When Blam broke the news on Dell’s mini Inspiron, there was one thing he was stuck on: How to categorise it. Is it a subnotebook? A UMPC? A netbook? (Knowing the specs might have helped, but probably not much.) Part of the problem is that the category names themselves are very new and pretty vague. Here’s a mini-compendium of the most popular terms for dwarfish laptops being tossed around, where they come from and what they’re trying to say. Help us decide which ones to keep, and which to ditch.
The iRiver Spinn, which we saw back at CES, is finally getting a release date. It’ll be available in August in the UK in 4, 8 and 16GB models. It’ll have Flash support plus a 3D graphics chip to give its UI a little more flashiness, but its analogue controls will still be present, as will its 3.2-inch 480×272 screen. No US date yet, but the fact that it was shown at CES makes us believe there’s a US release due some time. If not, there’s always Fedex. [Crave UK]
No wonder Tony Stark managed to do an arc reactor in a desert cave. According to this tutorial, you really only need some LEDs, a 9-volt battery, plywood, 22 AWG gauge copper wire, assorted resistors, and a substance called polymorph—which can be made into any shape—to create your very own virtually-unlimited power source. Or look like the geekiest homeless person at any costume party. The mask is even better.
We learned that Art Lebedev was planning a new, smaller and “cheaper” addition to the Optimus keyboard lineup with the “Popularis” a while back—but the mockup was basic to say the least. While no new information has been released, we do have a brand new, detailed, 3D mockup to drool over. [LiveJournal]
Besides the iPhone or maybe even the RAZR, Nokia’s N95 has to be the most cloned mobile phone in recent Chinese history (not counting the ridiculous copiers in the Tang dynasty). In this case, it’s called the MM95 and it’s about the length of a guy’s finger and the width of two. Exwang.cn (heh heh, wang) has more pics, but unless you’ve got the hands of a little baby, it’s going to be incredibly hard to use. Though maybe Carrie could figure this one out. [JustAMP via Into Mobile]
The Boy Genius report has gotten their hands on Dell’s upcoming Latitude roadmap. The big news? Among a whole line of upgrades, Dell will release a rugged E6400 ATG and lightweight XT2 Tablet. The ATG will run 14.1″ and resist dust and humidity while featuring a spill-proof keyboard and shock-mounted hard drive (available this June). The XT2 will be under 1.6kg with a 12.1″ touchscreen display and a Centrino 2 processor (available this November). Hit the link for details on the full lineup. [BGR]
My IKEA experiences have been pretty hit or miss, but maybe that’s just because I wasn’t building Linux rendering clusters out of the POÄNG chairs. Because one modder took a US$40 IKEA Helmer set of drawers and shoved in 6 Intel Quad Core processors. His end product featured 24 2.4 Ghz cores and 48GB of RAM. Where an example render on his DualCore Xenon 2.66 Ghz with 4 GB ram took 552 minutes (9.2 h), the IKEA machine breezed through the same task in just 64 minutes. Just don’t try to pick up your Helmer case on a weekend. You could seriously die. [Helmer via MAKE]
The European Union’s Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) is testing some kind of nebulous facial detection system that will suss out whether your expression is one of a terrorist planning on commandeering the ride or just diarrhea face.
BenQ’s gear is usually pretty standard stuff, but the new T850 is pushing the envelope a bit. Claiming to be the world’s thinnest 8MP camera at 14.9 millimeters thin, it also manages to squeeze in a large 3-inch LCD display. But the neatest part is that after you take shots with up to 3X zoom and 1600 ISO, you can tap, circle and swipe your way through the photos. I’m not quite convinced that touchscreens are needed in a well-designed point-and-shoot, but as long as the controls are optional, it’s certainly not hurting anyone. No word on price yet. [BenQ via Crave]
After losing track of six nuclear warheads last year, you would think that the crack security team at Minot Air Force Base would pull it together for their much anticipated nuclear security inspection. Unfortunately, you would be mistaken. Inspectors from the Defence Threat Reduction Agency failed the security wing based on a number of infractions—including an incident where an airmen was observed playing video games on his mobile phone while standing guard at a “restricted area perimeter” during a simulated attack.
