Intel's 50Gbps Silicon Photonics Link shines a light on future computers (video)

Using copper cables to transfer data around a computer? Get your head out of the sand, Grandpa! Intel thinks that's on the outs and is touting its recent accomplishments with Silicon Photonics and integrated lasers, using light pulses to move data at 50Gbps (last time we heard Intel tout the tech was when it hit 40Gbps speeds in 2007). The emphasis is on low-cost, high-speed fiber optics, the removal of cable clutter, and with the speed boost, the ability to try new system designs by being able to space chips and components farther apart from one another without as much hit on speed -- all theoretical at this point, of course. Researchers hopes to hit terabit per second speeds further down the line. As for John Q. Consumer, enjoy the progress from afar but don't count on seeing this technology hit Newegg anytime soon.

Misc. Gadgets, Robots ChouChou Electric Butterfly flutters to life inside a jar

Most robot pets may not be easily mistaken for the real thing, but that's not likely to be the case with the ChouChou Electric Butterfly, which might even have a few people reaching to free it from its jar. Unfortunately, it's the jar that keeps the butterfly "alive" -- it has some AA batteries in its lid that apparently allow the butterfly to respond to vibrations and flutter about. That may not sound like much, but the effect is pretty striking -- see for yourself after the break. Of course, just because it's simple doesn't mean its cheap. You'll have to shell out a hefty $76 to bring this one home.

Nissan Leaf gets early review: you might just forget its an eccentric electric car

It still won't be widely available until 2012, but Nissan's Leaf is already leaking out to a few select media outlets. Our comrades over at Autoblog managed to get behind the wheel of the all-electric whip down in San Jose, and while they didn't find anything that changed the admittedly developing game, what they did find was a solid, refined EV that's "ready for primetime." They were quick to praise the design, which doesn't scream "oddball" like some of the earlier electric automobiles. As for the ride? That was deemed "suitably smooth," while the interior was found to be "a few degrees better than what you'd find in an economy car of similar size." In fact, the overriding tone of the review was one of unsurprised satisfaction, with critics noting that the "gadgetry is impressive, but no more so than some of the hybrid options available from Nissan's competitors," and in the end, the Leaf doesn't aim to "change the driving experience, just change the method of motivation."

Indesit unveils smart-grid washer, thumbs nose at GE

General Electric may have a host of smart appliances in the works, but looks like one Indesit may beat it to the punch -- at least on the washing machine front. The Italian home appliance firm just unveiled a ZigBee-compatible washer at the Freescale Technology Forum in Florida this week, capable of communicating with the smart grid and then timing its loads according to variable electricity cost. We can't find a single detail beyond that, except that it uses one of Freescale's ZigBee radio chips, and that this particular washer appears to be destined for Indesit's Hotpoint-Ariston label with the company's Aqualtis auto-detergent dosage technology built right in. We can tell you're on the edge of your seat. No word on pricing or availability, and no, we don't know if it will tweet when your load is done.

Kensington's Laptop Locking Station is a thief's worst nightmare... maybe

Make no mistake, this one's no docking station -- rather, it's a locking station. Kensington, which has somehow managed to get a self-labeled lock slot embedded into nearly every modern Windows-based laptop, has just introduced a new duo meant to keep your lappie locked down and unavailable for thieves. The Kensington Laptop Locking Station ($79.99) boasts an all-steel backbone (one that resists cutting, drilling or prying), and ideally you'd mount it onto the desk or table where you typically leave your machine for extended periods of time. If you're in need of a little extra reach, there's an optional Tether Kit ($29.99) that keeps things secure regardless of where you're at. Specific details on both -- along with a video demonstration -- are embedded after the break, with the whole shebang capable of handling laptops from 13.3- to 17-inches.

HP crams Fermi-based Quadro 5000M GPU inside 17-inch EliteBook

Gotta live up to the name, right HP? NVIDIA's new pro graphics solution for mobile creatives, the Quadro 5000M, was unsheathed only yesterday but HP appears to have been first in line to get some of that new 40nm goodness. Electronista reports that the world leader in PC shipments is readying a 5000M solution for its 8740w EliteBook, which will bring 320 CUDA cores and a jumbo 2GB of dedicated memory to the party. That comes replete with the latest DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 compatibility, naturally, as well as a bunch of pro-friendly computational enhancements. Dell's also going to be offering a 5000M-equipped rig, but lest you get too excited, bear in mind that getting the current best Quadro-equipped 17-incher from HP costs north of $3,000, so affordability is clearly not a priority here. Skip past the break for NVIDIA's joyous press release announcing the new Quadro chips.

Carnegie Mellon's robot snakes converge into creepy hand-like wargadget

President Eisenhower, in his famous farewell speech in 1961, warned against the the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the "military industrial complex." If he had given those remarks some sixty years later, he might have worked academia into the phrase -- especially if he knew about the snakes! Certainly one of the more viscerally unnerving wargadgets we've encountered over the last few years, the creepy-crawly automatons of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute are a big hit at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, where three of 'em have been arrayed onto a circular base to form the Robotic Tentacle Manipulator, a hand that could be used for opening doors or handling IEDs, possibly while mounted on the iRobot Warrior. The "opening a door" problem, as it is called, has perplexed the field of robotics for quite some time now -- and it might one day be solved using technology like this. Until then, it looks like doorknobs are still the terrorist's best friend.

