Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Dell really wants the Inspiron Mini 9 to do well from the very start, so consider the following phrases below:

“If you can wait until 6 a.m. Central tomorrow, Sept. 5, you’ll be able to get a Mini for only $99 with the purchase of a Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330 laptop through 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9 (U.S. only).” -direct2dell.com

“That’s not bad considering the Dell’s Studio 15 laptop starts at $649 and features an Intel’s Pentium Dual Core, Windows Vista, 160GB hard drive, 1GB memory, and comes in a variety of colors. Sounds like a great back to school computer, especially if you’re getting a netbook for $99.” -Yahoo! Tech

Continue to watch a video of one of the people who put the netbook together.

Philippine affiliate Technograph has also reported on the netbook.

Share This

Original post by Rico

The Sears at Tracy, CA (get directions) is (or was) offering the Sharp Aquos LC-52D82U 52 inch LCD for a lot less than $900. As the story goes:

I don’t know if this is a great deal but I got the Sharp Aquos LC-52D82U 52 inch LCD for $882.71 OTD on clearance at Sears. It was marked down to $899.99 and the sales guy gave me another 10% off because they needed to get rid of all of last years model. I have a copy of the receipt if anyone needs it.

Scan of receipt is below
http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sharpbetterlh4.jpg

Tags: Aquos, Deals, LC-52D82U, Sharp

Share This

Original post by Rico

Here’s a good deal from Deals2Buy.com: “HP Pavilion dv9700t, Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T5750, 2.0GHz, 17″ WXGA+, 3GB RAM, 250GB, LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, 802.11 a/b/g/n, 8 Cell Battery, Windows Vista Home Premium for $699.99 at HPShopping.com”

Check it out here. The promo works for only the first 2700 buyers. Be warned though: anyone who owns a 17″ laptop will tell you that it’s more “powerhouse” than “portable”. All we know is that desktop replacement laptops really below on the desk.

Tags: 17″ laptops, Deals, dv9700t, hernia, HP

Share This

Original post by Rico

Quick! Sears is offering the “Sony 46 in. Class LCD Full HD (1080p) Television, BRAVIA” (which apparently really costs $3299) for $1999, exclusive of tax. This deal apparently lasts for a days for so, if not today only.

Quite a markdown, but it’s a good bet not anyone can just drop $2000 on a TV. If any of you can afford to do so though, let us know? It’s been a while since we freeloaded, and we’re willing to bring our XBox over for some gaming. (fatwallet.com)

Tags: 46-inch TVs, Bravia, deal, Sony, XBR4

Share This

Original post by Rico

Quick! Sears is offering the “Sony 46 in. Class LCD Full HD (1080p) Television, BRAVIA” (which apparently really costs $3299) for $1999, exclusive of tax. This deal apparently lasts for a days for so, if not today only.

Quite a markdown, but it’s a good bet not anyone can just drop $2000 on a TV. If any of you can afford to do so though, let us know? It’s been a while since we freeloaded, and we’re willing to bring our XBox over for some gaming. (fatwallet.com)

Tags: 46-inch TVs, Bravia, deal, Sony, XBR4

Share This

Original post by Rico

If you’ve been thinking of buying an Xbox for a while but have bravely held off through numerous price cuts and the opportunity to play games like GTA IV, then your time to shine could be just around the corner. Rumour has it Microsoft might be planning another rather significant slashing of prices for its console again, with the ‘entry-level’ arcade model suggested to be a bargain basement $199 (£100). Following this particular move you could also see cuts on the more expensive models, with the Pro dropped to $299 (£150) and the Elite, with its whacking great 120GB hard drive down to $399 (£200). Microsoft is of course keeping mum about the whole thing, but VGChartz.com seems to think it’s true and that the drop will come into affect on the 7th of September. Conveniently this is just two weeks before Rock Band 2, which is exclusive to the console, is supposed to hit the shelves. Certainly would be good timing then, and though these prices are only likely to affect the US to begin with, let’s hope that A) it’s true and B) we see a ripple effect over here pretty sharpish. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] [VGChartz] Microsoft XBox consoles

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Another day, another means of converting waste heat into something decidedly non-wasteful. This one comes to us from the folks at Cyclone, whose self-starting Waste Heat Engine can apparently be powered by virtually any source of waste heat, including exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine, the “direct burning of biomass,” or even the waste heat from another Waste Heat Engine. The company is also touting the engine’s ability to provide a boost to solar-power generators, with it apparently able to capture heat using inexpensive panels attached to a roof, which Cyclone says could be installed at just 20% of the cost of other systems relying on pricey photovoltaic panels. Of course, there’s no word as to what the Waste Heat Engine itself will cost, or when it’ll be available, but you can check it out in action in the (auto-playing) video after the break.

