It's a neat-looking concept Corbin Dunn came up with, as far as cycling death-traps go. But in this economy, it's also practical for couples who'd rather not splurge on extravagances like a second wheel. UPDATED: Now with instructions and video!

For coolness factor, I'd put this tandem unicycle somewhere between Bi-Cycle tandem bike and the Face-to-Face, while for pure crazy it's just shy of the Uno bike in single-wheel formation. Unfortunately, Corbin forgot to save his "great post about the construction details," so you're on your own for now building a tandem unicycle for you and your sweetheart. I'm pretty sure that step one was "lose all rational sense of physical limitations," so feel free to get a head start on that until the full instruction list is up.

UPDATE: Full instructions, if you've got sufficient wild abandon, can be found here. [Corbin's Treehouse via LikeCool via OhGizmo!]

Remember the Adidas Imperial Stormtrooper sneakers sneaky sneak preview? The full collection has been revealed. I like the Skywalker and X-Wing models. Yoda is not bad, but Leia and the TIE Fighter are way too much.

Still, what I really want are the original Zissou Adidas. Head to Kicks on Fire for the full Adidas Star Wars 2010 collection. [Adidas and Kicks on Fire]

We posted our feature on Christmas Lights yesterday and the writer, the talented but inexperienced Chris Jacob used Jim Hutchison's piece as a source for some of his writing. But he didn't attribute clearly enough! We had the idea for the story, coincidentally, without knowing of Jim's fine work. And when it came time to research ours, his was some of the best source material to be found.

Chris's piece had multiple sources, but a quarter of the research did come from Jim's piece. In this sort of situation, we require not only an inline link to the source, but a full mention in the body as well as at the end of the post. This was not done on the first published version.

Chris—and Wilson, Jason and I—should have been more careful in reviewing his work and his research to make sure that Jim's website was clearly labeled, and Jim mentioned as an expert on Christmas lights referenced in the story.

Chris has updated the story and I'm going to talk to Jim about this later and apologize over the phone.

Again, I'm sorry for not more clearly mentioning where some of the information in this piece came from! To Jim and to our readers.

The WSJ follows up their original story, adding things we heard, like that Google might partner with a carrier eventually and that they talked to Verizon and T-Mobile about it. The price is still elusive.

Which is what matters at this point, really. The WSJ continues to insist it'll be sold "directly to consumers" (emphasis mine) and Google will "market" it, so let's assume it isn't just a dev or template phone, but a genuine consumer play. Even with Google's enormous weight, a $600—or even $400—unlocked phone does face some harsh realities, even if it does send a strong kind message as The Google Phone. If Google subsidizes it themselves, though, making it actually affordable in a "we just want everybody to use the internet (and therefore, Google)" kind of play, it'd be as huge as everybody panting about it says it would be. If not, well, you know.

Sprint saying they'd support this business model is interesting, BTW—my guess at this point, is that Verizon said no because it likes being deeply involved in, and tied to, the phones on its network. In Verizon's world, it's all about the network, not the phones, so it's easy to see where being reduced to a mere contract service wouldn't sit well with its sense of self.

Still curious, though, are these two bits, that "Google focused more on designing a phone in the past year, one person familiar with its efforts said, as the company battled to get some partners to accept its software" and that "Google designed virtually the entire software experience behind the phone, from the applications that run on it to the look and feel of each screen, they added." 'Cause, uh, haven't they designed the experience and applications on every stock Android phone? And it's weirder still, cause Engadget's close-up photos show 2.1, which, on the face of it, looks a whole lot like 2.0, just with a few new interface elements (more desktops displayed using a webOS card-like interface above, and 3D flourishes). The only thing "more Google-y" is that it comes with Goggles by default. So, um, "huh," I say to the WSJ.

We keep hearing first quarter of next year is when Google's loosing this thing, so even if Google's brilliant plan—a sekrit phone in the hands of a thousand people—holds tight, we'll know soon enough what's really going on here. [WSJ, Engadget]

If a failed Russian missile launch hadn't been confirmed as the instigator for those mysterious sky spirals, we would've seriously looked at this osmotic power plant in Norway as the potential source.

Statkraft, the company leading this project, has built a small-scale operation near Oslo in Norway, but hopes that it'll have a commercial plant built by 2015, which could generate power for 10 per cent of the country. If osmotic power plants were adopted throughout the world, Statkraft claims up to 1,600 - 1,700 terawatt hours could be generated, which is around half the energy that comes out of the EU currently.

