Capstone's supercar 150MPH with batteries

We've just spotted the hottest Earth-lovin' super car since the Lightning GT. Shown off to wide-mouthed onlookers at the LA Auto Show this month, the Capstone CMT-380 prototype is an automotive beast unlike anything we've ever seen. Rather than mixing batteries and a conventional engine, this whip combines the former with a diesel / bio diesel-powered micro turbine, which is -- for all intents and purposes -- a jet engine. Reportedly, the car can reach 60MPH from a standstill in just 3.9 seconds, hit 150MPH before being cut off by the electronic limiter, cruise 80 miles on battery power alone and drive from Idaho Falls to Spokane on just a single tank of fuel. It's being bruited about that the company is considering flipping this bad boy into the production line, but with an estimated asking price north of $200,000, there's sufficient evidence to think that the volume here would remain relatively low. Hit up Auto blog Green's gallery of shots from the show floor below, but only if you love peering at high-resolution images of stealthy, sexy things.

Dell Vostro V13 is $450

You had to know Dell's comically secretive product launch strategy would eventually break down, and here we go: although the company is teasing an "unnamed $450 Vostro" to US media, Dell Singapore has just gone ahead and launched the thing officially as the Vostro V13, complete with specs. Oops. While Dell PR tries to put out that fire, we can dance in the rubble and tell you that Dell's putting everything it learned building the Adamo XPS to some more practical use in the .65-inch thick, sub-3.5-pound V13, which packs either a 1.2GHz Celeron, 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo or 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo with integrated X4500MHD graphics under that 13.3-inch screen. Sure, the design isn't as wild as the Adamo XPS, but the extra thickness means that it can accommodate an Ethernet port, along with eSATA, USB, an SD card slot and even a freaking ExpressCard slot. All this for just a confirmed US$450 on the low end? Okay, sign us up. Hit the Dell Singapore link for more pics and a nice 360-degree view.

JVC's world's smallest HDD camcorder

It's been a continual process of evolution with JVC's Everio line, each iteration getting more pixels and and smaller bodies, and the latest entry is the best combination yet. It's the GZ-HD620, a full 1080p-recording camcorder (courtesy of a 1920 x 1080 backside illuminated CMOS sensor) that also sports a 120GB HDD in a package that weighs just 270g. Footage is shot through a 30x optical zoom lens and can also be written to a microSDHC card, though that internal storage will be good for 11 hours of footage at the maximum bit rate (24Mbps), and a vacation-encompassing 50 hours at the minimum (5Mbps). The cam is said to be shipping tomorrow in Japan at a price somewhere north of ¥100,000, which should equate to a few hundred over the $1,000 mark whenever it hits the Territories.

Nokia ships E72 and 5800 Navigation Edition

We know it's the N900 you're jousting for, but if you're looking to let those "other guys" put Maemo 5 through the ringer while you continue to use an OS that's been around the block, Nokia's got two more for you to choose from starting today. Both the QWERTY-packin' E72 ($407) and eager-to-route 5800 Navigation Edition have started to ship to America (according to the company, anyway), with the former listed as "coming soon" on Nokia's web store and as "in stock on December 10th" over at Amazon. The latter is available to order now for $299 sans contract, so good luck holding off for Google Maps Navigation to make this thing look dated.

Acer Ferrari One Netbook is leading the way

Acer announced the North American availability of the new Ferrari 1000 and Ferrari 5000 series, a family of Acer notebooks engineered to combine state-of-the-art performance, modern design and supreme reliability. The Ferrari 1000 and Ferrari 5000 are the world's first notebook series offering the exclusive and cutting-edge technology pioneered and perfected in the world of Formula One racing. The carbon-fiber casing of the Ferrari 1000 and Ferrari 5000 conceal the very latest dual-core technology, highlighting a notebook that offers all the performance and elegance gained from the alliance between two companies constantly focused on innovation and renowned for pushing the boundaries of technology.



The new Ferrari One Net book comes with an 11.6 inch display with a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels and a pretty impressive array of specs.

The Net book features the low power Athlon X2 Dual Core L310 processor, 2GB DDR2 300 MHz RAM (upgradeable to 4G), 250 GB hard drive but even more is possible, and Direct X 10 capable ATI Radeon HD 3200 adapter for graphics.

