Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Kodak’s got a new one for the semi-casual point-and-shoot crowd, the EasyShare Z1015 IS. The 10 megapixel Z-series camera manages a 15x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, HD footage at 720p and 30 fps, and Kodak’s Perfect Touch processing. Naturally the IS implies optical image stabilization, but the 6400 ISO should help out in the shaking department as well if grain is not an issue, and full manual controls should help out all the in-betweens. It’ll go for $350 come September.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Digital Cameras

FujiFilm just busted out another of “Z” for Zoom, FinePix shooter. The 20-mm thin Z200fd follows-up the “surprisingly good” Z100fd with a 10 megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor; 5x, image stabilized, optical zoom lens; 2.7-inch LCD; SD/SDHC and xD card support; and ISO support up to 1600. It also features a new “love timer” with setting for near (1 heart), close-up (2 hearts), and sloppy-tongue-wrestling (3 hearts) depending upon the level of icky-sticky sweetness (or hipster annoyance judging by that pic) you’d like to capture. Set for release in Japan on June 7th for ¥40,000 or about $388 by the time it shows up Stateside to document your breakup.

[Via Impress]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Thomas Ricker

Korreannovation PR guy and semi-official spokesmodel Jeff Newelt manages to simultaneously use the Pet Pavilion and the Soundwalk, to the tune of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

It’s one thing to blog about a bunch of weird Korean gadgety goodness by reading press releases. It’s another thing entirely to actually get a chance to play with some of the weirdness. Ahead of next week’s Koreannovation, taking place on May 14 and 15th at the Penn Plaza Pavilion in New York City (free and open to the public), we got a chance to play around with a few of the cooler gadgets.

After the jump, pictures and hands-on videos with the Pet Pavilion and the SoundWalk speaker system. We took a look at the Blooming Bidet as well, but fortunately for all involved, we opted not to take any videos.

Molly the Wheaten Terrier acts as a slightly apprehensive test subject for the Pet Pavilion.

Original post by Brian Heater

Don’t let the pic confuse you–you haven’t wandered into a gardening blog within the last 5 seconds. In spite of the realistic looks, the three elements at the image above are actually loudspeakers by Niles Audio. Part of Niles Audio’s GeoRealistic weatherproof rock loudspeaker line, they are as follows: the Niles RS6Si series (at the front), the PB6Si planter loudspeaker (back, left), and the PS6Si planter loudspeaker (back, right). All three were designed to withstand the harshest of weathers, making them perfect for those inclined to spend idle time in their lawns.

If you’re wondering whether you can actually use the planter box loudspeakers to house live plants, the answer would be yes. The rock-like RS6Si, on the other hand, comes in numerous colors and textures germane to rocks. It features an injection molded TCC 6-inch woofer and two one-inch Tetron tweeters, and is designed to have three modes to choose from: monaural, traditional two-speaker stereo input, and single speaker stereo input. The PB6Si and PS6Si planter box loudspeakers, however, feature a 6.5-inch dual voice coil woofer and a couple of 1-inch fluid-cooled Tetron tweeters. Personally, I’d really like to see a garden gnome loudspeaker, but I guess these have to do for now. All three models are now available through Niles Audio’s authorized dealers.

Original post by Mariella Moon

There’s no shock that Ofcom have today detailed new Broadcasting Code rules intended to control the once-bonanza income generating TV programmes using Premium Rate Services (PRS) phone lines.
The new rules make it clear that both radio and TV programmes cannot, as their primary focus, be encouraging viewers to call in using PRS. The focus should […]

Original post by Simon Perry

Filed under: Handhelds

As you’ve probably figured out from all the OLPC XO and Intel Classmate news we’ve hit, computers aimed at students are a pretty hot topic these days. A Chicago-based nonprofit called Innovations for Learning has joined the fray with a new $50 entry dubbed the Teachermate. The small PCs come equipped with a 2.5-inch LCD display, 512MB of RAM, an SD slot, and built-in microphone and speaker. The systems are being rolled out to a whopping 500 Chicago elementary schools over the next two years, with the aim of having a unit in the hands of every child. The kid-friendly computers will come with a special case that allows charging and data-sync of 30 units at a time, allowing teachers to collect score-data quickly. If you absolutely must have one, it looks like they’re going to commercially available on Amazon, so you will be able to add it to your collection.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Oklahoma Christian University? Sure as hell (woops) haven’t heard of it either, but they must be the Cal to Abilene Christian University’s Stanford (or sub your fav rivalry here) as they seem ready to pony up the cash necessary to fund the next free-gear-to-students publicity stunt. This time the offering is not only an iPod touch or iPhone, but a new MacBook as well — and to sweeten the deal, current students can trade their machines in for a new one. Your tuition (and tithing) dollars hard at work, OCU parents, students, and alumni.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Ryan Block

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

We know, we’re getting tired of Apple Blu-ray rumors as well — they’re right up there with refreshed Cinema Displays in terms of rumor persistence — but until Steve and the gang actually shove a drive into a machine we’re stuck with them. The latest says that Apple is actively pressing Sony for slot-loading BD-R drives but quality control issues are gumming up the plan. Reportedly, this latest ho-hum MacBook Pro refresh was to feature BD-R drives, but all Sony could muster up were Blu-ray / DVD±RW drives, which Apple refused. That seems a little odd, frankly — now that the format war is over and the competition’s already shipping mid-range laptops with slot-load BD-R drives, you’d think Apple would want to cash in that Blu-ray Disc Association membership card with whoever can supply the drives. As always, we’ll see when we see — it’s gotta happen sometime, right?

