Wikipedia Links to Every 2006 April Fool's Joke

It's still the 31st, and already they have more than a dozen. Don't be FOOLED! (pic props to iWoot)

Now You Can Own Your Own Mini-Gigantor

Tetsujin 28, affectionately known as "Gigantor" in the United States, started out as a comic in late-50's Japan, was made into an animated cartoon in the early 60's (here's the theme song) and supposedly made into a feature-length movie in Japanese last year (although it seems to have vanished). Gigantor was the ultimate toy: A remote-controlled flying robot taller than a house. Well now you can own your own mini-Gigantor for only $3,000. I don't know what it does, but it probably doesn't fly. I want one. (props to Engadget)

New Google Talk Leaked

A new version of Google Talk -- complete with "Buddy Icons," "themes" and other useless features --has been prematurely LEAKED online.

'Tunnel Cam' Robot Explores 1945 Prison Escape

A secret tunnel dug and used 61 years ago by twelve prisoners to escape Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary will be explored this weekend by a CRAWLING ROBOT from Envirosight. Archaeologists and historians working on the project used ground-penetrating radar to find the exact route of the tunnel under the prison courtyard, and excavated the tunnel's entry and exit points last year.

'GhostRadar' Goes Portable

One of The Raw Feed's favorite crazy Japanese companies, SolidAlliance, has taken the "GhostRadar" concept and designed a PORTABLE version designed to dangle off of cell phones. The company announced today an alliance with a company called Strapya, and their intent to later sell the device as a cell phone accessory. (In Japan, most cell phone users have a strap with personalized junk that hangs off the phone.) GhostRadar "works" by detecting changes in surrounding magnetic waves, indicating the presence of a ghost. The original version, launched about a year ago, also served as a USB storage drive. Given the timing, you may be tempted to believe that GhostRadar is some kind of April Fool's prank. But if you know anything about SolidAlliance, most of their products are at least this nutty. The tiny GhostRadar goes on sale in late April. I want one.

New ThinkGeek Products Leaked

Seven new products at ThinkGeek became available one day earlier than their APRIL 1st official launch date, including the iZilla Digital Media Monster, USB Desktop Tanning Center, 1up Mushroom Kit, RFID Blocking Kit T-shirt, Buzzaire - Metered Dose Caffeine Inhaler, Wireless Extension Cords and a new Screened Sphorb. ThinkGeek's page is just one of many APRIL FOOL'S PRANK that hit one day early.

Nintendo Revolution Specs Leaked

Gaming site IGN leaked details on the Nintendo Revolution months before the company planned to unveil them. The original article has been pulled, but PLENTY of blogs and news sites have preserved the information.

Worst USB Gadgets That Don't Yet Exist

Someone -- this post doesn't say who -- has created photographs of USB memory drives that DON'T EXIST in real life. (props to Militant Platypus and Attu Sees All)

Ultimate Fighting Championship - With Robots

The Robo-One 9 event held in Tokyo March 18 and 19 featured some awesome ROBOT FIGHTS. These are fully humanoid Japanese robots with moves right out of the WWF. The champion, OmniZero.2, takes out his opponents with "body slams," "reverse body slams," a move called the "crouching jab," and another called the "double windmill." Plus some really fancy footwork. I want one. Here comes the VIDEO!

Robotic Briefcase Acts Like Dog: Heels, Barks

Samsung Italia is offering a robotic briefcase-on-wheels called FidoBag that ACTS LIKE A DOG: It recognizes your voice and comes when you call. It follows you around. If someone steals the briefcase, the bag actually "barks" at an eardrum-piercing 197.5 db. UPDATE: This item is a HOAX, according to an entry in the Wikipedia. (props to coolest-gadgets.com)

Remote Control Night-Vision Spy Car Toy Hits

Timmy is never too young to start being a peeping tom PERVERT. The Spy Video Car is a remote-controlled toy car with an infrared camera attached to it (for seeing in the dark). A headset has a display over one eye. The lot will be available this fall for $99 - $159. (props to MAKE)

Headless Robot Cat Now Shipping

TomCat is a headless ROBOT CAT from Iguana Robotics that movies pretty fast (two body lenghts per second) and doesn't need a litter box. These "research quality" robots are made-to-order. Here comes the VIDEO! (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

New Airport Scanner Uses Weapons Database

A prototype airport security scanner looks at the shapes of objects in luggage and carry-on bags and COMPARES them using neural network software with weapon shapes in its database. The system is being tested at Manchester Airport.

Drivable Star Wars Landspeeder on eBay

Proof you can buy anything online: A drivable replica of a Star Wars LANDSPEEDER, is currently on sale on eBay.

