ForcaTech Blog

Tired of that lousy Quad-Core PC with 8GB of RAM? You are in luck my friend. SGI now has a personal option for those of you in need of a super computer. As their tag line says they are “making supercomputing personal”.

The Octane 3 is now available starting at the low low price of $7999 (USD). If that isn’t enough machine for you the Octane III can handle up to 80 CPU Cores–EIGHTY!–1TB of RAM! and enough room for ten 2.5″ SATA 2 hard drives.

Hiroo Iwata–developer of the robot tiles seen above–has created what will one day be a virtual floor at a VR lab at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. The Robot Tiles are covered with a conductive fabric that is able to detect the direction you are walking and bring the blocks in place in front of your feet.

As they are this is not very functional but with some work these could potentially be a seamless, infinite floor. In a virtual reality environment this could allow you to realistically feel like you were walking from California to New York while remaining in a relatively small room.

Once these became more efficient and usable they could even create different textured blocks or blocks with varying densities so that if in your virtual environment you walked from a street to the grass you would feel the difference below your feet.

Well, the device that Sony said would change the way we listen to music forever is here. And is it changing the way we listen to music? Not so much. I am not going to deny the fact that it is pretty awesome but definitely not Earth shattering.

The technology is this. The ear buds use capacitive technology–just like the iPhone and G1–to detect that it is in its ear. To start listening to music shoot these in your ears. When the ear buds hit your capacitive skin they begin playing the music. To pause take one ear out. Pretty cool. [SE]

After months of rumors it looks like ATT has finally decided to roll out their femtocells in a soft launch to a few markets. Those markets include Atlanta, San Antonio, Seattle and a city or two in North Carolina.

What is a femtocell? It is a device used to extend your wireless/3G range. If you live in an area where the reception is bad then you can pick up one of these devices, hook it up to your home internet connection and get a beautifully strong 3G connection.

While this is great and all, you are having to plug this into your router, which is most likely a wireless router…. which will give you a better connection over WiFi than you will get over the femtocell 3G. Now all phones don’t have WiFi capabilities and so this is a big perk for the 3 nation wide customers few ATT customers who have a data plan with a phone that doesn’t have WiFi built in.

This should help alleviate some of the 3G load and make it a little more reliable and snappy but since the majority of 3G is eaten by iPhone users and the femtocell doesn’t really help to get iPhone users off 3G I foresee the improvements being minimal. [BGR]

AMD’s next-gen DirectX 11 graphics cards will feature Eyefinity which will allow you to connect multiple monitors that can be used as a single display.

Multiple monitor workstations is nothing new but this technology actually simulates one large monitor across the displays. The above is an example of six 30″ dell monitors pieced together as one to play a video game. In the past you could have these 6 monitors hooked up to your computer with a few graphics cards but you would only be able to play your game on one of them.

AMD says that they are working with manufactures to create monitors that have very thin bezels(borders) so that there is not as big of a gap between displays. Unfortunately, we do not have an ETA for these in sight.

AT&T has announced that they will be rolling out their 7.2Mbps HSPA 3G this year to a few markets. T-Mobile is now claiming that they will do the same–maybe they will start by rolling standard 3G out to more markets, we are still without 3G for T-Mobile where I live.

So, where do we go from here? Most carriers will soon be talking about their 4G networks however, T-Mobile is boasting their super-boosted 3G rocking out at 21Mbps.

While most carriers are doing the smart thing and dropping 3G at the 7.2Mbps barrier and moving up to 4G, T-Mobile is going to use and abuse the 3G network for as long as they can. They claim that they will be able to reach near 4G speeds in 2010. [mocoNews]

On Sunday a MQ-9 Reaper drone became self-aware and attempted to wipe out the human race suffered a system malfunction that ended in its swift demise. As the UAV sped towards Afganistan’s airspace the pilots of the heavily armed, un-maned vehicle lost  control.

Almost immediately there was a maned airplane on its six that successfully took out the UAV before it crossed over into Afganistan’s airspace.

