Taiwanese Foci Fiber Optic Communication said to Cnet that "it will start mass producing both the internal cables as well as Light Peak-based, USB-like cables at the start of 2010." Cnet speculates that—in a build-on-demand world—mass production generally indicates consumer product launches.

Now, once upon a time, Apple went to Intel and adopted USB for its original iMac, deprecating all previous peripheral connectivity ports—like ADB and serial buses—in favor of Intel's standard. In the process, as the iMac exploded in popularity, it made USB extremely popular. On the other side, Apple failed to make FireWire—their own high-speed standard—as popular as USB, even while it was way faster and more flexible than USB. The reason: Intel didn't put its weigh behind it. Intel's USB success, however, wouldn't have happened as fast without Apple's help and the iMac.

Now it's 2009. Reportedly, Intel came up with Light Peak and went to Apple to ask for opinions, and Apple got heavily involved in it because they have some needs. Obviously, both want Light Peak to happen. Light Peak, which uses USB-style connectors and fiberoptics cables to achieve its ultra-fast 10gbps connectivity, could route traffic from any other transport technology, from DisplayPort to FireWire to USB 3.0.

One single port to rule them all. Obviously, you can see the simplicity-obsessed Apple's interest in this.

So I'm going to take a leap of logic and faith to give you this wild, Gene Munster-style mental masturbation conclusion: Given Foci's mass-production schedule, I bet you a stack of pancakes that Apple will be the first to introduce new computers and gadgets with Light Peak as soon as early 2010. And what product, what ultra-slim, solid-state, awesome Apple product may need this awesome be all end all of all gadget connectors? What Apple product may be coming in 2010?

Yes, that's what I wanted to hear. Now, back to our regular schedule of actual news. [Cnet]

Turns out, according to some evidence (documents, conversations) Engadget got ahold of, that Apple actually brought the concept of an optical, one-size-fits-all standard to Intel. Apple apparently had some very specific requirements, which might be why Intel demonstrated Light Peak on a souped-up Hackintosh. There are some roadmaps from 2007 that suggest Apple may roll out Light Peak-equipped hardware in Fall 2010, but more interestingly, Light Peak may be just right for the one gadget everyone wants to see: The infamous Apple Tablet.

A high-speed, one-size-fits-all port would be perfect for a razor-thin tablet, which has minimal space for an array of display, data and connectivity ports. This would be a ballsy move for Apple: USB 3.0 is just about ready to pop, and Apple could effectively skip over that standard for Light Peak. The tablet speculation is just that, speculation, but we wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true: Consolidation of ports is great for super thin gadgets, which after all is one of Apple's current trademarks.

This isn't the first time Apple's had a heavy influence on emerging standards—check out our piece on the subject for a little history. [Engadget]

In Intel's words:

Existing electrical cable technology in mainstream computing devices is approaching practical limits for speed and length, due to electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and other issues. However, optical technology, used extensively in data centers and telecom communications, does not have these limitations since it transmits data using light instead of electricity. Light Peak brings this optical technology to mainstream computing and consumer electronic devices in a cost-effective manner.

Light Peak delivers 10Gb/s speeds right now, and could conceivably go as fast as 100Gb/s within a decade or so. Those kinds of speeds are even sustained over a 100-meter distance, which is really impressive. Intel is currently working with hardware manufacturers (computers, handhelds, etc) to try to get the optical tech onto devices sometime in 2010. [Intel]

His Millennial Disks (say that 3x fast) can be read in regular DVD drives, despite being made with a secret sauce of "persistent" materials—he drops words like gold and obsidian, which makes it sound expensive. Indeed, they cost $30. For DVDs. That you can never rewrite. A Blu-ray version is in the works (will they cost $100?).

And it might be a lie! The plastic—his discs' weak point, your discs' strong point—could die before the disc reaches a thousand years old: "That plastic may limit us to a few centuries or a thousand years for now." Is there a warranty? Plus, shouldn't it be Millennial Disc, not Disk?

Also, will the slot-loading disc drives in the bellies of the invading aliens be able to read Millenniata's Millennial discs in 1000 years? These are the kinds of compatibility questions we should be taking seriously today, before they become a problem tomorrow, like with magnetic tape today.

If only there was a way to copy data to lots of different places, so that if it died in one place, it would still exist in another place. That would be really super great. [Herald Extra via Slashdot]

We can only hope that the VGP-BMS10 is as trustworthy as it looks.

Otherwise, the mouse is just another premium mouse. Featuring an 800dpi sensor, 30-foot range and PC-only compatibility (which seems odd), Sony's optical knight is available now in Japan for $70. And in other news, I must be Jonesing for my first trip to Medieval Times. [Sony via Newlaunches]

Road Mice are $45, officially licensed sports car versions of wireless optical mice. Infused with scroll wheels and LED headlights, the Ford Mustang, Chevy Z06 Corvette, Dodge Charger SRT8 and more are all ready to burn through some spreadsheets during your otherwise humdrum workday.

Plus, we're pretty sure that there's a decent cruising for chicks/internet porn pun you could tell all of your coworkers 100 or so times before realizing that it probably wasn't all that funny in the first place. [Road Mice]

ULTRA-ZOOM, ULTRA-WOW, ULTRA-NOW - CANON ANNOUNCES THE POWERSHOT SX10 IS DIGITAL CAMERA
PowerShot SX10 IS Offers the Zooming Power of a Digital SLR in a Compact Camera

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., September 17, 2008 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today introduced the expansion of the ever-popular ultra-zoom SX-Series, the PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera. The new digital camera features a wide-angle (28 mm - 560 mm) 20x optical zoom lens, an Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS), Canon's new DIGIC 4 image processor and a smooth, curved grip that fits in the hand comfortably. This compact camera is capable of capturing long-range shots of soccer field action from the bleachers or sunsets from your hotel balcony easier. Photographers can now quickly zoom in close enough to capture facial expressions and details from far away.

In addition to its ultra-zoom capabilities and new DIGIC 4 image processor, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera is loaded with a full range of performance and convenient features that camera enthusiasts have come to expect from Canon - 10.0 megapixel resolution, Genuine Canon Face Detection Technology, large 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD screen and MovieSnap mode for capturing high-resolution still images while shooting video.

"The PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera feature set has been enhanced to provide even greater zooming power and creative control, offering the photo enthusiast a compact camera at a price they will appreciate," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "With the ability to shoot in wide-angle, consumers no longer need to choose between getting their loved one or the background in the shot."

For users whom movie capability is an important consideration, look no further. The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera offers consumers many creative possibilities, including the ability to shoot VGA movies. The PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera can capture individual movies up to one hour or 4GB per clip, all while utilizing the new Voice Coil Motor (VCM), which enables faster focusing speed while reducing focusing noise.

Additionally, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera comes equipped with 24 shooting modes, ranging from fully automatic to manual, and is easily accessible through an SLR-style mode dial located on top of the camera. While in manual shooting mode, a variety of settings can be selected through the screen, including Program AE, Shutter-speed priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual exposure and Custom mode.

Canon DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor
The newly upgraded DIGIC 4 image processor, a proprietary technology, accounts for the camera's higher performance levels, including significantly improved signal processing speed and higher image quality.

One of the most important new features made possible by the DIGIC 4 image processor is Servo AF, which is a form of continuous focus tracking for moving subjects. By pressing the shutter button half-way, the camera can track subject movement up to the instant of exposure, resulting in sharper photographs. Additionally, the processor's high ISO speed noise reduction processing has improved substantially to enable consumers to shoot high-quality images, even in extremely dark situations without the use of a flash. The new Intelligent Contrast Correction function automatically improves image quality in high-contrast shooting situations.

The Genuine Canon Face Detection technology has evolved even further, thanks to DIGIC 4. Improved features include the ability to recognize human faces at most angles. Another innovation is the Face Detection Self-Timer, which automatically takes a photo two seconds after a new face enters the scene.

Availability and Pricing
Scheduled to be available in late October, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera will have an estimated selling price of $399.99*. Kit contents will include four AA Alkaline batteries, a USB interface cable, an AV cable, a neck strap, lens cap, lens hood, Canon's software suite and a 1-year Canon U.S.A., Inc. limited warranty.

*Okay, slight exaggeration.

REDMOND, Wash. ─ Sept. 9, 2008 ─ Microsoft Corp. today unveiled the world’s most advanced tracking technology, Microsoft BlueTrack Technology, which allows consumers to take their mice anywhere and work with confidence on more surfaces than before. Microsoft’s new proprietary tracking technology combines the width and power of optical technology with the precision of laser tracking to allow consumers to mouse on virtually any surface1 — from a granite kitchen countertop to the living room carpet.

BlueTrack Technology will debut in two new top-of-the-line mice, Microsoft Explorer Mouse and Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse, available this fall at BestBuy.com and in Best Buy stores.

Microsoft Hardware: History of Leadership

Microsoft Hardware has consistently raised the bar in mouse tracking technology throughout its 26-year history, including the launch of the world’s first optical mouse in 1999. The LED light and sensor allowed consumers to mouse on more surfaces with ease, eliminating the old “ball” mouse for good. In 2005, Microsoft introduced High Definition Laser Technology, which allowed mice to work on many surfaces that optical technology did not. But now Microsoft’s in-house engineers have taken mouse tracking to the next level, creating an exclusive, groundbreaking technology to advance the way consumers use their computer mice.

“Research shows that people aren’t sitting at a desk all day, but they’ve gone mobile. In fact, 72 percent of PCs sold are notebook PCs,2 and consumers need a mouse that can go with them anywhere,” said Mark DePue, platforms engineering manager at Microsoft and co-inventor of BlueTrack Technology. “BlueTrack Technology excels in areas where optical and laser technologies were falling short. Laser mice, for example, have a difficult time working on some common home surfaces, including granite and marble.”

According to David Bohn, senior engineering architect at Microsoft and BlueTrack Technology co-inventor, “Laser technology is also sensitive to dust and dirt accumulation during travel, which can lead to poor tracking performance. With BlueTrack Technology you can rest easier about where your mouse will or won’t track — it works just about everywhere, just like you.”

Under the Hood

Microsoft’s BlueTrack Technology works on more surfaces than both optical and laser mice. The large, blue beam and specular optics architecture, in conjunction with a Microsoft-designed image sensor and proprietary pixel geometry, generates a high-contrast picture of the mousing surface that allows exceptional tracking accuracy. The BlueTrack Technology light beam emanating from the bottom of the mouse is more than four times as large as the average laser beam used in today’s mice, enabling the capture of a larger image and offering better reflection of the surface over red light and laser.

This advanced technology creates a superior, more precise picture of the surface, allowing consumers to use their mouse virtually anywhere. To see a video on the making of BlueTrack Technology and meet the inventors, consumers can visit http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/bluetrack.

Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse

BlueTrack Technology will debut in two new high-end Microsoft mouse products this fall — the full-size Explorer Mouse and the smaller Explorer Mini Mouse. These mice pair revolutionary tracking technology with a sophisticated design that brings the mice to life. A chrome trim and blue lighting around the bottom rim of the mouse create a soft glow and set the device apart from anything else on the market. A right-handed, ergonomist-approved design offers hours of comfortable use, and 2.4GHz wireless technology delivers a reliable connection up to 30 feet away. The snap-in minitransceiver offers easy storage and mobility, allowing consumers to take their full-size mouse with them wherever they need it.

The full-size Explorer Mouse features easy recharging with a battery status indicator and a small charging base, while the Explorer Mini Mouse uses two AA batteries.

Availability

The Explorer Mouse with BlueTrack Technology and the Explorer Mini Mouse with BlueTrack Technology will be available at BestBuy.com and Best Buy stores in November for the estimated retail price of $99.95 and $79.95 (U.S.), respectively.3

“At Best Buy we offer our customers the latest and greatest in consumer technology,” said Steve Guild, senior merchant, computing peripherals at Best Buy. “We are excited to enter into our relationship with Microsoft BlueTrack Technology, as the products truly map to where our customers are using their computers — everywhere.”

Both mice will be backed by a worldwide three-year limited hardware warranty from Microsoft. More information about these and other Microsoft Hardware products can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/hardware.

