Millenniata has successfully developed the M-Disc, which is known as the first ever permanent file backup disc that lasts forever. Designed for businesses, scrapbookers, photographers, archivists, genealogists, or anyone who want to protect their data and afraid to loss the data forever, the M-Disc provides long-lasting storage by literally etching data into a rock-like material. It will not degrade over time and is usable on a daily basis. The current version reads like a single-layer DVD-R with 4.7GB of storage space. According to the company, they are currently working on a Blu-ray version of M-Disc that will be announced later. The Millenniata M-Disc will be available in October 2011. The M-Disc is priced at $2.99 a pop. The M-Disc 5-pack retails for $13.89, while the M-Disc 10-pack is priced at $26.59.

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The company today announced a new WYSIWYG HTML5 authoring tool code-named Muse, which is reminiscent of the first Dreamweaver beta released in 1997. It is not what I would call an extremely comprehensive authoring tool, but it shows the way how basic and mainstream HTML5 authoring software could look like (or how Dreamweaver could be extended). Much like the early version of Dreamweaver, Muse appears to be much more a proof of concept than a finished product.

Targeted at designers, Muse has the look and feel of Adobe’s graphic design products and does not scare those without HTML5 programming language away. Each Muse project begins with a new site (there is support for subpages) and leads the designer through planning, designing, previewing and publishing phases. There are several automated interactive functions such as tabbed boxes, slideshows, or menus. A finished product can be saved as a muse file, published via a Business catalyst account or exported to HTML, which will include all stylesheets and scripts.

Adobe says that Muse is designed to enable designers to create web pages as easily as create InDesign layouts. This first version is intuitive and is easy to use – but there need to be many more features as well as customization options to reflect the breadth of HTML5.

SOURCE via Adobe

The latest twist from the Firefox maker: hide the version numbers of the browser.

Product manager Asa Dotzler argues that there is no need for a version number anymore. What counts is the fact that a user knows when the browser checked for an update and that the browser is up to date. No need to confuse him with any additional information.

I can’t say that I agree with Dotzler and would say that dropping the version number from the About window would confuse Firefox users, especially during a rapid release cycle. So, if you are waiting for a certain feature that is supposed to arrive in a certain version how would you know that your browser is already supporting it – since those automated updates don’t always become available right away for everybody? Dotzler says you can simply consult the hidden about:support window, but I find this to be rather silly. Especially developers and IT manager need to know the version number and making it more difficult for them to find the version numbers is an unnecessary move.

There was no information which version of Firefox will be dropping the version number first.

QR codes may be turning up in more places than ever these days, but are people actually using them? According to market research firm Comscore, at least some of them are — 14 million in June in the US alone, to be specific, or about 6.2 percent of all smartphone users. As for who makes up that slice of the smartphone market, Comscore says that just over 60 percent are male, 53 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34, and 36 percent have a household income of $100k or more. Folks are also apparently more likely to scan QR codes at home than at a retail store, and magazines and newspapers edge out websites or product packaging when it comes to the top source of the QR code being scanned. So, not exactly an explosion in use, but still fairly impressive for a weird-looking barcode that was rarely seen outside of Japan until a few years ago.

SOURCE via ComScore

What do you first think of when someone mentions BMW? To me, it’s their M Power performance lineup cars. Though its product range these days is restricted to automobiles and motorcycles, BMW is no stranger to aviation. After all, that’s how it got its start. But that was a long time ago.

More recently, however, the Bavarian automaker’s design consultancy division has gotten its parent company back into the air, styling the cabins on Embraer and Falcon business jets. So what’s the next step? Well, we might not have seen it coming, but the answer is the aviation headset you see here.

DesignWorksUSA designed the S1 headset for Sennheiser, placing an emphasis on safety and quality of sound. Pilots can easily adjust the fit, the ear cushions are designed to accommodate sunglasses (Top Gun-style mirrored aviators or otherwise), it packs active noise cancellation and Bluetooth connectivity, and the whole thing is controlled with an LED interface.

All in all a slick unit with details that pilots will undoubtedly appreciate. And if the performance from BMW’s own M cars gets any more astronomic, drivers just might come to appreciate them as well.

Over the past half-century, James Bond has driven a wide variety of vehicles. (Okay, so most of them have been Aston Martins. The point is there have been a lot of them.) And while the occasional former Bond vehicle may pop up at auction every now and then, seeing more than one or two in the same place is a rare occasion indeed.

Next year, however, the Bond franchise is turning 50, and to celebrate, a number of parties are teaming up to put together the largest display of Bond cars ever. The exhibition will take place at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England, and is being orchestrated with help from Empire (the world’s foremost movie magazine) and EON Productions (which puts together every Bond movie ever filmed).

The display will be part of the Big Screen exhibition there, which already includes the Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace, the DB5 from Goldeneye, the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day, and the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom lll from Goldfinger. All told, some 50 cars from various Bond movies will be on display from January through December 2012.