The Manga Guide series of books are fantastic. Remember spending countless hours reading comic books when we were growing up. Maybe we still do! The characters sucked us in and hours upon hours zipped by as we followed their fantastic journeys. During my high school years Japanese anime became all the rage. I still remember one of my favorites, Bubble Gum Crisis. The Manga Guide series combines a bit of both. And then some.
You get to explore our solar system, the Milky Way, and other mysteries of our universe in The Manga Guide to the Universe with Gloria, Kanna, and Yamane. As you follow these three girls you gain knowledge of the universe almost without friction. It’s not quite like reading Captain America or Iron Man, but it’s about as far as you can get from a typical textbook. Learning can be fun; The Manga Guide series is proof. Check out the first chapter on the heliocentric universe.
Timber consists of 10 massive wood parts. It is held together by its own weight. Design and function is merged to let the observer see and understand the principles of its construction.
Hector Lloyd has created a series of beautifully playful illustrations exclusively for Globe-Trotter, documenting the heritage and lifestyle of the suitcases in a new and imaginative sense.
BOE Technology’s (BOE) first 8.5G TFT LCD panel production line began trial operations in June 2011 and is expected to enter mass production in October. According to industry sources, BOE has been developing high-end products and may begin production of 3D TV panels using film patterned retarder (FPR) technology at the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.
The Gen 8.5 LCD fabrication plant is located in Beijing, China. The opening ceremony was held earlier this year on June 28. Initial input capacity in October is expected to be 15,000 glass substrates and may increase to 30,000 by the end of 2011. DigiTimes reports BOE’s Gen 8.5 LCD fab is designed for a maximum monthly input capacity of 90,000 substrates, but other media sources cite BOE president Chen Yanshun stating full production capacity at 120,000 glass substrates per month. BOE expects to reach full capacity in the second quarter of 2012.
FPR, a LG Display developed passive 3D technology that handily beat out active shutter in a recent test conducted by DisplayMate’s Dr. Raymond Soneira, will be BOE’s choice of 3D technology. BOE is expected to manufacture FPR 3D LCD panels in three sizes, in inches: 32, 46, and 55.
China-based consumer electronics manufacturers Changhong, Hisense, Konka, and Skyworth Digital Holdings have signed a memorandum of intent with BOE to engage in joint research and development efforts for LCD TVs. These are also the same companies that have agreed to jointly promote FPR 3D LCD technology with LG Display.
While it was theoretically nice to have less stuff taking up both mental and physical space in my work area, I eventually moved toward the middle ground of incorporating a few items back into the mix. There’s a vast difference between a functional, uncluttered workspace and complete minimalism [...]
Key phrases from Patrick Rhone at Minimal Mac:
For me, less is almost always more. With less I can focus and focus is required to put into words what’s in my head. But there is a limit to less. I need my fountain pen because the friction between nib and paper somehow works for me. The photos were taken with an iPhone and it’s usually attached to the MacBook Pro, propped up by a Glif, and connected to an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. This setup works really well for me since I can quickly respond to messages. The LEGO sports car I put together is a nice visual distraction. Oh, and I need something to drink, preferably coffee.
TechCrunch: 1280×720 on a smartphone is where it’s going, except for Apple. I just wrote about the Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE that sports a 4.65-inch 1280×720 HD Super AMOLED. And about a week ago there was news regarding the 4.5-inch 1280×720 AH-IPS LCD sporting LG LU6200 Optimus LTE. And now, we have the Fujitsu-Toshiba Mobile ARROWS Z ISW11F.
The Android 2.3.5 smartphone packs a 4.3-inch LCD with a 1280×720 pixel format. That’s a 0.2 inches smaller than the LU6200 Optimus LTE but with the same number of pixels. I believe the ARROWS Z ISW11F takes the title of resolution king with a ppi of 341.5. In 2012 most high-end smartphones will most likely sport a pixel format of 1280×720. I don’t think Apple will be there though.
1280×720 has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and is great for 16:9 720p HD video playback, but we do a lot more than watch movies on our smartphones. That’s why Apple made the iPhone displays 3:2. Of course that also made it not so great for watching 16:9 videos. If only displays could morph into the best aspect ratio for what we are doing at the time…
The choice is clear. If 16:9 720p HD video playback is a really big thing for you then the three 1280×720 Android smartphones must be at the top of your list. If you already have a huge collection of multimedia and apps on your iPhone, then stick to it because the 3.5-inch 960×640 Retina Display is absolutely superb for almost anything you’d want to do on it. It’s just that the new crop of high-end Android smartphones with a 1280×720 pixel format is perfect for 720p HD video.
