Developages - Development and Technology Blog

snydeq writes “Programmers are finding themselves increasingly drawn to the Mac as a development platform, in large part due to Apple’s decision to move to Intel chips and to embrace virtualization of other OSes, which has turned Mac OS X into a flexible tool for development, InfoWorld reports. The explosion of interest in smartphone development is helping the trend, with iPhone development lock-in to the Mac environment the chief motivating factor for Apple as a platform of choice for mobile development. Yet for many, the Mac remains sluggish and poorly tuned for development, with developers citing its virtual memory system’s poor performance in paging data in and out of memory and likening use of the default-network file system, AFS, to engaging oneself with ‘some kind of passive-aggressive torture.’ What remains unclear is whether Apple will lend an ear to this new wave of Mac-based development or continue to develop products that lock out uses programmers expect.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by CmdrTaco

Filed under: Robots

If Yujin Robot has its way, cafes the world over will someday replace their waitstaff with robots like CAFERO (shown above at Robot World 2008 in Seoul). Details are scarce, but apparently the automaton takes orders on a touch screen and fills them with the help of a human operator (though it’s only a matter of time before the carbon-based barista is obsolete). Robot waitresses don’t flirt and they don’t ask for tips: does CAFERO represent food service utopia or a chilling vision of the future? Only time will tell.

[Via Hallyu Tech]

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Original post by Joseph L. Flatley

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

By this point, you should fully understand that “Dubai” and “world’s largest” go hand-in-hand, so it’s quite fitting that said city is receiving the planet’s most humongous LED screen. Designed by UAE development company Tameer Holding, the 33-story high display will reportedly be “embedded on an intended commercial tower in the Majan district of Dubailand,” where it will stand tall and blast out advertisements to onlookers some 1.5-kilometers away. Dubbed Podium, the building will also house 33 levels of “premium commercial office space, two floors dedicated to retail and four floors for parking.” There’s no word on when the project will be completed, but we don’t suspect Tameer will be dragging its feet in getting this up.

[Via Coolbuzz]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Can′t get to the ringing cell phone fast enough ladies because it’s hidden inside your briefcase, purse, bag or pocket?

Well, does Sony have a product for you!

The new Bluetooth MBW-200 range of Bluetooth watches is an expansion of the highly successful Bluetooth MBW-150 range, which enables you to control your phone with your watch.

Missed an important call or SMS because you couldn’t hear or find your phone at the bottom of your handbag? With the MBW-200 this is now a thing of the past. Using innovative Bluetooth technology, the watch displays the caller ID and vibrates as your phone is ringing or when you receive an SMS.

Reject or mute the call with a button on the watch or use the Bluetooth headset or mobile phone to answer the call and start chatting.

Designed in partnership with watch industry leader Fossil and the knowhow of Sony Ericsson, the MBW-200 series comes in three distinct designs; Sparkling Allure, Contemporary Elegance and Evening Classic.

The collection features scratch-resistant mineral crystal glass with an anti-glare coating for optimum readability and glow. The discreet, yet stylish and clear monochrome OLED display is invisible when not in use and clearly visible on a bright day so that you can easily see who is calling or which track is playing.

Features include:

• Reject or mute call through the watch
• Vibrates on new SMS/MMS — and an out of range warning — when 30 feet away from your phone
• Discreet yet clear caller ID — OLED display
• Play, pause, stop or skip a track on your phone’s music player
• Quartz movements for exact time keeping — both digital and analog
• Auto pairing — easier to connect the watch to your phone
• Water resistant up to 3 ATM
• Allergy safe stainless steel
• Mineral crystal scratch resistant face with antiglare coating 

Availability in early ̮ 2008. 

Tags: bluetooth, cell phone, fossil, mbw-200, sony, sony ericsson, wrist watch

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Original post by nafiz

Microsoft seems to have figured out a game plan that works: Drop your prices, and more people will buy your product. After a price drop to $199 last week, the Xbox 360 has doubled in sales.

The company also happily pointed out that “retailers are reporting that between Friday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 7, some Xbox 360 models were selling at six times the rate they were the weekend prior.”

Not a terrible way to begin the push into the holiday season.

Original post by Brian Heater

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals

While you may be more familiar with the word Gyration paired with mouse, Movea has decided to combine its excellence in cursor-pointing with its knowledge of remote-making. The HTPC universal remote, christened Gyration Air Music Remote, includes a backlit LCD that can display music choices from WMP / iTunes, a motion sensor for inputting mouse commands from your couch (up to 100-feet away) and RF / IR support. If all that fits your bill, you can grab one now for $179.99 or $229.99 when bundled with a wireless portable keyboard.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, Peripherals

Sensing your deep down desire for more OLED keys, Art Lebedev is busting out the new Optimus Pultius, which adds 15 keys to the mayhem. Sure you could use it all by its lonesome, sans Maximus, but that’s just not as fun. The keys are just like the ones on the Maximus, and there’s even an extra USB port in the back. And you know what that’s for… daisy chaining these suckers. No word on price or release date just yet, other than the vague 2008 / early 2009 timeframe.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

