us with his slick, emotionally-driven raps and different side of his thumping ego. On Wednesday Kanye visited Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, California to preview four tracks from his upcoming album. He donned a fresh suit and rapped a capella atop a table inside a fluorescently lit conference room in front of Facebook employees. He starts with a “fun rap”, that’s the one embedded above. It rocks. “Kill the hypocrisy/This is an aristocracy..I’m Socrates/But my skin more chocolatey.” The next rap is rather short; it may just be a freestyle, but it’s got a sick line in it: “Lost in this plastic life/Let’s break out of this fake-ass party, turn this into a classic night.” The next song likely titled “Chain Heavy” is dipped in politics and contains this humorous line: “They try to tell me that aliens built the pyramids/I swear life’s on bitch on a period”; it concludes with my favorite line I’ve heard this far: “This is the making of a masterpiece/So we broke out the chains and told our master, ‘Peace’.” The fourth song is called “Mama’s Boyfriend” and it’s an extremely emotional track about Kanye’s late mother Donde West. In it he journeys back to the days when his divorced mother started dating other men. “I’m my mama’s boyfriend/I’m her little husband…Keep your hands off my mama” he screams. Apprently this track took him 33 years to write and it clearly means a lot to him. ‘Ye drops so many uses of the n-word in this track, but he says, “I’m allowed to use it.”
Later that day he posted this message targeted to the Facebook employees: “Many times in life I’ve had to deal with moments of doubt. And as it’s been a minute since I’ve performed any fresh material in front of an audience, this could’ve been one of those moments… but it wasn’t. Your energy was a gift so electric, so genuine, that it really helped me give my best. The energy was so inspiring I had to keep going! I just hope you got as much from me as I got from you…which was everything!” Be sure to look after the break to listen to all the tracks.
From one popular social network to another, Kanye finally caved in and joined the Twitterverse. And you know what? He actually comes across a non-egotistical funnyman. Peep his first tweet: “Up early in the morning taking meetings in Silicone Valley.” This was followed almost immediately by: “Lol I spelled Silicon wrong ( I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone ITS A PROCESS!! : )” Then came some important news regarding his upcoming album: “The album is no longer called “Good Ass Job” I’m bouncing a couple of titles around now.” Just confirming our suspicions, Kanye. After giving a handful of shoutouts to various blogs for reporting his Facebook HQ visit, he started to notice how quickly he was garnering a following. In less than two days he managed to gain a following of nearly 300,000 (he’s currently at 293,687 followers). With tweets like these: “My thoughts on Twitter so far… at the end of the day, God damnit I’m killing this shit!!!” and “I think Twitter was designed specifically with me in mind just my humble opinion hahhhahaaaahaaa humble hahahahhahaahaaaa” you might think ‘Ye is stroking his ego again, but I think he’s actually starting to satirize himself. He’s finally realized that he “has the power to let power go” and he’s learning from his past mistakes. Hilarious comic (and one of Kanye’s friends) Aziz Ansari started trending the hashtag #PredictingKanyeTweets, and Kanye simply retweeted jokes that were on him. “Damn I wish Hermes made edible snacks, Cheezits just ain’t dope enough for my mouth”, tweeted Ansari. The fact that he’s not retaliating but instead having fun with his new lease on life through Twitter makes me believe that he’s turning a corner for the better. But don’t take my word for it. Follow @kanyewest and form your own opinions.
At the end of the day, it appears as if Kanye wants to begin a new chapter in his career. After coming out of hiding he decided to tease some tracks and open up his fanbase using the power of social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. It’s an interesting and unconventional route to take but it’s one I can commend. Welcome back Mr. West. September 14 come now please.
Update: Later in the week Kanye visited a bunch of magazine headquarters including XXL and Rolling Stone. A video surfaced on YouTube from his meeting with the latter outlet. Look for it after the break.
Today BlackBerry posted a new video on YouTube that gives us another glimpse into their latest mobile operating system called BlackBerry 6. New features like social network integration (with Social Feeds that support simultaneous postings on sites like Facebook and Twitter), universal search, an enhanced media interface, and the brand new WebKit-based browser (with pinch/zoom functionality) are teased in the breif video embedded above. It all looks pretty great BlackBerry, but I want to see it in action on a sleek, new Blackberry device. Let’s release this thing already! Oh, and as Engadget points out, it’s worth nothing that the first two sneak peek videos of BB 6 feature a UI that’s make specifically for a full touchscreen device. One wonders how BlackBerry intends to morph the new touch-friendly UI into one that’ll work on a smaller device that sports a physical keyboard–the very form factor that the company is so famous for.