Aircord Lab's N-3D concept turns an iPad into world's second least practical 3D display (video)

Think giant active-shutter glasses are a roadblock to 3D adoption? Wait until you get a load of this, the N-3D from Aircord Labs, a glass pyramid with semi-reflective sides that allows you to peer through while reflecting the image of a screen above. In this case the screen is provided by an iPad which, as you can see in the video below, separately renders three sides of an object. Each slab of glass reflects a different rendering and, hey presto, changeable perspective as you move from side to side, reducing the usable screen real-estate on the iPad by at least a third and producing an effect slightly less compelling, but slightly more portable, than that Time Traveler

arcade game that used to take four whole quarters to play. No word on whether there will ever be a take-home version, but get yourself a sheet of plexiglass and you could probably make your own.

Bose SoundDock

The biggest hitter in our roundup is the Bose SoundDock. Right off the bat, this thing bumps. In terms of bass and sheer aural punch, the SoundDock was the most impressive unit we tested, filling the room with its single speaker. Of course, it doesn't come cheap; $400 is a lot of coin for a system meant to be used outside the protected confines of your living room. However, it's a very well constructed unit, and feels like it can take its share of knocks. The rotating dock disappears for easier transit, and the molded handle makes it easy to carry. That being said, however, it's still a rather bulky, heavy unit. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides more power and longer playing time than most other rechargeable batteries. It's a good option if you've got the cash, and a car/large bag/horse and carriage with which to carry it.

Price: $400
Web: www.bose.com

MSI rolls out GT660 gaming laptop with Dynaudio sound system

We caught sight of this one back around CeBIT time, but MSI's just officially dropped some fuller details on the GT660. The HD16-incher will be powered by a quad core Intel i7 CPU, a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M chipset, up to 12GB of RAM and a standard 500GB hard drive. It also boasts two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, plus a 9-cell battery and a Dynaudio sound system. There's no word on pricing or availability yet but we'll let you know when we do.

Adobe Air peer-to-peer video call concept Android app hands-on (video)

If you recall, a few days ago we stumbled upon a cheekily-named concept app (which has since been renamed for obvious reasons) from Adobe that does video-calling on Android. This is pretty rad considering it's just Qik and Fring offering the same service for the green bot right now, so we trotted along to Adobe's London office to get a closer look at this demo. As with many things in life, not all went as planned as you can see after the break -- the video stream froze up on several occasions, but then again Adobe's Mark Doherty only spent three days cooking this simple app. Regardless, this should still help Android developers understand the beefed-up peer-to-peer capabilities in the forthcoming Air 2.5 runtime, which is now "feature-complete" and undergoing extensive testing ahead of launch later this year.

Things are less positive for Flash availability on other mobile platforms, though. While Nokia's just waiting for a Linux SDK before it can start porting Flash apps to its devices within 2010, Adobe implied that it's still waiting for two other vendors to respond -- Palm's already been shown a Flash build running on webOS devices, and it's just a matter of the company signing up for Adobe's device certification system; RIM, on the other hand, is a bit more vague, but we were told it's definitely interested in both Air and Flash. And here's the surprise of the day: no comment on Flash for iOS (not to be confused with its digital publishing tools for the iPad), but there's no stopping you from hacking it in yourself.

MSI's Core i7-equipped GT660R makes itself available to US consumers

MSI's GT660 has been kicking around in various forms for a few months now, but the latest edition (dubbed GT660R) is just now splashing down on a few e-tailer websites. Boasting a 1.73GHz Core i7-740QM processor, 6GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive (7,200RPM), Blu-ray combo drive and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 285M, this 16-inch beast is more than capable of handling whatever HD media and first-person shooters you've got sitting around. 'Course, you'll need to be fully prepared to lug around 7.7 pounds of heft, and the 1,366 x 768 resolution is far from ideal, but at least you're given a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Home Premium. It's up for order now at $1,699.99, but unless you've got a thing for atypically large pixels, we'd suggest springing for an alternative that'll display 1080p natively.

MagicJack's femtocell misses its launch date, still hasn't been submitted to the FCC for approval

Wondering about the fate of the MagicJack femtocell now that its promised second quarter launch window has passed? So was Computerworld, and what it found out isn't exactly promising for the as-seen-on-TV company. According to a MagicJack spokesperson, it's taken longer than expected to finish the software and patents associated with the product, which means it still hasn't even been able to submit the device to the FCC for approval. The company says the software should be done within two weeks, however, but that still means a wait time of several more months while the FCC does its thing. Of course, that's to say nothing of the many legal problems facing the device, which MagicJack is unsurprisingly not commenting on -- although it insists the device will be available "this year."

