Aurora
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Alienware introduces 4x Blu-ray drives for desktops
Alienware, never afraid of spec'ing its machines just a little bit ahead of the curve, has just introduced 4x Blu-ray drives into its Area-51 7500, Aurora 7500, Area-51 ALX, and Aurora ALX desktops, making the systems the first in the industry (or so they claim) to carry the faster drives. The new additions to the PCs will offer a significant performance increase in reading and writing Blu-ray discs (a 100 percent increase, in case you're not doing the math), which should make burning those massive discs just slightly more tolerable. Of course, the whole shebang is backward-compatible with CD and DVD discs, per typical Blu-ray spec, and will set you back an additional $600. Available right now.
Keeping time with Aurora and PolarClock
Here's two more cool ways to figure out what time it is, because sometimes you just can't look out a window.First off, Aurora (which we've written about in the past) is an free and easy little alarm clock that will play almost any media you've got, including any playlist in iTunes or even channels from EyeTV. There's an amazing number of options that go along with it (including setting the fade-in time and even waking your Mac from a power-off state), and with a little configuration, you can actually use it to get your Mac ready for you in the morning (one example even has the program starting up NetNewsWire for you after the alarm goes of. Pretty slick).And second, Evan sent us a tip about PolarClock, a new screensaver from pixelbreaker. It features a visual clock (wait, aren't they all?) that consists of a number of circles rotating around each other. It's hard to explain, but the implementation looks really nice, and this one also offers a lot of customization. I'm not sure it'll replace your other clocks in terms of being easy to read, but as a screensaver, it looks good, and can be pretty functional as well. PolarClock is free, and can also be installed in widget form (or in Windows, if you happen to know someone who swings that way).Never wonder what time it is again! As for showing up on time, that one's still up to you.Thanks, Evan!
Alienware offers SSD for the m9750, m9700, and m5550
Alienware, certainly no stranger to the high-end spec game, has further upped the ante with a recent announcement touting SSD options for three of its laptops -- the Area-51 m9750, m550, and the Aurora m9700. The gamer-centric PC manufacturer is now making the solid-state choice available as a single 32GB SSD, or a 64GB SSD RAID 0 dual configuration. In addition, the 32GB option can be coupled with a 200GB hard drive for added secondary storage. The new drives should increase battery life for the power-hungry laptops, while running faster and stabilizing your extra-important game saves and frag videos. The drives are available now, running in price from $500 for the 32GB single option, to $920 for the RAID set-up.
European robots assist children in forming relationships
We've seen robots that help humans diagnose autism, but a team of researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have developed a number of robots and humanoids that can help autistic children cope and form relationships. The €3.22 million ($4.33 million) Interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions (IROMEC) project is being funded by the European Sixth Framework, and seeks to "investigate the use of robotic toys to enable children with disabilities to develop social skills." A number of creations have been concocted in order to help youngsters with learning disabilities interact more normally, and KASPAR (Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics) has emerged as the latest android to come to the rescue. The team isn't satisfied just yet, however, as it purportedly plans to further "investigate how robotic toys can become social mediators" within the next three years.[Via Physorg]
Aurora 3
We have written about Aurora before, and now a new version of this freeware alarm clock app is available. It will still awake you with some sweet, sweet tunes from your iTunes library (you can even use a playlist, or smart playlist). It now supports a snooze function using the Apple Remote, which is pretty darned cool if you ask me. It also supports playing radio or TV shows from EyeTV.Aurora is a Universal Binary, and is free (donations are welcome).
Aurora Multimedia's WACI PAD-6 dynamic button controller
Looking to hop into the home automation game, but don't feel like installing a computer in your wall or throwing down for a snazzy remote? Aurora Multimedia feels your pain, and with its recently launched Dynamic Button Controller, can take over your domain(s) with minimal intrusion. The WACI PAD-6 rocks a single-gang interface (like the JackPC) and boasts six dynamic LCD buttons which change based on which button you press first. For instance, tagging the "DVD" button can switch your six options to play / pause, stop, and volume, while choosing the "Lights" pad could lead to dimming controls. The device houses 64MB of RAM "supporting hundreds of unique instances," an internal "250 MIPS web server" which triggers the macro switching, an IR port, one serial port, and a built-in Ethernet port. While there are currently no pricing or availability details to ponder over, we're sure the WACI PAD-6 will be displacing plain ole electrical outlets real soon.
Alienware Aurora m9700 laptop reviewed
Hot Hardware had the envious position of being able to test out one of Alienware's latest gaming laptops, the SLI-enabled Aurora m9700. As you would expect, the system performed really well, thanks to the dual NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 256MB graphics cards, AMD Turion64 ML-44 processor (2.4GHz), NVIDIA nForce4 chipset, and 2GB RAM. Suprisingly, they found the battery fared pretty well, getting more than 120 minutes -- not a lot compared to most laptops, but look at what's in the thing. They also liked the big 17-inch WUXGA 1920 x 1200 display, but did find that the glossy coating can hinder more than help due to its reflectivity. It's also, obviously, really big and heavy (8.5 pounds), but we're guessing anyone actually considering this system won't be put off much by that. Price starts at a reasonable $1,999, but to get it loaded similar to their review unit will run you more like $3,600.
Alienware's Aurora 7500 first to offer AMD LIVE!
We're sure this whole all-caps "LIVE!" thing is going to get old after a while, but for now we'll revel in AMD's attempt at a Viiv competitor and bother you with all sorts of systems based on it. Alienware has not only packed this new spec into their new Aurora 7500 and Area-51 7500 desktops, but are throwing in a Blu-ray drive as well to sweeten the deal. As with Viiv, most of the LIVE! spec is based around a bunch of vague multimedia buzz words, but the LIVE! software package seems like it'll make a decent addition to a WMCE PC, and it really can't hurt anything. Otherwise the specs stay true to their recently announced Aurora ALX roots, including quad SLI, liquid cooling, and of course some AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 to compensate for something power your exciting and fulfilling life. We specced a 7500 for what we guess is LIVE! compatibility (they're not actually letting you order 'em yet, though the Blu-ray drives are available now) for around $4300, so we suggest you get saving.[Via BIOS]
