Fujitsu's cute-as-a-button U2010 (or U820, for you USers) was shown off over in Japan at a company event, and while most of the specifications were already hammered out, one particular tidbit at AkihabaraNews took us by surprise. With seemingly every other netbook out there getting blasted for lackluster battery life, the U2010 will reportedly support an extended cell that offers up 11.1 hours of run time. We've no idea if that's a "maximum" number based on "optimal" usage, but no matter how you dice it, it sure beats the (also respectable) 5.3 hour rating given to the standard battery.

[Via BoingBoing]

Up until now, Wii-owning racers have been stuck with the Wii Wheel, Brando's Wii Multi-Axis Racing System or something they cooked up in arts and crafts. Now, however, Logitech is providing a much better option for serious track stars. The Speed Force Wireless racing wheel is the first force-feedback wheel for Nintendo's latest console, and while it was designed to work with Need For Speed Undercover, it'll do just fine with future force-feedback racing titles as well. Disgustingly, you still have to plug a USB receiver into your Wii before this thing will work, but we guess that's the breaks, huh? Look for this one to pop up in November (US and Europe) for $99.99. Full release after the break.

Just as the world's landfills could soon see an influx of unwanted televisions, many American warehouses are packed with e-voting machines that once held promise for a better way to vote. Instead, they turned into a multi-year fiasco, with hackers figuring out how to do everything save for their income taxes on 'em and states reverting back to less vulnerable methods. Now, many states are scrambling for ways to recoup costs, even for outlets that will take them in for recycling. Oddly, Ohio cannot ditch the systems it purchased until a couple of related lawsuits get dealt with. The result? Buckeyes will probably still be using e-voting machines come November.

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of BradBlog]

Those Apple "Get a Mac" ads have long been an annoyance to Microsoft and to Bill Gates in particular. No surprise as an emboldened Apple with rising market share has continued to ratchet up the venom with quips like, "fear of switching is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs," found in its latest TV ad. Now Microsoft is fighting back.

Microsoft's new $300 million campaign (one of Redmond's largest ever) is set to launch with a $10 million assist from "key celebrity pitchman" Jerry Seinfeld. Yes, Bill Gates will appear as well -- the once maligned, rich corporate nerd turned adorable, rich humanitarian nerd. The campaign is said to be based on the idea of "Windows, Not Walls," stressing the need to "break down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting." Something we think open-sourcers might have a laugh at. Anywho, the immediate goal of the campaign is to reverse the negative public perception of Vista and thus incorporates elements of the Mojave Experiment. While we have doubts about the latter, the combination of Seinfeld's pithy observations with a bit of that Bill Gates, self deprecating humor seen in "Bill's Last Day" could be a winning combination. Whether that turns the slow moving boat of public opinion remains to be seen.

Sure, we're getting Fujitsu's U2010 convertible UMPC Stateside pretty soon as the LifeBook U820, but we're crazy jealous that our friends in Japan are getting this hot tokidoki version, labeled as the LOOX U / B50N. Same kit underneath, but we'd bet that exclusive limited-edition skin will command a premium -- now if we only had pricing info, we'd know whether or not to get our clandestine grey-market importers on the case. Anytime, Fujitsu.

[Via Pocketables and tokidoki]

According to our good, dear, beautiful friends at Joystiq (and Radio Shack, incidentally) the Xbox 360 family is going to be seeing those rumored price cuts in the very near future. Falling right in line with that chatter we heard at the beginning of the month, a leaked Radio Shack circular seems to indicate that there will be reductions across the board for the console, with the 60GB version clocking in at $299, the Elite running you a cool $399, and the Arcade setup dropping to a totally affordable $199 (we're looking at you, potential Xbox LIVE opponents). Sure this could all be some Photoshop wiz's idea of a hilarious joke, but we're keeping the fingers and toes crossed over here. Target date for truth? September 7th -- so stay tuned.

We've seen the boys and girls in blue disturb the peace on occasion, but this is just downright bizarre. It's bruited that the city of Plano, Texas has complained to the FCC about a powerful new police communications system that's being testing in Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville. The signals have the ability to reach some 30 miles away, and they're driving the radio-controlled sprinklers that Plano uses at parks and road medians absolutely crazy. The whole ordeal has made for some pretty interesting conversation amongst those involved, with one Tim Smith, managing director of the Southwest Regional Communications Center, asserting: "Which comes first: watering plants or protecting police and fire?" If anyone catches grown men fighting about this, do us a favor and send in the video.

[Thanks, Travis]

In operating rooms today, cancer surgeons are essentially forced to operate without any definitive way of determining whether or not 100% of the diseased tissue has been removed. Thanks to a radical invention by researchers in Massachusetts, that huge limitation could soon be a thing of the past. A new system, dubbed FLARE (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration), involves a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer. These tools are used to see special chemical dies (christened NIR fluorophores) that are crafted to "target specific structures such as cancer cells when injected into patients." When these dyes are exposed to NIR light, the cancer cells light up, giving doctors an easy look at what they have left to remove. The team is gearing up to showcase the technology at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia -- here's hoping it can be put to good use in the very near future.

We're still having a tough time labeling Intel's uniquely designed UrbanMax concept, but according to a company representative on hand at IDF, it was designed primarily to be used as a touch device. The gigantic touch panel machine (slate PC?) includes an 11-inch (1,366 x 768) display, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, a minuscule optical mousing device and Windows Vista behind the scenes. Feel free to check out the video waiting after the jump, and by the way, we dare you to tell us this isn't totally an HTC Advantage X7510 on steroids.

Just over a year ago, we were all making bitter beer faces at FCC chairman Kevin Martin for not going along with a delightful sounding "free internet" plan. Now, it seems the main man's tune has changed. During a recent interview, Martin stated that there was a "social obligation in making sure everybody could participate in the next generation of broadband services because, increasingly, that's what people want." He's reportedly looking to attach a free mobile broadband requirement to the AWS-3 spectrum that's set to be auctioned next year, which would require the winner to allocate 25% for gratis access. 'Course, we wouldn't get our hopes us for this to actually go down like it surely is playing out in your mind just now, but we won't fault you for dreamin'.

[Via phonescoop]

Ready for some excitement in the form of watching a startup squirm as it waits for its product to gain traction? Take a glance at Peek, which is churning out a dedicated handheld that handles e-mail, a few chain forwards, and more e-mails when you're done with that. At first glance, one may consider such a one-trick-pony quite ridiculous, but it's hard to say what will end up catching on these days. The biggest problem facing Peek is the pricing: it'll be $99.95 up front when it lands in Target next month, plus $19.95 per month to send unlimited e-mails over T-Mobile's network. Of course, if anyone figures out how to load Opera Mini up here, the Bulls-eye Shop won't be able to keep the shelves stocked.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]