The eLocity A7 tablet is set to go up against the iPad

Computerworld - Starting Wednesday, Sept. 1, if all goes according to plan, you will be able to order one of the first in what will surely be an avalanche ofAndroid-based tablet computers. That's the day the eLocity A7, running Android 2.2 and based on the Nvidia Tegra 2 chip, will be available for pre-orders at Amazon.com.

The A7 comes from a little-known Philadelphia-based start-up called Stream TV. The $399 tablet has a seven-inch screen and will come with a wireless keyboard and other accessories. It is currently scheduled to begin shipping on Nov. 1.

eLocity A7

I got my mitts on a preproduction A7 very briefly late last week -- just long enough to get a few quick impressions.

It's pretty impressive, in a rough-hewn sort of way -- not unusual for presale units. The device is 8.2 by 4.8 by 0.5 inches in size and weighs a touch over 1 lb. It has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a microphone and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It supports 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1. Its ports include a USB 2.0 jack, a Micro SD slot, a docking port, and -- most interestingly -- an HDMI port. While 3G will not be included with the first units, the company said it is planning 3G capability for a later model.

LINK

Microsoft unveils new Xbox 360 controller

Microsoft plans to release a new Xbox 360 controller in November that features a transforming D-pad, the company announced Tuesday.

The first difference users will find with the new wireless controller is its design. Instead of a white finish with multicolored buttons, the new controller sports a gray and black finish. All the buttons are now different tones of gray.

But it's the new D-pad that will likely attract some users.

According to "Major Nelson," Microsoft's director of programming for Xbox Live who first unveiled the new controller in a blog post and video, users "are not big fans of the D-pad" on the Xbox 360 controller. To address the issue, Microsoft will now let Xbox 360 owners twist the D-pad's disc to make it more appealing to gamers. At one position, the D-pad will be nearly flush with the disc behind it. After twisting it, the D-pad is raised much higher, making it more usable for gamers.

Aside from that, the Xbox 360 wireless controller performs and works exactly the same way; the update is designed solely to give users a better D-pad.

The new Xbox 360 wireless controller will be available on November 9. It will only be offered in a bundle with Microsoft's Play and Charge kit and will retail for $64.99.

Skitterbot creeps us out at 1 foot per second

If you love freaking out your friends, especially a girlfriend who hates bugs, here's a toy you might dig--Skitterbot is a six-legged robotic insect that can burn rubber at the rate of one foot per second.

Maker Desk Pets claims Skitterbot is the fastest commercially available legged micro-robot. It's controlled and recharged via USB, requiring a 30-minute juicing for 15 minutes of play.

The critter has flashing evil eyes and comes in three colors, as well as transparent. Each has a separate frequency, so multiple players can race and fight each other. They're now on sale at Toys "R" Us and Radio Shack for $19.99.

Skitterbots follow a horde of micro-robot toys including the Hexbug Crab, which can respond to its environment through sensors. Skitterbot lacks sensors, and seems more built for speed than intelligence.

There's something about robots that makes them exponentially scarier the faster they move. When I saw the usually innocuous Asimo showing off its new 1.9 mph jogging skills from 10 feet away, I nearly ran out of Honda's HQ in terror.

Still, I'd love to see a whole floor crawling with Skitterbots. Now, that would shock and awe.

Can Apple maintain iPod's relevance?

Long before the iPhone, the iPod was the device that helped transform Apple from computer company into a consumer electronics company.

But today, the ubiquitous music player has become less relevant to the company that essentially owns that product category. Apple still sells three-fourths of all MP3 players sold, but multifunction gadgets like the iPhone and iPad are getting the most attention from Apple customers, not to mention the rest of the electronics industry, and bringing in more revenue than iPods these days.

So when Apple convenes a special event in San Francisco to discuss music this Wednesday--as it has every September for the last five years--we think that Steve Jobs and Co. will touch on the iPod but also talk more broadly about media, including a more evolved iTunes and new ways to watch content in the living room.

Apple's invitation to the event this year featured a picture of an acoustic guitar, complete with an Apple logo, naturally, and, as usual, it has prompted a guessing game.

