Yes, I’m serious. Yes, I am now singing “Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest heights” in my signature off-key way. The Guardian newspaper reports that scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, one of Europe’s top research institutions, were able to harness wind energy by flying a 10-sq metre (107.6 sq feet) kite tethered to a generator. They produced ten kilowatts of power, enough to power ten family homes. And I bet they had a great time, too! The scientists now have plans to harness even more power from an even bigger kite. Could we soon see fields of kites flying high, instead of the traditional wind farm? Let’s hope so. You can read more and watch a video by clicking here. (Read the full post about ‘A surprising new source of renewable energy: Kites’…)

Last week, everybody inadvertently found out that Grand Theft Auto IV would be coming to the PC platform through the ESRB’s announcement that they recently rated the game. The rating was pulled from their website quickly, and everybody went about their business not knowing for sure whether or not the title would actually be making an appearance on the PC any time soon.

Now, Rockstar’s gone and made it official. The game is coming November 18th to North America, and it will launch in Europe on November 21st.

“We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.

(Read the full post about ‘Grand Theft Auto IV comes to the PC on November 18th’…)

I have no idea if the CamBall is the world’s smallest miniature digital video recorder, but seeing it next to the tiny pile of coins might actually convince me. Then again, I’ve seen spy cameras that are small enough to put them on pins. That is, I have seen them being used in movies. At least this one known as the CamBall is real. The CamBall is able to record MPEG-4 video in 320 x 240 or 640 x 480 resolution. All data storage is possible via tiny SD card that is able to do about 8GB worth of memory, but I’m not sure what that translates to as far as the amount of time that is actually recorded. You can even purchase another model that has an mp3 player built-in. (Read the full post about ‘CamBall could be world’s smallest or roundest camera’…)

If you’re worried that you miss an instant message sent to you over MSN Messenger or Skype, it might be a good idea to check out the Stysen i-Knock. It will notify you when you’ve received a message, e-mail or if someone logs in. Customization is also possible in the form of mp3 sounds, which you can assign to different contacts. This probably wouldn’t be too good a gift for a colleague in the office though. Tags: gadgets, wireless, CD, cameras (Read the full post about ‘Stysen i-Knock Message Notifier’…)

The Asus Vit W1 wireless laser mouse is definitely not something you’ll be able to find at your local computer store anytime soon, since it comes with an embedded pulse rate sensor right under the plastic shell, sending your pulse wirelessly to the PC, enabling the special software to let you know whether you’re already desensitized to pictures of raunchy women on the Internet as you maintain the pulse rate of a zombie while perusing through pages and pages of well-endowed ladies. Other features on the Asus Vit W1 include five buttons, 1,200dpi sensitivity and a maximum working range of 30 feet. (Read the full post about ‘Asus Vit W1 Wireless Laser Mouse’…)

HP has plans to roll out a notebook with touchscreen capability within the next 18 months that will further improve upon the current tx series, aiming for a more natural interface that does not require on a stylus to work within a conventional model. According to HP, the sense of touch is almost the preferred method for non-technical savvy users - just how intuitive this will be remains to be seen. Will it go one up on the iphone’s multitouch interface? I don’t know, but this custom interface won’t wait for Microsoft Windows 7. What do you think? (Read the full post about ‘HP Wants Touchscreen Notebook’…)

Google is trying to increase it’s poor market share in China by offering free legal downloads of licensed songs.  According to the Reuters report, Google’s main Chinese competitor, Baidu, is facing lawsuits for allowing copyright infringement through downloading unlicensed songs. The new service from Google will allow Chinese internet users to search thousands of Chinese artists and songs, which can then be downloaded from Top100.cn.  Estimates from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (think international RIAA) estimate that pirated files are currently more than 99-percent of all files downloaded in China.  In a country that recently released numbers putting it at the highest number of internet users in the world, that’s pretty big. (Read the full post about ‘Free music from Google…in China’…)

Reading a story book to your little ones right before they nod off is a time where both parent and child bond, but what happens when you’re too busy chasing the almighty dollar and come home pooped, with very little energy left to breathe life into tonight’s story? Why, settle for an electronic substitute, of course! Konami’s Tereshibai comes in a remote form factor that is hooked up to a TV, enabling kids to choose from up to 10 pre-loaded fairy tales of Japanese, Andersen and the Grimm brothers origin. These fairy tales will then be illustrated anime-style on the screen with the built-in microphone used by the parent to read the story alound. (Read the full post about ‘Tereshibai Electronic Fairy Tales’…)

It doesn’t seem all that long ago we were hearing news of a laptop being developed for children in developing countries that cost just US$100. That turned out to be the OLPC XO laptop, which still hasn’t achieved its price goal. Now it seems a new target is being set of just how cheap you can make a computer.

A group of graduates, including Derek Lomas and Jesse Austin-Breneman, are attending the MIT International Development Design Summit this week with the idea to build a US$12 computer.

(Read the full post about ‘Graduate team developing a $12 computer’…)

Google is trying to increase it’s poor market share in China by offering free legal downloads of licensed songs.  According to the Reuters report, Google’s main Chinese competitor, Baidu, is facing lawsuits for allowing copyright infringement through downloading unlicensed songs. The new service from Google will allow Chinese internet users to search thousands of Chinese artists and songs, which can then be downloaded from Top100.cn.  Estimates from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (think international RIAA) estimate that pirated files are currently more than 99-percent of all files downloaded in China.  In a country that recently released numbers putting it at the highest number of internet users in the world, that’s pretty big. (Read the full post about ‘Free music from Google…in China’…)