Microsoft Introduces 'Tabletop' PC

As computing devices get smaller and smaller, Microsoft is bucking the trend with its Microsoft Surface 'tabletop' PC, code-named 'Milan.' The device, about the size of a small desk, allows the user to draw and write on the surface with a brush or fingers. Instead of using a mouse or keyboard, the user manipulates digital elements on the surface with his or her hands.

The first of the Milan devices will be shipped to corporate customers to be used as kiosks... providing Milan with crucial exposure while allowing Microsoft to work out any kinks before offering surface computing to home and office users. At any rate, the average consumer will be forgiven for not pouncing on the first available units, which cost approximately $10,000 each.

Source: ZDNet

Sutures from Bacteria

Sounds icky, but it's true -- the FDA has approved a polymer suture made from modified bacteria using recombinant DNA technology.

The material in Tepha Medical Devices' TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture breaks down in the body as a deep wound or surgical incision heals, improving the healing process and preventing infection. Recombinant DNA allows the manufacture of materials from organisms that would be difficult if not impossible to produce otherwise.

The iPhone Revolution?

The iPhone, released to the public last Friday, is one of the most hyped devices in memory. But is all the excitement justified?

John McCormick of Baseline suggests that the iPhone could blow the market for handheld rich Internet applications wide open, even though the iPhone was designed for the consumer rather than the enterprise market. Om Malik concurs, noting the significance of the built-in Safari browser that brings the full Web experience to mobile phones for the first time. Smart Mobs opines that mobile phones (not just the iPhone) represent a mass medium unto themselves that are revolutionizing the fundamental ways in which we communicate.

UPDATE: Read a contrarian view...

Cheaper iPhone Coming Soon?

Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference kicks off Monday and according to Financial Times, Apple plans to introduce a cheaper version of its popular iPhone as soon as Monday, in a move that could dramatically increase the company's share of the smart phone market.

Analysts said that the company is likely to introduce either a $149 phone or a $99 phone, down from the current low end of $199.

Citing a firm survey of consumers, Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty said that a $50 price cut could increase demand for the phone by 50% and a $100 cut by 100%.

Apple sells about 11% of the world's smart phones, trailing Nokia at 41% and Research in Motion (Blackberry) at 20%, according to Gartner figures from the first quarter.

iPhone Game Review - Parachute Panic

I was poking around the iTunes AppStore this week and took a $.99 chance on a recently launched game from FDG Entertainment called Parachute Panic.

This fun casual game requires you to successfully land a host of parachutists into passing boats while trying to avoid obstacles such as helicopters, U.F.O´s, sharks and thunder clouds.

The game play is reminiscent of the vintage Nintendo Game & Watch handheld parachute game that I used to love to play back in the early 80's.

The game has very cool hand drawn graphics, smooth animations, catchy music and awesome sound effects. The game has been getting good reviews in the App Store and I have to agree - it is very well done and lots of fun.

Check out a video of the game here.

The only slightly negative comment I will make is that this game is not easy. It takes a little while to get used to the controls and even after mastering the techniques, the action picks up fast and furious. My 7 year old lost interest pretty quickly as it was too hard, but personally, I love the game, and for a buck it's well worth it. Click here to get it now.

Virgin Mobile Brings Pre-pay to Air Cards

Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM) today announced the launch of Broadband2Go, a 3G nationwide wireless Internet service without an annual contract, monthly subscription or activation fee.

Operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network and developed in conjunction with Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: NVTL), the MC760 Broadband2Go device carries the distinction of being the world's smallest EV-DO Rev. A modem.

'Forget the long-term contracts, monthly bills or desperately seeking a local coffee shop for Wi-Fi. Prepaid mobile broadband is ideal for students, families on the go, freelancers, anyone who needs wireless Internet access...and wants to pay only when they use it,' said Bob Stohrer, CMO, Virgin Mobile USA. 'We've already demonstrated the benefit of no annual contracts and the ability to tailor spending to individual needs. Broadband2Go is another way to give consumers value, flexibility and convenience.'

Like Virgin Mobile USA's mobile phone service, activation is simple and megabytes can be added as often as needed with credit/debit cards or Virgin Mobile Top-Up cards. Top-Up cards can be used to purchase data usage from 100MB to 1 gigabyte on the pay-as-you-go model. A new Broadband2Go-branded Top-Up card for $20, which customers may use to purchase 250MB good for 30 days, translating roughly into 12 hours of web browsing. Other data plans are available at $10, $40 and $60, and any VMU Top-Up card can be used.

Virgin Mobile USA's Broadband2Go requires no activation fee and there are no roaming charges. Customers have a real-time usage meter to monitor and check 'Remaining Megabytes of Use' at any time. From the Broadband2Go My Account page, customers are provided with approximate estimates for how many hours of web-browsing, video-viewing and number of emails each plan will generally handle.

The package will be available exclusively at Best Buy Mobile starting in late June for $149.99, and is the first prepaid broadband product Best Buy Mobile is offering.

Bruce Sterling on Earth-Friendly Pervasive Computing

Noting that the word 'computer' is disappearing from technologists' vocabularies, science fiction author and futurist Bruce Sterling believes that as the Internet subsumes computing, we are truly on the path toward a highly embedded wireless network in which nearly everything is a node:

In 2007 the computer gave up taking over the world. Instead the world took over the computer. The Internet became a wholly owned subset of Reality 2.0. When the actual world invades the virtual world, it scatters the computer into tiny physical pieces, some no bigger than dust. "Intelligent printing," another modern darling, is semiconductor ink sprayed on cardboard. There's never been a humbler, cheaper "computer."

Sterling envisions a world in which the chips that drive it are powered by tiny amounts of ambient energy -- nearly any form of heat or light will do. Such chips would have such low power requirements that they wouldn't need a dedicated power source, and would use up hardly any natural resources.

Source: Futurismic