A new report by the US Government Accountability Office is claiming that the majority of US E-Waste recycling services should reconsider dumping our 20 million plus pounds of waste on Asia, where it's cheaper but also less effective. Many of the major electronics manufacturers (Samsung, Sony, Best Buy, more) have been proudly rolling out recycling services in greater numbers over the last year or so, but the new information confirms that tonnes of recycled e-waste never makes it to the actual "recycling" part, at least as far as US standards go.

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A reliable contributor to the Cheap Arse Gamer forums (someone who supplied early leaks of the Xbox 360 Elite) revealed this document mentioning "Xbox Pure" as a proposed final product name needing approval. There's also some allusion to metal plating. Since I'm about 90% certain that Microsoft purposefully leaked the Elite early to build publicity (through articles like this one), I'm guessing that the Xbox Pure is already a final product name and this document is just for our own amusement purposes only. In other words, let's view it as what it probably is—a cryptic press release—and not pull out the decoder rings by candlelight just yet.

UPDATE: It appears that we were misled by Cheap Arse Gamer as part of a prank contest. Running fabrications like this one does not help a site's credibility.

This is the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer. Or GOCE for short. Or the most amazingly good looking spaceship orbiting around planet Earth. Or Darth Vader's racing shuttle. Call it whatever you want but when it's launched next month on a Russian Rockot, this vessel will be the first of the five Earth Explorers, which are here to save the planet even while they look like they can destroy it.

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Trism, a popular Bejeweled replacement available in the iPhone's App Store, has reportedly made the developer $US250,000 in the two month since its release. While that's not crazy-mad profit for a team of programmers to make on even a casual game, one must remember that Trism was coded by just one guy. Sales will probably decline over time as the title loses prominence in the App Store, but it's not a completely absurd thought that the game could break $US1 million in sales eventually. And as everyone knows, a million bucks is officially a lot of money. [Wired]

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Over at Symbianfreaks there're a bunch of photos and this video which seem to be leaked data on two upcoming Nokia mobiles: the E72 and E75. Both have QWERTY keypads, with the E72 seeming to combine the S60 platform with a side-sliding keypad and the E75 looking pretty business-like in a BlackBerry-esque with its large candybar form factor. There's precious little other info on the handsets, but knock yourself out with the images in the gallery. [Symbianfreaks]

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Whaaat? John Hodgman, that PC guy from those Apple commercials, was spotted on the train with an iPhone. A voice of dissension from the Apple party for years, it's a blow to PC users everywhere to see him caving to the casual cool hoodies of Justin Long. That's good, Hodgman. Keep your daughter turned away. Don't let her watch as a grown man abandons everything he believes in. [ISO50]

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Do a quick trawl through Microsoft advertising history and you find something interesting: as weird as the Gates/Seinfeld comedy duo Microsoft ads are—weird enough to get them set aside for the "I'm a PC" campaign—they're just following in the footsteps of earlier ads. Check out this one, dubbed "Soar," for Windows XP: what does it tell you about the software's capability? Not much. But the Madonna sound track isn't too shabby, and apparently using Windows can make you fly. Hmmm, that's pretty odd... but then there are even more obscure ones.

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Devices to digitise your old photo collections aren't new, but Ion Audio's new Slides2PC makes it about as simple and cheap as you might imagine. It takes a sled full of 35mm film negatives or slides, and turns them into 5-megapixel image files at the push of a button, with auto exposure control and colour correction. So it's no pro-resolution image-cruncher, but 5-megapixels is perfectly serviceable—especially when the USB-connecting gizmo costs just $US100. [Everything USB]

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Samsung is the latest to join the UMPC/netbook party with the NC10, though it's wrapping its tiny notebook with PR spin that it's "a stylish alternative to existing products in the space." There's a 10.2-inch/1024 x 600-pixel screen, Atom processor, 8-hour battery life, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, memory card reader, and 80GB or 160GB HDD. Its "normal" sized keyboard is even sprinkled with nano silver particles to keep bacteria at bay. It's due to hit the shops in October (in the UK at least) with pricing up to $US590. Oh, and that "stylish" thing? It's probably 'cause it looks really shiny. [PocketLint and Akihabaranews]

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Thanko's Sounds Live magnetic earphones aren't quite in-the ear, and they don't have a head-strap: instead these odd gizmos clip onto your earlobe and have a speaker that points roughly into your ear canal. I guess it's kinda like the the bone-conducting type headphones in that you can hear your surroundings, and if you're listening to music while jogging then the magnets mean they probably won't fall off (though your lobes may take a pounding). Plus they're designed to be decorative, acting like "real" earrings...and there's a skull and crossbones version—perfect, me hearties, since it's international Talk Like a Pirate Day. Out in Japan for around $US18. [Product via Akihabaranews]

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HP are one of the biggest (if the not the biggest) seller of notebooks in Australia (and the Asia-Pacific region), yet they don't have that whole "high-end" PC entry into the premium market. well, they didn't, anyway. This week they announced their new HDX brand - a high performance label that brings a high-definition experience (HDX, get it?) to their users around the world.

HP admit that they've learned a lot from their acquisition of the Voodoo brand in the US, and the HDX is their attempt to bring those lessons to the market. That doesn't mean we'll never see Voodoo in Australia, but it's unlikely in the near future.

Available in a 16-inch and an 18.4-inch model, the HDX range features the new Fluid imprint across the outside front cover and palm rest. Inside the HDX16, you get Vista Home Premium SP1, a 1366 x 768 BrightView Infinity Display (upgradeable to 1080p version), up to 8GB RAM, Blu-ray disc drive, Express Card Slot, integrated HD tuner, Altec Lansing speakers, webcam with microphone, 6-cell Li-ion battery and a fingerprint reader. It weighs in at 3.205kg with battery, and measures 37.85 x 33.5 x 4.32 cm.

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If the chances of having your iPhone stolen by incredibly stupid thieves are pretty high, we recommend you download Private-I. The $US1 application shows up as an icon screaming "PRIVATE" in big red letters, which will allegedly lure your phone burglar into launching it. The app then loads up a fake screen that says "Accessing pictures" while sneakily using the iPhone's GPS (or triangulation) capabilities to email you with your phone's coordinates. I'm not sure how big the population of bumbling bandits is, but hey! Anything to keep your baby safe, right? [Wired]

As part of their Engage. Excite. Experience conference in Hong Kong this week, HP showed off their new range of imprint designs for their consumer lineup of notebooks.

The four new designs can be found on their new consumer notebook lineup, including the HDX range and the dv series. The imprint you see above is called Intensity, and is a special edition version with a limited run on cetain dv4 notebooks, while the other three designs can be seen below:

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You know what would be really funny? A toy that sort of looks like an orange version of Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc, except it has suction cups for feet and a motion sensor in its eye. Then, you can record some 10 second witty comment, place the toy at a regularly frequented location and when it detects motion, it will play back your witty recording! Hilarity will definitely ensue...

But then of course, after the 12th time this little thing tells your wife that she's going to pack on the flab every time she approaches the fridge, homicide is likely to follow hilarity. And homicide mostly isn't funny. Especially when it costs $24.95.

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In case you've ever wanted to dabble in telepathy, NeuroSky Inc. has prototyped a new sensor that lets you control your mobile phone with brainwaves. Based on similar medical technology, the system can roughly measure brain relaxation and concentration to pass on appropriate commands to a mobile.

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The GorillaPod has been the flexible tripod of choice for camera fans for a while now, but what about your everyday gadgets? What about wanting to watch your iPod on a plane without having to hold it in your hands? What about securing your mobile phone to the steering wheel of your car? What about sticking that speaker in an inconvenient location?

Enter the GorillaPod Go Go. It does exactly the same thing as previous versions of the tripod, but for your other gadgets. And, it costs just $39.95, which is a bargain for something so lightweight, portable and flexible. It'll even work with digital cameras, so you don't have to worry about taking both this and your old GorillaPod with you when you travel.

[Maxwell]

Looks like somebody over at Amazon made a big oopsies and accidentally put up details of Adobe Indesign CS4 on its website long enough for Apple Insider to get a bunch of screenshots. Features for the software, which is due for a public unveiling on Tuesday, include Live Preflight, conditional text, SWF file export and other additional enhancements. Indesign CS4 will be released on November 1 and cost you $US198. [Apple Insider]

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That Eye-Fi technology we were so gung ho about a few months back, the one which adds Wi-Fi to any digital camera, has found a new home in Lexar. The memory card giant is churning out a 2GB Shoot-n-Sync WiFi SD card that works exactly the same as the Eye-Fi Share. But with the Lexar branding, I guess these cards will be guaranteed a much larger audience. They'll be available in October for $US99.

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We've featured a couple of Wiimote charging solutions before, but here's one that's gotten around the pesky problem of charging without metal contacts--annoying if you actually use those Wiimote jackets. Teknocreations' InCharge allows you to dock up to two 'motes, silicon and all, to grab 25 hours of gameplay juice. How? Magic (i mean, inductive charging)! InCharge retails for $US34.99. [IGN via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Om Malik's Mobilise Conference was an all day event today in San Francisco, and while there wasn't a ton of gadget news, it managed to gather some powerful mobile electronics execs to talk about the future of mobile gadgets in a public forum. Though many areas of mobility and mobile devices were discussed, there were some definite consistencies of thought between the numerous panelists. Two of the main recurring themes in the discussion revolved around improving software development from beginning to end, and changing the infrastructure of mobile broadband. And it's not just dealing with the raw innovation behind these devices, but how they can be refined to best serve the consumer.

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Well the entries are now closed, and five lucky Gizmodians are going to spend next Thursday night partying with Sony.

Thanks to everyone who entered. The three of you who actually took up the multimedia part of the challenge are set to check out the latest Sony tech with a guest each, while two lucky commenters will be grabbing a friend or loved one for a night out as well.

And the winners are:

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Always had something against Darth Vader and his many Stormtrooper cronies? Why not denigrate them to the lowest forms of consumer electronics by decapitating their shrunken heads and turning those into nifty Star Wars phone flashers? Now if you're in a way-too-noisy cantina, or if you're phone is on silent, the head of the Dark Lord (or Stormtrooper No. 37291018) will spin 'round and 'round to make sure you don't miss your call. How droll. $US9 a head. [Firebox via ]

Phase 2 of Microsoft's Windows ad campaign debuted tonight during The Office, and the latest work by ad agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky definitely beats the crap out of those (ill-fated?) Gates/Seinfeld ads when it comes to making a point. The point is simple: Not all PC users look like John Hodgman. Some are even sexy beasts. It's easy to spot Deepak Chopra and Bill Gates affirming their PC-ness, but I think I also saw A-Rod Tony Parker and Eva Longoria too. You guys have a look and fill in the gaps, because there are a lot of celebs and specialists showing PC pride here. I only wish it didn't open with that poor bastard Hodgman lookalike—the message is damn loud and clear anyhow. Update: Windows' 15-second "I Wear a Suit" video below...

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According to an Apple patent application, the company is considering adding an "At a Glance" screen to the iPhone. Instead of spreading various notifications across multiple icons, the screen would allow a one-page roundup of the phone's calls, SMSs and voicemails, and a keypress would take the user to any of those individual screens. The screen could, of course, signal push notifications like email as well.

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OK guys, is it out yet or isn't it? This morning, official word of Asus's new AiGuru SV1, a standalone (no PC required) Skype videophone was released and then retracted--but here we are tonight at a media event in NYC and what do we see sitting on Skype's table? Not sure what the nervousness is about, cause the thing is pretty cool.

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You can watch this commercial all day long. You can load up YouTube and play it for your coworkers. You can even rip the video and convert it to play on your PMP of choice. But it won't make your shitty hatchback into an epic 80s superhero. Sorry. Not gonna happen. And this isn't even the first time we've seen Citreon fabricate such lies. They ran a similar spot back in 2006.

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We got our hands on Canon's brand-new full-HD shooting 5D Mk II monster tonight, and well, yeah, we want it just as much as we did last night--even though Canon wouldn't let us pop our own CF cards in for some test shots and vids. We're not mad though--we ran through live view, video mode autofocus and everything else you can do with an SLR with no CF (ie: grope, grope, grope). Let's look.

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