For connectivity you’ve got 802.11b/g draft-n Wi-Fi and the option of a surf-anywhere 3G module as well as of course Gigabyte Ethernet and Blue tooth.

No there isn’t an optical drive but there are heaps of slots and other features to enable you to do anything you want to do whether it is to conduct business, just for personal use or even gaming.

The Acer Ferrari One is supposedly going to be available to us mortals from October 22nd, which just happens to be the same day that Microsoft is releasing Windows 7.

TVs are soon going to be able to read your moods

Just imagine what life would be like if your television set could work out how you were feeling and offer you programmes that it thinks you might be in the mood to watch. Sounds a bit on the crazy side doesn’t it?

Well even if it does, according Ashley High field, the UK Managing Director of Microsoft the “smart” television sets in the not too distant future will be “naturally intuitive” and will do just that.

They will be able to interact with you, analyze your facial expressions, your body movements and gestures and by taking into account programmers you’ve watched in the past, they will offer up content for you so that you don’t have to channel flick.

Wow! Me, I can’t wait for that, even for the sheer novelty factor.

“Within 5 to 10 years, it is inevitably that television will be controlled much more naturally. It will be more intuitive, like the Xbox, following body movement and facial recognition like project natal.” Mr Highfield told the Daily Telegraph.

In Project Natal you interact with “Milo” a virtual character in the computer who will chat back to you just as a normal person would. Milo will recognize your face, greet you by name, and detect changes in your facial expressions and in the tone of your voice.

“TV will increasingly go that way,” said Mr Highfield.

“This is certainly the last generation that will have a remote control”.

I have no problems ditching the remote, always losing it anyway. What’s really exciting about the Project Natal kind of technology though is how it could change everything about our lives. This really is ground breaking stuff.

Coolest Mustang Ever

Through the years many debates were held on the topic which is the coolest mustang ever but it was never decided because many models can acquire this title in a heartbeat. Fans are divided and we are sure that so are you. But what it cool after all? We have to define this concept a little bit before we can go on with on with this article any further.In our opinion it will be a combination between technological parts that will get excited any car fan and also a very sleek car design.

The Charlie Booze 1993 Mustang is one of the cares that will spend the first 300 feet from a quarter of a mile dragging the rear bumper and it is the most feared car at any street event. Everybody will run to the line to see this baby roll. It was driven at a 8.8 second zone in a street car event and almost made a mockery of any other car that was in that race. His ride was powered and promoted by Kuntz and Co and it got him qualified at every event and wined him first prize also. In 2005 he was the winner of the Hot Street Championship and was a victory for himself and also for the manufacturer because lets' face it, the '93 Mustang grew in production and in sale after that win.

Nokia N97 (Finally) Gets the Long Awaited v20 Update

It’s here! Nokia’s v20 update has finally gone live, adding in more kinetic scrolling, a new version of Ovi Maps (3.1), Nokia Messaging (if you don’t have it already), and VoIP. You also get some memory/battery improvement, too.

This software release improves touch screen usability, allowing you to scroll smoothly through content by flicking the screen. Ovi Maps 3.1 brings 3-D maps, more accurate positioning, and improved search. Nokia e-mail (Nokia Messaging), Ovi Contacts, Ovi Store, and VoIP support have been added. This release also includes improvements in memory and battery performance, and in image and video stability.

Ferrari World Theme Park Set To Open Next Year

Dubbed Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, this theme park will feature "an iconic sleek red roof that's said to be directly inspired by the classic double curve side profile of the Ferrari GT body, spanning 2,152,782 square feet and carrying the largest Ferrari logo ever created."