[Image courtesy of dadako.com]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Features, Laptops

We all knew this day was coming. Apple’s previous MacBook Pro revision was certainly getting long in the tooth, a MacBook spec bump never hurt anything, and hey, Penryn isn’t getting any younger. Still, it’s pretty obvious that quite a few of the Apple faithful feel like the MacBook Pro and its cute little MacBook sidekick are in some serious need of a form factor refresh, and perhaps a little bit of SSD. We can understand Apple not wanting to steal the MacBook Air’s thunder, and to be fair most major manufacturers put the new Penryn chips inside existing form factors, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong for you to be upset. So, how do you really feel?

View Poll

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Laptops

We’ve always heard that Apple deliberately sends out misinformation to distract the rumor sites, and it looks like that may actually be true — check out these shots of the Future Shop inventory system, listing the upcoming MB402LL/A and MB403LL/A SKUs from Apple as being priced at CA$1149 and CA$1349, respectively. That’s MacBook pricing, if we had to make a guess — but remember that earlier Best Buy shot that showed a box size of 17 inches square, which is way bigger than any non-Pro MacBook. So, to recap: there are definitely new Apple laptops coming soon, but we have almost no idea what kind — based on product cycles, we’d say it’s the MacBook Pro, but signs point to the MacBook as well. Confused yet? Yeah, we thought so — but hopefully answers are coming soon.

Continue reading More Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro models numbers pop up

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops

Our tip jar, it brings us so much joy — and it brings you, dear reader, this printout of what’s purported to be the Best Buy database listing for one of those heretofore-unknown MacBook model numbers. You’ll note that whatever MB402LL/A turns out to be, it’s said to be in stock on March 2nd, which is just a few days away — but also note that current MacBook Pros have MA-series model numbers, while the regular MacBook has traditionally carried the MB designation. That’s interesting, but we doubt a $1,999 MacBook is about to surface — besides, the current MacBook box is 15 inches square, smaller than the 17 inches listed here. (Yes, we measured.) As always, we’ll see when we see — come on Tuesday, you’re almost here.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Although Apple has said that it’s still on track to ship 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, it looks like that rumor about scaled back production may have been true after all: several analysts are now reporting that the company’s pulled back iPod touch, iPhone, and MacBook production for Q1. Of course, Apple is known for managing its channel inventory pretty ruthlessly, so it’s not known if this is a permanent decrease or just a reaction to what some analysts are calling “overbuilding” in Q4, but there is some good news out there — strong sales of the iMac have led to a forecasted 35 percent production increase. You know, the last time the economy soured, Steve promised that Apple would “innovate out” of the downturn — we’d say some new MacBook Pros would be a fine start this time around, eh?

[Via X-bit Labs, thanks Mack]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Nilay Patel

Late last night, Canon announced the EOS Rebel XSi, the company’s latest entry into the digital SLR field. Unveiled amongst a slew of camera announcements as companies get ready to converge on the Las Vegas Convention Center once again for next week’s PMA, the new Rebel sets itself apart as one of the most feature-packed D-SLRs in the sub-$1,000 category.

The EOS Rebel XSi, which replaces Canon’s XT1 is 12.2-megapixels and features a 3-inch LCD. The camera also offers a new CMOS sensor for improved image quality, and, perhaps most impressively, boasts the Live View feature, which had previously only been available in the far pricier Mark III.

Canon has built the XSi around the Digic III processor. The company also upgraded the model’s Analog-to-Digital conversion process, improving color accuracy, while a new sensor improves ISO sensitivity up to 1,600.

EOS Rebel XSi is set to ship in April for $800 (for the body only) or as $900 kit, complete with an EF-S 18-to-55-mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. More info and pictures are available at PCMag.com.

Original post by Brian Heater

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ve no idea what’s up with Europe and its admittedly zany fascination with canine research, but not even two months after a team of Austrians claimed to have trained a litter to use computers, a crew from Hungary is now trumpeting its dog translation software. More specifically, Csaba Molnár (and colleagues) from Eötvös Loránd University have reportedly been able to create an application that can “identify and differentiate the acoustic features of dog barks, and classify them according to different contexts and individual dogs.” The gurus began by feeding some 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in a half dozen situations to a computer, and during analysis, it was able to correctly classify the barks between 40 and 50-percent of the time. Granted, that’s a heck of a lot better than any of us could do, so we suppose we can’t yelp about the results too much.

[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of CalgaryAgility]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It’s that time of year again. You know, the months where your typing slows to a crawl as your fingers gradually lose every ounce of feeling in them. Granted, there’s a myriad options already out there to keep ‘em thawed out, but this particular alternative just looks awfully practical. The USB Hand Warmer takes the form of a stick, enabling any frosty citizen to grab hold, wrap their digits around it and instantly feel the heat. Best of all, you can pick up a couple and get the left and right paws warmed up simultaneously. Not too shabby for $10.99 (apiece).

[Via The Red Ferret Journal]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph