Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Graffiti doesn’t have to be destructive or polluting, I’m seeing a new trend in eco-graffiti or “guerilla gardening” that’s gaining traction. Here’re a few examples:

Edina Tokodi (aka Mosstika) interview on Wooster Collective

Moss graffiti instructables by users splnlss and ladybird

Manual for City Farming Plant Modules by N55

If you’ve got a favorite example of guerilla gardening, please post it in the comments!

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Original post by Becky Stern

Andrew writes -

Our favorite new iPhone hack, the duiPhone, will let you know for sure whether you should hand the car keys to a friend after a long night in the bar… Once you blow into the mouthpiece, the application will determine your blood alcohol level - either telling you you’re good to go, or that you should consider calling a cab. We built this from a store-bought-and-hacked breathalyzer attached to a 3G iPhone - our first experiment with Tellart’s newest Sketchtool: NADA Mobile. Yes, this video was taken at our office. Yes, those are real 40s on the table.

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Original post by Phillip Torrone

The “Zebra Crossing Memorial” was an urban street art hack designed in a similar way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in WDC. Hundreds of names of people that were killed by cars were stenciled in the streets of Portugal. Check out the video to see the entire process unfold.

via Web Urbanist

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Original post by Jonah Brucker-Cohen

Filed under: Laptops

NEC′s new LaVie Light netbook didn’t exactly do much to make itself noticed when it was first announced, but our pals at Engadget Chinese say the pictures of the device are a tad deceiving, and that it’s actually a pretty solid little number in person. That’s apparently partly due to some solid fit and finish all around, and some fairly unique features like a screen that tilts back a full 180 degrees. They still aren’t sold on that over-sized bezel though, or the device’s thorougly ordinary spec list. Hit up the link below for a closer look.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Storage

Don’t spaz out or anything, but that thing you’re peering at above actually isn’t a small flask of cologne. No, no — it’s an 8GB USB drive, and it’s one of the most expensive you can buy. Reportedly built with titanium, the drive is water-resistant, crush-proof and fancied up further with a single red ruby. Sure, it’s 21,750 rubles ($837), but dollars to donuts they’d trade you one for a sure-to-be-authentic iPhone.

[Via Gadgets-Weblog]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, Laptops

We’ve already heard about a certain other computer manufacturer’s supposed plans to go all LED with its laptops in the not too distant future, and it looks like Dell is now set to take the energy-saving leap as well. According to PC Magazine, Dell says that two-thirds of its Latitude E-series laptops will ship with mercury-free LED backlighting as standard by December 15th of this year, and that by the end of 2009, fully 80 percent of all its laptops will be equipped with LED-backlit displays, which also have the added benefit of looking better and being thinner. The remaining laptops will then apparently make the switch sometime in 2010. In case you′re wondering, Dell also says that it is “absolutely committed” to transitioning its desktop displays to LED, although it doesn’t seem to be quite ready to make any firm commitments.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Household

We have the Antwerp design firm Frap to thank for this high-concept “floor clock.” Frap’s Anthony Duffeleer explains: “Design is an unbelievably pretentious word. A designer is really a process supervisor.” Uh, right. Created by a process known as rotation molding, the clock is quite light, considering that it is 1150 mm in diameter (that’s almost 4 feet, Americans). And the price? “Available on request from the manufacturer.” In other words, if you have to ask, this is probably not the clock for you.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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Original post by Joseph L. Flatley

Filed under: Storage

It’s finally happened, a 32GB SATA II SSD for laptops has just dipped below $100 ($159 list, minus $60 rebate)… with a catch. The SSD in question is the 32GB OCZ Core Series SATA II — an SSD which could actually be slower and consume more power than your current, aged spinner depending upon your usage habits. But man, 99 bucks — that’s tempting.

[Via DailyTech]

Read — NewEgg
Read — Mwave

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops

Think $500 is a good deal for the 8.9-inch Eee PC 901? Good, then you’ll love $449 for the 10-inch Eee PC 1000H. That’s already $200 below the original $650 launch price. That sum takes home 1GB RAM, a 6-cell battery, and XP loaded onto an 80GB hard disk.