New iPods? New Apple TV? New streaming-video service? Perhaps all of the above. Here are some of our thoughts on what we think we might see and what we hope Apple will reveal on Wednesday morning. LINK

The iPhone 4 could be getting a new antenna

After blaming users, besmirching competitors and finally offering a free iPhone 4 caseto appease customers, rumor has it that Apple could relent in the biggest way: revising the antenna on the iPhone 4.

Apple's company line for a while has been that it will look into the signal attenuation — the disruption of the iPhone 4's signal strength when held a certain way — and decide what to do about it. That "what to do" could be revising the antenna architecture, according to an executive with Mexican mobile carrier Telcel. The company man says that it could happen as soon as September 30th.

It sounds like the executive was just being upfront and trying to calm worried consumers, according to Ars:

While announcing the launch of the iPhone 4 in Mexico, Telcel's Director of Value Added Services, Marco Quatorze, told CanalMX that initial units would exhibit the same antenna problems as those released so far in the US. He also said that Apple would be providing free cases to all iPhone 4 buyers who request one from its website.However, Quatorze also said that after September 30--the date Jobs promised an update on the antenna issue and the date that the free case program expires--Apple will begin supplying revised iPhone 4 devices that "do not have the reception malfunction."

This isn't standard operating procedure, not by a long shot. Having an executive stand up and say there's a better unit on the way is sure to bite into the iPhone 4's early sales in Mexico. Telcel did add that early adopters would have an option to trade up, but words like this makes the current iPhone 4 nothing more but a placeholder. LINK

Via Ars Technica

Star-Trek-inspired corset

From the Evening Arwen, the same people who recently came out with the Star-Wars-inspired corsets. Via Trendhunter.

Aerial Manipulator: the UAV that can carry bombs safely away

Unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming more and more prevalent, allowing for our military to get views of areas from above without sending any humans into harm's way. But they're generally pretty passive, unable to pick stuff up. Not so with Yale's new Aerial Manipulator.

This UAV shares many characteristics with other UAVs, including a helicopter-like body and a top speed of 120km per hour. But it's also got a grabbing hand on its underside, allowing it to swoop in and grab things like bombs or unguarded sandwiches. And if that's not a significant advancement, I don't know what is. LINK

Technology Review via Engadget

Doctors are tossing out their stethoscopes for a free iPhone app

The classic image of a Doctor in scrubs with a stethoscope draped over his or her neck could soon be history, as Physicians by the hundreds have started checking their patients using a free iPhone app called iStethoscope.

Developed by Peter Bentley at University College London, the program uses the combined output of the iPhone's microphone, motion sensors, and camera to get a much more accurate reading than a simple acoustic stethoscope, then it shows your heart's waveform on the iPhone's display.

Bentley says that the app is being downloaded 500 times per day, but just how many of those are by Doctors is hard to say. In addition to the free app, there's a "Pro" version for 99¢ that gets rid of the embedded advertising and adds a few features. Frankly, I'd be a bit worried if my Doctor didn't consider themselves to be a "pro".

iStethoscope is available now in the iPhone App Store.

iPhone App Store, via The Telegraph (London)

App sends iPhone's HD video at full quality

It's easy enough to write off TransferBigFiles as just another cloud-based file transfer service with an iPhone app like Box or YouSendIt. However, TBF claims its app is the first to let you send full-quality HD video files created with the iPhone directly from the device over Wi-Fi or 3G--no need to sync, convert, or connect to a computer first.

The app is pretty straightforward. You can create a free account through the app or with the company's Web service, sign in, and start uploading and sending. The input box for adding recipients isn't linked to your contacts, so you'll have to input e-mail addresses on your own, which is a pain. But otherwise the process is effortless and if you're uploading a large file, the app will run in the background for up to 10 minutes on iOS 4. Also, should you drop your signal or interrupt the transfer some other way, the upload will resume where it left off.

LINK

NASA moves historic images into Flickr archives

Tapping this app gives special-needs users a voice

At $189.99, Proloquo2Go is far from the cheapest App Store offering. Believe it or not, though, that price is actually a bargain--one a certain market is seriously happy to pay.
The target market? Parents of kids with special needs--specifically those with autism, apraxia, and other disabilities that affect their communication. Many of these kids can't speak, or can't speak as fluently as their peers, but they understand what's going on around them, and they do have things they'd like to say.

Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, devices can supplement existing speech or replace speech that is not functional to improve social interaction, school performance, and--not for nothing--to give the kids a better sense of self-worth. Electronic AAC aids use picture symbols, letters, and/or words and phrases to create messages. Equipped with an AAC device, a child with cerebral palsy whose speech is limited suddenly has a way to tell you, "I want to go to Grandma's house this weekend!" or "I ate cake!"

LINK

Yeast combined with human DNA to create artificial corneas

Yeast is a magical substance, one that we have to thank for beer and bread, two essential foodstuffs. But they have nothing on the new discovery that yeast can also be used to create synthetic corneas.

Scientists have plugged human DNA into genetically-engineered yeast. The result was human protein that can be placed into molds to create artificial corneas that can be surgically attached to human eyes.

It's a great step forward, one that could potentially help people see who couldn't before. It takes a pretty big advancement to say it might be better than beer, but this fits the bill.

Reuters via Technabob

Sony's cup holder speaker forgets about car stereos

This is Sony's new portable speaker and iPod dock. It can either be used as a standard dock or the speaker can be removed and stuck in your car's cup holder. You know, just in case your car doesn't have a stereo of its own.

It's a neat idea, I guess, I just wonder how many people really need a standalone stereo for their car. Most new cars let you plug an iPod in, and older ones can play an iPodeither through a cassette adapter or FM transmitter.

But hey, this claims to have 360 degrees of sound distribution, so maybe it sounds better than the lousy speakers in low-end cars. I'm just trying to keep an open mind here.

Cult of Mac via Core77

Speech to text glasses let the deaf read what you're saying

A lot of deaf people learn to read lips, but that's got to be a tough learning curve, with inexact results at best. Wouldn't if be great if you could simply give the hearing impaired a written transcript of what you're saying in real time?

That's the idea behind the Babel Fisk (fisk is Danish for fish) glasses concept from Danish designer Mads Hindhede. Microphones built into the frame pick up the voice of a person in your line of sight, then an embedded speech to text program creates text that is projected onto the inside of the lenses.

Another feature lets you record the text to a flash memory card for later use, which would be great if you're the type of person who tends to sleep through meetings or boring lectures.

Let's just hope the production version doesn't turn everything into Danish like in the picture. LINK

MSH Design, via Yanko Design

If Luke Skywalker lived in Victorian England, this would be his hand

Seriously, if you told me to imagine what an artificial limb would look like back in Victorian England, my mind would waver between a peg-arm and a something steampunk. Yet here's this insanely awesome arm from the late 1800s, and it's real to boot.

It doesn't just look slick, either — the arm allows for a surprising amount of articulation, according to blurb on the London Science Museum website, where the arm now rests:

Made from steel and brass, this unusual prosthetic arm articulates in a number of ways. The elbow joint can be moved by releasing a spring, whereas the top joint of the wrist allows a degree of rotation and an up-and-down motion. The fingers can also curl up and straighten out. The leather upper arm piece is used to fix the prosthesis to the remaining upper arm. The rather sinister appearance of the hand suggests the wearer may have disguised it with a glove.

The museum goes on to add that amputation was common practice in those day and the most widespread cause of it was from warfare-related injuries. Want to see some more of that sweet hand? Look below for a couple of different angles.

I'll be looking right there with you. I seriously can't get over how awesome this thing looks. It's almost worth taking a crude 19th century war injury for — though you wouldn't be making any precise motions with this thing, that's for sure. It's questionable whether you could even pick something up at all. LINK

London Science Museum, via BoingBoing

AutoCAD Coming Back to Apple After 18 Years

I still remember the last version of AutoCAD—probably the biggest software in the planet only third to Office and Photoshop—for Macintosh. That was 18 years ago. Autodesk left the Mac, vowing never to return...until today.
AutoCAD 2011 for Mac OS X is now official.
To people who have been using computers for more than two decades—like myself—this is quite shocking news, even while we knew that the beta have been circulating around for a while now. The company even acknowledges that in their announcement: "You've waited long enough. AutoCAD 2011 for Mac is here." Heck, their promotional video even has a mug with the old rainbow Apple logo on it. LINK

