While we were stoked, if a little skeptical, about One Laptop Per Child’s dual touchscreen notebook design, it turns out someone has been working on one for years and it may actually be slightly more real than fairy dust. In an interview, Valerio Cometti, founder of the Italian industrial design firm V12 Design, told […]

While we were stoked, if a little skeptical, about One Laptop Per Child’s dual touchscreen notebook design, it turns out someone has been working on one for years and it might actually be slightly more real than fairy dust.

In an interview, Valerio Cometti, founder of the Italian industrial design firm V12 Design, told Laptop that the firm came up with a dual screened laptop called Canova almost four years ago. Developed for “creative types,” the first generation, pictured above, was made of stainless steel and carbon fiber. Hard to actually call it a laptop though, as it didn’t run an operating system or software.

But the firm has since pitched the idea to laptop makers, and Cometti reportedly said that the second generation Canova will be complete and possibly even available in the U.S. in the next 16 months. Cometti didn’t reveal the name of the U.S. company with which it is working on the next generation machine, nor did he provide any photos (not suspicious at all).

Even so, we’re hopeful we might actually get to see a dual-touchscreen laptop before we’re old.

Via [crunchgear]

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There’s a fine line between being too lazy to do something and being physically unable to do something, which leads logically to the fact that there are more things in common between the very rich and the very old than you might think. Case in point, this “Neptune Portable Reclining Lift” which lux blog Born Rich deemed worthy for a “Luxurious Bath.” The great thing? This is absolutely designed for old people too weak to lower themselves into a tub without breaking a hip.

Now, I’m no billionaire, but I’m pretty sure that the really rich don’t needed an elaborate contraption to lower their fois-gras-filled bodies into their gold-plated bathtubs. I mean, as I comprehend it, rich people are good with money, not insanely lazy people willing to drop over $1,000 on a seat that lets them lie back in a tub without using any of their muscles. That’s something that the elderly and infirm who are unable to lay back easily need.

But I do really love that this is seen as a luxury item. Next week: wheelchairs for the super-rich, allowing them to luxuriously wheel themselves around without using their legs! [Product Page via BornRich]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Hey there, good lookin’. I see you’ve got your face pressed against some sort of florally-decorated cushion that also covers up your gadgets. It’s called a PODillow? Anything with POD in the name is cool, am I right? Sweet beach day, huh? I just ate two hours ago and I still have to let my double-coating […]

Hey there, good lookin’. I see you’ve got your face pressed against some sort of florally-decorated cushion that also covers up your gadgets. It’s called a PODillow? Anything with POD in the name is cool, am I right?

Sweet beach day, huh? I just ate two hours ago and I still have to let my double-coating of SPF 120 sunscreen soak in or I’d take off my OS/2 Warp T-shirt and see if you’d like to join me for a swim.

You got that thing for $29.98 from Taylor Gifts? Beautiful and thrifty. Nice work.

via outblush

Via [crunchgear]

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WSJ tech guru and new Fox Business channel speaking head Walt Mossberg was on TV this morning speaking about the new iPhone 3G, waving it around just to reiterate that he has one and all of us don’t. He doesn’t give us any new info on the device, but you do get to see the nerd king of gadget mountain holding your precious iPhone 3G two days before anyone else, so who are you to complain? Interesting positioning, thanks to Rupert Murdoch’s current acquisition of the Wall Street Journal. Look for Walt to show up on Fox Business on Thursday mornings starting on the 17th. [Ed note: Does Mossberg really need Fox news?]

Via [Gizmodo]

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Natural magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic, ever-changing geometries. Scientists from NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory excitedly describe their discoveries. Natural magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic, ever-changing geometries as scientists from NASA’s Space Sciences Laboratory excitedly describe their discoveries. The secret lives of invisible magnetic fields are revealed as ch…

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After Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, many cell towers failed because they didn’t have backup power supplies. A panel of experts appointed by the Federal Communications Commission found that backup power should be required to be installed at all cell towers. In May of 2007 the FCC ruled that all cell towers in the United Says must have a minimum of eight hours of backup power in case a tower should lose its regular power source. (See: Cell Carriers Fight FCC over Backup Power).

Wireless companies fought the FCC’s regulations claiming they were illegally drafted and would create a big economic and bureaucratic burden. The wireless companies argued that local zoning rules, structural limitations and cost would make the backup rule impossible and impractical to implement.

In October the FCC agreed to allow exemptions to the rule. Companies would be given six months to explain why individual towers couldn’t meet the regulations. Then the companies would be given another six months to explain how they would provide backup service through other means, such as installing portable cellular transmitters.

The Wireless Association, CTIA, and others filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., saying the exemption would force service providers to inspect and write reports on thousands of towers.

Yesterday the court found that the FCC doesn’t have clearance for the rules from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The OMB is required to approve federal regulations whenever they require members of the public to collect and submit information.

“Because none of the backup power rule’s stipulations takes effect until OMB approves the information collections, the case is unripe and we shall hold it in abeyance pending OMB’s decision,” the court wrote.

This court ruling won’t settle the issue. The FCC only has to wait for the OMB to sign off on the rules. But because this is a major election year, both federal entities might wait until the November elections are settled.

Via Mobilecrunch

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Last week I asked you to send me napkin sketches of your brilliant gadget ideas. The sketches I received ranged from good ideas to bad ideas to flat-out horrible ideas. It’s safe to state that no time machines or gadgets that’ll make you attractive to ladies are suddenly feasible because you did a poor drawing of one on a napkin. Sorry! Hit the jump for the top three winners and check out the rest of the winners in our Gallery of Champions.

Winner — Most Delicious
Winner — Most Ambitious
Winner — Most Illegal

Via [Gizmodo]

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Park your automobile and tap “Park Me” to take a GPS reading; on the way back, hit “Where Did I Park” for turn-by-turn directions back to the whip. It’ll work for first-gen and iPod touch users (although not as well, I would imagine) via Wi-Fi and cell-tower positioning but 3G users will get turn-by-turn directions via GPS. Sure, you could just drop a pushpin in Google Maps, but part of the charm of these apps is going to be the simple execution of easy ideas, Xbox Live Arcade style. I advocate just remembering where you’ve parked. [PosiMotion]

Via [Gizmodo]

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The three heavy-hitters have already reviewed the iPhone and were all, unsurprisingly, pleasantly surprised. Baig likes GPS and the 2.0 update. He couldn’t get 3G everywhere, which is a big issue for some users. Pogue has been rolling in a field of iPhones for months now and he really likes it… except the 3G part. There is, […]

The three heavy-hitters have already reviewed the iPhone and were all, unsurprisingly, pleasantly surprised. Baig likes GPS and the 2.0 update. He couldn’t get 3G everywhere, which is a big issue for some users.

Pogue has been rolling in a field of iPhones for months now and he really likes it… except the 3G part.

There is, however, a catch: you don’t get that speed or those features unless you’re in one of AT&T’s 3G network areas — and there aren’t many of them.

Finally, Mossberg states the battery is hitting about 4 hours with 3G running, which is pretty paltry. Hmmm… the 3G in iPhone 3G is what’s holding the bugger back. Maybe we should all go back to EDGE.

Via [crunchgear]

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