Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Yep, just like we’d heard, the Phoenix lander has identified water in a soil sample it collected in Mars earlier, and NASA’s extended the mission for another 90 days to go look for more. There’s no analysis of the ice yet, but it doesn’t look like there’s any organic materials in the sample, and it’ll take another three to four weeks before there’s any more data to reveal. Hopefully that means we’ll be packing up our silver go-go boots and taking off for our fabulous future lives on Mars in a month, but we’ll see how things go.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

It wouldn’t be a decent pointless chip marketing program if you didn’t get minor computer builders supporting the “spec” in an effort to make a name for themselves. AMD GAME! just got its first product announcement from Vigor Gaming, and it’s quite the yawner. Vigor is sticking the required AMD components into its Force Recon SP desktops, with a “mainstream” version running an Athlon X2 5600+ processor, ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics and 2GB of RAM for around $1,845, while an AMD Game! Ultra configuration bumps up to a Phenom X4 9650 chip and Radeon HD 3870 graphics for $2,733. Both systems are naturally based on AMD’s 770 chipset and run Vista. Vigor offers free overclocking for the brave and custom painting for the aesthetically challenged.

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Household

Someday soon, the phrase “dripping with light” won’t just be an abstruse lyric in a post-punk song you’ve written… light may actually be dripping on things. At least that’s what researchers at Nikki Chemical Co. and the Nagoya Institute of Technology hope to see happening by 2010. The team of scientists has created a white, fluorescent material which can be used to create white light, yet can be molded into a number of shapes. The mushy lamps consist of an organic compound, which is coupled with ultraviolet light and a glasslike inorganic compound that gives the substance structural protection. The combo can handle temperatures to 500 degrees Celsius, uses half the power of typical fluorescent lights, and will last longer than white LEDs due to heat resistance. Also, did we mention it’s like Silly Putty? [Warning: read link requires subscription]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Household

It may not boast any fancy or slightly terrifying measures to haul you out of bed in the morning, or pack the DIY flavor of some clocks we seen, but if you just want to keep things simple and stylish you could certainly do a lot worse than one of these new LEXON jet clocks from designer Theo Williams. Available in wall/desk clock (pictured above), clock radio or travel alarm clock versions, the clocks each boast an electroluminescent backlit display, which lights up all your vital information (including the temperature) dot-matrix-style. You can also get the clocks in your choice of gold or brushed aluminum finishes, although it seems that only the wall clock model is available right now, with it setting you back €45 (or just under $70).

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: HDTV, Portable Video

Do you ever wonder just how realistic all these coin / hand / White House-to-miniscule item comparison shots are? We certainly do, and while the ¥1 coin seen above could be the size of a frisbee for all we know (we jest, we jest), we suppose we’ll believe Sharp when it says its latest 1seg tuner is indeed the world’s smallest. The VA3A5JZ922 checks in at just 5.9- x 5.9- x 0.9-millimeters — about 35-percent smaller than competitors — and should cost around ¥20,000 ($185) when samples start shipping out next week. Don’t get too excited just yet, however, as mass production isn’t slated to get going until late September.

[Via PMPToday]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Sure, it’s not the best stand-up ever, but it’s worth it to get a taste of that sweet, sweet The Techno. [via POETV]

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Original post by Joel

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Original post by Joel

This might be the best thing that’s ever been on Kimmel. (I’d tell you more but I don’t want to spoil it.) [Huffington Post]

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Original post by Joel

Filed under: Displays

Look, the LCD monitor market is hot. How hot, you ask? Well let’s just say that panel manufacturer Chunghwa Picture Tubes (or CPT) has decided to circumvent the battle for ultimate supremacy in the 19-inch market by creating a totally new size of monitor: an 18.4-inch widescreen display. The new size will feature a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1366 x 768 resolution, a contrast ratio of 1000:1, and a response time of 5ms. The benefit of the slightly smaller size is that the cost to consumers will be lower than its 19-inch brethren, thereby giving CPT a cleaner shot a some market share. The first company to bite on the new size is Acer, which will be using the new panels in a Quanta-made laptop set to hit Europe in the second half of 2008.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky