It looks like Tokyo-based Nippon Signal (and not Mint Wireless based out of Australia) managed to develop what might be the smallest projector in the world. The device was recently showcased at Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS, a yearly trade show with a focus on micro systems technology.

The micro projector is sized at just 90×55x20mm, making it about as compact as a cigarette box (Mint’s product measures 125×55x23mm). The Japanese product features a resolution of  800×600 (SVGA), which isn’t quite HD but acceptable given the size of the device (resolution of the Mint projector: 640×480 in 4:3 mode).

Nippon Signal’s invention has a major drawback though: It’s just a prototype, while Mint’s projector is scheduled for release next month. Whatever, as a Teuton, I am betting on the Germans in this race anyway.

Via Tech-On

Long story short: some kid got tired of playing Final Fantasy XI, and tried to cancel his account. His parents couldn’t cancel from the game’s Web site, and had to—gasp!—call the number found on the credit card statement. The kid’s dad is a bigwig in his state (Illinois), who got his legislator friend to help pass a law stating that online service providers must provide a way to cancel an account online.

The moral of the story is, have important parents, or get the shaft like the rest of us. Neat, right?

via The Earth Times

A company from the land of Oz has will release what it claims to be the world’s smallest projector this September. The company, Mint Wireless, teamed up with a Taiwanese manufacturer to produce the Mint V10. Measuring at a mere 125 x 55 x 23mm (or, 4.9 x 2.1 x 0.9-inches), the projector is able to project (go figure) a 50-inch image from as close as six feet away.

The price seems hefty, at just over $600 USD, but maybe projector enthusiasts, which I won’t even pretend to be, can rationalize it.

via Gizmodo Australia

The World Intellectual Property Organization reports Japan dropped to second place worldwide in terms of patent application filing in 2006, giving up the pole position to the US for the first time in 43 years.  The United States Patent and Trademark Office received a total of 425,966 of patent applications.

Japan’s Patent Office trailed with 408,674 filings. China (210,501 applications) and South Korea (166,189 applications) followed.

However, Japan is still No. 1 regarding the share of worldwide patent applications submitted by applicants from the countries of origin. Individuals, business and research facilities based in Japan submitted 514,047 applications (USA: 390,815 applications, Korea: 172,709 applications, Germany: 130,806 applications). China is No. 4 in this ranking, having filed 128,850 applications.

You gamers should know how great Xbox Live can be, but do you know how the service came about, or what Microsoft’s plans for it in the future are? (You may also know how incompetent many XBL players are—playing Team Fortress 2, it never ceases to amaze me that on my team of eight players, six were engineers, one was a useless dunce, and I was the only scout trying to get the briefcase. Teamwork!)

If you’re even remotely interested in that, I suggest you make your way on over to the recently revamped Edge Online, which has a nice little feature on Xbox Live. Given that it’s from Edge, a magazine I’ve praised here many times in the past, you can expect all sorts of Big Boy treatment of the topic.

If you like Edge, may I also suggest the Game Theory podcast, which similarly treats video games as a proper topic, and not like some pastime for kids?

How much do you trust the Department of Homeland Security? Like, a lot, or a lot lot? Doesn’t matter, really—it now has the right to riffle through your laptop, iPod and other electronic (and non-electronic) devices and documents when you cross a border coming into the U.S.

To Liberty!

Yes, the DHS now has the right to riffle through your junk at the border, all in the name of security, of course. What’s even more troubling—and it’s pretty damn troubling to begin with—is that the DHS can keep your stuff for as long as it wants (a “reasonable period of time,” reads the policy).

Oh, and you don’t even have to be suspected of any wrongdoing in order to have your stuff confiscated.

Several lawmakers are against the new policy, including Sen. Russell Feingold, who called the policy “truly alarming.” Indeed it is, Russ.

What exactly this means for your large collection of V0 MP3s and x264-encoded movies, who knows. Maybe you’ll luck out and they’ll only slap a gigantic fine on you. Wouldn’t surprise me.

