Like a regular Squeezebox, the Squeezebox Boom streams music from a PC or internet radio station over 802.11g. Unlike the classic, it has a pair of 3/4-inch soft dome tweeters and 30inch woofers biamped with 30 watts of juice.

FREMONT, Calif. ? Aug. 28, 2008 ? Today, Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) unveiled the Logitech® Squeezebox? Boom all-in-one network music player, featuring an integrated amplifier, high-performance speakers and a simplified setup. Now, it?s easier than ever before to bring digital music to any room in your home.

?The network music player will be the CD player of the 21st century, and Squeezebox Boom is the first player in its class to deliver high-quality audio in a compact, all-in-one design,? said Robin Selden, vice president and general manager of Logitech?s Streaming Media business unit. ?From the streamlined setup to the breakthrough acoustics, the Squeezebox Boom is an entirely new type of network music player. Just plug it in and you?re ready to rock the house.?

No Additional Audio Gear, Wires Needed
With the Logitech Squeezebox Boom all-in-one network music player, you can listen to your digital music in the kitchen, the bedroom or any other room in your home ? without needing to attach external speakers. Just plug the new Logitech network music player into a power outlet ? there are no additional wires to connect. Then, using your existing home network, you can listen to the music you love from the personal collection on your computer, your favorite Internet radio stations, and subscription services such as Rhapsody®, Last.FM, Slacker, Pandora® and Sirius ? even when the computer is off.

Adding Squeezebox Boom to your network is simple. The new Logitech player will automatically detect the available networks. Once you select your network, simply enter your password ? for your convenience, Squeezebox Boom automatically remembers it for future use.

For different music in another room of your home, you can easily expand your Squeezebox network music system. Simply add additional Squeezebox Boom players in any room you like or, if you already have an existing stereo system, add another player from the Squeezebox family to your network music setup, including the Logitech® Squeezebox? Duet network music system.

Listen to Thousands of Internet Radio Stations on High-Performance Speakers
Upon registering your Squeezebox Boom network music player, you can access thousands of radio stations and millions of songs, aggregated by SqueezeNetwork? ? Logitech?s free, online service ? without having to remember Internet addresses or passwords. So you enjoy an optimized wireless-network speed and a secure connection, Squeezebox Boom uses true 802.11g wireless technology and dual internal antennas.

To fill your room with sound, the Squeezebox Boom network music player offers an integrated, all-digital 30-watt amplifier accompanied by two ¾-inch, high-definition, soft-dome tweeters and two 3-inch, high-power, long-throw woofers. A bi-amplified design ? which includes a high-performance signal processor, class-D amplifier and digital crossover ? delivers crystal clear sound with minimal noise and distortion. For bass lovers, the Squeezebox Boom even includes a subwoofer connection. And if you want to listen to music in private, the 3.5 mm jack lets you plug in your headphones.

The Logitech Squeezebox Boom network music player works as an alarm clock and can wake you up to your favorite tunes. Six preset buttons, located under the display, make it easy to get to your favorite song, Internet radio station or playlist.

The included remote control gives you control of the Squeezebox Boom from across the room. And the remote includes a tiny magnet that lets you easily attach it to the top of the Squeezebox Boom or, for example, your refrigerator.

The Squeezebox Family
The new Squeezebox Boom is part of the Squeezebox family of products, which includes the award-winning Logitech Squeezebox Duet network music system, Logitech® Squeezebox? network music player, as well as the audiophiles? choice, the Logitech® Transporter? network music player.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Squeezebox Boom network music player is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in September for a suggested retail price of $299.99 (U.S.).

Sony Japan's ZX1 series 40-inch display is only 9.9mm thick at its narrowest, and 26 pounds. The display itself has only 1 HDMI port, while a wireless box can send the 120Hz, 1080p display up to 1080i images over a 5GHz channel many suspect is WHDM. That external port box will have 3 HDMI, 2 component, s-video, VGA, and even USB, mouse, and LAN port. All menus will be driven through an XMB Playstation-style crossmedia interface. [Sony JP via Sony Insider]

A particularly optimistic design firm in Dubai called Timelinks has proposed designs for the Ziggurat, a complete city to be layered inside of a massive pyramid that could serve as home for a million people at a time. Timelinks is currently seeking patents for a variety of technologies that would make such a building possible, including a three axis public transportation system that would run residents up, through and across the pyramid. They've also claimed that with a hybrid wind, solar and steam power the Ziggurat would be able to meet its own power needs, and that there would be enough room to allow for some minor agriculture in designated "green spaces."

Before you just write this off as another wacky internet design concept, consider the absurdly ostentatious structures that Dubai has already built, and the fact that unlike the hyperluxurious ego-boosters currently under construction, the Ziggurat might be a viable housing solution for people who don't have a natural resource-infused trust fund. [World Archictecture Review via Inhabitat via Dvice]

Touchkit, a open source (software and hardware) multitouch kit designed by NOR_/D, has been announced at a $1580 price point, or roughly 1/8th the cost of Microsoft's Surface table. That's not to say that the TouchKit is equivalent or even necessarily a competitor to Microsoft's offering, but it is theoretically capable of many of the same flashy tricks. The system must be hooked up to a separate computer, and also requires an external projector. As you can see in the video, there's not exactly a whole lot it can do out of the box, but the open source platform can be tweaked by anyone with a little knowledge of C++. Check out the gallery of the hardware and potential installations are their site. [Gizmag]

The difference between what I would like to look at and what I would like to use makes for a a gap wider than the Grand Canyon, in this case. One button, no tactile feedback and no screen make this VOIP phone prototype little more than an electronic lollipop. But my desire to lick one increases with every glance. [e-Nova via Yanko and BBG]

In what is apparently an advertisement for a Russian mobile internet provider, a creative young HSDPA fan experiments with his modem in ways some might frown upon. The ad doesn't follow the viral convention of surprising viewers with an unlikely result following from normal circumstances, because the setup - a violent turtle rape - is weirder than the outcome. The ad raises some serious questions: was this guy just dealing with a captured Georgian spy turtle in accordance with the Russian Uniform Code of Military Justice? Does the Geneva Convention cover terrapins? Did he get any reception? Is the turtle USB 2.0 compatible, or just 1.1? Most importantly, having finally broached the taboo subject of turtle penetration, whither viral advertising? [English Russia]

Although Wilson tested the Kindle in bed, on the toilet, I had the chance to use it on vacation and found myself reading a great deal more than I usually do. Unlike regular books, which cause me to fall asleep pretty readily after less than 50 pages, I'd finish about 300 pages in a stretch, with no eyestrain in dark rooms or in the sun. I suppose it felt a lot more like reading on a computer or handheld. Bezos set out to build something better to read than a book, and by vacationing standards, I think he's easily met that goal on his first try. That's my quirky experience, at least, being the type of person who hates stockpiling physical media of any sort. Of course, I found lots of other things I liked and disliked about specific to using a Kindle on vacation.

-Although I carried a dozen books with me with zero back strain or bag overflow
-Can't share a kindle with your travel partner; Unlike a regular book, you can't just hand it over without handing off your next book, too.
-If you're flying abroad, downloading books = impossible after take off unless you're lugging a laptop and want to manually sync.
-If you're waiting for your plane, you can do some great book shopping, at usually very aggressive discounts, while boarding.
-I happened to be on a beach and my hands got really really dry from all the salt and sun. Turning pages usually is as pleasant as nails on a chalkboard, but not so with the kindle.
-One handed reading, is easier on my side since I can turn pages with a click.
-Font sizes are relatively big (even at their smallest size) and so the rating of page life is drastically less effective; a page in a book could be 2 pages on the kindle. Bring your charger.
-kindle does not soak up water on a wet bathing suit.
-Kindle reading in the pool on a float is freaking scary.

As I said, I read a great deal more than I usually do on this trip and faster. How much of that was me being on vacation versus me being on the Kindle? To be honest, I haven't read very much since I've come back home. I blame the computer and internet's endless bounty of shorts, but my experience using the Kindle on vacation stands — if you're going to go on vacation a few times a year and plan on reading on the flight and during the downtime, you can probably consider the Kindle a wise thing to own. Maybe once the new ones come out, the old ones will be on sale for a song. [Photo from NYDiscovery]

The guys at Think Geek are bringing R/C junkies one of the cheapest 3-channel mini choppers on the market with the new "Black Stealth." Unlike dinky 2-channel versions, the Black Stealth can handle forward flight with ease—or so they claim. In fact, Think Geek goes so far as to say that it is the easiest to fly small copter they have ever used. I would be kind of skeptical with a price tag of only $30, but the video below does a good job of showing off its capabilities.

[Think Geek via DVICE]

We've seen all-digital concept dashboards before, but none seem as impressive 3D (or close to reality) as Futuremark's. It scraps everything behind and to the right of the wheel in favor of a smooth, uninterrupted display onto which an OpenGL powered 3D engine renders everything you might need?instrumentation, navigation, entertainment system controls, climate controls, everything.

Dashboard UIs have been getting a lot of geek attention lately, especially in the Gran Turismo-inspired Nissan GT-R. For now it's still just a concept, but it's reported that it, or something like it, will soon find its way into Audi SUVs. Can we call it KITT? [TG Daily via Crunch Gear]

Futuremark Announces Groundbreaking Automotive Demo for Audi at NVISION

San Jose, California ? Aug. 25th, 2008 ? Futuremark, creators of the industry standard benchmarking software for graphics performance for OpenGL ES and DirectX APIs, has created a demonstration for Audi?s In-Car Graphics System future concept to be shown for the first time at NVISION in San Jose. It delivers a fully rendered car dashboard and all instruments shown in a 3D view, including 3D navigation using stunning and realistic effects and viewsas well as a 3D car infotainment system with vehicle info and cool 3D environmental controls rendered in real-time for on-road Automotive usage.

?We are delighted to work with Audi due to their professional expertise in the car industry,? said Petri Talala, Vice President and General Manager of the Handheld and Embedded Group at Futuremark Oy., ?Audi is a leader in this field with sophisticated, real-time rendered and high quality content available for future infotainment systems, and being able to have our graphics engine experts and artists contribute to this effort is very special for Futuremark.?

In-Car graphics systems are evolving rapidly with an increasing amount of digital instrumentation used inside of automotive designs. Khronos APIs such as OpenGL and OpenGL ES will be widely adopted for rendering backend of digital instrumentation. With this new automotive demo, Futuremark is showing the flexibility of both its OpenGL ES engines and its art pipelines that were used to deliver this project on an entirely new platform to Audi?s delight. The Engines and Pipeline Tools used to create the demo are all available for licensing directly from Futuremark. Also offered are custom demo services for Automotive companies who want to show off tomorrows User Interface and Digital 3D designs for Automobiles today. Futuremark?s has an upcoming automotive benchmark that is in development which will utilize real-world use cases such as car dashboard, info-system, and navigation workloads based on OpenGL ES 1.x and ES 2.0.

For more information on having Futuremark create your Automotive vision or for more information concerning Futuremark?s Mobile and Embedded products, in Europe and Asia, contact Petri Talala. In North America contact Oliver Baltuch at the contact information below.

About Futuremark Corporation Futuremark Corporation serves the mobile industry with professional application performance analysis tools and workloads. Our world renowned product portfolio includes 3DMark®Mobile for OpenGL ES 1.x and OpenGL ES 2.0, VGMark? for OpenVG 1.x, and SPMark? for Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux and mobile Java. In addition, we license digital content creation tool chain middleware to 3D application developers, chip vendors and handset manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.futuremark.com

© 2008 Futuremark® Corporation. 3DMark®, PCMark®, SPMark?, VGMark? and YouGamers? trademarks and logos, Futuremark® character names and distinctive likenesses, are the exclusive property of Futuremark Corporation.

