First an alien mothership stranded in the desert, and now a whole extraterrestrial homebase right in the heart of the Alps, where people love to have jacuzzi orgies at 15,000 feet and fly on jet wings. Fortunately for earthlings, it's just a concept for a medical centre for rehabilitation of trauma surgery patients designed by Sarah Schneider. Seeing how outwordly it looks inside, I wish it was just apartments.

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Apple has just seeded iPhone 2.1 beta 4 to developers--uninteresting, really, except for the fact that the push notification service has been pulled from the release "for further development." Targeted to hit your iPhone in September, the push service allows apps to receive notifications in the background while they're not running, a godsend for AIM and other messaging apps. Hopefully this doesn't mean it'll be delayed, but we've all learned what happens when iPhone software rolls out before it's finished baking, so I'd rather wait. [Mac Rumors]

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If you've ever wanted to take a street tour of the centre of the Apple universe, now's your chance. The Google Street View car has finished making its rounds at Infinite Loop, so you can zoom around like you belong there from your computer chair.

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In case you didn't already know, broadcasters can slip "flags" into TV shows telling your DVR to not record it or to delete it when it hits an expiration date. TiVo users last had a run-in with the auto-delete flag a couple years ago (Media Centre users had a more recent taste), but it looks like it's back and haunting Star Trek fans.

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Back when I was in college, one of my most frustrating experiences involved a roommate in my dormitory apartment who mistakenly believed that she would be able to wake up daily for her 8:30am lecture series. Said roommate could sleep through an elephant parade. Oh how I seethed in the mornings as I clutched my pillow to my head, begging for the noise to pleasepleaseplease just STOP. If only this alarm were available back then. The Silent Alarm Clock, designed by Johan Brengesjo, uses a wireless rubber ring that vibrates to wake you up in a tactile, noiseless fashion. Though it's just a concept device right now, somebody ought to make and market one right quick. Think of how many friendships it could save! [Yanko Design]

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Informed by the Bush Administration that a Rebel base is located in the heart of San Francisco, Imperial forces surrounded the city in advance of a full-scale invasion. While Imperial Admiral Piett promised administration officials that the assault would commence only if the Rebel forces fail to surrender by 8PM PDT tonight, video reports on the ground reveal that Imperial fighters have already begun flybys and the Death Star battle station has moved into position above the city.

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WM Experts says that the AT&T-branded HTC Touch Pro we caught last week is probably going to be known as the HTC Fuze, and that it'll be out "sooner rather than later." Make sense, given that the thing's already floating around, even though the name doesn't, since it sounds more like an XTREME energy drink than a phone. Crazy kids. [WM Experts]

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Science nerds and fans of British accents rejoice! University of Nottingham scientist/professor Martyn Poliakoff and video journalist Brady Haran have put together what they've dubbed The Periodic Table of Videos, where each square contains a link to a video showing some fascinating facts about its element. Who knew Bismuth was so pretty (quite honestly, who knew what Bismuth was in the first place)? Best of all, the project is continually updated, so even after you're done with the 117 videos currently on the site, you can come back later to check for newer ones. The introductory clip gives you a taste of what you'll find on their site. [ via Neatorama]

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Now, I know Bono is the kind of guy that loves the sound of his own voice a whole lot, but his predilection for his own crooning apparently led to four tracks from U2's upcoming album getting leaked online. Bono was playing them so loud from his villa in southern France that a fan passing by recognised his voice and recorded the songs.

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Aw, here's a cute piece of news: 12-year-old inventor Elizabeth Rintel has won the grand prize in a "Going Green Challenge" by youth media company By Kids For Kids with her "Water Watcher," a device that measures and monitors water usage in the shower. The gadget, which can be fastened to any shower or faucet, sounds a beep and signals a red light every time a half-gallon of water is used. Cutting your shower short by just one minute could save 1,000 gallons of water per year, no small amount as our world possibly approaches the days of Peak Water.

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Roadsters who want their Hot Pockets on the go can now invest in a In-Car Microwave Oven! This mobile meal maker is made of a robust steel construction, boasts an LED screen with touchscreen operation, and can be powered either via your 12 volt cigarette lighter socket or directly by the car battery. The company supplying this modern marvel warns that your vehicle had better already be started before using the direct-from-car-battery method, lest your battery become discharged. Also, going with the 12 volt option means a cup of coffee will take roughly six minutes to heat up. But even slowly nuked food has got to be better than some of those roadside dining options, right? Get yours imported from the U.K. for US$167. [Product Page via Cnet]

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While it's long supported Flash, the Skyfire mobile browser now plays nice with Microsoft Silverlight--basically, Microsoft's version of Flash, which is what you'll need to watch streaming video at the NBC Olympics site. Meaning yes, you can watch Olympics video on your S60 or Windows Mobile phone if you're stuck in traffic or something. If you've got Skyfire, anyway.

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Those hoping for a PS3 price cut in the near future better not hold their breaths. A Sony spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the company had no plans right now to give you another deal on the machine, and anyone hoping for that kind of news at Leipzig will be sorely disappointed. Given that they slashed the price less than a year ago, this shouldn't be too surprising. Though PS3 sales are still trailing behind the Wii, it's relatively recent discount put it neck to neck for second place with the cheaper Xbox 360. [Reuters]

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Look, John Connor, I get that we at Skynet are considered your enemies. I also understand that with the whole trying to "terminate" you thing, you'd probably get a little "drag Hector around the walls of Troy" once you've claimed victory over one of us. But this, sir, is ridiculous. Even genocidal robots have certain rules of engagement, and frankly, turning our reclaimed skulls into a harmless consumer electronic ought to be violating some code of conduct. Are you even listening to me? Wait, what is that you're approaching with? The second season of Scrubs? Are you serious?! What kind of monster are you? Amnesty! AMNESTY!!! [Toxel via Geekalerts]

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One of the front runners of an ongoing British Army-sponsored competition for new military technology is this miniature spaceship-looking thing, which is designed to inconspicuously drop bombs and listening devices behind enemy lines. The external blade-less shape allows the machine to enter buildings through windows or doors, and an HD camera feed lets it double as a surveillance bot.

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AC manufacturer Greencore has come up with a long-awaited solution to the inherent problem in solar-powered air conditioning units--solar panels are still not efficient enough to power the energy-gobbling machines on their own. The company's 10200 model uses a single 170-watt solar panel during the day and electricity from the power grid during the night to charge its batteries, leading to massive energy savings even if the solution isn't 100% solar.

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You know that new TSA policy that kind of sounds like a ploy to sell new generations of laptop bags? The one where, if you have specific types of bags that are deemed "checkpoint friendly" by the TSA, you won't have to take your laptop out while going through security lines at the airport? That goes into effect today. The new policy is supposed to speed things up, but if you can't trust that stupid-arse office schmuck in front of you to take out his (or her) laptop in the last 35 minutes you were all waiting in line god damn it, I don't see how having different categories of X-ray-able bags won't just add to the confusion. [Yahoo! News]

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A release date and price has been set for UMPC contender Gigabyte's MID M528, a diminutive portable computer with a slide out keyboard, according to the folks over at UMPC Portal. A product page on Gigabyte's site put the cost at US$689 and availability on Sept. 17. The page then disappeared, but not before intrepid internet surfers could get a nice screen grab.

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When Ghostface Killah aka Pretty Toney aka Tony Starks popped up on IMDB with a cameo in Iron Man as an arms dealer in Dubai, we rejoiced. When we saw the movie and realised there was no Ghost, we were saddened. But now here he is, all 10 seconds of him (skip to the halfway point). He's around just long enough to maybe fake some kind of accent and hand off some flygirls, but now we can finally rest having seen Ghost in Iron Man. Stick around til the end for, well, just stick around for the end. [Access Hollywood via NYMag]

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