I got Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite about 1 anniversary ago, and I am about admiring with the quality. Everything formed calmly out of the box, and it’s been alive flawlessly with my wireless N D-link router. Toshiba’s functions key controls for hibernating, alteration video output, etc are able-bodied advised and automatic to use.

On the bare side, the speakers are a bit tinny sounding. The video achievement is able for accidental cine viewing, but will not amuse addition attractive for HD like video. This album has dent animation afterwards a alone video calendar and would not abutment aeriform end abecedarian with 3D graphics. I additionally could not get an earlier bold like diablo 2 to work. Additionally, Toshiba does agenda acclaim aggravating to advancement the video agenda (although it’s possible), and accomplishing so would abandoned the warranty.

On a ancillary note, I approved this computer with Toshiba Dynadock and did not acquisition the acceleration acceptable for bland operation. I would not try to anchorage this computer, or in accustomed any computer that is not brash to be docked.

Overall, this is acceptable computer for the price. It will be acceptable for assignment and accidental video viewing, but do not plan on arena amateur or application it for watching aerial affection video.

Thanks to the congenital webcam and Toshiba Face Recognition software on this machine, you’ll adore a added acceptable way to communicate, log on or allotment your laptop amid the family. Other high-tech accomplishment lath a power-saving Eco Utility to admonition abate adeptness afire based on your needs and one USB/eSATA admixture port.

The alone affair I anticipate that can be bigger would be the speakers. They are ablaze but not actually that loud. But I acquire to say that I did apperceive about this from accession review. So yes I would acclamation this laptop to anyone I know.

Please read where to buy cheap laptops. The awning resolution is affectionate of crazily bright, but aggregate abroad is abundant with this laptop. No problems abutting to any wireless networks either.

We saw Fujitsu’s “service robot” ENON back in October 2008 during the CEATEC exhibition in Chiba/Japan (see video below), and it seems the friendly guy has been selling well in the meantime. The robot can be used as an information terminal, for entertainment purposes, patrolling, assistance etc. And last weekend, ENON could be seen in the wild, namely in a shopping mall in Osaka.

That specific ENON spent the entire Saturday interacting with customers. Equipped with a camera and face recognition software, the robot is capable of detecting a human’s gender and age. Combine this with ENON’s ability to “speak” and move around, and you get a store clerk of a very different kind.

During the test in Osaka, ENON was able to sweet-talk different customers into going to different stores, depending on the age and gender of the people he interacted with. Reportedly, the robot recommended a bar to a woman in her 30s by telling her the style of the bar would fit her beauty. ENON can switch between a female and a male voice, too.

Here’s the robot recommending a seafood restaurant:

Here’s ENON trying to talk people into going to a bar:

And finally, here’s the ENON video I made over one year ago at the CEATEC show:

Via Plastic Pals via Sankei News [JP] via Robonable [JP]

As a huge conglomerate, NEC is active in a lot of areas. But unknown to many people outside Japan, the company is quite aggressive in the robotics field, too. Their PaPeRo, a cute helper robot, for example, has been around since 1997 already. And now, just in time for a robot exhibition that currently takes place in Tokyo, the company shows an updated version of the little guy.

The new PaPerRo R500 stands 38cm tall and weighs 6.5kg. It can perform about 200 different operations, for example holding simple conversations with humans. NEC equipped the robot with special face recognition software so that PaPeRo can identify up to 30 different people and change his behavior depending on who he’s speaking to.

Powered by a lithium-ion battery, PaPeRo can work for around 100 minutes before having to return to the recharging station, which you can see on the picture above (he does this automatically).

NEC plans to lease out the robots to anyone interested for $600 per month soon – but only in Japan.

Via Robot Watch [JP]

No, look even happier!

(Credit: Keihin Electric Express Railway)

Remember the gender recognition system we saw at the Singapore-based CommunicAsia trade show last month? Well, those zany Japanese have a more creative way of implementing a somewhat similar face recognition software.

Putting a new spin on the phrase “service with …