In the deepest, darkest laboratories of Toshiba HQ, teams of developers have been secretly working on brain-wave reading mind control headphones, and they plan to use them to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

Well, not really, obviously. But they do plan on doing some rather crazy things with them.

These sure aren't the headphones your parents told you about. Each pair are equipped with a built-in brain-wave sensor and Bluetooth set-up which, when paired with the appropriate PC software, allows you to monitor your brain activity.

As the software lets you monitor your brain in real time, there is even talk of being able to use the headphones to translate brain signals into input commands for games. You hear that? Mind-controlled games!

The tech is almost ready for release, though Toshiba aren't yet sure if they will be commercially available. As it stands, I'd imagine these would be more useful in the healthcare sector, at least for the time being.

Call me a sissy, but mind control headphones sound a little too "creepy Matrix stuff" rather than cool "Star Wars force power stuff" for me. I'd rather stick with a pair of regular noise cancelling ones, thank you very much.

Via: Tech On

It's that time of year again, where we all rush off to Clinton's for a naff card, a syrupy teddy and a box of Quality Streets for our loved ones. Yep, Valentine's Day rears its sickly head once again, and, like it or lump it, it's here to stay.

But how best to show the extent of your love for that special, nerdy man-child in your life?

If your boyfriend is partial to a bit of tech or some geeky toys, you've come to the right place. Check out Tech Digest's Top Ten Geeky Valentine Presents: For Him. Wedding bells will be ringing in a matter of months with these nifty little gifts, we assure you.

Click the image below to get started

Pocket mirrors are so last decade. If you want to look pixel-perfect these days, you need to get yourself in front of an augmented reality cosmetic mirror.

It's the latest craze to hit Tokyo malls; you sit yourself down in front of the Shiseido-built mirror, and by judging you skin tone, it makes recommendations on what make-up you should wear, overlaying virtual previews onto your face.

Judging from the video there's still a bit of work needed here though. Not on the model, you cheeky so and so, but rather on the tech itself. Rather than properly showing what she would look like with the recommended make up, it instead makes it look like her eyes have been gouged-out, King Lear-style.

Bet you weren't expect a Shakespearean reference when you hit this link, huh?

Via: CScout Japan

I've become accustomed over the years to pictures of menacing looking robots hitting my inbox. I brace myself, hit the link, and more often than not end up laughing at their hideous Elephant Man-like proportions.

But not with Diego-San. He's set haunt my dreams for all eternity.

Researchers from the University of California have been developing Diego-San in order to help study how infants develop motor skills. Based (I'd say loosely) on an average one year old, Diego-San is filled with 60 moving parts, 20 of which are in its head, as well as a speaker, 6-axis accelerometers and five fingered gripping hands.

Maybe that iPhone conception-couple should have just shelled out for one of these "babies" instead? Props to comment poster Sam Handel, who quite understandably suggested that we should "Kill it! Kill it with fire!".

More disturbing shots over at Pink Tentacle.

Remember all those You've Been Framed clips of dogs playing the piano? Well that was just the beginning; thanks to Mattel's Puppy Tweets collar tag, your dog is about to enter the online world of social networking and Twitter. No, seriously.

First of all, you have to make a Twitter account for little Rex (stay with me here). You then clip the tag onto your dogs collar, which packs in both motion and sound sensing technology. The device then reads and categorises what your pet is up to, and sends it to the dog's Twitter account. Then you, smug dog owner person, sit back and marvel as the pooch tweets such dignified observations as "YAHOOOOOOOOO! Somedays you just gotta get your bark on" or "I finally caught that tail I've been chasing and...OOUUUCHH!"

This isn't exactly going to change the minds of those who still "don't get" Twitter yet. But can you think of an anymore zealous a group of animal lovers than dog owners? It'll sell like hotcakes, though I don't much fancy an army of Rovers following my feed.

And surely a "Budgie Tweets" collar would have been more appropriate? Hmmm...Excuse me while I just go file a patent...

Anyone who finished the excellent Mass Effect will remember at least two things about it. Firstly, that the sci-fi space opera was very, very cool and that hero Commander Sheppard liked to get down and dirty with his alien crew.

Well, according to the recently released rating from the ESRB, Mass Effect 2 looks set to be just as intergalactically steamy.

The ESRB have noted that: "Players can also choose to have 'romantic encounters' with the alien/human henchmen characters; this involves watching a guided cutscene in which two characters flirt, kiss, and/or embrace: clothed alien/human characters may prop a partner on top of a space console, clear away the clutter from a bed-slab, unzip a future-blouse, or just talk it out," the description reads.

