AMD chases Intel into gadget market with embedded chips

Intel has focused its Atom microprocessor on new kinds of devices from netbooks to tablet computers. Advanced Micro Devices is now launching a new version of its Fusion chips — which combine a processor and graphics in the same chip — to go after the same market.

This means we’ll likely see smarter and smarter internet-connected gadgets in the future. Shane Rau, an analyst at IDC, expects this market segment to grow at a double-digit rate in the next five years.

The new AMD Embedded G-Series platform uses the first Accelerated Processor Unit (APU, or a combo chip), which AMD has designed for “embedded systems,” or the gadgets that aren’t considered phones or PCs. Embedded systems typically serve one or two functions and are generally not programmable for other tasks.

AMD has offered chips in the embedded market for some time, such as its AMD Geode processor from 2003. But it has steadily increased the computing power of the chips it has offered in the space, culminating with an APU that is optimized for low-power consumption, smaller size, lower prices, and high performance.

AMD is targeting the new chips at a variety of vertical markets. Those include thin-client computers for enterprises, kiosks and cash register systems, digital signs, industrial controls, rugged military systems, medical imaging, game machines, single-board computers, storage, and telecommunications/networking gear. With the G-Series, computer makers can design a PC with a 3.5-inch circuit board (pictured).

The AMD Fusion family of APUs combines a microprocessor with a graphics system all on one chip. The G-Series platform has two “Bobcat” microprocessor cores, a variety of video processors and a controller hub for display output and input-output functions. AMD has lined up a number of developer tools for support. And its customers include Microsoft’s new Surface table computers, MediaVue, Quixant, Wyse, Fujitsu, Advansus, Compulab, Congatec, Haier, Kontron, Mitec, Sintrones, Starnet, WebDT, and Hewlett-Packard.

AMD says its embedded G-Series platform uses chips that are smaller than Intel’s equivalent Atom chips. That means they use less power and cost less.

The Eliica - Japanse Electric Car

The Eliica (or the Electric Lithium-Ion Car) is a battery electric vehicle prototype or concept car first shown in 2004 and designed by a team at Keio University in Tokyo, led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu. The 5.1 m (17 ft) car runs on a lithium-ion battery and can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in four seconds (faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo at the time).In 2004, the Eliica reached a speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) on Italy's Nardò High Speed Track. The team's goal is to exceed 400 km/h (250 mph), breaking the record set by today's street-legal gasoline-powered vehicles

The Eliica weighs in at 2,400 kg (5,300 lb) and seats the driver and three passengers. The body was tested in a wind tunnel. The front doors open forward and the rear doors open upward like wings. The car's platform contains 4 tracks of 80 batteries, which make up one third of the vehicle's cost. They currently require about 10 hours of recharging at 100 volts from empty to full charge, and can be easily charged off a residential power grid.

The car has eight wheels enabling it to be closer to the ground for better traction. Each of the wheels has a 60 kW (80 hp) electric motor, giving a 480 kW (640 hp) eight wheel drive which can tackle all kinds of road surfaces. The four front wheels steer. The electric motors mean that the Eliica can deliver a smooth acceleration free from gear shifts of about 0.8 g. Each wheel contains a disc brake and employs a regenerative brake system to recover energy.

There are currently (as of 2005) two versions of the Eliica: a Speed model and an Acceleration model. The Speed model is made to challenge gasoline-based records and has a top speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) with a range of 200 km (120 mi). The Acceleration model is made for the street and has a top speed of 190 km/h (120 mph) with a range of 320 km (200 mi).

The estimated cost of development was in excess of US$320,000.[citation needed] Once the team receives corporate sponsorship, they plan to produce at least 200 units. As of early 2007, the projected price was ¥30,000,000 JPY (about $255,000 USD).

On December 19, 2005, then-Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi tested this vehicle in a 10-minute ride to the Japanese Parliament. In 2006, the car was tested by Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo, as well as by Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan

[Ellica] 

Space Shuttle Discovery in the repair shop (photos)

In late December, the space shuttle Discovery trundled from the launch pad back to NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida amid tests and inspections after cracks were found in its massive external fuel tank--the big orange cylinder to which the shuttle clings. Just this week, engineers at the space agency said they believe they've determined what caused the cracks, and space shuttle management gave the go-ahead for repairs.

The goal is to get Discovery ready for a launch now set for February 24, on a mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle has been delayed since an initial expected launch date in the latter half of 2010.

Scaffolding surrounds the space shuttle's external tank for the repairs, which are centered on the intertank section between the liquid oxygen tank--the conical top portion of the big external tank assembly--and the larger liquid hydrogen tank below. More specifically, the work is being done on the "stringers," the support beams that show here in the ribbed portion of the external fuel tank. Additional support structures called radius blocks are being added to the stringers, which lie lengthwise around the circumference of the tank.

This photo from December shows wires and sensors--a total of 39 strain gauges and 50 thermal sensors--in place on the intertank section for a "tanking test" designed to help technicians assess the status of the stringers. (NASA said it was expecting the sensors to generate more than 6 terabytes of data.) At that time, four cracks were discovered near the top of three stringers. Cracks had first appeared at the top of a pair of stringers during fueling operations in early November for a launch planned at that time. (A separate problem, with the "ground umbilical carrier plate," actually was what caused NASA to scrub that launch.)NASA expects to complete the repairs by the last week of January.

Here's a closer look at the stringers with their outer coating removed. The radius blocks are small by comparison--just six inches long and about one fifth of an inch thick. But those small pieces of aluminum, NASA says, are enough to keep the stringers flat. Without the radius blocks in place, the danger is that the stringers could flex as the liquid oxygen tank shrinks as it's filled, causing more cracks.

That outer layer of foam serves as insulation to help keep the chill in the super-cold propellants. It also protects against damage by what NASA delicately calls "aerodynamic environments" during lift-off.

The external fuel tank delivers fuel to the three main engines in the space shuttle itself during launch. Empty, it weighs 78,100 pounds, and it carries about 1,585,000 pounds of propellant. It's a little over 150 feet long, and has a diameter of nearly 28 feet

The big external tank also provides structural support for both the shuttle and the two separate solid rocket boosters. Its work is done at about 8 to 9 minutes into the flight, at an altitude of about 70 miles, when the shuttle has reached near orbital velocity; the external tank is then jettisoned and whatever parts survive disintegration fall into the ocean. (The solid rocket boosters, which provide about 80 percent of launch thrust, drop off earlier, at about 28 miles above the Earth.)

This view of the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters amid the scaffolding in the Vehicle Assembly Building gives a sense of the tank's generous proportions. That bottom section, again, holds the liquid hydrogen fuel. Just behind the tanks, you can make out part of Discovery's wings and the bottom rear of its fuselage, at the main engine exhausts.

The stringers come under scrutiny from a pair of NASA technicians.

Discovery has had a notable career. NASA says that it has flown more missions than any other spacecraft--38, not counting the upcoming flight. It has gone around the Earth 5,600 times and carried 174 people into space, and its payloads have included the Hubble Space Telescope.

At first glance, this looks like a circular saw, but it is in fact a backscatter device used to acquire data in a very exacting process. The backscatter devices, which bounce radiation off the tank and pick up the reflected energy, take about 90 minutes to survey a single 21-foot-long stringer. There are a total of 108 of the metal stringers on the tank.

Technicians also used computing radiography scanners which move faster, scanning as many as five stringers per hour.

Here, some repaired stringers get a new spray coating of foam insulation. This is from earlier repairs done in November on the initial set of stringers in which cracks were discovered.

[CNET]

Apple turns in record Q1: $6b profit on $26.7b revenue, 16.2m iPhones sold

Apple reported a record $6bn in quarterly profit and voiced confidence in its strategy a day after announcing that its iconic chief executive, Steve Jobs, was taking an open-ended leave of absence for undisclosed medical reasons.

Apple shares fell more than 2 per cent on Tuesday, when US trading resumed for the first time since the company had said that Mr Jobs would go on leave and quoted him saying that he hoped to return “as soon as I can”.

