Dell Vostro V130 updated with more ports, fancy 'Hyperbaric' cooling

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Back when we reviewed the Dell Vostro V13 we had a few complaints, including the fact that it lasted less than three hours on a charge and lacked an HDMI port. Well, Dell's gone and taken care of at least one of those issues with its new Vostro V130. The original thin and light chassis has been kept intact, which means there's still the same old battery issues, but Dell's freshened up the 13.3-inch magnesium alloy laptop with an HDMI port, extra USB socket, a SIM card slot, new Core i3 / i5 ULV processor options, and some new Intel "Hyperbaric Cooling" technology. We don't know much about that new cooling stuff, but apparently it will help the .65-inch thick system stay cool and quiet. Oh, and did we mention it now comes in that bright red hue?! The small business machine still starts an impressive $429 and is available today.

Google to face formal EU antitrust investigation over unfair downranking of search competitors

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Way back in February, the European Union announced its intention to look into allegationsmade against Google that the search leader wasn't ranking its competitors fairly in the results it delivered. Well, that fact-finding mission seems to have unearthed at least some hint of impropriety on Google's part, as it's now shed the "preliminary" label and has become a full-on antitrust probe. The original complaints came from EJustice.fr, Foundem.co.uk, and Microsoft's price comparison service Ciao, and they're still the basis of the investigation, though secondary issues, such as Google's conditions for advertisers and the way it tracks ad campaign data, will also be looked at. Let's not forget, however, that we're still dealing with allegations here, and it's going to be quite tricky to show any misdoing without delving into Google's famed algorithms and internal practices -- then again, maybe that's exactly whatMountain View's competitors are after.

Verizon hosting 4G LTE news conference tomorrow to discuss launch plans

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Guess what people, Verizon's LTE network launch is really for real and the carrier has now scheduled a news conference for tomorrow where it'll discuss its December plans in more detail. Tony Melone, VZW's chief tech officer, will be on hand to answer any questions beyond the already known plans for 38 metropolitan areas to get the 4G LTE treatment -- accounting for a cool 110 million Americans who'll be able to ride the lightning of faster internet speeds on the move. The event kicks off at 12PM and we'll make sure to tune in, if only to find out what Tony's answer is to the inevitable "what is 4G" question.

Infinity I-Kitchen sports Linux-based touch screen computer, kitchen sink still not included

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We've seen ridiculous fridge concepts from Electrolux before and covered Linux running on all types of gadgets, so it's only natural that the OS has found its way into an icebox developed by Electrolux's Brazilian subsidiary in partnership with ProFusion Embedded Systems. Dubbed the Infinity I-Kitchen, it sports a Linux-based 800 x 480 touchscreen computer built around a 400Mhz Freescale i.MX25 SoC -- which itself is based on 400MHz ARM926EJ-S core and already used in some automotive systems. The touch UI was developed by the open source organization Enlightenment Foundation Libraries and allows users to control a variety of fridge functions like internal temperature in addition to running apps for notes, calendars, contacts, photos, and recipes. All of the particular open source code modifications developed for the fridge have also been shared back with the community in Tux-approved fashion and will soon be posted to Electrolux's site too. Unfortunately, there's no mention however of features like internet connectivity (WiFi or otherwise), USB ports, or SD Card slots being on the appliance. Likewise, details on pricing or availability are also unknown, so your iPhone can hold off on making those the jealousy-fueled fat jokes for now.

Steve Ballmer looking into removal of Drive Extender from Windows Home Server

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Windows Home Server hasn't exactly taken the consumer market by storm, showing yet again that people are more interested in shiny new toys than protecting their precious data. Still, there's been a huge amount of negative backlash from Microsoft's recent decision to drop Drive Extender from the next release of WHS, currently codenamed Vail. Drive Extender is the tech that enables multiple physical disks to act as a single logical volume, making it easy for even non-techy folks to add more and enable data replication. Terry Walsh over at We Got Served was similarly taken aback by the decision and took the opportunity to drop a note to Big Poppa Steve Ballmer. He got a response:

From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: 26 November 2010 05:30
To: Terry Walsh
Subject: RE: MVP Feedback – Windows Home Server "Vail" Crisis
Let's look into it

Yes, it's a short response, and it course could mean anything or, indeed, nothing, but it is at least a response and a positive sign that the huge outcry among fans of Windows Home Server can indeed make its way to the top of the executive chain.

Playboy releases not-so-discreet 250GB 'cover to cover' hard drive

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Well, you can finally throw out that trunk in your grandfather's garage. Hugh Heffner's legacy has taken a cue from National Geographic -- in an arguably non-horrifying way -- and partnered with publisher Bondi Digital to release a (presumably Seagate-branded) 250GB external hard drive packed with every issue of Playboy released since 1953. Its $300 asking price is roughly four times what you'd pay for a fresh G-rated 250GB drive today, but compared to a 57-year subscription, the digital vault is certainly a bargain. In contrast to their trail blazin' efforts with the iBod though, thanks to the prominent placement of the brand's iconic bow tie-wearing bunny and name, there's no chance of using this device for practical tasks such as backing up TPS reports at the office. Like the decision to phase out DVDs in favor of VOD however, the move does prove the magazine isn't afraid of staying abreast of today's content consumption trends. Next stop, Nook Color?

Meka, UT Austin researchers show off 'sociable' Dreamer robot head

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The folks at UT Austin's HCR Laboratory have been working on a Meka humanoid robot for some time now, but they've only just recently added one pretty significant component to it: a head. This so-called "Dreamer" isn't just your ordinary robot head, though -- described by the researchers as a "sociable humanoid head," the head is modeled on anime and comic characters, and promises to establish an "organic link to its biological counterpart, creating feelings of quasi-affinity in response to gestures and synthetic emotions." In other words, it's impressive enough to hold your attention while you interact with it, and it may very well creep you out a little. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

Sectra virtual autopsy table available now, Stan Brakhage nonplussed

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Though not offering the sort of stark, terrible beauty (or the gore) of The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes, Sectra's Visual Imaging Table will let you perform a "virtual autopsy," by using CT and MRI scans to place 3D recreations of a patient's body on a large, multitouch table. What's more, the body can then be examined -- and even cut with a "virtual knife." And it's finally available "to the masses," as one company rep put it in an email this morning (although we sort of figure that if you have an MRI machine you probably aren't one of "the masses").

It's been quite a few months since we've seen any major developments in Microsoft's patent battle with Toronto-based i4i Inc over Microsoft Word, but

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It's been quite a few months since we've seen any major developments in Microsoft's patent battle with Toronto-based i4i Inc over Microsoft Word, but it looks like things are now about to change in a big way. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the US Supreme Court has today agreed to hear Mircosoft's appeal in the case that dealt it $290 million in damages and prevented it from selling versions of Word that contained the allegedly infringing technology. That could not only have some pretty big ramifications for Microsoft in this particular case, but for patent law in general, as it gets to the very heart of the legal standard for determining the validity of a patent. Needless to say, we'll be watching this one very closely -- the court is expected to hear the case sometime next year.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: modernizing the US national grid, not to mention deserts and pyramids

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This week at Inhabitat, we were thankful to be able to witness the long-awaited unveiling of the futuristic solar-powered Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, and we also heard the exciting news that scientists are developing a project that could have us using the Sahara desert to supply 50% of the world's energy by 2050.

We were also dazzled by the dynamic "dancing" facade of the Kiefer Technic showroom and this towering greenery-lined pyramid caught our eye with its modern take on ancient Mayan architecture. The world of green tech had a lot to be grateful for too as the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would award $19 million to modernize the national grid and green transportation saw the first flight powered by jatropha-based biofuel. On a lighter note, thissolar-powered wheelchair and its designer prepared to embark on a 200 mile journey to showcase its capabilities.

For those of you on the hunt for Cyber Monday deals, don't forget to check out our Green Gadget Gift Guide with our picks for the hottest eco-friendly tech out there. We also spotted this ingenious wood speaker system that amplifies music using the properties of the material it's made of and needs no electricity at all.

Nao developer program kicks off: $4,800, robot included

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We've been following Aldebaran Robotics' Nao humanoid robot literally since it took its first steps, and it looks like interested developers will finally be able to get their hands on a bot of their own quite soon. To do so, they'll have to sign up and quality for the just-launched Nao developer program, which costs €3,600 (or roughly $4,800) and will initially be limited to just 200 participants. That hefty price does naturally include the robot itself, along with a complete software suite, and "privileged access" to Aldebaran Robotics' source code.

Peter Jackson nabs thirty RED EPIC cameras to film The Hobbit, tempt you to blow your savings

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We're still slightly bummed that Peter Jackson never made Halo, but this should patch things up a tad -- the Lord of the Rings director will film The Hobbit in 3D entirely on thirty hand-machined RED EPIC cameras, starting early next year. That's the news straight from RED founder Jim Jannard, but that's not all, as a limited number of pre-production EPIC packages will be available to early adopters as well. $58,000 buys your deep-pocketed budding director a machined EPIC-M body, titanium PL mount, Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, a REDmote, a four-pack of batteries, a charger and a solid state storage module with a four-pack of 128GB SSDs. Jannard expects to hand-assemble that first batch of 5K imagers in December or January, start the real assembly lines a month after that, and hopefully have widespread availability by NAB in April, though he's not making any promises there. That's how RED rolls

Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs start to seep out, 2GHz quad-core i7-2630QM coming to HP dv7

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Intel's Core i7-2630QM chip has made the leap from the company's roadmap onto its first spec sheet, courtesy of HP's dv7. We've come across a provisional component list for an update to HP's gaming laptop, which includes the 2GHz quad-core CPU as the star of its show. Now, of course, neither HP nor Intel has said anything official on the matter, but Laptoping has also been snooping around and found listings at online retailers for laptops from Gateway and Lenovo also offering the still unannounced part. It's not exactly a secret that Intel intends to blow the bloody doors off CES 2011 with its Sandy Bridge processor line, but it's reassuring to see vendors looking eager and ready so far in advance of the launch date -- it should mean no shortage of choice when Paul Otellini finally steps to the stage and makes things officially official.

Manufacture Royale debuts $1.2 million Opera accordion watch, Sir Steampunk scoffs

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Well, pardon us. We balked at the $208 price tag affixed to Tokyoflash's RPM LED wristwatch, but the value proposition there now looks an awful lot brighter when compared to this. Manufacture Royale's looking to catch at least one or two elitists off guard with its new Opera Time-Piece, a $1.2 million device that's composed of 319 parts in the wilds of Switzerland. Purportedly, it was designed by Fabrique du Temps, and the minute repeater plays the hours in the key of A as the minutes chime in C sharp. It's also encased in 18k gold, sapphire crystal and a healthy dose of self-worth. Word on the street has it that only a dozen of these will be made available for sale, with the accordion casing being the standout feature in our eyes. In a manner of speaking, of course.

Gateway stuffs Core i5-470UM, Bluetooth 3.0 into 11.6-inch EC19C-A52C/S laptop

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Don't call it a netbook, capiche? Gateway has just outed a new 11.6-incher over in Japan, with the EC19C-A52C/S boasting some of the most impressive specifications we've seen in a unit this compact. A 1.33GHz dual-core Core i5-470UM processor sits at the heart of this here lappie, and it's accompanied by a 320GB hard drive, 1366 x 768 resolution display, 2GB of RAM, HDMI / VGA outputs, an inbuilt Ethernet port and a six-cell battery that should last half a dozen hours (on a good day). As expected, you'll also find a 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and Bluetooth 3.0 (a nice touch, we'll confess), with sales expected to start right about now in the Land of the Rising Sun. As for pricing? Try ¥65,000, or right around $775. Told you it didn't quite fit the netbook category.

2011 Chevy Volt gets stickered: 93MPG on battery, 37MPG on gasoline

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The poster child for the electric car has just received its official EPA sticker, merely days after Nissan's Leaf received its own. The Volt has been found to have a 93MPG equivalent when running purely on batteries, while one could expect an average of 37MPG when using petrol alone. According to the EPA, the Volt will only be capable of cruising 35 miles on a full charge (here's hoping you've got a socket at your workplace, right?), but the overall range of 379 miles ain't too shabby for a car of this size. The good news here is that this sticker will enable General Motors to finally get these automobiles onto showroom floors, but the bad news is pretty obvious: 93 definitely isn't 230.

Intel research projects bring Legos to life, make groceries interactive

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Kinect hacks aren't the only projects using depth cameras these days, Intel's Seattle research lab has also been working on a whole range of projects using what it describes "Kinect style" cameras, and it's now showing off some of the results. Among the most interesting are a pair of projects that combine a depth camera with a projector for some rather inventive augmented reality applications. One of those examples can effectively bring Legos to life (as pictured above), while the other adds a whole new degree of interactivity to everyday objects, namely groceries -- which could let you manage a grocery list using actual fruits and vegetables, for instance, or even warn when you've left a tub of ice cream sitting on the counter too long. That's just scratching the surface, though -- the group has also devised a system that can map a room just by walking around with a depth camera, which can then of course be navigated using the very same depth camera and a pair of 3D goggles.

Apple's US Black Friday deals posted, exactly what you expected

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As Australia drops prices, so too must US prices fall. Apple's stateside store has finally posted the special's for tomorrow's Black Friday rush, and while there's nothing monumental, you're still getting $101 off various Mac computers and $41 off of an iPad -- plus lots of accessories and absolutely no iPhone deals. Take a gander if you so desire, and get ready for all the Black Friday fun starting tomorrow.

Toshiba and Vizio expected to join Google TV bandwagon in January

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Content providers might be banning Google TV left,right, and center, but hardware partners don't seem to be losing any enthusiasm. After Samsung openly admitted to contemplating a HDTV with Google TV hardware and software built right in, Toshiba and Vizio are now said to have firm plans to introduce such new products at January's CES 2011. While neither manufacturer would be drawn into confirming this latest bit of insider info, Toshiba's American GM, Jeff Barney, is quoted as saying, "Google certainly is a key partner for us on the PC side and will likely be key for us on the TV side as well." How else could Google function as a key TV partner than with its web-connected TV experience?

Mercedes-Benz's hydrogen-fueled B-Class F-Cell gets priced at $849 a month

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It's unfortunately not the F800 Style "research vehicle" the company is working on, but those looking to avoid a hybrid or all-electric vehicle in favor of fuel cell technology can now place an order for Mercedes-Benz's new B-Class F-Cell vehicle. Those orders actually first opened up in October, but the automaker has only just recently revealed the actual cost to customers. That will be $849 a month on a lease-only basis, which may seem a tad high but does include both fuel and insurance (alright, so it's still high). As you might expect, however, the car won't exactly be widely available -- Mercedes-Benz says the first few will reach "selected" customers by the end of this year, with "at least 70 more" set to become available in the Los Angeles and San Francisco area by 2012.

