Murderer. Slave owner. Celebrated philanderer. These are the words that should come to mind when considering a one Mr. Nicholas "Santa" Claus. Just because you can see through that drunk jolly facade, though, doesn't mean the rest of the world can. So it's time to take matters into your own hands. Fortunately, …

If you thought screens were where glass started and finished in gadgets, think again. Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass, has also started making optical USB and Thunderbolt cables—and they're super, super long.

This newly discovered planet is just 22 light-years away. Its discoverers are calling it the "new best candidate" to support water, and possibly life. The planet's unique features could even make it the ideal home for creatures like the Predator!

Engineers at Yale University say they've invented a new type of mechanical memory device that is read from and written to by light. According to its creators, this development could lead to better sensors and new techniques in optical telecommunications.

This is sick. Sick because the spiral effect is making me sick and sick because it reminds me how flawed/awesome/trippy our color perception is. Believe it or not, the green and the blue in this spiral is the same color.

Audyssey's new Lower East Side Media digital speakers pack a wallop thought they aren't much bigger than your average paperback book. True to their name, they include both digital optical audio and 3.5mm inputs—craving that little black puck.

Using inspiration from the impossible fork, ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects built this optical illusion bookshelf. The shelf looks cartoony and almost invisible but that's not even the real illusion, the real mind bender is that there are what seems like 4 shelves on the left side but only 3 shelves on the right side.…

Tiny MP3 players are great, but the tiny means of navigation they often employ can be a big pain in the ass. The Minput project explores the possibility of using optical sensors to let those devices double as mice.

As a kid, I thought the cartoon world could mix with the real one—like in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I don't think I was entirely wrong. Just look at this odd metal sculpture.

A Penn State graduate student and professor have built a system that transmits wireless data at 1 Gbps over infrared light. And they think it can go even faster.

According to a major Light Peak provider's plans, products with the ultrafast connectivity standard may arrive as soon as early 2010. Apple helped in its development. Apple is rumored to adopt it first. Yes, you know where this is going.

Engadget has it on very good authority that there's a legitimate reason for the odd appearance of a Hackintosh at IDF last week: Apple was actually the catalyst for Light Peak and is working closely with Intel on the project.

Today at IDF, Intel unveiled Light Peak technology, a plan for an extremely high-speed optical cable they hope will land on consumer products in 2010. Imagine transferring an entire Blu-Ray disk in 30 seconds. And that's just the beginning.

Problem: Optical media like DVDs eventually die. Solution, according to Barry Lunt: Actually carve data into a disc composed of magic hard "persistent" materials with a laser.

To protect the meek scrollwheel, the honorable Sony VGP-BMS10 Bluetooth mouse took an oath of loyalty and drew its metal shield. Then a laser was placed in its underbelly to track foe and friend alike.

According do DigiTimes, the upcoming Asus Eee E1004DN will be the first Eee netbook to include an optical drive when it hits in mid-April overseas for about $550. Every time I fly, I'm amazed by how many people I see watching DVDs (not just digital files) on their laptops. So if these DVD-wielding Eees do come out, as…

Sometimes you don't want a mouse that looks like a mouse. Sometimes you want a mouse that looks like a Hot Wheels toy.

Want ultra-zoom? Canon's new SX10 IS, the latest in its SX-series, gives you a whopping 20x optical zoom lens, as well as a 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD screen and a MovieSnap mode for capturing hi-res still images while shooting video. The 10 megapixel camera also boasts the new DIGIC 4 image processor, optical image…

Following the other poorly kept secrets from Redmond this week, Microsoft officially announced their game-changing BlueTrack mouse that's been making the rounds lately. The BlueTrack takes the best parts of optical and laser mice and adds a massive blue beam to create a precise mouse that works on almost any surface.…