Apple's announcement of Steve Jobs' medical leave just one day before releasing its Q1 financial results struck us as well-planned yesterday, and here we are: if Cupertino's record $6 billion profit on a record $26.7 billion in revenue isn't enough to turn that frown -- and stock slide -- upside down, well, nothing else will. iPhone 4 sales were predictably strong through the holidays, clocking in at a record 16.2m units, or up 86 percent from last year, while Mac sales went up 23 percent to a record 4.13m and iPod sales were stronger than expected at 19.45m, a seven percent decline. As for the iPad, Apple's tablet had its second straight dominant quarter, with record sales of 7.33 million -- some 3 million more than the Mac. Apple's financial call with new acting CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer is scheduled to start at 5PM EST -- check after the break for our usual liveblog while you're listening live on Apple's site.

[engadget]

Akai Turns an iPad Into a Full-Sized Music Keyboard: Akai SynthStation49

Well, the new Akai SynthStation49 adds a full keyboard, though it obviously loses that portability. Regardless, the SynthStation49 packs nine MPC-style pads, dedicated pitch and mod wheels, and transport controls. The internal audio boasts 1/4-inch outputs, and the hardware is MIDI supporting, so you can use the keyboard as a MIDI input device. This one is currently awaiting certification from Apple, so we can't say when it'll be released, nor do we have pricing. Hit up the source link for more details.

[Engadget] [Create Digital Music]

Internet Penetration Around The World [Infographic]

As Internet use around the world continues to grow, where is it making the greatest impact? This infographic shows you which countries have the most Internet users, those with the fewest and how usage has grown around the world over the past decade.

Not making money as a YouTube partner? Here are some tips from YouTube itself

YouTube hosted a live event today to help partners get the most out of their YouTube revenue.

Phil Farhi of YouTube, began the event by telling partners about a few of the new initiatives that YouTube is working on, to help make partners as successful as possible. He started by bringing us through the history of advertising on YouTube.

Phil mentioned that just 3 short years ago, YouTube began using in-video and overlay ads, the first step in monetizing videos. And following the first format of ads, YouTube brought Ad Sense ads, enabling smaller advertisers/customers to get on board, allowing YouTube to capture a broader range of advertisers.

Next came in-Stream Ads (mid and pre-roll ads), a format that was launched about two years ago. YouTube said this has been popular because advertisers will pay more for ads that are similar to the format on TV. At almost the same time, promoted ads were introduced and it was proven to drive traffic to videos that were featured using the ‘promoted video’ format.

A few months ago, a new ad format for partners called TrueView was rolled-out. This format lets users watching a video skip the ad after five seconds. An ad format that YouTube says is less interruptive and doesn’t risk annoying your audience because it gives them the chance to hit stop.

Phil asked the question “ What makes a movie a successful?” Using the movie industry as an analogy, he went on to explain that there are many factors that come into play that make up the overall picture; ticket prices, seats filled, distribution etc. It’s the same with YouTube as he pointed out. Partners shouldn’t look at one aspect such as RPM (revenue per thousand page views) or CPM (cost per thousand, as an example $1 or $5 per thousand views), they should look at everything including geography.

A few points to take away

Good partners focus on overall revenue and aren’t fixated on “ticket price”. They also work hard at building a strong audience as well as trying to increase views. Good partners look at geography, RPM and CPM.

Bad partners look at the wrong metrics and don’t build up their audience. Partners who only focus on RPM might think everything is fine however, it’s critical that users concentrate on CPM as well and continue to build audience loyalty.

YouTube says advertisers are creating content that competes with user content, and millions of users are watching advertisements on the site. Think about the popularity of Superbowl ads.

Keep experimenting! Compare ad formats by type and geography and play around with different scenarios. Try enabling ads after your loyal audience has seen them or try it in reverse. Play with different recipes and see what happens when ad formats are enabled/disabled. There is a wide variety of ways to make revenue.

Take a good look at revenue break downs and compare formats; True View, in-Stream, etc.

Better reporting for ad formats coming soon. YouTube admits that partners don’t have the best reporting feature right now.

YouTube will be adding an option for partners to opt-in to just TrueView Ads without needing to be signed up with other formats.

Ensure the metadata on videos have the correct information and enough words to help YouTube’s algorithm bring the best targeted ads to your videos.

Web design gets physical with Poland’s UXPin

As the digitized world becomes increasingly encompassing, it’s unusual and refreshing to see a company bring it back to the drawing board, literally.

UXPin‘s portable kit is the first ever complete tool to prototype website ideas on paper. At first, I thought it was backwards to start one’s web design on paper. After all, aren’t there a myriad of expensive wireframing computer programs that could do something similar and save you time in the end?

I tracked down a few UXPin users and here’s what they said:

“UXPin is most useful in a workshop or meeting situation, when working directly with the client. We employ a collaborative approach to concepting and prototyping, and not only are our clients excited by the idea of UXPin and rapid paper prototyping, but they also love the fact that UXPin allows them to be directly involved in a process, that if done on a computer in isolation, they would usually be shut out from.

With this in mind, it actually works as a great risk management tool. By engaging stakeholders early in projects, we can ensure their vision and our proposed strategy and direction are aligned from the start. UXPin allows them to envision their product in a way they can relate to, away from software and technical jargon whilst still understanding the complex nature of the problem, as we propose the simplest and most efficient interaction design and user experience for them.” – Jamie Brooker Co-Founder of We Are Human in London, UK.

“I use the UXPin as a tangible way of getting my team involved in the design decisions at an early stage of the development process. Being able to represent form prototypes on paper gives my guys a greater level of insight into the interactions we will be building for the end customer, and this allows us to define good and bad user expereinces at an early stage in the process.” -Stephen Colman, an online developer for a large financial services organisation in Australia.


Essentially, UXPin is THE canvas for web design and it holds its greatest value in brainstorm sessions. Sketching is often faster, especially for designers who don’t want to spend all day in Dreamweaver. UXPin lets you envision what a sketch would look like without having the browser and sections completely flushed out.



According to Todd Zaki Warfel, in his book “Prototyping,” paper prototyping is still used by 70% of designers. But classic paper prototyping and sketching ideas don’t always look professional enough for clients or the boss.

So the 3 person UX team in Poland redesigned paper prototyping. “It may sound crazy as we tried to redesign something that is very, very, very simple, but well… we believe in a change and our ability to make everything better,” says Marcin Treder, a Co-Founder of UXPin. The result? A technology that consists of GUI elements with post-it-like glue strips and paper browser notepad.


So will Poland conquer the tech world? Marcin Treder believes so.

Though Poland wasn’t very active on the world start up scene, we have great professionals here. Soon we’ll be able to conquer tech world. Running a company in Poland isn’t too different from the other parts of the world. It requires lots of self discipline, devotion and passion. We love what we do and we get lots of support from our families, friends and clients. We can overcome any obstacle with that. UXPin gained recognition and great, devoted, clients surprisingly fast.We didn’t expect that in the first several days after launch we’d get clients from the most respectable interactive agencies, freelancers and companies such as Google, Microsoft, Blackberry, MySpace and IBM.







While UXPin works perfectly in a smaller workshop situation, one user wished for a larger version, which is apparently being developed. UXPin for mobile is also coming soon.

This Week's Best-Selling iPhone Game Was Developed By An Eighth Grader

An eighth-grader named Robert Nay knocked Angry Birds out of the top spot on iTunes this week with an app called Bubble Ball.

According to The New York Observer, Nay built his first web site in the third grade.

ABC News estimates that, if only Nay had charged a dollar for every download of Bubble Ball, he'd be $2,000,000 in the black.

i.materialise lets you print any 3D object, in titanium

Oh sure, 3D printing is still cool, regardless of the medium. Until now though, we’ve seen it done with either ABS plastic or with some forms of powder which then becomes a solid in the rendering process. We’ve only recently seen 3D printing done with any sort of metal, and this is the first time that the metal in question happens to be titanium.

See that golf ball-esque piece in the top there? That’s created from pure titanium powder by a company called i.materialise. The idea is that, instead of just doing 3D printing to show prototypes, you’ll actually be able to have pieces crafted that can be used in the real world:

Titanium’s high heat resistance, high accuracy and unparalleled strength lets designers now make things that before now could only be made by the research and development departments of only the largest corporations in the world. By putting this technology in the public’s hands were democratizing manufacturing and giving you the opportunity to, design and order something this is exactly as you want it to be.

Of course it’s a bit pricey, so you’ll need to bear that in mind before you go having your titanium chess set crafted. A 2x2x4-centimeter item will run you a cool $124. Want to super-size? You can step up to an internal volume of 4 centimeters for a mere $192. Then again, compared to the over $1 million price tag to buy the printer for yourself, that’s quite the bargain.

Have an idea for something that you’d like printed? The i.materialize team will be happy to do that for you. There’s a space on the site where you can upload your own 3D model, then choose all of the parameters yourself. Personally? I want a custom titanium sleeve for my MacBook Pro. I wonder how much that would run…

iPod Touch Now Accounts for Half of iPod Sales

In recent quarters, Apple has seen sales of iPod fall flat, a signal to some that iPhone is starting to cannibalize sales of standalone mp3 players.

However, on its earnings call this afternoon, Apple noted that sales of iPod touch are continuing to grow. In fact, the company says that iPod touch now makes up more than half of total iPod sales, up 27% year-over-year.

That means that the company sold roughly 10 million of the device in the quarter (versus 16.2 million iPhones and 7.3 million iPads). Beyond helping Apple’s bottom line, that’s important because of the impact it has on the total size of the iOS ecosystem, which now totals 160 million devices.

The latest iteration of the device, which was revealed back in September, does just about everything that one can do with an iPhone 4, including run apps, use Facetime and record HD video (or what Steve Jobs joked is an “iPhone without a contract”). Given the sales numbers, that appears to be a compelling proposition to customers, even as mp3 players on the whole appear to be a declining category.

With Android smartphones (in aggregate) now outselling iPhone and Android (Android)-powered devices like the Samsung Galaxy Player set to hit the market, iPod touch is clearly a big part of keeping iOS’s numbers in the same ballpark as its main competition, which, unlike Apple, now has devices being built by dozens of manufacturers.

Details of HP’s webOS Tablet Strategy Emerge

We’ve been expecting HP to show off at least one webOS-based tablet at a February 9 event. Now it looks like Engadget has gotten some leaked renders and marketing materials that show off some of the company’s tablet strategy.

When HP acquired Palm last year, it was clear that the company saw plans for webOS beyond just the smartphone. The company affirmed its plans to enter the tablet space in July.

Now Engadget is publishing information from a “trusted tipster” that sheds some light on HP’s plans.

The tipster reveals that HP is planning not one, but two tablets: a 9-inch model codenamed Topaz and a 7-inch model called Opal.

The rendered images Engadget obtained show off the Topaz, and the unit looks like a cross between an iPad and a Palm Pre. From the renders, it looks like the device will not have any physical buttons (capacitive perhaps) and will include a front-facing camera.

The render also shows off what looks like webOS on the device itself. Perhaps more than any other mobile OS, we expect webOS to have the easiest transition to larger-sized devices, so this makes sense.

While specifics like price and specifications weren’t revealed, Engadget did get a hold of what looks like an internal slide with a tentative release date slated for this September. This slide was for the Opal, so perhaps HP will be releasing the Topaz tablet more quickly.

Our only concern for HP is that announcing a device more than six months in advance, especially given the competition from — well, everyone — could wind up putting the company at a disadvantage.

Although webOS is better designed to scale to multiple device sizes than many of its competitors are, the lack of brand recognition in the smartphone market — when compared to iOS, Android and even BlackBerry — may limit some of the initial customer base.

We still think the potential for a webOS tablet is immense and we look forward to seeing what HP unveils next month.

Make Sweet Music With Piano iPad Dock

You know that stereotype that the keyboardist is the geekiest member of the band? Well, this doesn’t diffuse it, but it certainly makes us want to embrace our inner geek and start killing the keys. Behold: the Concert Piano from ION, a digital music-maker that is also an iPad dock.

This 88-key, beautiful beast — which cradles your iPad oh-so-sweetly in a sea of “stylish wood grain” — even comes with a music-learning app, making it wholly practical, you guys.

Someone should buy this thing and call up Atomic Tom and Rana June and form a band post haste.

Apple COO Calls Android Tablet a “Bizarre Product”

Ahead of its earning call for the first quarter of fiscal 2011, Apple announced record-breaking earnings, led by strong sales of the iPhone, Mac and iPad product lines.

The iPad in particular had a phenomenal holiday season, with more than 7.3 million units sold. That’s an increase of more than 85% from the fourth quarter. Since launching the iPad in April 2010, Apple has sold almost 15 million iPads.

The success of the iPad hasn’t cannibalized Mac sales — to the contrary, Apple had its best quarter ever for the Mac, selling 4.19 million units in the December quarter.

Apple: We’re Not Sitting Still

As we saw at CES, tablet fever has taken over the consumer electronics industry, with would-be iPad competitors appearing at every turn. Everyone (and we do mean everyone) has a tablet or is working on a tablet.

The fact that Apple has established a user base of nearly 15 million in just nine months makes Apple a formidable competitor in this emerging space.

For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab — one of the few high-profile non-Apple tablets to hit the retail market before the end of 2010 — managed to sell more than a million units in its first 60 days. By comparison, Apple is averaging a little more than 2 million iPad units per month, with that figure rising every month.

We should note that these sorts of leads are not insurmountable. After all, Android (Android) as a device category is now eclipsing iOS in terms of sales. Still, individual phone models from companies like HTC, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung aren’t matching the figures Apple continues to turn out with the iPhone.

Apple COO Tim Cook (the man currently taking over day-to-day operations for Steve Jobs) commented on the current competition during Tuesday’s earnings call. Cook made it clear that Apple doesn’t believe the Android-based tablets on the market are competition. He called these devices “scaled up smartphones” and continued to opine that he sees them as “bizarre product[s]” that don’t offer the “real tablet experience,” and he asserted Apple’s belief that it has a “huge, first-mover advantage.”

Cook acknowledged that future tablets running Google (Google) Honeycomb or from RIM may provide some competition, noting that Apple will “assess [the competition] as [it is] coming;” Cook made it clear that Apple isn’t sitting still.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer noted that 80% of the Fortune 100 is either deploying or piloting the iPad in the enterprise. That’s up from 65% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

With this level of penetration on the consumer and business side, unseating Apple in this space won’t be easy. It will be interesting to watch what Google, Microsoft, RIM and HP do in the future.

Apple Sells 7 Million iPads in Record-Breaking Quarter

One day after announcing that Steve Jobs was taking a leave of absence from the company, Apple has reported record-breaking earnings, with revenue of more than $26 billion for its fiscal first quarter, which includes holiday sales.

During the quarter, Apple sold 7.3 million iPads, 16.2 million iPhones, 4.1 million Macs and 19 million iPods. That brings the total number of iPads sold to nearly 15 million since the device was released last April.

The success of iPad doesn’t appear to be coming at the expense of Mac sales though, as some analysts had projected. Mac sales were up 23% year-over-year, setting a new record for the company.

iPhone sales were up 86% from the same quarter last year, with Apple remaining bullish on its prospects thanks to its impending launch on Verizon. “We’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can’t wait to get their hands on,” Jobs said in a statement.

Shares of Apple — which opened down about 5% this morning in the wake of the Jobs news — continued to rebound after hours following the initial release of the earnings report.

Apple is holding a conference call at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT to discuss the results in-depth and undoubtedly face questions from analysts about Jobs’s health and the company’s plans for a successor. Stay tuned to Mashable throughout the afternoon for additional coverage.

Source: Mashable

10 Intriguing Apple Patents the iBike, Wand Remote iKey and more

Apple was granted 563 patents in 2010, some of which will show up in future products and might well change the consumer technology landscape just like the iPod, iPhone, App Store and now the iPad have.

Apple patent expert Jack Purcher of Patently Apple has been monitoring the company’s patents since 2006. We asked him why he thought Apple is such an innovative company.

“Many have asked me why I think that Apple is more innovative than others. I usually answer that question the same way each time,” says Purcher. “I’m not sure that they are on a technical level. The difference is that Apple has an inspired leader and CEO who, for decades, has had a real vision of where technology should go.”

We’ve taken a look at some of Apple’s recent patent applications to see what exciting developments might be in store for the future — as any one of these patents could be the next step in Steve Jobs’s master plan or vision. As Purcher puts it:

“Jobs’s vision for the digital lifestyle a decade ago is still on a roll. It’s innovation at its finest. But it began with a vision — and that’s the difference.”

What do you think of these Apple patents? Any you’d like to see realized? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

1. iBike

Apple's smart bike concept is like the Nike+ running system, but for those om two wheels. In addition to seeing pertinent data from you (heart rate, etc) and the bike (speed, distance, etc.) on your iPodor iPhone, the system could be used as tool for group communicationwhen biking with others.


