Lotus APX concept unveiled
 The APX is a 4WD crossover with "5 2" seating. (In a refreshing bit of candor, Lotus calls the two rear seats "occasional." Other SUV and CUV manufacturers, please take note.) The APX is powered by a supercharged, front-mounted, 3-liter DOHC V6 designed by Lotus (!) and making 300 hp at 6250 rpm, good for 0-60 mph in 5.0 seconds (quicker than the Lotus Europa S). A symphony of cast, stamped and extruded aluminum, the APX weighs only 3454 lb, its light weight contributing to not only its sparkling performance, but also its impressive fuel consumption of 32 mpg. Lotus says that the APX and its powerplant are not "concepts" but "feasible prototype(s) close to production," even though they are "not a concept indicating a strategic direction of Lotus Cars."
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Asus shows modular concept PC
 Asus has unveiled a concept PC that looks nothing like anything currently on the market (though it does look a bit like the bookshelf PC from the Microsoft/ISDA design contest). Instead of a beige box, the PC is an open shelf; its innards consist of a series of modules that can be connected to the PC simply by being stacked on the shelf, where they get their power via induction and communicate with other modules wirelessly. Just Swap modules to upgrade your processor, get a new hard drive, and or a new graphics engine. Right now, this is strictly on the drawing board. Read more..!
Celtx - free TV and film production software
 Starting with the story and breaking down the elements, building a schedule and sharing the reports, Celtx is an incredibly thorough tool for TV and video (or film, or theater). It's cross platform and totally free. One of the interesting features involves a built-in web browser, enabling some great collaboration opportunities. For instance, you can update multimedia assets (like photos) in realtime, so everyone has the same pic of the location for tomorrow's shoot. In fact, Celtx is built on Mozilla's Application Framework, and it's open source. Read more..!
Poke: Cheat in any Windows game
 Poke lets you tweak numerical values in any running Windows app, the most obvious use of which, of course, is to cheat at games. It works like most "trainers," by scanning the memory that your game is using for a value you put in, such as the amount of in-game money or experience you have, and letting you change it to whatever you like. Poke's creators say it doesn't work for multiplayer games but will work for everything else. Read more..!
 Kata is the work of designer Kristin Aronnson, who has an industrial design background and infuses metal with acetate to create classic shapes in a spectrum of colors. The latest line is called Kawaii mixing woods such as American Oak, Mahogany and Wenge with acetate.
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Adrienne Vittadini Colette Python Satchel
 Adrienne Vittadini's Colette Python Satchel is embossed python with it's buckled side straps and crystal detailing, this is a bag for a night out. It may be a bit too much as a day bag. The interior features multiple pockets to organize your belongings. Price: $278. Read more..!
Thomas Pink iPod tie keeps your nano on your neck
 The Commuter Tie from Thomas Pink has a hidden pocket on the back that's the perfect size for an iPod nano, and includes an extra loop to keep headphone wires from getting tangled. Expect to spend $95. Read more..!
 Hotkeys allows the user to setup specific key combinations to launch applications, switch between open instances of a running application, control volume (via an add-on) and even remap your Caps Lock key to be a Windows key. But where Hotkeys shines is in how it is configured; setting up a new hotkey is a matter of displaying the on-screen keyboard, and dragging and dropping a shortcut to the key you would like to use to launch it.
One of the reasons most people don't bother to learn hotkeys is that they simply can't remember them long enough to stick into their long-term memory. Hotkeys helps you out with this by simply showing the on-screen keyboard with icons representing each configured hotkey when the user holds down the Windows key for more than 3 seconds. In practice what this means is that when you know the key combination you need, Hotkeys stays out of your way and is very fast. But when you realize you can't remember the key combination, by the time you've decided you need to look for another way to launch the application, the on-screen keyboard has popped up showing you what you needed to know.
Hotkeys is a product of qliner software, and Hotkeys is an open-source project. Read more..!
 MindGuard, providing over 10 years of anti-mind-control powers, now has a Linux version, for the tinfoil hat crowd. Be sure to check out the endorsements, the FAQ, and the reason why there's no Windows version... For added fun, print a brochure for MindGuard and place it strategically around the PC's at Best Buy. Then sit back and watch the hilarity. Read more..!
TopDesk - Vista Program Switching in XP
 TopDesk has added a mode that allows you to flip through open windows in much the same way that Windows Vista's new Windows-Tab key combination offers. It's definitely very cool to look at, and Otaku Software has done a good job of making the application very fast, considering XP is not geared in a native way to provide a 3D view of open windows. The classic TopDesk views are also worth a look, providing Expose-style overviews of all open windows. TopDesk is a commercial program, and a license costs $9.95 USD, however it has a very generous 30 day trial period. Read more..!
