Hi-tech Frontier

Fujitsu’s Secure USB Memory Device With Auto-Erase Function Today Fujitsu Laboratories announced a couple of new technologies that should help prevent data stored on a USB flash drive from ending up in the wrong hands. The first is the secure USB memory device prototype pictured above that may have been inspired by a piece of Babybel cheese. It works like your standard USB flash drive, but it’s got a processor and battery on-board that can be used to automatically erase the data after a specified amount of time, or if the flash drive is plugged into an unregistered computer. The second development is a file redirect technology that can prevent files on a USB flash drive from being saved to another computer, or uploaded to an unapproved server. I’m not exactly sure how that technology is designed to work, since the Fujitsu press release is a little vague on the details, but the goal is to prevent confidential files from being emailed outside the office, or even printed.

Fastronouts toys: Let Children Create Their Own Electricity Green technology is spreading rapidly. It is the result to the global climate change phenomena that built awareness about environment sustainability. You must be understood that power energy is one of the bigger donator of carbon gas emission. Yet it needs to build the energy efficiency culture. Energy efficiency should be introduced and built since the early age. It makes children age is the perfect time to build this culture. However, this topic is quite complicated to children. But Sara Paculdo offers the easier way inspired with children’s favorite activity, play. For Green Gadget Design Competition, She designed a so called Fastronouts toys. This toy consist a Robo-astronout figures and moon cruiser vehicle. Each figure has a rechargeable battery and dynamo in each vehicle. Plugging Fastronout in a moon cruiser and roll the vehicle could make lights and color. It also has power indicator that could be pressed to make it t...

Panasonic expands Lumix FS line: DMC-FS12, DMC-FS62 and DMC-FS42 We tell ya, that Panasonic FS line sure knows how to expand. Just months after we saw a few more added to the mix, the point-and-shoot Lumix family is growing yet again with three new members. Kicking things off is the 12.1 megapixel DMC-FS12, which boasts a 4x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, 2.7-inch LCD, a WVGA (848 x 480) movie mode and digital red-eye correction. The 10.1 megapixel DMC-FS62 packs most of the same features, though it does step down to a 2.5-inch LCD. Finishing up the trio is the DMC-FS42, a 10.1 megapixel shooter that does most everything the FS62 does save for the omission of optical image stabilization and a few other minor exclusions. The whole lot is expected to arrive soon in a variety of hues, though precise pricing and availability details are still missing.

Bridgestone's 13-inch color e-paper display handles pen input, has the future written all over it While it'll always be difficult to accept innovative technology from a company that makes our tires, there's just no faulting Bridgestone's work in the e-paper space, or their latest color entry, above. The 13-inch display, based on "QR-LPD" tech, has what looks to be great color depth, along with snappy 0.8 second screen refreshes (great for this screen size) and actual Wacom-based pen input. There's video of it in action after the break, and if we didn't know better we'd think they were putting a Sharpie to a perfectly good display. Unfortunately, the image does look a little dim at the moment, so hopefully that's something Bridgestone can improve upon as they approach commercialization -- whenever that might be.

LEGO Boombox looks sweet The collaboration between LEGO and Digital Blue has already produced a couple of interesting gadgets for the wee ones, so here's another one to add to the stack. The LEGO Boombox is a decidedley low-techish CD player / AM/FM radio, with two 1 watt speakers, and a few buttons to boot. The saving grace of this little guy is obviously its shape -- which is awesome -- but we really need to know if its going to come in other colors (like hot pink) before we can think about buying it. This bad boy is going to be available sometime this summer, and it'll run $39.99

Fujitsu's PalmSecure takes high-speed, contact free biometric readings This next item should be music to the ears of security professionals, fans of biometric devices, and germophobes alike. Fujitsu has just announced a new palm vein authentication device -- one that's being touted as the world's fastest, and the first that works without the user actually touching the device. Unlike past implementations of this technology, which moved at a comparative snail's pace, PalmSecure works in as little as one millisecond. We can think of a number of places where this sort of thing could be particularly useful, from top secret lairs housing doomsday devices to anyplace where people might not be washing their hands as often as they should be (we really hate that). Despite its speed, Fujitsu insists that this bad boy performs with the same level of accuracy as its slow moving brethren.

