Some would go to places they’ve never been virtually! with a hott chick maybe…
VirtuSphere provides a mechanical basis for truly immersive virtual reality environments, permitting the user to move about in virtual space by simply walking. Video after the jump.

 
YouTube and NBC Olympic coverage are only part of the online video story. It is a worldwide phenomenon predicted to generate $4.5 billion in 2012, up from $1.2 billion in 2008, according to In-Stat. The research company said the technology’s mainstreaming would drive growth in what was once a plaything mainly for students and young […]

Expensive fruit will help you remember the number for expensive fruit
German researchers have developed intelligent self-service scales for supermarkets, able to recognize fruit or vegetables placed on them. The scales automatically recognize the item being weighed and ask the customer to choose between only those icons that are relevant, such as various kinds of tomatoes. […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jquXcwooV6A

 
Founded by Frenchman David Belle, the aim of parkour is to get from one point to another as quickly and as efficiently as possible, making use of any maneuvre needed to get around any obstacles.
Not to be confused with free running, which is something different.
Wikipedia defines the difference as this: “Parkour as a discipline comprises […]

 That sucking sound you hear is purse strings being tightened
Even affluent consumers have been tightening their purse strings. According to a new consumer confidence poll conducted by Unity Marketing, luxury consumer spending was down 19.7% in Q2 2008 compared with the same period the previous year, and down 5.3% from Q1 2008.  […]

 
A population in transition
The nation’s population will look dramatically different by mid-century, becoming more racially and ethnically diverse and a good deal older as it increases from about 302 million to 439 million by 2050, according to projections released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

 
Henna tattoos are widely available and usually harmless. But certain kinds can cause a powerful allergic reaction.

 
Anyone who’s seen Japanese comics, cartoon videos or anime art is instantly struck by the common look of the girls - big eyes that, by making the rest of the face look small, add the cuteness and sex appeal prized by many Japanese men.
 

Are books falling out of favor?
It may be about time to dig out that old library card. Hoping to draw back readers, libraries have vastly expanded their lists of digital books, music, and movies that can be downloaded by their patrons to a computer or MP3 player - and it doesn’t cost a cent.

 Apparently loyalty now has a price
In a move that will likely kill the program, American Airlines joins Delta in announcing changes to the frequent-flier program. Changes included new fees and higher mileage requirements for upgrades and free tickets.

 
A lot of people talk about being environmentally friendly, but most of them are all talk. They still drive cars, power their homes with non-renewable energy, and buy products that have large carbon footprints. Where are the people who are serious about living green?

Hey, you didn’t need all that cartilage anyhow.

Here’s an Instructable on how to give yourself elf ears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egAl6sNMaqE

 Welcome to the next evolution of Powerpoint!
OK, so it’s not really a hologram, but it is pretty cool. This project is a combination of a number of technologies. In this video, they are using a multi touch software and combining it with the Musion Eyeliner System.

 
 Best Buy’s Gadget Vending Machine
Check out this Best Buy vending machine spotted in the Dallas/Forth Worth airport, keeping flyers in gadgets and sucking up money like a black hole in a square box.

 The drinks of tomorrow will be packed with a secret ingredient - fun!
Xavier Herit stands before his customers holding a syringe mid-air. But he is not a doctor and it doesn’t contain any medication.
The syringe is filled with strawberry-infused Cointreau and sodium alginate and is part of an arsenal of tools that are pushing Herit’s […]

 
Shopping is becoming more complicated
While some consumers in the US are shopping online to avoid driving, even those visiting stores in person are hitting the Web first.
Eight out of 10 respondents who had recently made consumer electronics purchases in a brick-and-mortar store said they had visited the store’s Website first, according to a May 2008 […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3HGfIy_zCI

 
A new product from Microsoft Research. The Sphere comes from the same Microsoft Researchers that developed the Surface, aka “PlayTable”.
 

Young men with nuts of steel.

Unicycling - a sport long relegated to clowns and weirdos - have gone hardcore: a small but growing cadre of unicyclists have “ruggidized” (is that a word? It is now!) the whimsical device and created the new sport of Mountain Unicycling or Muni. Video after the jump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINc1mV-L8Y

Robotic sea bream from the University of Kitakyushu 
Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu have developed an underwater survey robot that looks good enough to eat. “Tai-robot-kun,” a 7-kilogram (15.4 lb) robotic sea bream (red snapper) with a silicone body covered in realistically hand-painted scales, features a unique propulsion system that allows it to move […]

 
Nanosatellites, because small is the new big
Earlier this week we heard that “Cambridge University Spaceflight” would be entering the N-Prize competition. The N-Prize (the “N” stands for “Nanosatellite“) is a competition to stimulate innovation directed towards obtaining cheap access to space. The competition was launched in 2008 by Cambridge biologist Paul H. Dear, and is […]

 Bumper crop of babies last year, even a few cute ones
Data released by the federal government shows a record numbers of infants born in the United States in 2007. The report was released last week by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. It shows 4,315,000 births in 2007, which some demographers say could […]

 
for the die hard environmentalist 
With a philosophical insight, it is generally quoted that we have to leave back our attitude and possessions when we go to grave. I too agree but not completely.

Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey, top, and Biz Stone pose on the roof of their San Francisco offices.
USA Today has a great article on the Twitter phenomenon. Micro-blogging at its finest, it is indeed much more than that.
Twitter has become so popular, so fast, that keeping up with its fast-growing user base is a […]

New Land in the Ocean

Deborah of Life in the Fast Lane wrote a neat mega-post about 45 of the world’s most amazing artificial islands (both real islands and those in planning stages). Take for example, the Federation Island modeled above…

While most of us are adolescently psyched to see the Batman bike in the Dark Knight, we’re aware of the crude reality that even trained stuntmen couldn’t ride the thing without falling off.