Official Mac dashboard widgets from Google
 Google is finally paying a little attention to its Mac-using fans and has released a trio of widgets for the OS X dashboard. The first lets you post quickly to your Blogger blog, the second shows you your Gmail inbox, and the third shows your Google Search History. Read more..!
Indie games finalists playable now
 The Independent Games Festival finalists encompass a wide range of genres, ranging from MMO Dofus to simulation Wildlife Tycoon and perennial favourite Darwinia. Demos of all the finalists are available for download, and you can vote in the Audience's Award for your chosen game. According to Gamasutra, this is the first time many of these games have been available for download. These demo offerings provide a good way to experience the range of creativity they offer. Read more..!
Acer MP-500 touchscreen portable media player
 Acer is on the verge of releasing its MP-500 media player, and the specs include a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, 20-40GB hard drive, support for most common audio and video formats, video out and a battery life of 4-8 hours. It's expected out in Europe next month at a price of between $350 and $415. Read more..!
Pentax to unveil new 10 megapixel DSLR
 Pentax is rollin' with two under-glass products still in development: a nameless 10 megapixel digital SLR shooter and the first US appearance of the long overdue 18 megapixel medium format DSLR, Pentax 645 (pictured) -- first presented back in May. Pentax plans to release it onto the mean streets in Autumn. Read more..!
Infinium blows through $63MIL., Phantom still vaporware
 Gamespot reports that a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Infinium Labs, makers of the Phantom Game Console, have blown through nearly $63 million dollars, with only $3.5 million going to development costs. Half has been spent on advertising (advertising what?) and the other significant expense was... consultants. In order to recoup their losses, the company reiterated their intention to (further) delay their Phantom Game Service and concentrate on selling the lapboard peripheral. They are also having trouble paying their $25K/month Seattle rent, so if any readers in the Seattle area have an extra bedroom, or a converted garage, help 'em out. Read more..!
Enzyme computers could live inside us, dispense drugs
 Israeli researchers have just announced the successful completion of a molecular computer, which uses enzymatic chemical reactions to perform the necessary logic computations. Itamar Willner and his team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem built the computer using glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzymes, with hydrogen peroxide and glucose molecules representing input values. The presence or absence of these two chemicals correspond to binary 1s and 0s, allowing the computer to perform AND and XOR operations which are determined optically by a camera. Although enzyme computers will always be inherently slow, Willner envisions his invention being used one day to precisely calculate and distribute doses of medicine from inside a patient's body. Read more..!
Games for Women, Games by Women
 The "Games for Women, Games by Women" half-day event took place last weekend in San Francisco, and Cool Hunting reports on the outcome. The event focused on the games currently played by women and those which appeal to women. The characteristics of female-friendly games include: easy to learn but hard to excel at; easy to pick up (i.e. can be played interstitially); mentally rewarding. Casual games fit all these criteria, and non-casual games are fulfilling more and more of them (for example, Animal Crossing Wild World and World of Warcraft). Read more..!
HyMotion's PHEV battery lets you plug in your hybrid
 HyMotion's new PHEV(Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle), adds an extra battery to your hybrid that can be charged from a regular wall outlet. Once you run out of juice on this lil-ion secondary battery, you can resume normal operation, but for local travel you might be able to get by on mostly battery power, leaving that gas pump nearly a thing of the past. The system, which works with the Ford Escape and Toyota Prius, is currently $9500, but only available to Government and fleet owners. HyMotion is hoping to have the price down to $5000 when the kit becomes available to the public in 12 months. Read more..!
LOTR Online playable classes updated
 Turbine has updated the playable character class descriptions at the Lord of the Rings Online web site. In addition to the new Lore-master class, you can read up on the Champion, Guardian, Captain, Minstrel, Hunter, and Burglar classes, as well as participate in discussion forums for each. If you want to control Ring Wraiths and Orcs, you'll have to pick up EA's newly discounted Battle for Middle Earth, costing around $20. Read more..!
New pro 21 and 24-inch LCDs from EIZO
 EIZO has just added two new "Creator Edition" displays to their their line of LCDs targeted at graphics pros. The widescreen ColorEdge CE210W and CE250W displays sport 21-inch and 24-inch sizes respectively, along with 1000:1 contrast ratios and 8ms response times. In the 21-inch you can score 1680x1050 pixels, while the 24-inch version brings 1920x1200, and both displays include a USB hub and 5 year warranty. They're slated to ship in mid-March, no word on price yet. Read more..!
GE develops non-stick plastic
 The good folks at GE have modified the inexpensive plastic "Lexan" to make it more slippery than a "freshly waxed car." While GE has not set out to make consumables yet, it's easy to imagine practical uses in sticky sweet food containers, ever-clean building materials, and in medical applications where tiny volumes of bodily fluids must be whisked away through micrometer-scale channels. Read more..!
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-Lytir1