Anti Sleep Pilot promises to keep drivers alert, warn them when to pull over

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Looking for an alternative to that extra large cup of coffee or energy drink to keep you awake on long haul drives? Then you'll soon have another option in the form of the Anti Sleep Pilot, which promises to keep you from nodding off through the magic of technology. Already on sale in Denmark, the device is able to automatically turn itself on and off by monitoring the movement of your vehicle, and it attempts to keep you alert by regularly performing various tests that you can respond to just by tapping the device. That promises to not only prevent fatigue in the first place by keeping your mind active, but also warn you when it's really time to take a break by monitoring your reaction times to each test. Still no word on an official price over here just yet, but we assume it'll cost somewhere in the neighborhood of the 1,499 kr (or $270) the device currently runs in Denmark.

Racing Green Endurance team completes its 16,000 mile, electric Pan-American trip

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Hey, remember the crazy Imperial College kids in the Racing Green Endurance team, the ones who took a perfectly wonderful Radical racer and stripped it of its internal-combustion assets, flew it to Alaska, and then pledged to drive it all the way down the Pan-American Highway? Well, they made it. 26,000km later (that's 16,155 miles) the team has reached Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America and a long, long way from Anchorage. Traveling an average of 300km (186 miles) per day the team conquered desert, jungle, and torrential rain storms, conditions the purely electric and decidedly track-focused machine certainly wasn't meant for, but proving that an EV can be driven way beyond its maximum range -- if you don't mind taking nearly six months to do it.

Sony working on same-screen 3D multiplayer, holographics for PS3?

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Don't go knockin' Sony for resting on its laurels. The company that has spearheaded the 3D gaming push (NVIDIA notwithstanding) is apparently not even close to finished, with SCEE studio director Mick Hocking taking the time to get our juices flowing in an interview with Develop. The full spill is quite lengthy, and definitely a solid read for those interested, but a few key nuggets jumped out at us. For starters, Mike confessed that Sony has "techniques like holographics for the PS3 that [he thinks] will be very interesting for the future 3D games," and continued with this: "In regards to that we have some new technology that we've shown to developers that uses 3D techniques, it allows two players to play full screen multi-player games but without each being able to see the others view, and they have been massively keen on them." Of course, such a technique isn't exactly new -- we saw prototypes of the sort in use back at GDC -- but bringing them to a market as vast as the PS3 owner pool would definitely be a monumental step. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got a Gran Turismo 5 disc laying here that needs our undivided attention for the time being.. .

MacBook Air 2010 meets Colorware, births skinny rainbow children

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Not feeling like enough of an individual owning the same ultrathin Apple laptop as everyone else? We feel your pain, you need something more in your status symbol hardware. This is where Colorware enters, asking for (at least) $1,850 in exchange for a MacBook Air -- made in 2010, exactly to your chromatic specifications. Come on, we can mock and we can decry the price, but if this were ever within the disposable income portion of your budget, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity? Alas, there's no option for repainting an Air if you've already bought one, so whether you want the 11.6-inch or 13-inch version, you'll have to buy it directly from Colorware.

Digital Storm's liquid-chilled gaming PC includes 4.6GHz Core i7-980X, equally chilling price

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Mmm, overclocking. If you've been looking to treat yourself this holiday season, there's hardly a better way than with a shiny new gaming PC. Better still, a shiny new gaming PC with a liquid-chilled processor... one that just so happens to be warrantied with a 4.6GHz clock speed. Digital Storm's Hailstorm desktop is now available with a so-called Sub-Zero cooling system, which is described as a series of TEC peltier coolers that work in conjunction with other high-end liquid cooling components to keep Intel's Core i7-980X from boiling over. On the high-end rig, you'll also get 6GB of DDR3 memory, a trio of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (1.5GB) GPUs, a 1200-watt power supply and a bank-breaking $6,903 price tag. Cost-conscious consumers can opt for two lesser systems, with a $4,390 build being equipped with a Core i7-950 and the $3,899 unit creeping by with only a single GTX 460 GPU. But hey, what's a few grand among friends?

Acer debuts 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet: AMD-powered, inbuilt 3G, coming February 2011

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Whoa, what's this? Tucked between a fresh-out-of-the-oven Android tablets is a new 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet from Acer, and it looks as if this fellow will be gracing store shelves long before its Google-based brethren. Boasting an ebony motif and more gloss than a man could ever know what to do with, this (also unnamed) device will measure 15mm thick and weigh under 2.2 pounds, and while we're still left to wonder about the screen resolution, HDD size or memory amount, we are told that it'll use AMD silicon. It's not often you find an AMD-based tablet, so we're more than eager to get our paws around this thing and see how it compares to Qualcomm / Intel-powered alternatives. And judging by this image above, Acer is planning a docking solution in order to make it more useful at home -- an idea we saw revealed at Computex with ASUS' Eee Pad. Other tidbits include a pair of 1.3 megapixel cameras (one rear, one front-facing), inbuilt WiFi and 3G and February 2011 ship date.

HTC and Samsung license entire Intellectual Ventures patent portfolio, gear up for war

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Looks like HTC and Samsung are taking some aggressive steps to protect themselves fromAndroid patent litigation -- in the past week both companies have entered into long-term patent licensing agreements with Nathan Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures. (Mhyrvold was once Microsoft's chief technology officer, but he's arguably more famous for Intellectual Ventures.) Both HTC and Samsung now have access to IV's entire portfolio of "more than 30,000 IP assets" to wield against current or potential legal opponents -- like, say, Apple orOracle -- and IV also plans to help them manage their existing patent portfolios. It sounds to us like HTC and Samsung decided that they needed more patent muscle in order to survive in the now crazy-litigious smartphone market, and indeed, the PR announcing the HTC deal flatly says the smartphone maker is "working with IV to mitigate its patent risk."

Of course, this is also a bit of a deal with the devil -- Intellectual Ventures might be the most infamous patent troll in history, and HTC and Samsung have essentially decided the risks and cost of doing business with IV are more favorable than the risks and cost of going to court. Either way, we'll see how this all shakes out -- and we've got a feeling that the Apple / HTC lawsuit is about to get seriously interesting.

Autonomous Audi TTS scales Pikes Peak in 27-minute climb

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They said they'd do it, and by golly, it's been done -- a specially-equipped Audi TTS drove the entire 12.42 miles and 156 precarious turns of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb without a driver at the wheel. (Google, eat your heart out.) While the vehicle technically performed the feat about a month ago in September, Audi decided to wait until this last week to proclaim it to the world, following a helicopter accident during filming that sent pilot Jim Dirker to the hospital. Thankfully, he survived to fly another day, and at least some of the footage pulled through as well; you'll find a brief clip after the break of the shiny white Quattro autonomously speeding up that hill.

iBuyPower debuts AMD-powered Mage XLC M1 gaming desktop

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Who says Intel deserves to have all the fun, huh? If you're looking to go a little counter-culture, or you just genuinely prefer AMD's silicon, iBuyPower has a new rig for you to consider. The outfit's Mage XLC X1 has been introduced into its range of liquid cooled solutions, packing a NZXT Phantom enclosure (in black or white, mind you) and a host of configuration options. AMD's Phenom II X6 1055T, 1075T or 1090T can be selected, and the whole lot of 'em will be cooled by Asetek's maintenance-free 240mm large radiator liquid cooling system. Prospective customers can also load it up with 8GB of DDR3 memory, AMD's Radeon HD 5770 graphics card, 1TB of storage space and Windows 7 Home Premium -- among other niceties, of course.

Houston will be home to America's largest car charging network, identity crisis

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Everything is somewhat more gargantuan in Texas, so its only natural that Houston has its eye on having the largest network of electric vehicle chargers in the country. The plan is a privately funded brain-child of power plant operator NRG Energy, which hopes to install 150 charging stations in the 25 mile vicinity of downtown Houston starting in February. Chargers will be placed at common retail locations such as Walgreens and Best Buy, but given that 80 to 90 percent of charging will occur in homes, an $89 all-you-can-juice monthly plan will also include the installation of 240-volt charging systems in residences. NRG doesn't expect to turn a profit on its $10 million investment for several years, but hopes that taking the proactive step will create a lucrative business in the future as electric vehicleprices (hopefully) hit the skids. The company also wants to build a similar network in Dallas in early 2011, and perhaps San Antonio and Austin in the future as well. Still, while the plans are admirable for the home of big-oil, compared to London's government-backed 1,300 station plan, NRG's Houston aspirations still seem positively Rhode Island-sized.

Samsung says it's sold 600,000 Galaxy Tabs worldwide

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Samsung said it expected to sell a million Galaxy Tabs this year, and it looks like it may not be far off that mark, if it doesn't exceed it -- the company has apparently told The Korea Heraldthat it's sold 600,000 of the tablets worldwide so far, less than a month after launch. That includes 30,000 units sold in Korea since its November 14th launch there, but Samsung doesn't seem to be dishing out specific numbers for the rest of the world just yet. Of course, as impressive as that is, it may well be all downhill from here once word of Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev's frown gets around.

Apricorn's Mac Array puts 512GB of RAIDed SSD into a single Mac Pro PCIe slot

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So, the whole wide world knows that the inside of your Mac Pro is fairly lust-worthy, but what's the use if you never crack open the side and install anything new? Apricorn -- a small, albeit respected name in storage -- has just concocted what may be the best reason yet to do precisely that. The outfit's new Mac Array is pretty straightforward: you'll get a foursome of 128GB MLC Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue SSDs strung together in a RAID 0 configuration, all on a single full-length PCIe X4 slot. That's 512GB of pure, unadulterated SSD power connected directly to the motherboard, and considering that it only takes up a single slot, there's nothing but a shortage of funds keeping you from adding a couple more and grinning over a 1.5TB SSD solution. A single Mac Array promises read rates of 760MB/sec and write rates of 524MB/sec, and if you double up, you'll see those surge to 1408MB/sec and 1027MB/sec, respectively. It's available now to make your every dream come true -- yeah, even that one about you dropping $1,499 on a new storage setup for your Apple desktop.

Nokia research lab builds touchscreen made of ice

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Chances are this is one research project that won't find its way into a phone, but Nokia's research lab in Tampere, Finland has come up with a rather unique new type of touchscreen display: one made of ice. Of course, there are a few other components involved -- namely, a projector and an array of near-infrared cameras that are connected to a PC -- but it is technically a multitouch display made of ice, and that's got to count for something. For Nokia's part, it says that while the project is a "playful experiment," it does show that "interactive computing interfaces can now be built anywhere."

