New Technology Helps Ground Telescopes Outdo Hubble [Telescopes]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/419870576/new-technology-helps-ground-telescopes-outdo-hubble

A new technology called nulling interferometry will give some of the world's biggest telescopes the power to detect Earth-like planets outside our solar system—something even the Hubble has not accomplished. Basically, nulling interferometry chains together the light captured by several large telescopes to create a single "super telescope" that has enough power to detect a quarter lying on the surface of the moon. Currently, an array of telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert known as the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is being outfitted with a nulling device called PRIMA.

The PRIMA system consists of many small mirrors that are moved by pistons at levels that are smaller than an atom. The light from each telescope is reflected into underground tunnels in a way that cancels out the light waves from a star. What remains is the faint light of an orbiting planet—hopefully a planet capable of harboring life. Apparently, PRIMA will start hunting down E.T. in about six months time—and according to Fred Kamphues, developer of a major component of PRIMA called a Star Separator, we stand a good chance of finding them inside the next 100 years. Meanwhile, a high-level government official who has had E.T. on ice for the last 60 years is laughing his ass off. [Wired Science]

Read More...

Summary only...

A Brief History of MacBook Redesigns and Upgrades [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/419896609/a-brief-history-of-macbook-redesigns-and-upgrades

Tomorrow we'll see the first fresh MacBooks in almost a year, and likely the first all-new case designs since the arrival of the MacBooks—or before that if you're a stickler, since the MacBook Pro is basically the same as the PowerBook G4, and the MacBook ain't so different from the iBook G4. Check out our timeline of every MacBook update since the lines were introduced to see just how much (or little) has changed since the beginning.

Some notes—these are all stock configurations with prices at the time of release, and specs are only noted when they change. For instance, if the MacBook kept a 60GB hard drive standard for two revisions, you won't see it on the second update on the chart. Click on the image to see the massive full-size chart.[MacBooks on Giz]

Read More...

Summary only...

Acer's AX3200 is the little Blu-ray PC that could, has a 1080p LCD friend

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/419166781/

Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Media PCs

Acer believes you're seeking a PC with a Blu-ray drive and formidable storage space so you can watch hours and hours of high definition video. That's why it's introducing the AX3200 desktop (suggested retail: $679.99) to go with the P244W 24-inch 1080p LCD display ($399) -- to fill that consumer electronics-shaped hole that you didn't even know existed within you. The compact desktop sports an AMD Phenom X3 8450 triple-core processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and NVIDIA's GeForce 8200 integrated graphics chip. The graphics solution won't rev up the frames in modern computer games -- especially not at the P244W's 1920 x 1080 resolution -- but it'll do fine for watching movies, and there are tons of great Blu-ray releases out there by now, right? Right?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

LaCie intros 5big Network drive array to RAID junkies the world over

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/419212272/

Filed under: Storage

The LaCie product roof has been raised to 7.5TB with the new 5big Network -- an Active Directory and gigabit Ethernet-friendly array of storage drives that supports several RAID configurations for up to five hot-swappable hard drives. You can try it on in four different sizes -- 2.5TB for $899.99, 5TB for $1,399, or the aforementioned, bar-raising 7.5TB for $1,899. In keeping with his sixteen year relationship with LaCie, the renowned Neil Poulton applied his HAL 9000-inspired design to the product, winning him another Janus de L'industrie award. The only problem with the HAL motif: you really, really don't want your RAID storage device to drone on about how its "mind is going, Dave."

[Via Technabob]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

LG announces Prada II

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/419276200/

Filed under: Cellphones

We think that phones like the Touch Pro and X1 sort of limit the market for pricey dumbphone QWERTY sliders, but be that as it may, LG clearly has every intention of making the Prada II one of its headline devices in the waning months of 2008. The rumored 7.2Mbps HSDPA 850 / 2100, WiFi, TV-out, an FM radio, and a 5-megapixel camera have all been confirmed to go along with the full keyboard for a launch in Europe in the end of October or beginning of November, running something in the range of €600 (about $816). Don't get us wrong, it looks alright -- but would this be your first choice of ways to part with the better part of a grand?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...