Osmosis, if you cast your mind back to science class, is when a solution in water passes naturally through a semi-permeable membrane separating the weaker solution from the strong.

In this particular Norwegian case, the membrane has been made from polyester, polysulfone and polyamide, and while some of the energy harnessed keeps the pumps ticking over, the rest of it powers a turbine—although currently, only one watt per square meter is being produced. It's believed that they'd need to generate five watts to make it worth its while, so it looks like it's back to the drawing boards for Statkraft for now. Wonder if they're related to the plastic cheese manufacturers? [Economist]

Not likely to match anything in your house unless you've wallpapered using LEGO, these limited edition De Stijl FS 247 speakers are bound to be cheaper than buying anything from the Dutch artists they take their name from.

Part of ELAC's Art Edition range, these $1,500 left and right loudspeakers measure 1,021mm high × 220mm wide × 320mm deep, and use 30-250 watts per channel. But anyone buying these De Stijl speakers probably doesn't care two hoots for specs, right? [ELAC via Chip Chick]

NASA just launched the new Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, this morning. It'll be used to detect light- and heat-emitting objects that the Hubble might miss. Such as spaceships, I'll bet!!!

The WISE will be in orbit for the next nine months, snapping a photo every 11 seconds to map the entire universe in infrared. Eventually it'll cover the entire sky 1.5 times over.

It'll be looking for any objects that have a potential of hitting Earth as well as distant objects such as brown dwarfs and far-away galaxies shrouded in dust. Also, alien spacecraft. I mean, duh. [CNN, image via]

The Guinness World Records doesn't just award insanely tall men and disgusting long fingernails, you know. Sometimes they happen over to our side of the crazy pool, to give recognition to things like the camera with the most lenses ever.

Created at the Nagoya Institute of Technology of Japan (it had to be Japan), the camera you can see above was constructed using 158 lenses, which were attached in four rows, spanning 47cm in diameter. As each lens only cost $2.10 it's entirely realistic to try and top their record for next year's Guinness book, but bear in mind it took the team of students six months to build. Better organize some cheap labor. [Sankei News via CrunchGear]

How could Christopher Nolan ever follow up on the Tumbler? Maybe he won't. Maybe Batman will just walk. But should Nolan give in to inevitable studio pressure to design another new, marketable Battoy, I humbly propose this modified Lamborghini Ankonian.

A concept Russian design student Slavche Tanevski, the Ankonian, named after a breed of black-haired bull, combines sleek and angularity through a series of winged panels that appear carved from some metal obsidian alloy engineered for sheer badassery. And OLED lights built directly into the body, while a slight stretch of the imagination, are a welcome touch.

If Batman won't take it, we most certainly will. (Though if Bruce Wayne could still provide the funds, that might help.) [Car Design via AutoMotto via LikeCool]

Fuse is what Synaptics—who probably made the trackpad you're swirling your finger on, and maybe your phone's touchscreen—says the next generation of touch phones will be like: You'll be squeezing, touching and stroking the phone, all over.

The more three-dimensional interface is designed by The Astonishing Tribe, who also designed Android's UI, as well as interfaces for Sony Ericsson and pretty much every other phonemaker at one point or another.

The major thing here is a couple of new gestures: A squeeze gesture, which is detected by additional accelerometers, and a seamless touchpad embedded in the back, so you can scroll by stroking the back of the phone, where you're not hiding the screen. Tilt also gets a lot more play here, the idea being that you can more easily use it one-handed.

The phone's a concept, led by Synaptics and using hardware like their ClearPad 3000, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the basic concepts show up in phones from LG and others, since a lot of companies use Synaptics' tech in their phones.

Synaptics Debuts FuseTM Next-Generation Mobile Phone Concept
Synaptics, Texas Instruments, Immersion, TheAlloy, and The Astonishing Tribe demonstrate collaborative design to drive the future of mobile interaction beyond the touchscreen

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – December 14, 2009 – Synaptics Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices, today introduced FuseTM, a collaborative mobile phone concept, demonstrating the future of user interaction for handsets. Integrating for the first time multiple interface technologies-including multi-touch capacitive sensing, haptic feedback, 3-D graphics, and force, grip, and proximity sensing-the Fuse concept phone showcases exciting new mobile device usage models. In addition, Fuse demonstrates to device manufacturers the value of ecosystem collaborations providing a model for designing multi- modal interfaces that will optimize the user experience on next-generation handheld device. Every step in the value chain affects and is affected by the end product. A truly collaborative approach takes advantage of each partner's unique contributions in benefiting the user.

Beyond Today's Touchscreen
Fuse extends the now-prevalent touchscreen-based user experience first unveiled in August 2006 with Synaptics' award-winning Onyx mobile concept. With Fuse's bold lineup of innovative interface technologies, Synaptics and partners tackle the difficulty of single- handed usage and the need to look at the screen-two key challenges faced by on-the-go users in current-generation touchscreen phones.
Fuse's innovative sensing technologies surrounding the entire device enable quick, intuitive, single-handed navigation. For example, grip sensing achieved via force and capacitive touch sensors on the sides of the phone allows the user to execute common controls such as pan and scroll. In addition to the novel side sensors, Fuse introduces for the first time, 2D navigation from the back of the phone. This feature offers yet another mode of effective and fun single-handed control without obstructing the display or enhanced usability, Fuse combines multiple sensory input and feedback technologies including active 3-D graphics and next-generation haptic effects.

"Consumers have many options when it comes to choosing a smartphone, and though many phones are loaded with applications to simplify one's life, they often accomplish just the opposite," said William Stofega, research manager for mobile device technology and trends at IDC. "Synaptics partnering with innovative industry leaders to deliver an intelligent concept device that has the consumers' lifestyles in mind will help showcase the true potential of the smartphone."

Collaborative Design
The Fuse mobile phone concept is the result of a unique collaboration between Synaptics and four global partners-TheAlloy, The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), Immersion, and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI). With human interface and digital lifestyle in mind, the Fuse design team created a stunning and functional user interface with innovative new modes of sensing input, and visual and haptic feedback.
Each partner provided valuable expertise and contributions to the project:
• TheAlloy led the user experience and overall product design efforts.
• TAT enabled the effective 3-D environment and lent their extensive user interface
software design skills.
• Immersion made possible the tactile feedback, ensuring an integrated and satisfying
experience.
• TI's OMAPTM 3630 processor provided the framework and platform to leverage the
enhanced multimedia, graphics and imaging features that consumers crave.

Additionally, Synaptics' ClearPadTM, NavPointTM, and TouchButtonsTM solutions are used in the Fuse mobile concept to offer unique capabilities-such as two-finger input, proximity sensing, grip sensing, text entry, and high-resolution finger input-providing precise pointing and navigation that can dramatically improve and enhance the user experience with a touchscreen.

Future handset innovation will rely on the relationship between technology design and designers to unlock the potential of mobile phones as an ideal computing platform. Fuse illustrates to OEMs the advances in Synaptics' sensing technologies and the collaborative effort that will inspire a new wave of multi-modal input design.

"The best touch experience requires the expertise and collaboration of ecosystem leaders to optimize what the user sees and feels," said Gopal Garg, senior vice president of Synaptics' handheld business unit and corporate marketing. "The improved sensory experience of Fuse will drive handset innovation to evolve, taking the current generation of touch-based interaction to the next level of human-device interaction."

"The Fuse project has demonstrated the power of multi-party collaboration to deliver experience-led innovation, said Gus Desbarats, chairman, TheAlloy. "Each partner within the Fuse project has helped to show the effect that leading-edge technology can deliver when applied with design thinking."

"Exceptional user experience differentiates the best designs," said Craig Vachon, senior vice president and general manager of Immersion's touch line of business. "Fuse exemplifies the power of collaboration and realizes what is possible by integrating innovative technology, including Immersion's next-generation TouchSense solutions. Working with these partners has been gratifying; Fuse is further validation that our haptics technology brings to life the power of touch and makes devices more intuitive, satisfying, and fun to use."

"Providing our technology in order to showcase user experience paradigms of next generation devices is one of the key ingredients that keep TAT ahead of the trends in mobile user interfaces", says Charlotta Falvin, chief executive officer of The Astonishing Tribe. "Realizing design ideas that push the limits of technology like the Fuse UI does is one of our passions."

"The world is changing, and so is the way people interact with their mobile devices. TI is excited to be a part of the innovative Fuse concept that reiterates the significant headway we're making to advance mobile user experiences," said Fred Cohen, director of worldwide ecosystem partners for Texas Instruments. "TI's OMAP platform works in sync with these other impressive technologies to bring big-screen, life-like capabilities to consumers' fingertips."