It appears that Instructables member lamedust has moved on from laser-etched tattoos and fingernails to the exciting world of pancake personalization. I don't even touch a pancake unless it has the entire Simpsons cast etched on it, so I was excited to see which of the three printing methods would work best for my time-consuming pancake problem. Check out the very annoying video above and decide for yourself. [Instructables]

Porsche is now offering online tools to photoshop your favorite model in front of your home. Just hit the link and click on "picture it." As you can see, a $100,000 sports car really classes up the joint. [Porsche via AB]

Maybe you don't get over to Reykjavik very often, but the old Viking homestead is a crazy mix of old and modern architecture. Joining the skyline will be the Icelandic Opera House, an icy glass fortress that changes colors throughout the day. Designed by a man whose middle name is Thor, the transparent cube and enclosed 820-seat theater are situated upon a hill known for its magical elf population. What now? Elves, you say?

LED lighting has become a constant in modern architecture—in this case, the LEDs are nested inside the joints of the glass cube, and change color and intensity throughout the day. Though it's not clear whether Hallgrimur Thor Sigurdsson and the design firms Arkitema and Arkthing had this in mind, but the lighting would probably serve the community well, combating seasonal affective disorder on those long long northern winter nights.)

Within the structure are the concert hall, a restaurant and five roof gardens. The square theme continues throughout, where even the box seats in the main hall look like haphazardly arranged cubes.

Great, but what about the elves? It seems the building will be situated atop Borgaholt Hill as a tribute to elves who deep within its caverns (rather like dwarves, if you ask me).

Deep underground, in the highlands and under the cliffs around Iceland live the elves. Their dens are not visible from the outside, but it is believed that they live underground somewhere or other. From the outside the elves? homes are dark and enclosed, but from the inside a radiant and crystalline space is revealed. The Opera?s expressional form with its heavy and massive lower floor level and its light and crystalline upper floor level refers to the mythical home of the elves.

Sure, every first-year architecture major can see that. [Dezeen]

In response to claims that their original iPhone 3G test was not valid because the phone used was in good working order, Swedish scientists gathered up 2 iPhones from users that were experiencing reception problems. Once again, testing showed that there was nothing wrong with the antennas. Obviously, you can't test every phone, but it seems pretty clear that the iPhone antenna is not the problem here. [Goteborgs-Posten via AppleInsider]

Earlier this year we came across a solution for hooking up surround sound with flat speaker cable that promised a quick and inconspicuous way to deal with cabling across a room. A company called OWLink is offering up another solution to this problem using their new transparent fiber optic cabling. The fiber itself measures a minuscule 9 millimeters in diameter and a clear, plastic covering not only protects it, but makes it nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Obviously, that means you could easily tuck it into a groove or run it right along a wall without creating an eyesore. Plus, you don't have to worry about the hassle of tearing up your walls. The only problem is that sending your high definition video, audio, and control signals simultaneously over one of these "transparent" cables is going to set you back a hefty $600 for the FO2800 TV kit and $800 for the FO2850 PC kit. [OWLink via Electronic House]

If you are anything like me, you have waaaay too many gadgets plugged into your USB ports. I have a hub of course, but it is still hard to keep up with the insane amount of stuff you can plug in these days. That having been said, I am curious to know how bad things have really gotten. So, how many USB ports are currently in use on your computer?

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I was able to try the new Plantronics Gamecom 777 gaming headset here at IFA Showstoppers preview (about the only few thing worth trying, since the Garmin Nuvifone was broken). The $99 headset?equipped with a microphone that folds into the headset itself, Dolby Headphone and Dolby Pro Logic II technology?feels good both on your head and in your ear.

The sound was clear and, watching the demo DVD, I could actually position things on the screen with the surround simulation. Designed to use during long periods of gaming, the Gamecom 777 is very light and the cushion does a good job to make them extremely comfortable.

The Dolby circuitry that does the sound magic is not in the headphones, but in an add-on dongle that connects directly to the USB port. The speakers are 40mm and the sound they provide is good, with clear bass and high tones. As you can see in the video, it also has a controller for adjusting the volume and muting the sound at any time. Overall, if you are looking for a nice cheap headset for gaming, with good quality sound and convenient design, this may be the ticket.