While the newly formed Sirius XM Radio has already promised the FCC that it'll deliver interoperable radios within nine months, CEO Mel Karmazin has now told investors that they can "assume" that the radios will actually be available "a number of months sooner" than that. Karmazin added, however, that we shouldn't expect them quite as soon as this holiday season, which nicely lines up for a debut at CES in January and an actual release shortly thereafter in the first quarter of the year. Unfortunately, Karmazin didn't spill any details on said radios, with him only going so far as to describe them as "very cool."

[Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]

It looks like the Artificial Life XI conference hosted by the University of Southampton was home to a unsettling number of swarm robots this week, including some we've seen and some we haven't. Among the more interesting of the lot are the matchbox-size bots (pictured above) developed by a group of researchers from the host university, which apparently cost just £24 (or $46) each to produce and are able to independently divide up tasks with no central program controlling them. They're even able to redistribute tasks if some of the robots fail or are removed from the area, which the researchers say makes them ideal for use in far-flung locations and, as the BBC's video available at the link below shows, they're also adorable when set to music.

[Thanks, David]

Fujitsu has been showing off its LifeBook U2010 netbook / convertible laptop for some time now, but it's just now getting completely official with it, and it's taken the opportunity to reveal all five colors we can expect to see the laptop available in. That includes the basic black option we've been seeing all along (now called Ocean Black), as well as Pink Gold, Cool Silver, Fuschia Red, and Luminous Blue. Otherwise, the laptop's specs look to be in line with what we've been expecting, including a 1.6GHz Atom processor, a 5.6-inch WXGA display, an optional 64GB SSD drive (or a standard 60GB hard drive), a promised 8 hours of battery life from the extended battery, and the usual built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam. Still no final word on a price though, or any indication of a release date for the US-centric U820 model, which the FCC has already kindly let out of the bag.

[Via Pocketables]

It's a couple of years late, but it looks like this Pokemon-themed DS Lite has finally made the trip over from Japan, as evidenced by this shot apparently snapped at a GameStop store. While there doesn't seem to be a game included with this particular bundle, you will get a matching carrying case, a 22-minute Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DVD, a Grovyle poster, and a Pokemon t-shirt that we're guessing anyone buying this will never want to take off. All for the usual price of $129.99.

[Via DS Fanboy]

We just caught sight of a video of iriver's sleek new Spinn media player the other day, but if you've been hankering for an even closer look at the device, you can now hit up Crave's UK site for a thorough hands-on look at it. That includes, as you can see, a comparison with a slew of other devices (the Spinn is the shining beacon of silver in the middle), as well as some pics that give a better indication of the device's fit and finish (and unfortunately non-standard USB connector). What's more, while they're reserving final judgment for their full review, the folks at Crave certainly seem to be impressed with the unit, saying that AMOLED screen is "unbelievably crisp," and that the player itself is "well worth the excitement."

[Thanks, Andew]

Don't you hate it how simply moving a robotic arm in a microgravity environment can produce enough negative reaction forces to alter a spacecraft's orientation? Well, a group of researchers from Cornell University have now devised a new type of robot arm that they say could make that pesky problem a thing of the past. To do that, they've employed a device known as a control-moment gyroscope (or CMG) instead of a motor to control the arm's joints, which not only reduces the amount energy required to move the arm, but lets it move faster as well. As you can see above, they've already tested the arm on board NASA's famous Vomit Comet, but there's no indication just yet as to when or if the arm will actually see action in space.

Watches that monitor your heart rate may be commonplace these days (because, you know, they're actually useful), but a mouse that keep watch on your ticker -- well, that's something you don't see everyday. ASUS seems to think that's a shame, however, and it's set out to rectify things somewhat with its new heart-monitoring Vito W1 wireless mouse. Apart from an apparently really simple heart-monitoring application that comes with it though, this one looks to be about as standard as wireless mice get, with it boasting a 1,200 dpi resolution, a 2.4GHz USB receiver, five programmable buttons and not much else. No word on a price just yet, nor is there any indication of a planned release 'round these parts.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Tokyo-based ZMP has already teamed up with a consortium of other Japanese companies to take on the encroaching robot threat from South Korea, and it's now taken another step to spur on development and released the source code to its nuvo series of robots. Unfortunately, it's not going the open source route, with interested researchers and mad scientists instead required to dole out ¥257,250 (or $2,355) for a package that includes a nuvo robot, the source code, an electrical circuit diagram, three days of training, and an ID to give you access to the nuvo community. You'll also have to sign a non disclosure agreement with ZMP, and if you're not one of the first fifty to sign up, you're out of luck for now. Not exactly casting the widest of nets, but those looking for less expensive, more open robot platforms to play with certainly have plenty of other options to consider.

While some may understandably be concerned that Microsoft may have taken its cost-cutting measures a bit too far with its new 60GB Xbox 360, our pal Ben Heck has cracked one of the new models open and found that there's apparently nothing to be worried about. In fact, while the console packs the same 65nm CPU and heatsink seen in the most recent SKUs, and the same old "super" GPU heatsink, it ditches the bottom-mounted memory chips that have been commonplace until now, which some claim to have been the source of a few heat problems. Ben Heck also notes that if you want to make sure you have a 65nm CPU, you can just check out the power supply, which should be marked 175 watts, while any future model with a 65nm GPU would likely be 140 or 150 watts.

The Dutch town of Hengelo looks to be taking a rather unique approach to cleaning the air, with it now testing out a new type of "air-purifying concrete" developed by the University of Twente that promises to soak up the nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhausts. That's done with the aid of a titanium dioxide-based additive which, with the help of some sunlight, binds with the nitrogen oxide particles and turns them into harmless nitrates, which can apparently just wash away with the next rain shower. The town isn't fully sold on the idea just yet, however, with it only paving half of a road now under construction with the so-called "green bricks" (pictured above), while the other half is getting paved with plain old concrete. They'll then take some air measurements from each section early next year and decide whether to continue paving the town green or not.

[Via Physorg]

ASUS has hardly been keeping this one a secret, but the company has only just now finally gotten completely official with its Eee Stick gaming controller, and it's taken the opportunity to drop a few new details about it. That includes word that the device will be "bundled exclusively" with "certain models" of the Eee PC and Eee Box (which doesn't exactly narrow things down), and that it'll come with a collection of games that have been designed specifically for it (we're not getting our hopes up there). Otherwise, ASUS has confirmed that the device operates on the 2.4GHz frequency, which could be interesting depending on what other wireless devices you have nearby, and that each stick will require a pair of AA batteries, which ASUS says will give you three days of continuous use, and no doubt a good deal longer if you want to avoid a trip to the hospital.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

While we're guessing "working replica" might be a bit of a stretch, this full-size, drivable Tumbler built by Bob Dullam in his garage is still quite the impressive piece of work, and will no doubt crush any eBay records set by home-built K.I.T.T.s if it ever actually goes up on the auction block. Unfortunately, apart from the fact that it cost between $50,000 and $70,000 to build, there aren't many more details on the thing, but you can at least check out a few more pictures of it by hitting up the read link below. And, yes, Bob does plan to build a Bat Pod next.

[Via Crunch Gear]

While we can't quite picture it improving your Counterstrike game very much, the design-minded folks at Interaction Architecture seem to think that this so-called "Backball" chair of theirs can do its small part to improve human-computer interaction nonetheless. Basically a giant trackball that you sit on, the chair is apparently specifically intended for use in public spaces like airports, although we're sure there's a least a few folks out there that'd ditch their non-trackball ball chair for one of these if they were available to the general public -- which, as you might have guessed, they aren't.