Developages - Development and Technology Blog

theodp writes “Far from a PowerPoint killer, Slate’s Paul Boutin finds Google’s online presentation tool Preso more like a PowerPoint commercial — a half-baked app that shows how powerful Microsoft’s program really is. But if you have your druthers, Boutin suggests ditching both and opting for Apple’s Keynote, which helped snag an Oscar for Al Gore and inspired this Dear-PPT-Letter. ‘The first hurdle … You can’t use it on a plane. Google Preso only works if you’ve got a live, high-bandwidth Internet connection. You can save the finished product to an HTML presentation on your laptop, but you can’t edit the saved version or upload it back. The Splunkers would need to finalize their presos early in the morning in a rented conference room, where both Wi-Fi and Verizon wireless cards have been known to fail. That would kill the presentation.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by Zonk

It amazes us how creative some people get for Halloween. From truly tasteless to super creative. Even the props are getting more creative:

You can find out more about this costume idea as well as a bunch of others over at Cockeyed.com.

2007 Cockeyed.com Halloween Costume Contest - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Buffalo’s out tooting its own horn today, as the AirStation Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router claims to be the “first commercial wireless router to come with DD-WRT firmware pre-installed.” Aimed squarely at the SMB and SOHO market, the WHR-HP-G54DD (WHR-HP-G54 pictured) is the first device to emerge from the firm’s partnership with NewMedia-NET. Of note, this device features five QoS levels to prioritize traffic, optimized link state routing (OLSR), a data transfer application with VPN functionality, PPTP protocol support, WMM and DDNS, and a bevy of management applications including remote network status logging, remote web management via HTTPS and web-based backup / restore. If all this sounds like your cup of tea, you can pick one up now for £41.70 ($86), and you can check out the full (and we mean full) list of specifications right there in the read link.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Original post by Darren Murph

The Byelorrusian Spamtrap writes “Wired Magazine’s made its position clear on the state of play in America’s cellular industry, delivering a long, satisfying screed on why all of us should stop complaining and do something about it. ‘They own politicians - Sure, it’s just phones. In a world where worse things happen all the time amid the muck and despair of human existence, having to pay for premium text is hardly worth worrying about, is it? You can (and should) opt out, and not sign on the dotted line to begin with. But today’s cell towers might be tomorrow’s Pony Express: they’re TV stations, internet access, emergency 911 and news networks all rolled into one. WWAN could well end up supplanting copper sooner than anyone expects: do you want these companies in charge of it?’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by Zonk

The new Green500 list ranks energy-efficient supercomputers.

Original post by Benjamin Gauthey

We’ve had TONS of response to our call for Halloween tips and tricks in our Flickr pool. From Tuscan Raiders:

To Duffman:

To creative pumpkin carving:

Plus there are pet costumes, props and accessories and whole bunch more. Better still, even though today is Halloween, people are still contributing!

DIY Halloween Flickr pool - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: GPS

Ingram Micro’s V7 subsidiary looks to have recently kicked out another pair of budget-priced GPS units, with its new NAV730 and NAV740 model each keeping things under $300 while still maintaining some fairly decent specs. On the slightly higher-end, the $299 NAV740 boasts a 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, along with text-to-speech capabilities, the usual range of PMP functions, and maps of the US with 11 million POIs pre-loaded on the included 2GB SD cards (other maps are also available depending on where you buy it). If that’s more than you need, the $199 NAV730 will still get the basic job done with a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, those same PMP features, and some maps without any POIs on the bundled 1GB SD card. If that’ll do, you can grab either one right from all the usual sources right now.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Original post by Donald Melanson

An anonymous reader writes “InformationWeek is reporting that a court in Virginia has issued an injunction against controversial new patent rules that were supposed to go into effect tomorrow. The court granted a motion filed by GlaxoSmithKline, which is suing the U.S. patent office over the issue. Among other things, the new rules would limit the extent to which existing patent applications can be modified. The patent office says the new rules would speed up the patent process, but critics say they hurt inventors.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by Zonk

Check out this ridiculously cool samurai costume made almost entirely out of Rubbermaid garbage cans.

Halloween Samurai 2007 - [via] Link

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

The first true collaboration between HP and Voodoo PC has arrived: the HP Blackbird  gaming system. This system—named after the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane—gives HP the weapon it needed in the fight against rivals such as Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Overdrive PC, and Dell (with its XPS line). Little touches and consolidated improvements from both HP and Voodoo make the Blackbird the most compelling gaming system I’ve seen since I started seeing dual-graphics-card overclocked systems back in 2004. This is a system I would show off if I had one. (hint, hint)

Original post by Laura Foy

My husband and I recently bought a dishwasher. I know, imagine the excitment. But what my hubby really wanted was the Asko HomePub refrigerator/freezer.

It looks like any other top-of-the-line Scandinavian fridge, except instead of dispensing water and ice, it comes with a with built-in draught beer system.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

We had a hunch that this spat between HP and Acer wouldn’t just fade away into the sunset, and sure enough, HP is on the receiving end of the latest scuffle. Most recently, Acer has filed patent counterclaims against HP in the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and with the US International Trade Commission, alleging that HP “infringed on patents related to personal computers, servers and peripheral devices.” Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of it, but Acer did go on to state that it would “take all necessary steps to protect and enforce its patented technologies.” If the gloves weren’t already off, we’d say they are now.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Original post by Darren Murph

Who could have imagined that even garbage could look chic? Apparently Ecoist did, which is why their purses and other accessories made from recycled newspaper, original candy wrappers look so stunning. The assortment includes very usable items such as the Jumbo Coin Pouch ($22), the Jumbo Anything/Everything bag ($28), and the Shoulder Bag ($58). Their Confetti collection (my favorite) also has bracelets and lovely placemats ($68). Many of the accessories (such as the Luna Bar collection) are limited, so you need to order pretty well in advance if you want to grab them for the gifting season.

Via Chip Chick.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

gooman writes “The LA Times reports on a proposal to secretly scan suspects’ hard drives which is causing unease in a nation with a history of official surveillance. Along with several other European countries, Germany is seeking authority to plant secret Trojan viruses into the computers of suspects that could scan files, photos, diagrams and voice recordings, record every keystroke typed and possibly even turn on webcams and microphones in an attempt to gain knowledge of attacks before they happen.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by Zonk

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We haven’t heard of Dutch design outfit Crealev before, but the company says it’s developed a “new levitation concept which is able to produce a very high levitation height combined with a low power dissipation and excellent stability” — and apparently the best way to show that off is this series of levitating lamps. Unveiled at last week’s Dutch Design Week event, the lamps are the product of designer Angela Jansen. We’re assuming they’re magnetic in some way, but Crealev’s website is pretty cagey with the details, only saying that it’s a “proprietary technology.” Either way, we want one.

Read — Crealev webiste
Read — Video of the lamps in action

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

Original post by Nilay Patel