Properly angled and lined up to reflect light from the sun, the mirrors could be used to increase the amount of light reflected by the Earth-Moon system by up to 20%. Any alien eye scanning the heavens—or, more likely, an automated system like SETI set up by aliens—should be able to easily spot the modulations. A set of prime numbers in flashes would be a good choice, since these are easily distinguishable from natural variations. Furthermore, pop photovoltaic cells on the other side of the mirrors, beam the energy to Earth by microwaves and you'd have enough power to seriously impact the climate crisis. Not a bad idea, eh? [New Scientist via KurzweilAI]

If you want to take the home theater out of the darkened theater room into a large open space, either of these models has the power to do it. If you have a big back yard and a knack for careful installation, they would be perfect for setting up an outdoor theater; though at 300" you might want to be a little careful what you watch. While there are no HDMI ports, both models offer D-Sub 15 and DVI-D as well as Composite and S-Video.

Lack of HDMI connectivity might scare some people away, but DVI-D is comparable in quality. If you want to run a seriously powerful system from an HTPC, either of these models could be the ticket. The only problem is the price, at $6,495 for the PLC-ET30L and $4,495 for the PLC-XT21/L, buying these would be a tad difficult to justify. I won't buy either of these models, but it never hurts to dream big. Oh, and don't forget to remember the $3,833 for the screen. [Sanyo via Oh Gizmo!]

The house was originally put together in the 1970s, and as such, many of the fittings now have a retro feeling, but that just adds to the charm. The space dwelling is now up for sale, and it is to go under the hammer this very day, which has us counting the Benjamins. Unfortunately, the 2000 sq ft extra terrestrial base station, with three floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room and scenic view has already attracted a $100,000 bid, which plants it about $99,999 out of our budget. Oh boy, it's back to our slimy, grimy, shoe box of an office until another UFO house comes on the market. We're optimistic. [CityNews]

The winner of the "You Make It, We'll Play It" competition will get the equivalent of $40,000 and their advert shown on terrestrial TV too. Meanwhile, on June 12th, aided by astronomers from Leicester University, the EISCAT 500Mhz UHF Radar will direct the space-bound advert transmission toward the star 47 Ursae Majoris, which is apparently pretty similar to our Sun and may have habitable planets. How far off is that potential alien audience, you ask? It's (you'll love this) 42 light years away.

Assuming aliens are interested at all in our transmissions, that means that in 42 years time, the signal may be either amusing and confusing alien scientists on another planet, or triggering an incoming invasion of cheese-frenzied extra-terrestrials.

So, Giz readers, is the Dorito advert more culturally relevant than a cheery Beatles tune? Let us know in the comments. [PRnewswire]

When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Rams—many of them at New York's MoMA—and compare them to Ive's work at Apple, you can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design "honest."

This passion for "simplicity" and "honest design" that is always declared by Ive whenever he's interviewed or appears in a promo video, is at the core of Dieter Rams' 10 principles for good design:

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design helps us to understand a product.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is durable.
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
• Good design is concerned with the environment.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

Ive's inspiration on Rams' design principles goes beyond the philosophy and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh, true classics that have survived the test of time.

The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes uncanny, others more subtle, but there's always a common root that provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but also with a close familiarity.

Braun Atelier TV and latest iMac 24

Braun T1000 radio and PowerMac G5/Mac Pro

Detail of the radio perforated aluminum surface

Braun T3 pocket radio and Apple iPod

Braun L60 sound system and Apple iPod Hi-Fi

Braun LE1 speaker and Apple iMac

Some people will probably call these examples a "rip-off" but, in a world where industrial design and art is constantly being recycled into new work, I just see Apple's products as a great evolution to classic concepts. Now, as I look at Rams' work I can't help but to wonder: which of these old Braun designs will Apple revive next? Is there a MacBook Air—the rumored ultra-slim wire-free portable that seems to be the favorite bet for tomorrow's keynote—in there?

Hopefully, we'll discover at least some answers tomorrow. See you at Macworld! [Design Museum, Dieter Rams and O Globo Online]

The product page doesn't actually say how much memory this has, only that it "support most models of USB-Disks". We're guessing you need to supply your own USB disk for this one. – Jason Chen

Wireless in Waverly? [RedFerret]