Sure, there are already a handful of options out there for extending the life of your iPhone / iPod battery, but since when have we been ones to gripe about a little competition? Kensington has just introduced a standard and miniature version of its Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone / iPod, which unsurprisingly provides juice to your device’s internal battery and can be recharged simultaneously. As you could likely guess, the only differences between the two contraptions are the size, price and battery life; the 0.22-pound standard model extends play time to up to 100 hours (music) / 6 hours (talk), while the even tinier mini version livens things up for another 30 hours (music) / 3 hours (talk). Each is available now for $69.99 / $49.99.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

You know those elephant-sized medical scanners? Totally amazing machines, sure, but things like that aren’t apt to be shipped into obscure jungles throughout Africa. Thankfully, a team of researchers have developed something that could bring medical scanning to an even larger chunk of the world: a real live Tricorder. Of course, it’s not really going by that moniker, but the diminutive scanner is able to interface with a cellphone via USB and utilize its 3G / WiFi access to send raw scan data to servers and receive images back. Granted, you won′t get any high-resolution viewing from your average mobile, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We can’t say for certain that this is the most pointlessly sophisticated contraption we’ve ever seen built, but regardless of all that, we dare anyone to deny its greatness. In essence, the LeaveMeAloneBox does nothing more than turn itself off after a pestiferous human flips it on — time, and time, and time again. Really, the beauty of this thing can only truly be seen in video, so click on through for what’s likely to be the best 29 seconds of your day.

[Via MAKE]

Continue reading LeaveMeAloneBox perpetually closes itself, should win some kind of award

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Braille phones in and of themselves aren’t all that unique, but a former professor (who just so happens to be completely blind) from Tsukuba University of Technology has crafted a variant that jumps and jives. Dubbed the world’s first vibrating Braille cellphone, the device is programmed to emit pulses depending on which key is pressed; more specifically, a pair of terminals attached to the handset “vibrate at a specific rate to create a message.” Those currently involved with the project are now toiling to make the keypad-to-vibration converters smaller, but there’s no word just yet on whether the technology will be picked up commercially.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Household

It’s one thing to exemplify laziness; it’s another to buck the habit just long enough to invent something to keep you idler, longer. Enter Enrico Berruti, an everyday fellow who has created something that almost anyone with a bed could see as useful. His Selfy bed, quite simply, uses a variety of moving parts, bars and linens to make itself at the push of a button. To be fair, Mr. Berruti was thinking of disabled individuals who would have a difficult time making their own traditional bed when conjuring this thing up, but he didn′t hesitate to mention his own indolence as motivation. Hopefully there’s some kind of safety feature to prevent users from accidentally activating the thing while they’re still snoozing — can′t imagine that being any fun.

[Via Physorg, image courtesy of AFP / Getty Images]

 

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Storage

Confused by all the various permutations of Western Digital’s My Book line of external drives yet? No? Well, go ahead and add the My Book Studio Edition II to your stack of flashcards, Mr. Smart Face. Just like the previous 2TB My Book products, you’re getting two RAID 0 drives in a quad-interface external case, only this time it’s the updated My Book Studio design. WD’s also gone and upgraded the drives themselves to GreenPower units, which run cooler and use less power, and Mac users will be pleased to know that everything comes HFS+ formatted. Got that? Expect a quiz in the near future. Available now, we’re told, at $349 for 1TB and $599 for 2TB.

 

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Storage

LaCie’s been known to launch a few products under the cover of darkness before, and sure enough, it’s decided to do just that with a trifecta of new externals. Starting from the top, we′ve got the 1TB Desktop Hard Disk, which sports a USB 2.0 port (only) and an exceedingly simplistic black design. Next up is the more compact 250GB - 500GB Desktop Hard Disk, which sports the same name (and sole USB socket) but a much less bulky chassis. Lastly, the Mobile Disk comes in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB sizes, fits in most cargo pockets and gets all the juice it needs from your machine’s USB port. Word on the street has both the Desktop and Mobile drives starting at around €80 ($123), and if you look hard enough, you can actually grab these right now.

Read - LaCie 1TB Desktop Hard Disk [Via Gizmos]
Read - LaCie 250GB - 500GB Desktop Hard Disk
Read - LaCie Mobile Hard Disk [Via Gizmos]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Storage

Although Buffalo managed to squeeze one whole terabyte of storage into its new LinkStation Mini, the firm is looking to give the bytes within its latest external drive a bit more breathing room. The 500GB MiniStation TurboUSB is a touch more capacious than the previous 320GB king, and as with other TurboUSB devices, it supposedly offers up “30-percent faster transfer rates than most USB hard drives.” Additionally, the firm throws in its own Shock Resistant technology along with its SecureLockWare in order to prevent “unauthorized access in the event the drive is lost or stolen.” Heck, you’ll even find Memeo’s AutoBackup right in the box, and as for the box itself, look for it to land later this month for a cool $329.

 

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Original post by Darren Murph