Intel buys wireless chip tech in mobile-phone push

As the world's biggest maker of computer chips, Intel Corp. can't afford to ignore its huge blind spot in mobile phones.
Eighty percent of today's personal computers use Intel processors. But Intel is absent in smart phones, which are threatening PCs as gateways to the Internet. One reason is that Intel still doesn't have good ways to design chips to use less power, so Intel's products drain batteries more quickly — something smart-phone makers won't tolerate.
The dynamic has put Intel at risk of missing out on the next great opportunity for semiconductor companies. That is why Intel has decided to buy the wireless-chip division of Germany's Infineon Technologies AG for $1.4 billion. With it, Intel gets the chips used in Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone.
The all-cash deal, announced Monday, is an acknowledgment that Intel has missed the boat on mobile phones, and it gives the company an opportunity to correct its course. LINK

‘Love the Way You Lie’ Video: Eminem and Rihanna Team Up

Rapper Eminem and pop singer Rihanna debuted the video for their song “Love the Way You Lie” tonight. The clip was directed by Joseph Kahn, who has previously worked with Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani.
The video played on themes of domestic violence and featured actor Dominic Monaghan (”Lost”) and actress Megan Fox (”Transformers”).
Everything about the new video seemed better fit for the big screen than the TV screen, from the star appearances by Fox and Monaghan, to the dramatic sequences of domestic violence.
In the video, Fox and Monaghan play a couple locked in a liquor-fueled dysfunctional relationship. There are screaming matches, physical confrontations, physical reconciliations and the cycle continues. Something has to give and something does–both lovers, and their home, burst into flames.
Co-star Rihanna suffered a beating at the hands of her former boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, and Eminem has long documented his tempestuous relationship with his ex-wife Kim in his music. Both of those backstories added to the video’s emotional punch. In the clip, Rihanna sings the song’s hook in front of a blazing fire, while Eminem is shown rapping in front of sweeping shots of endless fields before he goes up in flames as well.
The age of the event video is clearly not completely over. MTV debuted the clip in front of a new episode of the popular reality show “Jersey Shore,” no doubt padding the audience for both the show and the video. LINK

James Cameron: Piranha 3-D is 'what we should not be doing'

You'd think James Cameron wouldn't need to knock someone else's film in order to promote his own, but that's exactly what he did this weekend as Avatar returned to theaters with that additional nine minutes of footage.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the director said:

I tend almost never to throw other films under the bus, but that is exactly an example of what we should not be doing in 3-D. Because it just cheapens the medium and reminds you of the bad 3-D horror films from the 70s and 80s, like Friday the 13th 3-D. When movies got to the bottom of the barrel of their creativity and at the last gasp of their financial lifespan, they did a 3-D version to get the last few drops of blood out of the turnip.

Getting fired from his directing gig on Piranha II: The Spawning back in the early '80s after just a few days probably ticked Cameron off, but don't you think it's time he forgave the franchise?
We're wondering how Piranha 3-D director Alexandre Aja will respond ... LINK
(via hitfix)

US wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq

A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets
As the U.S. draws down in Iraq, it is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects. More than $5 billion in American taxpayer funds has been wasted — more than 10 percent of the some $50 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction in Iraq, according to audits from a U.S. watchdog agency.
That amount is likely an underestimate, based on an analysis of more than 300 reports by auditors with the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. And it does not take into account security costs, which have run almost 17 percent for some projects. LINK

This iPhone photo shouldn't exist

What you're looking at is the nose of a propeller plane as photographed by an iPhone. You should be noticing something weird right off the bat — at least, if you understand that reality shouldn't allow for this to exist.
Before you start humming a few Twilight Zone bars, what you're seeing here is actually the effect that a "rolling shutter" can have on digital cameras. When you snap a photo with a digital cam like the iPhone, the image it captures isn't instantaneous. LINK

Google working on offering major movies to rent via YouTube

While YouTube has offered up a limited selection of smaller movies since the beginning of the year, it looks like Google is getting serious about offering up full-length films through the streaming video site. It's reportedly in talks with a number of major Hollywood studios to bring big-name movies to YouTube right when they're released on DVD.
The rentals would be offered for about $5, available instantly when you start streaming them. Presumably they'd be available on computers but also via the upcoming Google TV setup, which would make a lot more sense for offering up streaming rentals like this.
If Google is able to get all of the major studios on board, this could be a great way to fill in the gaps left by Netflix and its Watch Instantly selection.
Financial Times via Ars Technica

