2010: Apple's Flash Storage Odyssey

Back in September we mentioned that Apple was effectively screwing everyone out of the 4GB and 6GB flash player market because Samsung was offering a huge volume discount to the company (up to 50 percent for the nano). Now it's been announced that Apple reached a long-term agreement with Hynix, Intel, Micron, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba to secure the supply of NAND flash memory through 2010, truly sealing the deal. And just to make sure it's signed, sealed and delivered, Jobs is planning to prepay a total of $1.25 billion for flash memory components over the next three months. Happy Holidays, everyone!

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Windows XP RobuDOG Plays Ball And Takes Pictures

The Windows XP-running RobuDOG is part robopet, part photographer. The dog's colorful noggin is packed with all sorts of goodies, including infrared sensors for guidance and an "intelligent, programmable" color camera. So, while using its 17 servo-powered joints and articulated ankles to run and kick a ball around—something it's supposed to be better at than your average dog—the RobuDOG will also be able to take snaps of the action.

The robomutt comes with 2GB of built-in flash memory, probably for scripts and pictures. With Windows XP and its b/g wireless capabilities, we're hoping it can just toss its snaps to Windows-based PCs around the house. What you might end up with is a cool gallery of your life as seen by your RobuDOG. That also means it will be able to use Windows programs geared toward robots, like Microsoft's Robotics Studio. The RobuDOG uses a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800 processor, 512 MB of internal RAM, both an Ethernet and a USB port, and a speaker allowing it to bark. Developed in France, the RobuDOG is going to cost around 3,200 Euros, so expect to pay upwards of $4,400 to get it in the States.

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Flash Memory Capacity, Officially Doubled

BY MARK WILSONA startup named Nanosys claims they have found a way to double flash memory capacity. Their secret is to create metal nanocrystals to boost memory surface area like skyscrapers. And while the idea is by no means new, Nanosys has figured out how to viably bring this process into mass production—something that has thwarted research institutions in the past. Nanosys has signed legitimate deals with Intel and Micron Technologies, with products utilizing metal nanocrystals expected sometime in 2009. Now they just need to figure out how to double it again...and again...and...

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GPS Rings Should Point You Toward a Mirror

BY ADAM FRUCCI
If you have a terrible sense of direction but are too proud to be seen getting directions from a GPS device, this GPS jewelry is for you. It consists of a couple of rings, one for each hand, and they vibrate to tell you where to go. Need to turn left? Your left-hand ring will vibrate. Need to turn right? You know where I'm going with this. There's also a control panel that hangs around your neck or clips to your belt that lets you put in your destination and such. So what do you think, would you rather have this than be seen staring at a map on a screen? Is wearing big purple rings really that much cooler? Me, I'll stick to getting lost, thank you very much.

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Google To Enter Wireless Biz, Wants To Make It Less Evil

BY WILSON ROTHMANThough there's no official talk of a Google Phone just yet, the superpower has decided to ante up $4.6 billion to bid on wireless spectrum. Google did say it would only do this on one condition, however. That whoever won the spectrum would be bound by law to offer at least some access to it at a wholesale price to competitors. As you might have guessed, this has pissed off some of the existing wireless carriers, who claim that sharing spectrum would lessen the spectrum's value. I'm sure both sides have nice charts and graphs to prove their legitimate points, but for now I'm going to side with the Goog.

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Oryx Bicycle Looks Hard to Sit on, Probably Isn't

BY ADDY DUGDALE


Viewed from the wrong angle, this Oryx bike could look like something from the perv-o-licious Sex Museum in Amsterdam. Designed by a guy called Harald Cramer, it's a custom-made time-trial cycle with all sorts of weird and wonderful innovations...

Made of carbon composite, the handlebars, stem and fork are all one piece, with the ergonomic seat post and saddle integrated into the frame. Handlebars connect to frame via a pivot, and the seat even has a hole in it in case you get taken short while cycling to keep you cool while you work the pedals.

The Y-frame shape means that the Oryx is shock-proof and keeps you in contact with the road at all time, and there is a one-sided fork and chain-stay. The crank is designed like a ring and mounted inside the frame on a couple of ball bearings, and the wheels detach from the bike at the push of a button, a useful time-saver for competitions.

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Sony's Net-sharing CAM is for YouTube-lovin' Auteurs

There are two types of camcorder buyers out there: people who want to make some sort of amazing movie to bring to Sundance and become a superstar, and people who just want to videotape their dog getting owned by a sprinkler and put it on the internet. If you fall in the latter category, you might be interested in Sony's new YouTube-lovin' Net-sharing CAM. It's a small camcorder that records to Sony's proprietary Memory Stick DUO format, shooting video at either QVGA (320 x 240) at 15 FPS or VGA (640 x 480) at 30 FPS. Not exactly HD, but it's meant to go online, so it doesn't really matter. It has special software with it that'll toss your videos onto YouTube without needing to go to the site at all, which is a nice touch. What's less nice is the price: $200 for a pretty limited device. It's really similar to the RCA Small Wonder, it's just a lot more expensive. But hey, it's a Sony! You should be happy to pay whatever they ask.

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