Google launches Chrome 11 With Fat Icon

Firefox 4? Too furry. Internet Explorer 9? Too blue. Google's Chrome? Just the right amount of shine -- or is it? The company introduced a flat new logo for the browser and now that logo is gracing the software's latest stable release. Chrome 11 is now available, the biggest changes being a number of security and bug fixes, some of which "may be kept private until a majority of our users are up to date with the fix." The new version also delivers speech-to-text and, perhaps more importantly, text-to-speech. 

 

 

Depleted Uranium Could Be Used to Create MASSIVE Hard Drives

Uranium that's been depleted isn't necessarily waste, according to researchers at Nottingham University. They think—besides making ammo and tank armor—it could be used as the basis for future hard drives thousands of times larger than current ones.

You see a molecule comprised of two Uranium atoms has magnetic properties at low temperatures, making the element ideal for a super dense hard drive. Referred to as a single-molecule magnet, this possible application for Uranium wouldn't pose any safety threats because any radioactive properties would be absent. All of this is still in the infant stages of the research project, but imagine being able to store the capacity of today's data center in a single desktop drive. Awesome, right?

 

 

iPhone Turntable Concept Brings Dropped Calls to Your Record Collection

Any audiophile worth their weight in 180 gram vinyl will gladly tell you that nothing sounds quite as good as a record. Unfortunately, the format has a few major drawbacks, like a lack of portability and the fact that it really sucks at making phone calls. The iPhone, on the other hand, is light years ahead of those fronts -- well, one of out two ain't bad. This new concept from designer Olivier Meynard offers the best of both worlds, embedding a horizontal iPhone dock next to a wheel of steel, so you can play back your favorite LP through the built-in speakers and encode those tracks as MP3s, which are uploaded to your handset as it charges. Finally, a way to turn your long out of print prog rock albums into ringtones, as they were meant to be heard.

Free Android Apps Outnumber Free iPhone Apps

Good news for Android users who hate paying for stuff: according to new numbers from Netherlands-based mobile analytics group Distimo, there are now more free apps available for Google's mobile OS than the iPhone, at 134,342 to 121,845. There are a few things to consider here: first, when one adds free iPad-only apps, the total number of gratis iOS apps increases to a more competitive 132,239. 

And then there's Apple's sometimes rigorous vetting process, which has probably played a role in its numeric slippage -- after all, this report doesn't highlight things like legality, repetition, or the overall number of apps dedicated to making farting noises. Also, Apple has a lot more premium apps, giving it the overall lead at 333,124 to 206,143 -- but between Android's rapid growth and what the report terms iOS's relative stagnation, Distimo expects Google to take the top spot in five months' time, outnumbering iPhone and iPad apps combined -- a rough scenario for Cupertino to stomach, no doubt, but at least the company will still have Windows Phone to kick around a while longer.

 

 

Microsoft Announces Record Q3 Earnings: $16.43 Billion Revenue, $5.23 Billion net Income

Well, it looks like the record quarters from tech companies just keep on coming -- this time it's Microsoft, which just reported $16.43 billion in revenue in its third-quarter results, a jump of 13 percent from the previous year, and well ahead of analysts' expectations. Net income clocked in at $5.23 billion, a whopping 31 percent increase from the previous year, with Microsoft citing strong sales of Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect as key driving factors. The company also reiterated that it's sold a staggering 350 million Windows 7 licenses so far, and said that its Entertainment & Devices Division has grown a full 60 percent year-over-year -- again, largely fueled by those record-setting sales of Kinect and continued strong sales of Xbox 360 consoles and Xbox Live.

As for Windows Phone, Microsoft unfortunately isn't providing much in the way of specifics -- on its earnings call, it only went as far as to say that "product reviews are good" and "customer satisfaction is high," and that developer interest has increased following its announcement of the Nokia partnership. It was unsurprisingly a bit more eager to divulge specifics for its gaming business, though, and revealed that it sold 2.4 million Kinect sensors in Q3, along with 2.7 million Xbox 360 consoles -- the latter of which is a new third quarter record for the company.