Japanese anti-aging glasses promise to turn back the clock

Aging isn't pretty. As we get older we gain weight, our skin gets less taut and we generally just get less attractive. It's a sad downhill slide! But really, trying to stop it with these ridiculous anti-aging glasses is probably just going to make things worse.
Yes, these glasses, which are unsurprisingly straight out of Japan, purport to be able to un-sag the skin under your eyes and make wrinkles disappear. All by just holding the skin in place for a while! I'm no doctor, but I don't think that's how skin works.
But hey, I understand. Getting old isn't fun. But the sooner you accept it, the better off you'll be.
Japan Trend Shop via 7 Gadgets

World's smallest DLSR is just one inch wide

DSLR cameras are pretty bulky devices, what with their detachable lenses and serious image sensors. But not this one, the Mini Model Camera. It's just 1/6th the size of your standard DSLR. It even comes with a set of detachable lenses!
Sure, it can't, you know, take pictures. But really, isn't that beside the point? For $28 you can own the world's smallest and most adorable DSLR. And since I get the feeling that a lot of owners of normal DSLRs are more interested in being seen with their cameras than actually taking pictures with them, this seems like a great way to save a few thousand dollars.
Photojojo via Gadget Lab

How panhandlers use free credit cards

What would happen if, instead of spare change, you handed a person in need the means to shop for whatever they needed? What would they buy? Can you spare your credit card, sir?
In New York City, an advertising executive recently handed over her American Express Platinum Card to a homeless Manhattan man after he had asked her for change. The man, who had been without home after losing a job, used the card to buy $25 worth of deodorant, water and cigarettes. And then he returned the card.
Concerns over the wisdom of sharing of credits cards and credit card fraud aside, the unlikely encounter became a talking point — a feel-good story about, as the New York Post put it in a headline: “A bum you can trust — honest!” LINK

Is nanotechnology the next big thing for HDTVs?

It seems like there's a new buzzword coming from the TV industry every year, each designed to make you think the TV you bought last year just won't cut it anymore: LCD, LED, 240Hz, 3D. The latest? NANO lighting technology.
That's what LG is pushing with its upcoming LEX8, a top-end backlit LED HDTV. LG claims that there's some fancy nanotechnology in the backlighting of the set that produces "brighter, clearer and smoother" pictures, all in a TV that's a mere .34 of an inch thick.
Nanotech or not, that's a damned thin TV. Whether or not it's better than your current TV, well, I guess we'll just have to wait to see it in person.
LG via Gizmodo

EmotionML: Will computers tap into your feelings?

For all those who believe the computing industry is populated by people who are out of touch with the world of emotion, it's time to think again.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which standardizes many Web technologies, is working on formalizing emotional states in a way that computers can handle. The name of the specification, which in July reached second-draft status, is Emotion Markup Language.
That might sound alien to the cold calculating ways of a computer. Let's face it, compared with most computer interaction, HAL 9000 sounded positively genial in "2001: A Space Odyssey" when he said, "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."
 

Nike patents Back to the Future-style auto-tying shoes

It takes a lot to get us excited about a shoe patent, but Nike found the magic words: "automatic lacing system." Think the ease of Velcro, but with the cool of a hoverboard.
It's fitting that Nike is the company to come out and patent the design as it was the one and the same that brought us Back to the Future II's Nike "Air Mags." If the company has its way, the shoes would be powered by an internal battery pack and, at the touch of a button, would tighten around the feet of the wearer.
So, when can we expect these? No word, of course, though Back to the Future II took place in 2015, so we figure Nike's got five years to crank these out before we come after them.
Oh, and Nike — if you're wanting for a place to start, look here.
Via NiceKicks

iBottleopener: put your iPhone case to work opening beers

Here's one for the iBro demographic I didn't even know existed: the iBottleopener. It's an iPhone case that's also — wa-a-a-ait for it — a bottle opener. If there's one thing I want my iPhone near, it's the opening of a bottle where sticky beer pours out.
By all appearances it's your usual rubber bumper case with cut-outs in all the right places so it won't block any ports or so on. Right now you can get one for $20 for an iPhone 3G or 3GS, and supposedly there's an iPhone 4 model on the way, too. (iPhone 4s and bars #8212; always a great combo!)
We normally don't care to link to ads around here, but this one is awesomely bad enough to warrant it:

