Dell launches a new gadget in the market, it’s called the Dell Streak and it is described as “somewhere in between a smart phone with a big screen and an iPad.”

The Streak, also known as the Mini 5, is the first of a number planned products by the world’s number three computer. It is smaller than most computer tablets with a 5 inches (12.5 cm) screen and runs Google’s Android operating system.

Tavis Butler of Dell said, “This is a data device first and a voice device second.”

He said the Streak is the “first in a family of devices” to be produced by Dell’s new business division whose focus is on small-screen devices. In the future, Dell could also have a 7 inches and 10 inches tablet.

Despite the question on its size and whether it is indeed an iPad competitor or on a league of it’s own, I would like to have one.

Honestly, I like it better. Being so small and yet powerful, makes it an ideal mobile companion.

I don’t think I could use it to blog though.

What do you think? Is it a worthy iPad competitor?

You’ve heard of 3D TV and 3D-enabled DS from Nintendo, now the 3D fever catches in on Playboy.

Yes, Playboy will publish a 3D Centerfold, because Playboy founder Hugh Hefner believes that one thing that people would like to see in 3D is a naked lady.

The 3-D centerfold will appear in the June issue of the Playboy Magazine which will hit newsstands this Friday, featuring the 51st Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk, who will be the first playmate to jump off page in 3D.

The magazine would have its own 3D glasses for the loyal readers to use in looking the Hope’s centerfold who would appear blurry when seen at the naked eye.

Although the idea of a 3D image didn’t really appeal to Hefner personally, as he said that 2D is fine with him. But he cannot discount the fact that 3-D films like Avatar is getting popular, and therefore would like to try it to his readers.

The idea of 3-D isn’t exactly new to Hefner. He said he first though of using it when he first launched his magazine in the 1950s.

“I actually signed a photographer to shoot two nude women in 3-D in Chicago,” he said. But when he found out how expensive it would be to include the 3D glasses,  he scrapped the idea altogether.

But this, Hefner found an ally in HBO who will help him carrying out the 3-D issue.

Theresa Hennessey, Playboy spokeswoman said, HBO wanted a creative way to promote its show “True Blood,” and having Playboy include 3-D glasses with the show’s name on them seemed a good way to do it.

So do you think the 3D glasses would work?

Those who have already tried it said it does kind of look like Dworaczyk is handing you the wine glass she’s holding. And she says the photograph makes everything a little, well, bigger.

“It’s kind of like it says on the rearview mirror,” Dworaczyk joked. “Things may appear larger.”

Here’s a video clip from CNN for the news on the Playboy 3-D issue.

This is interesting. I know this has nothing to do about any gadgets, but it is about science and a great discovery found by China scientist on cigarette butts.

The scientists from China have found a use for cigarette butts, whose chemical extract is so toxic that it could kill fish.

Based on their study, they found out that it can be used to protect steel pipes from rusting. The scientists said they identified nine chemicals after immersing the cigarette butts in water.

In their report written in a paper published in the American Chemical Society’s bi-weekly journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, they wrote “The metal surface can be protected and the iron atom’s further dissolution can be prevented.”

They found out that after applying the extracts to N80, a type of steel used in oil pipes, they protected the steel from rusting.

The scientists said the nine chemicals responsible for the anti-corrosion effect include nicotine. Their research was led by Jun Zhao at Xi’an Jiatong University’s School of Energy and Power Engineering and funded by China’s state oil firm China National Petroleum Corporation.

The corrosion of steel pipes being used by the oil industry is costing oil producers millions of dollars per year to repair or repair.

In their research, scientists noted that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts find their way into the environment each year. Apart from being an eyesore, this tiny things contain toxic chemicals that can kill fish.

“Recycling could solve those problems, but finding practical uses for cigarette butts has been difficult,” the researchers wrote.

China, which has 300 million smokers, is the world’s largest smoking nation and it consumes a third of the world’s cigarettes. Nearly 60 percent of men in China smoke, puffing an average of 15 cigarettes per day.

Now, not only does this report show a way to recycle the cigarette butts and further decrease the waste in the environment. It also provides a great excuse for smokers who can’t seem to quit.

I was not really aware. Maybe because I was not really reading but just swiftly site-hopping that I didn’t notice the Facebook changes implemented recently until I was able to chance upon this CNN’s update on Facebook changes.

Undoubtedly, Facebook has now become one of the most popular social media on the internet. Personally, I have seen that everybody seems to be on Facebook these days… even those who refused to be on Friendster, Multiply, Hi5, Tagged, Twitter and what-have-you.

I’ve seen classmates from way back in elementary that I haven’t seen for ages, found some long-lost friends I’ve been searching for so long… all with the help of Face book.

Now is online social media is expanding with some changes that either be a boon or a bane, depending on how you would perceive it.

One of the most pronounced update is the “Like” button. I’m sure you’re familiar with the “Like” button on Facebook, which you click whenever you found a picture, status, video or a link interesting, and in essence recommending it to your friends.

Now, this “Like” button is no longer confined in Facebook as you can now see popping up all over the Internet. If only I knew how, I would put one here so you can also “like” this post.

And when you click that “like” button on a blog post, a photo or a celebrity web page, the action will show on your Facebook news feed. Your friends on Facebook would know what you “liked” outside the social site.

Your friends would know when you’re going what you are reading!

An effect of clicking the “like” button is that your profile picture on Facebook will show up on the site. If you “like” many blogs, photos and other websites, soon your profile picture would be scatter all over the net. Take note of that, especially if you are bordering on paranoia.

And then, there’s the new Facebook toolbar which can be added at the bottom of web pages. The toolbar lets you “like” a particular web page or item and gives you information about what your friends think of the page you’re viewing. With the new toolbar, you can also chat with friends who are online on Facebook without the need to visit the site.

I have yet to see a Facebook toolbar on my friends’ blogs though.

These are just some of the changes, which could be a sign of things to come and that is, Facebook will soon be everywhere!

A word of caution: Better check on privacy setting on your Facebook account. You may not want too much of your information going all over the web.

The world’s first 4G phone has unveiled by Sprint during the start of CTIA 2010 – the HTC Evo 4G.

The new gadget claims to be first WiMax cell phone, and also the first commercially available 4G handset with a major U.S. carrier.

The HTC Evo 4G, or simply Evo, runs Google Android OS 2.1 – yes, an Android phone finally meets the world with latest Android OS available.

The Evo has an attractive touch-screen device in its 4.3-inch display, which closely resemble the HTC HD2. It has a rich resolution and color support which makes for a pleasant browsing experience.

There are four touch controls below the display, these are for the home screen, main menu, search, backing out a page.

Other features of the phone include a 3.5 mm headset hack, a micro-USB port, a power control, and a volume rocker.

The gadget have a protruding camera lens for the 8.3-megapixel shooter that sits in the rear face next to the flash and a VGA lens found above the display for video calls.

The new Evo also has Wi-Fi, 1GB internal memory, Bluetooth, Assisted-GPS with Sprint Navigation, a personal organizer, seven home screens, a microSD card slot that accommodates cards up to 32GB, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an HDMI out port, Sprint TV, messaging, Outlook Exchange support for contacts and e-mail, and the usual access to Google apps.

Sprint, the only official carrier of the Evo 4G, said that the unit will be available this summer. However, there are still no pricing details annnounced as of date.

Sounds like another must-have gadget, especially for people like me who haven’t really upgraded his mobile phone unit for ages!

Nintendo announces the release of its 3D-enabled DS.  The new portable gaming console, currently named the “Nintendo 3DS” will let players enjoy 3D games without the need for 3D glasses.

The new 3D-enabled DS, according to Nintendo, will be compatible with existing DS and DS1 software -- it will have dual diplays, at least one touch screen and two digital cameras like the DSi.

The gaming company will release more information on the Nintendo 3DS a the E3 video game trade show in June and to release the device itself sometime before March 2011.

It is ulikely though that the DS will be phased out anytime soon, as it is still selling strongly. Nintendo is just keen to continue its long dominance of the handheld gaming market.

How the gadget will create 3D images is not yet known, but there are speculations that Nintendo will the camera face-tracking technology. It uses a built-in, front-facing video camera to where the player is looking and shifts the perspective of the game’s view accordingly.

One Nintendo DSi game have already used the said technology — 3D Hidden Picture. But of course, the company could have something else on their mind.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5QSclrIdlE

Anyway, just like the Apple iPad, this gadget is something I won’t be having anytime soon… it’s not that I don’t want it.

But I will work on it.

The buzzword last week was iPad, and that is because Apple finally revealed what it called the “magical” iPad.

No less that Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Ipad last January 28, and he referred to it as a “truly magical and revolutionary product.”

“What this device does is extraordinary,” Jobs said. “It is the best browsing experience you’ve ever had. … It’s unbelievably great … way better than a laptop. Way better than a smartphone.”

The product was presented for demonstration at an  invitation-only event in San Francisco, and it operated without a hardware keyboard, with Jobs typing on what he described as a nearly full-size touchscreen keyboard. “It’s a dream to type on,” he said.

The iPad has a nearly 10-inch screen, about half-inch thick and weigh around 1½ pounds. It is available in 16-gigabyte, 32-gigabyte and 64-gigabyte versions.

Jobs said the iPad will be lightning fast: “It screams.” The device will have a 1 GHz processor, an announcement that coaxed “oohs” and “ahs” from the audience.