 

 

MSI Gets a SteelSeries Keyboard, Builds The GX780 Gaming Notebook

The worst part about buying a fancy new gaming keyboard? It's hard to show the thing off if it never leaves your basement apartment. MSI's newly announced GX780 notebook combines a colorful backlit 102-key SteelSeries-designed keyboard with the (relative) portability of an 8.6 pound gaming laptop. The keyboard features 1,000 different color combinations, five lighting modes, 10 key simultaneous input, and a layout the company calls "The Golden Triangle" -- trademark pending, we're sure. The 17.3 inch notebook has some solid non-keyboard specs as well, including GeForce GT555M graphics, a second gen Intel Core i7 processor, and an impressive maximum 16GB of DDR3. No word on pricing or availability, but hopefully the MSRP isn't as colorful as that keyboard.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S II Begins Quest for 120 Country Domination

Samsung is holding a media day event in South Korea to celebrate the domestic launch of its smokin' fast Galaxy S II. Thedual-core 1.2GHz Gingerbread handset with 4.27-inch 800 x 480 pixel Super AMOLED Plus display,TouchWiz 4.0 UI, MHL port, and 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video is already on limited sale in the UK on its way to a 120 country / 140 carrier invasion.

 

 

Google Docs Gets an Android App, Lets You Capture Text With Your Phone's Camera

Google's had a mobile-friendly version of Google Docs available for some time now, but it's now finally gone the extra step and released a dedicated Android app. That will of course let you access and edit your documents on your smartphone, but the real standout feature is the ability to capture text with your phone's camera and have it instantly made editable thanks to some optical character recognition. 

Google notes that won't work with handwriting or some fonts, but it promises it will get better over time. Hit up Android Market to try it out for yourself.

White iPhone 4 Releases Tomorrow, Finally

The rare albino iPhone 4 has been spotted numerous times in the wild, skulking through the trees in the magical United Kingdom, cavorting across the mysterious lands of Vietnam, and most recently standing in formation in Belgium. Now it's coming somewhere rather less exotic: the Apple Store. Apple has finally announced it will release the white iPhone 4 tomorrow around the world. 

Here in the US it'll come in both AT&T and Verizon flavors, warming the hearts and minds of those who like a little less pigment on their handsets. Other than a proximity sensor tweak nothing else has changed on the device, and so the pricing remains the same: $199 on contract for the 16GB model, $299 for 32GB. 

 

 

MySpace Will be Sold

After buying MySpace for $580 million five years ago, News Corporation will sell the dying social network at a steep discount, with bids due this week. But don't even think about bidding below $100 million. MySpace has its dignity!

One of MySpace's potential buyers, which include a Chinese internet portal and various private equity firms, told the Wall Street Journal that News Corp. has set a $100 million floor on bids for MySpace. Because apparently News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch will gladly take a $480 million bath on the value of MySpace, but they absolutely refuse to take a $481 million bath. OK!

In fairness, News Corp. probably did fine on MySpace when you factor in the $900 million in MySpace advertising it sold to Google five years ago. Did fine, that is, unless News Corp. somehow manages to blow even more of that money trying to keep MySpace alive on its own books.

A Chair With Better Speakers Than Your Pimped-Out Sound System

Anyone who's toured their local modern art museum has seen a fair share of odd-looking furniture. And the Subsonic Chair would fit right in.

It doesn't look like something I'd want to sit in. But what this chair lacks in comfort is made up for in power. The Subsonic uses 1,000 watts to run its two 16-inch subwoofers, two 4-inch mid-range speakers, and two high-frequency tweeters. John Greg Ball, the chair's designer, originally conceptualized the idea in 2005, but has since gone ahead and created this prototype. Ball said he wanted "this to be an extremely loud object... I want the sound to be just like thunder." On second thought, a museum is probably the last place you want a chair that makes your ears bleed.

 

 

Netgear's N750 Wireless Router Newspeaks its Way to 750Mbps

Believe it or not, blazing-fast WiFi routers don't have to look like anti-aircraft weapons. The new flagship device from Netgear, the N750, keeps its array of antennae stashed out of sight. Even without a gaudy design, this dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n router can hit speeds of 450Mbps over the 5GHz band and 300Mbps at 2.4Ghz, for an "aggregate combined data rate" of 750Mbps. 

Don't get too excited though, all that means is you can connect one device in either band without dragging down the transfer rate of the other -- you're still bound by the 450Mbps speed limit. The N750 also includes a ReadySHARE USB port for network storage, parental controls, and guest access -- not bad for $150, eh?

 

 

Shock! Microsoft’s BSOD Will Actually be a Black Screen of Death in Windows 8

Microsoft's Blue Screen of Death has been simultaneously worrying and pissing people off since Windows 1.0. No doubt trying to add a bit of sexy glamour to an otherwise frustrating experience, Microsoft's next OS looks to include a black screen.