Personal Cell Phone Jammer Fits In Pocket

I told you Monday about the CJAM 1000, a powerful, battery-operated suitcase cell phone jammer that knocks out any communication with a half-mile radius. Well say hello to its little friend, the CJAM 100 -- a PERSONAL cell phone jammer that looks like a cell phone from the 90's and fits in your pocket. This one-button, four-ounce device blocks mobile phone calls within a 50-foot radius. Another related product, the CJAM 500, isn't portable, but can block cell calls in STEALTH MODE, without anyone detecting that they've been blocked. It does this by waiting until it detects a signal, then it briefly goes on to block the call. You can also adjust the CJAM 500 for a variety of ranges. The CJAM 100 and the CJAM 500 are available only to government buyers. I want one. Of each.

Video Games Help 'Lazy Eye'

Playing virtual reality games might help amblyopia, also called LAZY EYE, which is a condition where one eye works harder and better than the other, according to researchers at Nottingham University. Current treatments can require some 400 hours of therapy. But by "tweaking" 3D VR games -- sending an image of the player's own racecar in a driving game, for example, only to the "weak" eye -- therapy can be reduced to just one hour.

Bugged Chinese PCs Could Spy On U.S. - Group

The congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission is questioning a decision by the U.S. State Department to buy 15,000 PCs from Lenovo, the largest Chinese brand of computers, citing fears that the computers could be BUGGED. Lenovo bought IBM's PC business last year. (props to Engadget)

Computerized Cigarette Case Helps You Quit

A combination hardware/software solution to the problem of quitting cigarettes, called SmokeSignals, monitors your habit, then gradually reduces the number of cigarettes it dispenses down to ZERO. The cigarette case features a display on top that tells you how long until you can have your next cigarette. Graphs, charts and other data helps you track progress on a PC. Here comes the VIDEO!

Packet Sniffer Used to Catch Cheating Girlfriend

Some geek suspected that his girlfriend was cheating on him, so he set up a PACKET SNIFFER to find out. (Turns out she was.)

Rechargable Headphones With MP3, FM Hit

The new ButterFly FMP3 Player is a headset with built-in FM radio and MP3 functionality. The ButterFly connects to a PC via USB for transferring MP3 files and RECHARGING the headphones' built-in batteries.

New Software Lets You Spy On Cell Phones

New $150 software called FlexiSPY lets you completely INVADE THE PRIVACY of anyone that has it installed. The software lets you listen in on conversations, read SMS messages and even use the phone's built-in microphone to eavesdrop on people when they're not using the phone. UPDATE: Personal Tech Pipeline is reporting that Finnish security firm F-Secure calls FlexiSPY a Trojan and "a perfect hacker tool." (props to Gizmodo)

New Portable Cell Phone Jammer Hits

Nice. Now you can surround yourself by a half-mile communication-free zone. The CJAM 1000 is a powerful battery-operated device that JAMS all nearby cell phone, pager, Wi-Fi and microwave communication. Turn it off when YOU want to make a call. Fingerprint ID provides security. The CJAM is not for sale to individuals -- only government types and is sold primarily to block cell-phone detonated bombs. Know anyone in the government? I want one. (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

New Gadget Reads Deleted Text Messages

A $277 USB gadget called the Deleted Text Message Reader enables you to read DELETED SMS MESSAGES from a cell phone's SIM card. You use it by inserting a SIM card into the device, and plugging the reader into your PC. Bundled software enables you to read 10 or 20 of the most recently deleted SMS messages. (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

Customizable Soda Hits

A company called Ipifini has come up with an idea for a CUSTOMIZABLE SODA. The bottle is filled with carbonated sugar water. Several buttons on the bottle, when pressed by the consumer, release flavors, fragrances or colors -- up to 32 possible soda choices in a single bottle.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Spy Mouse

The CP-1 Spy Mouse houses a HIDDEN MICROPHONE that transmits sounds that can be picked up by any nearby receiver. It starts recording whenever the mouse is plugged in or the PC is turned on and keeps on recording until the power goes off. (Props to The Red Ferret Journal)

Now YOU Can Play With "Desperate Housewives"

If a new game centers on ADULTERY, LIES, DRUGS AND CRIME -- well, it must be Disney. Buena Vista Games, which is a Walt Disney joint, plans a "Desperate Housewives" PC game this fall. In the game, players take on the role of a housewife on Wisteria Lane and try to become even more desperate than the rest.

"V For Vendetta" Cell Phone Coming To U.S.?

Is a new Korean cell phone that looks a heck of a lot like THE PHONE everyone had in the movie "V For Vendetta" Coming to the U.S.? The movie sux. But the phone? I want one.

California Scientists Do 'Origami' With DNA

Nanotechnology researchers at the California Institute of Technology have invented a method for "quickly and easily" -- it takes "just a couple of hours" -- folding and weaving strands of DNA into ANY SHAPE they want. The method is useful both for the future creation of nanodevices, and also for getting free publicity for CalTech. Have a nice day! (pic props to medGadget)

Super-Strong Robot Muscles Powered By Alcohol

Mad scientists are secretly toiling away in a lab to build ROBOT MUSCLES that can convert chemical energy into bone-crushing muscle power. The muscles, called fuel cell muscles, take hyrdogen or methanol (which is a pure synthetic alcohol) from a robot's "bloodstream" and use it to contract tiny wire "muscles." (Scientists speculate that humanoid robots would actually drink alcohol every night to power their muscles.) When you get thousands or millions of these muscles, they become super strong.