These UAVs are programmed to–in the event that they lose contact with the pilots–return to their home base. This is usually what happens but apparently this isn’t the first time that robots have over-ruled their creators a UAV has been intentionally shot down by friendly-fire. How many times does it need to happen before there is cause for concern? [PopSci]

So the time comes in every quazi-techy persons life. Should I get the iPhone? Unfortunately I can’t answer that for you for less than $1,000. There are many other devices to choose from but as I believe the only real competitor that is available/soon to be available is the Omnia 2 I am going to write this post as if these are your only two options. I am not going to do a full review of either phone as I have spent alot of time discussing them but if you want more information you can read up on the 100 reason I feel you should buy an iPhone and everything you could ever want to know about the Omnia 2.

Did you read up on those? Here we go.

Since none of you actually read the info from either of those links let me catch you up to speed on the Omnia 2. Since mid summer we have been hearing rumors of the O2 and in August it was released in other countries. It is a beautiful phone. I don’t believe anyone will argue with me if I say that the Omnia 2 hardware far surpasses the iPhone in almost every department except the Omnia 2 has a resistive screen while the iPhone has a capacitive screen which is much more finger friendly. Resistive screens are the soft screens that work best with a stylus like you see on PDAs and smart phones. Capacitive screens are the hard screens seen on iPhones and a few other phones like the G1. A regular stylus won’t work with these as something conductive needs to press on the screen.

Whoa, tangent. Moving on…

Some reasons you would go with the Omnia 2 include:

• Windows Mobile
• Handwriting recognition
• Capable of running multiple programs at once
• Hardware, hardware, hardware — Even after Verizon removes the forward facing camera and possibly locks down the GPS to only be usable with their Apps the Omnia 2 has very impressive hardware including a 5mpx camera and AMOLED screen(real quick, an AMOLED screen only turns on the pixels it needs. If you are viewing black those pixels are actually turned off allowing for deeper blacks, better colors and better battery life)
• On the Verizon network which–for the time being–is more reliable than ATTs
• Tethering(the ability to use your phones internet connection on your computer) — Not really a perk as the iPhone will be getting that soon and right now you can jailbreak your iPhone to allow you to do it now(don’t do this! Apple/ATT don’t want you to and I don’t want to hear from you saying you broke your iPhone. In case you forgot what I said one sentence ago, DON’T JAILBREAK YOUR IPHONE!!)

That about wraps it up. If WinMo is a need for you then there isn’t really a decision for you to make, however if you want me to convince you that you don’t need Windows Mobile I can do that for you as well.

Some reasons to buy the iPhone:

• The Omnia 2 isn’t and will never be as finger friendly and intuitive as the iPhone. –I went into a VZ store and messed around with the Rogue which has the same type of screen(AMOLED resistive) and same interface (sans WinMo) and I wasn’t very impressed. IMO a resistive touch screen is never going to feel as good with a finger as capacitive
• The Omnia 2 hardware is the only thing that I cared about that it has over the iPhone but after Verizon gets its hands on it there will no longer be the forward facing camera, GPS will most likely be restricted to their Apps and the TouchWiz 2.0 UI will probably be tainted with their “improvements”
• The iPhone has a huge community following that the CDMA version of the Omnia 2 will never have. If there is something you wish the iphone could do there is probably an App to do it. Verizon is probably going to block every App store except for their own.
• The iPhone OS is snappy, especially with the 3GS, allowing you to be much more efficient. From the videos I have seen of the Omnia 2 it is not as responsive and it is probably going to be even less so when it is running WinMo 6.5
• I don’t want to have to use a stylus!
• The iPhone is made around media as well as productivity. With WinMo you have to download 3rd party programs to play most media types.
• The iPhone exists and isn’t just a figment of our imagination that Verizon is using to keep us with them.
• PUSH. Currently with WinMo you have to set your device to connect to the internet and search for changes every so often which can hog battery life.

