Cycling apps are nothing new to the Apple App Store, but this hardware/software combo called Pedal Brain is the first to provide convenient ANT+ wireless device support.

As a quick primer, ANT+ is a wireless standard used by cyclists to measure and analyze their ride performance using a variety of wireless devices. It's been around for a while, but until Pedal Brain, there was no way to sync it up to an iPhone of iPod touch. Now there is!

Once you plug the Pedal Brain Synapse hardware device into your phone or touch, you'll start to get updates in real-time via the app on screen. When you're all done pedaling for the day, you can sync up with Pedal Brain on the Internet for a more in-depth analysis. There's team support too, which could make the software a boon for coaches.

The device/app will be available this spring, possibly in March, for $130 to $190. Unfortunately, the steep price does not include the additional charge for a subscription. A limited free version will be available at launch, but will crap out on you after a few weeks. [Pedal Brain via TechCrunch]

So I happen to love Audis. I drive one, and I like her fine, but nevertheless if I received this razor in my stocking, she would have developed an inferiority complex at the sight of my incessant shaving.

You see, it's that mirror sheen. And those four red rings signifying the four marques of Auto Union...it's enough to get a guy to park it in front of a mirror for hours on end.

Good thing this is just an artist's concept, as you can see above. That said, if artist Poling Huang ever gets it done, I'd love to give it a quick review. Send it over in an R8 or something. [Coroflot via Born Rich]

I guess this was hinted at back in November, but now it's an all but certain reality: the Roku player will soon stream porn to your television set.

The streaming, no pun intended, comes from EroticVision.TV. The company will deliver a number of channels to your Roku player, but for now all we know of is "Wasteland.com." For the unfamiliar, that's a BDSM website.

Parental controls will bar yougins from seeing any BDSM tomfoolery, and to access the content you'll have to register your box with EroticVision.TV. Uh, enjoy? Update: NSFW porn is obviously redundant. "Changed." [CrunchGear]

How about a nice Android rumor and a nifty video to kick start your afternoon? Well we have both: Exhibit A is a rumor regarding T-Mobile, while B is a video of Espresso in action:

To be quirky, here's B first:

It's a down and dirty little walk-through, featuring a slightly more polished menu and a new launcher bar in the corner.

The second bit is a rumor regarding Android 2.0. It might be headed to T-Mobile, you see, on the T-Mobile G1. Further unconfirmed reports state it might actually be version 2.1 (Google Nexus One type stuff!). CES is coming soon. We expect more then, but possibly sooner. This is the Internet after all. Total sieve. [Mobile Tech World via Engadget and AndroidSPIN]

There can be only one Universe Ring. Unless you believe in the Multiverse. Then you can have as many as you want!

The Universe portion of this concept ring lies in the tiny dot. Within the dust particle-sized imperfection lies a tiny model. A model of what theorists like Stephen Hawking say our Universe looks like. You'll need some magnification to see it clearly, but it's there, inspired by scientists like Stephen Hawking and the anthropic theory.

Artist/creator To22 says the ring "puts our daily pursuits into perspective and reminds us that we are always a part of something bigger."

That's well and good and all, but I can seriously see this being used instead as a geek's dream wedding band. "I gave you the Universe, baby." Or something. Let me know if she/he says yes. [The Universe Ring via MAKE]

Another year, another Star Trek "Synthehol" story. This time, however, there's some promise. Could hangover-free late night binges be the feel good story of 2010?

For now, the answer is maybe, as is often the case with wild new scientific discoveries—especially those that pertain to the mythical substance first consumed by the crews seen in the Star Trek universe.

This latest substance is being developed in a way that mimics Valium by a man named, I shit you not, Professor Nutt. He's totally sane though, and claims this substance delivers all the inebriating effects of alcohol, but without the mood-altering and addiction side effects. Better still, he claims that drinkers will be able to flush their system almost immediately with an antidote. Need to drive home after a rager of a holiday party? No problem! Pop a pill and you'll soon be good to go.

That said, it's time for the cold water dose of reality that accompanies seemingly every science-related story seen in a mainstream news publication these days. You see, Prof. Nutt is without funding or a test country that's willing to change regulations and allow such a substance onto the open market. The liquor industry has also shown little interest, which I find unfortunate. Wouldn't they sell more drinks this way? [The Telegraph via Slashdot]

Another flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, bearing the same flight number as the flight that featured the Christmas Day Firecracker pants guy from Nigeria, has been the target of some kind of "bathroom disruption."

The man in this case, also from Nigeria, allegedly locked himself in the bathroom. Our tipster, Mike, asked, what's next, "new bathroom restrictions?" Whatever the case, we can be all but certain there will be no electronics allowed in the bathroom from here on out.

