When we last saw MacroSwiss's Spybot it only had four wheels and minimal sensors. Their new Spyrobot model adds thermal sensing, synthetic aperture radar, and two extra wheels, which help give it the ant-like ability to carry four times its own weight. MacroSwiss also added the ability to navigate back to home base…

Musically inclined hackers too lazy to play drums themselves need to check out this amazing "Yellow Drum Machine". The robot basically wanders around searching for "playable" surfaces, then creates and combines samples on the fly into rhythms. Possibly the coolest feature is that when it hears your stomping or…

Japanese internet service providers plan on disconnecting evil filesharing pirates in some of the most severe anti-p2p tactics worldwide. Due to pressure from music, video game and movie companies, the ISPs would warn the offender via email before cutting the cord if the bootlegger in question didn't cease and desist.…

In a textbook display of checks and balances, the House of Representatives defied President Bush and the Senate yesterday by passing their version of a surveillance bill without legal immunity for telcos. The bill passed by only 16 votes, far from the 2/3 majority needed to override Bush's inevitable veto. It looks…

It looks like Apple will keep their Time Capsule "February" shipping estimate with only a day or two to spare. Pre-order customers just received word their shipments are being prepared. [AppleInsider]

If you were of the 598 landline-only Giz readers, you should probably hide your embarrassing lack of technology. This $49 touchtone phone disguises your relic as a pack of death sticks. It looks accurate, but your bluff will probably be called when people notice that it's connected to the wall or remember you don't…

Scientists seem to be focused on extraterrestrial mobile phone service recently, first planning for them on the moon and now claiming the ability to detect a cellular call on Jupiter. This half-billion-mile range is made possible by upgrading their Very Large Array radio telescope to handle digital data streams.

As usual, just as 802.11n is being finalized news hits about a much faster wireless specification. An Australian NICTA team claims to have made a CMOS chip capable of 5Gbps transmission speeds at a distance of 32ft. Their so called "GiFi" transmitter is small and cheap, but is not yet approved by the IEEE nor…

NASA will definitely beat the Mt. Everest phone calls when they launch mobile phone service on the moon around 2012. Their MoonLite system will link astronauts, the lunar base and Earth via satellite. Even though there is over four years until launch, the service will only have a speed of 3kbps down/2kbps up. One…

Powerful game consoles are often just as programmable as research computers, and scientists are finding real world applications for them every day.

After nearly six years, Panasonic is finally releasing a true HD successor to the popular but aging AG-DVX100. The $6000 AG-HMC150 shares triple CCDs, optical image stabilization, and audio capability with the DVX100, but adds a variety of HD formats including 1080/60i, 1080/30p, and 1080/24p. Panasonic has confirmed…

With advanced wireless technology, wearing a wire no longer means having a voice recorder or short-range radio transmitter strapped to your chest. This 3G-equipped surveillance vest can transmit a live feed anywhere in the world. There is also a panic button and GPS, which is handy when the Bad Guys notice a massive…

By integrating LED lighting and motion detectors, Clavero's design only uses full power when people pass by. The rest of the time it remains at one third power to save power and reduce light pollution. Though this will no doubt save thousands of dollars, walking down a street lined with these could feel like a…

Palm hacker Allen Wong caught our attention last year with his Palm Pilot Notebook, and now his sights are set on designing a greener version. Wong's SolarPalm is essentially a solar powered Palm TX. While its 312mhz speed won't set the world on fire, this shows how coupling efficient solar energy with low power…

This new Sandisk 32GB SDHC card may give you colossal space for HD video capture, but we'll see if the Class 4 speed rating holds up under such pressure. The card is driving down memory prices though - despite costing $349, it's half the cost of Toshiba's model a few months ago. It won't be available until April, and…

The SurfaceSound Compact may be simply another bluetooth car speakerphone on paper, but its interface and design has definitely grabbed our attention. The visor-mounted SurfaceSound connects to your phone after the microphone is pulled down into position. This simple, tactile method of activation is superior to the…