Microsoft “guru” Paul Thurott says the Zune HD launches on September 5. Mind you, this info comes fresh from the Zune forums, so we’ll slap a rumor on it for now with the caveat that it matches our earlier post about a September launch window. [Zune Forums - Thanks Joel]

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On display at Maker Faire 2009, Interactivation is a whimsical, slightly non-sensical cross between a six-way collaborative music machine and a Tesla coil, producing improvised sounds and scientific trickery from the same machine.

Interactivation was created by a group called Lightning Temple, who want to use sound vibrations to promote holistic healing or something like that. Great. But it’s the tech I’m more interested in.

The music component of Interactivation works by running each of the six stations through a sequencing program on a laptop. Each station has an array arcade-y buttons connected to a circuit board that triggers audio samples and/or loops, which wash over each other in a lovely mess of sonic slop. To keep everything sounding cohesive, the loops fire in time with the selected time signature, so all the samples are in rhythm.

The Tesla Coil wasn’t up and running during the day, so it’s uncertain to what extent it functions. But I’m not sure I’d want to be noodling with sitar loops anywhere near Interactivation when it is working. [Lightning Temple]

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Man, the mad scientists are really on a roll of late. First we hear that Li-ion cells are set to magically double in capacity, and now we’re learning that a new form of invisibility cloak is totally gearing up for its Target debut. As the seemingly endless quest to bend light in such a way as to create a sheath of invisibility continues, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Nicholas Fang has reportedly developed a metamaterial that acts as a type of acoustic superlens. In theory, at least, this approach would rely on phreaking with sound rather than light in order to intensely focus ultrasound waves; by doing so, one could hypothetically “hide ships from sonar.” To be fair, this all sounds entirely more believable than hiding massive vessels from human sight, but we’re still not taking our skeptic hat off until we see (er, don’t see?) a little proof.

[Via Slashdot]

Filed under: Science

Acoustic superlens could mask ships from sonar… in theory, anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Backed by Kleiner Perkins, start-up Hara is fielding software to help businesses track use of energy and other resources. Will it take hold without national carbon regulations?

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Working late into the night on the floor of a Manhattan hotel, the founder of the hugely popular online secret-sharing project assembled dozens of new secrets for a new manuscript.

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If watching the N97 crawl out of its Espoo-designed packaging just isn’t enough for one day, how’s about this? An unlocked Samsung OmniaHD (or i8910, if we’re being proper) has found its way into the ever-loving hands of one mareskino, and he was kind enough to unbox the thing on video. Better still, the quality here is second to none, and we’d bet you’ll be drooling by the end of it. If you’re ready to prove us right / wrong, hop on past the break and mash play.

[Thanks, Curtis]

Continue reading Samsung’s OmniaHD gets high-def unboxing

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung’s OmniaHD gets high-def unboxing originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 May 2009 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the tradition of the Atari ring comes this gold Optimus Prime ring from deviantartist =Dans-Magic.

It’s the perfect gift for that special someone. That same special someone who’s willing to wait hours and hours in line with you at a premiere so you can go into the theater to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and ogle Megan Fox half-naked on a motorcycle. [Geekologie]

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With growing concern over the lack of U.S. car battery manufacturing, Boston Power says a proposed auto and laptop battery plant in Massachusetts is “shovel ready.”

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If you, too, want to start making Hollywood caliber videos like our man Adam Frucci, this $14 DIY video camera stabilizer project we found over at Lifehacker today will help. Now you just need to work on being funny. [MAKE (PDF) via Lifehacker]

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Qualcomm says it is adding new Snapdragon silicon to its series of chips for Netbooks and other small devices.

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