Developages - Development and Technology Blog

More than a year ago, the death knell of the Polaroid camera was widely documented. In February, Polaroid began shutting down its film factories, as the technology faded to black.

But lomographs, take heart. Fujifilm has stepped in with its line of Instax Mini instant-film cameras, which can be purchased for about $100 or so: a bit much for an impulse buy, perhaps, but cheap enough that a true fan can resuscitate some childhood fun without paying an arm and a leg on eBay.

While this isn′t your mother’s Polaroid camera, at least on paper the experience is the same: you take a picture, the camera ejects the film, and in a minute or so you have a color picture. What Fuji has done is to take that basic experience and added a bit more sophistication. ( (It should also be noted that in 2009, Polaroid will release a digital camera with a built-in ZINK printer.)

What you can buy and where you can buy them go hand in hand. Until now, the only place to buy the base Instax Mini 7S was at YesAsia.com, where the camera ships in both pink and chocolate colors, for about $76. A ten-pack of film adds about $10, bringing the total package price to $85.98.

Lomography.com said Tuesday, however, that it has added the Fuji’s full line of instant-film cameras to its Web store. I’m not sure why, but the Instax line is also alternatively referred to as the “Cheki″ line on the site.

For comparison’s sake, Lomography offers the Instax Mini S Chocolate/Fuji Cheki 7 for $100, although the site will throw in a free film package for today only, Nov. 26. (Each film pack contains ten exposures, so it appears that a “twin pack” includes two 10-exposure packs.) The camera weighs 320g, uses a f=60mm lens, focusing from 0.6 m through infinity. basic exposure compensation is included, along with a low-light flash and an electronic shutter. All of the cameras include a nifty little mirror for taking pictures of yourself.

Normally, adding an additional twin film pack costs about $25, with discounts for bulk purchases. All of Fuji’s cameras appear to produce prints that are credit card sized: 6.5 cm wide by 4.6 cm high. Special widescreen (6.2cm x 9.9cm) film is only compatible with the Instax 200. All of the Fuji instant film for the Instax/Cheki cameras is ISO 800.

The $135 Instax Mini 25/Fuji Cheki 25 adds an additional shutter button for vertical or horizontal shooting, a rudimentary range finder, two focus modes, a programmed electronic shutter, intelligent flash, and even an LCD counter of the available shots.

The $200 Instax Mini 55i/Fuji Cheki 55i adds a self-timer feature, as well as a two-shot mode, where you can set the camera up to take two quick shots — a good way to burn through your available supply of film. The camera also includes a “close up lens″ for focusing from 35 cm away.

It goes without saying, of course, that shooting and printing digital camera prints are far cheaper than these cameras, whether you choose to print at a retail store or at home. But that’s not really the point, is it?

Original post by Mark Hachman

While there are those with a penchant for the big picture, there are also those who see beauty in details. For me, however, the Kenko Digital LED Microscope Camera could have meant something much more. As a science major back in college, we had to document not only tiny insects but microscopic seeds and cells among others of the size and this would have been a tremendous help.

The Kenko digital microscope camera utilizes high power LED lights to illuminate most things up close that can be viewed onscreen. Magnification is between 20 to 100 times depending on the display connected to the microscope camera (hit the jump if you want to see sample pictures taken by using the device). The device is made of ABS plastic, runs on three AAA batteries, shoots videos in NTSC format, measures a handy 50×58x132mm, and has two LED lights for illumination purposes. You can grab a Kenko Microscope Camera at Japan Trend Shop for $111.

Original post by Mariella Moon

If truly unique images are your game, Lensbaby’s got you covered. The Lensbaby Composer is the latest lens to join the company′s line of selective-focus optics. If the $270 price tag doesn’t give it away, this lens is not a toy: It’s a tool for professionals and hobbyists alike.

Unlike other lenses in the Lensbaby lineup, the all-glass Composer is able to retain its focus position, thanks to a ball and socket design. I was able to obtain and hold focus on my subject in seconds previous lenses required much more patience to achieve the same selective-focus effect.