Continue reading Cyclone Waste Heat Engine promises power on the cheap

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Converting residual industrial heat into something usable (read: electricity) has proven to be more than a novel concept on more than one occasion, and ElectraTherm’s giving the process one more vote of confidence by installing its Green Machine at Southern Methodist University. Just this past week, the firm flipped on its first commercial waste heat generator at the Dallas-based institution, with hopes to generate “fuel-free, emissions-free electricity at three to four cents per kW/hr during payback period and under a penny/kW hour thereafter.” The 50kW rig has so far exceeded expectations, and the firm is now forecasting that its units will have a “subsidy-free payback period of three years or less.” Of course, we aren’t told exactly how many zeros reside on the left of the decimal or anything, but folks in the area can get a tour of the installation later this month.

[Image courtesy of Jetson Green]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Peripherals

Just in case IOGEAR’s USB 2.0 External VGA Video Card (pictured) wasn’t swank enough for your DVI-equipped display, the firm is introducing a variant just for you. Designed to give users the ability to spread those 80 column spreadsheets over two monitors without cracking open the case, the USB 2.0 External DVI Video Card enables the use of a multi-monitor setup for folks with leased / locked machines and those absolutely terrified of seeing PCB in the flesh. Of course, the $149.99 unit is only designed to operate with Windows XP / Vista, but chances are your corporate box isn’t running anything else, anyway.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays

It looks like it’s not only those in Japan that’ll be able to get their hands on what’s purported to be the “industry’s smallest and lightest XGA projector,” with Sanyo now also announcing that its diminutive PLC-XW60 LCD projector will soon be available ’round these parts as well. Most importantly, the price has also received a rather steep cut from the direct Yen to dollar conversion, with it now boasting an MSRP of just $795. That’ll still get you the very same 3.6-pound projector, however, which packs a respectable 2,000 lumens of brightness, a 400:1 contrast ratio, component, composite and VGA inputs, and, last but not least, a built-in 1 watt mono speaker. Look for it to hit all the usual sources sometime next month.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

You know how we love wind turbines around here, but we love carnage even more — so we can’t get enough of this 200-foot tall Danish wind turbine shearing itself to bits after its brakes failed during a recent storm. The 10-year old windmill is the one of two different Vestas windmills to fail in Denmark in the past week — the company is launching an investigation, but might we suggest selling tickets instead?

[Via BoingBoing]

Continue reading Danish wind turbine eats itself

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Cellphones

The drama at Motorola just keeps coming — apparently CEO Greg Brown has now taken direct personal control of the mobile phone division in an effort to turn it around. Of course, this move — announced in an internal email leaked to Reuters — comes in the wake of buyout rumors and Motorola’s own admission that it might spin the handset unit off. We’re not certain what steps Greg plans to take now that’s he holding the reins, but we might know some people who might have some ideas.

[Via RCR Wireless News]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment

Craving the custom install look, but not willing to tear down walls to get it? Sony has debuted the Sound Wall RHT-S10 stand for all your HT gear, and it’s packing 5.1 surround sound to boot. The free-standing unit has a TV mount, amplifier and subwoofer all built in. Hang the display, route any wires behind the unit and plug everything together at the A/V rack in the base and you’re all set. But hey, what about the rear channels in this 5.1 system? Those rear signals are mixed in with the fronts — combined with Sony’s S-Force Pro, they claim you don’t need those pesky channels any more. We’re skeptical, but they’ve packed in some good features: 350-Watts of digital amplification, 1080p24 passthrough, BRAVIA sync (CEC) and Sony’s Digital Media Port for bringing your other media devices to the party.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Steven Kim

Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment

The flood of product introductions from Philips continues on, this time with the Ambisound HTS6100 5.1-channel surround bar and HTS6515 home theater in a box. The HTS6100 is essentially a lower-end repackaging of last year’s HTS8100, only this time with iPod dock and $599 pricetag — $200 less than the HTS8100 — and the HTS6515 is the $499 baby brother version of last year’s $599 HTS6600. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Philips product if it didn’t come with some recklessly insane hyperbole, and those ready to get their Ambisound on should be ready to “lose themselves in an immersive cinematic experience” as “the joint performance of sound and video pulls you away from reality.” Why, you ask? Because “there is no risk of cluttered space or tangled speaker wires,” of course. Ah, no wonder we’ve been trapped this hellish reality for so long. Check the HTS6600 after the break.

Continue reading Philips intros the Ambisound HTS6100 surround bar and HTS6515D HTIB

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: CES, Features, Home Entertainment

We got a chance to tackle and photograph the new bar of 5.1 sound that Philips is delivering, and while we can’t attest to great sound quality (it wasn’t on), we can say that it’s got a unified design that is pretty sweet, and the integrated DVD player coupled with a slew of ports will probably please even the most discerning home theater fan — though this clearly isn’t aimed at the high-end folks. Check the gallery and experience the long-view sound system yourself.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky