The iPod is some people's best friend. As such they'll do anything and everything to protect it.The last word in iPod protection is the armored iPod case. It is a good idea if you happen to listen to your iPod in war zones or if you get shot often.iPods can pose danger since it distracts you from traffic sounds and increases your chances of an accident. If you have your iPod armor with you, at least you know that you did all you could for your iPod safety.  It weighs only 440 grams so you don't need your Hammer to carry it.       Source: Mac.com (Jap

Volvo has developed a self parking car in collaboration with Linköping University"In the project, four ultrasound sensors have been fitted on a Volvo S60, pointing in the directions indicated in the right figure above. When the driver initiates a parking space scan, the system fires and reads the sensors. A number of clever algorithms turn the measurement data into knowledge about the space position and size. When the space is identified and is determined to be large enough for the car, the system tells the driver that a pocket exists. The driver stops and reverses and the prototype electric power steering as well as braking is controlled by the parking computer so that the car is driven into the pocket safely, as shown in the left movie.

 Yahoo Music Unlimited is about to make online music distribution cheaper and more accessible. It offers lower cost than its competitors Songbird, Napster To Go and Rhapsody  for unlimited download from its library of about 1,000,000 tracks. If you are not the person for long term commitement, you can build your own disk at 79c per track. Yahoo! Music Unlimited is available either on a monthly basis for $6.99/month, or for an annual subscription of $59.88, billed annually (that's just $4.99 a month). The service is available currently to US citizens.  

 Some aspects of physics are easier to explain when illustrated in animation. The Double Slit experiment shows some of the principals of Quantum physics in a very friendly way. It will teach you about the notions of matter and waves, the riddles scientists face to understand what the universe is made of and the problem of the observer affecting the result, and the universe itself.  

Immitating and understanding the learning skills of humans and animals is one of the biggest problems of artificial intelligence research. Understanding and replicating the the learning mechanism is the key to making robots and humanoids that can adjust to changing environment and develop their skills over time. Babybot is a robot that learns to interact with the world in a similar way to a human baby. It could provide researchers with fresh insights into biological intelligence.Created by roboticists from Italy, France and Switzerland, "Babybot" automatically experiments with objects nearby and learns how best to make use of them.

Interesting results emerge when new technologies make new instruments that merge and transform classic ART forms. KEE is exactly that. Kee is a saucer like device that looks like a combination of a UFO and a vintage wooden salad bowl. It is held by the performer and transmit the performer's movements to a computer that uses the information to create animation and sounds that are synchronized with the dancer. The visual result is stunning. In the words of Miasnik "       KEE is a digital instrument for the performing arts, creating sound and image interpreted from intuitive body movement.

  The bacterium Caulobacter crescentus uses the toughest glue on Earth to stick to river rocks, and now scientists are trying to figure out how to produce the stuff.The adhesive can withstand an enormous amount of stress, equal to the force felt by a quarter with more than three cars piled on top of it. That’s two to three times more force than the best retail glues can handle. This unique adhesive is not only exceptionally strong, but it works well on wet surface.    Source: LiveScience

A few months ago, Capt. Alon Pereg,  who was about to command the next 737NG pilot's course of EL AL airlines, had an idea - the trainees could practice Airliner procedures, 737 automation (FMC) and ATC communications during the ground school stages of the course by flying online. He approached Kobi David, Vatsim Israel's CEO. Alon and Kobi went to the home cockpit of a Vatsim member, and took the PMDG 737 for a ride. Alon was very impressed with this demonstration, and now the ball was at his hands.Now, seven months later, members of VATIL, the Israeli branch of vatsim.net Virtual Air Traffic Flight Simulation Network, are part of the view in the training center.

  The French Parliament may decide that the iPod music player is illegal in the country due to its exclusive connection with iTunes online music store.Apple's iPod is the most popular music player worldwide. It downloads music in a proprietary format which makes it incompatible with music bought elsewhere online.Apple's strategy of selling individual tracks online for 99 cents proved very popular and made iTunes the largest single music source worldwide.  You can read more about it's phenomenal growth here The decision of the French parliament is required to pass several votes in National Assembly and the Senate.

     Skype is leveraging it's infrastructure and low cost voice, video and chat communication  power to enter the lucrative small business market.The new Skype for Business offer is a low cost solutions for small companies. The business oriented integration of one control panel for number of subscribers and unified billing, makes it easy for comapnies to adopt and use skype as their main communication channel.Skype strength for business use is in its features like conference call, toll free numbers, Email toolbar, call forwarding, Skype in, Skype Out, answering machine and the easy access to files and chats during conversation.