According to the filing dug up by MacRumors, Apple's trying to bring a little hyper-reality to your monitor. Instead of using a keyboard or a click to move a 3D object, you'd simply have to move your head to manipulate the image. It sounds similar in concept to Johnny Chung Lee's heroic Wiimote hack that effectively turned your head into a mouse, though nothing in the Apple patent suggests you'd have to wear a sensor. Instead, a mounted camera would track your movements, and possibly also the environment around you.

The patent application also proposes incorporating the technology into 2D functions—like layering open applications—to provide a more intuitive, hands-free interface with your display for everyday tasks as well.

This isn't the first time Steve Jobs has explored a 3D solution, but with recent advancements like Natal and MIT's bidirectional display, it's more probable than ever that we'll see this—or something like it—come to fruition. [Apple Patent via MacRumors]

The technology might seem similar to Project Natal, since it gives you control over objects on a display based on your movements. It differs, though, in that the optical sensors are actually tracking what you're doing through the LCD, which alternates between the image you see on the screen and a pattern of black and white squares that allow light through, providing BIDI information about what's physically happening in front of it. It's the first display that's able to look at you at the same time you look at it, which means the whole system could also be turned into a high-resolution camera.

Also: bonus points to MIT for demoing a technology that gives you Jedi powers over a display using a TIE fighter. [MIT via Engadget]

The project represents how video would be transmitted if serial data had never been invented. Each pixel in the 50x50 grid arrives on its own channel, hence the lovely mess of wiring.


I wouldn't want to string all that copper, but I sure don't mind looking at it. [Hack a Day via CruchGear]

Pixel Qi's last announced manufacturing date—residue of which still graces their website—was "the second half of 2009." In big, bold type, they've updated the claim: "We are starting mass production of this screen in December 2009," is proudly emblazoned on Pixel Qi's worryingly retro website, while "We totally totally promise this time," a comforting, if slightly desperate adjunct, is not. But this is:

We have begun design of a sub-10 watt HDTV that can be used in hundreds of millions of households that don't have steady, if any, access to electrical power. The typical HDTV uses more than 100 Watts and often draws several hundred watts. We are working on a way to massively lower the power consumption, and significantly lower the price with a target price of $100. Thus this HDTV can run off of battery that can be charged up when the power is on, or charged with a small solar panel, crank, or so forth.

I'm sure there are about a million different applications for a low-power screen tech that displays full-motion color, static e-ink and works in the sunlight, but don't get ahead of yourselves: we haven't seen a single non-prototype device yet. Throw us a bone, guys! And by bone, I mean the name of any hardware partner who's willing to make a product with this screen tech once it starts shipping. [Pixel Qi via Blogeee via Slashgear]

As great as it seems, this concept is seriously creepy because it powers itself by converting the glucose and oxygen found in blood into electricity. Though somehow getting your blood sucked by a gadget is worth it for the endless potential applications. I'd probably just end up using it to moderate comments, but what would you do first with your implant? [Core77 via Geekologie]

This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.

The discussion thread reports that Apple recommends updating the firmware in the adapter itself to 1.02. Unfortunately you can't update it at home, so you'll have to go to an Apple store to trade it in. Even more unfortunate is the fact that users are saying the 1.02 firmware makes things even WORSE. [Mini DisplayPort coverage on Giz]

As long as your collectible weighs around 4 ounces or less and is non-ferrous, this device will pick it up, spin it around, and illuminate it with its built-in LED spotlights. Apparently, the Levitron Revolution is not in production yet, but when it becomes available sometime in August, I'm going to get two just so I can put my levitron on display using my other levitron. [Fascinations via BBG via OhGizmo]

It's simpler than the crazy ion blaster technique Samsung used to produce their flexible OLED display, adapting the "traditional" process of manufacturing OLED displays (UDC uses vacuum thermal evaporation) in a more "benign" way so that it can be implemented directly on a soft piece of plastic, hence the potential for mass production. Essentially, the plastic substrate is glued to a piece of glass while they process it, and then it's carefully peeled off. What you end up with is an OLED implemented directly on plastic.

That said, while FDC believes "most of the key manufacturing roadblocks have been addressed and it's time to start thinking seriously about commercial production," commercial gadgets with flexible OLED displays are still a few years away. And we're talking like 4-6 inches, not even 8-10 for a bendy tablet thing. On the upside, they think they can get the price premiums down to "no more than 10 percent" above existing display prices within the first 5 years of commercial production. We'll see.