P.S. Amazon says it′ll ship in 1 to 2 months (huh?) but Mwave and others seem to have it in stock, ready to ship now.

[Thanks to Jeremy and everyone who sent this in]

Read — Amazon
Read — mwave

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Details are slim at the moment, but one thing’s for sure: Dell customers affected (or not affected… yet) by those wonky NVIDIA GPUs will have their warranties extended by 12-months to compensate. The 1-year “limited warranty enhancement” will add coverage for this issue to everyone who recently purchased one of the 15 NVIDIA-equipped machines listed in the read link, and we′re told to expect further details about the whole ordeal in short order. Breathe easy, folks — you’ll be taken care of somehow or another.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Quite a few Instinct owners were giving Samsung / Sprint one option: crank out a firmware update to show that they cared before the 30-day test period expired, or deal with all that messy RMA paperwork. Unfortunately for the aforesaid firms, the handset’s first update is coming ten days after that date (at least for the earliest of adopters), and initial reports suggest that glaring problems still exist. Some users are suggesting that Sprint TV is less pixelated than before and that overall snappiness is improved, but the patently awful browser still remains at 1.0 (and thus just as awful). Look, when the change that gets most people jazzed is the battery meter’s newfound ability to hit 100% (and not just 90% as in the past), something is seriously wrong. Anyone else find any nuggets of goodness in the new update?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage, Networking

It’s no secret that HP MediaSmart Server owners have been having an awful time getting their device to operate correctly, er, at all since HP loosed its most recent software update on July 21st. In order to make sure owners have a solution implement its best damage control tactics, HP’s own Director of Marketing for the Connected Entertainment group has put out a statement informing users that the problems (slow console shown above) are more than a figment of their imagination. Furthermore, the so-called solution is to simply “install each update one at a time, independently,” because clearly HP cannot be bothered to fix a problem it helped create. Oh, it gets better. HP is also aware that PacketVideo (bundled with the update) “no longer supports media streaming to Sony’s PlayStation 3,” so it simply encourages owners to surf on over to a third-party website and hack up the PV database in order to get things back to normal. Jump on past the break for the patently ridiculous letter in its entirety.

[Image courtesy of Within Windows]

Continue reading HP responds to MediaSmart Server issues, offers no real solution at all

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: GPS

Just over a month after the internet got all fired up about the problematic AVIC F-Series navigators, Pioneer has come to the rescue (we hope, anyway) with a free firmware update. Aimed specifically at the US-based AVIC-F90BT, AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F700BT, the update will reportedly “improve overall system performance and resolve certain software issues.” The outfit also notes that the AVIC-F500BT doesn’t need the upgrade, and even if your unit has been a-okay thus far, it still recommends applying the software. Take ten minutes or so and see what the latest firmware has to offer, and be sure to let us know if all (or some) of the kinks have indeed been ironed out.

[Thanks, Steven]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

We’re guessing the naming scheme here was quite intentional, though we’ll be the first to say Bandai’s Smart Berry has very, very little in common with RIM’s stockpile of handsets. Nevertheless, this “mobile communicator” joins the small crowd of other tween-centric chat handhelds with wireless capabilities that enable four of these things to talk to one another “for email, chat and online games within a 10-meter diameter.” For whatever reason, messages are limited to 64 characters (and you thought SMS was bad…), and in case that little tidbit grows increasingly frustrating, there’s a virtual pet on board to take your mind to a more blissful place. Sure, we can see younger gals being entertained by this for a few weeks or so, but the ¥10,290 ($96) price tag just seems a bit outrageous, particularly when you consider the lack of a color screen. Yeah, for real.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Attention all trinket lovers, your next must-buy piece of garbage has just arrived. For years, mom ‘n pop stores (not to mention Cracker Barrel Country Stores) have raked in serious profits selling wooden animals with round knobs for feet, but now those manual farm-derived masseurs are likely out of a job. The USB Animal Massager ups the ante in a serious way by getting powered by USB, meaning that you won’t even have to lift a finger as you watch that dog, panda or pig go to town on your toes or aching back. $10 spells relief (and embarrassment, but whatever).

[Thanks, Fanny]

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Original post by Darren Murph