The price of this new device starts $499 for the 16-gigabyte version, $599 for the 32-gig version and $699 for the 64, Jobs said. Having 3G mobile access will cost an extra $130 on each, he added.

Two mobile plans will be available through AT&T, and there will be no contracts, allowing customers to opt out at any time, according to Jobs.

Some tweets I’m reading about this iPad isn’t really very encouraging. I haven’t read them though, so I’ll still give this iPad a try… that is, if I can even afford one.

The Webby Awards has released the list of Top 10 Internet moments of the decade, and it includes Wikipedia, Barack Obama, YouTube and Twitter.

Launched in 1996, the annual Webby awards are judged by 650-member academy.

David-Michel Davies, executive director of the awards said, “The Internet is the story of decade because it was the catalyst for change in not just every aspect of our everyday lives, but in everything from commerce and communication to politics and pop culture.”

“The recurring theme among all of the milestone on our list is the Internet’s capacity to circumvent old systems and put more power into the hands of ordinary people,” he added.

And the Webby Awards list of  Top 10 most influential internet moment of the decades are:

- the launch of online encyclopedia Wikipedia in 2001 which “epitomizes the Internet’s power to bring strangers from around the world together to collaborate on projects both big and small.”;

- the use of the Internet in the US presidential campaign in 2008 which “transformed every aspect of the way election campaigns are fought.”;

- the launch of Google AdWords in 2000, the Google’s targeted text ad system which “turned advertising on its head.”;

- the expansion of Craigslist, an online classified site, outside San Francisco in 2000;

- Google’s initial public offering in 2004;

- the shutting down of file-sharing site Napster in 2001;

- the opening of Facebook to the masses in 2006;

- Apple’s iPhone debut in 2007;

- the online video revolution led by YouTube in 2006; and

- this year’s protests of the Iranian elections, which were mobilized through social media including Twitter.

Were you ever wary of what information you have provided Google and how the internet giant is using it? With the new tool released by Google, you can find out. Introducing the Google Dashboard which was released by the company last Thursday.  It lets users see and control data that the company has collected about them.

The new service provides an online summary of a user’s files with Google, in Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa photos, and so on, by collecting privacy controls in one place. With the Dashboard, users can review delete recent Google searches, see what was documents were recently opened and shared, and survey their interactions with other Google-powered sites such as YouTube.

Recently, Google has come under fire from politicians and privacy advocates for its data-collection practices. In its official Google blog, it headlined, “Transparency, Choice and Control – now complete with a Dashboard!”

It’s like seeing all your Google accounts in one place (finally!), as long as you’re using the same e-mail address on all of them. Which would explain why I can’t see some of my accounts

It is still too early to tell whether it would be a hit or a miss, but the idea of having control over your data sounds like a good idea. However, as some reviews have mentioned about it, it doesn’t remove the control from Google either over your information.

I first heard about Google Wave from a friend’s blog who dedicated a post seeking for an invite. It’s the first time I heard about it, so I made a little research and found that my friend is not alone in his quest to get a Google Wave invite!

And I said to myself, “What’s all the fuzz about this Google Wave?” Some even made videos on YouTube just to ask for an invite! What is Google Wave really? In my search, I was led to a CNN article which features the genius brothers behind Google Wave.

They are Lars and Jens Rasmussen, the same team who were responsible for today’s Google Maps. An application that saved them from being broke and jobless.

According to them, “Google Wave will kill e-mail.”

Google Wave, even the brothers admit, is hard to describe. It’s your e-mail, instant messaging system and social networking all rolled into one -- and then some. And all of this done in real time!

Think of it as chatting through your e-mail, or e-mailing in your chat lines and getting instant replies when your friend is online. As the description says, you can see what you’re friend is typing because they will appear in your screen letter by letter as he/she types them.

Wow! I really feel Jurassic! Considering that I am not even comfortable in instant messaging and then this!

The application even boasts of online translation as you communicate with friends with different languages.

Here are a couple of YouTube presentation to help you understand Google Wave better… I hope…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDu2A3WzQpo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS9AbePnE08

Unfortunately, Google Wave is available only by invites. Which explains why you can see almost everybody begging for it. According to the Wikipedia entry it was “Initially released only to developers, a “preview release” of Google Wave was extended to nearly 1 million users beginning September 30, 2009, with the initial 100,000 users each allowed to invite up to twenty additional users.”

A very limited number it is. Which makes me want to ask, why boast of a very powerful application when there are only a few people who can use it? Would you be happy to get access knowing that you can’t reach through your friends with it when you didn’t get an invite?

Darn! Now, I want to get an invite!

Still couldn’t get it? You can watch the one-hour video here or read about it from the official Google blog.