[MS Hardware]

As the sample moves through a metallic microfluidic channel, either by gravity or drawn by an electric field, it passes over a line of sub-micron diameter pinholes, blocking or transmitting light (sunlight works fine). The dynamic light level is then detected by a standard CCD device behind the holes. So it's lens-free, working more like a micro-sized scanner device, and yet it has comparable image quality to a top-rate glass-lensed traditional microscope.

And it's about the size of a quarter in its entirety: making it small enough to fit into a mobile-phone-sized device, with an LCD screen. It's cheap—around $10—and easy to make, and would be perfect for developing countries for easy detection of malaria in blood and such. [Physorg]

Interestingly the "Selectron" vacuum tube device (great name there) was actually intended more for memory-type applications, rather than secondary storage. There're also a couple of omissions: Bouchon punchcards were the gizmos used to store the "program" of weave patterns in a loom way back in the 18th Century, followed by the more famous Jacquard looms. And where's bubble memory, and modern flash storage?

Still... amazing, no? Look how far we've come, how much the data density and bit read/write accuracy has gone up as the physical size has gone down. And look how the technology has jumped around from medium to medium. Makes you wonder what's around the corner doesn't it? For more details, check out the Pingdom post. [Royal Pingdom via BBGadgets]

Who needs a databus with such a high data rate? For the time being, probably only petaflop supercomputer designers needing to route vast numbers of bits very quickly between parallel processors and memory banks. Before too long though, the size and weight savings offered by that lower power consumption could mean you'd see scaled-down versions of the technology in your laptop or even your phone.

The cleverest bit is that the guys at IBM made these new "optocard" circuits by using commercially available parts and standard techniques like surface-mount soldering. This means the innovations may make it into real products much sooner than if they'd used custom technology.

It's apparently "the world's fastest and most highly integrated optical databus to date," and all that amazing speed is powered by little laser beams, guys... frickin' laser beams. And that's just cool. [Physorg]

Second-Generation Super Multi Blue Drives: LG offers consumers unparalleled flexibility in next-generation optical disc drives with the introduction of two new dual-format "Super Multi Blue" Blu-ray and HD DVD compatible internal drives. Reflecting manufacturing efficiencies and marketplace realities, LG announced the units will retail at the new price of $499 for the GGW-H20LI and $399 for the GGC-H20LI. Both units feature LightScribe, enabling consumers to easily create direct-to-disc labels right from their drive. The optical drives are compatible with Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD read/write and HD-DVD-ROM (read only), offering consumers the most universal units available.

The GGW-H20LI features a 6x recording speed of Blu-ray Discs, which means that it takes only 16 minutes to burn a full single layer BD-R disc (25GB), compared with 23-24 minutes for 4x recording and 46-47 minutes for 2x recording. LG also doubled its DVD+RW/-RW recording speed to 16x recording. The GGW-H20LI can record up to 50GB of data, equivalent to 4-1/2 hours of high-definition video or 22 hours of standard definition video (on a dual layer 50GB BD-R/BD-RE recordable media).
The GGC-H20LI, featuring Blu-ray disc and HD DVD playback compatibility, makes a great addition to any HD content enthusiast's system. The unit also offers consumers a 16x recording speed of DVD+RW/-RW and 32x recording speed of CD-R/RW.

The fingerprint algorithm can detect where you place your finger on the joypad, which finger you place, and even the angle you place it at. That means sliding around with your thumb could get you your contacts, whereas using your other thumb could scroll through menus. And the placement of your finger, of course, knows in which direction you want to scroll.

Just conjecture for now, but it seems a likely candidate for the optical joystick implementation. What's also cool is that it can gauge how healthy you are by the amount of boogers you smear on its sensor. – Jason Chen

Samsung SCH V960 Optical Joystick phone. How does it work? [UnwiredView]

This pickup is responsive to string movement below and well above human hearing. Lower the string pitch to "shake the walls" or play the upper register to make violin sounds, is up to the musician. Because the pickup is optical it can see any type of string, steel, nylon, bronze, gut etc. or intermix.

Can anyone shed some light on this? HAR!

Product Page [OpticalGuitars]
Hoag Introduces The K-MAX 25-Fret Guitar With Optical Pickup [Harmony-Central via Music Thing]

JVC surround adapter for headphones [TechJapan]