Apple TV worth looking into...

The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag: "

If you thought that Apple's foray into the world of home entertainment died with the last iteration of the Apple TV, you're quite wrong. A tip we've received -- which has been confirmed by a source very close to Apple -- details the outlook for the next version of the Apple TV, and it's a doozy. According to our sources, this project has been in the works long before Google announced its TV solution, and it ties much more closely into Apple's mobile offerings. The new architecture of the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and video out), and has been described to some as 'an iPhone without a screen.' Are you ready for the real shocker? According to our sources, the price-point for the device will be $99. One more time -- a hundred bucks.



Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon's streaming scheme, though we're talking instant-on 1080p, a la Microsoft). For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be all about streaming. The new ATV will do away with its current OS X-lite variation as a operating system, and will instead adopt the iPhone OS for the underlying experience. There's no word at this point on whether apps and the App Store will be coming along for the ride, but it makes sense given the shared platform. Of course, scaling iPhone apps to that 52-inch plasma in your living room isn't exactly a no-brainer. Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple won't deliver the ATV news at the upcoming WWDC -- that event will be focused on the capabilities of the new iPhone -- but development on the product is most definitely full steam ahead. Is your TV screen the next battleground in the platform wars? Survey says: hell yes.

iPad Steering Wheel Mount

Oh yeah, this is just brilliant.

iPad Steering Wheel Mount: "kevin7kal writes 'The Apple iPad is the ideal automotive communications and entertainment device. It is sized perfectly to mount using the iPad Steering Wheel Mount without obscuring the driver's view. 'I don't think that I am exaggerating when I say that the iPad Steering Wheel Mount probably has saved my life...

Robot Butterfly Means Breakthroughs for Biomimicry in Aviation (Video)

Robot Butterfly Means Breakthroughs for Biomimicry in Aviation (Video): "

Image via YouTube video

While butterfly populations worldwide struggle to stay afloat as the global temperature rises and changes their migration patterns and food sources, scientists have been hard at work coming up with their replacement - the mechanical butterfly that can survive anything but perhaps an attack of rust. Researchers successfully built and flew a flapping-wing-powered swallowtail butterfly, which could have big implications for the field of aerodynamics - after all we saw those videos of early airplanes that attempted to fly by flapping wings and they sure didn't work. Though from the video, how we can tell this...Read the full story on TreeHugger

New Telecommuting Plan

This is my ultimate telecommuting dream. Just imagine rolling this up to a conference table and saying "Helloooo!". If you think about it, the technology is already out there. Someone just put it all together.

Robot Avatar Lets You Go to Meetings without Actually Going There: "


Robotics firm Anybots proposes that its robotic avatars could replace the physical presence of people at far away locations. In the future, you’ll be able to attend workplace conferences and tour facilities remotely by controlling one of their robots:

You log in through the Internet and after a few keystrokes the ‘bot, called QB, comes alive, leaving its charging station and ready to meet, brainstorm, greet visitors or just generally creep people out.[...]

The robot avatar isn’t actually meant to replace videoconferencing, but the idea is to be able to participate in more than just meetings. With QB, you can observe a workplace, participate more directly in tasks, or just be there for those casual conversations — all from thousands of miles away.

Three years ago, Alex wrote about another invention of the Anybots company: the world’s first dynamically balanced robot.