Dell's Latitude XT3 goes up for pre-order, swivels your way September 22nd

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/dells-latitude-xt3-goes-up-for-pre-order-swivels-your-way-sept/

Are you a fancy suit, known to occasionally dabble in the fine art of scribbling? Have a seat bud, because Dell's gone and put up a pre-order page for the touchscreen convertible that you've been waiting for: the Latitude XT3. When we last espied the drop-top in February, we came away mighty impressed with its spiffy 13.3-inch dual-digitizer display, which recognized the attached stylus in addition to three of our meaty digits. We also liked the inclusion of the Core i3 -- upgradeable to an i5 or i7 -- which packs a punch, unlike the miserly Core 2 Duo's found in its predecessors. The magnesium-reinforced piece of kit starts at $1,789, unless you have it your way and toss in the optional $49 backlit keyboard or spring for the $100 outdoor-viewing display. We'll take ours with both, and with a ship date of September 22nd, you've got plenty of time to get a customizin' at the source below.

Dell's Latitude XT3 goes up for pre-order, swivels your way September 22nd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: Objet's 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/visualized-objets-3d-printer-breathes-plastic-life-into-hollyw/

It ain't easy being plastic, you know? Objet -- the 3D printing house that aimed to replace your office's all-in-one Epson back in July -- brought a few of its snazziest pieces here to SIGGRAPH, and we popped by to have a gander. Targeting the animation-inspired crowd that showed up here in Vancouver, the company brought along some Hollywood examples of how its multi-material Objet260 Connex helped movie makers craft prototype creatures before they were inserted into the storyline. Thor's Destroyer and Avatar's Na'vi were both on hand, as well as the two critters shown above. The hothead on the right was crafted in around 18 hours (and subsequently painted), while the cool cat on the left was built in three fewer. Wildly enough, that fellow required no painting whatsoever; so long as you're cool with shades of grey, you can program your object to be colored from the outset. Oh, and as for his cost? Around $80 for the materials -- slightly more for the printer itself.

Gallery: Objet's 3D printing breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures at SIGGRAPH

Continue reading Visualized: Objet's 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer

Visualized: Objet's 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer! origina lly appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DARPA's Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft launches today, does New York to LA in 12 minutes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/darpas-falcon-htv-2-hypersonic-aircraft-launches-today-does-ne/

All eyes are on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California today, where DARPA's Falcon HTV-2 unmanned aircraft is scheduled to launch into space at hypersonic speeds, as part of a critical test flight. Measuring just 12 feet in length, the HTV-2 maxes out at a speed of about 1300 16,700 miles per hour (Mach 22), theoretically allowing it to jet from New York to Los Angeles in just 12 minutes and to reach anywhere in the world in less than an hour. The main obstacle, however, has been transitioning from theory to practice. During its first test flight back in April, the craft lasted just nine minutes before intentionally crashing, due to technical failures. DARPA still doesn't know what went wrong during that fateful test, though the agency speculates that the Falcon may have simply overheated. This time around, engineers have adjusted plane's center of gravity and angle of descent, in the hopes that their creation will fare better when it launches on the back of a Minotaur IV rocket, later today. If the test proves successful, it may help fuel similarly inter-galactic defense projects that the Pentagon is exploring as a means to combat terrorism and enemy states. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out whether this initiative actually takes off, but in the meantime, head past the break for a demo video from DARPA.

Continue reading DARPA's Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft launches today, does New York to LA in 12 minutes

DARPA's Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft launches today, does New York to LA in 12 minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Classiest App To Get People Naked [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829664/the-classiest-app-to-get-people-naked

Despite the great things the internet has done, it's also made us prudish about having naked images of us captured, and that's made it harder to get people to take of their clothes for you. Until now...

Until the internet came, you only needed a fancy-looking camera and a beret and the clothes would drop to the floor in the name of Art (with a capital A). Before that, "I want to paint you," was arguably the best pick-up line ever (it sure worked for Picasso), but these days even that might get someone's hackles up. No, the super old ways, are the super best ways. "Let me sculpt you!" Yes! Oh God yes, I'm already naked! The problem is, you need talent and clay. Well, now there's an iPad app for that, so you don't need either.

AutoDesk (from the smart folk behind AutoCAD, SketchBook Mobile) has added Sculpt 123D to their product portfolio. You start with a blob that is something like the shape you want to sculpt (human, elephant, T-Rex, etc.), and then you can turn it and manipulate it at will. I was surprised to see just how much control you have the over forms and how detailed you can make something. Check out the quick demo video which is, sadly, totally safe for work. FREE for a limited time, and it will then be $.99. [Autodesk via TechCrunch]

Image credit: Shutterstock/Fancy

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You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter.

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The Amazingly Seamless New Apple Cube [Apple]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5829710/the-amazingly-seamless-new-apple-cube

The massive glass cube hovering over the Apple Store at Fifth Avenue is truly iconic: It's transformed a store where people buy iPhones into a legitimate New York City landmark. And it's about to be reborn, made even more striking by its sheer simplicity.

The current, cross-hatched style cube is composed of 90 panes of glass. The new cube will use just 15 expansive pieces of glass—around 32 feet long—erasing all but a handful of seams. So the cube will appear to be almost weightless, as if it's truly suspended in mid-air. We'll see it sometime in November, apparently.

That is how you build a store. [Gothamist]

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