Well, not to void this entire post I decided to withhold the following information from you.

I got tired of waiting. After talking to several employees of the big red I gave up. I spoke to cust srv and said I was leaving for the iPhone saying I was tired of waiting for the Omnia 2. My contract has been up for a while. I told them if I could get any info confirming that the O2 would be coming out in the next month or two I would stay with Verizon. They responded saying they couldn’t tell me anything but they “hoped that it would be out in the next couple of months”.

She asked me what the iPhone had that a BB didn’t have…. I didn’t really know how to respond to that in 10 minutes or less so I didn’t.

After taking all of the above into consideration this is the decision that I made. I ordered two iPhones last night.

I am not saying the O2 isn’t a good phone. It is beautiful and the international GSM versions I have seen have been incredible, but the forward facing camera for video conferencing was a big thing for me and since Verizon will be removing that my decision was easier.

I have said plenty good about the O2 and if I knew when I could get my hands on it and just how tainted by verizon it was I may have stuck around. But it comes down to the fact that it has been several months since we heard about the O2 and we dont have any information about it. And, now that I am with ATT I will always have the option of getting an international unlocked GSM version of it in all of its forward facing camera glory.

Everyone can make their own decision. I have said plenty about both the iPhone and Omnia 2. Here it is again:

http://www.forcatech.com//2009/07/100-reasons-to-buy-an-iphone/

http://www.forcatech.com//tag/omnia-2/

After 7 years of drafts and buggy hardware the IEEE alliance has finally settled on a standard. They hope to begin pushing out hardware with the official Wireless N logo on it in the second half of October. The previous standard was Wireless G rated at 54Mbps while the new Wireless N standard is rated at 300Mbps.

While very unlikely Microsoft is admitting that upgrading to Windows 7 could potentially take you 21 hours depending on various different factors including your computers hardware, how much data you have on your hard drive and how many programs you have installed.

The chart above is from the blog of Chris Hernandez–a Microsoft Software Engineer. He did a number of install tests on 3 different hardware builds.

A truly nice feature of Windows 7 is the ability to upgrade from your existing operating system without losing your data and installed programs.

From my experience this chart is a little conservative. I fell into a the Super User group with High End hardware. I had around 450Gb of data and over 50 programs installed (including CS4 Web Premium, games like Crysis/Call of Duty 4, VPN software, etc). Hardware included 4GB of DDR2-1066 RAM, high end AMD dual-core clocked at 3.6GHz and a GTX 280 gpu with 128MB 1GB of RAM.

I was coming from Vista Ultimate 64-bit going to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit as well. From start to finish it took me just under 2 1/2  hours. After  a few weeks of testing I was surprised that 100% of my programs worked after the upgrade including all of my games, VPN software such as Hamachi and CS4.

While 2 1/2 hours is alot of time it is nice to not have to reinstall everything and lose all of your saved data. If you are one of those people who like to reinstall Windows every so often–like me–then it will take less than an hour to install Windows 7 and probably less than another hour to get all of your programs re-installed like they were before.

When we first mentioned the Sept 9th conference and the rumors circling it the new Nano is not one that we brought up. Why? Mostly, I have no idea but alot of it had to do with the fact that I mostly just don’t care. For those of you who do here is what was announced:

• Video camera (640×480)
• NO STILL CAMERA
• Integrated mic
• Integrated speaker
• FM Radio!!!!! That you can pause!! And iTunes tag!
• One-click YouTube uploads (through your computer)
• Voice Over like Shuffle
• Pedometer with Nike+ syncing online
• Voice Recorder
• 2.2-inch screen(whoo hoo .2in bigger than the last)

The 8GB Nano is available today for $150 and the 16GB is available for $180. So if you are looking to get a Nano I don’t know why you would go with the 8GB as opposed to the 16GB. Some pretty cool upgrades for the Nano but seriously, no still camera?