Primo Battery Cube brings extra life to mini or microUSB devices, is not actually a cube

If you, like we, were disappointed by mophie's unwillingness to support anything lacking an Apple dock port in its new line of juice packs, here's an alternative. PhoneSuit is launching the Primo Battery Cube, a decidedly non-cube-shaped device that is perhaps a bit chubby but manages compatibility with either micro or miniUSB devices. The $40 battery, which launches on July 12, charges over USB, packs a 1,000mAh cell inside, and sports four LED lights on top to give you an idea of just how many of those milliampere-hours have yet to be served. Oh, and it's shape, because of its unequal sides it's actually a cuboid, not a cube. But of course you knew that, you geometry whiz you.

Hitachi 'Life Microscope' promises to track your every movement

Sure, there's plenty of devices like the Fitbit that can track your movement and report on your general level of activity or laziness, but only Hitachi has what it's dubbed a "Life Microscope." That name apparently comes from the fact that the device is able to track your activity with more detail than other fitness monitors -- including, it seems, the difference between sitting and sleeping, and even the difference between eating or playing video games. That data is then naturally able to be transferred to a PC, and it also sounds like the Life Microscope could be incorporated into actual watches as well -- if it ever moves beyond the concept stage, that is.

Okoro's ultraslim SX100 HTPC updated with quad CableCARD support

Who says you need a supercomputer in your den to record four high-def feeds at once? Okoro Media Systems, a long-standing player in the pre-fab HTPC business, has just unleashed the latest update to its OMS-SX100, which measures in at just three inches tall and should slide in easily to whatever AV cabinet you're currently using. The base $1,695 system is equipped with a 2.93GHz Core i3-530 processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a Blu-ray drive, 2TB SATA hard drive, integrated 7.1 channel surround sound, Windows 7 (SageTV 6.5 is an optional install) and gigabit Ethernet. Oh, and did we mention a quad HD tuner and room for up to 219 hours of DVR footage? It's up for order in the source link, but we'd caution against just venturing down for venturing's sake.

Deluxe Reverse Geocache is reusable, really awesome

You're familiar with geocaching, right? One person hides a "cache" somewhere in the world and hands out the coordinates; the first person to locate it via GPS wins. How about the "reverse geocache"? This one is a little more difficult to get together: you have to design a box of some sort that contains the necessary hardware to enable it to be opened only at a certain GPS coordinate. You hand the dude your box, and they traipse around the woods until they get to the right spot and the box opens. Well, the operator of the imakeprojects.com website has developed a little something called the "Deluxe Reverse Geocache," a locked, electronically enhanced Pelican case that unlike other reverse geocaches, is designed to be reprogrammed and reused after completing its journey. But that's not all! It also gives the user hints regarding the desired location, along with a limited number of attempts to solve the puzzle -- after which the player is downgraded to one attempt per hour. Want to play? Hit the source link for all the details. Happy hunting!

PlayStation Blu-ray 3D update arrives in September; 3D photo, PlayTV and YouTube support to follow

Just in case you weren't really sure how deep into this 3DTV thing Sony is, senior director of Sony Europe Mick Hocking announced the PS3's update for Blu-ray 3D movie playback will be released in September -- but it won't stop there. Expect future firmware upgrades that give the PS3 3D rendering for photos (.mpo files), any broadcasts it can pick up on PlayTV, and even YouTube videos. Not running out the door to buy one yet? CVG reports the rest of the presentation was devoted to extolling the virtues of 3D to hardcore gamers in racing games, God of War, or LittleBigPlanet. Demos so far haven't completely convinced us the PS3 is capable of rendering games in high enough resolution to satisfy, but if Fat Princess 2 features a good 3D implementation, someone hide our credit cards, please.

Renshui rethinks the bathroom faucet

True revolutions in faucet designs may be few and far between, but China's Renshui is certainly doing its part to shake things up, and has now introduced yet another faucet sure to amaze and confuse visitors to your humble abode. In addition to breaking with the usual faucet design, this model packs a touch panel that will let you switch between hot and cold water, or dial in the exact temperature you want -- which is, of course, displayed on the faucet itself (it'll even warn you if the water is getting too hot). No word on availability over here, but it did recently win a red dot design award, so the chances of a release may have gotten a bit better.

ASUS ARES cries havoc, lets slip the GPUs of war: a review roundup of the world's fastest graphics card

When you name your graphics card after the God of War, you'd better hope it brings some heat, but judging by early reviews, that's just what ASUS has done. The three slot monstrosity above is the ARES, a $1200 limited edition, fully custom board, sporting twin Radeon HD 5870 GPUs, four gigabytes of GDDR5 memory and practically enough raw copper to smelt a sword. We're not joking: the thing weighs nearly five pounds and requires a 750 watt power supply with three power connectors (two 8-pin, one 6-pin) to even run. Of course, you're getting a graphical behemoth for that kind of price, steamrolling every other GPU on the planet -- paired with even a 3.8GHz Core i7-930 CPU in 3DMark Vantage (on Extreme settings), Overclock 3D racked up a fairly ludicrous 15,000 score, and the card ripped past 25,000 with a Core i7-980X and a second ARES in CrossFire. The card was less impressive in actual gameplay, merely spanking the (much cheaper) Radeon 5970 and GeForce GTX 480 by a modest amount, and several reviewers complained it was fairly loud... but as the old adage goes, nobody needs a Ferrari to drive the speed limit, but we'll all drool over them anyhow. Bring on the liquid nitrogen, folks.

