Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones

Moving just a tad downmarket from the mighty morphin’ E8, Moto has rolled out three new members of its music-centric ROKR series today: the EM25 slider, EM28 flip, and EM30 candybar. The EM30 probably feels the most familiar, aping the E8’s design language but trashing the touch-sensitive wheel for a plain ol’ d-pad. It does, however, carry over the E8’s so-called ModeShift morphing keypad and features an FM radio with RDS, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Windows Media compatibility. The EM28 brings the same style to a clamshell, while the EM25 reps the slider form factor. We’re seeing some shots of a T-Mobile branded EM30 in here, too, so it looks like the carrier wants something to slot in right below the E8 in its Moto lineup — a wise move, considering the E8’s considerable expense. Look for the EM30 to launch first in Taiwan (sorry, T-Mob) followed by other markets later in the quarter, while the EM25 and EM28 should launch on a more global scale in the coming weeks.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Chris Ziegler

I don’t often find occasion to invoke the work of Harry Nilsson in my Gearlog postings–honestly, the man’s work just doesn’t sufficiently tackle the sort of subject matter that lends itself to a gadget blog. That said, when I first heard about the above product, I couldn’t help but think about the songwriter’s song “Good Old Desk,” from his excellent 1968 record, Aerial Ballet.

In the song, Nilsson sings a handful of lines like “Such a comfort to know, it’s dependable and slow.” I bring this up because I want to state, for the record, that I’m almost certain that Nilsson was in fact not referring to the Notebook Desk with Built-in 2.1 Speakers and Cooling Fans as he sang lines like that and, “My old desk never needs a rest / and I’ve never once heard it cry.”

But, sadly, Harry Nilsson is no longer with us, but in his place we’ve got computer desks that play music and blow air to cool your notebook. Is this progress? Well, according to the manufacturer, the desk is “compatible with Win98 SE, Win ME, Win 2000,Win XP, Win Vista, and MAC OS9/OSX.” Surely if Nilsson had any idea what any of those words meant, he would have added a line to that effect.

Also, he no doubt would have touched on its foldable table legs, USB power, and various control buttons.

Oh well, that’s what reissues are for.

Original post by Brian Heater

We at TMC have heard the cries from developers for a stronger development track at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo to focus on more technical development-related topics. As a developer myself with a background in computer engineering, I discussed with Rich Tehrani and others the need for a strong developers track at ITEXPO.

In May of 2007, TMC actually held a separate show called Communications Developer Conference (Comm Dev 07), which was fairly successful for such a ‘niche’ show. Although it was successful, we realized it made much more sense to co-locate Communications Developer Conference at ITEXPO, TMC’s flagship IP communications conference that draws 15,000 attendees each year and no doubt dozens if not hundreds of developers.

With that said, I am happy to report today that TMC is bringing the Communications Developer Conference to ITEXPO!

Without tooting our horn too much, this makes TMC’s ITEXPO the #1 educational IP communications conference for developers - especially when you consider the following:

• ITEXPO hosts the trixbox FtOCC (Fonality trixbox Open Communications Certification) classes based on the open source trixbox IP-PBX. I wrote about how successful these classes were and how one trixbox FToCC class member won the car raffle! Guess geeks do get lucky sometimes.
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 training classes @ITEXPO - OCS 2007 is a complex product and it has a lot of potential for developers to code their business apps to work tightly with OCS 2007. As far as I know, ITEXPO was the only conference to hold OCS 2007 classes.
• Stay tuned for info on other open source training initiatives at the show.

Add all this together along with the co-location of Comm Dev 08 with ITEXPO and there is no reason why developers shouldn’t attend the next ITEXPO. It’s taking place September 16-18, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I’ll certainly be there and might even sit on some classes myself to rub elbows with my fellow developer geeks.

Tags: certification, Comm Dev, Comm Dev 08, Communications Developer Conference, developers, Internet Telephony Expo, ITEXPO, Microsoft, OCS 2007, training, VoIP

Related Entries
• Microsoft OCS 2007 Training -
  Dec 14, 2007
• Microsoft & Aspect Software Partner on Unified Communications -
  Mar 18, 2008
• Voice Mobility UCN Vmerge takes on Microsoft OCS -
  Feb 13, 2008
• FaceFon Video Phone on its way? -
  Feb 07, 2008
• Asterisk-based FreePBX clones Microsoft Response Point’s Easy Button -
  Jan 31, 2008
• Dell VoIP Products Analysis -
  Jan 23, 2008
• NET Acquires Quintum, VoIP Gateway Manufacturer -
  Oct 26, 2007
• Office Communications Server 2007 Software Update Service -
  Oct 17, 2007
• SAP Duet to leverage Microsoft OCS 2007 -
  Oct 16, 2007
• Rich Liveblogging Microsoft UC Launch -
  Oct 16, 2007

Original post by nafiz

In an amazing feat of hyperbole and a logical leap big enough to challenge Evil Knievel’s failed Grand Canyon jump, University of Sheffield Professor Noel Sharkey is warning that robot terrorism is coming–in the not-to-distant future.

According to a report in Science Daily, computer science Professor Sharkey, whose credentials include being the lead judge for a television show called Robot Wars, extrapolates from the current crop of human-controlled robots on the ground and in the air in Iraq and other fields of battle to terrorists grabbing–perhaps kidnapping–one of these bots, copying the design and spitting out a new army or terrorist bots.

No doubt Sharkey is on the money about the proliferation of robots in battle and it is true that the Department of Defense and, likely, other nations, are looking to build military robots that can “pull the trigger’ on their own.

However that shift to autonomous robot warfare is a significant one that will likely endure heated debate before it really happens. Sharkey also seems to think that sophisticated robot building expertise is everywhere and that the parts and skill needed live in the mountains and caves where the terrorists are currently hiding.

Original post by Lance Ulanoff

Filed under: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Spotted at CES and out this month in Korea, Samsung’s 3D-capable plasma is going to be making an appearance Stateside in March. The 42-inch and 50-inch PN42A450P TVs use the TriDef 3D tech from DDD Group, which costs $200 for two pairs of 3D glasses and the TriDef 3D software. Samsung’s calling this the “world’s first 3D-ready flat-panel HDTV,” but didn’t leave out the other fixins like a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 18-bit color processing and three HDMI-CEC plugs. No word on cost, but you can’t put a pricetag on those migraines.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: HDTV, Laptops, Media PCs, Tablet PCs

Survived the barrage of new HP desktops? We certainly hope so, as now the firm is hitting us up with a bit of news on the laptop front. Up to bat first is the 12.1-inch tx2000 convertible tablet (pictured), which presumably takes over for the tx1000 and comes bundled with the outfit’s QuickPlay software, a webcam and an integrated microphone (beyond that, it’s wait-and-see). As for the oh-so-intimidating Pavilion HDX, it will soon be available with a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS graphics set, an optional Core 2 Extreme processor, Blu-ray / HD DVD support and a 20.1-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) XHD Ultra Brightview display. Additionally, the workhorse will boast four Altec Lansing speakers and a built-in “subwoofer,” an eSATA port, hybrid analog / digital TV tuner, room for two HDDs and a media remote to boot. As for pricing and availability, expect the tx2000 to start shipping as CES commences for $1,299 and up, while the newly pimped HDX will ship later this month and start at $1,999.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Original post by Darren Murph