The 3rd generation iPod touches were announced as well. The iPod Touch now comes in 8GB, 32GB and 64GB for $199, $299 and $399. The bigger storage is nice but our hopes and dreams were shattered when we heard that there was no camera and no mic in the new iTouch. The 32GB and 64Gb flavors do have a “50% faster processor” just like the iPhone 3GS. The graphics processor has also been updated to be OpenGL ES 2.0 capable–hence their push on the gaming market.

So why didn’t we see a camera and mic in the 3rd gen? We can’t be sure but here are some possible reasons:

• Not enough room – Anyone who has held a 2nd gen iTouch and compared it to the iPhone they know there is a big size difference. One part of that is the iPhone having the phone hardware in it but the camera also plays a big role in that. Us being camera/mic-less could simply be due to the fact that there wasn’t enough room

• Feature flow- The small iPod Nano now has a camera so why not put it in the iTouch? The iPhone has a relatively impressive camera for being a cell phone. If I were to get a 3rd gen iTouch I would expect the same quality–quality that the video camera in the Nano doesn’t have. The Nano camera is very cheap and wouldn’t flow in the larger iTouch.

• Manufacturing issues- This one is less likely. Some people have said they believe that Apple was planning on releasing the iTouch but during manufacturing they ran into some problems and decided last minute to leave it out. I could buy this if the iTouch wasn’t available TODAY but it is! If they had run into manufacturing issues they more than likely wouldn’t have made their deadline–which they did.

• Pricing- Apple wants a $199 iPod touch. Which they have–even if it is because the 8GB iTouch being offered is really the 2nd gen. If they were to add a camera to it the price most likely would have to be more than $199 in order to keep Apple’s margin at a reasonable level.

• Market control- Apple has had its eyes on the Flip which is available for less than $150. Apple wants to compete with the Flip and it will be impossible for Apple to make the iPod Touch that price and still make a reasonable profit margin.

• Consuming the iPhone market- One reason I was so excited for the Touch to have a camera and mic was so that I could use it like an iPhone when I was in Wi-Fi areas. Which is probably a big reason why Apple didn’t add these features to the Touch. If they did they could potentially take some of the market away from the iPhone–like me. For me, I would still eventually get an iPhone but it may keep me from making the plunge for longer than I would have otherwise.

• Evolution of a giant- In almost every market that Apple has products in they are the number one player–all other companies are clamoring to compete. As of now no other company has released a product that can compete. If you have the best products on the market why do your best when “good enough” is keeping you ahead of the pack? They may just be keeping a few “secret weapons”–Apple Tablet?–in case another company releases something that may steal some of their market.

The new shuffles are pretty cool. The tiny MP3 player is now more tiny and comes in 2GB and 4GB models. The shuffle is now just big enough to have a clip on it that will attach it to your shirt, etc. One of my gripes with the shuffle in the past has been the lack of any kind of screen so you have no idea who the artist is or what song is playing. Now, the shuffle has a VoiceOver option that will–in a wonderfully robotic voice–at the press of a button say the artist and track name. For an extra $20 you can get a polished stainless steel version as well to go with the polyester pants you wear to the gym.

The iPod classic hasn’t died yet. The 160GB is now available for $250.

iTunes 9 is now available as well. New features include:

• Home Sharing — This allows you to share your songs, movies and TV shows with up to 5 other computers on your local network. You can copy the files to the other computers or stream them over the network.
• iTunes LPs — Basically bonus CDs for digital albums. If you buy an entire album on iTunes you will now get the LP complete with extra songs that only you get, lyrics, photo albums as well as some video content and generally some live concerts.
• iTunes Extra — aka iTunes LPs. With iTunes Extra you get the equivalent to the “Bonus Features” disc when you buy a DVD.
• New Storefront — The store is now more intuitive and feels more like a piece of software you download rather than a bloated web page feel that it has had in the past.
• Updated Interface — For the most part no real improvements here. I think Apple just felt the need to put their hand in the code and wave it around a bit. The artists list and albums list now have their own columns to the left of the music as well as the artwork column. The silver header on iTunes is now a lighter gradient that kind of looks strange at first glance.
• App Manager — iPhone/Touch fans are now in luck. iTunes 9 has a new feature which allows you to rearrange the way apps are displayed on your device and can be dragged and dropped as well as synced.
• Palm Pre Blocked — With those of you who have been keeping up with the gauntlet to the death between Apple and Palm, iTunes 9–once again–has blocked the Pre from syncing with iTunes. Palms WebOS 1.2 will fix that though. And then Apple will come out with another update that will block the Pre again. And so on and so on, forever, until the end of the world–then, Palm will come out with another update.