Nokia's former MeeGo chief confirms new role as Senior VP of webOS at HP

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Ari Jaaksi, the former head of MeeGo Devices at Nokia, has confirmed reports from last month identifying HP as his new employer. According to the latest update to his LinkedIn profile, Ari is now enjoying the mild temperatures of the San Francisco Bay Area and does indeed hold the title of Senior Vice President at Hewlett-Packard. That in itself doesn't necessarily mean he's the new head honcho for webOS and Palm devices, but clicking on his "Company Website" link takes you to Palm.com, which should dispel any lingering doubts. So now that we know he'll be helping steer the HPalm ship, can we start sending Ari our mockups for the Pre 3 or what?

Maingear targets mid-range PC gamers with Alt-15 and Alt-17 laptops

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Just a month after pushing out a smaller duo of gaming laptops, Maingear has now revealed an entirely new line catering to mid-range gamers. The Alt-15 and Alt-17 both start right around the magical $1,000 point, and moreover, both rely on NVIDIA's graphics-switching Optimus technology to conserve battery life when you don't need the GPU pegged. The Alt-15 is a 15.6-incher with a Core i5 or Core i7 Mobile processor, NVIDIA's GeForce GT 425M (1GB), up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, an optional Blu-ray drive, your choice of an HDD or SSD, Windows 7, a fingerprint reader, HDMI / VGA outputs, a USB 3.0 socket (plus a trio of USB 2.0 sockets) and a $1,049 base price. The bigger, beefier Alt-17 gets away with a 17.3-inch LCD (1080p) and most of the same specifications as listed above, though you'll see a starting tag that's $50 more. Hit the links below if you're up for a little customization.

Toyota debuts 100 mile Tesla-powered RAV4 EV, Musk says it 'helps us with the Model S'

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Toyota and Tesla have been spotted holding hands behind the school gym on numerous occasions and now, finally, the result of their long hours working together in the craft room are being shown to the world. It's the RAV4 EV, announced earlier this year and finally unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Current pre-production models are delivering 100 miles per charge but apparently still need some climate-proofing to ensure that the 2012 version will hit that range regardless of conditions. That's a big deal for a big SUV, and of course it's a big deal for Tesla, which is providing the powertrain. It's also a good news for Elon Musk, surely injecting some much-needed funding to the company and, as he says, introducing other benefits as well:

We're giving Toyota a window into the entrepreneurial, Silicon Valley culture and, vice versa, we're getting a sense for the Toyota production system... I think we're learning a lot form Toyota, bidirectionally, in this process and I think that helps us with the Model S. Having access to Lexus components in the supply chain is also helpful.

In other words, expect the production Model S interior to be a little less fanciful and a little more familiar.

Honda shows off Fit EV concept at LA Auto Show, we hope to see it again

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The Fit is a well regarded car here, models finding their ways into the garages and parking lots of three separate staffers, all of whom are now saying things like "ooooh" and "shiny" while looking at the lovely blue model Honda brought along to show off at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It's just a concept at this point, delivering the current standard 100 miles of range while managing a 90mph top speed, more or less matching the NissanLeaf we recently sampled and inspiring us all to call our electricians for quotes on quick-charger installs. Sadly we have plenty of time to save up for those, with the Fit EV not hitting production until sometime in 2012, and Honda not making any promises about US availability. To that we say "boo."

Mitsubishi i is the new name of the i MiEV for American market, coming next fall for $30,000

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Mitsubishi promised it'd bring the i MiEV over to the US before 2012 and now it's rehashed that pledge with a slightly more detailed roadmap and an indicative price point to boot. Maurice Durand, the company's communications manager for North America, is quoted as saying the newly renamed i will cost "around $30,000" when it launches, which is expected to happen in fall 2011. Sales expectations are a very modest 20,000 units by 2015, but apparently the idea is for Mitsu to just get its foot in the US electric vehicle market before introducing more powerful and versatile people carriers. The i is pitched as primarily a commuter's vehicle, though it has been enlarged slightly to accommodate US safety regulations and "larger frame people." Be honest, Maurice, you mean larger waistline, not frame.

Apple patent app may mean future unibodies get woven from carbon fiber

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Ask any motorsport enthusiast and they'll tell you that there's just something about the way a carbon fiber weave ripples in the sunlight that makes them want to cover every surface of their vehicles with the stuff. It looks like Apple engineer Kevin M. Kenney shares a similar passion, applying for a patent called simply "Reinforced Device Housing" that describes a way for various weaves to be backed by carbon "spine" to provide greater torsional rigidity -- to keep you from twisting it and cracking an LCD. It's hard to deny the images attached to the application look an awful lot like an iPad, but the patent text is rather more broad:

Embodiments may house any number of electronic components. For example, certain embodiments may be used to form the exterior surface of a mobile telephone, a laptop or notebook computer, a tablet computing device, a desktop computer, a television, a stereo receiver, or practically any other electronic device.