Thankfully, the plane landed safely in Detroit with no injuries, although we imagine that bathroom door is pretty banged up. This developing story will no doubt cast new uncertainties over the debate surrounding our on board electronics. [Huffington Post]

The sound quality could be dubious, but the design is clever: By squishing the sub and speakers down to a few inches in width, Q Acoustics has managed to hide a complete speaker system behind your flat panel TV.

The rig works with TVs that range between 30- and 42-inches, attaches to an existing frame or can even just chill with your TV on a stand. Available in Europe only for now, it costs a somewhat lofty $500.

My only question is one related to vibration. By placing the subwoofer directly behind the TV and against the wall/frame that supports it, will there be any visible vibration on the screen as you watch Kirk and company blast Nero into subspace? I ask because a similar thing happens to my rearview mirror when I blast my pop music at high decibels in the coche. [Q Acoustic via Red Ferret via DVICE]

Vacuuming is functional, and sometimes it's bloody expensive, but rarely would I use the term "fashionable" to describe this weekly chore. And yet, this Toshiba/Electrolux collaboration, inexplicably called the Escargot, exists.

The tiny shoulder slung vacuum is encased in brushed metal, costs a modest $130, and weighs just five pounds. It's somewhat quiet too, says Toshiba, with an output of 65dB.

Still, vacuuming is a solitary, relatively noisy activity that pisses off family pets and annoys me to no end—this coming from a guy with hardwood floors and one rug. Why bother making it pretty? [Toshiba via Wired Gadget Lab]

Importers take note: This budget priced PMP doesn't look like much, but she has it where it counts. It being price (about $60-$90) and output (1080i via HDMI).

The 4.3-inch screen supports a 1360x768 resolution, the internal storage checks in a 4GB, and there's room for more memory thanks to memory card slot on the side.

Other goodies include 720p output for a monitor via HDMI out, and an FM radio.

Ed. Note: The device provides 1080i output via HDMI. [PMP Today via Akihabara News via Engadget]

Steampunk-inspired PC master modder Datamancer (aka Rich Nagy) is no stranger to Gizmodo, and his latest work, a keyboard called Sojourner, is yet another example of his mastery within the genre.

If you really like steampunk-inspired gear, this can be yours for about $1,200 to $1,500.

The keys have all been artificially distressed to give the impression that this keyboard has "traveled the world in the backpack of an intrepid explorer."

Side view. Note the holes and, yes, more distressing and tarnish.

More keys! Also distressed! Just like your wallet should you try and buy this thing. [Datamancer via Born Rich]

Much better than Lucas'* prequel explanation. [Flickr]

* See, Lucas in Spanish means Luke. Get it? GET IT? Oh, TFSU.

The north magnetic pole is moving at 37 miles-a-year toward Russia, which means they're stealing it. Or the Earth's core is fluxing. Actually, nobody really knows what's happening. I just hope it's not a prelude to a catastrophic magnetic shift.

Arnaud Chulliat—geophysicist at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris—says that there's a mysterious magnetic plume that is pushing the north pole at an increasing speed. The plume comes from deep in the Earth's core, says Chulliat, which is believed to be made of iron, with molten rock spinning around like a dynamo. This is what creates Earth's magnetic field. I have to admit that these theories sound a lot more logic that my theory of a malfunction in the giant sphere that powers our home planet—the one full of gargantuan unobtanium-powered machines created by Atlantis' scientists in 20,000BC—but whatever.

Meanwhile, regular scientists have evidence that the Earth's magnetic field flips every 300,000 years. The problem here is that 780,000 years have passed since the last polarity change, which means that a new shift could be imminent. There's proof that the field's strength is falling down at a very fast rate over the last two hundred years, a fact that has lead some experts to believe it could disappear completely over the next 1,000 years before it flips. Other boffins believe that this is just a fluctuation in the field.

If the first theory finally happens, the whole process will have catastrophic consequences to human civilization and nature. Without a magnetic field, nothing will protect us against space radiation. The weather will go completely gaga, and the Sun will fry all our communications and navigation services, not to talk about all of us. At the same time, countless migrational species will get lost, affecting food chains and causing mayhem through the entire planet.

Fun, huh? But fret not, my dear Earthlings, as this may not be related to the acceleration of the pole movement. We only know two things for sure: First, the magnetic north pole has been moving since it was first recorded. Around 1904 it was moving northeastward at 9 miles a year, accelerating in 1989 until it reached its current 34 to 37 miles a year speed in 2007. Chulliat says that it's difficult to forecast when the pole will arrive to Russia, if it finally does. Second, they need to adjust the maps orientation.

Whatever the case is, this is yet another reminder that life may be even shorter than it already is, so stop surfing the web now, go out, and enjoy it. [National Geographic]