We've been hearing about the HTC Dream (likely not pictured above) for what seems like an eternity on a tech timeline. Now "a person close to the situation" tells InfoWorld that the Dream is indeed HTC's Android phone. Remember, HTC is widely expected to be the first from the gate with a retail phone featuring Google's open source OS. The Dream is said to measure 3-inches wide by 5-inches long and feature a full QWERTY keypad that "either slides out or swivels." Right, exactly what Forbes told us 5 months ago. Still, it's always a good sign when the rumor mongers align. Whatever happens, we certainly expect the first Android phone to be exceptionally spec'd as a showcase of the OS' power and possibilities to come.

Forget controlling your dreams -- after all, isn't the idea of having a mechanical buddy act out whatever your off-kilter brain thought up last night much more appealing? In an interesting endeavor, Fernando Orellana and Brendan Burns have teamed up to design a humanoid that actually takes sophisticated dream interpretation results (garnered by analyzing data from a variety of sensors) and acts out whatever was going on in one's mind. Quite frankly, we're not even sure we'd like to remember some of those overnight journeys -- let alone see some bot play it back -- but if you glanced this headline and immediately crossed your fingers for a video, head on past the jump to get just that.

C'mon, you knew this was coming. Not a moment after Google does its big reveal on the Android OS and forthcoming multi-manufacturer GPhone, the rumor mill has already starting churning with wild imaginings and fantastic leaps of logic. A not-so gigantic jump comes as speculation that HTC's Omni -- which we first heard about nearly a year ago -- is actually the phone that has been referred to as the "Dream," Google's OS demo unit. We have to admit, there are some similarities between the two, not the least of which are the 3-inch by 5-inch size, rectangular touchscreen, full QWERTY that swivels out (which according to this earlier rendering, goes in more than one direction), and a beveled edge that "nestles in the palm." We remind you, of course, that this is just the first in a long line of rumors trying to pinpoint the "real" GPhone -- HTC or otherwise -- so don't get too excited just yet.

Update: As a commenter points out, the "earlier rendering" is actually the precursor to the Omni, the HTC Universal, though its screen mechanism bears a resemblance to the one described in the original Forbes article.

Sure, a Google-sponsored phone OS in the way of Android is pretty great news for mobile phone land, but what if your really had your heart set on some Google hardware this Monday morning? Well take heart, because Forbes has the skinny on an HTC device labeled "Dream," (most likely not pictured above) which could very well be oft-rumored hardware of legend, and could also be hitting the market as early as next year. Apparently the phone is one of roughly five prototypes that Google had built to demonstrate the Open Handset Alliance software to potential members, and HTC's Peter Chou says in the two years it's been working on OHA designs, "this is the best one we've seen." The device itself, which measures about 3 x 5-inches, sports a touchscreen, navigational controls at the base, and a full swivel out keyboard. When swiveled the screen goes from portrait to landscape mode, but unfortunately that's the limit of info on the actual hardware. The software apparently has "time-sensitive" touch controls that expands your area control the longer you touch. Icons for your most important apps -- which are apparently email, text documents, and YouTube -- are lined up across the top of the screen. There's also some fancy stuff under the hood to keep an ongoing browser session open to speed launch times, and the browser downloads large files in stages to speed delivery. HTC is considering a commercial version of the phone, which we could be seeing as soon as the second half of 2008.

Make no mistake, there's a plethora of devices out there aimed squarely at rudely disrupting your nap, but a technique that utilizes a gaudy head wrap and magnetic pulses could make the process of conking out a whole lot easier. Apparently, scientists can use relatively standard medical equipment in order to "stimulate the brain with harmless magnetic pulses," which essentially penetrate the nerves that control a type of deep sleep called "slow-wave activity." By forcing the brain to conjure these waves, it helps trigger deep sleep in even the "most chronic insomniac," and researchers are hoping that these methods could be used to create a machine that lets weary individuals get one fabulous power nap. Until then, however, may we suggest wading through every last Intel roadmap presentation you can find without ever losing focus, as this little trick seems to work quite well in corporate settings.

[Via Spluch]

Why go through the hassle (and lines of fire) to get your palms on a shiny next generation system when game developers are still popping out fresh hits for your Sega Dreamcast? You heard right, Sega's last flailing attempt in the console market still has a dream burning somewhere in Japan, as recent reports claim that "Warashi will be porting its arcade shooter Trigger Heart Exelica to the system." The game itself is a "side scrolling shooter" that utilizes a "three button system" (Genesis, anyone?) to take out your enemies. So if you're still hanging on to that (previously) antiquated console, and you don't mind games coming out some eight years after its release, then dust off the Shenmue and let it hold you over 'til the next big (and final -- right?) title lands on February 22, 2007.