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As we get close to CES 2010 (just a week ahead), I am sure manufactures are dreading if any of their products get leaked and unfortunately this happens every year – certain lil details get its way out of the tight lipped companies. The best place to spot any rumors or leaks are online notebook forums and behold the guys from notebookreview.com were able to discover certain retailers that already posted some info about new and refreshed VAIOs.

The only new VAIO as of right now is an unannounced Y series, according to specs sport 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300  with 4GB of DDR3 memory and 320GB of storage. Sony Japan announced Y series about 3 years ago which never made it the US or Europe, so it’s like another come back we talked about T series (unless Sony is running out of letter designations). Anyways, expect also new and updated VAIO Z, CW, as well as S (not SR mind you) and F series models. All new VAIOs start with a new model prefix – VPC.

More details will be brought to you soon as CES opens its doors, so stay tuned for more exciting news about the above mentioned models, and I mean they will be quite interesting!

You gotta check this out bro, it’s a pair of sweet snow goggles with a camera built in. What a great way to record those gnarly shreds and crashes on the slopes. These come from Liquid Image, who released them before CES to try and stand out from the other announcements we’re expecting this coming week.

The camera is a 5 mega-pixel still, but it’s capable of shooting video at 720×480 and 30 FPS. It comes standard with 16MB of built in, but you can have up to 16GB using the SD expansion slot.

In addition to the ski goggles, Liquid Image has already applied this technology to swim goggles and scuba masks, so it’s not limited to just the ski crowd. Good thing since they won’t be available until this summer. Prices will start at $149.

From the press release:

The Liquid Image Summit Series is the world’s first snow goggle with an integrated digital camera. The goggle contains a wide angle lens to capture all the action while skiing, boarding, sledding or snowmobiling. The hands free unit has a 5.0 MP (2560 x 1920) camera mode and a video mode that records D1 video (720×480) at a rate up to 30 frames per second with audio.

The Summit Series Snow Camera Goggle is easy to operate. There is a button for On/Off/Mode and another button for the shutter. To record a photo or a video, simply turn on the camera, choose the mode, then press the shutter button. LED lights inside the goggle indicate the mode to the user. Large side buttons along the right side of the frame allow for greater dexterity while wearing gloves.

Liquid Image Summit Series 335 Snow Camera Goggle
The internal memory has 16 MB NAND Flash. The memory is easily expanded to record thousands of photos or hours of videos by adding a Micro SD/SDHC Card up to 16 GB. Files may be downloaded to a computer through the High Speed USB cable provided, or through a Micro SD/SDHC card.

The Camera operates on an internal rechargeable Lithium Battery. Estimated battery performance is 2200 still images or 2:20 hrs of video.

The Summit Series Snow Camera Goggle model 335 is estimated to ship late summer 2010, in time for the Winter Ski Season and for Holiday shopping. This new model follows the concept of the original Liquid Image Underwater Digital Camera Mask by creating an easier way to record photos and videos. The concept of integrating the camera into the sports equipment allows the user to travel with fewer items and to keep their hands free while performing sports activities. The integrated camera records a view similar to what is seen, allowing the user to share their experience with other people, and to enjoy their activities to a greater extent because they concentrate less on holding and operating the camera.

The Summit Series Snow Camera Goggle model number 335 has an estimated US price of $149.00. Specifications and pricing are estimated at this time.

Liquid Image Co, LLC, is a manufacturer of cameras, electronics, toys and games that target sports and outdoor activities with an emphasis on Sport Technology and POV Cameras. The corporate office is located in Sacramento, CA, with an international office located in Hong Kong.

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Filed under: Humor, Software, Odds and ends, Apple

Remember back when Apple made concept videos of their future hardware instead of people making concepts for them? I actually don’t, but that’s just because I’m a young punk — the last major official concept video I remember seeing was the old (and somewhat prescient) “You Will” commercials. But on the eve of what already seems like the year of the tablet, here’s a retro look at a 1987 video made by Apple featuring the “Knowledge Navigator,” a tablet-style computer with web access (sorry, “university network access” — the web didn’t exist yet) and personified software agents to search, field calls, and even run apps and simulations.

