Now that MSI's Wind has (finally) started shipping out to eager customers, we're anxious to hear how you all like them. As was the case with HP's heralded 2133 Mini-Note, we're confident that you early adopters are champing at the bit to let loose some opinions here. In the end, was it worth the wait? Was it worth the asking price? It is nimble enough? Even if so, what would make the Wind an even bigger threat in the quickly growing netbook realm? Take all the time you need to get it all our, we're here for you.

Not that you haven't seen ZeeVee's ZvBox in the flesh before, but Dave Zatz got some hands-on time with the finalized unit. According to him, the box showed an impressive build quality though it ran "quite hot" -- likely a result of foregoing a built-in fan for a giant heatsink. He also noted that image quality was "good," though he did mention that he longed to see the ability to "selectively isolate a video window and present that content fullscreen." Anywho, feel free to read up on his initial impressions and peep the hands-on pics in the read link below.

There was a time when the world was more innocent and Lincoln Logs in elementary classrooms were a given, but now that teachers are looking to squash every ounce of fun between 8AM and 3PM (okay, so maybe we just had a rough experience or two), LEGO's taking the back door in. The WeDo robotics kit is marketed toward elementary schools and the younger kids within them, with each package containing 158 blocks, gears, levers, etc., a USB hub for connecting to your Mac / PC, OLPC XO or Intel Classmate, a motor, one motion sensor, one tilt sensor and a CD with a smattering of sure-to-be-riveting activities. Mum's the word on pricing for now, but considering your tax dollars will be paying for 'em, it's not like you'll really benefit from knowing.

[Via BoingBoing]

[Via Wired]

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Okay, so we're trying not to judge this book by its cover, but Taijia's PSP-860S just reeks of chintzy. The handheld gaming PMP not only plays back the elusive MP4 file format, but it also snaps presumably lackluster still shots with its 2-megapixel camera. You'll also find 1GB / 2GB of built-in RAM, a USB port, AV in / out, miniSD expansion slot and some form of emulation application. If you're not dozing by now, you may actually care that it'll only run you 399 yuan ($59) / 499 yuan ($73).

[Via PMP Today]

Not that mad scientists haven't figured out a way to convert waste heat into energy, but a team from Ohio State University has developed a new material that does the same sort of thing... just way, way better. The new material goes by the name thallium-doped lead telluride, and at least in theory, it could actually convert exhaust heat from vehicles into electricity. According to a new report about to hit the journal Science, the material packs "twice the efficiency of anything currently on the market," though it still seems as if it's a good ways out from being ready for commercial applications. Nanotechnology geeks -- you've got a real treat waiting in the read link.

[Via CNET]

Let's face it: you don't have nearly enough game controllers and accessories adding to the spaghetti that is your entertainment center. This USB M.A.D. Game Pad gives you the option to remove a little steering wheel for those moments when you're not driving about. Compatible with Windows Vista, XP, and 2000, this Brando product is available for $20. So, why? Apparently this thing is meant for the gamer on the move -- it's small and light, measuring only 4 x 2.5-inches and weighing in at a dainty 3-ounces. As for the size of the steering wheel? It's tiny. Really tiny. For tiny people with tiny fingers. Can you feel the love?

VOIP provider Vonage is doing a bit of reshuffling at the top, while putting the finishing touches on a $215 million infusion of cash from Silver Point Finance LLC. Dry enough? Perhaps, but we're sure Jeffery Citron, CEO and current interim chief executive of the recently embattled company will be pleased to get the helping hand. Citron is currently preparing for a swap of duties as well, taking a step back from the day-to-day -- which will probably provide a welcome respite from the flurry of legal hits the provider has taken. Enjoy your vacation, Jeff.

According to the oracle-like superbrains at J. Gold Associates, Google's Android OS and Nokia's Symbian will "combine to provide a single open source OS," sometime in the very near future... say, three to six months. Sure, Android is just about to launch on devices in late 2008, and Nokia just announced in June that it will be moving Symbian towards open source -- and of course the two companies have no formal relationship that would come close to permitting such a collaboration. Still, J. Gold assures us this is happening, stating, "A combination of the Android and Symbian efforts would be good for the industry, good for Google and good for Symbian." In related news, we understand a handful of similar mergers are in the offing: Linksys and Belkin, Red Hat and Ubuntu, Engadget and Gizmodo, and the inevitable one-two punch of Coke and Pepsi.

Poor xTablet. First it's used as a hammer and now it's submerged under water by an accented man in a wetsuit. In the latest test of the xTablet T8700, the guys over at RuggedPCReview swam gingerly with the machine all the while tapping away at its screen, amazed that it continued to work, submerged and "without bubbles." The Jacque Cousteau-like narration had us hoping that a shark (or even a furtive sea turtle) would come along to make things a bit more exciting, but all we saw was some creepy whispering, scuba gear, and uncomfortable silence. We mean no harm to the diver, we just felt as though something really, really bad was about to happen. Video after the break.

In a move which at best could be described as unsurprising, Yahoo! has announced that it's taking its Music Store DRM license key servers offline come September 30th... and freezing customers from ever registering their music with another computer. Ever. Like a twin-sister rehash of Microsoft's PlaysForSure / MSN Music DRM debacle, this moves ensures that the only way you can take your tracks with you will be the (suggested!) technique of burning the songs to CD then ripping them back to your PC -- thus ensuring the absolute worst possible quality. Normally, we'd expect to see a massive backlash over a move like this, but given the near-insignificant nature of the Yahoo! Music Store, it may not be the firestorm Microsoft got itself into. Regardless of the outcry, this is a terrific reminder of the failure of DRM in general, and a slap in the face to the people who actually went to the trouble of buying their music in the first place.

[Via Techdirt]

Taiwanese industry and rumor site DigiTimes is reporting (without citing a source) that ASUS expects to deliver "whole-day" battery options to its Eee PC range of netbooks. In addition, ASUS also plans to offer some level of Internet storage, apparently beyond the 20GB they already offer to new Eee PC 901 and 1000 owners -- a move that we hope will become a trend amongst netbook providers in order to offset the miniscule flash drives found inside the lowest of the low-cost, mini laptops. Both changes are expected before the year is up. Incredibly, ASUS also plans to push out new software and hardware upgrades every month to "fill gaps in the netbook market." Funny, we didn't think any gaps remained in this over-saturated niche.

If you're scouting the strange, the weird and the weirder, you'll find plenty to get absorbed in over at the research facilities of NTT DoCoMo. The Japanese giant is at it once more, but this time the invention is actually somewhat down to Earth. It's mission? To create a method for easily controlling a music interface (on a PMP or cellphone) with just your eyes. By rolling one's eyes and jerking them from side to side, the outfit is hoping to have the corresponding music player change tracks and get louder / softer. If you're not exactly keen with freaking out fellow citizens on the street with completely erratic eye movements, you may also appreciate a similar technology it's working up which can detect a user's finger tapping to achieve to same goal. Of course, said technology would be halfway useless on the smash hit-packed ZVUE Journey (no way you're bypassing any of those tracks, son), but we guess you could check out your toes every now and then to keep from constantly staying at 11.

[Via ShinyShiny]