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You know what you'll be doing in 2011? Everything that you've ever wanted, that's what, 'cause the world as we know will unquestionably end in 2012. Amazingly enough, one of those bucket list items that you'll be able to achieve is to change the channel on your tele without ever slipping a battery into your remote. A prototype clicker was recently shown over in Japan utilizing technologies from NEC and Soundpower; essentially, the remote turns the small vibrations from button presses into power, which it then uses to beam out signals to the nearby set. If all goes well, the two hope to have battery-less remotes shipping with televisions in just two years -- a proposition that surely exasperate the likes of Duracell and Energizer (and enraptures us to no end).

via

It seems like the future, as it's unveiled in prototypes, always seems much more exciting than the one we end up inheriting. Between Segway-esque unicycles, braille labelmakers, and Bluetooth-enabled gowns, the road ahead looks pretty sweet (if only in concept). Among the various ideas floated by Ericsson as part of its Life in 2020 project, the company has unveiled something called the Spider Computer. Named after the creepy spider-like legs of the initial design, the thing houses a PC, pico proj, a keyboard that's projected onto your desk with a laser, and a memory card reader. According to Pocket-lint the device, shown here at the 2009 Taiwan Broadband show, has a rather poor battery life and lacks network connectivity, but once they figure out how to pack WiFi and some reasonable juice into the thing we might start seeing a few more ultraportables that look more like Maglites than netbooks.
The current prototype has a built-in pico projector, a laser keyboard and a memory card reader. Ericsson is working on a clever way to integrate a long lasting battery and of course internet connectivity.

The Spider Computer mock-up looks like something out of a sci-fi movie as it stands on three legs that are meant to fold into the device itself. It’s all black and it almost looks as if it’ll come alive at any moment and start to attack you.

It’s always interesting to see a company’s vision of the future, but the biggest hurdle in this case seems to be how to power the separate devices rather than how to integrate all the technology Ericsson wants to fit into its futuristic concept.

You can read more about Ericsson’s vision of the year 2020 over at http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/corpinfo/2020/

[Via Pocket-lint ] [Engadget]

That's right Mac lovers -- your mildest dreams have come true. A new update of OS X is now available via your friendly Software Update window... a little something Apple likes to call 10.5.7.

Nokia just announced its 5730 XpressMusic QWERTY, 5330 XpressMusic slider, and lowly 5030 XpressRadio candybar bringing up the tail. The trio of handsets spread across different price-points should make access to the Nokia Music Store (now available in 15 countries) that much easier. The top-end 5730 (available Q3, €280) is Nokia's first QWERTY device optimized for both music and gaming with dedicated audio and N-Gage keys. The 5330 slider (Q3, €260) steps up the design with illumination effects while adding a 3.5-mm jack and 26-hours of audio. The 5030 XpressRadio (Q2, €40) is Nokia's first with an internal FM radio antenna thereby eliminating the need for a headset or external speakers. With that as its major selling point, you've probably already guessed that it's heading to emerging markets.
Nokia 5730 XpressMusic

Nokia 5330 XpressMusic

engadget

Apple updated their popular iPod Shuffle with a new version that’s moved the playback controls from the player itself to a small inline remote on the headphone cord. As a result, the Shuffle has become considerably smaller in size, just 1.8 inches tall and 0.7 inches wide, but at the same time has received a bump in storage up to 4GB.
The other notable update is the addition of VoiceOver which allows the Shuffle to tell you the name of the current track or artist or even when it’s time to recharge the battery. And, the addition of VoiceOver finally allows the iPod Shuffle to take advantage of multiple playlists, since they now can be navigated as the player announces their names. Not too shabby at just $79.99 in your choice of silver or black & your claim to what Apple calls the "world's smallest music player.".

Via ohGizmo!

The brain geniuses at Fraunhofer are back on the scene with a security device that takes the window alarm to the next level. The Vigilant window sees the ol' glass panel coated with a nanoparticle material which converts light into fluorescent radiation. When the system is switched on, a UV lamp is aimed at the window, which is outfitted with sensors along its edges. As long as the lamp is unobstructed, everything is goldie. However, if a cat burglar should come by in his trademark all-black out fit and obstruct the beam, the alarm is activated -- sending your elite security team into action. If you don't have an elite security team, perhaps you can send your T-34 to snare him in its net. Either way, it's clear they messed with the wrong folks this time. A prototype already exists, no word yet on when this will become available.

Via engadget

It's still a little ways away from actually landing in some graphics cards, but Samsung has announced that it has begun mass production of its new 50nm GDDR5 memory, which promises to support a maximum data transfer speed of 7.0 gigabits per second and boast a maximum bandwidth of 28 gigabytes per second. According to Samsung, the shift to a 50nm manufacturing process also increases production efficiency by a full 100 percent, and allows the memory to operate at 1.35 volts, which is a 20 percent reduction compared to current GDDR4 memory. From the looks of it, however, manufacturers will have to make do with a 32Megabit x 32 configuration (also configurable as a 64Mb x 16 device) initially, although Samsung says it plans to expand the 50nm process throughout its graphics memory line-up by the end of the year.