Loreo 3D Lens-In-A-Cap turns your SLR into a bug-eyed stereoscopy machine

You want 3D, huh? Well, do you want it bad enough to endure perpetual Johnny Five jokes? Because this 3D Lens-In-A-Cap not only looks like the beloved robot from the 1980s movie, it also seems to be using technology from the same era. The aperture can be opened up to a maximum value of F11, meaning your light intake will be, erm... frugal, while the minimum focusing range is a distant 1.5 meters away from the sensor. Still, it'll get you two perfectly paired snaps and the Canon EOS mount version can be had now for $166. What are you waiting for -- the future's just a few clicks away.

Robonaut 2 enters final preparations before flying off into space

Tests, upgrades and final checks are being carried out on the Robonaut 2, the humanoid spacefaring robot that has been in the works since 2007. The baby of NASA and General Motors, this sack of metal and wires has already produced a catalog of 34 new patents and, according to GM, is setting the stage for new safety features in forthcoming generations of its road vehicles. Sensor technology being developed in the R2 could deliver better lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, and more intelligent parking assistance. That's good news and all, but can we ship it out to the ISS already -- we'd rather it be off-world when its instruction set switches from "serve humans" to "serve human meat."

Nikon planning "new concept" mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras with enhanced video modes

The past year has seen both Sony and Samsung unveil tiny interchangeable lens cameras designed to compete with the Micro Four Thirds units from Panasonic and Olympus, and now Nikon's getting in the game as well -- company president Makoto Kimura told Bloomberg Nikon will introduce a "new concept" mirrorless cameras with enhanced video functions as early as this year. (That sort of sounds like the Canon G11 competitor with DSLR tech Nikon was hinting at earlier this year, but we can't tell if they're the same.) Kimura says that Nikon is "intensively" focused on developing the new mirrorless product as part of a plan to increase SLR revenue -- Nikon's goal is to increase interchangeable lens camera sales a whopping 80 percent over the next three years. That's ambitious, but if Nikon can produce a tiny shooter with some of the D3S's low-light capabilities and the ability to accept even a subset of its modern family of lenses, we don't think it's out of the question. We'll see what happens.

Telescopic eye implant approved by the FDA

We love eye implants, and we've seen our share of them, and this one is pretty sweet (although it isn't the creepiest by a long shot -- that prize would go to the one that uses a human tooth to hold its lens). In the works for well over a year, and approved by the FDA a couple days ago, VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies' implantable miniature telescope is intended for patients over 75 years of age who are suffering from end-stage macular degeneration. As with any tricky new surgery, this one is not without risks, including the need for a corneal transplant due to the device's size. According to CBC News, in clinical testing seventy-five percent of over 200 patients "had their vision improve from severe or profound impairment to moderate impairment," and there are two more studies on the way: one will follow up with existing patients, while the other will outfit 770 new patients with the device. The cost? $15,000.

AQUA2 amphibious robot is super cute and fast, less annoying than most pets because it has no head

The AQUA2, built at McGill University in Montreal, is the first of its kind. You see, the AQUA2 is a robot that can both dive and swim in water, and move about on land. The amphibious bot can explore water up to 120 feet and is tethered to a remote control via ethernet or fiber optics. The 'headless' robot's flippers make it a pretty impressive swimmer, and it's also strikingly fast on even rough terrain. Check out the video after the break.

Christie creates baffling 3D HD CAVE 'visual environment,' or your average Halo display in 2020

Whenever the word "Christie" is involved, you can generally count on two things: 1) you can't afford it and 2) you'll want to afford it. The high-end projection company is at it once again, this time installing a truly insane visual environment at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. The 3D HD CAVE is intended to help researchers find breakthroughs in biomedical studies, and while CAVE itself has been around for years, this particular version easily trumps prior iterations. For starters, it relies on eight Christie Mirage 3-chip DLP projectors, all of which have active stereo capabilities and can deliver a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,920. Yeah, that's 3.68 megapixels per wall. The idea here is to provide mad scientists with a ridiculous amount of pixel density in an immersive world, but all we can think about is hooking Kinect and the next installment of Bungie's famed franchise up to this thing. Can we get an "amen?"

BMW supports iPod Out, fills your 2011 auto with 2001's finest user interface

If you wish the iPod support in your BMW or Mini was a little less Munich and a little more Cupertino, this latest development from Bavaria will make you a happy little infotainment meister. BMW is announcing that its in-car iPod compatibility will be boosted to support iOS 4's iPod Out feature, which does not enhance your gadget's Ryan Seacrest impression but instead allows it to output its interface to another device. So, the in-car dash will replicate the simple iPod UI, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on whether you prefer Apple's design cues to BMW's. No word on exactly which vehicles will get this support, but this is referred to as part of a "new offer," so it certainly sounds like future autos only. C'mon guys, haven't you heard of a firmware update?

