The Optimus keyboard has hundreds of tiny OLEDs embedded in the keys, making the whole keyboard a sort of dynamic display. You can change what's displayed on the keys, meaning you can switch between keyboard layouts instantly. The Optimus keyboard also lets you display pictures in some apps, instead of using the toolbar, you can press the key on your keyboard!
No word on price yet, but I'd expect this to sell for at least $200 when it's released. The designer's website also has some weird designs, including an arrow shaped mouse which is apparently 'in stores now'.
What is OLED technology?
Optimus keyboard website
“Data mining” of all that information and communication is at the heart of the furor over the recent disclosure of government snooping
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Using a simple 6-line shell script and the popular wget command line tool, I configured two computers on two different DSL connections to begin downloading all 260,000 wishlists in increments of 25,000. Each group of 25,000 wishlists took about four hours to download, for a total download time of less than one day.
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Using a pair of 5-year-old computers, two home DSL connections, 42 hours of computer time, and 5 man hours, I now had documents describing the reading preferences of 260,000 U.S. citizens.
Impressive, but I don't see how the Amazon reading habits of every geek in America would be of much use to anyone. Unless they're buying copies of 'Communism for Dummies'…
Source [AppleFritter]
The names planned for the next generation, post Pentium processors from Intel have been published on Wikipedia and Reuters. The Pentium name was first used in 1993 as a sucessor for the 486. Intel didn't want to use 80586, so they instead used Penta (Greek: 5). It seems they're planning on eventually releasing an eight core desktop CPU.
Wikipedia
Reuters
eMagin, which makes video display products for military and industrial uses, has unveiled the EyeBud headset, a new wearable display for video iPods.The headset gives the feeling of watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away, and will cost $600.
I could see how this would be good for long motorway journeys, all I need now is a cigarette lighter adaptor for my mini fridge…
Lightbox is a Javascript image handler which overlays a full size image onto the current page, while keeping the content underneath visible and semi-transparent. It even works in IE. Sounds pretty boring, but the effect it creates looks pretty cool. If only I had more photos…
Lightbox
This All in One SIM Card enables you to put all your mobile numbers on one sim card. Eliminating the need for those unreliable dual sim card holders and meaning you'll never have to remove your battery again. It lets you have 12 providers and phone numbers on one card, and also lets you change number without turning the phone off.
Total cost is $42 for the reader/writer and $27 for a blank sim card, which is about £40. tI have no idea how this works, but they're available from http://mobile.brando.com.hk/
Gigabyte have released a motherboard with four 16x PCI-Express slots, as well as two PCIe 1x slots. This means that by plugging in another graphics card to one of the slower slots, it's possible to connect 10 displays, giving you a desktop resolution of 6400×2048. I'm not sure whether you'd be able to play HL2 on one of these, but it would rock if you could. They managed to get it working with only a 480W PSU.
Source: Tom's Hardware
AtomChip have demonstrated how Quantum processors could operate in consumer electronics. Quantum processors sound like something from Star Trek to me, but at 6.8Ghz, will we ever reach a clock speed ceiling?
Chip Details
Product Page
Also released this week was Toshiba's 4GB 0.85" Microdrive
Todd Lappin says: “The Pentagon has awarded a $7.5 million contract to Raytheon to develop a vehicle-mounted directed-energy weapon intended for riot and crowd-control use.”
The technology exploits the body's natural defense mechanism that induces pain as a warning to help protect it from injury. It uses a transmitter producing energy at a frequency of 95Ghz and an antenna to direct a focused, invisible beam to a subject at the speed of light and penetrate the skin to a depth of less than 1/64 of an inch. This produces an escalating heating sensation that becomes intolerable in seconds, and forces the subject to flee. The sensation immediately ceases when the individual moves out of the beam or when the system operator turns it off. Despite this sensation, the beam does not cause injury because of the shallow penetration depth of energy at this wavelength and the low energy levels used.
Source
LG's new NS1000 is being sold to the Korean market for Rs. 40, or $1. It's aimed at the lower end of the market, and there isn't much chance of being mugged. It can be used for calling and SMS only and has a single colour screen.
Source: Slashphone
Ever since Apple ordered resellers to return their inventory of U2 iPods, fans have been wondering what they could be doing with them. In a 'Hunt for Grevious' scratch card contest, you can win Star Wars themed iPods. Could apple be re-modding the old U2 iPods and adding a Star Wars touch?
It's a solar powered, talking bible, which fits neatly into the pocket of Every born again Christian.
Other items vying for the "My Church Needs One of Those" award are "holy" golf balls and t-shirts with the JCUK (Jesus Christ United King) logo.
A Bible which bursts into flames at the touch of a button will also be on show during the Christian Resources Exhibition at the King's Hall.Brad Turkington, from the company which distributes the GodPod, said nearly half the world's population was unable to read, and about 42 million were blind.
The idea is that churches will buy the GodPod in bulk and then distribute them.
Source: BBC
Quite possibly the most important key on your keyboard! Though not just for computers, the Panic Button is a vital - if somewhat pointless - addition to everyone's desk. It doesn't do anything of course, but you feel a lot better having a button to stab at when everything goes to pot.
Stick it on your keyboard, your dashboard, possibly even your ironing board, and get instant relief from life's little emergencies.
Source
Scientists at the University of Florida made a living 'brain' by extracting 25,000 neurons from a rat's brain and culturing them inside a glass dish. Then, the neurons began to extend lines to each other, creating a living neural network between them. The dish had a grid of 60 electrodes connected to a computer running a flight simulator. The scientists were able to train the 'brain' to control the plane in the simulator and to react to conditions of the plane. Are we getting closer to create an artificially made conscious being, or perhaps, a living computer?
Source: Slashdot
