Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Sunday, September 28, 2008

SimpleTech Duo Pro: 4 Interfaces, 3 Terabytes, 2 Drives, 1 Happy Nerd [Storage]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/404304049/simpletech-duo-pro-4-interfaces-3-terabytes-2-drives-1-happy-nerd

There are plenty of dual-hard-drive outboard storage systems on the market, but SimpleTech's Duo Pro struck me as particularly brimming with awesomeness. It's not a NAS—it's totally local—but you have a choice of USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800, and eSATA, which clocks a max transfer speed of 3Gb per second. (That's gigabits, not gigabytes.) You can naturally do RAID 0 or 1, and though the current options are a 1TB total for $280, a 1.5TB total for $420 and a 2TB version for $550, you will be able to choose a 3TB config when the winter winds start to blow. Have a look at the back of this in the photo below the jump. [SimpleTech]

Mitsubishi Plans Ferocious MMR25 Rally Racer for Year 2025 [The Future Is Awesome]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/404322185/mitsubishi-plans-ferocious-mmr25-rally-racer-for-year-2025

In the year 2025, a scant 17 years from now, all cars will be electric. But according to Mitsubishi's entry into the LA Auto Show's latest design challenge, some will even tear up the Salt Flats, looking like bionic insects with the cruelest of intentions. Each wheel of the proposed MMR25 Rally Racer gets eight little wheels for omnidirectional movement, and there's no such thing as windshields in the future, replaced—naturally—by Star Trek tech. Here's the run down, plus the sickest rendering of a non-existent product I have ever seen:

Yes, the MMR25 will have nine motors in each wheel, one to spin the main structure and eight more to control smaller embedded wheels for traction while deftly maneuvering along the highway, maybe even driving sideways. Special "oblique aerodynamics" mean that the sideways driving won't be penalized by wind resistance, either.

There's no glass: It's too damn heavy, and you won't need it, what with visual information coming in via a crazy camera array that feeds a 360-degree panoramic screen that surrounds your "pod."

It's plenty power efficient, too, getting 1,000 miles per charge out of lightweight composite-nano-fiber-jiggied lithium-based batteries. (Now word on explodeyness, but presumably that's solved too.)

We're gonna go one step further and guess that the electric charge itself will come from just an hour or two under the hot sun, thanks to efficient solar cells. But ha ha, that would just be ludicrous, right? [Jalopnik]

The History of Computing as Told by Pixelated Dancing Scientists (and Jim Guthrie) [Buckle Up]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/405036337/the-history-of-computing-as-told-by-pixelated-dancing-scientists-and-jim-guthrie

You might think the history of personal computing is way too complex to explain in under four minutes. But Canadian animators Superbrothers teamed up with singer-songwriter and all-around awesome dude Jim Guthrie to create this amazing music video that'll prove you wrong. The story: two heavily-pixelated scientists have a dance battle that echoes the transition from primitive '60s computers to today's cloud computing. The video is after the jump.

DOT MATRIX REVOLUTION* from superbrothers on Vimeo.[io9]

Motorola shows off X24 WiMAX concept module for cars

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/404269691/

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

While folks 'round these parts are only just now getting their first real taste of WiMAX, Motorola is already looking towards a WiMAX-filled future, where it hopes devices like its X24 concept module will let even your car tap into all that bandwidth floating through the air. Apparently, the device is designed specifically with advanced automotive telemetry in mind, although, as Motorola's Manash Goswami mentions in the interview available at the read link below, the company also isn't ignoring the possibilities for in-car entertainment and other applications. It also sees the chipset at the heart of the X24, the WTM1000, being used in an even broader range of consumer devices, and not just ones made by Motorola. Look for more word on that to come out of the WiMAX World conference next week.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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Dell silently sneaks out 23-inch S2309W 1080p LCD monitor

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/404428507/

Filed under: Displays

We're not sure what's up with Dell and its displays, but for whatever reason, it actually prefers to sneak new stuff out and just let you try to find it. After pushing out a swank new WUXGA projector with nary a peep, the Round Rock powerhouse has now hosted up a new 1080p LCD monitor dubbed the S2309W. Granted, the display is currently only on the firm's Canadian site, but we reckon it's only a matter of time before it makes it to other markets. As for specs, we've got a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 5-millisecond response time, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and DVI / VGA inputs. No price is mentioned, but it should be shipping in under a fortnight to those who figure out a way to buy it.

[Thanks, Alex]

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