Low-End Digital Cameras won't be Around In 2020

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S, smartphone competitors probably weren’t the only ones beginning to sweat. Digital camera makers also have much to be worried about. Apple’s newest phone has a killer 8-megapixel camera that takes in more light and records video at 1080p HD video. Until recently, those kind of specs were unique to digital cameras, but increasingly smartphones are taking over the market.

“Flip cameras went bye-bye and now low-end camera functions are being taken over by smartphones,” says Rob Enderle, principle analyst for the Enderle Group. Going forward, consumers will have less incentive to carry around a camera when they already have a phone in their pocket that takes quality pictures. “The point-and-shooters – and particularly the cameras that sell for under $200 – will eventually go away and be replaced by cellphones that do the same thing.”

On the other hand, Enderle predicts more expensive and high-tech cameras may have a brighter future, though not by much, as a smaller market of photo enthusiasts seek out professional-quality cameras that go above and beyond what’s offered on a phone.

Killer features from the future: Siri vs. Android Beam and Face Unlock

Both iOS 5 and Android 4.0 have a futuristic touch — and we're not just talking glowing blue tones either. With iOS 5, Apple introduced us to Siri, a voice command and search app that's almost eerily sophisticated. You can speak into your iPhone 4S and ask Siri anything you want (really, anything!) and Siri speaks the information you need — or least a quirky retort. Android has boasted handy built-in voice commands for longer, but Siri is far more comprehensive and far closer to being sentient.

Paired with the futurescape of its new look, Android 4.0 introduces two very cool little bonus features: Android Beam and Face Unlock. If you've ever used the clever app Bump to swap phone numbers, Beam is the exact same idea, but expanded. With Beam, you can tap two phones together and watch as websites, videos, directions, and apps are zapped from one phone to the other.

Face Unlock for Android 4.0 is a trick that could prove pretty useful in securing your phone from prying eyes. Using Google's face recognition technology, you can unlock your phone just by peering into the front-facing camera and having your face recognized.

Winner: Siri Both Apple and Android's new futuristic features have some inherent limitations. Siri is only available for the iPhone 4S, and isn't open to all iOS 5 users. Android Beam will debut on the new flagship Galaxy Nexus phone, and then be possible between any two Android 4.0 phones that have a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip or sticker. Unfortunately, knowing Google's checkered past with Android updates and its ongoing struggles with its grab bag of Android makers, it's hard to say how long it'll be before the stars will align for Beam.

Why Having A Best Friend is Good for You

If you’re ever feeling under pressure, it might be an idea to see your best friend. Being in their presence can reduce stress levels – at least according to a study of children.

‘One of the interesting things about these findings is that it’s not just any friend – it’s the best friend,’ said Ryan Adams, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of paediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre.

A hundred children aged ten to 12 were asked to fill out a diary five times a day for four school days, and rate how they felt about what they’d experienced in the past 20 minutes.

They were also asked whether they’d been alone or with parents, siblings, a best friend, a boy or girl friend, classmates, strangers, teachers or some other person.

And they had saliva samples take to measure for the stress hormone cortisol. Researchers found that the presence of a best friend, more than anyone else, buffered the physical effects of a negative experience, so the child produced less cortisol.

When no friend was around during stressful times, cortisol levels shot up. Although the study only looked at children, experts say its findings are likely to apply to adults too.

Dr Karen Majors, an education psychologist with Barking and Dagenham Community Educational Psychology Service, said: 'A child’s close friends can be problematic and lead them astray, but they can also be incredibly positive and supportive.

'Friendships serve really important purposes socially, emotionally and cognitively as well as being a playmate and companion. For example, previous research shows if you transfer school with friends you know, it bodes well for making new friends.'

Underwear run sets world record

A protest of Utah's uptight laws that featured people running through the streets of Salt Lake City in their underwear has set a new world record.

Guinness World Records says the Utah Undie Run broke the previous record for largest gathering of people wearing only underpants or knickers by 1,720 people.

Records officials say 2,270 people stripped to their underwear during the Utah Undie Run on Sept. 24. The previous record of 550 people was set last year in Great Britain.

Utah Undie Run organizers are planning another run next August. The event's goal is to protest the state's conservative politics.

Organizers prohibit nudity. Participants donned bras, panties, nightgowns, swimwear or colorful boxer shorts.

The World's First Bendable Cell Phone

Demonstrations of 'bendable' screens have been a staple of technology shows ever since there were screens small enough for us to carry. This week, Samsung has given the strongest sign yet that the hi-tech devices might become reality.

The company demonstrated 'bendable' AMOLED screens 4.5 inches across and just 0.3mm thick in January this year. Reports this week hint that phones using the technology - which can be 'rolled up' and survive hammer blows - will appear in the second quarter of next year.

The technology relies on atom-thick layers of 'graphene' - sheets of carbon atoms - sandwiched together, protecting a layer of liquid crystal 'screen'.

Earlier this year, reports leaked that Samsung had the capacity to manufacture large amounts of the screen by 'early 2012' - but no one knew what they might be for.

Samsung later released pictures of a concept phone using the technology - the Galaxy Skin.The phone would be no mere novelty.

Phones using Graphene screens would be practically unbreakable, and offer an instant advantage over every other smartphone on the market. Now, according to reports in the International Business Times, the handsets could be on sale early next year.

The report was remarkably specific, stating that the handset would offer specifications including a high-resolution 800×480 flexible AMOLED screen, eight megapixel camera and 1Gb of RAM as well as a 1.2GHz processor.

Is This The Cutest Dog in The World?

He has nearly two million fans and a book deal. But Boo isn't a reality TV star, actor or a pop singer - he's a pet dog.

The five-year-old Pomeranian has the fame most celebrities dream of after amassing 1.79million fans on social networking site Facebook.

And Boo is also a hit with the ladies. He attracted the attention of Hollywood stars including Khloe Kardashian, who posted a picture of the dog on her blog last year and singer Ke$ha, who Tweeted that Boo was 'her new boyfriend.'

Since then, Boo's Facebook page, launched in 2009, has gone viral, receiving thousands of new fans a day.

His owner, who has concealed her identity and location in the U.S. and uses the pseudonym J.H Lee told Time:'My friends loved looking at pictures of him.

'We started the first Facebook page as a joke.'

Boo shot to fame when he realised the key to looking so good in photographs is a great haircut.

The All-new Windows 8 is Unveiled by Microsoft

The long awaited Windows 8 was fully unveiled at the Windows Build Conference on Tuesday. It may have the start-bar-and-icon Desktop look that Windows users are familiar with, but as the crowd at Anaheim, California, saw, any similarities with Windows 7 end there.

The new system has a new, touchscreen-optimized interface called 'Metro,' which looks more like the Windows Phone operating system. That, industry experts believe, looks like the future of Microsoft Windows from here on.

The touch-optimized interface was all Stephen Sinofsky, President of Windows, and Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President of Windows, were talking about when they showed off Windows 8 to developers at the conference.

They did not, however, say when the new operating system would be available to users. Speculation, however, points to some time in early 2012.

Options for using the operating system include two views: the PC-friendly classic Desktop View and the tablet and touchscreen-friendly Metro View. According to Mr Sinofsky, Windows 8 offers 'hundreds' of new features.

With the new system, notifications such as new email alerts, Wi-Fi availability and other user-chosen information will show up on the new lock screen. In the Metro view, users can scroll from side to side, much as they would on an iOS or Android phone, for different groups of applications.

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Naked Models Painted to Look Uncannily Like Wild Creatures

A photographer has created a bizarre exhibit featuring naked models being covered with body paint to look just like wild animals. Lennette Newell's daring pictures show models posing covered in paint as zebras, elephants, baboons and cheetahs next to their real life counterparts.

The San Francisco photographer's display, called 'Anti-Human' was devised out of Lennette's childhood desire to become one of the animals her father used to treat as a vet.

Her strikingly colourful set aims to mark the difference between humans and wild animals. All of Lennette's 'Anti-Human' collection pictures were taken in Los Angeles, California.

One of her eye-catching pictures shows a female model, Jasmina, painted in black and white next to a zebra, complete with black and white hair to accurately mimmick the majestic animal.

Another image shows another willing model, Kaela, posing in grey and brown paint, with a trunk painted down the centre of her body to replicate the appearance of Susie the African elephant next to her.

