Swedish audio firm Perfect8 has introduced a glass-and-gold centre channel that it sees as the perfect accompaniment to its FORCE speakers. Perfect, that is, if you've got $45,650 to spare. Still, that's a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of the 6'7" speakers, which weigh 160 kilograms each. You'll find the awe-inspiring price below.

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"Prepare to trip balls" says sister site Jalopnik about Speed Racer, the Wachowski Brothers movie that comes out next year, and they're not wrong. Judging by the trailer, we're going to be going on an acid-coloured trip on May 9, 2008—and the best thing is that Christina Ricci is coming along for the ride. Find out for yourselves here. [Jalopnik]

Kenwood has brought out three slimline iPod-compatible audio players that can connect to your computer via USB. There's a CD player that plays CDs and CD-R/RW also an AM/FM radio and it supports WMA as well as MP3s. Full specs of the CLK - 5i-S / W and CLK-7i-S are below.

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Jet Blue's air-to-ground cellular network (provided by LiveTV on the same spectrum as those in-flight phones no one uses) is still experiencing too many dropped connections between cell nodes to support the bandwidth necessary for full-on surfing, the NY Times is reporting. Hence the Yahoo Mail/IM and Blackberries only restriction, and the lack of cost. American, Virgin America, and Alaska Airlines are expected to join the fray with more robust, pay-per-use services "in the coming months," the latter using a more reliable and international satellite connection for more bandwidth and range. [New York Times]

Hot Hardware has snagged one of the first graphics cards launched with full DisplayPort support. Before you write off DisplayPort as just another adaptor to buy, consider its support for daisy-chaining: multi-head setups can be rigged up easily with the need for only one port on your box. Watch for the RX635 (along with the first DisplayPort LCDs) to hit first quarter '08. [via Hot Hardware]

Had Fujio Masuoka not invented flash memory for Toshiba in the 80s, this would be a very different blog. Forget your massive SSDs, your infinite digicam memory cards, and yes, forget even your Virgin Mary beating-heart thumbdrives. Masuoka-san isn't finished with us yet, though, and the next-level tech he has his sights on next could keep us busy posting for many years to come. Moore's law states that the amount of transistors able to be jam-packed into processors will double every two years or so. But if chip makers are going to keep this up, they're going to have to move beyond the quaint world of two dimensions and into the realm of 3D processors. Masuoka has made a deal with Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics to develop new 3D chip designs, which he will then licence through the Singaporean government.

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Peru is onboard for 40k of the machines. By my rough count, that brings the total to 267k OLPCs out of an original estimate of 150 million laptops sold by a year from now. As the WSJ puts it, it seems an impossible goal. But I'm rooting for the project, nonetheless. [Gearlog] The Math: The OLPC is making about $US2m in donations a day from their Buy One Get One free program, so far selling 112,000 laptops through last Sunday. Uraguay has ordered 100k, Alabama (the State) asked for 15k of em, and now Peru's 40k sales.

While you're drooling as the sample shots from Nikon's full-frame D3 begin to roll in, maybe consider coming back to reality a bit to its able-bodied little cousin, the D300. Here, Impress puts one in the hands of a Japanese pro for a round of test shots under natural light (bounced off of reflectors) for a "photogenic weekend" with a hot Japanese actress. The tester was quite pleased with the D300's rendering of skin tones under Nikon's freshly-tweaked "Picture Control" colour management system, and I must say I'm in agreement. A few more after the break.

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Philippe Starck is the super designer of many Gizmodo fetish pieces, including watches, lamps, toothbrushes, toilet brushes, and soon, spaceports like Virgin's in New Mexico. In this recently released TED video, he goes on and on for 18-minute video about design. He brushes up against the different kinds of design, some built to market goods, some as ego-pieces, and some as pure function, which Starck aims for. And somehow, over the rest of the talk, he ties design into a way of recording and expressing human evolution. I think. [TED]

Gear clocks are nothing new, but each new design offers a little something different. You can watch in awe as the gears turn and display the hour, minutes, and seconds. It is almost hypnotic. And the best part is that it costs $US20 —can you say cheap holiday gift? I sure can. [Product Page via GeekAlerts via BookofJoe]

You may have seen the first Japanese Norton 360 commercial featuring the Ultraman-esque Norton Fighter mascot a few months back. Now, Symantec has made what amounts to a full-length tokusatsu episode featuring the guy, and man is it great. While the first go-round pretty much looked like a few dudes running around Tokyo with a Handycam, this new release's production value has upped considerably - complete with faux-vintage film grain look and a kickin' soundtrack. We've also got a cute maid from a maid cafe, spam puns, an evil botnet named Botlas and a stunning Akihabara nerd attack! I won't ruin the rest for you--check out part two below. My hat's off to whoever Symantec is using for this ad campaign. Bravo. Now if only their software was as svelte as the yellow-suited future ninja they have advertising it.

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Leave it to Chinese manufacturer BTL International to improve ripoff the iPod Nano design by throwing in a 2-megapixel camera. Outside of that, the device, dubbed the M2406, supports AVI videos, and MP3, WMA, WMV and WAV audio files. It also features a 2.4-inch TFT screen, a built-in speaker and six EQ settings. Internal flash memory ranges from 128MB to 4GB, but you could always supplement that with a miniSD card. [Product Page via PMP Today via Gadgetizer]

I'm going on vacation tomorrow, for a week. Hawaii. I don't know if I find the idea of news dropping while I'm away very relaxing. Should I bring my mobile phone with me to check email? BTW, see you all in a few days.

Yesterday we teased you and your empty wallet with a taste of the D3 unboxing, and today we will tease you with some sample shots the folks at LetsGoDigtial took in Florence Italy. With all of this coverage, even I want to find a way to scrounge together the $5700 it would take to buy it. And I'm no professional photographer. And additional photo is available after the break.

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To celebrate the launch of the Sonim XP1 GSM, Sonim Technologies is taking the seemingly indestructible device on the road with the "World's Toughest Phone Tour." In order to prove its mettle with potential European customers, participants can feel free to beat the hell out of the phone in any way they see fit. The Bluetooth and Push-to-Talk enabled XP1 features protection from heavy water, wind, and dust exposure, extreme temperatures and any manner of abuse that you can throw at it. More info and videos are after the break.

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When it comes to diabetes blood-testing the word "fun" does not spring to mind. However, the Glucoboy could change all that by rewarding consistent testing and good results. When the blood glucose meter is combined with a Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS, kids can earn points that will unlock mini-games on the included cartridge or rewards on the GRiP incentive-based web community.

The concept has been around for years, but is only being released now due to a 3 year struggle with Nintendo for approval to manufacture the device. Why Nintendo dragged their feet on this one is a mystery. Do they have something against kids with juvenile diabetes or what? All that aside, the device is now available in Australia for around $260. Plans are in the works to make the Glucoboy available worldwide in the near future. [Product Page via Next Gen via Joystiq]

Physics was one of the few subjects in university we didn't fail (with English, Math, Philosophy, Psychology and Philosophy rounding out the list of ones we did), so we take exceptional interest in this iPhysics game. Just use your finger to create new objects that you can fling around inside your iPhone/iTouch using the game's built-in physics engine. It's no ragdoll getting hit in the nuts (one of my university programming projects), but it'll pass the time on the can. [Installerapps]

How Blade Runner (and Other Old Movies) Get Remastered Into Sweet, Sweet High Definition
Like magic.

The Rubbot Male Sex Gadget is in Beta, Looks Slightly Dangerous
Umm...hmmm....

Apple To Release $1,500 Ultra-Portable in January, Says CNBC
Rumblings of a new 12-inch.

The State of HD DVD
Where we're at in the format war.

Just How White Does Tide Get Your Consoles?
Ooohhh...shiny!

New Old Enterprise Is Not the Real McCoy, Still Gives Star Trek Fans Stiffies [UPDATED]
Gabriel answers a few of questions about his Star Trek artwork as well as the special effects for another "remake", the new Wachowski Brothers movie Speed Racer.

The article titled "AT&T flings mobile phone network wide open" over at USA Today reads like a press release directly from AT&T. It states that AT&T is opening up their network to any handset, including Google's, and is just a PR response to the recent Verizon news to allow more phones on their network. Plus, it's not even new. You could take any unlocked GSM phone and use it on AT&T since...forever.

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We know how excited you are about the advent of super-thin bendable OLEDs, but they do have their size limitations. (It's the reason that Sony can only market an 11-inch display now.) Pennsylvania-based startup CeeLite is working on a different technology for bendy displays of a much larger order.

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I know that there are a lot of Dreamcast fanboys out there, so let me get your hopes up (only to have them dashed later on down the line most likely). A recent trademark update by Sega has sparked rumours that they may be thinking about a return to the console biz with a second coming of the Dreamcast. From the filing:

home video game machines; player-operated electronic controllers for electronic video game machines; video game interactive controller, namely, hand held pads, and floor pads or mats; joysticks for video games; computer cursor control devices, namely, computer mouse; flash memory cards; video game software, computer game programs

Flash memory cards and floor pads/mats? Any Dreamcast fan would tell you that those devices were not involved with the original machine. Odds are that this means nothing in the long run—after all, this is probably not the time to pick a fight with the big three. As our friends at Kotaku noted, it probably means that Sega is trying to prevent somebody from developing these devices under a Dreamcast brand. Still, the idea of a new Dreamcast is a pleasant thought. What do you think? Could and should Sega consider this? [Videogamer via Kotaku]

Other LED tabletops have come down the pike in recent months, but the RGBYs cool factor could match or possibly surpass the likes of even the motion-sensing Wave coffee table. What makes the RGBY so great is the fact that it can change colours to match the object resting on it—an effect achieved using small clusters of photo sensors and multi-coloured LEDs. Unfortunately, you won't be able to run out to your local IKEA to pick one of these up just yet. The device is only a prototype at the moment. Damn. Check out the video after the jump.

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It doesn't take a genius to figure out what sets the Jabra BT3030 apart from other headsets. In case you didn't notice, the BT3030 is all about how a dog tag design can make you look cool and masculine (or like a massive poser). As far as functionality is concerned, the device has some interesting qualities, like a universal connection, a personalised equaliser, exchangeable headphones and multiple wearing styles. Additional info and pic after the jump.

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In an interview with Gamespot, PlayStation director of network operations Eric Lempel noted that given the capabilities of the PSP, a direct connection to an online store "should be possible, so it's definitely something we're thinking about." At this point, the only real stumbling block to such a service would be managing the security issues.

Still, downloadable content isn't worth a damn unless there is something good to download. Lempel addressed that issue by stating that a lot more exclusive content will be coming up in the near future. This could include themes, wallpapers, music, and maybe even TV shows and movies down the line. Let's just hope that good games are going to be part of the equation as well. [Gamespot via Boy Genius via Slashgear]

VOIP provider Jajah has released a web app today that helps you make international calls on an iPhone without going totally broke. The Jajah web app looks like the iPhone's dial pad, and like the iPhone it uses an address... Read More »

I'm not sure if this is a widespread problem, but just in case — if you live within any of those gaping white spots in the image above, you probably shouldn't waste your money on the Kindle. Keep in mind... Read More »

When a movie gets remastered for HD, it takes a lot of time and effort to get it looking its best. Sure, studios can do a cheap and dirty transfer and deliver you a shoddy, compressed, crappy looking disc, and many do, but for big-name movies, there's a ton of work that goes into it. Sound and Vision Magazine visited the Warner lot and took a peek at what the process was to restore Blade Runner to a pristine state for its upcoming Final Cut release on HD DVD and Blu-ray. They chronicle everything from scanning the movie in at 4K (4,000 lines of resolution) from the celluloid to keep a super-high-quality master on file to getting the surround sound absolutely perfect. If you're interested in just what goes into restoring a film for HD, you should definitely check it out. [Sound and Vision]

Right this minute, the milfy Brooke Burke is signing autographs and posing for pics at Dell's New York City holiday store (Times Square Studios, 44th & Broadway). Actually, she wraps at 4 p.m., so you probably won't make it. Tomorrow, Vivica Fox will be manning the store from 12:30 to 4 p.m., while Ice T will be on duty at those same hours on Saturday and Sunday. (What—couldn't get Ice Cube?) Possibly of more importance to you dudes is that the full line of XPS m1330 laptops and XPS One all-in-one systems are there for your gentle caresses. Though Ms. Burke looks all happy to see me in the shot up top, you can see, in the gallery, that the magic was over for her pretty quickly. [Dell's Yours Is Here holiday shopping site]

The 32-inch, 1080p AQUOS (LC-32GP3U) LCD TVs from Sharp are optimised for gaming by allowing gamers "quick access to the side terminal inputs", as well as activating "Vyper Drive". It's a dorky name for a feature, but it's supposes to cut lag time between console input and TV display so you won't have to miss so many notes in Rock Band thanks to TV response lag. In addition, there's HDMI 1.3, subwoofer output connection, 1080p/24, and built-in ATSC, clear QAM and NTSC tuners. It'll be $US1,599 in black, red, and white in December. Our only complaint is that it's only 32-inches. [BusinessWire]

Big holes in the iPhone's SMS/MMS functionality have been filled with two apps, SMSD and MMS. SMSD allows you to forward old SMS messages to new recipients, as well as sending new messages to multiple people. MMS, on the other hand, lets you send MMS messages (but not receive them yet) from pictures on your phone. This one's still early beta, so be careful if you really need your phone to "not crash." Our only hope is that these apps can be ported over to the "official" iPhone third-party SDK once that's available next year. [MMS and SMS]

According to CNBC's Jim Goldman, Apple will be dropping a 3G iPhone on us by June of next year at the latest, probably in late May. It's not unreasonable, with a new model coming out about a year after the first. Combine 3G speeds with larger flash drives, and the iPhone will be a lot more appealing to a lot more people who have been holding out for just such upgrades. [Appleinsider]