Suffire.com | Geek Stuffs, Technology Related

“Cyber Monday.” You probably couldn’t pick a worse name for a day of conspicuous, retailer-defined consumerism, but you’re welcome to try. SanDisk decided to forgo the Black Friday insanity and instead run with three days of Cyber Monday sales, with up to 60% off those boring, ever-necessary flash memory products it’s so well known for — and Sansa players aplenty.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Storage

SanDisk slashes some prices for the weekend, heading into world’s worst-named Monday originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Displays

Got OLED on the brain? What about FED? Holograms suit your fancy? Regardless of how you feel about the world’s latest and greatest up-and-coming display technologies, we’ve got one more that you should probably keep an eye on. Funai has just announced the development of a swank new panel that consumes just 0.16-milliwatts of electricity per square centimeter, or around 1% as much as traditional LCDs. The Dynamic ECD is made of a reflective display that uses color-changing dyes that light up and morph as electricity flows through. In other words, there’s no need for a backlight, and it even boasts 80% reflectivity (compared with 50% on reflective LCDs) for easier viewing in broad daylight. The real kicker? It should cost around one-third as much as an LCD to manufacture. Expectations are to have 7- and 14-inch units out in 2009, though ultimately it hopes to completely dominate the mobile phone and e-book market.

[Via SlashGear]

Power-sipping Funai Dynamic ECD display don’t need no backlight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Household

No, your eyes don’t deceive: it’s a Lego safe. Apparently Lego’s computer-equipped Mindstorms NXT can be used for something more practical than launching robots into space (great as that was), and believe it or not, this box is actually kind of secure. Five double digit codes protect your valuables, and the dial goes both ways, so there’s a left and right entry for each number — hence, over 305 billion possible combinations. Moving the safe will trip motion sensors and set off an alarm, and bars inside strengthen the structure, so while master diamond thieves won’t be deterred, surreptitious little siblings might. Video after the break, and check the right nav through the read link to dig up building instructions.

[Via Digg]

Lego safe is made from robot parts, will guard your mint condish Robocop figurines just nicely originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

NASA is reporting the first successful tests of its Deep Space Network modeled after Earth’s own Internet. Instead of using TCP/IP, however, the interplanetary communication network relies upon DTN (Disruption-Tolerant Networking) co-developed by none other than Google’s Vinton Cerf. As such, NASA’s network does not assume a continuous end-to-end connection — if a link is lost due to solar storms or a planetary eclipse, the communication node will store the information until the connection is re-established. So, what’s the big deal you rightly ask, after all, we’ve been (purposely) transmitting data to and from space for a half-century. As Leigh Torgerson, manager of NASA’s DTN Experiment Operations Center explains it:

“In space today, an operations team must manually schedule each link and generate all the commands to specify which data to send, when to send it, and where to send it. With standardized DTN, this can all be done automatically.”

Testing of the Deep Space Network began in October with twice-weekly communications between NASA’s Epoxi spacecraft (on a mission to rendezvous with Comet Hartley 2) and nine ground-based nodes meant to simulate Mars landers, orbiters, and operation centers. The International Space Station is scheduled to join the testing next summer. Although the nature of the data transmitted wasn’t specified, we can only presume that it was laced with Google ads for Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong.

NASA’s interplanetary Internet tests a success, Vint Cerf triumphs again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Household

Few devices receive as much attention to re-design as the mousetrap and alarm clock. Regarding the latter, Anupam Patahak, a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Michigan, takes a natural light approach with his Rise and Shine Alarm Shades. At a predefined time, the modified alarm clock silently (or noisily) kicks off a servo to wind open the shades. Nothing like the deep, battleship gray skies of mid-western suburbia to rouse a young mind from sleep. Video after the break.

[Via Hack A Day]

Continue reading Video: Rise and Shine alarm hack is sheers genius

Video: Rise and Shine alarm hack is sheers genius originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

It’s been forever and a day since we heard from Dospara, but as it typically does, it’s just hanging around and waiting to see what catches on before it dives in. Case in point: here we have the Prime Note Cartina UM, an 8.9-inch netbook that’s hitting alongside the second and third iteration of everyone else’s. You could likely guess the specifications in your sleep, but we’ll humor you anyway; we’ve got a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 120GB hard drive, a 1,024 x 600 panel, 802.11b/g WiFi, a battery good for two hours and a mysterious Linux build pre-installed. You won’t find an optical drive bundled in, but you will find a ¥39,980 ($413) price tag should you venture over to Japan.

[Via Liliputing]

Dospara doles out Atom-powered Prime Note Cartina UM netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Transportation

According to a report leaked by someone at Canadian electronics manufacturer Electrovaya, the company is teaming up with China’s Changan Auto Group to bring a new electric car to our northern neighbor — and it might be on the street as early as this year. Electrovaya is set to distribute the car (based on Changan’s popular Ben Ben five-door) possibly making this the first automobile from the People’s Republic to tap into the lucrative North American market. Of course, wheels like this won’t make you any more popular with the ladies (you’d probably want a Linc Volt for that), but we’re just happy that there are more green options out there.

[Via Autoblog]

Changan, Electrovaya teaming up to release electric cars onto Canadian streets? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

It looks like those sold on the ASUS N10’s good looks but not on its netbook-style size or processor now have yet another model to consider from the company, which has expanded its overflowing laptop offerings even further with its new N20A model. This one ups things to a slightly more spacious 12.1-inch WXGA display, which is actually described as “glare-type” (points for honesty, ASUS), and it gets a boost in the performance department from your choice of four different Core 2 Duo processors, though it seems you will have to make do with integrated Intel GMA X4500HD graphics instead of the N10’s GeForce 9300M chipset. Otherwise, you can expect up to 4GB of RAM, a max 320GB hard drive, and a DVD burner, plus the usual built-in webcam, memory card reader, and a generous array of ports (including HDMI and eSATA connectors). No official word on a price just yet, but at least one retailer already has a Core 2 Duo T5800-based model available for $999.

[Via Laptoping]

ASUS debuts 12-inch N20A ultraportable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Sheesh — feels like just yesterday Lenovo was sounding the green alarm with its ThinkCentre M57 / M57P desktops, and now we’re faced with the predictably named successors, the M58 / M58p. Hailed as the firm’s “greenest, most secure and most manageable ThinkCentre desktop PC yet,” both machines boast Power Manager, a “ThinkVantage technology that allows PC users to control their electricity consumption remotely. Said inclusion is being made available for the first time ever on a ThinkCentre PC, and the array of password / security features is sure to give you peace of mind while inducing migraine headaches. The new crew is available in three form factors — tower, small form factor (SFF) and ultra small form factor — and includes Intel’s Core 2 Duo chips and a presumably average selection of RAM, HDD and optical drive. Catch all but the USFF rig right now for $499 and $899, respectively.

Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M58 / M58p desktops keep the green scheme alive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments