Author: Kat Hannaford

PS3 firmware updates have been in the headlines recently thanks to the OtherOS uninstall, but there was also that attractive 3D gaming business too. It’s not all bad at Sony—unless you don’t own a VAIO laptop, anyway. More »

98 years ago, there was a terrible volcanic eruption on Martinique, an island in the Caribbean. What’s been dubbed as the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century, it killed all residents—except the sole drunk in this prison. More »

Between various patents and even a bog-standard Sony Ericsson, we’ve already thought about the possibilities of gesture-controlled phones. The University of Tokyo, in typical form, has taken it one step forward and released a video showing some sweet Natal-like possibilities. More »

You’ve seen Rovio hackery before, but not like this. Not with MIND CONTROL and Skype both involved. Emotiv Systems’ headset is used to control the Rovio, with the signal being carried to the robot over Skype. More »

Each and every rotary phone-styled iRetrofone Base is handmade from resin, and not only does it give you a stationary calling experience, it also docks and syncs via USB. Available now for $195. [Etsy via Retro To Go] More »

A 12MP cameraphone has been turning up in leaked documents, photos and patents, but finally Russian site Mobile-Review has done us proud and snagged hands-on pics. Apart from that image sensor, it’s also sporting Symbian^3, the first to do so. More »

Forget botox—if you want better-looking skin, start looking closer to home. At your LED-backlit LCD, for example. The Light Masque, pictured, is the secret to eternal beauty according to specialists, using red LEDs to diminish lines and spots. More »

Whoops, looks like TheStreet.com pressed “go” on two new BlackBerry models early—the Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G. Nothing too outlandish if the site is to be believed, but looks like Sprint’s got dibs on the Bold. More »

What, wait? Sony’s been churning out floppy disks all these years? And 12m were sold last year in Japan alone? I guess that’s not enough though—as Sony Japan will cease selling them March 2011. [Akihabara News] More »

I regularly pull extra-hard on bus handles, quietly flexing my biceps (and triceps, if possible), sneaking in a small work-out on my way across town. Designer Junjie Zhang has dreamed up a way to generate power from doing just that. More »

As the glamor shots illustrate, fembot AILA is pretty tasty. Curvy in all the right places, big eyes not seen since Zooey Deschanel, and a modern haircut that shows she’s got an awesome music collection. Shame she has no legs. More »

If you’ve not received it yet, don’t worry—it’s speeding its way through the air, available as an update over Wi-Fi, with delicious promises of apps, games and a web browser amongst other little gifts. More »

After tinkering with movie rentals in January, YouTube’s added a bunch of movies and TV episodes you actually want to see. We’re not just talking art-house Sundance Film Festival flicks—now, you can get a bit of manga too. More »

EeePad is go, according to ASUS’ Chairman Jerry Shen, who will be showing it off this June at Computex as planned. However, a launch date has also been mentioned by the Taiwanese—an early-sounding late July. More »

Gorenje, the company that brought us the iPod-docking fridge, has created the next fridge of our dreams—carbon fiber, baby. The induction hob shown below is also the stove of our (concentric) dreams: More »

The iPad is so easy to use, a cat can play with it. So can a dog! But what about a centenarian? Virginia of Oregon bought her first computer—an iPad—and as the video shows, she’s a whizz. More »

Armed with either an iPhone or Android, hundreds of Amsterdam residents are expected to converge on Dam Square tomorrow at 2pm for the first ever augmented reality flashmob. Darth Vader, Superman and various other characters will be making super-special appearances. More »

Ok, it’s not BlackBerry’s next OS, 6.0, but it looks like it, non? The 6.0-inspired theme comes just days after leaked screenshots appeared, and includes fully-customizable icons, animated icons and a few other next-gen-like features. [Mobihand via KnowYourCell] More »

Just as Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein tells people they’re going to go it alone, and will survive just fine thankyouverymuch, we discover HTC has pulled out of the bidding race. How very convenient. Now, it’s up to Lenovo, claims Reuters. More »

From the same chap who brought us the watch with actual moon dust and parts from Apollo 11, comes the timely (sorry) Icelandic Eyjafjallajökull watch. With—you guessed it—volcanic ash. Pretty fast, considering it only erupted last week. More »