Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones

Seriously though, how many are surprised to hear that Motorola’s Chief Technology / Strategy Officer Richard Nottenburg is jumping off the sinking ship? Apparently dude “left to return to the New York area to be with his family and pursue other opportunities,” which is code for a) he was passed over for CEO of the new mobile devices company, b) he was fired, or c) he finally wised up to the direction the company’s taken. Either way, we can’t really blame him.

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Original post by Ryan Block

Filed under: Robots

We know that you love swarming bug-bots as much as we do, so of course we were thrilled to tell you about BAE Systems’ MAST project the other day. Luckily, the Army-contracted company didn’t stop at mere photos to scare the living daylights out of humanity, they also created a really cheesy, yet deeply frightening video to go along with them. Enjoy a glimpse of the Skynet-controlled / shredding-guitar future of warfare after the break — and don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Continue reading Bug-bot video reveals swarming drones, extreme rocking

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Not even half a year after Air France enabled passengers on its single OnAir-equipped Airbus A318 to send / receive messages and e-mail, the airline has went live with the second phase of the in-flight experiment. As of this week, guests who find themselves aboard the aforesaid aircraft can make / receive calls on their mobile at 30,000 feet. Reportedly, a dozen simultaneous calls are possible “per picocell network, as well as unlimited text messages and e-mails,” and while pricing details weren’t disclosed, you can rest assured it won’t be a bargain. Nevertheless, the voice aspect of the trial is scheduled to carry on for three months, and we’re assuming the results (read: whether annoyed passengers start assaulting chronic yappers) will determine if it gets rolled out to more of the fleet or quietly buried.

[Via WiFi Net News]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras

It’s been a solid tick since we’ve heard any rustling in the bushes from Phase One, but the company’s striking back with a vengeance with the 645 (also known as the Mamiya 645AFDIII). Hailed as the “world’s most flexible, open medium format digital camera platform,” the unit plays nice with a smorgasbord of high-end lenses (Mamiya’s 645 family, Hasselblad V-lenses and Pentacon Six lenses, for starters), and can achieve shutter speeds from 1/4000 second to 60 minutes. Unfortunately, that’s about all the details we’re given for now, and while pre-production units are sneaking out at this week’s Photo Imaging Expo, we’ll be forced to hang tight until Q2 before indulging in full technical specifications. No worries — we figure most folks will need a quarter or so to save up, anyway. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Thanks, Harsh A.]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax’s 31.6 megapixel medium-format 645 Digital has been announced for over a year now — we’ve even seen one in the flesh — but it’s never actually shipped, and now it looks like it never will. According to Impress, Pentax is killing off its digital medium format cameras to focus on K-series DSLRs, but the 645’s film versions will live on. Considering the ever-more-competitive field of excellent prosumer cams out there, we can’t say we fault the decision, but if there are any engineering samples lying around, we’ll be happy to take ‘em off Pentax’s hands.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It’s not the first method we’ve seen for blinding security cameras, but this new DIY / art project from the folks at Oberwelt e.V. looks to be one of the simplest, and one of the few that could conceivably be used on an everyday basis. Dubbed the I-R.A.S.C. (for “infra-redlight against surveillance camera”), the device apparently consists simply of a series of infrared lights connected to a battery, which combine to blot out your face with a slightly unnerving glow. Needless to say, while it appears to hide your identity quite effectively, it doesn’t exactly scream subtlety, so you’d best think of some excuses to explain yourself if you actually plan on trying this thing out in public.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Household

Everybody knows that if you’ve got real criminals to deal worry about, you buy a gun or a katana. That’s why we’re planning on pointing this “witness camera” DIY project at those little household criminals, like Felix. The project involves a few cheap-as-free components like a VGA CMOS color camera, PIR movement sensor, ATmega32 processor and a 1GB SD card. Oddly enough, the box looks like a regular alarm detector, which seems it’d be the first thing a burglar — or a diabolical cat that likes to hold hapless fish ransom for unreasonable quantities of catnip — would try to disable, but we suppose the whole point of DIY is that you can hide the setup in whatever you please.

[Via MAKE]

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Details are still fuzzy at this point, but according to an e-mail received by numerous tipsters, Microsoft is indeed offering up a free copy of Vista in exchange for their privacy. Yeah, even though it claimed otherwise late last year. According to the note, Redmond is viewing these folks as “registered members” of the Windows Feedback Program, and if they keep their guard down for the remainder of a three month period, they will seemingly receive a copy of its latest OS gratis. So, any others out there finding an unexpected message from the Big M regarding said offer? Let us know in comments below, particularly if you get any free wares or previously analyzed keylogging reports.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Apparently, the news we got (and saw on the company’s website) yesterday concerning AT&T’s offer of a SIM-only service plan was off the mark… or so says AT&T. According to the telco’s reps, a SIM card can be had sans-contract, saying that its attitude towards the service hasn’t changed and that pre-paid, post-paid, or any other millions of varieties of arrangements can be made to tap into its sweet service. So move along folks, nothing here to see.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

It looks like all that shouting AT&T has been doing lately about its “openness” is starting to manifest itself in the way the company does business. It’s come to our attention that the mobile telco has started offering a SIM-only plan, thus providing the ultimate in open options. The idea being, of course, that you can bring any random / crappy / salvaged GSM-compatible handset the provider’s way, and it’ll let you hook a towline onto its satellites. Of course, you could just get one of those cheapo giveaways and pop out the card, but this is so much more open and free, like San Francisco in ‘69, a car-less road, some land of your own, and a good old-fashioned whiskey on the rocks. Oh, you still have a sign a two-year agreement… enjoy your freedom!

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Portable Video, Wearables

It’s not often that we see a pair of new wearable PVRs within the span of 24 hours, but sure enough, Ajoka is launching its Belt Buckle DVR just after we peeked the VIEVU PVR-PRO. ‘Course, we’re fairly certain this one’s arriving a little late to be an official member of the “multifaceted belt buckle” fad, but with all the utility crammed into this one, it’s got a fair shot at gaining traction, regardless. As for specs, this hidden camera can record video at a paltry 176 x 144 resolution, and considering that no built-in memory is included, you better bring your own SD card. Also, you can transfer captures and recharge the battery via the USB port, but sadly, no price is disclosed.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

Not even two months after NVIDIA tempted gamers on a budget with the GeForce 8800 GT, the outfit has loosed a new beast just in time for those eleventh hour holiday shoppers. Based on 65-nanometer fabrication, the 8800 GTS 512MB boasts 128 stream processors, twin dual-link DVI ports, PureVideo HD technology, DirectX 10 support, a 650MHz core clock / 970MHz memory clock and hardware decode acceleration for smooth playback of “H.264, VC-1, WMV and MPEG-2 HD and SD movies.” According to the company, this card provides some 25-percent more processing power than NVIDIA products previously offered at the same price point, which, if you’re wondering, is around $299 to $349.

[Via HotHardware]

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

Original post by Darren Murph