According to AppleInsider, Apple is already passing around the first builds of the Mac OS X 10.5.1 update. More extensive software testing will begin next week. While we don't have any specifics on the fixes involved, there are a slew of minor problems you can see on message boards that could be addressed...probably only to create a new slew of minor problems. We'll see how long the update takes to reach users, but all in all, this looks to be pretty quick turnaround from Apple on their first—let's not use euphemisms—patch for OSX. [appleinsider]

Jesus told you that a MacBook touch might be coming and Matt Buchanan just showed you a new mock-up. Now CNet Crave UK has an inside scoop that Eee PC maker—and MacBook contract manufacturer—Asus will one day deliver an Apple tablet.

According to the story:

Apple Tablet will not be based on existing Asus designs such as the R1 [top]. It will come from a completely new blueprint, possibly based on the patent Apple filed back in May 2005 [bottom]. We're guessing it'll be based on Intel Core architecture, a tweaked version of Leopard, and have all the multi-touch, CoverFlow goodness we've seen in the iPhone and iPod touch.

There, every answer you'll ever want to know ever—all that's left is a name: CNet's calling it an "Apple Tablet PC," Factory Joe called it "iPad," we were saying "MacBook touch" but damn if that doesn't just look silly. What do you want to call it? (Note: Son-of-a-Newton is already taken.) [CNet Crave UK]

Turns out, it's a dumb idea to post "I just killed two cops" on your MySpace page. That's what some idiot did, and learned the hard way that cops are rediscovering their home computers, and hitting MySpace, Facebook and even Second Life in search of clues.

Sure, there have always been the badge-wearing nerds at the back of the forensics lab who knew how to "Google" things and check the "e-mail" of bigger, dumber cops. But now other officers are wising up, according to an AP story. Homicide detectives and beat cops are going online and just poking around, and the dumbasses who think they won't get caught by blabbing on their public pages are, well, getting totally nailed.

In one recent example, a detective in Newark, N.J., tracked the alleged killers of three college students by mining MySpace pages maintained by the suspects and their friends. In another, pictures and prose posted online by the killer of Taylor Behl, a 17-year-old Virginia college freshman, connected him to the victim and ended up revealing where her body was stashed.

Sanyo has just announced a new model in their Diply Talk recorder line (the ICR-PS390RM) that happens to be the world's highest capacity voice recorder. Because while 8GB may be standard fare for MP3 players, it's a big deal in the MP3 recorder industry. At lowest quality, users can record up to 1,000 hours of audio before deleting (though the highest quality, stereo settings just offer 12 hours). The best feature, however, may be the ability to partition and PIN password protect half of the drive, preventing nosy spouses from getting all the hot corporate info from your last board meeting. [product via impress]

We showed you a few sneak shots last weekend of Sony Ericsson's rumoured lineup of phones to be supposedly rolled out today, but now here's another one, and this P5i has a full touchscreen. The slider is said to be due for an intro announcement next week, and might ship in May or June of 2008. Nobody's claiming this to be an actual pic; it's admittedly 'shopped, but those who've pawed the thing says it's a close rendering of reality. Let's look at the speculative specs.

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Just as we expected, iTunes 7.5 was released to the masses today, but you can stop your mind from wandering because there's not a whole lot of excitement surrounding the release. The headliner is an interactive music game called Phase for iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod (fifth generation). But the meat of the release consists of bug fixes and security patches to fix a hole where the rain came in. Oh yeah, the release also allows international iPhone activation, for all those grateful countries to finally join the iPhone club. [iTunes]

Taking a cue from the Batmobile, some particularly fast-to-the-scene firefighters (or just some crazy gearheads) have stuck a 27-foot Russian MiiG fighter jet engine into a firetruck. To accomplish this feat, the (water and gas?) tanks had to be completely removed. So yeah, ironically the firetruck may get to a scene faster, but at the cost of having no way to fight the fire. Other neat fact?

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We're not going to give away those puppies pictured above if you'll vote for us, nor harm them in any way if you don't, we promise. We just put that pic up there in a shameless attempt to get you to read this. The 2007 Weblog Awards voting is still going on, and we'd like to kindly ask for your vote. We're now going the straightforward route, asking you in all earnestness to give us your vote. November 8th is the last day you can vote Gizmodo for Best Technology Blog. You can click on Gizmodo once every 24 hours, so please, go for it. Because a cute puppy photo is a terrible thing to waste. [2007 Weblog Awards]

Nokia has been working on a very promising technology, called Haptikos, and it is now coming to fruition after 10 years in the making. The new technology promises a true tactile response for touchscreen text input methods. Though basic vibration methods are currently in place to provide a form of haptic response, Nokia's efforts will literally relay the sensation and sound of a physical keyboard click—right beneath your finger. The Senior Program Manager at Nokia's research lab, Roope Takala, explained how the engineers were able to accomplish the seemingly impossible:

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Recycling is brilliant, especially when you are Ann Smith and have the talents of the creative arts at your fingertips. Ms. Smith is a creative recycler; she takes all manner of junk and works her magic. The result? An impressive collection of mechanized / steampunkish looking animal robots. The metal pets are used to create cool stop-motion footage clips, and they are all currently on show at the DeCordova Museum in Massachusetts and Cog & Pearl boutique in Brooklyn.

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Despite rumours the new, internally powered PS2 would run just $99, in Japan it's selling for the same price as the old model: ¥16,000 (US $140). Even though it's no lighter on your wallet and isn't any more svelte than the current model, it does in fact weigh less, and comes in black, white and silver. For now it debuts Nov. 22 in Japan only, but a stateside launch is most definitely in the cards, hopefully along with that price cut. [Machine-Translated Press Release via Kotaku via Saving Progress]

If statistics concerning the operating wattage, temperature and fan speed of your PC's power supply gets you excited, Gigabyte's Visuals USB gauge shall be right up your street. The device is capable of measuring all three, whilst simultaneously making your desktop look like your dashboard, and if that is not the very pinnacle of being cool, who knows what is?

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The limited edition Deep Red PSP you're gawking at launches in Japan next month in two flavors—one with the 1seg digital TV tuner, one without. The 1seg bundle also comes with a 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo and a stand, while the standard box has a 32MB stick and is standless. No word on whether this bloody hue will hit stateside. [Mmbon, Akihabara News]

Rumors of the long-expected parental timer embedded in the Xbox 360's impending fall update have been picking up steam in the last week or so, with the latest sort-of confirmation supposedly coming from a Guitar Hero III keychain. The included pamphlet reportedly describes the timer thusly:

A simple tool that lets you manage how much time your kids spend on their Xbox 360. Manage in daily or weekly increments. Easy for parents to suspend and add time. Available in December 2007 only through Xbox Live.

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Following the Open Handset Alliance getting official, we noted the conspicuous of the US's two biggest wireless carriers, and dissected some of the reasons T-Mobile and Sprint were onboard but they weren't. According to the WSJ, Verizon's still mulling joining up, while AT&T "in part because it exclusively carries the iPhone in the U.S., is restricted from partnering with Google, people familiar with the matter say."

Another niggling issue for the juggernaut pair is Google's probable bid for wireless spectrum in the FCC's upcoming 700Mhz auction. If it winds up turning up its chunk into a mobile network, it'd be pulling a Microsoft by competing and partnering with them simultaneously, which apparently they don't take too kindly to.

Of course, this is on top of all the other reasons they weren't exactly clamoring to jump aboard in the first place. [WSJ]

The Opera Sonora speaker line is perfect for those who argue with their significant other over why they can't install a 27.4 mega system in their 900 sq. ft. apartment. Beneath the art house appearance of these contraptions, however, are fully functioning speakers that can connect to any audio source (radio, TV, DVD, ect...). And because the tonewood frames are the same material used to build instruments like guitars, high audio quality should be expected. No specifics on release dates or prices, but these things don't exactly scream "cheap" at me. [7 Gadgets via Crave]

Aesthetically, Factory Joe's "iPad Touch" tablet mockup doesn't wholly differ from the pretty slick one our own Jesus Diaz conjured with his magic Photoshop fingers, but it does ratchet up the iPhone design elements. Oh, and MacBook Touch is a much better, if less reflective, name in our book. Another shot after the jump or scope the rest over there. [Factory Joe via Gadget Lab]

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Oakely seems bound and determined to push this whole MP3 player sunglasses thing, and their latest release, The Split Thump combines a really bad name with extremely expensive sunglasses that are only marginally better looking than some of the fashion disasters of years past (you know, the kind of designs that someone in the 80's thought we would be wearing in 2020). Each pair features MP3/WMA/AAC compatibility, 8 hours of battery life, and 512MB to 2GB of storage. Available for $250-$400. [Product Page via Acquire]

The Hono Light design by Japanese based company Metaphys brings a high tech edge to the traditional candle using an LED light source that flickers like a real candle and can be lit with a special magnetic match. It can even be turned off by blowing on it. Unfortunately, the product is only a concept piece at the moment —which is too bad because if you put a few of these together you could create some really interesting lighting solutions. [Metaphys via Dezeen via Boing Boing]

Although not as long or stabby as real screwdrivers, these pocket coin screwdrivers go many places where real ones cannot (when's the last time you stuck a flat-head into your pants without getting a dirty look from your wife?). However, with these coin screwers, you can both screw in and out on the go with nothing but a pocketful of jingling to make anyone the wiser. A set of twelve can be yours for $8.50, which is the perfect price for stealthily unscrewing the train seat in front of you for subsequent laughs. [Leevalley via Book of Joe via Make]

16-year-old Cory Ryder is awaiting trial for hiring a hitman to wack his parents because they took away his Playstation. But the man paid to do the job wasn't a hitman, but an undercover cop...hired by the kid's mother.

Ryder caught a ride from his mom's friend to go meet the "hitman," and offered up his stepdad's pickup as payment. He was quickly taken into custody where he is being held for attempted murder. While I'm sure every "parents with too much free time" group will use this to pin all of society's problems on videogames, Ryder's commitment to his PlayStation cannot be questioned. [The Times UK via PS3 Forums]

In a move so not Best Buy-like we had to double check, Best Buy is upgrading backordered Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD players to the newer and more expensive HD-A3 model. This stems from a total sellout at the $99 price... Read More »

The Model One ATV which is an all electric, all terrain vehicle is touted as the the world's first "Earth Utility Vehicle". A creation of Barefoot Motors, which as you might have seen form the video, has Mythbuster legend, Jamie Hyneman as design engineer. Their goal was to create a vehicle designed for working in nature that would be eco-friendly while still providing needed power. Their first model with an all electric motor powered by lithium batteries is equipped with both high and low gears, all wheel drive, regenerative braking and 1000 lbs of towing capacity. With all the power of a standard ATV but with zero emissions, the Model One ATV is the future of ATVs, and being all electric it's logical too. [Barefoot Motors]

Chemists at UC Berkeley developed a device that detects the amount of biogenic amines in red wine, which are thought to be the culprit for the mind-numbing red wine headache. Though the detector is still in its prototype stages—and is currently the size of a briefcase—it only takes one drop of wine to determine the headache potential. (There might even be amine labelling on bottles one day.) Researchers are working to shrink the device to the size of a PDA and anyone who has ever suffered the effects of a couple bottles of bargain Cabernet are hopeful. Oddly enough, the technology the amine detector is based on was originally funded by NASA to try to find life on Mars. [AP via Crave]

Part of a $1.4 billion counter-sniping package the Pentagon's asking for, which includes vehicle-mounted and UAV sniper detectors, is a pocket-sized unit that weights only a pound. The Ears 100 by QinetiQ is a pretty sweet piece of tech which "detects the sound of a gunshot, the shock wave of a bullet and the blast from the muzzle, then runs the data through two computers to pinpoint the shooter's position." The obvious downside is that you better hope the sniper's a poor shot and isn't packing any of the super-sniper tech weapons developers are toiling away on. [Defense News via Danger Room, Flickr]

The new Airbox CM3 mobile router allows devices like PDAs, laptops, and gaming consoles to be simultaneously connected to the internet in a moving vehicle via Wi-Fi or one of two Ethernet jacks —no additional software or PCMCIA cards required. When connected to a 3G digital cellular telephone network (generally EV-DO), speeds average out at 400-800 Kbps with bursts up to 2.4 Mbps. When no 3G signals are available, the Airbox will switch to 2G and average speeds of 120 Kbps. According to product tests, the wireless range extends up to 300 feet and the connection has proven reliable —even when travelling at 100 mph.

As you might have guessed, the Airbox is powered by a car cigarette lighter, but what is really interesting is the compact size. The weight is comparable to a paperback book, and the dimensions are small enough to place it under a car seat. You can even take it indoors and connect it to a standard electrical socket for home use. Available for a whopping $499 (cellular data plan required.) [WAAV via Gizmag]

Data regarding the great Radiohead "pay your own price" experiment for In Rainbows is starting to trickle in, and according to a recent study by internet research firm comScore, only about 38% of those who downloaded the album actually paid. Of those that did pay, Americans averaged $8.05 while fans from other countries averaged only $6 with 17% paying only a penny to $4. Seems low, but it is important to keep in mind that Radiohead could have been earning only a few bucks from every CD sale under the old record label system.

Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor applauded Radiohead for their courage in going forward with the new business model, but he believes that that the low numbers could be partially due to problems with their execution. Problems he hopes to overcome by offering customers the option of paying nothing or $5 for Saul Williams' new album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust, which he produced. If customers want the free version, they will have to settle for a 192kbps MP3 bitrate which might lure audiophiles to pony up some cash for the 320kbps MP3 or FLAC lossless version. So will a new approach help or are music fans just hopelessly cheap? Only time will tell. [Crave]

Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at City University of New York, has a pretty mindblowing article in the latest issue of Cosmos on how super-advanced civilizations across the universe might be able to harness the power of stars and galaxies and survive indefinitely. Using the basic laws of physics as a guide, he posits that there are three levels of advanced civilizations possible based on how they harness their energy: I, II, and III. The bad news: we're not even a I. He generously calls us a 0.7 civilization. Bummer.

AU: A few things. One, yay Cosmos. Aussie mag, edited by Tim Dean, former Editor of PC Authority and someone I consider a friend. Two, this is from the February 2006 edition of the magazine, not the latest issue. Three, the 'type III' civilisation is considered 'immortal' by the author. But the ultimate death of the universe is left out of this galactic scale equation. Just saying, is all... -SB

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Listen up, Japanese teens: vending machine maker Fujitaka Co. is on to your sneaky cigarette-buying ways, and has created a machine that uses a camera and face recognition software to try and stop you. The machine takes your picture when you press the "Adult Recognition" button, and analyzes your face for wrinkles and sagging. If it thinks you aren't saggy enough, you must insert your licence for age verification. In a test of 500 people, the machine spotted adults with 90% accuracy. Looks like the big kid with the crustache sitting at the back of your math class is about to be your new best friend; at least until you smoke enough to get wrinkled and buy cigarettes on your own. [Textually via The Raw Feed]

With overall PC shipments in Japan dropping for five consecutive quarters, the AP has the numbers to back up its trend piece declaring the downfall of the PC in favour of a broader range of consumer electronics—phones, consoles, and the like. Anecdotally, this bears out—walking into a Starbucks (or any other loitering spot) in Japan, it was a rare occasion to see someone pounding away on a notebook.

But while most people (and this article) point to the state of cellphone awesomeness in Japan as a major factor, they're not wholly miraculous devices, and come nowhere near replacing a PC. Yeah, they have some functions that US phones don't, like RFID payments and the like, but nothing that completely leapfrogs our feeble American technologies.

Prime example: You know how browsing sucks on cellphones here—cramped screen, crummy navigation? It's not really any better there—more sites are mobile-optimized, yeah, but I still wouldn't say using internet on my cellphone was a good experience.

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The Asus Eee PC is one of the most innovative and promising laptops to hit the consumer market in years. With an introductory model priced at a mere $399, Asus is offering an extremely compact, 2lb laptop with a 4GB solid state drive. But most importantly, the Eee isn't gimped for office tasks or internet browsing like the closest-sized and priced mobile devices. Indeed, Asus has brought ultraportables to a mass market price.

But while all these ideas sound fantastic on paper, how does the Asus Eee actually perform in testing? Hit the jump for our Frankenreview—nine different perspectives on the ultraportable we're all hoping to be great.

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Been looking for just the right HTC handset to gift to someone you love yourself this Christmas? HTC has sent us all the details on the handsets they'll have on shelves before the end of the year, for how much, and which networks you'll need to be talking to to get them. Hmmm... that last point can be a real bastard...

The handset/UMPC I've really been waiting to see, the HTC Shift, is going to hit the market at $1999 through Optus and Vodafone. $1999? I think I'll go for an Eee, actually.

Vodafone and Optus get a look at all the new handsets, including the Touch Dual ($899), Touch II ($699), S730 ($899), Shift ($1999), and TyTN II ($1299). 3 Mobile gets a look in at the TyTN II. Prices will, of course, vary based on contract options and the like. Full release with lots of handset details after the jump.

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You might have heard about those $99 HD DVD players that were being sold for a moment at Walmart and Best Buy. You're probably smart enough to realise that Toshiba isn't making much scratch on these things, but for reference, the first HD-A1 HD DVD player, cost Toshiba $674 in parts alone (Says iSuppli, 2006). So are they losing ~$500 bucks on each player?

Within a calendar year, I very much doubt that it could have been price-optimized more than 30% (*number pulled out of thin air). Either way, it's pretty clear that Toshiba is losing at least a few hundred dollars on this $99 deal for consumers, and maybe over $500 bucks including all costs. Is this sale desperation? Or have they moved on from the early-adopter battle field and straight into the Waterloo of mainstream buyers? Maybe it's just a stunt, since most places sold out almost immediately. What better way to win the hearts and minds of cheap Americans than to hold an insane sale on a sliver of all of your inventory?

AU: I think it's pretty obvious they'd be losing plenty of dough on these deals. If they weren't, they wouldn't be crazy sale prices. This kind of deal is more branding exercise than push for units in homes. Whether it works is the billion dollar question. -SB

Yes, it's Movember, and thanks to those who have been throwing in their support to the cause, whether by growing a mo or coughing up dough. Please give a little, if nothing else, because I'm growing a mo for the first time and while it might look intentional later in the month, right now it looks like some sort of hygiene problem. But if it helps a couple of great causes then that's what it's all about. That, and dressing up like a '70s cop show star come gala party.

Remember, it's all about defeating major men's health issues: prostate cancer, and depression. Let's do it.

Donation details again: Rego number 126828; email seamus@giz.....au
[Movember, and the original post]