Check out this simple yet rugged speaker known as the Hive Audio System that was specially designed to be placed in an outdoor environment. The Hive Audio System will come with a sound tube that prevents the elements from harming its innards, while amplifying sound as it reverberates. The rugged base adds to the overall stability, and this wireless speaker can be linked to other similar units to form a “hive”. One can only wonder when a design concept such as this from Christopher Stuart will be realized. Tags: high definition TV, wi-fi, dap, robots (Read the full post about ‘Hive Audio System’…)

It was a launch that at times seemed like it was never going to happen, and now that it has officially been confirmed by Rogers, potential customers have just about 24 hours left to wait before they are able to purchase a blackberry Bold of their own. Sadly Rogers has not released any pricing details, I guess they are intent on making everyone wait to the very last minute for everything. However, according to RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie it will be priced between $300 and $400 and will be aimed at business users, which seems to fit in nicely with the rumored price of $399. Of course, I can imagine most potential customers are hoping it will come in a little less expensive, possibly something a little closer to the pricing of the 16GB iphone. (Read the full post about ‘Rogers makes the BlackBerry Bold official, available August 21′…)

Last week we teamed up with PrezzyBox in our first “What is this?” competition. We had over 30 emails with the correct answer of “It’s a stylophone” and here’s a full picture to prove it. The winners have been drawn at random and they are: Stylophone winner: MR. SRIORATAIVAN congratulations And the winners of the £10 PrezzyBox gift vouchers are (must be a UK address): JD Denoncourt bplantes k8sheehy mamsps ballor187 jennee Congratulations to all the winners (and big commiserations to those we drew for a voucher who aren’t in the UK), we’ll be in touch to sort out the shipping. Thanks everybody and good luck in the next contest. (Read the full post about ‘Stylophone Competition Winner’…)

Photo [BruceTurner/Flickr] As we have seen over the past few weeks, bike locks are not necessarily the best way to keep hold of your ride. Some locks can be cut like butter, and even the best can be compromised given enough time. So what to do? As cycling gets more popular due to rising oil prices, fitness and plain fashion, more and more high-priced bicycles will disappear from the streets. We’ve put together a few alternative “deterrents”. Some will help you find a jacked bike, others will prevent it from being stolen in the first place, and one is purely for revenge. Electrocution Legal and moral issues aside, there’s no doubting the satisfaction to be had from revenge. (Read the full post about ‘Sweet Revenge: Three Alternative Ways to Stop Bike Thieves’…)

The folks at Chumby have announced that users of the Chumby can now interact with both their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Using the Chumby a user can now access and update their status, find out what’s going on with their friends, and see the latest photos posted by their Facebook friends. On Twitter Chumby users can access their profiles, tweets from other users, publish their own updates, and also display recent tweets based on a customized search via Twitter Search. It’s about time that Chumby got into this space more. They had previously integrated with MySpace and Craigslist, but integrating with Facebook and Twitter is what will really put them on the map. (Read the full post about ‘First Look: Chumby gets chatty with Facebook and Twitter’…)

If there’s one job I couldn’t do in a million years, it’s forensic scientist. I get grossed out wiping up food stains, so despite my grudging admiration for Sara Sidle, there’s no way I could hold onto my nerve (and my cookies) for long enough to swab human fluids. But it seems a lot of women are a lot less wussy than I am. In fact, USA today reports that perhaps in part due to shows like CSI, more women are entering the field than ever before: 74% of recent graduates in forensic science are female, up from 60% just six years ago. This is one of the few areas of science to contain a high proportion of female graduates, which is great. But it’s also one of the lowest-paid science-related jobs… (Read the full post about ‘Women and the “CSI effect”’…)

Security vendor Symantec has announced the acquisition of software tools company PC Tools for undisclosed financial terms.

PC Tools makes a large range of useful applications for your PC including Spyware Doctoer, Registry Mechanic, Internet Security, Antivirus Free Edition, Firewall Plus, Desktop Maestro, ThreatFire, File Recover, Spam Monitor, Privacy Guardian and Disk Suite.

The company will remain a separate unit from Symantec and Simon Clausen, CEO of PC Tools will continue to sit at the helm developing their products. Symantec intends to take their existing portfolio of software and release a range of new utility and security products.

(Read the full post about ‘Symantec acquires PC Tools’…)

Original photo [edjar/Flickr] In a story straight out of Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, three MIT undergraduates concocted a scheme to hack Boston’s transit payment system, the Charlie Card (no relation). The students managed to reprogram the cards to increase their credit balance, thus allowance them to ride the subway for free. Of course, being MIT students, they decided to write up their prank as an academic paper. But the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), already stinging from such a thorough pwning, took it to the courts, citing computer fraud, and asking for time to fix the system before the paper was presented. It is also thought that an MBTA official was overheard saying "It’s not fair. (Read the full post about ‘MIT Students Get Top Marks for Hacking Boston Subway’…)

Wish to control your own super robot, then get the latest LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Featuring a robotic construction, this device lets you build and program your own computerized robots. This PC and Mac compatible device is completely USB friendly. LEGO Mindstorms NXT works efficiently with 6 x AA batteries. Features Bluetooth Wireless Communication 100 x 64 pixel LCD graphical display USB full speed port 4K bytes FLASH, 512 Byte RAM LEGO Mindstorms NXT comes with 3 output ports and 6-wire cable digital platform. Its loudspeaker delivers 8 kHz sound quality and its sound channel delivers 8-bit resolution and 2-16 kHz sample rate. LEGO Mindstorms NXT incorporates 32-bit ARM7 microcontroller. (Read the full post about ‘LEGO Mindstorms NXT’…)

Wish to control your own super robot, then get the latest LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Featuring a robotic construction, this device lets you build and program your own computerized robots. This PC and Mac compatible device is completely USB friendly. LEGO Mindstorms NXT works efficiently with 6 x AA batteries. Features Bluetooth Wireless Communication 100 x 64 pixel LCD graphical display USB full speed port 4K bytes FLASH, 512 Byte RAM LEGO Mindstorms NXT comes with 3 output ports and 6-wire cable digital platform. Its loudspeaker delivers 8 kHz sound quality and its sound channel delivers 8-bit resolution and 2-16 kHz sample rate. LEGO Mindstorms NXT incorporates 32-bit ARM7 microcontroller. (Read the full post about ‘LEGO Mindstorms NXT’…)