Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Cure your case of the Mondays with these hot deals.

1. Woot! is offering a Memorex Blu-ray DVD player (MVBD2510) for only $144.99. The player is usually $269.99, so that’s quite a deal. The sale ends today, so hurry up!

2. Overstock.com is having a closeout sale. If you don’t want to follow the HDTV craze, then how about getting an HD projector? Sharp’s DT510 HD DLP Home Theater Projector (above) is on sale for $699.99, down from $1,799.99.

3. Like free stuff? Alltel is offering a free month of Alltel Navigation and XM Radio Mobile to customers who buy any new Alltel handsets. Alltel Navigation gives turn-by-turn driving directions directly to your phone, and XM Radio Mobile lets you have unlimited access to 25 of the most popular satellite stations available. The deal is available until December 25. Check out Alltel’s Web site for more information.

Original post by Jennifer Bergen

Filed under: Gaming

We know they’re hitting the streets, and we’ve already seen some unboxing pics and a nasty gutting, but we felt we needed to give Sony’s new PSP-3000 the proper Engadget treatment. As you can tell by the photos, there’s not much new here, though as you should know, the guts are where it’s all going down (new screen, built-in microphone). Still it never hurts to take a close look at a shiny new toy… so enjoy yourselves in the gallery.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We’ve wondered why Matsushita Electric took such a long time to make the name switch to Panasonic, but this little factoid might explain some of the timing — Panasonic just capped off its 300 millionth TV. Even though the company has always badged TVs with the “Panasonic” name plate in the US, 105 million units were cranked out under the “National″ brand before “Panasonic” was used across all markets for the subsequent 195 million units. According to the press release, the company isn’t slowing down, either — it may have taken its sweet time (since 1961) to hit the 300 million mark, but the 400 million figure might come up in the next “few years.” We figure that after the first 300 million, the company can pretty much produce TVs in its sleep.

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink&nbsp|&nbspEmail this | Comments

Original post by Steven Kim

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We’ve wondered why Matsushita Electric took such a long time to make the name switch to Panasonic, but this little factoid might explain some of the timing — Panasonic just capped off its 300 millionth TV. Even though the company has always badged TVs with the “Panasonic” name plate in the US, 105 million units were cranked out under the “National″ brand before “Panasonic” was used across all markets for the subsequent 195 million units. According to the press release, the company isn’t slowing down, either — it may have taken its sweet time (since 1961) to hit the 300 million mark, but the 400 million figure might come up in the next “few years.” We figure that after the first 300 million, the company can pretty much produce TVs in its sleep.

Read | Permalink&nbsp|&nbspEmail this | Comments

Original post by Steven Kim

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Household

Let’s be honest — after sinking a few large on a new HDTV, a few hundies on some overpriced cables and even more on HD programming, you weren’t about to cough up another month’s paycheck for a decent TV stand. For the 48,600 customers out there who purchased one of four different King Pao Enterprise TV Stands (likely sold and distributed by Studio RTA), you now have a product known for tipping over and ruining lives. The E Series, Fierro, Madison DLP and Madison 3000 — all of which were sold at Best Buy and other big box retailers from May 2004 to August 2008 — have been deemed unstable and unfit for use in your living room, and it’s suggested that you cautiously remove your set and wait for a “repair kit” before it does the removing for you. Godspeed.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Not that we haven’t seen victories over SMS spammers before, but this one is sure catching a lot of attention due to the names attached. GSI Commerce and Timberland have reportedly agreed to “establish a fund of up to $7 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against them for allegedly sending unsolicited text messages to wireless telephone users in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.” The settlement has already received preliminary approval from a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, and while the aforementioned firms vehemently deny any wrongdoing, they concede that taking this to court would be “burdensome, protracted and expensive.” More expensive than $7 million? Is that guilt we smell, or what?

[Via mocoNews]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

If you had any urge whatsoever to try to your hand at drug trafficking over water while these “weird” economic times sort themselves out, uh, you may want to reevaluate your options. The ever-so-stealthy Stiletto has come to life after tracking down a remarkably quick drug-running boat near Florida the bad guys were cruising at 42 knots, but that comic book-esque thing you’re undoubtedly peering at above can reach speeds of up to 60 knots. The double-M-shaped hull enables it to navigate in extraordinarily shallow waters without trouble, and a plethora of sensors and radars give it all the power it needs to track down goons. Oddly enough, it’s having a somewhat difficult time finding a government agency to truly call home, but if it continues to keep the coke out of our seas, we’d say it’ll win over some hearts soon enough.

[Thanks, Laz]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

Ruh roh. Those wildly flung patent infringement claims tossed out by Hillcrest Laboratories could have some merit, but even if not, it’ll be the ITC making the call. The US International Trade Commission has given itself the green light to investigate the allegations made by the aforesaid company, which state that Nintendo infringed on four of its patents in order to make obscenely large quantities of cash with the hot-selling Wii. There’s no telling how high (or low) this is in the agency’s priority list, but we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for some sort of resolution, regardless.