Available with Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha, Pentax K, and Olympus mounts, the 4-ounce lens maintains a low profile, extending only 2 inches beyond the camera body. The $270 Lensbaby Composer ships in early December, and includes a Double Glass Optic, with Single Glass, Plastic, and Pinhole Optics available for about $35 each or $95 in a set of three. The Double Glass Optic produces the sharpest image, with the other lenses producing images with softer focus.

Original post by Zach Honig

Filed under: Peripherals

We always knew those electromagnetic emanations would amount to no good, and now here they go ruining any shred of privacy we once thought to possess. Some folks from the Security and Cryptography Lab at Switzerland’s EPFL have managed to eavesdrop on the electromagnetic radiation shot off by shoddy wired keyboards with every keystroke. They’ve found four different ways to listen in, including one previously-published general vulnerability, on eleven keyboard models ranging from 2001 to 2008, with PS/2, USB and laptop keyboards all falling to at least one of the four attacks. The attack works through walls, as far as 65 feet away, and analyzes a wide swath of electromagnetic spectrum to get its results. With wireless keyboards already feeling the sting of hackers, it’s probably fair to say that no one is safe, and that cave bunkers far, far away from civilization are pretty much our only hope now. Videos of the attacks are after the break.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Keyboard “eavesdropping″ just got way easier, thanks to electromagnetic emanations

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

ZeeVee’s ZvBox had a lot of potential on paper — after all, who wouldn’t be enthused about the possibility of bringing internet TV / DVDs / Blu-rays (via your PC’s optical drive) and all sorts of other multimedia to the TV via the coaxial wiring already in your home? Unfortunately, the box was hamstrung by two major issues: a lofty price tag ($499) and less-than-elegant installation. Still, the unit seemed to work well enough in our testing once we got everything up and running, but we never really found a way to justify the cost. Are any of you early adopters feeling the same way? Disagree vehemently? What could ZeeVee do (or have done) in order to make the ZvBox a more compelling purchase? We know you′ve got it in you, so let it all out in comments below.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Blusens hit the scene in a big way last October, but for whatever reason, we haven’t heard from ‘em since… until now, that is. The Blu:Brain Home Entertainment Device features a somewhat misleading name, as there’s (regrettably) no built-in Blu-ray drive to speak of. What it does have, however, is a remarkably sexy shell, twin digital TV tuners (DVB-T), a removable internal hard drive, Ethernet / WiFi connectivity and a USB port. Essentially, this here box can serve up all sorts of multimedia (high-def content included) via HDMI, though word on the street says it won’t even be available to order until 2009.

[Via Gizmos]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While most folks working to improve on the traditional lie detector have veered towards MRIs, EEGs and the like, Scott Bunce of Drexel University’s College of Medicine has taken a decidedly different approach and turned to an infrared light-based method, which he seems to think would be both less expensive and more accurate. Apparently, the system works simply by sending infrared light into your brain and measuring how much is reflected back, which varies depending on the levels of oxygen in the blood, and in turn gives an indication of brain activity. Not surprisingly, the research appears to have already attracted the interested of some of the usual suspects — namely, the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the Department of Homeland Security, who have provided some of the funding — but it seems like there’s still some more work to be done before it moves beyond the lab. At least as far as we know.

[Via Crave]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Cellphones

Sony Ericsson is taking the viral route on marketing with its forthcoming Xperia ͱ, launching a new “alternative reality thriller″ centered around a mysterious character named Johnny X. There’s not much meat in the video the company is desperately trying to sneak into your daily YouTube diet, but at least we get to see action-packed chases, Memento-stealing plot points of the highest order, and one weird, seemingly backmasked utterance of “Johneeeeeeeeeee… X!” Hit the read link for the full clip, and check out another video after the break which helps to unravel the mystery.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson goes viral with Xperia ͱ marketing

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Announcements

Yes, it seems like some kind of crazy dream, but Apple’s big Fall event is descending upon us at a merciless speed. Join us tomorrow when we′ll be liveblogging the whole thing from its destructive, brain-shattering start, straight through to the thirilling (yet inevitable) universe-collapsing finish. Will we see those heavily rumored iPod nano 4Gs? Will Apple finally release a fresh Newton? Will Steve Jobs float magically over the crowd like a figure from a Chagall? Find out tomorrow.

