If you find the idea of turntablism without the hardware intriguing, but last year's surface-based TRAKTOR Scratch DJ system was just a little too abstract for your tastes, here's a rather clever compromise from Cambridge-based designerTodd Vanderlin. Using a vinyl record equipped with an AR marker, he manipulates the music by moving in front of a video camera. It's also got the added bonus of being able to control the beat across a three-dimensional space, and if you're viewing it through the camera's feed, the middle marker's replaced by pre-set visuals. Direct your browser to after the break for a video demonstration.

Sony let fly a raft of new specs in several Vaio lines today, including beefing up the high-definition AR (pictured, left) and FZ (pictured, right) series and the TZ and SZ subnotebooks. The flagship desktop-replacement AR790U gets a T9300 Intel Core 2 Duo bump and sports a 17-inch display, 4GB RAM, 400GB HD, 512MB nVidia GPU, Blu-ray burner and HDMI for $3300. The FZ485U now packs a T8100 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 15.4-inch screen, 4GB RAM, 300GB HD, 256MB nVidia graphics, Blu-ray burner and HDMI out for $2200. In the subnote department we've got the Vaio SZ791 now sporting a T9300 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD, and 13.3-inch display for $2500, with the TZ298 packing a U7700 Core 2 Duo, 64GB SSD plus 250GB HDD storage space, and an 11.1-inch screen in a light 2.7 pound frame for a cool $3600. All of these will be available for pre-order starting January 7 which, for the calendarically challenged, is tomorrow.

Sony has a nice new line of upgraded AR series laptops on offer, with options for Blu-ray and CableCard in the mix. The main differences are pretty straightforward: The $1,700 AR630E sports the Blu-ray drive alone, the $2,400 AR660U does the CableCard thing, and the $3,300 AR690U does both. The laptops run Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 and T7500 processors and Vista Home or Ultimate -- the AR630E gets the short end of the stick in both cases. Other standard features include a 1.3 megapixel webcam, 1440 x 900 or 1920 x 1200 17-inch display, 8400M GT and 8600M GT NVIDIA graphics, dual 160GB SATA HDDs and HDMI out. All three models should be out around the 2nd of October.

[Thanks, William M]

Looks like Sony's decided to go all the way with Santa Rosa -- not only did it introduce the new FZ today, it's also giving the AR and SZ lines the full Centrino Duo makeover, with Core 2 Duos ranging from 1.80 - 2GHz sitting on that oh-so-popular 800MHz frontside bus and 802.11n networking. The AR (pictured above) is the real bruiser here, with a 17.8-inch XBRITE screen powered by an NVIDIA GeForce 8400M, a built-in webcam, HDMI out, a recordable Blu-ray drive, and a digital TV tuner beakout box with a CableCARD slot. All that power doesn't come light, though -- the AR tips the scales at 8.4 pounds. Road warriors will be more interested in the 4.1-pound SZ, which drops the old-school EDGE modem of its predecessor for a Sprint EV-DO model but otherwise remains basically the same: 13.3-inch XBRITE screen with the ability to toggle between integrated Intel X3100 graphics and an NVIDIA GeForce 8400M chip to save battery life, built-in webcam, and a trick carbon fiber body on the Premium model. No word on pricing or availability, but these two rolled out at around $3000 each the last time around, so we're not expecting any mad rush here.

Who'd you think you were fooling, Sony? You go throw some big huge party celebrating the 10 year birthday of the Vaio and the launch of the Vaio UX Micro PC and your new flagship Blu-ray playing AR series 17-inch powerhouse laptop, replete with demo of early Blu-ray title House of Flying Daggers. And then you get done caught red-handed by a meddling reporter who discovered the Blu-ray playback is actually coming straight off a typical, normal old DVD R. It's a sham, Sony, the whole thing's a sham! How are you gonna make a case for your laptop -- let alone Blu-ray as a format -- now that you tried to pawn off a DVD as a Blu-ray tech demo to a room full of industry professionals? We hope at least it was playing back a high def trailer, or something; now go to your room, you're gonna have some serious alone time, little mister.

Update: To be honest, we never thought this one would take off the way it has, but it looks like we underestimated the forensic skills of the collective. The latest word is that someone claiming to be from Sony has posted a comment on Gearlog saying that there were two laptops, one with the DVD-R of "House of Flying Daggers," and the other with the Blu-ray version, so that folks could make a side-by-side comparison. Gearlog's reporter apparently popped the latch on the DVD version, and didn't check the Blu-ray one. We have no way to independently verify this version (or Gearlog's original take), though Notebook Review does have some pics clearly showing two laptops on display at the Sony shindig. All of this leads us to one conclusion: Next time, Sony should just invite us to their parties, and we'll get it straight. And we may even like the tinfoil-flavored cake, too.

Watch out Canadia, looks like Sony's about to drop their 17-inch AR series Blu-ray equipped powerhouse laptop on y'all without any signs of remorse or goodwill for your credit card debt. The AR190 will feature a Core Duo T2500 2GHz CPU, 17.8-inch 1920 x 1200 XBRITE display, dual 100GB RAID 0 drives, 1GB RAM, 256MB GeForce Go 7600GT, VGA, S-Video, and HDMI out (presumably with HDCP), (external?) NTSC tuner, 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth, webcam, Memory Stick, ExpressCard54, and PC card slots, and, of course, that Blu-ray, DVD, and CD reader / writer this thing's here to deliver. You won't often hear us say this about a Sony laptop, but the $4,000 Canadian ($3,600 US) they're asking actually seems like a pretty decent deal, considering.

[Via Notebook Review]