Maxit Mag

South Korean researchers have developed a robot which can dance and get emotional when it's not tackling the chores.

Mahru can move its lips, eyebrows and even pupils freely to make faces and can emit two kinds of fragrances to match its emotions. It can move upper body parts freely while walking on its legs.

The robot was developed by a research team at the state-funded Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

"Mahru, which can dance while walking on its legs, was developed as a humanoid robot capable of working in place of a human," team leader You Bum-Jae said in a statement.

"It will open the way for the commercial use of humanoid robots doing housework."

Mahru is programmed to follow various human movements through an advanced motion capture system, he said, adding it can move its hands freely to cope with any interference or obstacles.

Link: MSN

SanDisk has unveiled the Sansa slotMusic Player, the easiest MP3 player for loading and listening to music on the go. The plug & play, portable music player has been specially designed for use with the new slotMusic cards available today in the United States.

The unique, artist-branded slotMusic Player is a stylish, all-in-one package, which includes both the slotMusic card and a trendy player bearing their favorite artist’s name and image. The branded player comes pre-loaded with an album on a 1GBslotMusic card.

Weighing just over two ounces, the player measures 2.7 x 1.4 x 1.4-inches and can easily be tucked in a pocket or purse. In addition to slotMusic cards, this convenient MP3 player can play songs from any microSD card with music encoded as MP3 and WMA (DRM-free only) files.

SanDisk has also developed a special line of Sansa slotMusic Player accessories, including a Sansa Card Wallet, an armband, and additional slotMusic player “shells” for customizing a player to one’s own tastes.

Available in the US now, the player is expected to be available in Europe and other regions of the world in 2009. Artist-branded slotMusic players will retail for a MSRP of $34.99 while the Sansa model will cost $19.99.

Link: SanDisk

Apple has unveiled a new 24-inch LED Cinema Display geared specifically for Apple's revamped MacBook and MacBook Pro lines.

The 24-inch LED Cinema Display offers 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution, along with a built-in iSight camera and microphone, stereo speakers, and three-port USB 2.0 hub. It features an aluminum and glass enclosure, giving the LCD monitor a striking resemblance to Apple's current iMac design.

The LED Cinema Display features an integrated MagSafe charger that allows laptop users to plug in and power their notebooks. MacBook users can also connect to the monitor via its Mini DisplayPort, which Apple says is 10 percent the size of a full DVI connector.

The LED-backlit monitor consumes less power, lasts longer, and contains no mercury. Apple says the glass on the display is arsenic free and that the monitor contains no brominated flame retardants. Apple also said that all internal cables and components are PVC-free.

The new monitor will be available in November for $899.

Link: Macworld

Apple has introduced a new line of MacBook made with a new manufacturing process. The seamless enclosure is carved from a single piece of aluminum.

The new MacBook family redefines notebook design while dramatically lowering the entry price for advanced notebook features, including all-metal enclosures, pro-performance notebook graphics, brilliant instant-on LED-backlit displays, and new large, glass Multi-Touch trackpads.

Inside the new MacBook is a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds up to 2.4GHz. MacBook also boasts an increased 1066MHz frontside bus and next-generation 1066MHz DDR3 memory. The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M brings up to five times faster, discrete-level graphics performance to MacBook.

The MacBook keyboard is solid, responsive, and comfortable. An illuminated keyboard now comes standard on the 2.4GHz MacBook model. The new trackpad doubles as a button - just press down anywhere and consider it clicked.

The entire MacBook family meets stringent Energy Star 4.0, EPEAT Gold, and RoHS environmental standards.

The new 13-inch MacBook starts from $1,299.

Link: Apple

For the die hard fan of World of Warcraft, Computer gaming peripherals maker SteelSeries has introduced two new World of Warcraft-edition products, the MMO Gaming Mouse and Zboard Limited Edition (Wrath of the Lich King, or WotLK) keyboard.

According to SteelSeries, both are fully scalable to meet and exceed the requirements of even the most discerning World of Warcraft gamer. The mouse features macros up to 160 characters, 15 programmable buttons, 130 predefined commands for drag-and-drop macro creation, and an impressive illumination array. The MMO Gaming Mouse integrates seamlessly with World of Warcraft via a partnership with Blizzard, and allows users to use an intuitive in-game GUI for programming macros on the fly.

The SteelSeries Zboard Limited Edition keyboard allows for seven simultaneous keystrokes for anti-ghosting, and has one-touch macros for raiding and PvP gameplay. The keyboard connects to computers and acts as a USB extender via an internal hub with two USB ports.

SteelSeries worked with World of Warcraft creators Blizzard Entertainment on both products, which are officially licensed. Both products are available to pre-order from Steel Series webstore now, with shipping dates set for November 13. The mouse is priced at nearly $90, while the keyboard is priced at about $65.

Link: Electronista

Computer builder Zepto has claimed to offer the "world's fastest" 14-inch notebook, dubbed Nox A14.

The Nox comes with a superior simplistic design and all aluminum connectors combined with a soft touch material for an optimal and comfortable feeling of the notebook surface.

Nox A14 is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P9500, up to 8GB DDR2 RAM, 500GB HDD or 128GB SSD, NVIDIA Geforce 9600M GT graphic card with 512MB dedicated memory and Blu-ray drive. It comes with a 14.1-inch screen with WXGA+ resolution.

The keyboard offers control for features like power modes, night LED, volume, BT/Wireless, Media player, Touchpad on/off, web camera. The Zepto Nox features a fingerprint reader as a perfect security solution for your Windows login. A two-megapixel webcam is integrated by default, as are Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.

The Zepto Nox A14 is currently available in the Europe and the UK for a starting price of £827 (or roughly $1,400).

Link: Electronista

ASUS now brings the Eee PC S101, an exquisitely designed netbook for fashion forward individuals.

Weighing a mere 1 kg and svelter than most fashion magazines at just 1.8 cm, Eee PC S101 enables users to carry themselves with effortless grace. It features a 10.2” wide active matrix LED-backlit display. It has Intel Atom processor at its core. The Eee PC S101 supports 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and also features three USB ports, Ethernet and a 4-in-1 reader for SD Card, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro Flash disks.

Asus claims a Long Five-hour Battery Life with Super Hybrid Engine. The Eee PC S101 is available with either Microsoft Windows or GNU Linux. The XP model has 1GB memory and 16GB of Flash storage in place of a hard drive, while the Linux version has 2GB memory and 32GB or 64GB of storage.

Eee PC S101 is available in three gorgeous colors - Brown, Champagne or Graphite.

Link: Asus

Specifically designed with gamers in mind, ASUS has introduced the world's first Intel quad core gaming notebook - the G71.

Powered by the new Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9300, the G71 sports a 17” Crystal Shine high brightness display with a quick response time of 8 ms and NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT GDDR3 512 MB graphics card. The G71 can be equipped with up to 4GB of memory and 1TB of storage, via dual 500GB disks.

Direct Console 2.0 allows users to select from three processor speed settings depending on their mode of usage. A secondary display, called Direct Messenger, displays email notifications, instant messages, battery reserves and system loadings in real-time even during a game in progress. Programmable lighting chassis of the G71 provides the user a pyrotechnic-like ambience while in the game.

The G71 incorporates several entertainment features like Altec Lansing speakers, 2.0 megapixel webcam and a dedicated game keyboard layout to give users a gaming experience like none other.

Link: Asus

Here comes a new video game in which players move characters through a headset that monitors their brain waves.

Japanese game publisher Square Enix and American brain-wave-helmet maker NeuroSky showed off their latest joint creation at the Tokyo Game Show Thursday - a game that the player controls with his own thoughts instead of a keyboard or joysticks.

The recently introduced MindSet, from NeuroSky, is capable of interfacing to a variety of gaming platforms, including PC, console and mobile. The headset registers the current state of relaxation or concentration of players, allowing them to perform a variety of actions within the game.

Called "Judecca," the PC game is a zombie-killing first-person-shooter, though it's really just a proof of concept and not something that's going to be available to consumers anytime soon.

Japan's Keio University put similar technology to use this year to let a paralysed man take a virtual stroll on the popular Second Life website, with the machine reading what he wanted to do with his immobile legs.

Link: Fox News

Onkyo has your listening interests at heart with its new pair of wireless headphones known as the MHP-UW2. It lets you listen to your IPod with a portable and high-fidelity wireless stereo earphone system.

It uses the 2.4Ghz digital connection and promises to deliver high quality sound. The transmitter weights in 35 grams and is made compatible with IPod classic, Touch, Nano and Mini and has audio inputs for other portable audio devices.

The internal Lithium-ion battery is able to last for up to eight hours of non-stop use, and is rechargeable via AC adapter or USB. The Onkyo MHP-UW2 will be released in November for 20,00 yen ($200).

Link: Slashgear

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that the world’s First ‘clickable’ touch-screen Smartphone BlackBerry Storm will be available later this fall.

The revolutionary touch-screen technology in the BlackBerry Storm smartphone dramatically enhances the touch interface and enables easy and precise typing. The world's first “clickable” touch-screen responds much like a physical keyboard and also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures for intuitive and efficient application navigation.

The BlackBerry Storm allows its touch-screen to automatically switch between landscape mode and portrait mode as the user rotates the handset. It also adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides and other touch-screen gestures, so customers can easily highlight, scroll, pan and zoom for smooth navigation. Navigating Web sites is fast and easy with the touch-screen interface that lets users double tap to zoom in and slide their fingers to scroll and pan.

BlackBerry Storm will be available exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the U.S. and Vodafone customers in Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Link: BlackBerry

Anal moderator for the first US Presidential Debate, Jim Lehrer, kicked off the proceedings with a disclaimer to the audience, demanding them to be on their best behavior.