You never really know what you're going to get when peering through entries in Microsoft's Next-Gen PC Design Competition, and the above pictured device is definitely evidence of that. The AlphaGrip Handheld Computer (or AlphaGrip HC, for short), boasts full-size rocker keys on the front along with a flip-up display and a keypad made specifically for thumb-typing. There's also a trackball for mousing about and a slew of buttons to handle "sophisticated PC games" while standing on a crowded subway. Still, we can't help but notice just how much this thing reminds us of our days tinkering with the defunct-from-birth Atari Jaguar, and we also can't imagine anyone with a shred of dignity ever pulling this abomination out in public. Kudos for imagination, though.

[Via OhGizmo]

Check your pulse Apple fanatics, "the beat goes on" September 5th... now just two days away. Unusual for Apple rumors, this event has pretty much all the analysts and so-called insiders in sync with their predictions. Mass disillusion or divine soothsaying, we don't know. Certainly everyone's been expecting this to be a big quarter for product transitions. While we wait, we figured you might as well get up to speed on all the predictions for Wednesday's big show:

• iPod Touch with flash-memory, WiFi and OS X-based Cover Flow user interface
• iPod nano "phatty"
• Wireless iTunes store sales for iPhone and wireless iPod(s)
• (PRODUCT) Red iPod shuffle
  
• iTunes ringtone service
• Beatles on iTunes -- yes, again
  

While not necessarily rumored for Wednesday, there's always a chance that we'll hear a bit more about Apple's automotive collaborations with Volkswagen and Jaguar. Just sayin's all.

Maybe there's something to those Apple / Volkswagen rumors we've been hearing after all. According to an interview with one of Jaguar's designers in CAR Magazine, the high-end car-maker has been collaborating with Apple on designs for its control interfaces in at least one upcoming vehicle, called the XF. Says designer Ian Callum, "We have been working with Apple on control interfaces," which really doesn't leave much to the imagination... unless Ian Callum is a pathological liar -- which we very much doubt. Apparently, the boys in Cupertino helped design a feature called the JaguarDrive Selector, which replaces the gearstick with a circular, metallic wheel which rises when you turn the car on. The device is twisted to switch between P, R, N and D, and apparently its action is "pleasant and seamless" -- though we understand that the battery dies after a year of use, and has to be sent back to Jaguar for replacement.

[Via Autoblog]

Benjamin Heckerdorn -- that oh-so-crafy modding guru we love to love -- is at it again with his console-morphing antics, and this time the victim is the ill-fated "64-bit" Atari Jaguar. The mission? To create a portable, all-in-one, battery-powered version of Atari's flailing attempt to make it in the ever-competitive console market. Putting his blue-ribbon mod skills to the test, Ben rearranged the console innards into a 1-inch thick game board, connecting circuitry at will via his trusty soldering iron. He noticed a few oddities while dissecting the machine (aside from the controller's keypad overlay circa 1985), including a 32-bit main bus and a striking similarity between the cartridge input and your average PCI slot. Nevertheless, he was able to cram the entire system, a svelte LCD panel, and a set of stereo speakers into a homegrown enclosure that pays its dutiful respects to the Jaguar motif. Keep reading to peep another angle, and those itching for a bit of post-modern gaming nirvana should hit the read link for the full skinny...