Fring update approved for iPhone, does video calling with front cam over 3G

We weren't exactly sure whether Apple was going to approve third-party video calling apps using the front camera on the iPhone 4, but good news: the answer is "yes." Fring just slid in a new version of its longstanding iPhone app today featuring support for video calling, which is pretty awesome in and of itself -- but the real news is that it works just fine over 3G, as you can see in our quick test above between Chicago and London. This opens the door for services that could have potentially broader implications than FaceTime itself, since Apple's service is limited to WiFi and currently only works between iPhone 4s. Just make sure you're wearing clothes when you call, alright?

Uplink Audio Strap System offers solar power for runners on the run

Designer Adam Hammerman's concept -- the Uplink Audio Strap System -- is for all you sports enthusiasts that want to listen to tunes while running but don't want to be bothered with headphones. It can connect with a variety of different mobile devices, and boasts four ultrasound speakers, meaning that you can hear the music but nobody else can, so you're not disturbing the peace! For outdoorsy types, of course, it would be a much safer system for things like running, since you would still be able to hear the street noise around you, and the device would also have flexible solar panels which charge the speakers on the go. It's just a concept for now, but one we'd like to see in reality.

iPhone DJ apps about to get crazy

Although there's been no shortage of iPhone DJ apps in the past few years, they've remained fairly niche, since Apple didn't allow devs official access to the iPod music library -- mobile DJs needed to upload a second separate music library per app, and that's no fun at all. Looks like that's about to change, though: one of the 1500 new APIs in iOS 4 provides direct access to the iPod library, meaning music apps of all kinds can play your tracks in any wacky way they want -- including, yes, scratching them. The first app to support the new API in the store is Flare Scratch, which is a relatively simple scratch app -- we just gave it a shot and yes, it does indeed load tracks from the iPod library and let you scratch 'em. There's a bit of a wait when loading up a new track, though, so it's not totally fluid to use in anything but a hey-this-is-fun context, but we're betting we'll see more serious DJ apps hit with smoother transitions soon enough -- and we can't wait to see what devs do once iOS 4 hits the iPad and they've got more room to work with. Video after the break.

Solar Impulse returns from 24 hour test flight 26 hours later

Rest easy, fans of solar-powered aeronautics. Captain Piccard's Solar Impulse has safely returned after 26 hours in the air -- powered by nothing but the sun. The four-engine aircraft, which features 12,000 solar cells arranged on its wingspan, reached a height of almost 29,000 feet before touching down at Payerne Airport near Berne, Switzerland today. The next step? The team is going back to the woodshed, with the hope of developing a plane that will circumnavigate the globe by 2013.

Scottevest's Carry-On Coat houses all of your portable electronics, stolen hotel shampoo bottles

Truth be told, it's been awhile since we've seen a gadget-laced jacket that really caught our eye. There's the occasional winter coat with a built-in iPod slot, and there's a few unaffordable threads that don't much matter to the vast majority of you, but it's difficult to think of a single overcoat that's as connected as this. Teased by Scottevest, the forthcoming Carry-On-Jacket is as functional as it is delightful, with an internal pocket made specifically for touchscreen devices so you'll never even have to reach inside to skip tracks. There's also an internal Personal Area Network (PAN), a dedicated BlackBerry (or any smartphone, really) holder, passport pouch, a digital camera compartment, iPad pocket (er, "PadPocket") and a separate area made specifically for those zip-locked liquids that you'll need easy access to at the TSA screening zone. Needless to say, the avid traveler with a pinch of geek lust should be grinning from ear-to-ear just gazing at this masterpiece, and honestly, we could see this converting even the hardest of hardcore Rollaboard warriors. Now all we need is a price and release date, STAT.

Opera 10.6 hits Windows, Mac and Linux with faster Javascript, WebM video support

Four short months after Opera 10.5, the Scandinavian potato boilers are back for more -- the latest version of their lightweight web browser features not only claims to be the fastest, but the first final browser with WebM video support. While we actually noticed a variety of web videos felt choppy with the Windows version, there's no denying it's a speedy little hummingbird; Engadget felt snappier on Opera than Chrome or Firefox by far. Don't take our word for it

Rude Gameware's Fierce Teflon & Steel mousepad can take the heat

Rude Gameware new's Fierce Teflon & Steel Mouse Surface may not have a built-in calculator or USB hub, but it is made of Teflon and steel, which makes it a multipurpose mousepad in its own special way. Still can't justify spending $30 on a mousepad? The next best alternative is as close as your kitchen cupboard.

Symbian-Guru shuts down, says Nokia is 'losing hard'

Well, we can't sugar-coat this one -- when a major Nokia / Symbian site like Symbian-Guru decides to close up shop "thanks to Nokia's consistently piss-poor hardware choices and Symbian's lack of ability to even remotely compete in terms of features," there's not much else to say. It sounds like shutting things down was at once both incredibly easy and incredibly hard for site heads Ricky Cadden and Rita El Khoury, who've both penned long letters about their decision -- you can tell both of them remain incredibly passionate about Nokia and Symbian, but that they've been disappointed by mediocre handsets like the N97 one time too many. Better hope Nokia can take that MeeGo for handsets pre-alpha we saw yesterday and whip it into something good, we suppose. You should really hit the source link and read the entire post on Symbian-Guru, but we've collected some choice quotes after the break.

