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| Solar-powered ‘guiltless green’ home theater system makes your Wall-E Blu-ray very happy Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:42 AM PDT  When Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA) executive director Richard Glikes wanted a home theater system, he didn’t just max it out with the best high definition equipment. He also thought to run it entirely from solar energy from four roof-mounted panels that produce an aggregate of 700 watts per hour in sunlight. It’ll reportedly run things for 19 hours straight without having to dip into your traditional power grid. Hardware-wise, we’re talking about a 100-inch screen, Sharp projector, six SpeakerCraft in-wall speakers, Integra AV receiver, Lutron lighting, and a universal remote. See how it was made, with the help of time-lapse photography and 1980s infomercial-genre background music, in the video after the break.
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| Kenwood SP0001 speakers sure to spice up your in-house raves Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:34 AM PDT  Kenwood’s about to unleash some really crazy speakers upon the world… if you live in Japan anyway. The bad-looking dudes have 10-watt, 2 channel speakers with 6-centimeter subwoofers and 2.5-centimeter tweeters, which isn’t exactly super powerful, granted — but they are transparent. Oh, and they have some awesome LED effects, as well. We’re not sure exactly when they’ll be available, but they’re going to run you ¥100,000 (about $1,000) when they are. Check another shot (with LEDs in full effect) after the break.  Original post: |
| Customized Star Trek Desktop for Mac: For The Trekkie Who Has Everything [Star Trek] Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT
A Lifehacker reader has submitted a pretty badass Star Trek: The Next Generation desktop for Mac. It syncs with iTunes, iCal, weather, and your Star Trek underoos. More specifically, it includes GeekTool (system stats), icalbuddy (calendar), Bowtie (iTunes), and Lynx (weather). Impressive work. [Flickr via Lifehacker] Read the original post: |
| Ora ilLegale clock tips to compensate for daylight savings time Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:12 AM PDT  Genius. Pure genius. In order to save us all from smashing buttons on our digital alarm clocks or stripping the gears in our analog ones, designer Denis Guidone has dreamed up this masterpiece. The Ora ilLegale clock boasts no numbers and is obviously missing a significant portion of its base; these two factoids enable it to become the easiest clock to adjust to changes in daylight savings… well, ever. The best part? We’re told that it’ll actually hit production soon, though there’s no indiciation of just how pricey it’ll be. Not like it matters — you’re totally buying one, and you know it. [Via Coolest-Gadgets] View original post here: |
| OLPC’s XO-1.5 to Boost Specs With Via Processor: You’re Welcome, Africa [Olpc] Posted: 18 Apr 2009 07:00 AM PDT
The big news is the adoption of Via’s C7-M chip, with clock speeds between 400MHz and 1GHz, that’ll add new possibilities like HD decoding and surround sound. But that’s not the end of the upgrades. XO-1’s memory should get a bump to 1GB, and its storage will get pushed to 4GB or even 8GB as an option. The upgrade, which is being referred to as the XO-1.5 rather than a totally new model, should start shipping in late August. [Electronista] More: |
| Prox Dynamics’ Black Hornet nano-copter gets demoed on video Posted: 18 Apr 2009 05:28 AM PDT
Prox Dynamics’ PD-100 “Black Hornet” nano-copter has already gone through a number of different prototypes and test flights, but it looks like things have really started to come together with the last few models, and the company has taken advantage of the opportunity to show off their progress in a couple of videos. One of those shows a “simulated” indoor mission, in which the 15 gram copter scouts out a nondescript office building whilst some suitably dramatic music plays in the background. The other, slightly more interesting video demonstrates how the two latest models are able to handle themselves in flight, and hold up against some obstacles, like the always problematic flapping clip board. Head on past the break to check ‘em out for yourselves, and hit up the link below for some more information about the copter itself. Oh, and watch the skies, people. Very, very closely.