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like the Apple options backdating mess is finally drawing to a complete close, as the last of the shareholder derivative suits against Steve Jobs and other Apple execs will reportedly settle for $14M pending the court’s final approval on October 31. Apple has also agreed to reform parts of its options plan, but in the end all of this has basically come out to nothing — particularly since shareholders in a derivative suit sue on behalf of the company, meaning the $14M is being paid by Steve and the other execs’ insurance companies back to Apple, which doesn’t really need it. Oh well, at least we briefly got FSJ out of it, right?

[Via AppleInsider]

Read&nbsp|&nbspPermalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops

It’s not everyday that you see an 18.4-inch laptop. Then again, Sony (nor anyone else) doesn’t rollout too many Full HD laptops targeting photographers and videographers. The VAIO type A features an LED backlit 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 2.53GHz T9400 Core 2 Duo, Blu-ray burner, up to 4GB of memory and 2x 250GB of disk (plus 1x eSATA jack for more), an increasingly rare Firewire jack for your camcorder, 3x USB 2.0, and a high-speed UDMA-enabled CF slot for quick image transfers off your DSLR’s CompactFlash card. As Sony’s newest media flagship, we’re also looking at HDMI-out, 802.11n WiFi, GeForce 9600M GT graphics, and a full suite of included image and video editing software from Adobe. All this in a relatively hefty 3.9-kg (8.6-pounds) rig. Although, with just 2-hours of battery you′ll want to spring for the optional 3-hour add-on. Priced at around ¥320,000 (about $3,000) when these hit the streets of Japan at the end of the month. Two more shots after the break.

Continue reading Sony’s 18.4-inch Type A VAIO for Type A photog personalities

Read | Permalink&nbsp|&nbspEmail this&nbsp|&nbspComments

Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets

Oh sure, we’ve known that mice were going the way of the Dodo for eons now, but a nice compilation over at Wired details just how close we are to relying on brain scanners and fingercams (among other unorthodox input methods) to do everything from play games to flip through photo albums. For instance, at Drexel University’s RePlay Lab, students are currently “trying to measure the level of neurotransmitters in a subject’s brain to create games where mere thought controls gameplay.” Another example of how fingers are better used away from the left / right click is FingerSight, a technology that would enable cursor inputs to be, um, inputted by simply waving one’s hand around. Unfortunately, the reality of all of this fantastic research is that we’re still years away from pushing the fabled keyboard / mouse combo aside, but you aren’t apt to find any FPS fanatics kvetching about that.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While the scientists that developed these newfangled ingestible microgrippers call them minimally invasive, we’re not so sure that swallowing minuscule devices that can cut and grab tissue when chemically activated fits our definition of keyhole surgery. Nevertheless, tiny “handlike grippers” are currently being shown off to highly intelligent professionals in the medical realm, and if proven feasible, they could one day be used to perform biopsies from within. More specifically, the devices could reportedly “react to the biochemicals released by infected tissue by closing around the tissue, so that pieces can be removed for analysis.” Yeah, we reckon this is a bit less painful than actually going under the knife, but the mere thought of having blade-wielding microorganisms floating around our innards spooks us just a wee bit. Go on, fling your “pansies!” this way — we can take it.

[Via medGadget]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

It’s hard to say when we, the consumers, will actually see any real benefit from the latest noteworthy discovery from Northeastern University, but we can only imagine that Srinivas Sridhar and team aren’t wasting any time moving things forward. Said crew has recently created a “new microlens that focuses infrared light at telecommunication frequencies,” and if you’re looking for specifics, it can focus an infrared beam to a spot just 12-micrometers away from the surface. The science behind the discovery is probably only digestible by those that understand rocket science, but the long of short of it is this: the “research shows that it is possible to create smaller, ultra-compact infrared optical components that can be integrated into existing semiconductor technologies while not sacrificing image quality.” Now that’s something even the layman can appreciate.

[Via Physorg]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

On a number of occasions, we’ve seen reports suggesting that pacemakers could be sent signals which could instruct them to do all sorts of unwanted things, including shut off completely. Thankfully, the University of Washington’s Dr. Tamara Denning has heeded the warnings and created a possible solution. The so-called cloaking device would enable pacemakers to “resist any instructions that come from anyone other than the doctor,” though it has yet to be put to the test. in the real world Now, making sure your doc has passed a sufficient amount of background checks is another matter entirely.

[Image courtesy of SMH, thanks A.C.E.R.]

Read | Permalink | Email this&nbsp|&nbspComments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Just last month we heard that Amazon could be cooking up a new pair of Kindles for the future, and now we’re seeing another report that adds a bit of legitimacy to the claim. According to McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman, “there are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works,” and while an MP3 version (saywha?) isn’t in the cards, one with an “improved interface” is. Furthermore, Amazon could be aiming at least one of the new Kindle(s) at college students, though no details were given on what exactly that meant. Wait, do university attendees even read anymore?

[Via CNET]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph