Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Giant Light Canons Can Decorate Entire Mountains From One Kilometer Away [Lighting]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6kE78p6UBTo/giant-light-canons-can-decorate-entire-mountains-from-one-kilometer-away

This is Machu Picchu, the famous Inca site in Los Andes. And that giant symbol covering the mountain—called Huayna Picchu—is not Sauron resurrected, but a light drawing projected from one kilometer away using PAE light canons.

In fact, the canons are so powerful that the image can be seen during the day, even from that distance.

The photographs of the project—put in place by Studio Orta in 1995—are now being shown in the Uninhabitable? Art of Extreme Environments exhibit in Paris. [Studio Orta via BldgBlog]




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Enterprise-Grade SSD Promises Read Speeds of 500 MB/s [Storage]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vct0EWCpwS4/enterprise+grade-ssd-promises-read-speeds-of-500-mbs

Relatively-new startup Pliant Technology claims their 3.5-inch enterprise SSD can read at speeds up to 500 megabytes per seconds and write 320 megabytes per second. Basically, you could copy the contents of a 2 terabyte drive in around an hour.

According to Computer World, the three-year-old company claims that the drive can be used non-stop for five years without slowdown. Apparently the mojo behind the Lightning EFD LS (and the slightly slower, 2.5-inch EFD LB) is that it uses a proprietary ASIC design that relies on a SCSI data transfer interface, as opposed to the more common Fibre Channel interface. As a result they're currently able to achieve speeds of 6 gigabits per second (vs. the 4 Gb/s that Fibre Channel provides).

While it is available now for companies to purchase, it seems that the product has yet to be tested independently, so the accuracy of those speed claims are uncertain. [Pliant via Computer World via Slashdot]




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AMD Athlon II X4 620: Four Cores for $99 [Amd]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/GLHa7X0K8KM/amd-athlon-ii-x4-620-four-cores-for-99

AMD's new Athlon II X4 chips are like a Phenom II minus the L3 cache. But they're super-cheap: $99 (2.6GHz-620), and $122 (2.8Ghz-630). Also looks like they hold their own against the $150 Core 2 Quad 8200: [Maximum PC]




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Video: Sony NW-A840 packs OLED, noise cancellation, and 64GB of flash heat, still thinnest Walkman ever

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/16/video-l-sony-nw-a840-packs-oled-noise-cancellation-and-64gb-of/


Sony's keeping the pressure on the dedicated portable media player market with the launch of its latest OLED Walkman. The NW-A840 series is the thinnest Walkman ever at 7.2mm and comes packing a 2.8-inch OLED display and up to 64GB of flash storage. The players also feature Sony's digital noise cancellation, premium MDR-EX300SL earbuds right in the box, and the ability to pump 720x480 pixel video out to your TV. Sony rates the battery at 29-hours of continuous music or 9-hours of video. The A-series ships in three models -- 16GB NW-A845 (¥24,000/$263), N32GB W-A846 (¥30,000/$329), and 64GB NW-A847 (¥40,000/$439) -- starting October 31st. Also available in black for those who detest downtown hipster-brown. Video preview after the break.

[Via Sony Insider]

Continue reading Video: Sony NW-A840 packs OLED, noise cancellation, and 64GB of flash heat, still thinnest Walkman ever

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Video: Sony NW-A840 packs OLED, noise cancellation, and 64GB of flash heat, still thinnest Walkman ever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AgfaPhoto trots out "size zero" line of ultrathin digiframes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/16/agfaphoto-trots-out-size-zero-line-of-ultrathin-digiframes/


We'd argue that we've reached the saturation point when it comes to new digital photo frames, but AgfaPhoto would clearly beg to differ. The outfit famous for cranking out ho hum devices that are easily overshadowed has just introduced seven new ultraslim options, all of which are hoping to see a release prior to the mad rush that is the holiday shopping season. Said to be the "size zero" of digiframes, these measure just 1.3 centimeters thick while shipping in a range of sizes from 7- to 10-inches. As expected, you'll find 1GB of internal storage alongside a multicard reader, and when not flicking through a slideshow of last year's Valentine's bash at the corporate headquarters, it can also play back risque videos from the afterparty. Don't expect these to ship stateside anytime soon, but those across the pond can reportedly snap 'em up for between £49.99 ($83) to £129.99 ($216) later this year.

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AgfaPhoto trots out "size zero" line of ultrathin digiframes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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