EVGA rolls out GeForce GTX 285 graphics card for Mac Pros

We got plenty of advance word about this one, but EVGA has finally gotten fully official with its Mac Pro-friendly version of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 285 graphics card, which is now available to order from the Apple Store for the not so low price of $450. That'll of course get you a card that's mostly identical to its less-than-new PC counterpart, including 1GB of DDR3 memory, a whopping 240 processing cores, a memory clock speed a 2,584MHz, memory bandwidth of 159GB/sec, and a pair of dual-link DVI ports that can each drive a 30-inch monitor at 2,560 x 1,600 with ease -- assuming you can still afford a pair of 30-inch monitors after you shell out for one of these, that is.

[via engadget]

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Project Natal prototype hardware pictured on Jimmy Fallon's set

Looks like our old friend Jimmy Fallon will be demoing Microsoft's Project Natal on Late Night tonight, and this backstage pic from rehearsal is the first shot we've seen of the prototype hardware anywhere. Of course, Redmond's made it clear that the final product will look a lot different -- probably something more like the press pic -- so don't get crazy over this, but at least everyone's burning curiosity has been satiated. Now, Jimmy, if you could just hammer out a ship date, that'd be great.

[via engadget]

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LeapFrog Scribble & Write, Chat & Count hands-on

LeapFrog's Text and Learn QWERTY BlackBerry-styled educational toy for the little ones left such an impression on us that we went back to check out its latest offerings. Two things caught our eye -- up first, the Scribble and Write, which is a Text and Learn-style device applied to writing skills. Designed for children about the age of three, it teaches basic letter-writing skills, making use of a roughly 3-inch LCD and attached "pen" to trace over the letters. This one is actually available now, and runs $21.99. The second item we checked out is called the Chat & Count -- and it looks incredibly similar to a candybar style mobile phone. The one we checked out was actually a prototype, and not the final product, but it's aimed at children starting at 18 months old, and teaches basic phone skills (believe us, the kids need those), numbers and counting. It's also got plenty of ringtones and custom noises built in, which start out super cute but would likely be... grating over time. The Chat & Count will be hitting shelves sometime around December of this year, and will run you $14.99. Both of these products join Leapfrog's Learning Path offerings (which also includes products like the Tag Junior we've previously seen).
[via engadget]

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Jon Rubinstein takes over as Palm CEO

You sort of knew this was coming after he shepherded the Pre to launch, but Palm just announced that Jon Rubinstein is taking over as CEO, replacing Ed Colligan after sixteen years in the top spot. After a short break, Colligan will join the very vocal Roger McNamee at major Palm investor Elevation Partners, so he won't be totally out of the loop, but the shuffle is still somewhat unexpected -- and the Palm / Apple bloodlines just got even deeper with the Rubinstein, the ex-head of the iPod and Mac divisions, now totally in charge.
[via engadget]

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13-inch MacBook Pro gets torn apart

We've only just started playing with our new 13-inch MacBook Pro, but the cats at iFixit have different ideas -- they've already torn one open for your morbid viewing pleasure. Interestingly, battery replacement involves only the removal of a couple tri-wing screws and a sticker, so the situation isn't totally dire, although we'd obviously prefer if Apple had left well enough alone. Other than that and the addition of FireWire and the SD slot, things seem to be about the same as the original unibody MacBook, but don't take our word for it -- hit the read link and feast your eyes.

[via engadget]

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Amazon Kindle DX unboxing and hands-on!

Well, well -- what's this? Amazon's Kindle DX just arrived a little earlier than we expected, looking every bit like the big brother to the Kindle 2 it did at launch. Seriously -- apart from new, less comfortable keyboard, externally you're just looking at a Kindle 2 with a bigger screen. Turn it on, though, and you immediately notice the orientation sensor, which is almost too sensitive. We're loading this thing up with content and putting it through its paces right now, but in the meantime hit up the gallery below for the unboxing and some comparison shots.

[via engadget]

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CTD's incredulous Dragonfly concept in the flesh -- needs a few more years in the oven

Don't get us wrong, we're completely enamored with the idea of having a real laptop-style keyboard in a pocket-friendly form factor, but based on our quick look at a very rough mockup of the device today, we're not so convinced that CTD's "crossfolding" Dragonfly MID will be the one to bring it to market. We spoke with Edward Bullister, an MIT grad with a PhD and some Intel connections, who is hard at work on the device, and while we admire his enthusiasm and DIY ethic, we'd say he seems a little overly optimistic when it comes to the tech necessary to pull this off.

His plan is to stick a Moorestown chip inside, with Windows XP as a primary OS, but perhaps a dual-boot option to Moblin. He's totally serious about the two fold-up LED backlit LCDs, though he admits the dual-sided screens depicted in the renders will have to wait for a later generation. More incredulously, he claims the device will have "all day" battery life, and be ready to ship by the end of the year. Yeah... we doubt it. No manufacturer is lined up currently, and he seems pretty distant from even having a working prototype. Still, we can't deny how great the form factor would be for pounding out a writing assignment on a plane, or wowing friends and family members (though we're not stoked about his ideas for using an external mouse as a primary input). So, best of luck Edward -- we'd love to be proven wrong on this one.

[via engadget]

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