Police Use Virtual Reality to Experience Insanity

Des Moines, Iowa, police are using a virtual reality system -- called a "VIRTUAL HALLUCINATION MACHINE" -- to experience the sights and sounds of mental illness, including schizophrenia, to help them cope with mentally ill people they deal with on the beat.

Gamers Battle At 35,000 Feet

Twenty-four of Europe's top video game players will take part in a tournament called the Trans-Atlantic Showdown today DURING A FLIGHT from Copenhagen to New York City. The gamers are part of Global Gaming League's AmeriCup vs. EuroCup competition taking place in NYC. The event is part of a publicity stunt sponsored by Connexion by Boeing's in-flight internet access division. The event is covered LIVE via video, audio, digital camera pix and blogs.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Time Clock

The Japanese company OfficeWOW is offering a USB TIME CLOCK, with supporting software. Now you can bring one of the joys of blue collar work into the office. (props to Akihabara News)

Look, Ma! No Hands! (On Crazy New Wristwatch)

It's another day, and another INSANE WRISTWATCH produced by the Isles of Japan. Why the Japanese continue to produce wristwatches that require mental effort to read is beyond me. But as long as they keep making 'em, I'll keep blogging 'em. This gem, called the EleeNo Art 14 sports two oddly shaped quasi-circles that rotate. You tell the time by following the lines and reading hour and minute on separate graphs.

Soldiers Use Game Skills to Master Remote Guns

Strategy Page columnist James Dunnigan says that CROWS (Common Remotely Operated Weapons Systems) -- which are big guns manned remotely by someone inside an armored vehicle with a joystick and live cam -- have proved highly successful in Iraq because the soldiers operating them grew up playing (presumably first-person shooter) VIDEO GAMES. Experienced gamers have no difficulty gaining total situational awareness and whipping around the video camera on the guns, spotting hints of trouble and blasting anything that moves. CROWS is one of several "weapons for the Nintendo generation," according to the Dallas Morning News. The military is even using the Pentagon's game, "America's Army," to train CROWS gunners. The guns were first deployed in Iraq in January, 2005. Here comes the VIDEO!

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Tour Guide

A red robot called Cicerobot has been hired as a TOUR GUIDE inside the Agrigento archaeology museum in Palermo, Italy. The robot has wheels, a keyboard, a monitor, video camera and sensors that help it avoid crashing into priceless artifacts. Cicerobot, which begins work next month, can also conduct "virtual tours" for people logging in remotely over the web.

Korea to Recruit Gamers For Sim Testing

The South Korean Air Force plans to recruit professional online gamers and use them as WAR GAME SIMULATION TESTERS. They will be allowed to compete in tournaments so they don't lose their skills, but not accept prize money.

Pirate Hip Hop Station Blocks Pilot-ATC Comm

Airline pilots say an illegal pirate hip hop radio station called "Da Streetz" is INTERFERING with air traffic control communication at Miami International Airport on two separate aviation-only frequencies. Authorities pinpointed the original source in a warehouse and confiscated all the equipment (except the radio transmitter itself). They found no actual people there. Meanwhile, the broadcasts are continuing from another location, which the authorities this time cannot find.

'Missile Command' Game Documentary Hits

A new documentary called HIGH SCORE follows classic arcade game enthusiast Bill Carlton as he attempts to break the all-time high scoring record of the Atari classic, "Missile Command" -- 80 million points set in 1983. Here comes the VIDEO!

Nintendo Game Cube to Help With Diabetes

Doctor Harold Goldberg at the University of Washington and a few game developers are working on a MEDICAL APPLICATION for the Nintendo Game Cube that will help diabetes patients communicate with their doctors. Goldberg's vision involves enabling patients to test their own blood sugar and blood pressure using digital devices that can be connected to the Game Cube hardware (or PC or smartphone), and also a software interface that queries the patient (have you been eating doughnuts again?, etc.). Data would be sent to the patient's doctor.

Celebrity Stalker Google Maps Mashup Hits

Celebrity gossip site Gawker has launched the GAWKER STALKER, a Google mashup showing Manhattan celebrity sightings in real time, accompanied by catty comments. Some celebrities are freaked.

Jakob Nielsen On Application Design

Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen is interviewed on ZD's DevSource web site (by Yours Truly) about how to design software applications and web sites for MAXIMUM USABILITY (Click on the video link at the end of the article). It has some great tips for anyone with a web site and anyone who writes software.

