The LUPE might be mistaken for a touch screen camera, but this concept is actually a series of transparent touch screens as well as optical quality glass lenses that helps magnify images near and far to achieve a macro-like quality. The focusing mechanism is pretty smart, as it will automatically zoom in on whatever you touch on the screen at that point in time. I suppose since this is a concept, there is no traditional mechanism such as shutters and apertures to worry about, making this a dummy-proof device. Well, I guess it will take a fair number of years for technology to reach this level, but this is a pretty interesting concept nonetheless. (Read the full post about ‘LUPE Touch Screen Concept’…)

Peter Burrows of Business Week claims two "reliable sources" have leaked information about an upcoming firmware upgrade for iPhone 3G that will remedy widely reported problematic issues with the 3G network. He writes that a 3G chip produced by Infineon is the sole cause of the problem, and a firmware update will be the magic bullet that saves the day. That’s comforting to hear, but as always, take claims from anonymous sources with a grain of salt. Believe me — I’m not the type to be conservative, but the blogosphere’s getting a little out of control with 3G chatter, with some people preaching theory as if it’s confirmed fact. (Read the full post about ‘Opinion: Firmware Update to Fix iPhone 3G? I Doubt It’…)

With GPS-based phones and the frenzy of social networking that has taking place over the web it has become very common for people to want to make their location available so that friends and family know just where they are. Also, if you are out on a Friday or Saturday night it might be nice to know that a friend of yours is literally just around the corner. Well, to facilitate the demand for location-based social services Yahoo! has announced the general availability of Fire Eagle. Fire Eagle is an open platform with the ability for users to manage their location information. Users can decide how that information is shared in addition to who it is shared with. (Read the full post about ‘Share location with Yahoo’s Fire Eagle’…)

Our friends from from digitalhomethoughts have received their Dell studio Hybrid small and “green” desktop computer and have uploaded a video for those who want to see what it looks like in the real world. If someone out there tries to add a USB TV Tuner to the Studio Hybrid, please post a comment here. We are curious to know what the options are and if it works well with Media Center (Vista).

Tags: audio, home theater, game, cameras

Close Up is an art table that will make drawing much more fun, featuring a light feature that facilitates tracing, sketching and observation. Heck, there are even integrated portable containers that can be used to store collected bugs and leaves, where a magnification lens acts as the container lid to help provide the budding artist with an even closer look at their nature collection. Designed by Carolina Peña Villarreal, this ought to be rolled out if latent artistic talent is to be discovered at home. I wonder why something like this has not been invented already. (Read the full post about ‘Close Up Concept Art Table’…)

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 3:02AM Buh. So, this is getting confusing. According to sources over at ShackNews, the Rock Band 2 Special Edition bundle that was originally set to launch on September 14 exclusively on Xbox 360 will hit stores on October 19. For you fanboys keeping score, that’s the same date that the game will hit for other consoles. (Read the full post about ‘Rock Band 2 Xbox 360 bundle delayed until October 19, according to sources’…)