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| Networks In Motion Wins Mobile Incubation Week, Microsoft’s “American Idol” For Mobile Applications Posted: 18 Apr 2009 03:39 AM PDT
There's a good chance you didn't even know it was going on, but last week Microsoft hosted a competition for mobile application developers on its Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, and yesterday announced Networks in Motion as the winner. The startup was one of six finalists - selected out of a pool of 50 applications - invited by Microsoft to come present ideas for applications running on Windows Mobile and get certified for the upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which is supposed to become the big, central commerce and distribution point for WinMo apps that is currently lacking. The company is widely expected to introduce the latest iteration of Windows Mobile at next month's TechED 2009 conference in Los Angeles (11 May), although devices running Windows Mobile 6.5 won't start shipping until after the Summer. Microsoft's a heavyweight in the smartphone OS market but is getting some serious heat from Apple and its iPhone / App Store (which is about to hit 1 billion downloads), and is going to be facing even more stiff competition on the mobile application front from RIM / Blackberry, Nokia and Google Android in the coming years. Microsoft is hoping to up the ante with its new mobile OS and its own version of the App Store, but is evidently going to need a lot of good mobile applications once the Windows Marketplace kicks off, and in that sense hosting a competition was probably a good idea (there will be more of those in Europe and Asia in the near future by the way). Too bad for Microsoft, there was little buzz about the event and press coverage of the outcome is virtually nowhere to be found. Anyway, the six finalists were: Brighkite, the location-based social networking service Yesterday, Senior Business Development Manager on Microsoft's Emerging Business Team Brian Hoskins announced Networks in Motion to be the winner, on Twitter no less. The startup is the maker of Gokivo Navigator, an interesting application that brings real-time turn-by-turn visual and audible directions to GPS-enabled mobile phones, combined with hyper-local search and location-based services. In light of the event, Gokivo got some new features to its core offering, including the ability for users to update their Facebook profile with the specific place they are (address/map). They're on our radar now. Besides the advice it received from and connections it made with Microsoft developers and external experts at the Incubation Week, Networks in Motion will receive 'early placement' in Windows Marketplace for Mobile once it's launched, and also took home a Zune music player. (Via Digits) Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it's time for you to find a new Job2.0 Read more here: |
| AEE boasts that its new “Mini DV” camera is the “world’s smallest” Posted: 18 Apr 2009 03:31 AM PDT
AEE Wireless’ new “Mini DV” camera may or may not actually be the “world’s smallest” video camera (alright, it’s probably not), but it certainly has a strong claim to the title of least imaginatively-named, and it is, in fact, pretty darn small. What’s more, unlike some other world’s smallest cameras, this one is actually a full-fledged consumer device, including some controls, a built-in lithium-ion battery, a USB connection, and a microSD card slot, which handles all of the storage duties as the company has ditched any internal memory to keep the size down. You’ll even get some full 640 x 480, 30 fps video out of the thing, plus some 2-megapixel JPEG images. Interestingly, while an official price is a bit hard to come by, a number of online retailers already seem to be offering the camera for between $85 and $159. The rest is here: |
| GameStop offers up silver DualShock 3 controller for North America Posted: 18 Apr 2009 01:07 AM PDT  If that all-black DualShock 3 controller has just grown stale, and you’re not about to drop any coinage to have Colorware liven things up, GameStop has a fantastic solution — so long as you’re a fan of silver, that is. As of today, the firm’s website has a clear listing for a satin silver version of the wireless SIXAXIS, and anyone familiar with the silver PS2 controller will no doubt notice the striking similarities. Just so you know, this one’s been available in the Japanese market for eight centuries now, but it looks like the North American crowd can finally yell “me too!” when parting with $54.99 on June 24th. [Via Joystiq] Read more here: |
| Video: Epson’s multitouch X-Desk is your next coffee table Posted: 17 Apr 2009 11:23 PM PDT  When you think about it, it makes perfect sense for Epson to get into the touch-surface game — most of the larger versions are projector-based, and Epson’s been making great little beamers for quite some time. Showcased earlier this year at ISE 2009 alongside a multitouch air hockey table, the Core 2 Duo-powered X-Desk boasts a 1,024 x 768 resolution panel and possesses the ability to recognize up to 16,000 objects using “Smart Tags.” Also of note, gesture recognition software enables users to actually speak to the table and see results, though there’s no word on whether raising your voice or blurting out obscenities improves efficiency. Like all of these things, we’ve nary a clue when they’ll really be available for the layperson to purchase, but you can certainly live vicariously by hopping past the break. [Via AboutProjectors]
Read the rest here: Video: Epson’s multitouch X-Desk is your next coffee table |
![lcars1 Customized Star Trek Desktop for Mac: For The Trekkie Who Has Everything [Star Trek]](http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/lcars1.png "Customized Star Trek Desktop for Mac: For The Trekkie Who Has Everything [Star Trek]")
![open 5 OLPCs XO 1.5 to Boost Specs With Via Processor: Youre Welcome, Africa [Olpc]](http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/open-5.png "OLPCs XO 1.5 to Boost Specs With Via Processor: Youre Welcome, Africa [Olpc]")
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