Although we highly doubt there will be a real life application of such a device any time soon as usual, the Plantbook is definitely taking a step outside the box of traditional notebook concepts and designs. Designed by Seunggi Baek & Hyerim Kim, the Plantbook is inspired from the water-soaking abilities of a bamboo plant.

This device itself looks like a bamboo stick in which the ‘screen’ can be rolled in and out, splitting into two to become a virtual keyboard and a screen. As if the whole portability factor of the Plantbook wasn’t cool enough, it charges itself using water! Much like a real plant, the Plantbook concept utilizes an external water tank and the process of electrolysis to produce electricity to charge the device. Read more…

Wall-E was awesome; in fact I almost shed tears. I swear I didn’t. Anyway, that rubbish collector Wall-E doesn’t look very adorable compared to his other love bug, the hyper-beam gun equipped Eve. Then again, someone managed to mix it up with a LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit and create a waste-collecting romantic of their own — sans the devastation of our world. The brainchild of Montreal-based creator Marc-André Bazergui, project w.5 incorporates six NXT bricks, 17 motors and over a thousand parts that let the lovelorn bot reanimate his motorized chassis back into our hearts. It’s an impressive feat you can watch below. Hopefully they didn’t crush any cockroaches with this Wall-E.

Read more…

If you think Apple is hoping to send your iPhone back to the jail with iOS 4.3.4, then you’re probably wrong. Less than 12 hours after being available, and iOS 4.3.4 is already available for jailbreak using PwnageTool 4.3.3. The iPhone Dev-Team has updated its redsn0w tool, also based on existing exploits, for all your tethered jailbreaking needs. Of course, they still recommend you stick with iOS 4.3.3 for untethered convenience, so stay far away from the update button or modify your version number if nefarious PDFs are a friend and not an enemy to you.

SOURCE via Redmondpie

F1 cars keep getting safer every year. Their carbon-fiber tubs have been strengthened to the point that they’re nearly indestructible. Helmets and the HANS neck supports they’re attached keep improving. Despite all this, there’s still one principal weak point inherent to the design of a grand prix racer: the open cockpit.

If you’ve ever sat back and wondered why F1 cars stick with open-cockpit designs when drivers are injured – or narrowly escape injury – by airborne cars (or parts thereof) striking their helmets, you’re not alone.

The FIA Institute is testing designs to potentially outfit future F1 racers with closed cockpits. The question is, what kind? Many Le Mans prototypes (like the Audi R18 and Peugeot 908) use curved polycarbonate windshields, but in its research, the FIA Institute also looked to fighter jets for their canopy designs. Follow the jump to see what they discovered.

Read more…

Hotmail’s spent the past few years playing catch up with the competition, but for the most part, it hasn’t done anything particularly groundbreaking with its services. Earth shattering might not be the appropriate descriptor for its latest addition, but Hotmail’s added a helpful new feature to distinguish plain old spam from the kind that comes form a trusted source. Now, when you get an email from a friend that smells of something sea dwelling — say a plea for some extra scratch from abroad — you can select “My friend’s been hacked!” from the “Mark as” menu, alerting the powers that be that your friend’s account has been hacked. When you mark a missive as junk, you can likewise click a box that reads: “I think this person was hacked!” Once that’s done, the spammers are kicked to the curb, and your friend is put through an “account recovery flow” the next time they attempt to log in. On the prevention front, Hotmail will soon roll out a new service that blocks users from selecting common passwords. It might not be enough to coax us over, but maybe this time the other guys could learn a few lessons.

SOURCE via Microsoft

At first HTC told Apple to eeff off and learn to compete, but it seemed like the International Trade Commission may not agree with HTC’s point of view. The ITC has just made an initial determination in the ongoing patent infringement case between HTC and Apple and it’s not looking great for HTC. The judge ruled that HTC had infringed on two of the ten patents in question, and if this ends up flushing through, it’s possible that select HTC products would be banned from ever arriving in the US.

Of course, it’s more likely, however, that a settlement would be implemented between the two at war, with HTC forking out untold quantities of greenbacks in exchange for Apple backing away from the blockade trigger. ‘Course, it’s hard to say how negatively this will impact other Android handset makers, many of which may run into the same sorts of legal hurdles. Naturally, HTC is already saying that it’ll appeal the ruling, while Cupertino’s legal team is remaining mum.

If this works out, I’m pretty sure Apple will be scouting around for another Android manufacturer to bring to court, because Apple is already fighting with Motorola over the same issue.

HTC general counsel Grace Lei stated the following: HTC will vigorously fight these two remaining patents through an appeal before the ITC Commissioners who make the final decision. We are highly confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to defend ourselves using all means possible.”

All Things D is reporting that the two patents in question are 5,946,647 and 6,343,263, the former of which is said to be “fundamental to Android.”

SOURCE via CNET

Companies snatching up domain names to protect their brand are nothing new, nor is it particularly interesting. But, a recent a pair of recent registrations by Microsoft has piqued everyone’s curiosity. The folks at Redmond picked up both Microsoft-Sony.com and Sony-Microsoft.com, which has spurred speculation that everything from a Sony-Ericsson WP7 handset to a PlayBox 720 is on its way. The move is worth noting if only because the company doesn’t own similar domains, like LG-Microsoft.com or HTC-Microsoft.com. Of course, it could be something as mundane as a joint marketing campaign for Sony laptops or nothing at all — we’ll just have to wait and see.

SOURCE via winrumors