Depending on your point of view, gutting a vintage 1942 Philco radio to install a Mac Mini, 17-inch Sony touchscreen, a Sony DVD/CD/receiver with a 2.1 speaker system, and EyeTV for recording shows could be considered an upgrade or an unforgivable sin. Either way, Grandma will have the most badass system in the retirement home. [TUAW]

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The new 'Gandalf' project launched by DARPA is classified, so there isn't much in the way of details, but it seems that the goal is to use a special set of "handheld devices" to track targets of interest using "radio frequency geolocation." Spy planes and drones are already capable of similar functions, but this new portable system would allow undercover operatives to track targets on the ground without broadcasting their intentions to every terrorist within a hundred miles. I would have thought this sort of operation was going on already, but if we can bust bin Laden when he calls out for sex chats or listens to New Kids on a portable radio it is better late than never. [FBO via Danger Room]

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This Ceramic Kitchen Radio is so cute and simple that is worthy of Dieter Rams. Easy to clean, easy to transport, and easy to use: Just turn the the lid to tune into your favourite station. And it will go perfectly with your morning china:

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Kids these days, with their baggy jeans and their MTV and their fancy networked booming boxes, they don't know the joy of sitting around the old-timey radio and listening to the soothing stories. The Areaware 2B radio just might be the bridge to these whippersnappers: its visible vacuum tubes have a cool retro feel, not to mention a warm sound, and the minimalistic design is hip with the Apple generation. And thank god, this radio is only a radio, without any wifi, 3G, DRM, or any of those other scary acronyms. The 2B will ship in November for a price of $US550, but what's a few hundred dollars for such comforting simplicity? [Apartment Therapy]

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Here's the thought process we think the creator of this caliper-style AM/FM radio went through. "Hmmmm, how can I take a normally compact device that fits well inside hats and make it about seven times wider?" Several hours of 3D rendering later, and out pops Aivan! It's definitely cool, but could be a little more economical on the space factor. If this were a satellite radio receiver and that space was used as an antenna, all would be forgiven. [Yanko Design]

Brando's Cyber Tap bath-time radio is not massively high-tech, sure, but its cuteness is undeniable. Stick its 12 cm sucker onto tiles or glass, adjust FM/AM frequency and twirl the volume tap to boogie away to showertime music. Is the red one more suited to Hot Gossip while the blue one's best for Coldplay? Who knows, but after a bad joke like that you'll be pleased to know the water-resistant, battery-powered Cyber Tap costs US$16. [Brando]

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While yesterday's radio-to-MP3 recorder reminded us of a modern Chumby, this one's style cues are more last decade. It's basically a digital-tuner radio, with FM, AM and short wave reception, but with a built-in, un-dockable portable MP3 player that can record to its own 256MB memory.

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Today is National Inventor's Day, in honour of Thomas Edison, and Giz is going to celebrate it with some designs from the Work In Progress show by students at London's Royal College of Art. There are no less than four concept radios in the show, including this one by Mikael Silvanto, which melds a slide rule with an iPod-esque analog radio. The other three, including one which uses QR codes to hook up graffiti artists with pirate radio stations, are below.

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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are awesome technologies that we now take for granted, but what if the two combined in Mighty Morphing Power Ranger style to create a superior means of wireless data transmission? Well, Michael Foley of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has said such a pairing is set to make an appearance into a broad range of gadgets by the middle of next year. The combination will speed up data transfers by allowing large files to be transmitted using the integrated Wi-Fi radios.

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It sounds obvious, but for the first time, over-the-air HD Radio can carry talk radio with closed-captioned metadata, so that the hearing impaired can enjoy the same talk radio programming that others can.

From what I can tell, the signal will be compatible with many recent HD Radio receivers, so you don't need a special box. The Kenwood in the picture is a proof-of-concept; the actual first-ever closed-captioned broadcast will take place on Wednesday. Leave it to the progressives at NPR to come up with it, teaming with Harris Corporation and Towson University to develop the delivery mechanism and user interface. Of course, if it takes off, deaf right-wingers will finally get their fix of conservative hate talk, too.

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