Those looking for some space-age polygonal gaming porn look set to be disappointed though: "Though an alien/human may gyrate her hips while on top (fleeting--one-to-two seconds), actual sex is never depicted--the camera cuts away to space furniture and ceilings."

That said, if there are three things that really get me going, it's a comfy "bed-slab", a nice bit of IKEA "space furniture" and unzipping those nifty "future blouses".

Phwoooooar!

Streets; there are just so many of them! And nearly all with such boring names! Bromley Street this, Commercial Way that; no wonder a member of Derby City council took a stand, letting the public name a new one from some rather kooky options.

Thanks to an online poll it looks like a new Derby ring road is to be named after Lara Croft.

Lara Croft has 95% of the vote with rival Merlin Way so far only nabbing 2%.

It's not as random a choice as you may initially think however. Tomb Raider's original developers were Core Design, who called Derby home.

If someone could please commission Pong Place now, I could die a happy man.

OK, so it's technically impossible to beat a game that has no defined ending, but World of Warcraft player "Little Gray" is the first to finish virtually every single thing that the land of Azeroth currently has to offer.

According to MMO Champion, he's the first player to nab every single achievement in the game and the first player to reach 986/986 points listed in the armoury.

His stats in the armory show that he's killed 390,895 creatures, and died just 8,543 times. He dished out 7,255,538,878 points of damage to his foes, and completed an average of 14.6 quests per day for a total of 5,906.

Dedication or a case of OCD just waiting to be diagnosed? We'll let you decide that one.

At the time of writing he's technically still missing the BB King achievement, but having only been released in the latest patch, you can likely strike that one off his list by now too.

Still, I'd like to see him finish a whole game of Risk.

Via: MMO Champion

As we've all come to accept, robots will eventually become far too clever for their own good, revolt, and throw humanity into eternal servitude. Until that point though, lets take a minute to salute our Japanese cousins who have humiliated our future robot-overlords once again, this time by programming one to break-dance.

The scientists who built the robot consulted professional dancers to fine-tune the bot's uncanny moves.

Peter Crouch was as yet unavailable for comment.

If you've ever suffered the crushing heartbreak of being cast asunder by an online pal, you're probably pretty familiar with the term "unfriend".

Well, it look as though even the internet-phobic are set to become accustomed to the phrase, as "unfriend" enters next year's edition of the New Oxford American dictionary.

The term, which originated on social-networking sites such as Facebook beat "sexting", "intexticated", "netbook", "funemployed", "hashtag", "paywall" and "greenstate" for the title of Word of the Year.

According to a senior lexicographer, the term has (we kid you not) "lex appeal"...

Via: Silicon Republic

Oh dear. In a frighteningly embarrassing bout of "spontaneity" employees over at the newly opened Mission Viejo Microsoft store burst into an impromptu line dancing session. Fair play to them for keeping it up for a nerve-wracking 4 minutes, despite the store's customers clearly either uninterested or too embarrassed to look.

I hope these poor cogs in the Microsoft machine got a nice bonus for this little stunt. Their tired feet and tainted souls sure have earned it.

You know you've really won over the hearts and minds of a nation when you get to star in your own web game. Either that or someone hates you that much to spend sleepless nights developing one that rips what's left of your flailing credibility to shreds.

Enter "Grimes Against Humanity", starring X-Factor hate magnets John and Edward.

Players must bounce "Jedward" to the top of the voting tables in a bid to win over the cruel destroyer of pop-worlds, Overlord Cowell (inexplicably portrayed by the Mousebreaker-developed game as German).

Click here to try it out.

You know what's wrong with all these new smartphones? They just look too sleek. What I really want is a gaudy, bling-tastic phone, unofficially themed around my favourite dead popstar. If you too are looking for something a little more, ahem, off the wall, then this Michael Jackson phone may be for you.

With faux diamonds and moon walking silhouettes of Jackson etched on the back, the gold coloured handset is a sight to behold. Made by a Chinese imitation "shanzai" company, the phone comes packaged with a suspect-looking live DVD.

The "limited edition" phone is extremely garish, but in terms of knocked off gear, you can't beat it.

Zombies, zombies, zombies; just when will we stop getting a kick out of maiming these lumbering, brain-eating foes? Not any time soon if game developers Valve have their way. Left 4 Dead 2 is set to hit shops on the 20th November, so get ready for another frantic blast of four-player, undead whacking first-person madness on its way.

The highly anticipated sequel takes place in the Deep South, where four brand new survivors are battling against the zombie horde. Valve promise three horrific new Special infected foes, the brand new addition of melee weapons, and a refined version of the AI Director that made the original so replayable.

Check below as Tech Digest's very own Gerald Lynch gets prepped for the zombie horde with an SAS survival training session.

