The Apple rumor mill has really cooked up a doozy this time. According to 9to5mac -- a site with a fairly good track record -- Apple's next big thing isn't just a laptop or an iPod... it's an entirely new manufacturing process. If you believe the site's sources, an as-yet-unannounced event on October 14th will herald in a new iteration of the MacBook dubbed the "Brick," but the big news won't actually be about the laptop. Apparently, Apple has created a brand-new process to sculpt casings for products out of aircraft-grade aluminum, using a system that carves the pieces out of a single block of metal using "3D lasers" and water-jet cutting. The new technique will supposedly allow for seamless components which require no bending or folding, won't use screws to join together, are ultra-light but also "super strong," and will enable the company to rapidly prototype and produce new designs. Of course, not a single word of this is confirmed or even acknowledged by Apple, though we have been hearing whispers of the "Brick" for a few weeks now. Ultimately, everyone should approach this news with extreme skepticism, but if these rumors get magically transmuted into reality, there's no telling what kind of new gear Apple might have up its sleeve.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Your dreams of riding in the ultimate cheapo deathbox have just gotten a little bit more real. According to a report, Tata will begin production of its diminutive, ultra-affordable Nano car this Fall. The $2500 vehicle is generally known as the cheapest car in the world, though worries over inflation suggest that its price-point may move above the intended figure. In other news, sources say that Tata plans a "greener" version of the vehicle in addition to the original model, which -- if it happens -- will likely be a real knockout punch for penny-pinchers with an Earth-hugging mindset. Still, you'll probably have to ship it from India, which would burn a lot of fossil fuels, which would be bad for the environment... oh just buy an old Yugo.

[Via Autoblog Green]

Whoops! Looks like Sumitomo President Hiromasa Yonekura was "misquoted" just a few days back, and there may actually not be any large OLED TVs churned out by the outfit in 2009. According to a new report, Sumitomo is currently "working with partners," thus the "timing of any product launch is not just its call." No worries -- we're fairly certain someone else will step up to the plate in your absence, right guys?

[Via OLED-Info]

Alright, we get it. SED actually is not the wave of the future for televisions, but OLED most probably is. At present, we've got Sony, Toshiba, Samsung and LG Display (among others) all vying for your future dollars, and since competition in the HDTV space is so grand for consumers, we won't be kvetching too much about yet another entrant. DigiTimes has it that Matsushita (parent company of Panasonic) is looking to begin production of OLED displays "in the future." That's it. No juicy clues as to when, no inside information about panel sizes -- nothing. Just enough to tease you and leave you in a state of panic for the foreseeable future.

[Via OLED Display]

Oh yeah, we're mildly excited that LG Display should be able to start cranking out product from its 8G LCD plant earlier than expected, but the real kicker here is the outfit's outlook on OLED. Merely two days after hearing that Samsung was hoping to dish out affordable medium-to-large OLED displays in 2009 / 2010, we're now getting word that LG Display is looking to offer up a 32-incher the year after. And we're talking "volume production," no less. Makes holding off on that XEL-1 that much easier, doesn't it? Nah, we didn't really think so.

[Via OLED-Info]

It's a dilemma faced by nearly every photo / video editor on the planet -- stick with a huge CRT for that precise color accuracy, or make the jump to LCD for aesthetics sake? Fret not, dear worriers, as Panasonic has supposedly crafted a miracle solution with the BT-LH1760. This April-bound production monitor is essentially devoid of attractiveness, but it does offer up a 120Hz refresh rate, an IPS panel with a 1,280 x 768 native resolution and "faithful color reproduction with twice the response speed of other currently available professional LCD monitors." Furthermore, you'll find a built-in waveform monitor and vectorscope, pixel-to-pixel matching capabilities and a slew of inputs including DVI, auto-switching HD-SDI / SDI, component and VGA. Yeah, it's a pretty impressive array of specs for a 17-incher, but then again, most 17-inchers don't demand just under five large, either.

[Via BroadcastBuyer]

Ready for another go on the Nikon rumor carousel? Apparently, the mythical D60 could be next in line to replace the D40x (pictured), but of course, all of this should be taken with a copious amount of salt for the time being. Based on rumors suggesting that the D60 is coming next Spring (by the same fellow who called the D3, purportedly), combined with reports that the D40x is at the end of its own rope, we're left to believe that Nikon may be swapping the latter out and replacing it with the prior. Hit the links below for the beginning of what's sure to be a long road to denial / confirmation.

[Via Photography Bay]
Read - End of D40x production?
Read - D60 on the horizon?

It's not like you really needed another PSA to reinforce just how difficult getting your hands around a Wii this holiday season will be, but a recent interview with Nintendo of America's marketing chief George Harrison did make mention of that fact. More specifically, he stated that it was "still expecting some shortages in December," but noted that the Big N wouldn't be "pulling back on its marketing." Potentially more interesting is Mr. Harrison's assertion that the firm is currently producing some 1.8 million Wiis per month, and it's having to make decisions of where to send shipments to "nearly every week." 'Course, the chat couldn't end without some reference to the rivals, and the exec concluded by proclaiming that Nintendo "doesn't focus a lot on the competition," as "its performance seems to be independent of those two."