Another Flying Car Spotted In Australia

I told you January 23 about the discovery of what appears to be a flying or floating car in Australia in Google Maps. Now, a SECOND ONE has been spotted on Google Maps in Perth, Australia. I want one.

Pentagon Planning Remote-Controlled Insect Army

Pentagon scientists are working to create a part-bug, part machine INSECT ARMY that can be remotely controlled. Micro-electronics would be inserted into the pupa of dragonflies or moths. The idea is that the bugs would grow around the electronics and carry them inside for life. The electronics might control the direction of flight, or sense chemicals, then transmit that data to nearby troops.

Quake Fan Builds 24-Monitor Display

A Quake fan named Andrew Sabri built a 24-MONITOR DISPLAY powered by 12 Linux servers. I want one.

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Carp

You've heard of RoboCop? Meet ROBO-CARP. Ryomei Engineering and two other Hiroshima-area engineering companies, have created the 31-inch robotic "koi" carp and named it "Nishiki." The mechanical fish is remote-controlled, has a camera built into its head, and sensors for analysing water quality. (props to Engadget)

Silent Mouse Unveiled

SHHHHHHH. A new mouse for sale at the Rare Mono Shop doesn't "click" when you point-and-click.

Cell Phone Shaped Like English Phone Booth

All the romance and nostalgia (and design clunkiness) of RED ENGLISH PHONE BOOTHS have been captured in a new cell phone called the London Calling phone created by a very small company. Ringtones include Rule Brittania, God Save the Queen and other annoying anthems.

Korean Robot Dog Hopes To Replace AIBO

A South Korean inventor named Eungsang Park has unveiled plans to build a robotic dog called ARIN along with the unlikely claim that it's more advanced than Sony's now deceased AIBO robot dog. ARIN not only walks around, it runs. It can feel petting. OK, now it gets weird: The robot has a screen on its back for surfing the Internet. It can be used as a cell phone. Its tail can be used as a joystick for playing games. Weirder still: You can stick DVDs UP ITS BUTT to play movies. The inventor is looking for a manufacturer to "bring this robot to market." Good luck, dude!

Oven Knows How to Cook (So You Don't Have To)

A new oven from Samsung called the "Dream Kitchen Invention" or "Smart Oven" knows how to cook food -- simply BARCODE-SCAN the package, plop it in and the oven takes it from there. They created the oven with help from frozen foods company Birds Eye. (props to Pocket-lint and TechDigest)

Working PC Made From Legos

Lego egghead Nathan Sawaya built a fake PC made from Legos for PC Magazine. After seeing it, they sent him the electronics and asked him to build a REAL PC. He's still working on it, but so far, so good. Here comes the VIDEO!

Fastest Robot in the World Unveiled

The world's fastest robot, called Quickplacer, is currently on display at the BIEHM machine-tool biennial. It's so fast, that a clear picture cannot be taken of it, obviously. The robot, designed for manufacturing, can pick up and place more than 200 PARTS PER MINUTE. Its "braking capacity" is more than five times greater than a Forumula 1 race car.

Really, Really Small Wi-Fi Moduled Unveiled

Be careful and don't accidentally swallow it. The Sharp's new DC2J1DZ115 is the SMALLEST Wireless LAN module ever -- just 10x10x1.6mm. (props to Akihabara News)

Hong Kong Police Leak Info On Complaints

A database packed with detailed information on some 20,000 people who have complained about the police since 1996 in Hong Kong has been LEAKED on the Internet. Details include the names, addresses and Hong Kong identity card numbers of those who complained. Of course, a police representative apologized. But was the information deliberately leaked out of revenge on the public? To reduce future complaints? An accident? Investigators don't know yet. In fact, they don't even know how long the data has beeen posted on the Internet. The Hong Kong police are notorious for human rights abuses.

Thin LED Light Bright As Bulb

Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. has developed a THIN LED LIGHT fixture that the company claims is as bright as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb but can last for up to 40,000 hours -- 24 times as long as the bulb -- and consumes just one third the power.

How to Beat Speed Cameras

Something like 10 percent of cars can't be detected by fixed speed cameras because of bad shocks or unbalanced wheels, according to the camera user manuals. Potholes and cracks in pavement can also invalidate readings. So if a car is moving up-and-down as it speeds through an intersection, a speed camera can't issue it a ticket. World, I would like to introduce you to some experts who can customize your car to beat speed cameras every time: Southern California low-riders. (Or, you can just buy a lowrider). "Lowering out" a car -- making the body of the car ride just an inch or two from the pavement -- is illegal here in California, so the bad-ass car vatos in L.A. have for decades been building in "hydraulics" to make their low cars go up when the cops are around. Competition has driven the up-and-down capabilities of these cars to new highs (and lows). They've been breaking the law and getting away with it for years. Now you can too. Here comes the VIDEO!