Ricky:

• "I've tried to use all of Nokia's various products and services to the best of my ability, and I just can't do it anymore."
• "I can't continue to support a manufacturer who puts out such craptastic 'flagships' as the N97, and who expects me to use services that even most of Nokia's own employees don't use."
• "After this experience with the Nokia N97, there's simply no way I trust them to not screw up with the N8 – not enough for me to fork over $500 of my own money, at least."
• "Like Android, Symbian Foundation prides itself on being open and free – loudly and oftentimes obnoxiously boasting about how its source code is free for all – despite no one really caring about this, at least in my circle."
• "Both Symbian and Nokia are dying brands in the U.S., if not already dead, and I'm sick and tired of banging the gong alone."
• "Of course I'll still keep my eye on Nokia. If they can put out 2 flagship devices in a row that don't completely suck, I may even give them another chance. I won't hold my breath."
• "To Nokia, you guys are losing. Hard. Wake the hell up. Doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results is the definition of insanity."
• "I sincerely hope that the upper brass at Nokia starts listening to the folks who are putting in extra time and effort – these folks know what's going on, and like I did originally, simply want to see Nokia succeed."

Rita:

• "I swear I could get a VISA, buy an airplane ticket, travel to Texas and talk to Ricky in person before Nokia Messaging for IM loads and opens a conversation with him on my N97 Mini."
• "But honestly, how can you blame outside developers when Nokia themselves can't seem to pull through a decent application?"
• "What good does it do me, as a user, if you have 40 or 50 or 60 % marketshare when you fail to gain any developer traction?"
• "Where are the games that make me pop my eyes in awe? The N8 will get Angry Birds. Big whoop. It took me all of 2 days to finish all levels of Angry Birds on my iPod Touch and you know what? When I was done, I moved on to the next game. Could I say the same about the N8?"
• "I can't evangelize a platform when I'm no longer 100% convinced myself: that would be hypocrisy and I'm not a hypocrite."
• " It had to be done and although it was hard at first, I've now come to terms with the decision."

DirecTV's new n3D channel is the first to bring home all 3D, all the time

DirecTV and Panasonic flipped the switch on the nation's first 24 hour 3D network this morning, sending n3D out on channel 103 to all properly equipped viewers. Of course, if you've got your 3DTV, your H21 or higher satellite receiver and some 3D specs, what will you be watching? Besides events like the upcoming NASCAR race from Daytona, an exclusive 3D feed of the MLB All-Star Game and (locally available) broadcasts of a Yankees/Mariners series, July's schedule is packed with demo content like Guitar Center Sessions with Peter Gabriel and Jane's Addiction and Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia. Beyond that there's a few IMAX flicks on the new DirecTV Cinema in 3D channel, and World Cup games from ESPN 3D through video on demand, check Zap2it for a full schedule but don't be shocked to see a lot of repeats, for now.

Little Spiderman uses vacuum cleaners to climb buildings, win the hearts of the ladies

The enterprising youngster you see above had a dream. A dream to become like his superhero, Spiderman, who isn't real. Nobody really believed him or thought his ideas about how to achieve his goals were very good, but, as you can see from the photo, he's got the last laugh. Hibiki Kono, using two cheap, 1,400 watt vacuum cleaners he bought at a grocery store to begin scaling walls of local buildings, and impressing all of his new friends. His mother's not that into him doing it in the house -- she's afraid he'll destroy the walls and ceiling -- but as you can see from the video below, the sight is pretty impressive.

Intel shows off 'HERB' the robotic butler, the future is unimpressed

So, you're glamping out on Mars, and of course you need someone to buttle you as you relax within your well appointed, synthetic diamond-reinforced space tent; who better than a robotic butler? Good thing we've come a long way in the last 100 years or so, can you believe that early 21st century humans had to get by with this bot built by Intel named "HERB," who could barely manage to drop an empty into the recycling bin? Sure, he wasn't totally worthless, he could sort dishes and put them in the dishwasher (edible flatware wasn't the norm back then), and managed a vague approximation of speech synthesis (this was before Google blew the lid off the whole artificial voice problem in the 2030s), but it's hard to call any of these capabilities truly useful to any modern family.

Chevrolet bringing 10,000 Volts in 2011, but it's the current of change that will kill you

Good news for all electric heads out there: "intense interest" in the Chevy Volt has led General Motors to expand its launch markets to now include Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. They join California, Michigan and Washington DC, although only Austin in Texas and New York City will have the honor of retail Volts before 2010 is through; the rest of the new markets will get their fill in 2011. Though Chevy still hasn't set down a final date and price for its electric car, late 2010 availability seems to mesh well with a November 1 rumor we heard earlier. Beyond this year, 10,000 units are planned to be built in 2011, with 30,000 more coming up in 2012. So it's gonna be a pretty exclusive club however you look at it, now can we get a cheesy music video going for this car or what? Oh wait...