[Via 1UP]

We don't proclaim to be experts in chip making or anything, but it seems like everything at Intel's new Fab 32 production facility in Chandler, Arizona better function mighty smoothly in order to meet that November 12th street date the firm is still holding to. Yep, today marks the day that Intel starts production on its highly-anticipated Penryn at a $3 billion factory, which is being hailed as the company's "first plant dedicated to churning out 45-nanometer microprocessors." 'Course, Intel's only got six days left if it plans on being the first company to crank out the goods before ole Panasonic steals the thunder, and you can bet we'll be waiting in tense anticipation.

[Via Reuters / Yahoo]

If you were all set to plop down $399 in order to bless some eager kid overseas (and your own inner-child) with an OLPC XO this year, your plans are now in serious jeopardy. Reportedly, some sort of production delay has pushed the approximate start date for manufacturing from this month to November 12th, meaning that it's highly unlikely any significant number of US / Canadian orders will be filled before Christmas. According to Mary Lou Jepsen, chief technology officer for the One Laptop per Child Foundation, it had "some last minute bugs" that have since been resolved, but now it'll be an uphill battle just to fill the initial orders placed by Peru and Uruguay in a timely manner. If it's any consolation, Jepsen did state that some folks in North America would probably get their machines before the year's end, but recommended that you "order early" if you're the totally impatient type normal.

We've seen startups galore founded on strokes of brilliance, and Ponoko seems to be well on its way to building a sufficient client base. Getting a share of the limelight at TechCrunch40, this website enables engineering minds with limited resources to upload designs and select materials for Ponoko to construct, after which the product gets displayed in the online showroom for people to sneak a peek at and potentially purchase. Additionally, Ponoko will even "make the product and deliver it directly to the customer" or send it straight to you for final assembly, making sure all parties get their splits. For those with a widget in mind (but a day job to tend to), head on over to Ponoko and get things a-movin'.

Those making their ends in the video production biz just might fall head over heels for the V3HD, you know, if you're down with an all-in-one solution for capturing SD / HD video as well as audio on the side. This semi-professional device can handle up to 32-channels of simultaneous audio input and output, touts HDMI output for watching your work on nearly any display, and includes just about every input you could ask for including HD / SD BNC connections, component, composite, S-Video, FireWire 400 / 800, RS-422, and XLR ins / outs for starters. You'll find MOTU's Video Console software bundled in, but both Mac and PC users will have no qualms syncing this up with their favorite editing suite. Expect to see this thing ship sometime in Q3, but as of now, there's no telling how much loot it'll demand.

[Thanks, Kaku]

We won't bother trying to number crunch how much coin Apple will be laying down if sources at Business Week are right about just how many iPhones will be available to thrill come June 29th, but Cupertino better hope this thing takes off a tad quicker than the iPod did in 2001. Two separate sources have apparently noted that Apple will have a whopping three million iPhone units ready at launch, which should (if true) quell looming any shortage fears right off the bat. Interestingly, several analysts have predicted that the firm will only move about that many units this entire year, but we're sure Apple won't be complaining if any more iPhones are necessary to quench 2007's demand. Here's to hoping this Rev. A iPhone was thoroughly scrubbed for bugs beforehand, or else Steve & Co. could be dealing with quite a hefty basket of recalled Apples.

[Via AppleInsider]

No, it won't be July, but it's looking like you won't have to wait until Q4 either to hear the production line at Quanta begin to crank out OLPC XOs en masse. According to the China Post, Quanta "will start production of low-cost machines for the One Laptop per Child project in September after a nine-month delay," and interestingly, it even cites the recent hardware alterations as a culprit for the latest hangup. Michail Bletsas, a network design executive for the project, states that the firm will churn out "40,000 XOs a month from September 22nd," and could increase that figure to 400,000 units a month by the end of this year. Bletsas was also quoted as saying that "three million would be made in the first round of production," insinuating that quite a few orders have either been booked or are looking fairly secure. Regardless, we're sure kiddos around the world are hoping that this all pans out, because judging by the looks on the faces of kids in Uruguay, it's pretty much the best thing to ever hit the classroom.

[Via OLPCNews]

So long as there are fanboys roaming the streets (and electronics aisles), weird fetishes and unashamed overkill will still have their places, but it's not too often that a gaming addiction finds a home on Broadway. In The Game Boy, Matthew Gandolfo and Robin Rothstein's family-friendly musical, a well-taught lad dubbed Chase purportedly falls a bit too head over heels for his dear Game Boy, which presumably leads to all kinds of childhood development issues. According to the production notes, the kiddo is simply consumed in the pixelated universe, and strives to "always being the best," regardless of the real folks he ignores in the process. As predicted, this behavior eventually results in a life of loneliness and dread, probably forcing poor Chase to switch off the Nintendo handheld and seek out his long lost friends. Of course, his parents could have just shipped him over Amsterdam to remedy the issue, but if you're interested in seeing the outcome yourself, be sure to hit up the Vital Theater Company in New York City from now until April 22nd.