Leica special edition white M8 Some keen-eyed fellows at the Audi Forum Tokyo car show were just hanging out, checking out an R8, when bam! The recently announced special edition white Leica M8 appeared out of thin air, ready to impress. We don't know what the circumstances were, or how the cam came to be there, but it's looking really fly, we can tell you that much. There's still no official word on pricing or availability, but rumor has it that it's going to appear sometime in May and might cost around €7,000 (about $9,150).

LEGO MP3 player: another brick in your kid's wall of sound So this is pretty out-of-the-ordinary looking. LEGO's recently-announced MP3 player -- produced through a partnership with Digital Blue -- fits in nicely with the rest of the company's kiddie gadget offerings, though we'll admit that this is probably the first one we're truly tempted to check out for ourselves. These bad boys have 2GB of storage, LCD displays, and unlimited attitude. It's got that sweet brick shape that brings to mind memories of our olden days while staying on top of the latest tech that kids today demand... you know, MP3s of Miley Cyrus and stuff. Right? The MP3 players -- in multi-color and pinkish (for girls) -- will be available sometime this summer for $39.99

Stone Neo 101 We haven't heard much from Stone since it fulfilled its destiny and bought Rock Computers last year, but it looks like the company is now finally having a go at a netbook of its own, and blending right in with the masses with its just-announced Neo 101 model. As you can no doubt guess, this one packs a standard issue 10.1-inch 1,024 x 600 display and an unspecified Atom processor, along with built-in WiFi and optional 3G, a pair of USB ports and, somewhat notably, an ExpressCard slot for a bit of expansion. You'll also get a slightly better than usual three-year warranty, which apparently doesn't add much of a premium to the netbook's £275 price tag (or about $400). Look for this one to be available in the UK starting May 1st.

GiiNii Movit Mini Android tablet We were pretty stoked by GiiNii's Movit Mini when we got some hands-on time with it at CES this year, and while the 4.3-inch, Android-powered tablet was originally due out in the middle of this year, the company's now targeting an October 1st ship date for the Mini and January 1st, 2010 for the 7-inch Max. Specs look to be the same as before, although given the new date we'd say Cupcake is now all but guaranteed. Mum's still the official word on pricing, but last we heard the Mini was expected to cost "less than the iPod touch" -- here's hoping the company manages to keep that goal.

Shuttle releases Atom 330, SUSE Linux-packin' X270V nettop Go 'head, Shuttle -- break on out of that shell! The company notorious for pumping out the same barebone rectangle with a different model name and a few extra ports has finally seen fit to do something a touch different, and what we're dealt is the X270V. This so-called Mini-PC relies on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom 330 to push the computations, while up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM keeps things in order. There's also gigabit Ethernet, 6-channel audio, a PS/2 connector for the retro folks, six USB sockets and VGA / DVI outputs. Shuttle also claims this bugger is energy efficient, though it doesn't go into great detail about just how much it'll save you each month. Oh, and it also comes loaded with openSUSE 11 (a Linux flavor, for those unaware). Interested? Move to Europe and plop down at least €299 ($390).

How would you change HP's Mini 1000 Mi? Judging by recent PC shipment reports, HP's had a pretty good run in Q1, and we fully suspect that a good chunk of those sales are in the netbook category. The outfit's Mini 1000 Mi was highly anticipated and chock full of promise, though we're not totally convinced the whole Mi interface lived up to the mile-high hype. So, now's your chance to tell us -- did it? Are you pleased with the software? Do you feel the user interface attracts or detracts? Could the hardware use a retooling? Are you totally looking forward to the 2000 Mi (or 1000 Mii, whatever HP settles on)? Feel free to blast our your really real opinions in comments below -- we'll be listening.

Silver PS3 DualShock 3 Wireless controller If that all-black DualShock 3 controller has just grown stale, and you're not about to drop any coinage to have Colorware liven things up, GameStop has a fantastic solution -- so long as you're a fan of silver, that is. As of today, the firm's website has a clear listing for a satin silver version of the wireless SIXAXIS, and anyone familiar with the silver PS2 controller will no doubt notice the striking similarities. Just so you know, this one's been available in the Japanese market for eight centuries now, but it looks like the North American crowd can finally yell "me too!" when parting with $54.99 on June 24th.

