sonic

ViewSonic has unveiled its new 7-inch Honeycomb tablet, dubbed the ViewPad 7x, and its new 10-inch dual-OS tablet that can run both Windows 7 and Android.

The two tablets are on display for the first time this week at the Computex computer show in Taipei, Taiwan.

Powered by a dual-core Nvidia processor, the ViewPad 7x sports a capacitive 10-point multitouch screen (meaning you can use all 10 fingers to navigate and manipulate the screen) and provides cameras both on the front and back. The tablet includes an HDMI port and support for DLNA so it can work with an HDTV and home entertainment center. Beyond offering Wi-Fi, the device also can tap into the high-speed HSPA+ networks offered by AT&T and T-Mobile.… Read more

General Motors has taken steps to make the Orion Assembly Plant even more energy efficient including using landfill gas to cut energy costs.

The plant will begin assembling the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano this fall. With an upgraded paint shop that is heated by natural and landfill gas, the painting process will use half of the energy per vehicle of the one it replaced. The system runs exclusively on landfill gas primarily to generate steam for heating and compressed air for most of the year.

According to GM, both the Sonic and Verano use a new eco paint … Read more

ViewSonic is set to unveil the industry's first 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablet at month's end, according to sources cited by tech site Pocket-Lint.

The ViewPad 7x will debut on May 31 at the Computex computer show in Taipei, Taiwan, Pocket-Lint reported, and will be a follow-up rather than a replacement to ViewSonic's existing ViewPad 7 tablet, which runs Android 2.2, aka Froyo. Following its late May unveiling, the device should reach consumers in June.

Details are scarce, but according to Pocket-Lint, the ViewPad 7x will sport an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, cameras in front and back, and support for the high-speed HSPA+ networks offered by AT&T and T-Mobile. The tablet would also include both HDMI and DLNA ports to pipe content through a TV or media center device.… Read more

What a week for video game news! As PSN outages continue to plague PlayStation 3s, Sony has finally declared the incident a "compromise of personal information" and a "malicious act." Does this mean our credit card info has been tossed into the Internet void? Nevermind that, we just want to be able to play Mortal Kombat online again.

Last night's Tribeca Film Festival screening of L.A. Noire marked the first time a video game was spotlighted at the big event. Jeff was there for the screening and Q&A that preceded; plus he'll give us some thoughts on an entire case he played a few weeks ago.

Since Nintendo has confirmed that the successor to the Wii will debut at E3 2011 and go on sale next year, we'll play an interesting voicemail that speculates on how players will interact with the new console.… Read more

General Motors is investing more than $30 million of investment in its Pontiac Stamping plant to retool and enhance manufacturing equipment, and 290 hourly and salaried jobs at the 79-year-old plant.

The enhancements will include upgrading three conventional press lines already operating at the plant and the installation of two additional presses that are part of the company's stamping consolidation project, GM said today in a press release.

Pontiac Stamping provides parts to the new Chevrolet Sonic and the new Buick Verano, among other products.

"GM continues to invest in our manufacturing operations to ensure we have the … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Though we've seen enough new smartphones from Mobile World Congress to last us a while (or at least until next month's CTIA), we used the last day of the show to check out what ViewSonic and its trio of parrots had to offer.

The company that has brought us so many displays is making a further push into the mobile space after debuting its ViewPad 4 last month at CES. Though the ViewPad 4 blurred the distinction between phone and tablet, the company's new device in Barcelona is firmly in the smartphone camp.

The ViewSonic V350 … Read more

We've already taken a few first looks at the upcoming Chevrolet Aveo Sonic, but sometimes it's interesting to hear details about a vehicle from the source. Then again, sometimes a slightly misguided Car Tech editor just wants an excuse to post a video of the replacement to the beloved CNET Aveo. Whatever the reason, the video below showcases the Sonic, as its designers talk up the vehicle's interior and exterior styling.

Remember the dream of the Concorde? It was that supersonic passenger jet that would ferry passengers from New York to London in less than 3 hours, but supersonic travel never took off because of the loud sonic booms that the planes would generate as they broke the sound barrier.

NASA is working on new technology that would dampen or eliminate those booms, and the space agency is hoping that this will usher in a new era of supersonic travel.

Early experiments add a 24-foot-long spike to the plane mounted on the nose of the aircraft that creates three smaller shockwaves to greatly reduce the noise as the aircraft hits Mach 1. It could mean shorter travel time for consumers, but Jeff is more excited to wean himself off the sleeping pills he takes every time he boards an aircraft.

In less exciting historical innovations, New Yorker Till Krautkraemer is touting a beverage that offers a new way to supplement your protein intake: drink it! MeatWater is intended as a meal supplement with flavors like Peking Duck, Beef Stroganof, and Fish'n Chips; but the liquid contains zero animal byproducts, so vegans and vegetarians are encouraged to consume it for their daily dose of protein.

This is not a joke. According to the Web site, MeatWater has 22 amino acids that aid in performance recovery and decrease body fat when ingested with liquids, and it's recommended that you drink MeatWater warm, as the flavors and aromas are heightened this way.

And while we're solving first-world problems with technology, check out this double USB concept that hopes to save precious microseconds and the frustration you experience from "plug rejection."

Finally, Intel is following in the footsteps of Polaroid and Lady Gaga by introducing its own celebrity employee: Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am has been appointed director of creative innovation, a role that places him as an ambassador to the company and collaborator in "new technologies, music and tech advocacy."

There's not much to say about this should-be joke, so we're just waiting to hear the BEP single that samples the Intel Inside chime. Wait, he's already doing that.

Sonic booms aren't just cheesy ranged weapons that Guile from Street Fighter uses to defend his epic flat-top. They're the result of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier. And they can be loud enough to deafen E. Honda.

The nerve-rattling noise factor has restricted much supersonic travel to the world's oceans, limiting intercontinental flight to sub-Mach speeds. But a series of experiments being conducted by NASA are aimed at enabling a new generation of supersonic crafts that can dampen or even eliminate sonic booms.

NASA aerospace engineer Ed Haering today answered reader questions about "what it's like to try to tame a sonic boom," and included images of an F-15B prototype (left) modified with the awesome-looking Unicorn-like "Quiet Spike."

The retractable, 24-foot-long spike is mounted to the nose of the aircraft and creates three smaller shockwaves that travel all the way to the ground in parallel instead of building up to a sonic boom. That configuration greatly reduces noise when the aircraft goes Mach 1, or about 760 mph, the speed of sound at sea level. … Read more