Super-Thin Waterproof Speakers Are Swimming Their Way To Cellphones

As you can tell from the picture, these speakers are dead skinny. 0.9mm thick, to be exact, making them perfectly-sized for cellphones, cameras and other portable gadgets which may require all the parts to be waterproofed.

Murata, based in Kyoto, Japan, created what they're calling the world's first "ultra-thin waterproof piezoelectric speaker," which is said to be cheaper than the usual waterproof speakers found in Japan, thanks to the way the output holes have been waterproofed. Normally speakers are covered with waterproof "sheets," which cover the output holes—understandably reducing the sound quality, but also proving costly to create. Murata gets around that problem by getting rid of the waterproof sheeting altogether, instead redesigning the speaker holes entirely.

Waterproof phones are pretty popular in Japan we hear, with Murata claiming that around one in four phones released in Japan last year were actually immune to moisture. They're on sale to manufacturers now, at around 250 Yen ($2.70) per unit.

Folding Laptop Concept Offers Full-Sized Keyboard

A niche concept for those who really miss their full-sized keyboards when using a netbook, designer Yang Yongchang has cooked up this folding laptop idea with top-notch spec.

I would've liked to have seen the right-hand side fold out to a large touchpad or even soft mousepad for a little Bluetooth mouse, but could be kept happy with this sturdy-yet-dinky design. Perhaps the designer could even offer bespoke keyboard arrangements, with extra space dedicated to a numeric keypad, or accented letters?

Devon Tread 1 Watch Keeps Your Wrist Busy At All Times

Devon claims that their $15,000 Tread 1 watch, a motorized, belt-driven contraption, is "a big, bold sexy declaration of independence from the status quo." The status quo, in this case, being affordable, legible, sensible timepieces. But all those belts.

If your sense of what defines a good watch is how many moving parts it has, and, better still, how many of those moving parts you can see at any given time, then the Devon Timepieces Tread 1 would be right at home on your wrist.

All of the numbers are on independent belts, carefully interwoven, as the company says, to give "the illusion that the parts are floating." Floating there on your honking $15,000 watch, that is. The belts are driven by four tiny motors, all of which are coordinated by an on board microprocessor. Just for good measure, the window is made of a bulletproof polycarbonate.

Facebook's Privacy Changes Get Scary

Facebook's long had some privacy issues, and now that they're broadening their reach on the web, who knows what'll happen next? Oh, right. We do:

2007 - Facebook Beacon links your purchases at online stores to your Facebook account so your friends (and marketers) can see what you're buying.

2010 - Facebook makes it impossible for you to hide certain information, such as your interests and location, from everybody.

2011 - Facebook History Tracker makes your web surfing history publicly viewable on your feed (and to marketers). After a brief uproar, Facebook enables an "incognito mode" for when you want to look at porn, but it's buried deep within the settings and automatically shuts off after each session.

2012 - Facebook Life Recorder is a small camera apparatus that's worn on your head, automatically tagging the friends you interact with via facial recognition and posting to your wall. Information such as where you shop and what you buy is put into a database (for marketers).

2014 - Facebook Implant combines a chemical scanner with a GPS chip. Everything you eat and everywhere you go are automatically posted to your News Feed in minute detail. This setting can be deactivated through outpatient surgery.

2015 - Facebook Guy Who Moves Into Your House With You and Is Always On the Phone With Potential Advertisers Telling Them What You're Doing meets initial resistance, but once the site starts publicizing its "Watcher Marriages"—instances where a follower and followee have fallen in love—public opposition melts away.

2016 - Mark Zuckerberg is elected president in the first election that allows voting via Liking candidates on Facebook.

2017 - Facebook User Relocation to Facebook's Headquarters ensures Facebook's ability to track every single thing you do to post to your Feed. Considered necessary after "Watcher Marriages" resulted in too many compromised Facebook Guys Who Move Into Your House With You.

2018 - Facebook Pods provide remote 24 hour contact with Facebook, as well as all bodily needs, including food delivery and waste removal (which is then provided to marketers for analysis).

2020 - Facebook Genital Pictures takes pictures of everyone's junk, which was real easy what with everyone in those Pods. Finally, Facebook fulfills its ultimate destiny: showing you (and marketers) everyone you've ever met with no clothes on.

Sony's BDP-S770 Player Takes Blu-Ray Into the Third Dimension

Remember when you thought your new Sony Blu-ray player was the bees' knees? Well now Sony has a 3D Blu-ray player (and accompanying 5.1 channel speaker system). Don't worry, though, there's a 3D firmware upgrade for your old BDP.

Sony's Blu-ray 3D BDP-S770 will have built-in 802.11n  for $300. It will play beautiful Blu-ray movies in 3D. What else do you need to know?

Sony's older Blu-ray players, the BDP-S470 and BDP-S570 , aren't being left in the dust, though—they'll be able to play Blu-ray 3D with a free online firmware update (and get DLNA compatibility for the trouble).

And if you want the full Sony Blu-ray 3D experience, the $800 BDV-HZ970W package comes with the pretty-lookin' 5.1 channel surround sound system seen in the top image.

All this 3D Blu-ray is very cutting edge, so it's only right that you'll be able to control it all from your iPhone or iPod Touch with Sony's BD Remote app, which is slated to come to Android soon. All of this gear will be available next month to make sure your basement set-up displays Avatar more impressively than any of your neighbors.

A Nerdy Wedding Ring (Full Of Memories)

Ray Arifianto, who works on the Xbox Platform team at Microsoft, is getting married. He's got the nerdiest wedding ring to prove it.

While his blushing bride is not a gamer or a nerd for that matter, she is totally cool with the idea of getting hitched with one. "So cool," Ray writes, "that she ordered a custom made ring for me."

That's right, Ray's bride ordered him a USB-drive styled ring. The best part? The engraving. "For a lifetime of memories".  Memories? Memory? USB?

Logitech Z506 Surround Sound Speaker System Is Only $99

If you're in the market for a 5.1 sound system, the Logitech Z506 sounds like it could be a decent deal at only $99. There aren't too many details aside from the price though:

We know that you'll get 75W RMS power, two 8W front and two 8W rear speakers, a 16W center speaker, and a 27W subwoofer. We also know that the system should be available in August. That's it. But hey, it's cheap.

Pinhole Camera the Size Of A Thumbnail Actually Takes Photos

The creator of this tiny camera made two mistakes. One: it's styled like a Lomography Fisheye camera, but can't shoot fisheye photos. Two: they're NOT FOR SALE yet. I demand ten.

According to creator Francesco Capponi, this little toy-like cam is a working, snappingpinhole camera, capable of taking photos. Ok, so it's hardly going to give Lomography a run for its money, but the small size is mind-blowing.

The New and Improved iPod Nano Watch

The first iPod Nano watch, designed for Apple's new watch-sized iPod Nano, was basically just a nylon strap. Pretty unimaginative. These new funky-color silicone bands from Hex actually make Apple's diminutive iPod look like a not-entirely-ridiculous timepiece.

The $24.95 Hex band has a pop-in design which incorporates the Nano into the watch (as opposed to just sticking it on a band, like the first one did). It has integrated control buttons and comes in 9 colors.

HydroFILL Squeezes Electricity Out of Your Tap Water

Fuel cell outfitter Horizon is now offering a personal hydrogen power plant for use with its MiniPAK and HydroSTIK products. Although it isn't cheap, the system will (cleanly!) charge all of your small devices using the same water you drink.

The HydroFILL allows users to generate their own hydrogen and recharge the company's proprietary HydroSTIK miniature hydrogen tanks themselves, rather than having to spring for new ones when expended. Those two components, combined with the HydroPAK charging dock, will allow you to use essentially water to charge a variety of devices and peripherals. No more phone wall chargers, ever!

Still, for the time being this technology won't enter your home cheaply, with the HydroFILL tank priced at $499.99 (plus an optional $649.99 solar panel if you want to go truly off the grid). But each HydroSTIK packs the juice of 1,000 AA batteries, so hardcore chargers should be able to earn that back. Plus, next time someone is over at your place and needs to charge their phone, you can say, "Oh, one sec, let me see if my personal power plant is done generating hydrogen."

Freecom CLS External Drives an Homage to Obsolete Storage

Freecom's CLS external hard drive series take an aesthetic page from cassettes and floppies of our already distant memory. Each 2.5" drive is minimal, durable, and can be hand-labeled for quick reference to its contents.

The German-made, Belgian-designed drives can also be docked three at a time, via a single USB connection, allowing you to consolidate space and admire the retro look. Why do things look cooler when they're vertical?

If the Zip Jams Up On These ZipBuds Earbuds, You're Screwed

There's no doubt that these ZipBuds won't be giving your Sennheisers a run for their money, but do your $200 pair of buds zip up all the way to your chin like a jacket? I don't think so.

The manufacturer behind them, Digital Audio Group, says they'll be going on sale November 9th, for a mystery price.

Bear Grylls Survival Knife Bear Grylls Survival Knife

British outdoorsman Bear Grylls had a fancy knife before, but it was really, really expensive. What if you didn't want to spend $700 to stab something? A solution presents itself. A $60 consumer-grade survival knife.