The Samsung Memoir could easily be mistaken for a real camera. On one side is a full touch-screen, and on the other is an 8-megapixel camera, 16x digital zoom, and Xenon flash.
The phone, which we first saw hints of in December, will run on T-Mobile's 3G network. Besides the 8-megapixel camera, it also has a full-touch virtual QWERTY keypad, a music and video player, built in GPS, and Bluetooth.

SAMSUNG MOBILE AND T-MOBILE USA INTRODUCE BEST-IN-CLASS
8-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA PHONE

Samsung Memoir™ Captures and Shares High-Quality Images
With Advanced Features and Touch Screen

DALLAS, and BELLEVUE, WASH. — Feb. 5, 2009 — Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) and T-Mobile USA, Inc., today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Memoir™, a full touch-screen mobile phone equipped with an 8-megapixel camera and premium multimedia features, placing it among the highest quality imaging phones available in the U.S.

The Memoir, available exclusively from T-Mobile, is designed to look and feel like a customer's current point-and-shoot digital camera. The built-in 8-megapixel camera with Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom and five shooting modes empower customers to capture exceptional photos and videos from their phone — whether they're on the go, on a vacation or just hanging out around the house.

The touch-screen phone, enabled by Samsung's TouchWiz™ user interface and powered by T-Mobile's high-speed 3G network, makes sharing photos easy. Samsung's new photo widget allows customers to post images taken with the Memoir directly to their favorite online photo sharing source, such as flickr®, Kodak® Gallery, Photobucket and Snapfish.

"With the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir, T-Mobile customers can capture and share little slices of life in all their vibrant brilliance," said Denny Marie Post, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile USA. "With the ability to share photos at your fingertips, the Memoir helps make those connections more meaningful by their immediacy."

The Memoir's full-touch virtual QWERTY keypad and multiple messaging capabilities, including text, multimedia messaging, instant messaging and e-mail, make staying connected quick and easy while on the go. The Memoir is complete with a music and video player and built-in Assisted GPS navigation, which allows customers to utilize location-based services including turn-by-turn directions. For hands-free use, the Memoir features stereo Bluetooth® technology, speakerphone and voice-activated dialing.

"This is the camera phone that will make people want to leave their digital camera at home," said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile. "When you combine the Memoir's imaging capabilities, customizable menus and music player, not only is it a great phone, but the entertainment possibilities are unlimited."

T-Mobile's 3G coverage available in select markets. Samsung Memoir also works on T-Mobile's 2G network. See coverage maps at T-Mobile.com

Model number: SGH-t929

Psyko Audio Labs is looking to push doubters over the edge with its incredibly heinous 5.1 Directional Audio Headphones. Supposedly, the company uses a special alignment technology that delivers accurate surround sound to each ear "in a natural 3D sound field." In case you weren't skeptical enough, there's also a "subwoofer" in each ear cup, which sounds like a feat you'd truly have to hear to believe. Yeah, we guess the built-in amplifier -- which lets gamers "customize volume and bass levels" -- is pretty nifty, but for $299.99, they'd have to knock our equilibrium clean out of balance.

HP Pavilion dv3 Specifications

Display: 13.3″ TN (Twisted Nematic) Wide TFT LCD with LED Backlight
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
Pixel Format: 1280 x 800
Webcam: Yes
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200
CPU: 2GHz Athlon X2 QL-62 to 2.4GHz AMD Turion Ultra X2 ZM-86
RAM: Up to 8GB DDR2
HDD: 160/250/320/400GB 5400RPM HD, Optional SSD
Connectivity: 5-in-1 Media Card Reader, WiFi (ABGN), Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, ExpressCard, USB 2.0, VGA, HDMI, eSATA/USB Combo, Mic-In, Speaker-Out
Optical: Slot-loading SuperMulti DVD player
Other: Magnesium Chassis, Fingerprint Reader (optional)
Battery: 6/9-cell Lithium Ion
Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.1 x 1.3″
Weight: 4.35lbs
Price: Starting MSRP US$799

Headline pretty much says it all, and it's a big one. Tipping the scales at 377MB (or 190MB for some; see image after the break), the OS X 10.5.6 update is now available via Software Update.