Even sporks and shipping containers are mentioned! We've certainly seen the stuff in some pretty interesting places in the past, and now can't wait to see where it shows up next.

Kinect hack explained: follow-along-at-home guide lets you reverse engineer USB, impress your friends

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So, there's already an open source driver for the Kinect -- who needs to learn how to reverse engineer USB all over again? Well, ladyada of Adafruit Industries, the folks responsible for the Kinect hack bounty and the USB logs used by the bounty winner to get a jump on his hack, has published a detailed guide on exactly how she sniffed the Kinect's USB chatter. The guide isn't for the faint of heart, but it's not completely unintelligible to someone with a bit of time and determination. If anything it serves as an excellent bit of how-the-Kinect-was-won history. We're not expecting Microsoft to reconsider its "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products" stance on this issue, or its petty threat of law enforcement "to keep Kinect tamper-resistant," but we do hope they've learned one thing by now: they're fighting a losing battle.

Panasonic's 103-inch 3D plasma hits for massive $100,000 price

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Incredibly, Panasonic's been the proud parent of a 103-inch plasma since January 2006. Here we are almost five years later learning off a 3D variant, model TH-P103MT2. The Full HD 3D plasma with 5m:1 native contrast ratio is expected to cost about 8.5 million yen or a bit more than $100,000 when Panny begins taking orders tomorrow, November 18th -- and that still doesn't include the cost to ship, handle, and install the 439 pound TV onto the wall of your country estate. At least it ships with one pair of active shutter glasses.

Intel learns from Dr. Dre, wants Atom chips in NFL helmets to know when heads are ringing

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We always understood that Intel looked after the rock stars of tomorrow, but who knew that included football players? Yup, according to PC World, Intel is currently investigating adding Atom chips inside NFL helmets to provide real-time impact data to medical staff on the sidelines. While there's no explicit time frame set for this project, we're thinking the sooner the better -- lest we forget it took the league until 2009 to require players who display signs of a concussion to stop playing for at least one day. This isn't the first time though that the world's largest chip maker has actually helped make the gridiron safer. In fact, it previously worked with helmet maker Riddell's fittingly named HITS (Head Impact Telemetry System) and academic researchers to run head injury simulations using linked Xeon-powered computers. Off the field, Intel is also currently partnering with the Mayo Clinic to boost medical cranial scans using MIC (Many Integrated Core) supercomputer co-processors. Codenamed Knights Corner, this hardware puts teacher's pets to shame by running trillions of calculations per second, and apparently accelerates head scans by up to 18 times. Sure, safety's all well and good, but we know Intel's really just curious about how Moore's Law holds up to the shoulder pressure of NFL d-backs.

Confirmed: Intel Sandy Bridge or 'second generation Core processors' to be introduced at CES

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We can't say this one is much of a surprise considering we've heard multiple times that Intelwas planning to launch its next generation of Sandy Bridge processors in early 2011, but Chipzilla just confirmed that it will indeed be launching those "second generation Intel Core processors" at its CES press conference on January 5th. The details in the invite are few and far between, though apparently our favorite Intel exec Mooly Eden will take the stage to show off the "world's fastest processor" as well as technologies that "enhance visual life." Our guess is that we will also hear a number of Sandy Bridge system announcements from major laptop and desktop manufacturers at the show. Of course, we're also hoping to hear some solid Oak Trail / tablet news and more details about LightPeak at the presser, but there's one thing you can count on... us liveblogging our hearts out!

Adobe CEO: Flash battery life depends on hardware acceleration, MacBook Air update in testing right now

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Getting a little more oomph out of your MacBook Air after giving Flash the boot? Adobe's Shantanu Narayen stopped just short of saying that's Apple's fault for not handing Adobe a device ahead of time. We asked the CEO what the greater battery life sans flash in Apple's new laptop meant for the platform vis-a-vis HTML5 at the Web 2.0 Summit just a few minutes ago. He said it's really all about optimizing for silicon: "When we have access to hardware acceleration, we've proven that Flash has equal or better performance on every platform." You wouldn't be blamed for thinking that sentence a cop-out, but that's actually not the case -- the chief executive says they've presently got a Macbook Air in the labs and have an optimized beta of Flash for the device presently in testing.

NVIDIA brings the Fermi-packing Quadro 4000 to the Mac Pro

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For most Mac users, upgradeable anything is starting to sound like a distant memory, but Mac Pro users bought that big ol' box for a reason: expandability. Now NVIDIA is here to make it worth their while, releasing the mid-range Quadro 4000 graphics card with that latest / greatest Fermi architecture. With 256 CUDA cores and 2GB of GDDR5 memory, the card should slice through just about anything a pro app (Photoshop, Maya, Snood) can send it, and probably wouldn't mind popping out a FPS session now and then just to stretch the legs. Of course, when we say "mid-range" we aren't talking cheap: NVIDIA's MSRP is $1,199, a good bit more than the card's $700-ish PC-compatible counterpart. It should be available this month.