2. Wand Remote

Is gesture control the next big thing to follow touch? It seems Aplle might think so with this patent for the Aplle TV that sees the home entertainment gadget shiooed with a Winmote-like motion controler. Besides managing the on-screen cursor via movement, the "remote wand" could be used to browse through and control media.


3. Solar Powered iPhone

Apple has come up with a way -- in theory anyway -- of adding solar tech to it's portable devices without spoiling the all-important aesthetics. By integrating the photocells into the touch screen, future iPods, iPads, and iPhones could soak up the power of the sunvia their displays, making for greener gadgetry.


4. Touchscreen iMac

This clever concept gives the desktop PC iPad-esque functionality. While the monitor is upright. it's a common iMac running Apple's full operating system controlled with a mouse, but flip it horizontallt and switches to the iOS and the touch controls take over.


5. iKey

Chances are your iPhone has already replaced your compact camera, MP3 player and handheld gaming console, but Apple could take the convergence a step further and replace your keys. The Cupertino company has patented the idea that iPhone could unlock your car and home with a proximity-based PIN code system.


6. iHeadset

This is one patent we could definitely see coming to market. Aplle has designed a Bluetooth headset with stand alone media playback functionality. This could well be a future version of the iPod Shuffle -- small wearable and, thanks to the Bluetooth features, multitasking.


7. Shareable Apps

How would you like to be able to beam your latest App Store download to a buddy? Apple has come up with the idea of an "application seed" system whereby developers could choose to make their apps shareable via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It's a fantastic concept for content providers who are looking to spread the word as far and wide as possible. Additionaly, trial version options could be great word-of-mouth money maker.


8. Video Games Comic Book

If you want to relieve that last level of Mass Effect that you aced, Apple might offer a way to do so in the future. This unusual patent allows you to describe your progress through a video game, record it, and then turn into a book or e-book in comic style.


9. MAgnetic Lenses

iPhotography is hot, and it's potential is limited only by hardware restrictions. Although Apple has steadily improved the iPhone's camera, it's still just a point-and-shooter. This patent describes a way of enhancing a portable device's camera funtionality with a magnetic zoom or macro lens attachment.


10. MacBooks with built in Projectors

This exciting idea could see future Apple laptops coming with built-in projectors. Just think how handy it would be to be able to share what's on your laptop screen -- wether that's a movie or presentation -- with a group of others at the click of a mouse.

Apple Chief Steve Jobs to Take Leave

Steve Jobs, who has battled pancreatic cancer and received a liver transplant, is taking another unexpected leave from running Apple Inc., raising uncertainty over his health and the future of the world's most valuable technology company

In a Monday morning email to Apple employees on a federal holiday, Mr. Jobs wrote that the company's board of directors "has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health."

Apple's 55-year-old chief executive and co-founder didn't specify what health issue was causing him to take the time off or when he might return. Instead, Mr. Jobs said he hoped to be back as soon as possible and his family would "deeply appreciate respect for our privacy."

The leave marks the third time in the past decade Mr. Jobs has been forced to step back from his role at Apple, which he has built into a $65 billion consumer electronics giant with products such as the iPhone and iPad. He took a leave in 2004 when he had surgery to remove a tumor in his pancreas and then again in the first half of 2009 for the liver transplant

In his six-sentence email, which Apple released publicly, Mr. Jobs said he will continue as CEO and "be involved in major strategic decisions for the company." In his absence, day-to-day operations will be run by Tim Cook, his longtime lieutenant and chief operating officer. Mr. Cook, 50 years old, led Apple during Mr. Jobs's previous leave and won praise for his ability to make Apple's sprawling operations move on time.

Mr. Jobs's email came a day before the Cupertino, Calif., company is slated to report its latest quarterly results. It also was released on a day U.S. stock markets were closed to commemorate Martin Luther King's birthday. In Frankfurt trading, Apple shares fell 8% to €239.50 ($317.96).

he CEO's leave raises anew questions about the company's succession plans and product road map, since Mr. Jobs is so closely identified with Apple's gadgets and strategy. It also revives debate about Apple's disclosure practices, given the limited information the company has revealed about a CEO who is seen as so central to its success.

