Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones

We’ve long since known that RIM’s BlackBerry Bold was AT&T bound, but in case you haven’t noticed, the rumored October 2nd release date has come and went, and there’s nary a Bold on any of AT&T′s store shelves. According to RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, the handset is still undergoing testing at AT&T, suggesting that it wanted to avoid the complaints that arose when the newest iPhone hit in July. AT&ampT spokesman Mark Siegel remained mum on the subject when asked, only affirming that the handset would eventually be available this year. Ah well, you’ve been looking for a reason to vacation in Chile, haven’t you?

[Via phonescoop]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs, Peripherals, Portable Audio

Earlier this month, ASUS introduced the “world’s first HDMI 1.3a compliant audio / video enhancement combo card.” Who knew numero dos was so close behind? Auzentech has just announced its very own HDMI 1.3-native PCIe audio combo card, which is built around Creative’s X-Fi processor and enables PC users to easily output 7.1-channel audio with no downsampling. Essentially, the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater 7.1 “accepts video from either an internal or external connection, mixes it with digital audio, and outputs the combined video and lossless multichannel audio via a single HDMI 1.3 port.” Yep, that means Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio codecs are fully supported. The only digs? For one, pricing remains a mystery, but the real kicker is the September release — talk about a long wait.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Peripherals

Considering that you’ve already spent way too much on that totally over-hyped Killer NIC, why not humor yourself further by snagging a sound card with Johnathan Wendel’s prints on it. Proving once again that everyone does indeed have a price, famed gamer Fatal1ty has placed his highly respected seal of approval on a new duo of sound cards from Creative. The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series and PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series devices boast the X-Fi enhancements you’ve come to expect, vivid new designs, unmistakable packaging and the assurance that the latter is the “official sound card of the CGS.” As for pricing, the Pro edition is available to pre-order for $149.99, while the CGS model adds in an internal I/O drive and demands $199.99. Hit the read link for more detailed specifications and way too much gloating.

[Via CustomPC]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

For those of you continuing to have Grand Theft Auto IV lockups on your PS3 even after the May 7th Rockstar patch… tough noogies. The latest 2.35 firmware won′t specifically help. Sony says that the “minor update” will “improve stability of some PS3 titles” — then clarifies that GTA IV is not part of the vagary. Nevertheless, Sony does say that they “have a identified a solution that should resolve the issue.” So buck up Niko and get on the horn with Sony for help, God know the police won′t.

[Via Joystiq, thanks Warren and Luis C.]

Read — GTA IV freezing / not loading help
Read — 2.35 firmware

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Displays, Gaming

Rolling around jacking up innocents and tossing Molotov cocktails is pretty enthralling on your vanilla 46-inch HDTV, but can you even imagine the rush of swiping a hot dog, burning out in someone else’s whip and then snagging a new pair of kicks on this? Researchers (and gamers, obviously) down at UC San Diego have re-engineered their middleware to enable such masterpieces as this to be played on the big monolithic HIPerSpace screen, and needless to say, we can’t imagine much real work getting done with this new functionality coming to light. Head on down to the gallery to see what you’re missing — science, research and 4.0 GPAs are such beautiful things.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

From what we’ve seen thus far, Intel’s Netbook isn’t exactly the prettiest piece of kit. But apparently, the unit we’ve been shown looks nothing like the Netbooks of the future. At the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, the company was showing off an upcoming design that looked awfully thin (and awfully attractive). As it stands, all we truly know about the lappie was that Linux was under the hood and the Atom will likely power things whenever it escapes the trade show floor and ships en masse. Still, if the price is right, we can certainly see this slab being desired by more than just schoolkids in various corners of the world.

[Image courtesy of Impress]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Intel’s just gotten official about its new Netbook platform (a.k.a. Classmate 2), and CTL has now followed suit with official word on the first Netbook that’ll actually be available: the 2go PC. While there′s no surprises with the specs, CTL did drop word that the education-minded laptop will be available for sale to the general public from Amazon (though not just yet) with prices ranging from $300 to $500 (as opposed to the firm $400 price tag we heard earlier). Coinciding with the official launch, the folks at Laptop Magazine have also let loose both a brief hands-on and a full review of the device, both of which find the laptop to be an improvement over the original Classmate PC, with its rugged design, long battery life and lightweight chassis in particular earning it high marks. The keyboard, however, is apparently even more cramped than the one on the Eee PC, so anyone outside of the intended kid market will likely want to look elsewhere. Be sure to hit up the appropriate link below for a video of the laptop as well.

Read - CTL Press Release (PDF link)
Read - Laptop Magazine, “Hands-on with CTL’s 2go PC″

[Via Eee Site, thanks David]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

Here we go, the official launch of Intel’s second generation Classmate PC. After watching it trickle out in Malaysia, there’s not much left to say about the rugged, Internet-centric platform of portables Intel is now calling “netbooks.” However, if you’re in the 95% of the world’s children said to be without PCs or Internet, you’re surely stoked at the prospect of your government handing you a 7- to 9-inch laptop with 6-cell battery, 512MB of memory, 30GB disk loaded with XP or Linux riding a Celeron M processor — not Intel’s newest Atom (though that’s coming in future Classmates according to Intel). Then you can get started tweeting like your “more civilized” netizens.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Transportation

We’ll be honest, we’re not getting ourselves all riled up about this just yet — after all, it’s not like QuantumSphere is the first (nor the last) company to teeter on announcing a legitimate “solution” to ditching gasoline. Nevertheless, said startup has reportedly figured out a way to “make hydrogen at home from distilled water and ultimately bring the cost of hydrogen fuel cells in line with that of fossil fuels.” More specifically, the outfit claims to have “perfected the manufacture of highly reactive catalytic nanoparticle coatings that could up the efficiency of electrolysis, the technique that generates hydrogen from water.” Unbelievable though that may sound, it’s still looking to unveil a battery using its own technology later this year, so we’ll just wait and see what becomes of that initiative before bidding gas stations adieu for good.

[Via Autoblog, thanks Sean]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Yesterday we looked at the layout of the keyboard and battled with the installation.
Behold! Let the light show begin!
Once we started using the keyboard, we quickly forgave its installation quirks, and marvelled at the space age glowing lightshow on our desktop.

Original post by Mike Slocombe

We take a look at Logitech’s futuristic super slim keyboard.

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Styled on popstar headphones will these in-ear headphones impress?

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Six-channel on-stage mixer with EMAC digital effects

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Take control of unruly image collections with this powerful photo management program.

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Alright America, you’ve got yourself some prep work to do: Nintendo’s about to foist this whole nefarious “exercise” paradigm on you, in the form of the Wii Fit, and we know how you fell for that whole “Wii” fad a year or so back. The thing has a 300 pound weight limit at the moment, though it’s unclear if Nintendo is going to “upgrade” that for American users, but you’ll just have to risk it. We figure a few dozen Twinkies a day, on top of a couple potlucks a week, and a few barrels of Pocky to keep it cultural, and you should have yourself out of contention for silly balance exercises and hula hooping tomfoolery by the time Q2 rolls around, Nintendo’s promised ship date. Crisis averted.

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Original post by Paul Miller