The change in colors (well, color to an absence of color) was dug up in an early build of Windows 8. It's possible Microsoft could have a change in heart and decide not to paint everything in black—after all, early copies of Windows 98 and Vista showed a Red Screen of Death. It's just as well they defaulted back to the BSOD—I would've had a heart attack seeing a blood-red RSOD flashing up.

 

 

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Now on Sale

Yearning for some diversity in your hunt for a Honeycomb tablet? Acer's new Iconia Tab A500 doesn't really stray from the Tegra 2 norm when it comes to internal specs, but it does have that brushed aluminum back, a full-sized USB 2.0 port, and a sane $450 price point going for it. You'll get 16GB of storage and 802.11b/g/n WiFi connectivity for your money.

 

 

FDA Gives Robots Permission to Sew Hair On Your Scalp

Balding sucks. But will you trust the machines to repair your scalp? The FDA does, which is why they approved this piece of robotery to perform hair transplants. It's name is ARTAS, and it lives in your dermatologist's office.

If you have straight hair that's brown or black and you want more if it, you can sit in ARTAS' lap, at which point it will massage your scalp (along with a few "dermal punches" thrown in for good measure). A year later, you'll have a scalp full of healthy hair, or so the story goes. 

 

 

HTC Sensation 4G Launching on June 8th, Because Google AdWords Says So

The dual-core Sensation 4G will be showing up in the states "beginning this summer," though HTC and T-Mobile have been mum on an actual date. If you look up said phone on Google, you should see a cheeky Adwords ad mentioning a "6/8" date in the link. Of course, anything could change between now and June, but this preliminary date is certainly a good sign for all HTC Gingerbread anticipators -- or, you know, you could just get the leaked ROM right now.

 

 

Beats by Dr Dre Get a Chrome Paintjob and $1,000 Price Tag

Love 'em or hate 'em, plenty of people seem to have a pair of Beats by Dr Dre headphones. Mind you, plenty of people watch reality TV shows. And eat MaccyDs. I do think these special limited-edition chrome ones look great though, but at $1,000 each you've got to be a special kind of deranged to cough up for one of the 50 pairs.

 

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Shows Up Online, Looks Freakishly Thin

ThinkPad aficionados mourning the loss of the X300 series of ultraportable laptops might have something mighty fine to look forward to in the near future. A ThinkPad X1 has shown up at Swiss e-tailer Tell IT systems and other online locations, replete with a 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M CPU, a 160GB SSD, a 13.3-inch Gorilla Glass screen, and as you can see above, a profile thin enough to rival the likes of the Samsung Series 9 and Apple MacBook Air. 

The X1 is said to be 21.5mm thick, so it doesn't quite match those crazy cats, but -- provided we're not looking at an extremely elaborate hoax here -- it'll still be the thinnest ThinkPad by far when it launches. One 8GB stick of RAM, an SDXC card reader, and a 1366 x 768 resolution, while a price of 2,585 CHF ($2,920) sits alongside a promised delivery date of May 20th on Tell IT's website.

 

 

Sony Ericsson Saps Walkman Logo on X8, Renames it W8

Take one Xperia X8, add a dash of color, paint a "W" on it and, voilà, you have the first Walkman phone running Android -- the W8. Not it on the US Sony Ericsson site yet, but a quick visit to the company's German page reveals the decidedly low-end specs: a 3-inch, 320 x 480 touchscreen, a 600MHz processor, 168MB of RAM and Android 2.1. The W8 may not recapture the luster the Walkman brand enjoyed in its TPS-L2 heyday, but at least it'll update your Twitter status. 

 

 

Fujitsu LifeBook Replace Optical Drives With Projectors

Optical disc drives may be passé nowadays, but the enclosures usually reserved for them in laptops need not go to waste. Fujitsu has just rolled out its latest line of portables and a pair of them pack a pretty awesome new extra: an integrated pico projector. The 13.3-inch LifeBook S761/C and 12.1-inch P771/C both fill their ODD slots with a small visualizer, and while the specs of its actual output aren't clear, the two machines have been fully specced and priced. 

The S761/C can offer you a Core i5-2520M CPU, a (presumably upgradeable) 1GB of RAM, 160GB of storage, and a 1366 x 768 resolution for a price of ¥219,450 ($2,675). Moving down in size class but up in price, the P771/C matches those specs, but for a squarer 1280 x 800 resolution, and asks for ¥255,150 ($3,110). Both will be available in Japan in mid-May, which is also when Fujitsu will release its LifeBook E741/C, whose claim to fame is the ability to authe 

 nticate users by reading the veins in their palms.