You see, putting Wall-E on the screen makes the concept oh so much more convincing. And adorable. [flickr Thanks Breno!]

One tidbit that emerged amid all the rendered graphics was the presence of GPS in the supposed iPod nano. I have to say, it seems like Steve Jobs would have to smoke a lot of monkeyshit to come up with a non-touchscreen, non-cellular device with GPS inside. Last I checked, Apple didn't even tell major hardware partners, let alone random case makers, what was up with next-gen stuff. Think what you wish, but I'm gonna go with, "Too much fun with Photoshop and AutoCAD over the weekend." [Alibaba and iDealsChina via MacRumors and Engadget — Thanks tipsters!]

- Revamp of entire iPod line.
- Small cosmetic changes to Touch, Nano to see significant redesign (see pic below).
- iPods to see fairly large price drops to distance itself from the $199 iPhone.
- iPod touch 2.1 software, iPhone to get update very soon after.
- iTunes 8.0 ("it's a big update w/new features").
- All of this coming in the next 2-3 weeks.

In a way I kinda miss the crazier predictions even if he is more correct now—I liked hoping that at least one of his more outlandish ones was true. And he says more info—with pictures—is coming. Has Kevin finally gotten a rock solid source? [Kevin Rose]

Apple says the issue has been traced back to a single battery supplier, and affects less than 0.001 percent of first-gen nanos. So if yours is bubbling or you're using it as a space heater for your pet mouse, hit up AppleCare for a replacement. There's a big question here though: If Japanese officials hadn't gotten involved, would they have made this announcement? I don't think so, even though it's not like exploding iPod nanos are an undocumented phenomenon. [Cnet]

This indicates they're ramping down production of current models, and gearing up for fresh goods in early to mid-September, though the stretch for new notebooks might be a bit longer. Regardless of the exact timing, save yourself the trouble of kicking your own ass by holding off on buying a new iPod or notebook for the next few weeks, if only to see what's in the pipe. [Apple Insider]

The great thing about the Beverly Hills 90210 iPod is that everyone will think you're being ironic, even if you aren't. [CBS via ChipChick]

You see, nanotubes separated by more than one wavelength (five micrometers) are invisible. And the one centimeter human-supporting rope mentioned above takes the five-micrometer principle into account. Imagine scaling such an idea to create a series of invisible ropes in architecture, a sort of flying buttress that you can't see.

But what's possibly even more amazing—that human-supporting rope weighs just 10 milligrams per kilometer. If the distance from the ground into space is 80km, that means that an 800 milligram rope could lift humans into space. 800 milligrams is less than the weight of three aspirin tablets.

Crazy, crazy stuff. [Springer via NewScientist]

[Impress]

Intel
Like it or not, Intel's the biggest player in the game, so they've got essentially two major entries for mobile. First up is Montevina, soon to be known to your mother as Centrino 2. It was supposed to launch this month, but was delayed until August for a full rollout. It's a "platform" for notebooks, so it's got a few different components, like a Penryn Core 2 Duo processor and a wireless module (two options, one flavor has WiMax). It's basically nimbler all around than the preceding Santa Rosa platform—speedier front-side bus, faster RAM, better integrated graphics—but solid emphasis on battery life too. It'll basically be in any of the full-sized notebooks worth buying after this summer, and probably in the next MacBook/MacBook Pro release.

The ballyhooed Atom chips actually cover two classes of devices: so called "mobile internet devices"' (a vague category between a smartphone and a tiny laptop) and budget, smaller notebooks ("netbooks," "mini-notebooks," whatever you like), including the Eee PC 901 and MSI's Wind, with chips running from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, and an average power use of 160 to 220mW. As Jon at Ars sums up in his nitty gritty coverage, it's not quite "there" yet, but it's just a foot in the door for Intel.

AMD
I've been feeling so bad for AMD lately. Hopefully, its just-launched mobile platform, Puma, will help start turning things around. Its CPU soul is a Turion X2 Ultra, which has the nifty feature of adjusting power levels on the fly for each core. Another winning aspect is the integrated Radeon 3000 graphics, which AMD believes totally pwns Intel's, with three times the 3D performance and five times the HD quality (maybe something useful came out of the AMD/ATI merger after all?) Also, it can flip between using integrated and discrete graphics to save juice or ramp up performance. Tom's Hardware isn't too hot on it, though.

Nvidia
Nvidia is a relative noob in the mobile platform space, with Tegra being its first real charge. It's a system on a chip, with memory, a graphics processor, a CPU (from ARM) and more on a single chip. While they reference Intel's Atom a whole bunch, it's not really a competitor—these are just for more of those mobile internet devices. No hard products use it yet, either, but here are some videos depicting what Nvidia's got in mind. Neat, but I'm not sure who's gonna buy 'em. Also, new 9M notebook graphics cards—faster than the 8M series that's in decent notebooks now, we mayyyy see 'em in new MacBook Pros in August (crosses fingers).