Steve Jobs made an appearance which was exciting but still not enough to bring life to this disappointing conference.

As for the Apple Tablet, no hope for us in sight. Apple isn’t giving us any information or even acknowledging the rumors but we know in our hearts that there is something brewing at the Apple HQ.

So lets wrap it up.

iPod nano – Now has a video camera and FM radio, no still camera.

iPod Touch — No camera in sight, bigger storage options, no Mic.

Apple Tablet — Still just a figment of our imagination.

iPod Shuffle — Now smaller, new colors, VoiceOver

Steve Jobs – Still alive, or Apple has developed a very realistic cyborg–which not likely but possible.

iTunes 9 — Updated interface, media sharing, App manger, 1 point for Apple in the Pre vs. iTunes battle royale.

The long awaited Touch Pro2 is going to be making its appearance tomorrow. The phone boasts a 3.6 tilting screen, QWERTTY keyboard, intuitive TouchFLOW 3D user interface, and is available in any color you want it–as long as that is black. The TouchFLOW 3D user interface sits on top of Windows Mobile 6.1 OS and is designed to make it more finger friendly.

I have seen rumors around the interwebs that it will be upgradeable to WinMo 6.5 and have no doubt that this is true. With Windows Mobile 6.5 less than a month away it would be a mistake by all parties involved if the phone wasn’t upgradeable.

Key specifications and features:

• High-speed connectivity over Verizon Wireless’ Mobile Broadband network (1x/EV-DO Revision A 800/1900 MHz)
• Global connectivity to allow customers to access e-mail and data in more than 180 destinations and to use the phone for voice calling in more than 220 destinations (GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz WCDMA/HSPA 2100 MHz)
• Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 b/g)
• 3.6 inch WVGA resolution (480 x 800) tilting touch screen
• Advanced speakerphone with noise-cancelling technology
• 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera with video capture
• Touch-sensitive zoom bar
• Seamless connectivity with Microsoft(R) Exchange, Outlook and Office applications with Windows Mobile(R) 6.1 Professional
• Bluetooth(R) 2.1 with EDR and A2DP stereo
• Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7600A, 528 MHz
• Memory: 512 MB ROM, 288 MB RAM
• Dimensions: 4.57″ x 2.33″ x .68″ (length x width x height)
• Weight: 6.3 ounces (with standard battery)
• Extended 1500 mAh battery for longer operation times
• Up to 5.3 hours of talk time (CDMA) or up to 13.5 days of standby time (CDMA)

Other Features:

• Linked contact view delivers e-mail, text message, call history, and even Flickr images and Facebook(R) updates to a single location
• Push Internet technology ensures that favorite Web sites are always ready for viewing at a moment’s notice
• 3.5 mm audio jack and stereo Bluetooth support to enjoy multimedia content through a variety of audio equipment
• Optional expandable microSD(TM) memory with up to 16 GB to store music, video, images, applications and other content
• Built-in GPS for VZ Navigator(SM), VZ Navigator(SM) Global and other location-based services and applications

The Touch Pro2 will be available tomorrow, September 11th, for $199.99 after the $100 mail-in rebate with a two year contract. The rebate is provided in the form of a debit card which is frustrating. Hopefully online you will be able to get it for $199 and not have to deal with the MIR, or maybe if you haggle them in the store enough–threatening to go to the iPhone–they may be able to waive it for you.