As if the Segway wasn't daft enough, look out for the Yike Bike, weaving its way into oncoming traffic next year.

Designed for urban travel, it's able to reach a top speed of 20km/h, weighs 9.8 kilograms, and can fold up for easy transportation when not in use. It all looks a little bit dangerous, coming across a bit like a tech-savvy clown's unicycle.

That said, it's not half as mad as the roller-blade suit below. I know which one I'd prefer...

Iwantoneofthose.com is always a great place to pick up a last minute gadget gift for a loved one. But what do you get the person who has everything? How about a paintball battle in a WWII tank? It's just one of the ludicrously fun sounding days out now available from www.iwantoneofthoseexperiences.com.

Here are the top five experience days heading our Christmas lists:

Tank Paintballing - £94

Regular paintballing is all well and good, but you look like a bit of an idiot running around some cold wet forest off the M1 with what amounts to an over-powered spud gun in your holster. Enter "Tank Paintball", where you and two mates take control of a hulking 17 tonne FV432 armoured personal carrier capable of firing 40mm paint rounds. Imagine the bruises in the morning...

Jousting - £199

Is there a fair-maiden whose looks warm thy loins? Well then, young squire, why not win her hand by competing for her affections at a day of jousting? Participants of all riding abilities are welcome, and we've been assured that the losing knight will not be beheaded.

Spy Games - £219

You may have the missile-launching car, the jetpack and the laser-wristwatch. But do you have the skills to go with all those spy gadgets? A day at spy school will teach you all you need to know to carry out covert-ops deep in enemy territory.

Ghost Hunting Break - £199

Fearless adventurer? Why not pop Ray Parker Jr. on your iPod and head out on a spooky paranormal investigation in a haunted house? Derek Acorah, eat your heart out (and then come back and haunt me to prove you weren't making it all up).

Ice Climbing - £59

Remember February's ridiculous snowfall? Get prepared this year by taking part in a day of ice-climbing that would make Bear Grylls shiver.

Sweaty palmed iPhone owners can push their handsets to the boundaries of good-taste thanks to Wow Zoom Publishing's iBlushBabes.

"iBlushBabes allows a person to literally blow under a gorgeous glamour model's skirt. The harder they blow their phone, the more her skirt flies into the air and the more embarrassed she becomes, "says Wow Zoom director Carla Brown.

It's good to see Apple's approvals team working hard then. Perhaps Nintendo will approve a kiddie-friendly DS version?

Grab the app here. Deep breath first though.

Slightly more here.

Alas it is just a concept which is based on the NCC-1701 from the latest Star Trek movie. You can find a load more Star Trek inspired goodies here.

via SlipperyBrick

Humourous reviews of a wicked-cool T-shirt featuring three wolves and a moon went viral this week sending sales soaring 2,300%.

"It's got three wolves on it. Like, I'd be happy with a t-shirt with one wolf on it, but this one's got three. Three wolves - and a moon, and it's a full moon and stuff, so it kind of makes me feel like a werewolf when I'm wearing it - which is kind of my favourite way to feel," said Carl Chesterson, in one of the 454 reviews on Amazon.

But Isabelle O'Carroll, editor of online fashion bible, Catwalk Queen, told us that actually, "Wolf print t-shirts have been the height of hipster cool for some time now, and then Martin Margiela had some airbrush hippy tees in his SS/08 collection (that's spring summer 2008 for the non-fashion types)"

"Then Topshop followed suit with their take on the trend, so the wolf tee might be hitting headlines but as usual fashion got there first!"

And actually, Tech Digest wouldn't mind a return to the days when a man could don a wolf, or global hypercolour, or He-man, or Fat Willys t-shirt without being castigated.

Michael McGloin, art director of the firm behind the tee said: "We'll take ironic fashion any day, we're printing another 400,000 more t-shirts.

"It's just a fantastic thing." It is. It really is. Wolf t-shirts for all.

4Chan is at the centre of another internet crapstorm after users of the site laid siege to YouTube, posting a plethora of lewd and pornographic videos.

Already infamous for attacks on white supremacist Radio, DJ Hal Turner, and responsible for the Rickrolling phenomena, 4chan-ers posted videos tagged with the names of tweenie stars, The Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana.

Dubbed "internet terrorists" by the ever rational and balanced Fox News, and "lunatic, juvenile, brilliant, ridiculous and alarming" by The Guardian. The 4Chan films start with innocent footage then meander into sex scenes.

"We are aware of the slew of pornographic videos that were uploaded," said a spokesman for Google.

"We are addressing them as we would any video that violates our community guidelines."

"In addition any account we discover that has been specifically set up to attack YouTube will be disabled." Yeah YouTube - you tell them.

(Via Metro)