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Watch a Documentary on the History of the LED – Video

Nerd Grind — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:35:48 +0000

Make Magazine has produced a great documentary on the history of LEDs. It turns out the Light Emitting Diode was discovered by accident, during an experiment at Marconi labs. The documentary shows you how to recreate that initial experiment yourself, if you are so inclined. Maybe if we all get together, we can make an LED display bigger than the one in front of that Walgreens in Times Square, NYC.

Students Create Huge and Dangerous POV Display With Spinning Blade – Video

Nerd Grind — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:59:34 +0000

This is one dangerous POV display. It’s called the "Display from Hell" and the name makes sense once you realize that while this display projects POV images using 100 blue SMD LEDs, it also features a propeller that could chop your arm off.

The propeller spins at 140mph. It’s huge and terrifying and after you watch this "making of" movie, you may just have nightmares about it. At least they’ll feature a large smiley face.

Gigantic LED Display Activated in New York City – Times Square

Nerd Grind — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:46:54 +0000

The long-anticipated 17,000-square foot LED display has finally gone live in front of a Times Square Walgreens today. The heart of New York City is blaze with the unit, which touts over 12 million LEDs. The board was designed by a company called D3 LED, who claim that it’s one of the most complex LED displays in existence. It might be worth taking a gander at when you come up to the city to stare at the equally large tree at Rockefeller center.

Below is a CGI demo of the display in motion that was made in order to drum up financial support:

Noriko-San subway mask allows you to sleep safely

Nerd Grind — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:58:06 +0000

Falling asleep on the subway is great, sure. However, missing your stop is not so great. A hacker named Pyocotan has built a Noriko-San sleeping mask for fashion-forward commuters. The mask alerts other passengers of your stop by way of that loud exterior LED display. Then they can decide whether you are worth waking up or not. If you sleep through your stop, consider it a moral failure.

The unit is just in a testing phase right now, but rumor has it that parts cost around $200. Start saving now. Click the link for more.

Scope 2 LED Watch is totally cool

Nerd Grind — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:27:34 +0000

The Scope 2 RGB LED watch has been thrust upon the world and we may never be the same again. All of us children of the 80s just about passed out at the very site of this ridiculous looking thing. It just looks cool. Like it comes straight out of "Wargames" or that spy movie with the kid from "E.T." and Dabney Coleman.

The functionality, however, is a bit strange. Telling the time with this watch is like learning a new language. Green and red lines relay the hours and a contrasting color targeting box surrounds each five-minute interval. Confused yet? There’s more. Individual minutes form clusters of dots that sit off to the side. Yeah, so what if telling the time takes an hour? It looks cool. Isn’t that what matters?

The watch is out now and costs $200.

Neonode concept gadgets

Nerd Grind — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:17:29 +0000

It was this concept art that drew me into the Neonode exhibit, and i have to admit, the concept art is super cool. These guys are taking trends to new extremes.

Neonode is also demoing a cellphone that they’re going to release commercially in summer of this year, called the N2. It’s smaller than a credit card and weighs only 60 grams. The nterface is a 176×220 touchscreen (which is all the rage now, of course) but unlike the iPhone, the touchscreen of the N2 is not heat dependent, so it’ll work if you’ve got gloves on. Look for it this summer, but they’re not saying what network yet.

thanks Evan for the info

Tree Lights

Nerd Grind — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:50:38 +0000

love Europe in that special way only someone who’s lived exclusively in the United States for 25-odd years really can. Yet another fabulous reason to love Europe are these solar powered light trees, spotted last October in Vienna (as well as in Milan in November and December). Designed by Ross Lovegrove, each tree has 10 branches, and each branch has a solar cell (artemide polycrystalline solar cells by Sharp) “petal” on top. During the day, the petals charge built-in batteries, and as soon as the sun goes down, LEDs under the petals light up, providing efficient and cost effective street lighting, especially since the installation costs are minimal (no wiring necessary). The trees are able to provide light even after several consecutive cloudy days, although there aren’t any specifics on how much power the panels generate.

thanks Evan!

Anarchy – High Tech Style

Nerd Grind — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:31:15 +0000

Remember when graffiti was just in the bathroom stalls and on the sides of trains? Ahh yes, the good ‘ol days. Now, with all this high tech wizardry graffiti artists (yes they’re artists too) can rebel against the "man" in new high tech ways using LEDs

It Looks Like a Little Trash Can! Get It?

Nerd Grind — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:46:44 +0000

It’s not bad to have a recycle bin, since sometimes we really do want to easily retrieve something we deleted. But a 250GB recycle bin? I dunno. Folks at Franco Cagnini, who designed The Tempo, think otherwise. And, there are blue LEDs that indicate how "full" the "trash can" really is. No price or availability, because this is just a concept and someone might come to their senses at some point.

Fujitsu Does Have a Way with Tablets – T2010 is Nifty

Nerd Grind — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:31:39 +0000

As usual, Fujitsu has cooked up some delicious Tablet PC goodness in the upcoming T2010. Check out the specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo ULV at 1.06GHz or 1.2GHz
Intel GM 965 Chipset (so, Santa Rosa)
Up to 4GB of DDR2-533 RAM
12.1" WXGA Screen with LED backlight
Intel GMA X1300 graphics (so, not a gaming machine, obviously)
Up to 120GB SATA
Wi-Fi 802.11a/g/n or a/b/g
Bluetooth
Gigabit Ethernet
Standard battery life of up to 9 hours, up to 11 hours with extended version
3.31 lbs

No, for those who are into tablets, those are some nice specs. Just the right size, performance would be fine for a Tablet (which to should never be expected to be a decent gaming machine), and a screen that’s high enough resolution without being blinding. Pricing will start at $1,599, and I’m sure go up from there with the appropriate options.

NerdGrind - How-to Computer Help - Tutorials - Tech and Gadget News » LED

Watch a Documentary on the History of the LED – Video

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Students Create Huge and Dangerous POV Display With Spinning Blade – Video

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Gigantic LED Display Activated in New York City – Times Square

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Noriko-San subway mask allows you to sleep safely

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Scope 2 LED Watch is totally cool

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Neonode concept gadgets

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Tree Lights

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Anarchy – High Tech Style

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It Looks Like a Little Trash Can! Get It?

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Fujitsu Does Have a Way with Tablets – T2010 is Nifty

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