Update: Apple has posted the official changelog. Here are the highlights:

• Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.
• Improves reliability of Address Book syncing with iPhone and other devices and applications.
• Includes general improvements to gaming performance.
• Includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.
• Contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Mac automatically sync within a minute of the change being made on the computer, another device, or the web at me.com.
• Improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server.
• Improves reliability and performance for AT&T 3G cards.
• Improves printing for USB-based Brother and Canon printers.
• Fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.
• Improves Time Machine reliability with Time Capsule.
• Adds a Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.
• Personal Engadget favorite: Improves the performance and reliability of Chess.
• Nary a mention of Blu-ray. It's still hurting, we guess.

Mozilla on Monday released Firefox 3.1 Beta 2, an update to its popular Internet browser.

The company characterizes the software as a preview release for developer testing. It's available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux in 54 languages.

The final version of Firefox 3.1 is expected next year.

Apple on Wednesday released a number of firmware updates to fix stability problems with the latest MacBook computers.

The updates come in pairs that are each for the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air introduced in October.

One update in the pair fixes "several issues to improve the stability" of the computers, Apple said. The other "improves the sensing and accuracy" of the power adapter and battery charge indicator lights.

The fixes can be installed automatically through Apple's Software Update service, which downloads and installs updates from the Web. However, for cases where the updates have to be installed manually, Apple has posted instructions on its support site. Apple also has a download page for all six updates, as well as a page for general information.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the lighter aluminum MacBooks in time for the holiday shopping season. The aluminum casing, common with the MacBook Pro, was introduced for the first time in the less-expensive MacBook line

In 2005 Intel revealed its 65-nm manufacturing process, then 45-nm in 2007. Today, in keeping with its "tick-tock" strategy, Intel is announcing a further shrinkage to its manufacturing process as it ends the development phase for 32-nm chip circuitry. That puts the chips on a production schedule for Q4 2009 -- interesting as Intel's rumored 32-nm Medfield chip wasn't expected until the first half of 2010. According to Intel, the new chips incorporate second-generation high-k + metal gate technology with transistors that switch 22% faster than its current 45-nm Penryn chips. Why should you care? Well, the smaller chips are cheaper to manufacture which should translate to consumer savings. They also require less power than Intel's notoriously power-friendly Atom-class chips. As an interesting side note, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Intel has also disclosed a variant of its 45-nm process (the Lincroft-based Pineview we presume) "that is tailored to create chips for portable computing devices that require low power consumption." Uh, those wouldn't be targeting ARM by any chance would they Intel? Wink wink, nudge nudge.

NVIDIA has recently announced the ultra-high end NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800, giving professionals the right toolset to dramatically push the boundaries of realism, performance and quality.

Equipped with 192 CUDA parallel computing cores, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a 2X performance increase over previous generations of ultra-high-end graphics cards.

The Quadro FX 4800 has the capacity to process large textures and frames in real time while providing fill rates of 38 billion texels per second and geometry performance of 300 million triangles per second.

Other features included a single dual-link digital display connector for ultra-high resolution panels of up to 3840 x 2400 at 24Hz, a 128-bit precision graphic pipeline and 32x FSAA for better image clarity and quality.

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 is available today and has a MSRP of $1,999 USD

For more info, check out this link which will take you directly to NVIDIA…

NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800

Bob Familiar, a Microsoft Architect Evangelist, has revealed that Windows 7 Beta 1 will be distributed to attendees at the series of MSDN Developers Conferences scheduled between December 9th and February 19th. However, those attending the first three conferences in Houston, Orlando and Atlanta will receive theirs in the mail "as soon as they become available." Attendees starting in Chicago on January 13th will receive their beta discs at the event itself. Technet's Keith Combs backed up this information saying that they are aiming to have Windows 7 beta materials by January 13th 2009. Microsoft claims that they are still targeting "early 2009" for the wider beta (with the finished version following in mid-2009), but if you are willing to drop $99 to score one early, you will need to register for the MSDN Developer's Conference nearest you ASAP.

Having watched the slow development of pocket projectors for years, I'm thrilled to have not one but two real-life models to play with. 3M's MPro110 ($360) debuted in September and earned a grand award in our Best of What's New roster for 2008. This week, Optoma will start selling the first competing product, its Pico PK-101 projector, for $400.

In two or three years, we'll probably look back at these first contenders with the same nostalgic chuckle that we reserve for 56K modems or the brick-like first-gen iPod. But now is the time of wonderment at the birth of a fun new product category. Each of these projectors delivers the wow factor, and they are equally good performers, although in different ways.

3M's model, with its utilitarian, pale-gray plastic case, looks like a 1970s prototype rather than a 21st-century shipping product. You won't get many style points for carrying it around. But one of those utilitarian features, a VGA adapter for laptops, makes it the natural choice for a lot of customers--and not just people who can only speak in PowerPoint. The laptop link would be equally handy for showing DVDs or Hulu broadcasts, for example. The big, ugly focusing knob up front also provides an advantage: It's easy to grip for making fine adjustments. (The Pico's elegantly recessed focus dial is hard to get at.)