Her collection is completed with model Jasmina painted in snakeskin style print while Daisy the 12ft Burmese phython is wrapped around her. Meanwhile the same model later covers herself in a bronzed light brown paint with black spots while sat behind Tango the beautiful cheetah.

Apple's iPhone 5 Could Launch Worldwide on Oct 21

The word within the world of technology is that an October release for Apple's eagerly awaited iPhone handset is now almost certain, after continued silence from the company about when the handset will appear.

A screenshot submitted to American technology blog This Is My Next seems to confirm the day might well be October 21. The screenshot, sent to American blogger Chris Ziegler by an anonymous employee of the Best Buy electronics chain, which recently launched stores in the UK, shows an email sent to American Best Buy employees regarding an upcoming Apple launch.

It requests that a manager be present at 6am on October 21 to install a 'large Apple fixture' on the big screens in the American electronics store. The tantalising aspect to this detail is that 6am is the time at which Apple requested managers attend for the launch of iPhone 4 last year - also to install screens.

The Best Buy employee also revealed that an event was scheduled for October 10 for managers to discuss upcoming 'big releases' - which would fit with an iPhone 5 launch a fortnight later. Last year's iPhone 4 launch saw the device released in the UK and the US simultaneously, with other countries following rapidly afterwards.

Apple Loses Another 'Unreleased iPhone'

Apple has reportedly lost an unreleased iPhone prototype - potentially the iPhone 5 - in a bar for the second time in as many years.

Is a second incident too much of a coincidence to be anything other than an Apple stunt? Australian PR and marketing professionals say stunts like that are not in Apple's DNA and in any case, they weren't necessary for Apple to create buzz about its products.

Citing a source "familiar with the investigation", CNET reports that the unreleased iPhone went missing in late July at the Cava 22 "tequila lounge" in San Francisco's Mission district, sparking a scramble by security to recover the device.

Apple has not yet acknowledged the development of the iPhone 5 but a string of reports have said it will be unveiled in September or October. It is rumoured to feature a bigger 4-inch edge-to-edge display, better camera and a faster processor.

In a bizarrely similar occurrence, last year an Apple computer engineer missplaced a prototype iPhone 4 in a German beer garden. It was found and sold on to gadget blog Gizmodo for $US5000.

A warrant to search the home of the Gizmodo editor, Jason Chen, was obtained and prosecutors indicated they may charge him, but decided against this. However, the two men accused of selling him the prototype, Brian Hogan and Sage Wallower, are due to appear in court tomorrow.

Best Smartphone for Business

While most professionals know about the BlackBerry, the business phone that deserves more attention and runs on a familiar Microsoft platform is the Dell Venue Pro. This enterprise-focused smartphone, which is available for T-Mobile and AT&T subscribers, is an elegant-looking device with its 4.1-inch AMOLED display and slide-out keyboard. With sizable buttons and pronounced tactile feedback, the Dell Venue Pro is great for typing emails and taking extensive notes on the fly.

The phone’s Windows Phone 7 software may not be the most exciting mobile operating system, but it is arguably the most reliable. Further, if you or your business already run Windows products like Microsoft Office, the WP7 platform offers the most seamless integration. The Dell Venue Pro is currently the best device available on that platform, which also has its share of fun and games. When you're waiting for a flight at the airport or killing time between meetings, the Dell Venue Pro offers thousands of apps and even Xbox Live integration.

Of course, there is no denying that the BlackBerry is a top-dog for many business-focused smartphone users. With its robust operating system, advanced messaging capabilities, efficient keyboard and no-nonsense approach, manufacturer Research In Motion still has a strong grip on the corporate market. Another important benefit of BlackBerry smartphones is that they are available to customers of all major carriers including Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

Increasingly, business users are also embracing iPhones and select Android devices. Just make sure to get the green light from your company’s technology managers before making the purchase.

Facebook's New Look to Combat Google

Facebook has today launched a significant privacy-led revamp of the social networking site in a move that's being interpreted as a direct response to the threat posed by Google+.

The site said the changes, designed to make it easier for users to control what personal details are revealed on the site and to whom, would be rolled out to users "in the coming days". Rectifying a major privacy flaw, Facebook users can now approve photos they are tagged in before they appear on their profile

Google+ is still in its early stages - 25 million members at last count compared to Facebook's 750 million - so Facebook isn't in immediate danger but many have remarked about how the Google social network, by grouping friends in "circles", makes it easier to control who you share with.