Sprint launches Samsung Moment

And here comes more trouble for your wallet. Mixing up of slide-out QWERTY keyboard, AMBLED screen and Android inside, Samsung's Moment -- in spite of its quirks and niggles -- is likely to lighten the load for quite a few Sprint customers today. Pricing is as expected, with a $279.99 initial outlay that gets reduced to $179.99 after rebates, but you'll also have to agree to a two-year contractual commitment. Unless you're locked in to Sprint for whatever reason, we might advise holding out for a couple of days and seeing if the DROID takes your fancy, but don't take our word for it

IPod Touch Line-up But No Built-In Video Camera

Apple disappointed the many people who were expecting to see a new iPod touch sporting a built-in camera, though the company is still said to have one in the works. All we have is a new iPod Touch lineup that includes a more affordable 8GB iPod touch at a new low $199, and two new models that deliver twice the capacity for the same price, with the iPod touch 32GB player selling for $299 and a 64GB iPod touch player going for $399. Other than that, we've got the excellent Multi-Touch user interface on a pocket computer / mobile game player that we know the iPod Touch is capable of, not to mention access to over 75,000 apps from Apple's App Store. A 3.5-inch wide screen glass display, Wi-Fi, Blue tooth, fast web browser, built-in accelerometer and speaker are also packed in the thin metal design of the i Pod Touch, but we already knew that. Oh, here's something new, the 32GB and 64GB i Pod Touch models also include up to 50 percent faster performance and support for even better graphics with Open GL ES 2.0.

LG-GW620 - LG’s First Android-powered Smartphone

LG Electronics' first Android mobile device is the new LG-GW620 Android-powered smart phone featuring a 3-inch full touchscreen, a slide out QWERTY keypad, and access to Google mobile applications and services. LG has not offered much more details on the device thus far. The new social networking / messaging phone is just one of about 13 new smart phones that LG will be releasing over the next 16 months, with most of them running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5.

As for this LG-GW620 smartphone, it's expected to be available in the fourth quarter of this year in select European markets. Pricing has not yet been announced.

HP Vivienne Tam Digital Clutch Netbook

Designer Vivienne Tam teamed-up once again with HP to unveil the new "digital clutch" at Tam's Spring 2010 fashion show during New York's Fashion Week at Bryant Park. Merging fashion and technology, the chic HP Vivienne Tam digital clutch mini laptop / net book design was inspired Vivienne Tam by the classic Chinese love story concerto "Butterfly Lovers."

HP is hoping that this ultra portable PC will be the must-have accessory for women when it comes out in Spring 2010. We should know more about specs, features and pricing by then.

Dell’s New Thin and Light Inspiron Z Laptops

Featuring thinner, lighter bodies, and longer-lasting batteries, Dell's new Z” model laptops have arrived in two versions. The 14-inch Inspiron 14z and 15-inch Inspiron 15z both have wide-screen displays, and they are available in black or cherry red starting at $599 in retail stores and at www.dell.com

Features:

* Thin Is In (about 1-inch tall) Dell consumer laptops with 16:9 displays in 14-inch (14z) and 15.6-inch (15z) models.
* Choice of Intel Pentium Core 2 Solo ultra-low voltage, Core 2 and Core 2 duo processors.
* Up to 500 GB, 7,200 RPM hard drives; Included DVD drive.
* Up to 8GB DDR3, 1,066MHz.
* Standard Wi-Fi and optional Mobile Broadband.
* Choice of 4-cell (4-hour) or 6-cell (8-hour) batteries.
* Express Charge (4- and 6-cell batteries) are 80% recharged in 60 minutes.

Motorola’s Droid Is Memorable, But Won’t Make You Forget the iPhone

Like it or not, Motorola’s new Google-powered Droid smart phone will be compared to the iPhone.

The good news is that this feature-rich handset, running version 2.0 of Google’s Android OS, compares very favorably to the Goliath of the smart phone world as a utility mobile-computing device — and, oh yeah, a phone.

The bad news is that there may be too many good things going on to make using this device the quick, intuitive, out-of-the-box experience it should be. That’s a problem, given that the iPhone has set the usability bar so high.

Like the iPhone and many other handsets this is a primarily a touchscreen device whose face is almost 100 percent screen — and a bright, crisp screen it is. Rather than take sides in the virtual-vs.-hardware keyboard debate, the Droid provides both. The hardware keyboard slides out in a familiar landscape mechanism, and it includes a 5-way directional pad, the better to allow you to keep your hands on the keyboard once you have them there.

