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It's getting a little late for a last minute Christmas shopping list, but not to worry, most of us outside the Forbes Top 100 couldn't afford any of these anyway! Still, it's fascinating to look at what's possible if the word "budget" isn't in your vocabulary, so here's our annual look at what you won't be getting for Christmas this year – the most outrageous examples of high-end overkill that have graced Gizmag's pages throughout 2010.  Read More

BAE Systems has presented the fruits of its Future Protected Vehicle program (FPV) to the U.K. Ministry of Defence, and it's an intiguing glimpse of the what we can expect to see in tomorrow's high-tech battlefield. With input from over 35 organizations, the FPV study is aimed at identifying "innovative technologies and concepts for short, medium and long term exploitation into future lightweight land platforms." Hundreds of new technologies were canvassed in the study and seven platform concept vehicles have been floated to showcase the most significant of these, including the use of electronic ink camouflage systems, microwave weapons, floating electro-magnetic armor and a type of mechanical "sweat" that reduces thermal signature.  Read More

It seems electric racebikes are starting to come of age; Mission One has unveiled a new machine for its 2011 TTXGP campaign, and it takes a giant step forward in aesthetics from the blunt, overly futuristic look of the original Mission One. This is an electric racer with real class and presence, not to mention 160 mph performance and superbike-spec Swedish suspension bits. The Mission R is one of a new breed of electric superbikes with a custom-built frame, rather than gutting a petrol-powered sportsbike and stuffing it with battery cells. And it's proof positive that next-generation green performance machines will have every bit the loin-stirring ability of their fossil-fueled forebears.  Read More

When you’re desperate to hear the latest tune on your iPod or iPhone, the last thing you want is to miss it while you spend valuable seconds or even minutes untangling your earbuds – especially when your fingers are frozen. Zipbuds from DGA feature a tangle-resistant zipper-integrated cable that retains its flexibility, but helps avoid that frustrating tangled mess of wires that constitute many people’s earbuds when they first locate them.  Read More

The development of open source drivers for Microsoft's Kinect motion-controller is already opening up new (if not entirely unpredictable) applications for the device. This example, developed by members of the Virtopsy research project at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland, is a functional prototype using Kinect that provides users with a hands-free way to review radiological images.  Read More

Having full-blown computers linked to a central server delivering applications to office workers is so last century. More and more businesses are choosing to deploy thin-client or virtual desktop solutions, where much of the storage and processing needs are met at the data center. Advantages often include low power draw at the user end, low maintenance, and minimal desktop footprint. Chip PC's Plug PC cross-platform thin client or virtual desktop computer solution offers maximum load power consumption of just 3W, is about the same size as a pack of cards, and benefits from a processor architecture that provides the equivalent of 1.8GHz x86 processing power.  Read More

Sequencing an entire genome is currently a highly complex, time-consuming process – the DNA must be broken down into segments and replicated, utilizing chemicals that destroy the original sample. Scientists from Imperial College London, however, have just announced the development of a prototype device that could lead to technology capable of sequencing a human genome within minutes, at a cost of just a few dollars. By contrast, when sequencing of the genome of Dr. James Watson (co-discoverer of the structure of DNA) was completed in 2007, it had taken two years and cost US$1 million.  Read More

We've written before about 360-degree video (here demonstrated with an awesome interactive video that puts you in a base-jumper's shoes) - it's effectively like watching a video in Google Street View mode, where you can look any direction you like using the mouse. Now, Dutch 360-degree video company yellowBird has announced a hookup with YouTube that lets users post 360-degree videos in their YouTube channels. And the first major production is a 360-degree music video clip that challenges the role of the film director and stretches the boundaries of interactive entertainment.  Read More

It feels like we’ve been awaiting this car for almost too long. We first wrote up the Covini C6W supercar in 2004 and the production version was unveiled in Bologna earlier this month. The four 15 inch front wheels of the 185 mph C6W (pics on left) are inspired by the Tyrell P34 F1 car (top right), but the rationale for four front-wheels was first detailed in a landmark Ford concept car shown at the World Fair in 1963 – the Seattle-ite's specification still stands up nearly half a century later - interchangeable fuel cell power units, interchangeable bodies, computer navigation and information systems, and four driving and steering wheels. That's it bottom right.  Read More