Just like its American counterpart, the Winglet (odd name) is ridden in a standing position. You will be able to move forward or backward or take turns by shifting your body weight.  Three versions will be available: S (1.5 feet tall), M (2.2 feet) and L (3.7-feet). The S-Model weighs 9.9kg, while the M and L versions will be a little heavier at 12.3kg.

A full charge takes just one hour, enough for a driving range of 5km for the mini-Winglet and 10km for the bigger models. The maximum cruising speed is 6km for all Winglet versions.

Segway doesn’t have much time to react to Toyota’s new vehicle. The Japanese mega-company scheduled the start of production at 2010. Consumer testing will begin as early as this fall, in a marine resort complex in Aichi prefecture (central Japan) and at Nagoya airport. Prices and availability are unknown at this point.

Full press release in English after the jump.

Toyota Develops Personal Transport Assistance Robot ‘Winglet’
Aug 1, 2008 Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today development of the “Winglet”, a personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position.

The Winglet—still being refined—is one of TMC’s people-assisting Toyota Partner Robots.  Designed to contribute to society by helping people enjoy a safe and fully mobile life, the Winglet is a compact next-generation everyday transport tool that offers advanced ease of use and expands the user’s range of mobility.

The Winglet consists of a body (with a projected area the size of an A3 sheet of paper) that houses an electric motor, two wheels and internal sensors that constantly monitor the user’s position and make adjustments in power to ensure stability.  Meanwhile, a unique parallel link mechanism allows the rider to go forward, backward and turn simply by shifting body weight, making the vehicle safe and useful even in tight spaces or crowded environments.

TMC has created three models, the “L”, “M” and “S”, each having different handling features that allow consumers to select a model appropriate to their needs—from “practical” to “hands-free sporty”.

TMC plans various technical and consumer trials to gain feedback during the Winglet’s lead-up to practical use.  Practical tests of its utility as a mobility tool are planned to begin in Autumn 2008 at Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) near Nagoya, and Laguna Gamagori, a seaside marine resort complex in Aichi Prefecture.  Testing of its usefulness in crowded and other conditions, and how non-users react to the device, is to be carried out in 2009 at the Tressa Yokohama shopping complex in Yokohama City.

TMC is pursuing sustainability in research and development, manufacturing and social contribution as part of its concept to realize “sustainability in three areas” and to help contribute to the health and comfort of future society.  Toyota Partner Robot development is being carried out with this in mind and applies TMC’s approach to monozukuri (”making things”), which includes its mobility, production and other technologies.  In a related development, TMC unveiled the “MOBIRO” mobility robot, designed for use in a sitting position, in 2007.

TMC aims to realize the practical use of Toyota Partner Robots in the early 2010s by furthering its robotic development and strengthening collaboration between industry, government and academia.

Photos and specs of several new Fujifilm digital cameras have hit the Web in the past several hours. Among them, the F60fd. (The full breadth and width of the leaks are right now being discussed on the DP Review forums, if you’re so inclined.)

That fuzzy photo there is the F60fd, by way of some online merchant, which can safely be compared to the just-anounced Pentax Optio M60. The specs seem okay—12-megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 3.0-inch LCD—but the lack of wide angle perturbed one DP Review poster. It looks to be going for $299.

We’ll be sure to update when more, non-fuzzy photos are released.

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Macrumors reports that Apple’s App Store was selling a tethering app compatible with the iPhone (both 3G and EDGE) for a brief period earlier this evening. The $10 application, called NetShare, was developed by Nullriver software, and would be a godsend for many iPhone owners. After going up around 8PM EST to the elation of a lucky few, the application was pulled down around 20 minutes later.

Phone tethering allows users to access the internet from their laptop computers wherever they get service on their cellphone carrier’s data network. The feature is common on many phones with high speed (namely 3G) data access, and has been noticeably absent from iPhones. While 3G is typically slower than most Wi-Fi access points, having internet connectivity on the go is a huge plus for many people - enough so that many carrier charge on the order of $30 a month to enable it.

Read more…