Where you’ll need to be:

Live from Apple’s ‘Let’s Rock’ event in San Francisco

Time zones:

07:00AM - Hawaii
10:00AM - Pacific
11:00AM - Mountain
12:00PM - Central
01:00PM - Eastern
06:00PM - London
07:00PM - Paris
09:00PM - Moscow
02:00AM - Tokyo (September 10th)

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Sure, we’ve been exited about Intel’s Atom CPU being used in netbook-class devices, but UK ISP Bytemark apparently thinks the power-sipping chip has the horsepower to handle low-end server duties as well. For £45 ($89) a month, you can colo a 1.6GHz Atom box running Linux with 2GB of RAM and a pair of 100GB SATA drives — not a terrible deal, and probably a damn sight more reliable than a pile of duct tape or a dead frog. Still, we’re not exactly sure we’d want to run our business on the rough equivalent of an Eee 901, you know?

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

While Fujitsu and Hitachi may have announced first, Seagate is first to commercialize its new 7,200RPM, 320GB SATA disk with 16MB cache. The Momentus 7200.3 with G-Force free-fall protection is now available as an option on Dell’s “XPS laptops” — at the moment, it appears limited to the XPS M1730 for a $46 premium over the 320GB 5,400RPM spinner. Alienware laptop rigs should see the new HDD option soon enough.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Robots

Why is this child so happy? It’s because he’s taking RINGBO the riding robot by the horns! See his glee as he cruises around for an entire hour at a blazing 2MPH? Hey, it only took six hours to charge up. RINGBO is controlled by those horn-like joysticks, and we can only hope that front panel contains an IR receiver — one that might give parents hours of pleasure as they override their kids′ intended direction. RINGBO will be shown by Airrobot at this week’s Koreannovation Trade Show in NYC, so we’ll be sure to bring our offspring, as it’s meant for children aged 2-3 and up to 66lbs. We just want to know two things: how much, and can we cheat the 66lb weight limit? Maybe just a little? C’mon. Want to have your mind totally blown? Please watch the video after the break. Please.

[Via OhGizmo!]

Continue reading RINGBO the riding robot is for kids, the song is for everyone

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: Gaming

Here’s your heartwarming story for the day. Microsoft has teamed up with Companions in Courage in order to bring “hundreds″ of Xbox 360 kiosks to children’s hospitals across the nation, and the gaming stations have already been installed at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center of Seattle and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California. The customized units are “hospital-friendly” and come pre-loaded with a variety of E and E10+ rated games, Y-rated television programs, G-rated movies and the Xbox Live headset / Vision camera in order for gamers to play online. Speaking of, each kiosk is wired to a private Live network which “allows hospitalized children across the country to play games and chat” with each other. There’s no word on where the stations are slated to arrive outside of the three venues already mentioned, but those interested in broadening the reach of the endeavor can feel free to donate to the cause.

[Via OhGizmo]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sure, it might look like a Viewmaster 3D from your childhood, but this here stripe projection 3D sensor from Fraunhofer IOF is so much less exciting. The concept is simple enough: the Kolibri projects a stripe pattern onto the subject, and then the two “eyes” capture slightly distinct angles of the image to compose a 3D model of the object based on the deducted geometry. The technology has been available for a while, but this is apparently the first device to cram it into such a small and portable form factor. Yeah… we’ll stick with the Viewmaster.

[Via About Projectors]

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Laptops

We already knew the G𕨘 would be showing itself at CeBIT this year, but apparently, quite a few siblings made the trek to Germany as well — including the aforementioned unit’s 14.1-inch sister, the GX400. Moving on, we’ve got the 15.4-inch GX620 and 17-inch GX720, and while the former looks to arrive in a wood, leather or carbon fiber finish, the latter supposedly arrives with a black lacquer coat and a built-in subwoofer (among other goodies). The GT-730 gaming lappie was also mentioned, but unfortunately, all we know is that it gets its graphics prowess from some form of ATI Mobility Radeon. The AMD-powered EX610 (15.4-inches) also turned heads with its integrated Blu-ray player and HDMI output, while the 17-inch EX700 sported the same along with a GeForce 8400M GPU. Hit up the links below for a couple more snapshots, won’tcha?

Read - MSI laptops at CeBIT
Read - More MSI laptops at CeBIT

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Original post by Darren Murph