Good stuff — I doubt we’ll see video clips of bowtied male secretaries answering calls from the iPhone if the tablet should appear later this month, but here in this future time of 2010, it’s fun to look back and see what we thought we’d be doing now: asking favors from Jill Gilbert, taking Kathy to the airport by 2, and ignoring calls from Mom.

[Via DF]

TUAWFound Footage: Knowledge Navigator concept from 1987 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The week marches on and today being Saturday means it is time to recap the recent happenings in the world of Windows Mobile. The end of the year has seen things quiet on the Windows Mobile front, although Microsoft is looking to fill some jobs that may change that this year. Reports show several job listings for xbox and WinMo that looks to integrate the two platforms, turning Windows Mobile into a mobile gaming platform. Microsoft is looking for a program manager and some software engineers to bring Xbox Live games to Windows Mobile. Game on.

LG has released a pico projector option for the eXpo phone on AT&T running Windows Mobile. The projector add-on snaps onto the back of the eXpo to project the screen onto a flat surface. The projected image is 480×320 and can be used to watch movies or make presentations with Mobile Powerpoint. An add-on gadget like this projector makes a lot of sense for business travelers, with the ability to make a quick presentation right in the pocket.

As Q4 begins, online video is now mainstream. Read the, “Connected Consumer Q3 Wrap-up.”

There’s another Motorola “Calgary” device (also known as the Droid Devour) making the rounds, and this time it’s showing a silver paint job and an obvious Motorola Blur home screen. Word is that the trackpad to the upper right of the keyboard is great, and the keyboard supposedly bests the Droid — not a challenging feat, to be sure. Obviously it’s headed for Verizon, and Boy Genius confirms that WiFi and GPS are onboard, but it’s still a little unclear what the low-end differentiators between it and the Droid might be, outside the three megapixel camera and what appears to be a smaller, lower resolution screen.

Motorola Calgary / Droid Devour spotted in silver, Bluring it up originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Por fin una hermosa y compatible solución al problema del incremento sobre la energía eléctrica en los países. Con el avance de los vehículos eléctricos es evidente que, todo vehículo que no consuma gasolina y sí consuma electricidad estará consumiendo de la red eléctrica del país. La clave está en que si este tipo de vehículos es muy demandado, las centrales eléctricas pronto verán desbordada su capacidad de producción.

Así pues Toyota lanza una medida realmente espectacular en Japón. La marca ha anunciado que utilizará energía solar para recargar las baterías de los vehículos que se acerquen a las 21 estaciones de carga en territorio japonés que se instalarán el próximo año y que empezarán a funcionar sobre abril de 2010.

No contentos con aprovechar la energía solar para recargar los coches, cuando no se estén utilizando estarán conectadas a la red eléctrica del país y le enviarán la energía que obtengan, de tal manera que nunca el sol estará desaprovechado en estas estaciones. Con esto se consigue reducir de manera real y efectiva las emisiones de CO2, no trasladándolas a las refinerías para quemar la gasolina allí en lugar de en los motores de los coches.

Una gran noticia, pues hasta donde yo tenía entendido las estaciones solares no eran del todo eficientes técnicamente y no eran capaces de dar un rendimiento energético satisfactorio. Si Toyota planea abrir en cuatro meses 21 estaciones, es una gran noticia para la reducción de emisiones a la atmósfera.

Vía | Gizig

Hit or Miss?: The Clock is Ticking on These 5 Greentech Deadlines Companies often publicly announce a goal for a certain date — to get media attention, to gain funding or partners, or to try to set a company on a specific path — but then the reality of the landscape sets in. Time’s up […]

Radio Active, a project by industrial design student Erez Bar Am, is a wall-mounted analog radio. That’s all good and well. The frustration begins when you realize you have to rearrange it every time you want to change the station.

Radio Active consists of a main module—the blue one—and several satellite modules, three of which are attached to the central one by string. Those strings are the key to the radio’s uniquely annoying conceit: you control the Radio Active’s volume and tuning by pulling those connected pieces to different places on your wall.

Bar Am claims that the design allows the radio to double as decorative art, and I’d agree that having the Radio Active archipelago on your wall is a lot more interesting than sticking up some Salvador Dali poster. But its important to remember that it’s a radio first and art second, lest you find out your masterpiece arrangement of the modules comes with an accompanying soundtrack of 92.4 WZYX, All Death Metal All The Time at full volume.

You can watch the Radio Active being pulled ever-so-slightly into action in this clip:

It’s good to get people interacting with their gadgets in new ways, but I think I’ll stick to knobs for this one, thanks. [The Design Blog]

Mongolian People's Republic, Asia | Natural Wonders

Badain Jaran Desert is home to the tallest stationary dunes on Earth. Reaching over 1,600 feet tall, they are roughly the same size as the world’s tallest buildings. This area also shares a mysterious property with some three dozen other deserts around the world. Known as singing sands, whistling sands, or booming dunes, the dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert make a surprising amount of noise.

Singing sands are generated when the desert wind pulls the top layer of sand off layer below. It is believed that the noise is generated by electrostatic charge this action creates. On a small scale, such as a beach, this phenomenon creates a high-pitched sound, but on a much larger scale, it can emit a low-pitched rumble or booming sound, and at up to 105 decibels, it can be quite loud.

Despite singing sands and booming dunes being a feature shared by some 35 deserts and beaches around the world, the mechanism that makes the sound is still not fully understood.

Everyone rushed out to their local theaters to watch the hit Hollywood action thriller Armored this week, right? Ahem. Well even if you skipped it in the cineplex, maybe you still managed to watch it on your PlayStation 3. Joystiq reports that back on Wednesday, Sony somehow accidentally posted the movie in its entirety on the PlayStation Store for about five hours before realizing the mistake and taking it down. And what’s more, it was available for free.

Apparently all you had to do was search for “Armored” on the PlayStation Video Store, and the free movie would have popped up in the results. Don’t bother trying it now, though, as Sony has taken the film down (according to Kotaku, it was only up for about five hours). Still, it’s a pretty bizarre goof up — or maybe a deliberate ploy by some rogue programmer who really, really likes the idea of day-and-date distribution?

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While it didn’t exactly light up sales charts the way the Guitar Hero franchise has, DJ Hero either still performed well enough to earn a sequel, or it didn’t and Activision is making one anyway to get some use out of all those DJ deck controllers they made. Actual real-life DJ David Guetta was quoted recently as saying he’s lined up to work on the sequel, which last we heard will probably launch some time near the end of the year.

“I think it’s amazing, this game, and I’m going to work on the No. 2 version,” Guetta said while speaking with Kelowna.com (via Destructoid). While Guetta didn’t work on the original game proper, he did provide additional downloadable content for the title.

Previously, Activision’s Guitar Hero CEO Dan Rosensweig (yes, the franchise is so big it needs its own CEO) commented that “there will be more DJ Hero,” but this appears to be the first confirmation that work on the sequel will begin soon.

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Huinchiri, Peru | Outsider Architecture

Known as keshwa chaca, this is the only remaining example of the Incan handwoven bridges once common in the Incan road system. Made of woven grass, the bridge spans 118 feet, and hangs 220 feet above the canyon’s rushing river. The Incan women braided small thin ropes which were then braided again by the men into large support cables, much like a modern steel suspension bridge. Handwoven bridges lasted as long as 500 years and were held in very high regard by the Inca. The punishment for tampering with such a bridge was death.

Over time, however, the bridges decayed, or were removed, leaving this single testament to Incan engineering. This previously sagging bridge was repaired in 2003, christened with a traditional Incan ceremonial bridge blessing, and it is now in extremely good condition. A perfect location for all of us wishing to indulge in long-harbored Indiana Jones fantasies.