Other noteworthy specifications include a waterproof body, 13 megapixel Exmor R CMOS image sensor, and 1080p HD video recording. Japanese smartphone manufacturers seem to have figured out how to waterproof the body without adding bulk. I hope this becomes standard practice because I still vividly remember pulling out my iPhone 3G from my pool-dunked jeans and hoping it was going to continue working. It did, for another five minutes. If only the iPhone had been waterproof.
The Sony sourced Exmor R for mobile CMOS image sensor is thirteen megapixels. Backside illumination (BSI) technology to improve the light gathering capabilities of those thirteen million pixels is used, but I think both Sony and Fujitsu-Toshiba Mobile went a little overboard. 1080p HD video recording, on the other hand, is just right.
The WIMAX global phone is offered by KDDI in Japan and is expected to be available in November.
Overall the Dell U2311H did a good job as a display, especially when you consider how affordable you can find it available for. The backlight uniformity leaves a bit to be desired, but the dE level was capable of getting to a level that was suitable for print work. The contrast ratio of 1000:1 was very nice compared to other monitors in the same price class as well.
The Dell UltraSharp U2311H sports a 23-inch 6-bit+AFRC e-IPS LCD with a pixel format of 1920×1080. Most say 6-bit+AFRC is just as good as an 8-bit LCD panel since a large majority of us can’t tell the difference. Well if color is important I recommend getting a true 8-bit LCD panel.
I must say Dell’s website is a pain to navigate through. It took way too long for me to find 23-inch monitors. It’s under “Electronics, Software & Accessories” if you’re looking. And when I got there the U2311H is nowhere to be found. I did find the UltraSharp U2312HM, which looks to be quite similar to the U2311H. The main difference is the backlight: the U2311H uses a mercury-laden CCFL backlight while the U2312HM packs one with LEDs. The CCFL backlight makes use of four tubes and is edge lit.
There are three major knocks on the U2311H. First is the 6-bit LCD panel. Folks who care about color should go after IPS displays but not one that’s 6-bit. Second is the CCFL backlight. Get the U2312HM with the LED backlight. It will turn on instantly, will be more robust, and save energy. You’ll also know that you didn’t help drive demand for CCFL and the mercury inside. And finally, the biggest flaw is mistaken identity. The U2311H seems to be targeted to folks who care about color, hence IPS, but then gets there half way with a 6-bit LCD panel and a CCFL backlight. Priced at MSRP US$319. If you don’t mind a 6-bit+AFRC e-IPS LCD panel, I recommend getting the U2312HM with a LED backlight instead, for the same price.
Toshiba 55ZL2. 55-inch LED-backlit glasses-free 3D LCD TV. Quad full HD pixel format of 3840×2160. Gizmag:
Overall the 3D effect was more subtle, natural and real, with crisper images that seemed to recede into the background rather than jump out at you. In short, it’s comfortable to look at.
Available in late 2011. Thanks Paul!
October 4, 2011, 10:00 am Pacific, Apple campus in Cupertino, Calif.
NEC MultiSync P241W-BK specs:
The P241W-BK tilts, swivels, pivots, and is height adjustable. For proper positioning of a monitor the ability to adjust the height is important and unfortunately a feature lacking in all of Apple’s current IPS monitors.
Let’s talk about the LCD. Enhanced IPS or e-IPS sports a wider aperture ratio. The manufacturer is LG Display and the company increased the aperture ratio by shrinking the thickness of the thin film transistors (TFTs). Thinner TFTs mean more light can be transmitted through. This efficient design allows for less bright, and therefore less costly, backlight units (BLUs). The 300-nit brightness is not the highest I’ve seen but should be bright enough for most environments. As a comparison, the Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display has a brightness of 375 nits.
BLUs make up roughly 30% the bill of material of a LCD so reducing its cost has a significant impact on the overall cost of a LCD. The reason why a BLU is so costly is because there are so many components: light source (CCFL or LED), optical film stack (diffusers, brightness enhancement films, etc.), light guide plate, etc.
One major knock on the P241W-BK is in its use of CCFL as a light source. There are some disadvantages to CCFL compared to LED:
Unfortunately, the lower-cost e-IPS LCD doesn’t translate into a lower-cost monitor in the case of the NEC MultiSync P241W-BK with a US$749 MSRP. There are cheaper IPS monitors than the NEC MultiSync P241W-BK but few have a 14-bit programmable LUT, a must-have feature for folks serious about color.
DisplayBlog is written and produced by Jin Kim. Subscribe via RSS.