Hopefully Verizon will decide to be nice and unlock the GPS so you can use it with your non-Verizon programs like they did recently with the first generation Omnia.

Well, the bad news is that the majority of you are going to have to continue to deal with what you have got. But, if you live in the Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, or Miami area then you are in luck.  AT&T has announced that  by the end of this year the HSPA 7.2 network will be up and running in those areas. They claim that by the end of 2010, 19 other major markets will have HSPA available and by the end of 2011 the remaining 3G footprint will be upgraded.

Some of you have probably already noticed the 3G+ symbol on your compatible device–such as the iPhone 3GS–meaning that you are already experiencing from the “7.2Mbps” network.

There is still good news for the rest of you. Because these 3G traffic areas are moving off the old 3G network many of you will probably notice improvements in your 3G network.

These screenshots are a little more than terrifying. Thanks to a Best Buy employee we all get to see the propaganda being shoved down their throats by the technology giant.

The screenshot above lightly scratches the surface of the garbage. For anyone who has never used Linux before, you are being taught that: your Ipod ,MP3, or digital camera most likely will not work with Linux; printers, and scanners do not work, your software will not work either; IM, Email, and photo viewing are not supported, nor are video games, tech support, and video chat. It is blatantly false.

What I found funny about the above image was the “Free Downloads” section talking about how you can get free software with Windows… Hmm, is Windows free to download? No! Is Linux free to download? Yes, almost every distro! Is Microsoft Office free to download? Is OpenOffice free to download? I think you know the answer.

All of the previous screens have been quazi-understandable. Yes, most standard home users will have a harder time using cameras, iPods, MP3 players, printers, scanners, games, etc with some distributions of Linux(while many of these are changing rapidly). But this is the beginning of the ridiculous Fact/Myth trash that Microsoft is pulling. Linux updates and upgrades are easy? Myth? Absolutely not! Anyone who has ever used a distro of Linux that is aimed at the home user–such as any of the Ubuntu flavors–knows just how easy updates are. It is virtually the exact same process as updating Windows. You receive a notification that updates are ready and then just click that you want to download/install them. Piece of cake.

While it is true that you are not completely safe with Linux I can honestly say that of all of the virus issues I have had, 100% of them have been while using Windows, with and without virus protection.

While we are writing propaganda to push our new product lets put together another fact/myth scenario:

Is Windows is the most cost effective solution when you need to set up 300 workstations that only need access to a web browser?

Fact or myth? I’m not even going to help you out on this one. If you are stuck, leave now. Don’t come back.

On the bright side, anyone who is familiar with Linux probably hopefully won’t be turned astray. On the downside, just because you work at Best Buy does not mean you are tech savvy, these are the people who help those who walk in and are still debating if they really need to upgrade their old Windows 98 machine.

Just as it is every holiday season there are a slew of new games on the horizon. Amongst those is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 which you can pre-order now on Amazon. If you go for the Prestige Edition then you will get everything pictured above: the game disc, all the extra, worthless packaging and a more impressive case that you will most likely throw away.

The feature that really sets the prestige edition apart from other games however is the fully functioning night vision goggles. For the rare moments when they aren’t mounted to your own head the game developers have also included a head display to mount them on to really spiff up the place.

Other mentionable games coming out over the next 6 months include Halo 3: ODST, Assassins Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, Left 4 Dead 2, BioShock 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction. All of these are available for pre-order on Amazon now. I am sure there are other so let me know what you are excited about seeing this holiday season.

So the question stands–are the night vision goggles worth the extra $90? This is one that I can’t answer for you.

Just like we had assumed when we saw the Xbox 360 “Super Elite” pop up on Amazon, this retail ad in South Africa shows the release date for the new member of the 360 family to be released in October. Pricing for the 250GB bundle with 2 wireless controllers is a little more expensive here in this leak–hovering right around $646. Hopefully the US release is closer to the $400 price we saw on Amazon.

