We just got a link to this ‘leaked’ photo of a potentially new design of the iPhone. I am pretty sure that this is just a mockup, but you never know…I like the glossy black though.

3G iPhone with Glossy Black Back? [ipodobserver.com]

There was a photo at Flickr circulating during the weekend of a MacBook Pro running 150 different applications at the same time, and now a guy has posted a video of his Vista machine running 108 applications at the same time. Looks like it’s running pretty smooth actually. Video after the jump.

When a friend asks me what camera to buy I usually guide them to a Panasonic Lumix or a Canon Ixus, and Panasonics latest compact, the DMC-LZ10, looks really promising. Photography blog have played around with the camera for a week or so and they really like it:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10 is one of those rare beasts, a pocket camera that is well-suited to both complete beginner and more experienced photographer alike. Highly recommended.

Panasonic DMC-LZ10 - review [photographyblog.com]

Today I got one of the latest phones from Nokia in the mail and I just wanted to share the unboxing experience with you guys. The 7900 Crystal Prism is designed by the French artist Frédérique Daubal and I am not sure why I got one since it is a fashion phone for women, but anyway here is the gallery.

Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism - unboxing [Fosfor.com]

This will not be a surprise for anyone, but at least it’s official now. On July 22nd the first batch of blu-ray movies from Universal will appear in the stores (at least in the US). During 2008 Universal will launch at least 50 titles including the high definition box sets of Heroes (both Seasons One and Two). Full press release after the jump.

Universal Unveils Inaugural Slate of Film and TV Offerings Coming to Blu-ray(TM) Disc Day and Date With DVD

Heroes: Season Two Will Mark the Studio’s First Global Event Release

Lineup to Include Summer 2008’s Most Anticipated Films From Universal Pictures: THE INCREDIBLE HULK, Wanted, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mamma Mia! and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, As Well as Some of the Studio’s Other Biggest Titles

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 17 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Studios Home Entertainment revealed its initial lineup of film and television properties arriving later this year on Blu-ray(TM) Disc, day and date with DVD, it was announced today by Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Digital Platforms. Marking the rollout of the studio’s first global release on Blu-ray(TM) will be the “Heroes: Season Two,” which will debut beginning August 26, 2008.

The highly anticipated premier of the sophomore season of NBC’s “Heroes” will be buoyed by the simultaneous debut of “Heroes Season One” on Blu-ray(TM). Later in the year and in time for the holidays, five of the year’s most promising feature films will arrive in high definition: THE INCREDIBLE HULK, the action-packed new chapter of one of the most popular Super Hero sagas of all time that stars Edward Norton, William Hurt and Liv Tyler; Wanted, the action-thriller from stunning visualist director Timur Bekmambetov that stars Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie; Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the epic vision of imagination from acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro; Mamma Mia!, the musical romantic comedy in which Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the adaptation of the beloved musical; and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the next installment in The Mummy franchise in which Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh and newcomer Luke Ford join the returning Brendan Fraser and John Hannah for a supernatural adventure that shifts the series to the Far East.

“We are thrilled that our preliminary slate of Blu-ray(TM) offerings comprises such a brilliant collection of high-def centric fare,” said Mr. Kornblau. “As awareness for Blu-ray(TM) continues to grow, consumers will learn to rely on the superior quality picture, sound, interactivity and connectivity that only high-definition home entertainment delivers.”

The first wave of Universal Blu-ray(TM) releases, which hits U.S. stores July 22nd, gives fans of The Mummy franchise a chance to relive the iconic blockbuster films’ thrilling beginnings in crystal-clear high-definition. The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, starring Brendan Fraser, and the hugely successful action-packed spin-off The Scorpion King, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, all will be released on Blu-ray(TM) for the first time that day.

The first of Universal’s new theatrical Blu-ray(TM) releases hitting store shelves this summer day and date with its DVD counterpart is the apocalyptic thrill-ride DOOMSDAY, starring Rhona Mitra, Malcolm McDowell and Bob Hoskins. Other titles on deck for 2008 include American Gangster, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Miami Vice, End of Days, U-571 and Land of the Dead, among others.

Furthering Universal’s aggressive rollout of Blu-ray(TM) product globally, Universal Pictures International Entertainment, the company’s international home entertainment arm, is concurrently announcing its initial slate of Blu-ray(TM) releases for the international marketplace today.

Here is the coolest USB drive I have seen so far this year. I am afraid you can’t buy it (yet! I bet someone will put this one into mass production…) but here’s some nice instructions that will help you make one. Awesome idea!

How to make a Sawed-off USB Key [evilmadscientist.com]

It looks like an RC car and an eee PC had a baby. Sadly that just about wraps it up for RoBeo from the simplest viewpoint. These robots are controlled by eee class laptops and a 12V rechargable NiMH battery. They are completely mobile and can be equipped with any number of mechanical appendages or sensors. The site sells complete programmable bots as well as accessories that connect to the car piece or to the computer via USB. Webcams, light sensors and lever arms and gripping appendages can be found and built into your generic bot to mold to your specific tasks. Trying to show the breadth of potential for these devices one of the better videos shows one having a tasked launched remotely by twitting a command to his robot with his iPhone.

Now while the rest of video commercials are pretty terrible these actually have a ton of potential. These kits can get kids into electrical and mechanical engineering, programming and energy conservation. Having these ready made kits that get a lot of the tedious work done will greatly lower the bar for entry on the time aspect of these types of projects (although there are probably plenty cranky old guys out there complaining about all the 'character' they won't be getting). Robitics in educations is seeing a huge upsurgence in popularity in education and entertainment. BotBall and RobotWars being the most popular there are many varieties of those clubs popping up here and there. $1,649.00 is their price for the top model 'Coppa' robot.

Mihail, a Russian software hobbyist, has written a nice USB drive benchmarking program called Check Flash and released it to the world. Available at his site for a quick free download you can pick this up to test the speed of your current flash drives and try out some new ones. Although not likely to be as accurate as favorites like HDTach or Sandra, the price is definitely right. We gave it a try on a few of the drives we had laying around and its results were in line with my more intensive tests. The most refreshing part of this little package (besides the price tag) is that it doesn't require that the drive be blank before running the test. In deference to the fact that some of the tests do blank the drive during tests, the owner has locked the default options to limit it to running on anything, but removable drives. The author has very thoughtfully included the ability to pass command line switches to the program to open up its functions and allow batch processing.

Check Flash isn't perfect, and don't expect it to be completely bug-free, but it should do a good job of giving you an approximation of your drive's speed. You'll be wanting something to assure you that the drive or photo memory card you just shelled out your hard earned cash for was worth the money. Many manufacturers have stopped reporting speeds due to quality control dropping allowing too much variety into the market. Variety that they don't care to be called to the mat to warranty.

SmartNav has updated its accessibility product to level 4. Their AT and EG models are designed to help the physically challenged and RSI affected improve their lives (and apparently their frag count). The SmartNav 4 uses an infrared camera and a small reflective dot placed on the users head or cap to track motion and translate it into mouse movements, basically the same technology used in the Wii-mote controller system. The AT (Assistive Technology) model is designed for enabling computer interaction completely without the aid of arms for handicapped and injured users. The EG (Ergonomic) model is made to work alongside other input forms as well as head tracking. This latest model has 4x the resolution of the previous model 3 and has 25% wider range of coverage and distance. The Ergonomic model can be ordered in their online shop for $399 and the Assistive version for $499.

Side by side both hardware units are identical differing only in the inclusion of their proprietary Dwell Clicking software and Virtual keyboard. The two software packages are effectively sophisticated control, click and interaction tools and will work with optional click devices like foot pedals and the like. An intriguing RSI reduction tool this has to be one of the potentially most effective means of combating RSI injuries but its only for the Microsoft Windows platform currently. Check out the hands-free CounterStrike session it has to be seen to believed.

France-based Dmailer has released an update to its software that may win it a Nobel Peace prize... in the computer world. Dmailer's Backup V.2 now supports PC and Mac systems natively. No longer do you have to worry about adding Mac support or PC support problems to your existing infrastructure, at least not for backups. Dmailer's package can write backup sets onto any portable storage ranging from large capacity thumbdrive to terabyte USB hard drive; it can do so from both system types. Mac backup sets and PC backup sets can sit side by side in harmony; the PC backups can also be restored to Macs, and vice versa. With backups being the most critical of support issues perhaps more offices can integrate the usefulness of both major platforms with one fewer barrier. Another entrant into the completely mobile solution, the backup apps can run entirely from the USB key.

The core product features "Live Backup" which continuously backs up any altered files. This serves as a perfect complement for Apple's Time Machine and many other backup solutions for both platforms that only do full system backups as Dmailer Backup V.2 allows individual folder and file level backups separate from full system backups. In addition, the user can opt for the backups to be protected with AES 128-bit software encryption for their files. Available for trial or purchase from their site now for $38.95.