Breathtaking video shows discovery of every asteroid 1980-2010

Turns out the skies are a lot more crowded than we used to think! Back in 1980, we were aware of fewer than 9,000 asteroids. Today, we know about more than half a million of them. Check out a hypnotic video that captures the discovery of every one of them in three minutes.
It'll be tough to tear your eyes away from the orbiting rocks, we know, but keep a watch on the numbers in the lower left, which detail both the year and the number of asteroids we were aware of at the time, with the rate of discovery increasing quickly as automated sky scanning systems come online.

Greg Grunberg thinks 'there has to be' a Heroes movie coming

Not quite satisfied with the way Heroes finished out its fourth season? Wishing those heroes (and villains, too) would come together for one last hurrah? You're not the only one. Greg Grunberg, who portrayed the series' telepathic cop Matt Parkman, thinks a big-screen Heroes is necessary to finish out the story line.

World's most amazing subwoofer has no woofer

We all know subwoofers make bass. Big subwoofers, like the $799 Epik Empire, can sport massive 15-inch woofers and a Class D 600-watt power amplifier, all packaged in a 22x18x24-cabinet. The Empire's 120-pound weight might be a not-so-subtle indication that it's solidly built.
But Eminent Technology's TRW-17 Rotary Woofer ($12,900) doesn't have a cone-type woofer or a box or cabinet. No, the TRW-17 looks like a high-tech fan. And when you turn it on, the fan's blade spins just like a fan, but it's a bona-fide subwoofer. It produces deeper and more powerful bass than any conventional subwoofer I've ever heard. Everybody who hears the TRW-17 is shocked by its power to produce a truly visceral experience.
The TRW-17's fluttering blades generate bass frequencies down to 1 hertz (standard $1,000 subs poop out in the 30Hz range, and ultra high-end subs rarely make it below 18Hz.). The Eminent Technology Web site provides more information about how the blades produce bass.
The TRW-17 subwoofer is powerful enough to make an entire room throb with bass energy. TRW-17 installations are complex and can easily run to $25,000. For home audio, the TRW-17 is typically mounted in an attic, basement, or side room so the spinning blades are always out of reach of small children and pets.

The TRW-17 mounted in a typical installation.

(Credit: Eminent Technology)

Regular subs can't reproduce the 11Hz fundamental frequency of a helicopter rotor, the low-frequency rumble of wind, or the infrasonic shockwave from an explosion, but the TRW-17 can do all of these things. Very deep bass is as much felt as heard. Eminent Technology claims the TRW-17 is now being used in theme park attractions, concert venues, professional audio applications, and research projects.

Is computer-wire couture the answer to our recycling problems?

Yesterday we looked at a gorgeous way to recycle computer circuit boards, but what about all of the associated wiring? This dress made from computer ribbon wire might provide an answer.
Created by Tina Sparkles for the Keep Austin Beautiful recycled fashion show , the dress is called Systems Supernova, and is made from computer ribbon wire, a thrift store curtain, and electrical tape.
Jokes about "going wireless" aside, I'm sure there's some kind of geeky appeal here, it just isn't working for me.
Tina Sparkles, via Gizmodo

Kokoro shows off its latest android Actroid F

Geminoid F, the uncannily lifelike fembot we saw in April, is back in a new PR vid from Kokoro, a Tokyo-based entertainment company that collaborates with Osaka University'sHiroshi Ishiguro in the creation of androids both feminine and creepy.

Geminoid F was so named because it's a nearly exact replica of a human female model, seen here. In the new video, the robot calls itself "Actroid F," as it has joined the ranks of other Actroid robots produced by Kokoro.

The air servo-powered fembots can be rented for trade shows and other events. While Actroid F can move its eyes, mouth, head, and back, it can also act as a telepresence robot. Cameras and face-tracking software follow a remote operator so facial expressions and head movements are reproduced in the robot in a master-slave relationship via Internet link.

