With only a few weeks to go until Election Day, director/showman/clown--strike out words depending on your political preferences--Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising is now available in the internet. Created to promote vote among young people, Moore is saying that this is the first full feature film to be released for free on the web, using Blip.tv, Amazon Video on Demand, iTunes, DivX, MPEG4, and Lycos VOD.

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Nokia's a little late to the touchscreen game--and they've been parading the "Tube" around for a while ("we promise, it's coming!"). Now details are starting to build for a rumoured October 2 announcement of the Tube (known more stodgily as the 5800 XpressMusic), fanned by the leaked pic above spotted by Mobile.cz. The date also coincides nicely with the expected timeframe of Nokia's "Comes With Music" launch, since this is primarily a music phone. Expected specs includes A-GPS and wi-fi, a 640x360 touchscreen, Symbian S60 and an included 8GB SD card for music. [Mobile.cz via Unwired View, BGR]

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We've all picked up the Covenant Energy Sword in a multiplayer match of Halo, grinning with childlike glee...only to be combo sniped and teabagged into oblivion. Now you can settle the score in real life with this Halo energy sword replica. Cast in stainless steel finished with the reflective "spectrum treatment," the 27-inch sword will mirror the red blood of your enemies, the blue flashes of police lights and the dark consequences of your actions as you spend life in jail...oh so far from your precious sword. You were an Arbiter once, long ago. And for a moment, it was wonderful. [Trueswords via Kotaku]

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Made by Ryan Cashman, this movie shows you that with a chunk of ingenuity and a huge bucket-load of patience you can make movies with any old DSLR. Ryan's clip of an LED pianist was made with nothing more sophisticated than a green keychain LED and a Canon digital Rebel. He took a sequence of 20-30 second exposures, and strung them together later into an animated movie with original music. HD-video DSLRs? Pah... this is real art. [Vimeo via Wired]

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This 32-inch Wi-Fi picture frame may look like a TV, but as your guests will quickly (sadly) discover, it's just a frame to show off your family photos. Easily paired to a wireless router, the display is compatible with Windows Live Photo Gallery as well as proprietary image software that can wirelessly copy photos from your computer to an inserted SD, MS or Compact Flash card. And while the (1,366x768) Smartpants SP3200WF can display PowerPoint, RSS and PDFs, it seems to miss the more tempting media extender and Hulu opportunities. No word on price or availability. [via Luxury Launches]

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Movea's Gyration Motionsense Air Mouse adds to the ranks of new mice with gyros and accelerometers inside so you can control your computer just by waving them mid-air. It's an ambidextrous mouse using 2.4GHz wireless tech with 100-foot range and it's got both customizable buttons and gesture recognition. Inside there are two rotational gyro axes and three linear accelerometer axes to detect your movements with greater precision, and it's got a mere 20ms start-up time. As if that's not enough, it's also got a standard laser mouse option in case your arm gets tired. Available early October for $US100. Press release below.

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Tim Goddard is at it again with his Star Wars mini-fighters. This time he has built the mother of all Lego Star Wars battles, with thousands of pieces and hundreds of spaceships, Imperial walkers, Rebel hovercrafts and even a movable turbolaser train. The level of detail and complexity is mindblowing:

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When the much-hyped Esquire E-Ink cover finally shipped to newsstands a few weeks ago, we were kind of underwhelmed. Using conventional methods, the sectioned panel isn't really hackable in any meaningful way, so Phone Losers took a more proactive approach: violence.

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BoyGeniusReports has got hold of some imagery and specs for an upcoming LG slider phone, the Xenon. It's a side-slider with QWERTY keypad, quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSPDA. It's only got a 3-megapixel cam, so it's no Viewty or KC910 but it does pack in AGPS, an accelerometer and proximity detector.

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Jalopnik spotted the new Peapod--Chrysler's GEM electric car for neighbourhoods--in the wild. Even while it feels like a glorified golf cart for "gated communities", it looks great down to the iPod/iPhone dock in the middle of the dashboard. The design makes us smile for obvious reasons--although it's also a little bit scary because it reminds me of the evil Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.

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Sony's Bluetooth wristwatches may do a neat job of buzzing to alert you that you're phone's ringing if it's not in your pocket, but until now they've been kinda gruff. The upcoming MBW-200 versions are different, aimed squarely at the gadgety woman. Dubbed "Sparkling Allure," "Contemporary Elegance" and "Evening Classic" they auto-pair via Bluetooth, have an OLED number display and let you mute or reject the call from the watch, as well as control a phone's music-player functions. Sony's also drummed up support to outline the femininity of the design (no, really!) by getting three young women tennis players to model them, but not mentioned pricing. Pics and press release below.

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In collaboration with Nissan and NTT DOCOMO, a Japanese mobile operator, Sharp has developed what they claim is the first mobile phone that also functions as a keyless entry and ignition device for cars. Rather than building a new system from the ground up, Sharp has simply opted to include Nissan's existing Intelligent Key technology in a phone. The system will function like any of the many other wireless keyfobs on the market today, authorising the driver to enter, exit and start his or her car without ever poking any keys around.

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As well as tweaking its Gorillapod flexible gripping tripod design in the Gogo model, to support all sorts of gadgets, Joby's now applied some real beefing-up techniques to its original camera-tripod version and created the Gorillapod Focus, designed for heavier camera gear. Made from aluminium so it weighs just 499 grams itself, it can nonetheless support pro-video or SLR equipment that weighs up to 5 kg, and of course fasten it/dangle it from all sorts of places you wouldn't normally mount your cameras. The Focus is due soon for a similarly beefed-up price of $US150. [GeekyGadgets]

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The Rovio is quite definitely revving up for its September 26th launch with a bunch of new promo videos from WowWee. If you weren't already intrigued by the web-controlled roving webcam, then you will be after watching this teaser: it looks like it does a pretty fab job of manoeuvring while streaming video and sounds. I do wish the camera vertical angle was more adjustable though.

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USB hubs, schmUSB hubs: jam this 5-in-1 charger cable into the back of your machine and you'll be able to charge-up/sync five different gizmos at once. That's if you have an iPod, a PSP, a Nintendo DS, aGBA and a device that connects via mini-USB. Not rocket science by any means, but a handy way of simplifying your desktop wiring clutter, and good for computers with few USB sockets (I'm looking at you, Mr. MacBook Air). Out now for $US14. [Gadget4All via BoingBoingGadgets]

Google gets it. They understand. While they're thinking about starting their own countries and creating a whole new mobile platform (and rolling around on rollerblades while doing it), they understand that regular folk are struggling, especially at the petrol pump.

That's why they've launched a gadget for iGoogle which tells you the price of any petrol station in Australia. They update the information twice daily - so the information is going to be fairly accurate - and you can search either by suburb, price or brand.

You can download the gadget for your iGoogle homepage here. It's a free download, so there isn't any reason why you shouldn't use it, unless of course you prefer to walk or catch public transport. In which case - kudos to you for being better than the rest of us...

[Google Australia Blog via Lifehacker]

Whoever said that print was dead? Popular Science, one of the world's biggest men's magazines, has launched in Australia this week. Why should you care? Because they care about the gadgets, and that makes them like you (and me).

The new mag promises to deliver a heap of content, from the latest tech to sports, vehicles, health and engineering. The first issue is on the newstands now for $8.95, and from the looks of that weird looking bike thing on the front cover, it might be right up your alley.

The launch issue's press release is after the jump, if you need convincing why you should read the mag...

[PopSci]

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Need some wireless internet love, but without the hassles of a 24-month contract? Have oodles of money to spend? Then Telstra's got the pre-paid wireless internet solution for you!

The Big T has released its own pre-paid wireless internet solution. For $149 you get yourself that wireless modem you see in the pic above, plus $10 worth of credit. The cost of the actual data varies, ranging from $20 for 150MB to $100 for 6GB.

Credit expires within 30 days. Unless you buy some more credit that is, in which case it carries over to the next month.

We bag Telstra's data pricing (and rightly so), but for some people, the Big T is the only option, especially in outback Australia. So it's good to see them offering pre-paid for those customers who wouldn't necessarily have the coin to sign away two years of their life on wireless data.

[via Lifehacker and Tipster Stuart - Thanks Stuart!]

Sony have a mandate to have 90% of their products networked connected within the next couple of years. That's a pretty big task, no matter who you ask, but one that the company is actually moving towards fairly quickly thanks to a little technology we like to call DLNA.

The first Sony Ericsson phone to feature DLNA is the C905 Cybershot snapper, which comes with Wi-Fi, an 8.1-megapixel snapper (and typical camera functions like face detect, BestPic and a Xenon flash).

Connected to other DLNA devices on your network, you can use the C905 to access and view content stored on your PC, PS3 or other DLNA device. Or, you can access content (like photos) from your phone on your PS3, without having to plug it in.

The C905 is looking to land in Australia in October. And if you happen to be a Mac user and therefore aren't impressed with the whole DLNA thing, then you'll be happy to know that the C905 is also one of the first Sony Ericsson phones that is OS agnostic - so you'll be able to sync your content between your phone and your MacBook.

[UCHI on Giz]

We've seen Sony's Sountina speaker on Giz before, but yesterday at their UCHI event, Sony were showcasing the speaker for the first time in Australia. For those whose memories are lacking, the Sountina is a vertical speaker that uses some weird kind of tech to both do away with the need for stereo speakers, as well as maintain a consistent volume in 360 degrees no matter how close you are to the speaker.

As you can see from the video above, it's a funky looking device. The whole volume thing is actually really disconcerting - while it may seem a little bit louder closer to the actual speaker, you can walk about 5 metres way and it still sounds like it's the same volume. And even when you're standing right next to it, you can still hold a conversation without raising your voice or gesturing like a monkey.

Sound quality was pretty good in the mid to high range, but the bottom end was distorting like it was in pain. It may have been something to do with the fact that the speaker's base was just sitting on concrete, but the sound was still shaking around all over the place in the low end.

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We don't know how much it cost her, but word is that the Queen of England has put down some mega-bucks to buy the world's largest wind turbine. The 10-megawatt monster machine built by Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, California will have a wingspan larger than two soccer fields and will stand 574 feet tall when completed. The windmill is expected to displace two million barrels of oil as well as 724,000 tons of CO2 over its lifetime. It will also serve as the flagship for Clipper's Britannia Project, an effort to produce massive new turbines on deep-sea floating platforms. If all goes as planned, the Queen's windmill will light up thousands of British homes starting in 2012. [CNN]

As a guy who spends way too much time in Google apps, I look forward to testing Android now and as it develops. I need my Gmail and Gcal straight away, and would expect to see support for Google Docs materialise at some point, at least via the browser. Now that it's launched, though, it's easy to see some obvious weaknesses to Google's Android strategy, starting with a lack of target user. Jesus explained why average consumers may not fancy the hodgepodge open-source UI of the G1, but business users really get the shaft here, too. At present, Android poses no threat to BlackBerry or even Windows Mobile, and makes the iPhone platform's restrictiveness sound like a sales pitch.

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The DMX-WL1, DMX-DVD and DMX-SW1 link modules from Sony hook up to their BRAVIA TVs to provide wireless streaming of HD video from anywhere up to 65 feet away. The DMX-WL1 is a two-piece system that has five HD sources (four HDMI and one component) that's $US800 in October. The DMX-DVD is an upscaling 1080p DVD player for $200, and the DMX-SW1 adds four additional HDMI inputs for $150, both of which are available now. These "follow" the BRAVIA Internet Video Link Module which latches onto compatible BRAVIA TVs, which costs $US300. [Sony Style]

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Throw in a cooler, some speakers and mix with a little hillbilly inspiration and you have yourself a BoomCooler. Billed as "the ultimate portable entertainment system," the BoomCooler makes it easy to roll your tunes from one party to the next thanks to some fancy wheels and a handle. It also cranks out a decent amount of sound with two Sony Xplod 6" x 9" 240-watt max 4-way speakers, a 1100-watt max 10" Subwoofer and a 4-channel 600-watt amp. It is also iPod, Sirius radio, MP3, CD and AM/FM radio ready. But, the question is can it hold your beer? Unfortunately, no. The BoomCoolers storage space is limited to dry goods only. Pfft...if my $US900 doesn't involve getting drunk it is not worth spending. [BoomCooler via Uncrate]

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A Macenstein reader may have discovered the first instance of the accelerometer in the iPhone being used to enter a cheat code in a game. He claims that you can start on any level you like in Imagine Poker by shaking the device on the splash page until you hear a "giggle." The trick is that the code will only work if it is attempted exactly on the quarter hour (1:15 / 1:30 / 1:45 etc). If you have the game give it a shot and let us know if it works in the comments. [Macenstein]

W.L. Gore, the same company that brought us Gore Tex, is now setting its sights on helping hunters kill deer more effectively using their new Optifade digital camouflage. Apparently, someone had the bright idea to find out exactly how a deer sees a hunter, then use that information to design a better brand of camo. After a tireless investigation into ungulate vision and the distribution countless food pellets to test deer, researchers came up with an "abstract" design that consists of a micropattern of tiny squares and large geometric shapes that should, theoretically, prevent the deer from connecting the dots and registering the shape as a human.

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This is A, a giga-yacht that looks like a cross between a First World War battlecruiser, a submarine, and a spaceship. The A is 387 foot long, with three pools, one master suite, six guest suites, and rooms for 42 staff. Or 42 trained evil Spectra ninjas. The scale of this thing is just mind-blowing, you just have to look closely at the side gate, which seems big enough to hold a dozen of torpedo boats.

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