Anti-Crime Camera Used to Ticket Drivers

A security camera installed in a quiet London neighborhood to catch "muggers, drug dealers, burglars and car thieves" has been used to TICKET A DRIVER who stopped for a minute to pick up a friend. Footage from the camera shows the street otherwise deserted -- no other cars were even inconvenienced. That's just one of the 2,558 citations for minor offenses -- each of which carries a fine -- issued using evidence gathered by the camera.

Mars Orbiter Has 1.2-Gigapixel Camera

Someone on Digg pointed out today that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter currently sailing around the Red Planet looking for signs of life sports a 1.2-gigapixel -- yeah, gigapixel with a "g" -- digital camera. This article says that from orbit, the camera is "capable of photographing objects as small as a kitchen table." If the orbiter actually spots a kitchen table on the Martian surface, I would think that might be a pretty good indication that life exists there. I want one.

First-Ever Bendable RFID Tag Created

Japan's Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Company and TDK have created what they say is the worl'd first-ever BENDABLE RFID TAG, which is so thin it could be built into paper cards, such as business cards. The tag is passive, so no battery is required.

Middle School Embraces New Technologies

Mel Carnahan Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri, has gone NUTS with the gadgets, from fingerprinting all kids entering the school to a library of digital books. And no more raising of hands with the "Oooh! Oooh! I know the answer!" Kids will simply type in the answer and press a button, and it will be displayed on the digital "chalk board."

Al Qaeda Recruiting Jihadists On Google Site

At least ten "communities" that praise, support and SEEK RECRUITS IN THE WEST for Al Qaeda exist on Google's social networking site, Orkut. "English-speaking visitors to the sites can find videos of attacks, see pictures of dead U.S. soldiers, and read an English translation of the Iraq-based wing of al-Qaeda's latest communique before it is available in English anywhere else...We know for sure that al-Qaeda is trying to recruit as many as possible from the Western societies, not people who look like Arabs...This is a good place to be if you want to recruit people like that.'" It's also a good place to be if you're the CIA or the FBI and want to round up SUSPECTS.

Mainland China Last to Get Xbox 360

Microsoft is preparing to launch the Xbox 360 in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong next week, but mainline China is getting SHAFTED, even though the Xbox is MADE IN CHINA. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that 90 percent of the software in China is PIRATED -- or, that it won't sell well because it's too EXPENSIVE and doesn't have enough games. Here comes the VIDEO (of Xbox 360s being made in China!) (props to XboxCore)

Software Lets You Auto-Download From Radio

New software called Snaptune One can identify complete songs, talk shows and other segments, and record them for you to enjoy later -- a kind of TiVo FOR RADIO. It can automatically eliminate ads. The songs can be explorted to MP3 or WMA format and added to your MP3 player, but the export function exists only on the for-pay ($39.95) version. Get it now, before the company gets SUED.

Coin-Operated Hotspot Unveiled

The coin-operated phone company FMN Communications has unveiled at CeBIT a new COIN-OPERATED HOTSPOT product. Up to 16 people can use it after paying by the minute for access.

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Pig

The German company Thermo-System GmbH sells an environmentally friendly solar sewer sludge drying system that employs a ROBOTIC PIG. There are currently about 100 pigs at work around the world, and each has a unique name. The fully autonomous "Electrical Pigs" roots through drying sludge, aerating it and speeding up the drying process.

Teens Get 'The Sims' For Programming Class

Carnegie Mellon University and Electronic Arts are working together to COMBINE the ALICE 3.0 platform with The Sims in a programming environment for high school and middle school computer science students.

Case Modder Gets All Medieval at CeBIT

Award-winning 19-year old Dutch modder Ferry Van Der Meijden is showing a MEDIEVAL PC he calls The Praetorian. The whole thing is fake stone and real wood. Security is provided by a handy sword.

U.S. Company Says Hitachi Robot Is Stolen

I told you March 7 about a new R2D2-like security robot from Hitachi. Now, American company MobileRobots Inc. says the robot is actually a STOLEN four-year-old creation of theirs called the Pioneer DX, but with a dome over the top (they say they recognized the wheels). MobileRobots claims they have sold Pioneer robots to Hitachi.

Latest Job Taken By Robots: Mushroom Picker

Researchers at England's University of Warwick are creating farming robots, including this handy MUSHROOM PICKER. It uses a camera to spot shrooms, picking only those of very specific sizes. They're half as fast as humans but work 24/7 and never join the union.

Naked Women Sell Phone Service At CeBIT

In the rabid competition to get attention at mega trade shows, it had to come to this: Korean mobile phone handset maker VK Mobile has hired NAKED WOMEN to wander the halls of the German CeBIT trade show painted with incomprehensible marketing blather to get mindshare for its cell phones. SanDisk did the same thing. It won't work. Everyone will remember the women but forget the company. (props to Mobile Mentalism.com)

MP3 Sneakers Coming to Feet Near You

$200 MP3-playing sneakers called CODE M from Dada will start shipping April 6. The shoes transmit tunes via Bluetooth to wireless headphones. (props to Engadget)

Rugged, Waterproof Camera Phone Coming

The G'zOne camera phone, which is a big hit in Japan and Korea, is coming to the U.S. in the form of the Casio Hitachi NX9200. The FCC approved the phone today. Based on the G-SHOCK line of wristwatches, the NX9200 sports an electronic compass and other goodies of use to rugged, outdoor types. I want one.