Facebook adds face detection, still can't identify books

Over 100 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, making the social networking site something of a clearinghouse for random holiday snaps. Of course, those holiday snaps quite often contain people, and its in tagging those people that the whole process of adding photos to Facebook slows down a bit -- finding faces, drawing boxes, typing names, etc. Those first two steps are now in the process of being automated thanks to recent Facebook acquisition Divvyshot. Facebook will now identify faces in your photos after you upload them, automatically, just like any 'ol cheap compact shooter can do. Sadly it won't identify who that face is yet (you still need to type in a name), but this simple addition should make tagging much, much easier. However, we're still waiting for Google Street View's auto face blurring technology to make an appearance before we start uploading the greatest moments from our last vacation.

New Xbox 360 250GB review

When we first saw its face in a Italian ad, more than one Engadget editor called its bluff: "The top half doesn't line up with the bottom," some said, "that's got to be Photoshopped." While that early image was indeed CG, the form factor was certainly not -- the new Xbox 360 sports enough sleek angles and disappearing curves we've taken to calling it the Stealthbox. As mother always told you, though, it's what's inside that counts; does that glossy exterior house any improvements, or is it hiding just another Xbox? Find out after the break.

Hardware

Xbox 360 250GB

Xbox 360 Elite

Xbox 360 Arcade

Price	$299.99	$249.99 (while supplies last)	$149.99 (while supplies last)
Color	Glossy black	Matte black	Matte white
HDD	Proprietary 250GB SATA	Proprietary 120GB SATA	None (256-512MB flash)
Dimensions	10.6 x 2.95 x 10.39 in.	12 x 3 x 10 in.	11.5 x 3 x 10 in.
Weight	6.3 lb.	7.7 lb.	7 lb. (approx)
Power	135W	175W (Falcon), 150W (Jasper)	175W (Falcon), 150W (Jasper)
Wireless	802.11n	Optional adapter	Optional adapter
Ports	HDMI, combo A/V, S/PDIF, LAN, Kinect, USB x5	HDMI, combo A/V, LAN, USB x3, HDD x1, MU x2	HDMI, combo A/V, LAN, USB x3, HDD x1, MU x2
Bundle	Wireless controller, composite A/V cable, headset	Wireless controller, composite A/V cable, ethernet cable, headset	Wireless controller, composite A/V cable

Though the new unit and all its accessories are technically labeled "Xbox 360 S," you'll never hear Microsoft marketers call it a Slim, and it turns out there's a pretty good reason for that. While the new Xbox 360 is 18 percent lighter, it's only a quarter-inch slimmer than its predecessor at the waist, and is practically the same width as the old unit measured at its widest point. Even as its stature has decreased 12 percent, the new Xbox 360 is deeper than the Elite. See the gallery below for comparison shots, but you can basically think about it this way -- Microsoft's taken its rectangular console and molded it into a square.

Perusing the outside of the unit, however, there are a number of pleasant surprises in store, including a dedicated optical audio jack (though the one embedded in older A/V cables works just as well), capacitive touch buttons and a snazzy new hard drive port. Since Microsoft's April firmware update brought USB mass storage to the console, we knew the life of Microsoft's proprietary Memory Unit was running out, and sure enough the new Xbox 360 loses the MU sockets in favor of two additional USB ports. Sadly, the extra USB are in the rear, right next to the Kinect port, so they'll be little use for plugging in Rock Band instruments if you house the system in a cabinet. Not that you'd necessarily want to leave it in a cabinet... but more on that later.

On the bottom of the system you'll find a removable panel housing the unit's hard drive. As before, the embedded 2.5-inch SATA unit isn't user replaceable, but this time we rather admire its plastic shell -- it's a handsome cartridge that slots neatly inside the system, surrounded by a fully cushioned cage that both silences and protects the hard drive. Capacitive touch buttons aren't everyone's cup of tea, and it seems odd to see them here after Sony finally phased them out, but Microsoft's implementation removes the uncertainty usually associated with touch by immediately responding to input. Both power and eject buttons play a chime as soon as your finger connects, and the DVD tray slides out far quicker than in Sony's slot-loading system. Just in case you're wondering, the new disc drive does not protect discs from nasty scratches this go around -- dropping a Savage Garden album in the tray and letting the console flop to one side (on a carpeted surface, no less) our album was truly, madly and deeply cut.

The console itself may be an attractive package, but Microsoft really skimped on the extras this time round. While we didn't expect the new wireless controller to add anything more than a coat of gloss black (sorry, fighting fans, it's the same ol' D-pad), we're surprised you don't get HD playback out of the box. Where the Xbox 360 Elite came with not only a switchable component / composite HD A/V cable but an HDMI cord to boot, the new Xbox 360 has only a set of composite wires that don't support even 480p resolution.