Actroid F has minimal servomotors to save on cost, and it can't walk. But Kokoro reportedly announced plans to sell 50 units to museums and hospitals for some $110,000 apiece, aiming for them to serve in roles such as receptionist, patient attendant, or guide. The company has said patients have reacted favorably in a hospital trial.

ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, backed by the government, companies, and academia, also collaborated in Actroid F's development, one of many robot projects Japan has funded as it tries to develop next-generation machines to meet social needs. LINK

Stunningly beautiful boxes are made from old circuit boards

Marquetry is a centuries-old art, but it's almost always created using contrasting strips of fine wood veneer. New York based artist Theo Kamecke puts a beautiful spin on this process, by using the patterns contained in old printed circuit boards as his raw material.

Kamecke uses the board's squiggly metal traces the same way a wood artists uses the grain in the wood veneer, cutting and matching up mirror image pairs to create the gorgeous patterns.

In addition to the boxes, Kamecke has also created larger works including cabinets and chests.

This certainly seems like a much better use for old tech than filling up landfills on the other side of the world. LINK

Theo Kamecke, via Wired

iControlPad turns your iPhone into a gaming monster

A touch screen kind of sucks for hard-core gaming, so the iControlPad adds some real buttons to make your gaming experience less frustrating.

With two clips that hold your iPhone in landscape mode, the iControlPad connects to the phone with a sync cable. This looks like a cool idea, but there's one big catch in that the iPhone needs to be jailbroken for this to work. While jailbreaking your iPhone isn't illegal, Apple supposedly wants to turn jailbroken iPhones into iBricks.

The iConrolPad has been under development for a while, but this latest version is supposedly adaptable to other types of smart phone.

The device in the picture is supposedly the first production unit, and shipments are said to begin "soon". Price was not announced.

iControlPad, via Crave

OLED glasses are your own personal 3D home theater

Carl Zeiss has been making their Cinemizer video glasses for a few years, but now they added 3D capability for home theater and gaming applications.

The Cinemizer Plus video glasses have a tiny 16:9 format OLED screen in each eyepiece, with a native resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The resulting field of view is the same as watching a 45-inch screen from a distance of about 6.5 feet, so it should be a pretty cinematic experience. A small external box connects to a variety of playback sources including recent iPods and iPhones, along with many other phones and video players, various game consoles, laptops, and Blu-ray players. LINK

New display tech will make the Apple Retina Display look low-rez

Apple is justifiably proud of their so called "retina display", but a new display technology promises to make it look like about as sharp as a worn out 1977 Sylvania Superset.

This picture might look fuzzy, but that's because it's a super magnified image of an incredibly tiny area. About six of these University of Michigan logos would fit in the width of a single human hair. This makes the pixels about eight times smaller than the iPhone's, and would allow for a full HD 1920 x 1080 display that was smaller than a postage stamp. LINK

LG planning super e-readers that will make the Kindle look like a toy

While the e-reader price war continues, LG is quietly making plans to become a major innovator in the e-paper market. According to an SEC filing made last Friday, the company plans to be making big, flexible e-paper screens as well as smaller-size color e-paper by the end of the year.

The lack of color has been a major drawback to e-reader screens, allowing more visual gadgets like the iPad to eclipse them. E Ink, the screen technology in most e-reader displays, has been working on color screens for years, but problems with battery life and refresh rates remain.

Urinal and sink combo offers guys one-stop bathroom shopping : STUPID

This bizarre contraption is a urinal that lets guys do their thing, then gives them a place to wash their hands without moving a step.

My first reaction on seeing this was "eeew, that's gross", but the more you think about it, the more it seems to make sense.

The dirty sink water is used to flush the urinal, so the treehuggers will like the way it saves water. It also takes up a lot less room than a separate sink and urinal, so they can fit more into a small bathroom reducing the waiting times. (Yes ladies, even us guys sometimes have to wait in line.)

Because the sink is right there, it might also encourage the less hygienically inclined to wash up.

Yeongwoo Kim's Eco Urinal concept won a 2010 iF Concept Design Award from International Forum Design. LINK

Yeongwoo Kim, via Coolest Gadgets