Wi-Fi Wine Glasses Bring Drinkers Together

College students are obsessed with drinking alcohol. At MIT, that obsession takes the form of a new invention: Wi-Fi WINE GLASSES. It enables distant lovers to get drunk together. When one lifts a glass, LEDs make the other's glass glow red. When one takes a drink, the other's glass lights up white. After a couple hours of this, nobody cares whose glass is what color.

Latest TV Phone Innovation: A Stand

Sky's prototype Transformer 01 multimedia cell phone has a rotating screen (like other phones) for watching TV. But unlike other phones, this one has a little STAND, so you don't have to hold it. Oooohh! I want one.

Robotic Cockroach For Military In the Works

Some 20 researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Berkeley, Lewis and Clark University and Carnegie Mellon are building a DARPA-funded ($10 million so far) military robot that can climb trees. Called RiSE (Robots in Scansorial Environments), the six-legged robot is based on the movement of animals like cockroaches, spiders and geckos -- but looks just like a cockroach. Here comes the VIDEO!

E-Mail Hoax Makes Old BBC Story Number 1

An E-MAIL HOAX saying that Microsoft would soon charge for MSN has made a five-year-old story on the BBC news site the most-read business story over the weekend. The e-mail linked to the story as proof. Trouble is, the story was based on comments made by a UK Microsoft executive in the wake of the dot-com crash, and he was just speculating. The policy of charging for MSN never materialized.

Mercedes Bluetooth Module Unveiled

The OVERLY ELABORATE bluetooth module for the new Mercedes GL450 has been unveiled.

Crazy New 'Dartboard' Watch Hits

I can't stop blogging about these crazy Japanese watches nobody would ever buy. The latest, posted today on Tokyoflash, is called the i-Pattern and sports a highly COUNTERINTUITIVE DISPLAY that looks like a dartboard. The watch auto-cycles through various modes, each nuttier than the last. I want one.

Biometric 'Computer-On-a-Stick to be Unveiled

FingerGear plans to unveil next month FINGERPRINT-SECURED biometric models of its Computer-On-a-Stick USB Flash Drive to be called the Bio COS Touch Edition.

New Tech Lets You Control PC With Thoughts

Scientists at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute unveiled at CeBIT a "mental typewriter" that enables the user's THOUGHTS to move an on-screen pointer. By doing so, users can also type sentences, such as "I'll bet she shags like a minx... whoops! Did I just type that?" Here comes the VIDEO! (pic props to PopGadget [try saying THAT three times fast])

Anti-Plagiarist Database Banned At University

Mount Saint Vincent University in Bedford, Canada, has banned the use by professors of a database that can help them BUST STUDENTS who turn in work written by others. Some student groups at several Canadian campuses are complaining that an "American company is profiting by fostering an atmosphere of distrust at Canadian campuses." Those evil and greedy Americans once again threaten to sully innate Canadian purity and virtue.

New Car PC Won't Freeze In Cold Weather

A Korean company has apparently created an in-dash computer that can handle VERY COLD tempuratures for cars and trucks. I don't know any more about it because there appears to be only one story, and it's on a Korean subscription site.

Made-To-Order Virus Site Shut Down

I told you February 25 about a web site offering to build anyone custom viruses for $990 a pop (tech support included). Well, the site has now been SHUT DOWN.

New Jacket Sports Built-In GPS, MP3, Phone

A prototype jacket being shown at CeBIT features a built-in cell phone, MP3 player, headphones, microphone and -- the piece de resistance -- GPS. It also features "GPSoverIP," which is a kind of indoor GPS. The jacket also has an emergency "call button," so if you're buried in an avalanche, you can press it to call for help. (They can start digging from the point where your GPS signal disappeared.) I want one.

'World's Fastest PC' Hits -- 5.46 GHz

Three companies -- Asetek, Kingston Technology and Western Digital -- conspire each year at CeBIT to build the WORLD'S FASTEST PC, through a combination of money-is-no-object component and bus selection, dangerous overclocking and sophisticated cooling systems. This year's "Dream Machine" features an Intel P4 3.8GHz overclocked to 5.46 GHz cooled by asetek’s Vapochill LightSpeed CPU cooling and WaterChill graphics and motherboard chipset cooling. Even the graphics card and motherboard chipset are cooled. I want one.

