As a perfect complement to Shenzhen’s scattered keyboard keys we spotted the other day, tipster Riley G. spotted this charging herd of giant mice statues in Xiamen, China. Two whole tactile, usable buttons? How quaint! Another shot is after the break.

[Thanks, Riley G.]

Continue reading Herd of oversized concrete computer mice seen rushing for the shore — do they know something we don’t?

Filed under: Peripherals

Herd of oversized concrete computer mice seen rushing for the shore — do they know something we don’t? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, holographic storage — you’ve held so much promise for cheap optical media since you were first imagined in research papers published in the early 60s. Later today, GE will be trying to keep the dream alive when it announces a new technique that promises to take holographic storage mainstream. GE’s breakthrough in microholographics — which, as the name implies, uses smaller, less complex holograms to achieve three-dimensional digital storage — paves the way for players that can store about 500GB of data on standard-sized optical discs while still being able to read DVD and Blu-ray media. Better yet, researchers claim a price of about 10 cents per gigabyte compared to the nearly $1 per gigabyte paid when Blu-ray was introduced. The bad news? We’re talking 2011 or 2012 by the time microholographics devices and media are introduced and even then it’ll only be commercialized for use by film studios and medical institutions. In other words, you’ll likely be streaming high-def films to your OLED TV long before you have a microholographic player in the living room.

Filed under: Storage

GE microholographic storage promises cheap 500GB discs, Blu-ray and DVD compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Color shifting has been a pipe dream for about as long as alchemists have claimed their studies to be legitimate, but now a brilliant team from the New University of Lisbon can finally say a breakthrough has been found. Essentially, these inventors have conjured up a transistor that changes the color of practically any surface (paper, glass, plastics, ceramics and metals, just to name a few). For what it’s worth, this same team already has quite a bit of display cred, as it has developed technology currently used within Samsung panels. With the help of a few good men and woman at the University of Texas at Austin, the team was able to register for a patent right here in the US, and with any luck, they’ll be giving OLEDs and e-paper a run for their money before we can snap our fingers twice and run around the block. Check a video (narrated in Portuguese) after the break.

[Thanks, Nelson]

Continue reading Inventors develop transistor to change color of any surface, your face notwithstanding

Filed under: Displays

Inventors develop transistor to change color of any surface, your face notwithstanding originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let’s face it — quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it’s decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man’s Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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we first featured zero per zero’s subway maps back in 2007 when ji hwan kim and jin so

presented them at seoul design week. since then the korean designers have created

this heart-shaped diagram of the new york subway system, referencing milton glaser’s

iconic ‘I heart new york’ logo.

zero per zero: http://www.zeroperzero.com

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via quipsologies