FDC and Universal Display Corporation Make Breakthrough in Flexible Display Manufacturing Process; Advance Flexible OLEDs Closer to Mass Market

TEMPE, Ariz. – June 1, 2009 - The Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University and Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: PANL), today introduced the first a-Si:H active matrix flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display to be manufactured directly on DuPont Teijin's polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate. Implementing Universal Display Corporation's phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode (PHOLED) technology and materials and the FDC's proprietary bond-debond manufacturing technology, the 4.1-inch monochrome quarter video graphics array (QVGA) display represents a significant milestone towards achieving a manufacturable solution for flexible OLEDs.

Flexible OLEDs are designed to target a number of military and commercial applications that require more rugged displays. With Universal Display's PHOLED technology and materials, the new display achieves the same brightness as traditional displays with extremely low power consumption. Additional advantages of the technology include lower operating temperature due to less heat being generated, easier to drive, longer battery life, and more stable transistors.

"Being a founding member of the Flexible Display Center, Universal Display is pleased to see the significant progress enabled by our cooperation," said Mike Hack, Vice President of Strategic Product Development at Universal Display. "Together, the FDC and Universal Display have demonstrated technology paths which will accelerate the introduction of exciting new flexible OLED displays on plastic substrates."

"This development of flexible AMOLED technology gives the industry a solid starting point towards manufacturing, mass production and commercialization of flexible OLEDs," said Shawn O'Rourke, director of engineering for the FDC. "The fact that we have achieved a functional flexible OLED manufactured directly on plastic using the Center's manufacturing process represents a significant achievement, and continued developments over the next few years will lead to full color, full motion video flexible displays."

The flexible backplane display was manufactured at the Flexible Display Center utilizing a 180°C thin film transistor process. The FDC's facility implements traditional flat panel and semiconductor tools and processes to achieve flexible displays, enabled by its proprietary bond-debond technology to secure the plastic substrate to a rigid carrier during manufacture.

The integration of Universal Display's PHOLED frontplane delivers a key enabling technology for the flexible OLED. The PHOLED materials allow the OLED to convert up to 100 percent of the electrical energy into light, as opposed to traditional fluorescent OLEDs which convert only 25 percent, providing up to four times more energy efficiency. Universal Display integrated the FDC backplane designed for its PHOLED frontplane to produce the display.
The FDC and Universal Display will present a paper discussing the active matrix flexible OLED on Friday June 5th in session 65.4 at SID 2009. Additionally, the FDC will demonstrate this device and other flexible display technologies in booth # 523 at the show. Universal Display, located at booth #676 at the show, and DuPont Teijin are members of the Flexible Display Center.

About the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University
The FDC is a government – industry – academia partnership that's advancing full-color flexible display technology and fostering development of a manufacturing ecosystem to support the rapidly growing market for flexible electronic displays. FDC partners include many of the world's leading providers of advanced display technology, materials and process equipment. The FDC is unique among the U.S. Army's University centers, having been formed through a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004. This adaptable agreement has enabled the FDC to create and implement a proven collaborative partnership model with over 20 engaged industry members, and to successfully deploy world class wafer-scale R&D and GEN-II display-scale pilot production lines for rapid flexible display technology development and manufacturing supply chain commercialization. More information on the Flexible Display Center can be found at www.flexdisplay.asu.edu.

About Universal Display Corporation

Universal Display Corporation is a world leader in developing and commercializing innovative OLED technologies and materials for use in flat panel displays, solid-state lighting products, electronic communications and other opto-electronic devices. Universal Display is working with a network of world-class organizations, including Princeton University, the University of Southern California, the University of Michigan, and PPG Industries, Inc. Universal Display has also established numerous commercial relationships with companies such as Chi Mei EL Corporation, DuPont Displays, Inc., Konica Minolta Technology Center, Inc., LG Display Co., Ltd., Samsung SMD Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, Sony Corporation, Tohoku Pioneer Corporation and Toyota Industries Corporation. Universal Display currently owns or has exclusive, co-exclusive or sole license rights with respect to more than 940 issued and pending patents worldwide.

The video is eight minutes long, but absolutely worth the view since it's hard to describe what it does in words (even if the quality is really bad.)

Called Global Situational Awareness the system seamlessly puts together geographical information and schematics with material from countless sources in the battlefield: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, AWACs, satellites, ground-level radar, reconnoissance units... anything that is connected to the battle grid will be mixed into one single tactical plan.

The result of this advanced information merging system—for a lack of a better term—is then shown in a touch display, which is used by the people in command to access all the information in a comprehensive way. To do it, the system has different applications that allow to show and mix this information with different levels of transparency, in 2D and 3D, all manipulated using gestures and simple icons.

The level of sophistication of this system—developed in three years by DRS technologies— is simply amazing, making current battlefield displays look like a Napoleonic Wars map with lead soldiers on top. This is like the crazy made-up stuff that you can see in series like 24 or Tom Clancy movies, but for real. [Defense Tech]

ViBook supports up to a 23-inch monitor at 1680x1050 or 1600x1200 resolution. Like the ViDock, it renders graphics on the device itself, offloading the processing from your on-board graphics card. This is good, because it allows you to attach four (for Macs) or six (for PCs) more monitors to your setup. But it's also bad because it relies on the rendering power of the device to display windows, so there's no OpenGL or any kind of real acceleration.

It's best used for extending your desktop so you can keep your mail, or your RSS feeds, or your IM windows or your calendar visible at all times. Not so much if you need to do anything graphics-based, or anything that refreshes really fast. No games, especially.

The ViBook is a pretty decent device, but at $130, it's slightly too pricey. OWC has a version for $100, and Fastmac has a version for $80. [ViBook]

OWC's version comes with two swiveling adapters (the main bit, just like ViBook's is just a solid block), and supports up to 1600x1200 or 1680x1050. What's better about this is that it's got the VGA and HDMI adapters and comes in at $100, $30 less than the ViBook. You just need to make sure your displays support whatever resolution this can drive before you load up. [OWC]

DemoGod is based mostly on iPhoney and VNC, and uses the jailbreak app ScreenSplitr to stream your screen's activity to your computer. It's Mac only, at the moment, and is a little bit jerky, but it will rotate with the iPhone's accelerometer and is a very cool proof of possibility. Check out a video of DemoGod in action here, and download it here. [Ars Technica]

The Slim still has a 7-inch 800x480 display, but this one folds up into a clamshell shape when not in use. When in use, it can be positioned either vertically or horizontally (like the previous gen), and draws power solely from your USB port. It's not a bad idea if you need another small monitor, but if you have the money and space, you should go with a standard-sized monitor and save your eyesight. [Car Computer via Engadget]

This 18.5-inch Samsung concept display is supposed to fix that. Just connect it to your Samsung laptop and Bob's your uncle: Almost-perfectly aligned cursor and image panning. [Samsung]

I know that having an extensible display won't mean a thing for many people. If you can have a 30" 16:9 display, why have it adjusted to only 20" 4:3? Well, if you are as anal as I am, you will do it to watch Casablanca with no black letterbox side bands, for example. I can also imagine people adjusting the size for smaller workplaces, but maybe the most useful thing would be to sightly bend it to have an enveloping effect at its largest size.

Having a built-in, low-cost mini-projector to display icons over the desk is a touch of genius. I hate having the dock icons jumping or any other graphic overlay on my work screen, but visual alerts are necessary and useful. Having a simple mini-projector built in the display—to show simple alerts over the desk or the background wall—would be absolutely perfect. [Petit Invention via Oled Display]

I'm a sucker for any Apple keynote, whether I'm in the stands with the press or F5'ing away at my browser like most of you. There's a certain hypnotic timing to them, a clean presentation and a controlled, meticulous unveiling process that makes even the less exciting products seem monumental in scope.

During today's last Apple Macworld keynote, not having been there, I actually forgot at times that Steve Jobs wasn't presenting with Phil Schiller taking his place instead. Indeed, from the text/content alone, I wouldn't have even noticed. The presentation style was intact—from the clean slides to the dramatic structure, it was an Apple keynote, even if it wasn't Steve's Apple keynote. But I want to know, do you feel the same way?

From our original Macworld 2009 rumor roundup, here's the rundown on how all the rumors panned out.

Came True:
iLife and iWork '09 (with iWork in the cloud)
DRM-Free iTunes
17-inch Macbook Pro

Didn't Come True:
New Mac Mini
Updated 30-inch Cinema Displays

Didn't Come True Stretches:
iPod Touch Jumbo/XL/Pro/Netbook/Thing
iPhone nano
Home Server
Snow Leopard Availability
New iMacs

Seeing as many of the rumors were an admitted wild shot at best, we'd put the real rumor batting average around .400, even if it's closer to .266 on paper.