Google Calendar Pix Leaked

Screenshots of Google's highly anticipated online calendar application, called CL2, have been leaked. (props to Techcrunch, Google Operating System and Search Engine Journal)

Microsoft 'Origami' Unveiled! (By Intel)

I told you Monday that Microsoft's "Origami" project and Intel's "Ultra-Mobile PC" initiative are the same thing with different code names. That fact was CONFIRMED by CNBC. Here comes the VIDEO!

Want Free, Illegal Music? Try Yahoo China!

Yahoo China's music search engine, which is available worldwide, has been accused of providing plentiful direct links to ILLEGAL MUSIC downloads and streams.

Two Buttons? Ha! Mouse Controls Two Pointers

A new mouse called the DCT-DPM1 controls TWO MOUSE POINTERS -- one white and one red. It's great for people who want to quickly point-and-click two things repeatedly, and also for multiple personality syndrome sufferers. I want two! (props to Akihabara News)

Web Site Tells How to Bypass IVR, Get Person

A new web site called the Gethuman Database, lists a bunch of major companies, and tells you how to use special phone numbers and secret codes to BYPASS interactive voice response (IVR) and automated button-pushing systems to get straight to a customer service human being for resolving your problem. The site also has tips and a nice blog.

Hitachi Tells of R2D2-Like Security Robot

Hitachi is reportedly working on a robot that LOOKS LIKE R2D2 designed to augment security. It does this by rolling around on its own, checking to see if anything looks unusual. If something is out of place (say, a computer is missing), it snaps a picture and sends it to a human security guard. Does anyone know what this thing is called? Code Name? Anything? (pic props to Akihabara News)

Tiny, Remote-Controlled Robot Unveiled

Japanese wristwatch company Citizen has unveiled a TINY ROBOT that runs on a watch motor. Called the Eco-Be, the infra-red remote-controlled robot is just 1.8 cm wide and 2.5 cm tall. The company will show off Eco-Be at RoboCup 2006 in June. (props to Engadget)

Microsoft 'Origami' Pics Leaked

I told you February 27 about Microsoft's "Origami" project, which has something to do with a handheld gadget running a Microsoft operating system (most likely software than runs on a platform Intel calls the "Ultra-Mobile PC"). Pictures of the project, which is scheduled to be announced in three days, have apparently been LEAKED on a new site called OrigamiPortal. It could be a fake. On the other hand, it could be really fake. (props to Engadget and Pocket-lint)

Secret Pentagon Space Plane May Be Killed

Aviation Week has revealed the existence of a top-secret Pentagon airplane designed to go into EARTH ORBIT. The airplane, called "Blackstar," was designed in the 1980s, deployed in the 1990s and may be killed off shortly. It was designed for spying, satellite deployment and "possibly weapons delivery," according to Aviation Week.

U.N. Functions May Be Outsourced To China

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will propose tomorrow that the United Nations OUTSOURCE some administrative services, including translation, payroll and other services. China is pushing hard to get the contract.

Off-Road Segway Ships

Segway has shipped a rugged, OFF-ROAD version of its Human Transporter called the Segway Cross-Terrain Transporter XT.

In-Ear Gadget Gives You Super Hearing

The M-7 Spy Ear is a hearing aid for people who don't need one. Just plug this into your ear, and you'll hear like SUPERMAN. (props to The Red Ferret Journal)

Lie Detector Software Built For Job Interviews

The Israeli company Nemesysco unveiled software call HR1 Automated Integrity Profiling/Risk Assessment, which is used as part of a job screening process. It "interviews" candidates, and determines whether the person is "TRUSTWORTHY." It does this by "analyzes states such as excitement, confusion, stress, whether the person is remembering something that happened or making something up."

WoW Crashes, Delays In China Prompt Boycott

World of Warcraft players in China, complaining about "severe time delays, long-queue times, and frozen servers," are threatening a mass BOYCOTT of the game.

Pentagon Mulling Remote-Controlled Spy Sharks

The Pentagon's DARPA -- the people who invented the Internet -- are looking into implanting chips into the brains of sharks so they can be remote-controlled and thereby used as global SPIES. What's next? What else? Fricken laser beams attached to their fricken heads!!

James Bond to Drive Ford In Lame New Movie

I reported September 17 that the next James Bond movie, Casino Royale, will contain NO GADGETS. Apparently that's not repulsive enough for the producers, so now they've announced that, although the Bond Girls will be fully dressed, Daniel Craig, who will play Bond, will get NAKED. And the piece de resistance: Instead of driving only a pimped out Aston Martin, Bond will also drive a FORD! Why would the studio commit such an act of violence against the Bond legacy? Why else? Ford is paying them $24 million to include the car. It's just as well, as Craig only knows how to drive an automatic transmission anyway. (No wonder Bond fans are organizing a BOYCOTT.)