Via
Via's Nano processor follows up the C7 used in stuff like the OQO UMPC and Cloudbook. It's mo' powerful, but it also uses more juice than the C7 or Intel's Atom. So, as Ars points out, it doesn't quite compete with Atom, just cause of the power differential. That's cool though, since Via's planning on using the Nano to break into powering bigger, badder notebooks that'll do HD video, and the C7 isn't going anywhere. You might see it replace the C7 in some stuff though, like HP's Mini-note, since physically it'll fit anywhere the C7 did.

That should bring ya up to speed.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about chips, Pringles or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. [Giz Explains]

Even more amazing is the fact that this mish-mash of nanowires has the look and feel of paper, but sucks up only oil, leaving every ounce of water behind. Based on that, you know what comes next, right? Water filtration, said Jing Kong, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.And unlike most nanotechnology, the mesh is inexpensive to produce, since the nanowires can be fabricated in larger quantities than other nanomaterials. Great. Let's get huge sheets of this stuff manufactured and distributed to every oil rig, developing nation and tanker like, yesterday. [MIT News]

The concept for the project came about through a $1.7 million "Phase One" brainstorming contract. Apparently unaware of the existence of birds, DARPA decided that this innovative and classy new idea was worth pushing through to development and handed over the second wad of cash this week. The Nano Air Vehicle is part of an apparent trend toward smaller and smaller UAVs, following AreoVironment's 80 gram, six inch Black Widow and Prox Dynamics' four inch, 20 gram Black Hornet (which, thanks to the less literal-minded people at PD, does not fly like an actual insect). [Ares] -By John Herrman

VIA Launches VIA Nano Processor Family

Power efficient processors based on 'Isaiah' architecture designed for optimized performance for mainstream PC markets and new device types

Beijing, China, 29th May 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 platforms, today announced the new VIA Nano processor family based on the VIA Isaiah Architecture.

Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of the VIA C7 processor family, the VIA Nano processor family offers as much as four times the performance within the same power range to extend VIA's performance per watt leadership, while pin compatibility with VIA C7 processors will ensure a smooth transition for OEMs and motherboard vendors, and provides them with an easy upgrade path for current system or board designs.

The first 64-bit, superscalar, speculative out-of-order processors in VIA's x86 platform portfolio, VIA Nano processors have been specifically designed to revitalize traditional desktop and notebook PC markets, delivering truly optimized performance for the most demanding computing, entertainment and connectivity applications, including Blu-ray Disc™ HD video playback and the latest PC games, such as Crysis™.

The VIA Nano processor family leverages Fujitsu's advanced 65 nanometer process technology for enhanced power efficiency, and augments that with aggressive power and thermal management features within the compact 21mm x 21mm nanoBGA2 package for an idle power as low as 100mW (0.1W), extending the reach of power efficient green and silent PCs, thin and light notebooks and mini-notes around the world.

"VIA Nano processors represent the next generation of x86 technology, providing the fundamental building blocks for a new genre of optimized computing solutions," said Wenchi Chen, President and CEO, VIA Technologies, Inc. "'Small is Beautiful' is more than a design strategy; it's our vision of where the PC market is heading and our new processors will help the market realize that dream."

VIA's 'nano' association also extends to VIA's signature silicon and platform design characteristics of power efficiency and form factor size reduction, as demonstrated by VIA's ultra compact Nano-ITX boards and the processor packaging used for the current VIA C7 processor family and the first generation of VIA Nano processors.

About the VIA Nano Processor Family

Initially to be launched in two skus, the VIA Nano L-series processors for mainstream desktop and mobile PC systems and the ultra low voltage U-series for small form factor desktop and ultra mobile devices such as mini-notes.

The VIA Nano processor family boasts the highly efficient VIA V4 bus interface and brings a host of technology firsts to VIA's processor platform line-up, including:

— 64-bit Superscalar Speculative Out-Of-Order MicroArchitecture: Supports a full 64-bit instruction set and provides for macro-fusion and micro-fusion functionality, and sophisticated branch prediction for greater processor efficiency and performance.

— High-Performance Computation and Media Processing: The high-speed, low power VIA V4 Front Side Bus starting at 800MHz, plus a high floating point unit, support for new SSE instructions, and two 64KB L1 caches and 1MB exclusive L2 cache with 16-way associativity gives a big boost to multimedia performance.

— Advanced Power and Thermal Management: Aggressive management of active power includes support for the new "C6" power state, Adaptive PowerSaver™ Technology, new circuit techniques and mechanisms for managing the die temperature, reducing power draw and improving thermal management.

