Author: Jack Loftus

Apple’s sexy, touchy feely Magic Mouse could be an energy-sucking vampire, according to a number of reports on the Apple Discussion Boards.

The present hypothesis is that the Magic Mouse is preventing the Bluetooth keyboard from entering sleep mode, resulting in weekly battery changes. One user purportedly contacted Apple Tech Support and was told the problem is a known Bluetooth driver issue and a fix is in the works.

Who here has one of these little energy vampires and what’s your story? Anything? [TUAW]

Mind control is one way to control tomorrow’s gadgets. Here’s another equally cool, equally complex way: Controllers that involve nothing but the electrical impulses taking place everyday in our muscle tissue.

The system, developed as part of a patent filed by Microsoft, uses a series of connectors attached to an armband. The armband leverages Electromyography (EMG). As you can see in the video, this creates a system that translates the electrical activity found in our muscles into instructions for a computer. Or a Guitar Hero air guitar.

The system in the video is shown as a forearm version, but further patent reading reveals a completely wearable network of sensors that would adorn a user’s head, arms and legs.

So air guitar and auto-trunks are only the beginning, although we’d need to be extraordinarily aware of our gestures and arm movements should a system become more mainstream, don’t you think? I’d hate to flip a guy off on the highway and have my driver’s side door pop open. [Muscle Computer Interfaces via Engadget]

Sorry to burst your warp bubble, bucko, but that text message you received the other day from a cellphone user in the year 2016 was just some stupid bug.

According to non-official sources (MS has yet to comment), some mobile users are receiving text messages sent after 1/1/2010 dated as though they were sent from the future, specifically 1/1/2016.

The latest reports state the most widely-affected user group are those using Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5. The folks at WMExperts have posted a homemade .cab file that purportedly fixes the bug, but again, nothing official from MS or handset manufacturers just yet. [WMExperts via Pocket Now via BGR]

Did your Motorola Droid battery cover slip off into the night on New Year’s Eve, never to be seen again? Did several of your memories from that evening do the same? Well, sorta good news, bad news: I can kind of help with the former.

You see, Verizon Wireless was offering free (free!) battery cover replacements on their website. The inventory sold out quick, surprise, but maybe they’ll have more soon. Normally these little guys go for about $5 plus shipping.

Check their website for more info. [Phonearena via Ubergizmo]

The juxtaposition presented here with these dinosaur chopsticks is a bit baffling, but there’s no arguing kids will probably love them and their one-piece design. But really, chopsticks are ancient, but not this ancient. [4Physics via Geekologie]

Oops! Someone at Lenovo may have hit Publish a tad too soon, and now we have a quick peek at a number of their upcoming laptops, including the ThinkPad Edge, T410s, W510, and more. CES what now? [Lenovo via Engadget]

The leak contains a section called “new product showcase” and was live as of 12 p.m., EST. This here is the t410.

The T410s, featuring “high performance” and an optional touchscreen.

Sleek ThinkPad with a shiny new veneer.

Ultra portable! Also shiny!

Future office workhorse?

[Lenovo via Engadget]

An air purifier for pets! What an ingenious idea! It takes that filthy air around Fido’s head, sucks it up, and replaces it with clean, refreshing and pet-friendly snake oil!

But wait! That’s not all! While the purifier saves your pet from allergens, dander and smoke—possibly from the bong that lead to its eventual purchase—it also coats your dog, cat or small child with spray from a scent dispenser that’s meant to relax and calm the little target of your affection. Bonus use: Your roving Rover now doubles as an air freshener. Just ignore the constant sneezing, as that’s a feature, not a bug.

All that for a mere $17.20. Vet trips are extra. Total steal. [Technee via Coolest Gadgets]

Techie people who’ve been right about Apple rumors in the past have been busy this past week. While there’s nothing concrete in either of these posts, their track records speak for themselves, and Apple conjecture is always fun, for some.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball takes the prize for most dedicated. While I was out saying things I could never take back during an uproarious Boston waterfront New Year’s Eve party, he was pounding out a thousand or so words about the Tablet, Apple, and why this thing won’t be something you just take into the shitter to pass the time with a few graphic novels and TIME Magazine with movies.

Again, conjecture abound, but at the end of it Gruber opines grandly, “I say they’re swinging big – redefining the experience of personal computing.” I’m forced to agree, not because of some deep, primal urge to support anything and everything Apple does, but because I’m still having a hard time envisioning what a tablet will do that demands people’s attention like the iPhone did. Gruber seems to think it’s the apps, stupid, and on that point I agree wholeheartedly: Software will define this thing, just as it did the iPhone.

It’s on the software front that a far more grounded wave of tablet predictions arrive from ars technica and John Siracusa. Calling his column “cold water” he bats down haptic touchscreens, folding dual screens, and 3D goggles, preferring the software route. And why not? There are already 100 million iTunes customers in place that prove the model works, and they in turn are fed by more than 125,000 App Store developers who currently sell more than 100,000 apps. It’s a proven model, and one Siracusa says Apple will rely heavily upon when this thing arrives. For his part, Gruber says “don’t bet against” anything Siracusa says. We have an accord!

Siracusa also calls his column an “antacid tablet.” As I am unable to traverse the Internet these days without stepping on, consuming, or producing a steaming pile of Apple Tablet news, I am inclined to agree with him. [Daring Fireball, ars technica]

Ready or not, 3D HDTV is going to take the television scene by storm in the coming decade, at least according to our buddies over at HDGuru. Here’s why they think the future is more Avatar than anything else:

First, even though manufacturers might be rushing things, considering their last lovechild, Blu-Ray discs, hasn’t really taken anything by a storm, let alone a slight tropical depression, there are some consumer-friendly caveats to consider before grinding those teeth in anger.

Take price, for example. HDGuru predicts set prices will be largely in line with current HDTV offerings. Initial pricing for a 40-inch 3D-ready 240Hz LED LCD will check in at about $1300, whereas a similar non-3D set from Samsung is currently for sale is $1,250.

The other elephant in the room, as least when it came to HD, is programming. While full-time HD programming has been around since HD Net launched in September 2001, it took until the end of the decade before this particular TV watcher could safely say all he watches on TV anymore are HD-only channels. Luckily—if you like where 3D is going anyway—that shouldn’t be a problem for 3D in the 2010s. HDGuru assures us that the influx of PS3s on the market, coupled with 50 DirectTV 3D channels before the end of 2010, will ensure there’s ample 3D TV available for the new sets that Sony, et al, will demand you buy for the best viewing experience. Sports, the original driver of HD content, will also come into play here, no pun intended.

As for HDTVs, 3D aside, the future is unsurprisingly cheaper, thinner and more portable. That’s kind of how tech works, and beyond 2010 you can expect to see an influx of thin, LED edge-lit TVs that go larger than 60-inches. On the opposite end of the spectrum, expect more Zunes. That is, “Zune” in the sense that portables sporting HD visuals will become ubiquitous—who knows what fate will befall Microsoft’s shiny player.

Lastly, this one’s for Mark Wilson, who got headaches watching a great Avatar flick in 3D: HD glasses might eventually become unnecessary. At an expected $70 a pair, they won’t be missed, but this prediction may take a while and will arrive first in the form of a single-viewer laptop at the end of 2010.

Again, predictions all. Nothing firm, but nothing too unbelievable either. There are more at HDGuru to parse and dissect and flame. Why don’t you leave a few of your own in the comments? [HDGuru]