Nuclear Sub Retrofitted As Special Forces Base

The US Navy's oldest Trident missile submarine, the USS Ohio, has been stripped of its nuclear missiles and retrofitted as a mobile base of operations for NAVY SEALS. The submarine now has Tomahawk cruise missiles, a covert-missions planning room, a training rooms, a gym and two underwater vehicles mounted on the outside so Seals can move from sub to shore without surfacing. Best of all, the sub can launch robot drones to gather intelligence. I want one.

'Robotic Pack Mule' Built For U.S. Military

A four-legged robot called BigDog can carry more than 88 pounds, and doesn't lose its balance -- even if you KICK IT. It's being developed by Boston Dynamics for the U.S. military. Of course, a real mule can carry twice that much, never falls down and doesn't need its batteries charged. But, hey, this is the Pentagon -- why use a mule when a robot can do half the work at a million times the cost. I want one! Here comes the VIDEO!

Experts Wrong About Cell Phone Multimedia

Industry shills, flaks and pundits have long predicted the explosion of cell phone multimedia, envisioning people walking around watching TV all day. But two stories posted on Personal Tech Pipeline reveal that -- SHOCK -- people would rather use cell phones for CALLS, rather than music, movies and TV -- and when they do watch TV on cell phones, they tend to do it while at home, rather than ON THE GO.

Nobody Wants Boeing's Robotic Spy Plane

Boeing has finished the first prototype X-45C unmanned, self-flying, radar invisible SPY PLANE, but the Pentagon doesn't want it because it can't take off and land from aircraft carriers, only land-based airports. I want one.

Racy Microsoft Ad Spotted In Wild

Yes, this ad for MS Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 is at least a couple years old and ran only in New Zealand, but it marks a rare foray into SEX IN ADVERTISING for Microsoft.

Hi-Rez Phone Gets Regular TV Channels

Vodafone announced a new phone for -- where else? -- Japan that features a super high-resolution, ROTATING SCREEN for watching terrestrial TV broadcasts.

Unauthorized Spy Cams Watch Airport Customs

Authorities at the Guam Airport discovered "numerous HIDDEN SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS AND LISTENING DEVICES" aimed at various customs agents' passenger screening areas after a tip by the U.S. Department of Customs. Whether they were placed by terrorists, foriegn governments or some agency of the U.S. government is completely UNKNOWN.

Worst USB Gadget Yet: Eyeball Guy Web Cam

How'd you like to have this hideous EYEBALL cam watching you all day? It's the Gegege No Kitaro web cam (based on a Japanese manga character). It's not only unsightly, but of poor quality -- just .3 megapixels. Why, Japan? Why? (props to Akihabara News)

New USB Memory Covered In Gold, Diamonds

A Dutch company called White Lake plans to introduce at CeBIT this month a $3,500 USB memory drive covered in 14-carat gold and encrusted with FIVE DIAMONDS. They also plan to show a slightly cheaper version without the diamonds.

Acme Ships Ultimate PC Case for Linux Fans

Acme Systems is shipping a 6.7-inch tall Tux-shaped PC case for Linux partisans. The Tux Case is designed to house Acme's tiny, RISC processor-based Acme Fox SBC.

(props to Engadget)

Video of 'LongPen' Remote Signing Robot Hits

I told you February 19 about Sci-Fi Novelist Margaret Atwood's development of a remote-signing robot hand thing that would enable her and other famous author types to do "book tours" from the comfort of their own Canadian homes. Well, someone has uncovered the company she set up to build the device, the web site of said company and the video posted on said web site. Here comes the VIDEO! (props to Engadget)

Microsoft Invents E-Mail You Use With Feet

Microsoft Researchers have invented an e-mail system you use with your feet. Called StepMail, the prototype software lets you use a "Dance Dance Revolution" game dance pad to forward, delete, open and otherwise MANIPULATE E-MAIL. Why anyone would want to do this, I have no idea. In any event, here comes the VIDEO!

GPS Gadget Jumps On iPod Bandwagon

Everyone wants a sprinkle of iPod pixie dust. Now European GPS gadget maker TomTom has unveiled three new GPS devices that offer features that enable the company to put the magic word "iPOD" in their press releases. One of the gadgets lets you transfer MP3 files either from your PC or from an iPod, which can be played from the device itself. The other two can control an iPod if you plug one in.

Russia Plans Golf Ball Drive Into Orbit

Russia, which uses the International Space Station as an ATM, has made a deal with a Canadian golf supplies company to have a cosmonaut hit a golf ball into EARTH ORBIT during a spacewalk as part of a publicity stunt.

New 'Pimp' Wristwatch Has 'Dot Matrix' Display

TokyoFlash has added yet another CRAZY WATCH to their lineup. The Pimp Pleasure Seeker watch uses a "dot matrix" style display. Even more disturbing is a weird "pleasure seeking mode": Press a button, and the watch lights up 3 times every minute for 12 minutes. Somehow this communicates to the world that "you are seeking pleasure." No, it doesn't make any sense to me, either. The display comes in any of three color schemes.