The 10.2-inch device has absolutely everything—from integrated 3.5G connectivity and SMS read-back to the obligatory GPS and USB media playback—giving you full access to car diagnostics, night vision, parking assist, and 360-degree camera video. Sadly, no missiles or lasers. Yet. [Engadget Chinese via Engadget]

Electrophysics says its AstroScope module won't stop you using all your camera's normal functions, and that it can produce images without little to none of the vignetting commonly associated with night vision shots.

Pricing isn't on Electrophysics' site, but a quick search turns up a price range of about $5000-$6000. A module for Canon's XL series video camera is also available. [Electrophysics via RedFerret]

According to Ars Technica, the newest toy from JAKKS Pacific has many improvements over the previous generation, mainly that you can finally use both eyes to see what's going on instead of suffering through the odd monovision of the original model. Other improvements include the ability to fine tune vision by adjusting the interpupillary distance and a drop in price.

The EyeClops goggles still use infra-red sensing technology rather than true night vision, but with a low price of $59.99, they're difficult to resist. [Ars Technica]

The Price: $80, but going for $60 just about everywhere.

The Verdict: Good goggles for the price. While they aren't exactly battlefield quality, the goggles work well enough to light up your path in the dark. The close-up setting is okay if you only care about what's right in front of you, but you won't be able to check up on your former lover from a tree without turning on the long-distance setting which will give up your position with a bunch of bright red lights.

Friends who've tried on the goggles complain that the night vision is only displayed in one eye (the other is covered with a piece of plastic), but I think that cameras in both eyes could get more confusing than necessary. The only problem I have is that it takes 6 AA batteries, which is too many to hold on your head comfortably if you're going to be wearing them for a long time. But again, they are way cheaper than the next level of night-vision gear, so if you want to feel and look like you are from the future without spending future prices, these goggles are the way to go.

To create the special silicon, Harvard physicist Eric Mazur shined a super powerful laser onto a silicon wafer. The laser's output briefly matches all the energy produced by the sun falling onto the Earth's entire surface at a given moment in time. To spice the experiment up, he also had researchers apply sulfur hexafluoride, which the semiconductor industry uses to make etchings in silicon for circuitry. Seriously, he did this just for kicks and to secure more funding for an old project.

“I got tired of metals and was worrying that my Army funding would dry up,” he said. “I wrote the new direction into a research proposal without thinking much about it — I just wrote it in; I don’t know why," he said.

The new experiment made the silicon black to the naked eye. Under an electron microscope, however, the dark sheen was revealed to be thousands, if not millions, of tiny spikes. As we said above, those spikes had an amazing effect on the light sensitivity of the wafer. Mazur said the material also absorbs about twice as much visible light as traditional silicon, and can detect infrared light that is invisible to today's silicon detectors.

And there's no change to the manufacturing process, Mazur said, so existing semiconductor facilities can create black silicon without much additional effort or, more importantly, money. [New York Times]

Yeah, that's candlelight only. Taken with the previous f/1.0 Noctilux, natch, so you could even swap it for an even smaller candle and still pull off the same shot, or try some insane depth-of-field bokeh effects. Awesome stuff, all for €8,000 ($11,260).

And now that you're in a tizzy about super-fast, super-expensive lenses, take a look at the incredible story of the custom Zeiss lens Stanley Kubrick demanded for candle-lit scenes in Barry Lyndon. It opened up to a crazy f/0.7. Well worth the read.

[Leica Rumors via Gadget Lab, Photo: lylevincent]

Other features include: VGA, QVGA, and QQVGA image resolutions at 30fps, support for multiple profiles, 3x digital zoom, multiple network protocol support, MPEG4 and MJPEG dual-codec support, 128-bit WEP and WPA-PSK encryption, and the ability to view and record video up to 16 cameras simultaneously. And the best part about the ZVC7630W is that you can pick one up for only $200. There is also a $156 version available — sans wireless. [Product Page and Zonet]

Chris Pirillo [via
Valleywag]

Product Page [Via EverythingUSB]

A band I've never heard of called Cartel will be locked up inside this spherical-domed tent on one of New York City's piers for 20 days to record an album while 23 cameras stream footage to the Web. It's the usual invasion of privacy: night vision in the bedroom, a shower cam, and something called a "KFC cam" in kitchen.

While it will be a decent test of Adobe's new Flash Media Encoder, we doubt that's why a bunch of 13-year-old girls will sit outside the bubble, screaming and crying while their moms wonder where they went wrong. Anyway, these are all matters to keep in mind when you devise your own bubble using the blueprints and renderings below. (Cameras and desperate fame seekers sold separately.)

A word of advice to Cartel: See how your name is the same size as Wal-Mart's? That's a sure sign you should fire your agent. Good luck in the bubble! – Wilson Rothman

Dr Pepper Hopes MTV Show Will Sell Soda [AP]

The SuperVisions also pack a maximum 8x zoom so you can really focus in on your, er, bird-watching. At $1,399, they're super pricey, so we'll wait till they team up with these guys before we jump. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page [via Electronista]

The meal will be taken in this environment with the complete loss of vision. By starving one's sense, your other senses are stimulated to full alert - all so the theory goes - and your food will taste like it's never tasted before.

Dark Restaurant: Where one eats in total darkness [Spluch]

First, stick a USB connector on there. Then, take out the infrared filter so you can record infrared in the dark. The last step? Buy some Radioshack infrared LEDs as a light source, glue them on the front, and you're in business.

The finished setup looks RIDICULOUS, but gets the job done. Christmas is coming early this year for this young man. Result after the jump.

– Jason Chen

CVS Camcorder based night vision [Brandfe - Thanks Elliot!]

By showing you this device, were actually doing you a service—we're thinking it's probably not clearly marked "Nightvision Spycam," so if you see one somewhere and then you end up staying there after dark, be aware of that unseen eye that might be watching you. One thing has us worried about this product: at $35, its video quality must be atrocious, even in the bright light of day. – Charlie White

USB Qcam with NightVision [USB Geek]