Tiphereth Gloria, social media strategist at George Patterson Y&R, said Facebook had finally taken onboard criticisms around the clunkiness of its privacy settings.

She said the changes were a way of rectifying some of the privacy issues that resulted from modifications to the Facebook platform including in 2009 which saw much private information become public by default.

"It puts the content sharing or 'publishing' rights back into the hands of the person who's the subject of the content, by removing the rigidity of the platform," she said.

"With Facebook's new share options, many of the privacy concerns reasons to leave Facebook for Google+ have been removed."

The main change revolves around bringing privacy controls out from the cover of the settings pages and placing them next to the posts, photos and tags they affect. Almost all content on your profile will have an icon and a drop-down menu next to it allowing you to manage who can see each specific piece of content.

Natural woman!

Embracing her curves is nothing new to Kate Winslet, but now the actress is taking an active stand against the pressure in Hollywood for women to undergo cosmetic surgery.

The 35-year-old actress told London's The Telegraph that she and fellow British Oscar-winners Emma Thompson and Rachel Weisz have formed what she describes as the "British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League."

"I will never give in," she said. "It goes against my morals, the way that my parents brought me up and what I consider to be natural beauty."

While the women's resolve not to go under the knife is real, their league might be more of a way to speak out against ageism than an active organization.

"I am an actress, I don't want to freeze the expression of my face," Winslet said.

Thompson, 52, agreed. "I'm not fiddling about with myself," she exclaimed. "We're in this awful youth-driven thing now where everybody needs to look 30 at 60."

Newly-married Weisz, 41, said that people "who look too perfect don't look sexy or particularly beautiful."

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Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia: The Tallest New Mega-Skyscraper

A new building soon to be under construction in Saudi Arabia will bump the world's current tallest structure from its sky-high first place status. The futuristic mega-skyscraper known as the Kingdom Tower will be built in Jeddah, a cosmopolitan, commercially-minded port city on the Red Sea. The challenger for the world's tallest building title intends to surpass its closest competition — Dubai's Burj Khalifa — by at least 568 feet.

The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010, measures a soaring 2,717 feet, but the Kingdom Tower will stand at least 3,281 feet tall, according to Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill — the Chicago-based team that dreamed up the design. Earlier plans for the record-breaking structure put the tower at mile high, but were abandoned due to concerns that arose in soil testing for the site. The triangular structure will be the focal point of Kingdom City, a sprawling urban development that will cost a reported $20 billion.

Kingdom Tower will house a Four Seasons hotel, upscale office space, ultra-luxurious condos (of course), and the world's soon-to-be tallest observatory. Residents will be able to take a trip up on one of the building's 59 elevators, which travel at over 33 feet per second (22 miles per hour), and enjoy the private sky terrace on the 157th floor.

According to its creators, the monolithic skyscraper will serve as a dual symbol for the city of Jeddah— both cultural and religious. Jeddah is often considered the "gateway to Mecca" due to its proximity to the Islamic holy city, and the Kingdom Tower monument will represent both Jeddah's historic symbolism in Islam as well as Saudi Arabia's prominence in international business.

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Diamond Contact Lenses Cost You $15,000

We've heard of colored contact lenses, cat eye contacts, and even Lady Gaga's circle contacts that enlarge your irises, but what about diamond contacts? They may sound like a hoax, but the Today Show blog, Wired, and Gizmodo are reporting on gold-plated, diamond-encrusted lenses from Shekhar Eye Research Center in India. Forget bling on your finger, now you can have eyes that literally light up a room for a whopping $15,000.

Creator Dr. Chandrashekhar Chawan told Today he got the idea for diamond contact lenses after his wife had the precious stones implanted in her teeth. His new La Ser eye jewelry line features contacts with 18 diamonds adorning a yellow or white gold ring around the lenses. He uses Boston Scleral lenses, which are typically used to treat eye illnesses, to prevent the lenses from touching the cornea. Only 3,996 sets will be made, and Chawan hopes to sell them outside of India. Experts, however, are skeptical about their safety.

Sal Riggio, a licensed optician at Manhattan Grand Optical in New York City had never heard of the diamond contacts until we brought them to his attention, but he dismissed them when he learned they were not FDA approved.