Meet the Toshiba Camileo S20. Capable of full 1080p video recording and only 17mm thick this has got to be the slimmest of its kind.

Only 17 mm thick, the Camileo S20 is one of the slimmest full HD camcorders available. Featuring a 5MP CMOS sensor, the S20 is capable of shooting 1920x1080p high definition images and features 4x digital zoom. With its ultra slim form factor, stylish design and a rotating 3” display, the Camileo S20 is the ultimate camcorder for style conscious consumers and first time users looking for high quality HD images at an affordable price.[Toshiba UK]

How affordable? This is listed on the site for £119.99–just under $200 USD! The bad news? If you stocked up on that good deal you found for VHS cassettes in bulk you are going to be out of luck. This camera is only SDHC memory compatible.

Features:

• Full HD resolution (1920x1080p)
• Super Slim (17mm)
• 4x digital zoom
• 5MP CMOS sensor
• 3″ rotating LCD screen
• HDMI
• YouTube upload function & hot-key
• SDHC compatible

Bear with me here. Yes, the music and AI voice is terrible and makes me feel like I am about to be checked into an alien processing plant for humans after they have taken over our world–but the concept idea is awesome!

We have been blasted with augmented reality programs and concepts but this is a unique idea in comparison to the “find your favorite restaurant” or “see landmarks in the area” programs.

This, if tweaked to be less in your face and obstructive could be a really helpful tool in many work environments. With wireless built into the system you could even receive updates about a certain part of the car having poor compression or getting particularly hot.

Another similar technology that is being worked on is an augmented reality device that fits in a contact lens.

This contact lens contains the circuits, antennas and LED display all in the lens. How does it get power? Wirelessly via RF technology!  They currently have tested it in bunnies to confirm how safe it is and its functionality.

They have a few road blocks that are holding them back before everyone is walking around with this technology–such as the fact that red LEDs are toxic and wouldn’t bode well in your eye–but they are making giant leaps forward. Another hurdle is creating an array of LEDs that will make the image look like it is in front of your face by a foot or so. [IEEE Spectrum]

This may look like the command center of a giant space station but it is in fact my future basement the Global Network Operations Center for AT&T in NJ. This is where all of the magic is made. When you make a call, and you experience the 15 seconds of silence you may think means your phone isn’t connecting to the network, but what is really happening is the call has popped up on the main screen for the employees at AT&T to decide whether or not this call will be permitted to pass through.

Seriously though, AT&T is working on increasing their network. Between streaming music and videos, browsing the web, and downloading applications. iPhone users consume way more bandwidth than the standard smartphone user. This causes a real strain on the AT&T network, not just for data. Large cities are hit particularly hard during peak times when users are most likely to be on the phone texting, or using data.

Over the next year AT&T plans to spend the majority of their $18 billion budget on upgrading and expanding to meet the demands of the 3G network. They will also be erecting an additional 2,100 cell towers across the nation. Additional upgrades include adding fiber optic connectivity to increase the speed of data delivery.

In the more immediate future AT&T/Apple has announced that the long awaited iPhone MMS is due via a software upgrade on the 25th of this month, just a few weeks away. Now iPhone users can enjoy the luxury of snapping a photo or video (for 3GS users), and texting it to their friends.

Now when will we be seeing tethering?

“It’s the future of gaming.” –  or at least that is what OnLive is hoping for. After seven years in “stealth development” they have now announced their new product. OnLive hopes to bring a new world of  streaming video games to TVs, entry level PCs, and MACs, through the internet.

Interested? OnLive is currently looking for beta testers to stay at home wearing the same raunchy clothes for days without sleeping give their streaming game service a try, and provide them with feedback about the experience. To be apply as a beta tester visit the OnLive site and fill out the form. If you are lucky and are chosen to sit at home and play OnLive while gorging on microwaveable meals and delivery pizza as a beta tester you will get to use their service for free, in exchange for your feedback.