— Scalable Upgrade to VIA C7™ Processor: Pin-to-pin compatibility with current VIA C7 processors enables a smooth transition for OEMs and mainboard vendors, enabling them to offer a wider range of products for different markets with a single board or system design.

— Greener Technology: In addition to full compliance with RoHS and WEEE regulations, product manufacturing will be halogen-free and lead-free at launch, helping to promote a cleaner environment and more sustainable computing.

— Enhanced VIA PadLock™ Security Engine: Industry-leading on-die hardware cryptographic acceleration and security features, including dual quantum random number generators, an AES Encryption Engine, NX-bit, and SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashing.

To test the nanotubes, one lab injected the material into human-lung-like rat stomach lining and found the area inflamed after a week. So at this point we're fairly certain that inhaling nanotubes would be bad news. What we aren't certain about is whether or not nanotubes in their commercial form (like baseball bats) could ever become breathable, or even airborne in the first place.

Further study is needed, but this isn't the sort of news we wanted to hear about a very promising facet of nanotechnology. [Project On Emerging Nanotechnologies and SFGate]

Silver has long been known to have antimicrobial powers, and with nanotech (and better hygiene) being all the rage, companies have added nanoparticle silver to everything from children's toys to washing machines. But as elements get smaller, the way they react to their environments change—and nobody's sure that itty bitty silver pieces aren't going to kill us all.

Studies have already shown that nano-silver is screwing with fishes and destroying benign bacteria at wastewater facilities. The legal petition asks the EPA to regulate nano-silver as a pesticide, insist on product labels, and analyze the potential human health effects (especially on children) before allowing nano-silver goods to be sold.

So unless you absolutely have no other way of keeping things clean and smell-free, lay off the nano-silver for now, mmkay? [ICTA via NY Times]

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Shown last week at the American Physical Society, the ring was actually produced in the University of Melbourne, and is crafted from synthetic diamond material. It's designed to be a component in a device that detects single photons, which in turn has a role to play in quantum computing. That's the nifty technology that uses strange things like photon-entanglement and data bits that are neither zero or one. One day it'll may make super-computers even more ridiculously powerful than they already are, for, you know, all sorts of cryptography and other funky math.

If that's too much science for you, think of the ring as just an amazing bit of engineering that is one twentieth the width of a single human hair. Neat, eh? [Live Science]

...this is the first time we have created a nano-brain.

While nanotechnology promises to supply us with tiny robots that enter our blood and fix the damage we've done by years of drinking on the job, scientists still haven't known how to direct the robots to the right place (perhaps you'd prefer them to remove that tumor as opposed to that testicle).

Now scientists have developed a "nano brain" that can move molecules via a scanning tunneling microscope.

16 duroquinone molecules form a ball around one duroquinone molecule in the middle. Once the middle molecule is activated, it simultaneously activates the 16 surrounding molecules to one of four billion different potential outcomes.

When these duroquinone brains are combined with existing nano machines, the brains have been able to control up to eight nano machines at once while processing 16 bits of information. Better still, brain prototypes have already been developed supporting 256 and 1024 operations at once.

So what's the real-world result of this recent development? One example is "The world's tiniest elevator." It takes a 2-nanometer device up and down by one nanometer. We'll let you know when scientists port "The world's tiniest Gizmodo RSS feed." Until then, hold tight. [bbc]

Amazon lists red, black and pink models, but there are no images of the pink or black varieties as yet. Standing in at 2.2 x 1.5 x 0.6 inches, it is a little thicker than the fruity equivalent, but if you were thinking of settling down with an iPod nano, you may want to wait for the verdict on the Fuze before you make any hasty decisions. [Amazon via DAP Review]

We would not get too hot under the collar. If Apple were planning to drop an iPhone nano touch OMFG pod, you can bet your ass they would have an event bigger than CES to unleash it to the public. [iLounge]

Luckily, neither MJair or his PS3 were harmed, but the source of the fire seems to have been his first-gen iPod nano. Unfortunately, the nano was not as robust as the iPhone that took on a semi, meaning its thin, MP3 playing days are now truly up. Unless we want to go the way of the nano, we really should replace the batteries in our own fire alarm. [Niketalk; Thanks, Vince]

How Sungjut managed to squeeze all those features into a case measuring 230 mm x171 mm x 29.4 mm and weighing in under 1 kg is quite beyond us, but if the keyboard doesn't completely suck and pricing is reasonable, the Sungjut TangoX Nano UMPC looks like a solid winner. There is no word on pricing or availability yet, but stay tuned for further announcements. [Akihabara News]

Be careful with the Turbo Boost button, you wouldn't want to crash that Enzo at high speed, now, would you? Available now for about $25 each. [Strapya World via Technabob]