Performance

If you expected the new Xbox 360 to be any faster, you're mostly out of luck -- the silicon's clocked at the same speed, for starts, and the 250GB hard drive was neck and neck with the Elite's 120GB during a battery of tests, like this 4.6GB Street Fighter IV install. The new Xbox 360 sadly doesn't have gigabit ethernet to speed networking up, but we did get favorable results out of the 802.11n WiFi card. Compared to a 100 megabit wired connection on a neighboring Elite, the wireless posted slightly more erratic transfer rates and was occasionally susceptible to lag, but still averaged 1.7MB / sec downloads (compared to 1.9MB / sec) on a fast AT&T U-Verse connection -- we'd certainly be happy with most games (save fighters) over wireless. The one place the new Xbox 360 did show considerable improvement was the optical disc drive -- the Stealthbox consistently loaded DVDs and game levels two seconds faster -- but we'd hesitate to recommend the system on that basis alone, as historically Microsoft has shipped consoles with a variety of different drives.

Heat, Noise, Power

	Current (ampere)		Power (watt)		Temperature (farenheit)		Noise (decibel)
	Elite	250GB	Elite	250GB	Elite	250GB	Elite	250GB
Plugged in / power off	0.06	0.03	2.7	0.5	Room temperature		Reference
Idling at Dashboard	1.34	0.9	93	73	113	108	+5.5	+1
Playing Bayonetta (DVD)	1.75	1.15	135	94	116	140	+18.5	+10
Installing Bayonetta	1.4	1	111	82	114	126	+15.5	+9
Playing Bayonetta (HDD)	1.54	1.1	121	88	116	140	+14.5	+2.5
Watching a DVD movie	1.09	0.77	88	62	112	119	+7.5	+2

We'd already heard the new Valhalla was pretty dang power-friendly, but that didn't keep us from performing a few tests of our own -- and sure enough, it's the most energy efficient unit we've seen. While it still draws a tad more current than a PS3 Slim, playing games and DVDs require fewer watts, and as you can plainly see in the chart above, it wipes the floor with our Elite. The Stealthbox is just as "whisper quiet" as Microsoft promised, too -- though it's definitely audible when playing games from DVD, the system's blissfully silent as long as you first install them to the hard drive. The only thing amiss was the electromagnetic signature we detected when firing our infrared temperature gun -- you'd think that using less energy, the console would generate less heat, but our unit was often burning hot to the touch. Given Microsoft's storied history of hardware failure, we'd never think of leaving an Xbox in a cabinet or stacked with other A/V components and that hasn't changed one bit with this model.

Migration

If you're buying an Xbox for the very first time, data migration won't concern you in the least, but on the off-chance you're thinking of springing for a new system you should know that things have changed for the better, and we thought we'd include this brief guide. There are now three ways to move your data over, assuming you don't want to download it all again: USB, the transfer cable, or by simply sticking in your old hard drive.

USB is the cheapest way to move content by far -- just insert an USB thumbdrive or external HDD, and the Xbox can partition up to 16GB worth of storage. Thing is, you can't move savegames and DLC a la carte, as your profile always has to come along for the ride. If you've only got a small USB key, it could take ages to ferry everything over.

The Xbox 360 Hard Drive Data Migration Transfer Kit (yes, that's seriously the full name) makes things easier, as you can move an entire drive's worth of content in one fell swoop, but it costs $20 at retail. Thankfully, Microsoft made these practically disposable a few years back in what used to be single-use transfer kits, and you can find the now-bidrectional cables for pennies on eBay.

Last but not least, as we just discovered, you can simply rip open your old Xbox 360 hard drive and slot it into the case, at which point it will be immediately recognized. Needless to say, we don't recommend this route for a variety of reasons... we hear Microsoft's warranty support service doesn't take kindly to freely bouncing hard drives.

Wrap-up

The new Xbox 360 is a sleek, stylish contraption, shiny black from head to cords, but it doesn't offer quite enough to make it an obvious upgrade for those who've bought one before. If the screeching cries of your existing unit are driving you up the wall, or if you need a more energy efficient system with integrated wireless, sure, but if you've already invested in the Xbox ecosystem, purchased add-on hard drives and more, you'll find little to justify the $300 price -- until your existing console throws the dreaded RRoD, or perhaps an E74. That said, this is the best Xbox 360 ever made, bar none, and if you've yet to join the Xbox party -- and don't mind springing for an HDMI cable -- this is definitely the one.

Update: While our Xbox 360 Elite came with HDMI and component A/V cables we've been informed that Microsoft has since stopped shipping HD-capable cables with new Elite models. We have updated the comparison chart to reflect that.

Intel set to overhaul desktop CPU range with new models, lower prices

This might be about as shocking as sunny weather in España, but Intel appears set to slash some prices and bump some speeds in its desktop CPU portfolio this quarter. According to DigiTimes and its beloved motherboard maker sources, the desktop dominator intends to introduce a six-core Core i7-970 chip, at a $885 bulk purchase price that should bring the hexacore entry price down from the i7-980X's $999 perch, along with a 2.8GHz i5-760 priced at $205, and -- intriguingly -- a quad-core i5-870S designed specifically for small form factor machines and costing an appropriately inflated $351 a piece. Finally, there's word of a most welcome price tumble for the 3.06GHz i7-950, which moves down to the $294 slot currently occupied by the 2.8GHz i7-930. All this crazy talk seems to reiterate earlier suggestions coming out of HKEPC, so we advise hitting both source links and drawing your own conclusions.