The knife has a serrated blade, a rubber grip, a stainless steel pommel (for hammering or knife-whipping someone), and an emergency whistle. The sheath has a fire starter, "land to air rescue instructions" and a diamond sharpener. There's a pocket guide on survival in case that land to air rescue doesn't work out.

It's also very useful that the Gerber Bear Grylls knife has his signature on it—this way when you stab an actual bear in a fight, it'll be like some sort of namesake-killing-synergy situation. I'm not sure what happens, exactly, but you'll probably still poop your pants.

The Only 9mm Bullet You Want Ripping Through Your Skull

Munitio SITi bullet headphones are machined from a solid piece of high density copper to look like bullets.

The $160 bullet headphones have 9mm neodymium drivers. Instead of using gold—like its more expensive predecesor—these are coated in Titanium, silver- or golden-colored for a perfect gangsta look.

A Revolution In Mobile Cup Holder Technology

Version 1.0: Carrying a bunch of drinks around with your hands. Version 2.0: Those shallow egg carton trays that always make you think your drinks are about to tip over. Version 3.0: This magnificent beverage buggy.

Where can I sign up to be a beta tester?

What Do the Neighbors Think of This Glass-Walled House?

Bilzen is a small, quiet city near the eastern border of Belgium. Its streets are lined with 17th and 18th Century buildings and modest homes. And then there's Bassam El-Okeily's glass-fronted Narrow House. Don't forget to wear your robe.

The three-story Narrow House, a collaboration between Brussels-based architect Bassam El-Okeily and Karla Menten, has a glass facade behind which there are two balconies lit with various colors. It makes the people standing there at night look pretty creepy.

But the inside's a different story; white and sparse and surprisingly huge, it's missing chunks of wall and ceiling which allow the little sunlight that makes it past the solid balconies to fill the entire space. The second floor is a living space; the third is an artist's studio.

The McRib Is Now Available at Every Single McDonald's

Like cicadas or Fleetwood Mac reunion tours, the McRib only comes around once or twice in a generation. Starting today, and for the next six weeks, every McDonald's location in the US will carry the mythical manwich. Hallelujah.

The last time we had a McRibbing of this scale was all the way back in 1994. Since then, the pork(ish) patty has broken cover only occasionally, and at limited locations. Devotees were forced to turn to makeshift solutions like the McRib Locator to track them down. No longer.

Time to put away that Double Down, friends. Go forth into the world and McRib.

The World's Largest Magnet is Being Built in India

If your microwave suddenly whizzes out your house and down the road, you'll know India's successfully built the world's largest magnet. The 50,000 tons of magnetised iron will be housed underground, making CERN's 37,500-ton magnet shrink in shame.

Why does India need such a large magnet? It's for their neutrino observatory, which must be built underground so cosmic rays and other radiation don't interfere with the 30,000 detectors located there.

This particular observatory, dubbed INO (Indian Neutrino Observatory) will see neutrinos interacting with the iron to eject charged particles, that will be recorded by the various detectors and provide insight into the astronomy world. Only two sources have been located so far by other observatories (the sun and supernova SN1987A) but the INO is hopeful it will find others—otherwise they wouldn't have coughed up a budget of $250 million for the project.

No Longer Shall Bloggers Sit Cross-Legged in the Field

Thanko's laptop bag/desk hybrid should be very popular with photographers and bloggers. Not only does the bag come with extendable legs, but two fans are located inside for cooling laptops down—plus a cupholder's added too, for good measure.

If there's one thing I wish Thanko had added, it's an external battery for laptops. Though I suppose if MacBook owners hurried they could grab one of HyperMac's external batteriesbefore they're legally obligated to cease selling the cables by midnight tonight.

The bag weighs 2.7kg and also has various pockets and padding to protect laptops, as well as those aluminum legs which can lengthen to two different heights. It's on sale now for the equivalent of $75.

Logitech's Solar-Powered Keyboard Means You'll Never Buy Another Battery Again

There were cries of "impossible!" over Philips' solar-powered remote last week, and I'm sure even more people will be scratching their heads over Logitech's solar keyboard too—even though it can work for 3 months in total darkness.

The K750 has integrated solar panels, and grabs whatever light it can get while indoors. A solar power app shows you the battery levels and ambient light available, so you always know the vitals of the keyboard.

While it's got that big novelty attraction, it's also wireless (compatible with the Logitech Unifying receiver), and has the company's Incurve keys that are supposedly better-shaped for fingers.

It'll go on sale later this month for $80, but can be pre-ordered now if the thought of missing out on Logitech's first solar-powered keyboard is too much to bear.