On-board music purchase is from Amazon (at least), but when the Droid is connected to a computer, it’s read as an SD card, and dragging any tracks onto it makes them playable within the music app. The Droid also sports a 5-MP camera with autofocus, on-demand flash and video.

Motorola New CLIQ and DEXT Android QWERTY Slider Phone

It's been a while since Motorola came out with any eye-catching mobile phones, but the company has now unveiled its new Android-based QWERTY slider touch screen phone with 5 megapixel camera which will go by the name CLIQ in the U.S., and DEXT in the rest of the world. This social networking device features Motorola's new MOTOBLUR solution which syncs a users contacts, posts, messages, photos and more from sources like Face book, My Space, Twitter, Gmail, work and personal e-mail, and LastFM, and automatically brings it all to the home screen.

T-Mobile will be releasing the Motorola CLIQ 3G smart phone with MOTOBLUR in Titanium and Winter White exclusively in the U.S. later this fall. The CLIQ also features a a 3.1-inch HVGA touch-screen display, Wi-Fi, a 5 megapixel auto focus camera with video capture and playback at 24 frames per second, a 3.5mm headset jack, a music player with pre-loaded Amazon MP3 store application, Shazam, iMeem Mobile, and a pre-installed 2GB microSD memory card with support for up to 32 GB of removable memory.

Windows 7

While Windows XP seemingly keeps going, and going, and going, Windows Vista has had a tumultuous less-than three years. The fact that Microsoft has released a new OS, Windows 7, less than three years after Windows Vista shows how big a failure Vista was.

Windows Vista was much hyped as it was launched, just as Windows 7 was, but a lack of device drivers for older peripherals, sluggishness on some lower-powered PCs, and an eventual class-action lawsuit over the term “Vista-Capable.” Internal Microsoft emails even showed that the company was aware there might be issues with lower-powered systems.

Windows 7 is supposed to be everything Windows Vista was not. In fact, some have called it a Windows Vista service pack. Some have called for Microsoft to make it a free upgrade, as well (which isn’t going to happen).

For one, Windows 7 shouldn’t have the issues with driver support that Vista did. Between XP and Vista, Microsoft changed the driver model, which led to that problem. Vista drivers should work on 7, with the operative word being should.

Building a brain inside a supercomputer

Blue Brain is an IBM computer built to simulate a human brain. It's powered by 2,000 microchips, each acting as a single neuron, that enable it to execute 22.8 trillion operations per second. Based at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the project launched in 2005 to much controversy and skepticism. Modeling the complexity of the brain in a computer is considered a holy grail to some, and hubris to others. The Blue Brain Project isn't an attempt to build an artificial intelligence, although it could someday inform such an effort. That's because the scientists are hoping to use the machine to understand physiology, brain chemistry, and even intelligence and consciousness. The project's stated goal? "To reverse engineer the brain." Here's Markam talking at TEDGlobal this year:

Fake car key is a spy video camera

The FAKE Key chain Car Key Lock with REAL Security Video Record, Photo Record and Sound Record!
- Spy Camera, Audio Recording and Color Video Camcorder
- Support PC Web Camera
- Micro SD/TF Card Reader
- Dimension: 6.0 x 2.7 x 1.5 cm

Specifications:
- Pinhole Lens
- Image Resolution: 1600 x 1200 pixel
- Color Video Resolution: 640 x 480 pixel
- FPS: 29 frames per second
- Image file format: JPEG
- Video file format: AVI
- Audio file format: WAV
- Color Video and Audio
- Micro SD/TF Card Slot: Support SDHC format
- Rechargeable Li-ion battery

Fake car key is a spy video camera

Inexplicably expensive iPhone accessory (video stabilizer)

This is a $300 "professional" video grip for the iPhone 3Gs. However, I can't imagine any "professional" choosing to shoot video with their iPhone, much less have a KIT to do it.

"Zacuto has the first serious solution for shooting video with the iPhone 3Gs."

The advantage, as far as I thought, with cellular video, was that you could whip the phone out of your pocket and capture whatever is going on, without the hassle of carrying equipment around with you. This, of course, completely negates that.

And for heaven's sake, it costs $100 more than the 8GB model! I'd love to interview anyone who actually buys this item.