DigitalDisplay
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2013 Dodge Dart digital dash display hands-on (video)
Sure, we've seen digital instrument panels before, but the one outfitted for the upcoming Dodge Dart re-birth caught our eye. Instead of a regular ol' speedometer in the center of the driver side dash, you'll encounter a 7-inch instrument cluster that you'll be able to customize based on your specific auto info needs. This of course will be the second screen on the dash, as the vehicle will also feature Chrysler's 8.4-inch Uconnect infotainment system in the center. Just how useful is the new feature? We took it for a test drive of sorts, and hopped out with a few thoughts. First, the amount of information that can be delivered to the driver's screen was pretty comprehensive. You'll be able to check gas mileage / fuel economy, odometer details, tire pressure, burned out lights, follow the navigation system and sort out your music choices. The color and image quality were both great, something that gets overlooked from time to time with on-board vehicle screens. While some simple animations take place on the screen for things like driving directions, the folks at Dodge affirm that the monitor won't pose a distraction while you're on the road. For a look at the new display in action and a quick refresher on the Uconnect system, hit the gallery below or the video on the backside of the break.
Major tech manufacturers to drop VGA by 2015, Apple wonders what took 'em so long
A syndicate of consumer electronics titans including AMD, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, Samsung and LG announced this week that its products will collectively drop support for VGA by 2015. Saying sayonara to the 20+ year-old analog technology is pretty self explanatory to us in this day and age, but the council of doom apparently felt compelled to cite DisplayPort's and HDMI's benefits of increased energy efficiency, smaller size and support for higher-resolutions as proof the move wasn't personal -- just business. AMD plans to lead the charge by starting the VGA removal process in 2013 and even intends to go the extra mile by stripping DVI-I and low voltage differential signaling technology (LVDS) support too. We definitely side with AMD's desire to focus on cutting edge standards like Displayport 1.2 and HDMI 1.4a sooner, but if plenty of lead time and "going green" excuses help everyone else involved in the sentencing sleep better at night, then so be it.
PureDepth creation gives morphing abilities to slot machines
It looks like the glory days of walking into a casino, hacking a slot machine, and leaving a wealthy individual is over, as not only are "software glitches" leading to rewards being revoked, but now you'll have devious dutiful system administrators watching (and potentially controlling, you never know) everything that happens to your machine. PureDepth, Inc. has inked a deal with International Game Technology to provide a "realistic digital video display" to add a new level of control to vanilla slot machines. On the nifty side, programmers can change the typical cherries and numbers to baseball bats, for instance, if they know the Red Sox are taking a field trip to their casino, but on the disappointing end, you can now rest assured that folks behind the scenes now have complete control over "cost, payout, and nearly every other aspect of the game." Darn, looks like we're stuck with ATM-jacking from here on out, eh?