Mr. Jobs's Monday statement to Apple employees "leaves a lot to the imagination—and that was the problem the last time," said Charles Elson, head of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware's business school. "It does leave a lot for investors to worry about."

With many questions unanswered about Steve Jobs' medical leave of absence, Wall Street Journal 'ROI' columnist Brett Arends says the news is ominous for investors.

Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs told employees in an email Monday that he will be taking a medical leave of absence but will remain CEO. WSJ's Marcelo Prince talks to Lauren Goode about what it means for the company and its shareholders.

The Securities and Exchange Commission opened an informal inquiry into Apple's disclosure about Mr. Jobs's health in January 2009, but didn't pursue an investigation. The agency is unlikely to open a fresh inquiry, as the company has publicly disclosed Mr Jobs's latest medical leave at its outset, people familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Jobs didn't respond to an email for comment or a call to his home. Apple's six other directors declined to comment or couldn't immediately be reached.

Asked if the company or board planned to disclose further details, Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton responded: "We've said all we're going to say."

The news about Mr. Jobs, who was last seen in public in October at an Apple Macintosh event, surprised many in Silicon Valley. A former Apple employee said none of his former colleagues had noted any recent concerns with Mr. Jobs's health.

Mr. Jobs didn't appear last week at a Verizon Wireless event announcing the iPhone would soon be available through the carrier; Mr. Cook was there instead. Mr. Jobs was expected to announce with News Corp. a new digital publication for the iPad this week, but the event was postponed.

Concerns about Mr. Jobs's health have swirled since he appeared thin at a conference for developers in June 2008, before his liver transplant.

As Apple CEO Steve Jobs goes on medical leave, COO Tim Cook is set to run day-to-day operations at the company. Journal reporter Nick Wingfield talks to Lauren Goode about about Cook's management style and background.

People familiar with the situation said shortly after the transplant that Mr. Jobs was having trouble gaining weight. At his most recent appearance in October, the CEO continued to look thin.

Mr. Jobs was diagnosed in 2004 with a rare type of pancreatic cancer called islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which could be cured if surgery removed it promptly. But in 2008 he began exhibiting weight loss, and questions intensified when he said he would skip the Macworld trade show in early 2009. The CEO initially blamed a hormone imbalance for his weight loss in January 2009 but a week later went on medical leave blaming a "more complex" condition he didn't disclose.

Apple didn't explain Mr. Jobs's 2009 medical leave, but a physician expert at the time said the type of cancer Mr. Jobs had commonly metastasizes in another organ, usually the liver, during a patient's lifetime. A Tennessee hospital later disclosed Mr. Jobs had received a liver transplant there.

Over the past year and a half, Mr. Jobs has again taken center stage in public events, making it clear that he was providing the direction of the company.

People familiar with the situation have said Mr. Jobs had come back to work with full energy and was like the "old Steve." During his 2009 leave, Mr. Jobs kept close management ties with Apple.

Kim Caughey Forrest, an analyst for the Fort Pitt Capital fund, which previously owned Apple stock, said there are concerns about succession at Apple.

"I'm not sure that the company, and the board of directors in particular, have answered the question on succession planning," she said. "We had this issue in 2008, and the board was supposed to learn from it, but they haven't."

Despite concerns about Mr. Jobs's health, Apple's business has flourished. Over Apple's past two fiscal years ended in September, the company's sales have more than doubled to $65.2 billion and its profit has nearly tripled to $14 billion.

Last year, Apple passed Microsoft Corp. in market capitalization to become the world's most valuable technology company. The stock hit its latest high of $348.48 on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday, more than four times where it stood two years ago.

Everday items under the Mircoscope

With the scanning electron microscope you can magnify household items a million times greater than their actual size. It provides beautifully detailed 3D photographs and is the most expensive microscopes in the world

Used Dental Floss

Mascara Brush

Salt and Pepper

A torn Postage Stamp

A Cotton Bud with Earwax on the End

A computer Hardrive

A wiring point of the Guitar String

A hook and loop fastener 

Refined Sugar and raw sugar crystal

Tip of an Unburnt Match

Toothbrush Bristles

Graphite Pencil Core

Piece of Toilet Paper 

Ligther Mechanism

A rotary blade on an electric razor with minuscule hairs near the blades

Needle and a Thread