Ora ilLegale clock tips to compensate for daylight savings time Genius. Pure genius. In order to save us all from smashing buttons on our digital alarm clocks or stripping the gears in our analog ones, designer Denis Guidone has dreamed up this masterpiece. The Ora ilLegale clock boasts no numbers and is obviously missing a significant portion of its base; these two factoids enable it to become the easiest clock to adjust to changes in daylight savings... well, ever. The best part? We're told that it'll actually hit production soon, though there's no indiciation of just how pricey it'll be. Not like it matters -- you're totally buying one, and you know it.

Motorola Hint review It's interesting how some handsets make the rounds among the regional carriers without so much as a passing mention from the nationals, and that's certainly shaping up to be the kind of life the Motorola Hint is leading. Piling on to launches on Alltel and MetroPCS, it turns out that the Hint is also now available from Cricket; like MetroPCS, Cricket likes to do the whole no-contract thing, which means you'll pay $229.99 upfront for the pleasure of putting a 2 megapixel, EV-DO equipped QWERTY slider in your pocket with these guys. Any takers?

David Beckham bends it like a Terminator for Motorola's Aura Never before in the history of humankind has a company that's been doing so badly had such an enormous amount of money to waste. Enter Motorola, and, consequently, their new Aura advertisement featuring megahunk David Beckham doing what he does best: absolutely nothing. There's not much that we can say that the Terminator-inspired ad won't say for us, so putter on after the break and catch the ad itself, plus Beckster beefcaking it up like a pro and sharing his innermost insights on Moto's $2,000 phone.

HTC Magic for pre-order While the jury's still out on its US name or release date, the HTC Magic is gearing up for its European debut by way of Vodafone. The pre-order page is now live with an irresistible price of zilch, provided you agree to a monthly plan of £30 or more. The company says it plans to ship out the Cupcake-powered phone by May 5th.

Motorola's r765 and r765IS for extreme environment You may have been under some horribly misguided impression that your silly little i580 was "rugged." Well, we've got news for you, pretty boy -- Motorola has handsets that eat i580s for breakfast, and they're coming out this year. The r765 and r765IS are designed for use in some of the harshest working environments in the world, and odds are you'll never see one, much less own one -- in fact, they're targeted for private iDEN networks, not anything like Nextel -- but those who need it will probably appreciate the mil-spec compliance, the full watt of radio power (0.6 watts on the r765IS), and the latter model's intrinsic safety rating for use in explosive environments. Look for the r765 to launch this quarter, with the IS model following on a quarter later.

Denon AVC-1610 receiver Denon released the AVC-1610 receiver to its Japanese customers, and we can only assume it will make its way to other markets soon as the replacement for, of course, the AVR-1609 model. The specs we teased out of the machine translation look pretty good -- the same 75-Watt (130-Watt maximum into 6-Ohms) amplification as the outgoing model, but HDMI inputs have moved up a notch to three, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA and Dolby ProLogic IIz have been added to the surround audio processing support, and analog-to-HDMI video conversion is now onboard as well, which should help clean things up your cabling. Now if Denon would only add preamp outputs to this model, we'd be set. The AVC-1610 is set for mid-May availability in Japan at ¥55,000 ($550), which should give interested shoppers plenty of time to start planning whether to buy a new AVR-1610 or score a deal on last year's AVR-1609.

Onkyo unveils Universal Port-loving iPod dock, HD radio tuner Onkyo only kept early adopters of its recently introduced TX-SR507 and TX-SR607 receivers waiting for a month to put the Universal Port (U-Port) 'round back to good use. The company has introduced an iPod/iPhone dock (is there anything that doesn't have one?) and a HD Radio module as U-Port accessories. The $109 UP-A1 iPod dock will allow remote control of the connected device and will output component video to the connected receiver when it ships in May. The UP-HT1 HD Radio tuner will show up in July and for $159 will unlock HD radio reception to your Onkyo U-Port receiver. Neither peripheral is exactly earth-shaking, but it's a safe bet that one of them will enjoy a lot more uptake than the other.