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$8 Million Gold-Plated Rolls Redefines Excess

What do you buy for the robber baron who has everything? As if a run-of-the-mill Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB ($450,000) weren't a flashy enough statement of personal wealth, consider the Rolls-Royce Phantom Solid Gold, a rolling monument to excess that would make even Jay Gatsby blush.

Evidently, at least one customer—identified only as a "businessman from the Middle East"—didn't get the memo that the world economy is in recession and commissioned the car seen here for the princely sum of $8.15 million.

For that price, you get 265 lbs worth of 18K gold to replace the regular Phantom's more plebeian chrome-plated grille, door handles, trunk-lid trim, as well as the hinges and hardware that surround the rear seat picnic tables. Even the "RR" logos in the wheels received the royal treatment.

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L'Oreal ads of Julia Roberts banned for airbrushing

Retouched advertisements are certainly nothing new, but The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been cracking down on companies they believe have been heavy handed with the airbrushing wand.

According to BBC News, Member of Parliament Jo Swinson has been lobbying against digitally altered images and she raised the red flag on two L'Oreal advertisements she claimed were "not representative of the results the products could achieve."

One ad features actress Julia Roberts for Lancome Teint Miracle foundation, while the other shows supermodel Christy Turlington for a Maybelline foundation called The Eraser.

As evidenced by the ads, the results of these products, both owned by parent company L'Oreal, are just a little too flawless.

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Facebook Could Become Adults Only

In Australia, there are ways to force Facebook to give parents access to their kids' profiles, and this has been discussed by state and federal attorneys-general in a meeting that will also examine an 18+ Facebook age limit.

The idea was first proposed by a South Australian Family First MP, Dennis Hood, and is being championed by South Australian Attorney-General John Rau. Rau argued that giving parents assistance to supervise their children on Facebook would help protect against online predators and limit access to unsuitable material.

Facebook's terms of use currently requires users to be aged at least 13 but there is no proof of age requirement and kids regularly lie to gain access.

At their meeting today, the country's top lawmakers will consider requiring proof of age checks and even raising the age limit to 18, federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland confirmed.

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OMG, Entire Fake Apple Store in China

China, long known for producing counterfeit consumer gadgets, software and brand name clothing, has reached a new piracy milestone — fake Apple stores.

An American who lives in Kunming in southern Yunnan province said Thursday that she and her husband stumbled on three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city a few days ago.

She took photos and posted them on her BirdAbroad blog that show staff in blue T-shirts with the Apple logo chatting to customers in a white-walled shop with minimalist decor and signs advertising the iPad 2.

The three stores are not among the authorized resellers listed on Apple Inc.'s website. The maker of the iPhone and other hit gadgets has four company stores in China — two in Beijing and two in Shanghai — and various official resellers. Apple's Beijing office declined to comment.

The proliferation of the fake stores underlines the slow progress that China's government is making in countering a culture of a rampant piracy and widespread production of bogus goods that is a major irritant in relations with trading partners.

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Man Builds His Own Bugatti Supercar by Hand

He used fiberglass and composite material to create the Veyron's iconic lines, and laid it all over a tubular steel frame. After a professional paint job and plenty of buffing, the car was ready for the showroom, but Duff wasn't done yet. He then took to the Cougar's interior, covering everything from the seats to the dashboard in genuine leather. When we spoke with him, he said the project took him a full 9 months from start to finish.

The detailed doppelgänger even sports usable back seats, which is something the real million-dollar ride completely lacks. Speaking of price, that's another area where this fantastic fake beats out its original counterpart. Duff currently has the vehicle up for sale with a price of $89,000 — less than 1/10th the price of a genuine Veyron.

Unfortunately, while that price will buy you the looks of a barely-legal race car, it doesn't buy you the performance. Under its gorgeous exterior, the "Cougatti" is still distinctly pedestrian, and remains equipped with its original 2.5-liter V6 engine that produces roughly 170 horsepower. This is in stark contrast to the 8-liter 16-cylinder powerplant of the real car, which produces a neck-snapping 1,000 horses.

Still, for the price of a Porsche, there's not much you can complain about when the car is a nearly indistinguishable replica of the fastest road car in the world. Not to mention the fact that some other Bugatti tributes can cost an order of magnitude more, and are never meant to leave your office.