Dynamics' credit card-based computing platform makes what little money you have more secure

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Some folks are trying to replace your credit card with your cellphone, while Dynamics, Inc. is among those trying to make credit cards better. And you know what? We seldom get excited by such things, but this video from the CES New York press preview has us seriously itching to upgrade our plastic. Card 2.0 is the computing platform powering the new Citi cards that re-write the magnetic strip depending on whether you want to spend you cash or your rewards points. The technology fits snugly in your credit card, is waterproof, has a battery life upwards of four years, allows multiple accounts on a single card, and even can be used to require a PIN before displaying the card number.

Sony Internet TV with Google TV ripped apart, messy Intel internals exposed

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Sony's Internet TV with Google TV (we heard you like TV, so we put TV in your... etc.) actually turned out to be pretty much our favorite implementation of Google TV. Imagine our shock and horror, then, to discover what an untidy tangle of wires its cables turned out to be, particularly in comparison to the mega-clean insides of the Revue or the ultra-compactBoxee Box. What gives, Sony? Just because it's a TV doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Don't feed yourself that nobody-loves-me-guess-I'll-eat-worms trash. You have to have a little self respect. If you don't give a damn, who will? Okay, we're done.

AMD will contribute 'engineering expertise' to MeeGo development project

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Now here's a very positive new sign for MeeGo's future. AMD, Intel's oldest and boldest nemesis, has added its name to the list of companies actively supporting the development of the platform -- which got its start as a joint project between Intel and Nokia -- and has pledged the contribution of its "engineering expertise" to the further advancement of the open source OS. In simpler terms, AMD must be aware of the great potential of MeeGo and is seeking not to be left behind, as illustrated by Ben Bar-Haim, the company's software development VP, who expressed AMD's hope that "this operating system will help drive our embedded plans and create expanded market opportunities for our forthcoming Accelerated Processing Units." Good to know, guys, good to know.

ASUS' Sandy Bridge motherboards are pretty, come with Bluetooth and USB 3.0 as standard

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We already got an early glimpse at what ASUS is bringing to Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridgeparty, now how about some glamor shots of the actual hardware? The Taiwanese company has taken the shroud of mystery away from its latest range of motherboards and the first thing that stood out to us was the TUF-looking Sabertooth P67 above. It comes with an extended five-year warranty, "military-grade" electrical components, a litany of thermal sensors, and of course that Tactical Jacket up top. Beyond its obvious visual appeal, the Jacket serves to channel airflow throughout the board, aiding the cooling of more peripheral components. On the more diminutive front, ASUS is showing off a Mini-ITX board, the P8P67-I, that fits everything but full-sized RAM slots within a minuscule footprint. Oh, and ASUS is sticking USB 3.0 and Bluetooth connectivity on almost all its future boards. Yay!

Microsoft accounting shuffling resulted in higher sales for Windows division

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Microsoft's Windows division has been on something of a roll recently, but a deeper look into the company's financials seems to indicate that the reported numbers might look better than reality. Information Week has done some deep digging into Microsoft's recent SEC filings and found that several bookkeeping changes resulted in significantly increased reportings of profits in the company's Windows division. Revenues that had been assigned in previous quarters to other divisions within the company -- mostly the Entertainment and Devices unit which includes highly successful businesses such as Xbox -- were, in this past quarter, re-assigned to the Windows operating system division.

So just how much money was moved? Well, according to Information Week and the relevant SEC filings statements, about $259 million, or a boost of 6.5% in profit to the division overall for a total of $4.24 billion rather than the $3.98 billion originally stated for Q1 2010. Thisalso resulted in a 25% reduction in profits for EDD, while the total profits -- $12.92 billion -- stayed exactly the same. Of course, all these bookkeeping maneuvers mean that Redmond's Windows division looked like it was making a decent amount more cash than it actually was, and when taking into account another complex move -- that of deferring $1.5 billion in upgrade revenues from Windows Vista machines sold in Q4 2009 to Windows 7 in Q1 2010 -- the resulting picture is a bit different than it would appear on the surface. Ultimately, it looks like Microsoft raked in an 11% increase in Windows profits rather than the 66% reported, when removing both the bookkeeping changes from other units and the upgrade deferrals. Of course, this is all apparently technically on the up-and-up, in terms of financial reporting is concerned, but it does give some insight into the stunning profits recorded in the Windows division as of late.

FCC, Justice Department look to prevent Comcast from hogging NBC's online video all for itself

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Ready or not, Comcast and NBC will walk down the aisle in matrimony -- but it'll not be without a few conditions. According to TheWall Street Journal, both the FCC and the Justice Department are expected to impose conditions on how NBC online video is distributed online, to ensure the cable operator (with online video distribution channels of its own) doesn't withhold or threaten to withhold NBC Univeral content from rivals -- both Netflix and Apple are specifically cited by WSJ. The FCC is additionally considering restrictions on Comcast slowing down / blocking "legal traffic" from its internet network, maintaining a pro-net neutrality stance. Chairman Julius Genachowski is currently meeting with staffers twice a week on the deal, with the timetable of circulating proposed conditions by mid-December -- narrowly avoiding sweeps week, unless 30 Rock has an idea or two up its Kabletown-owned sleeve.