Flickr via Inhabitat

The scissormongers also applied their sharp design skills to the mower's VersaCut blade, positioning it beyond the width of the wheels so you can cut close to obstacles, eliminating that no-cut zone where the wheels get in the way.

Why use a push mower rather than a petrol-powered noisemaker that goes 100mph or a lawnmower scooter? The EPA says those roaring lawnmowers of suburbia are responsible for 5% of the air pollution, and cutting grass for an hour delivers the same amount of noxious gasses as a 100-mile drive in a car. Besides that, we really like that whirring sound of a manual push mower.

Via GizMag

From Joystiq:

Documentation obtained by Joystiq - and subsequently confirmed with two separate sources - reveals that "USB Mass Storage Device Support on Xbox 360" will soon be a reality. The document, authored by a senior software development engineer at Microsoft, states that due to "increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices, a 2010 Xbox 360 system update" will allow consumers to save and load game data from USB devices. The update is purportedly coming in Spring 2010.

Of course, there's a catch. The 360 won't let you just hook up another hard drive. You'll only be able to configure around 16 GB to work with your system. For more than that, you'll still be at the mercy of Microsoft's proprietary 360 hard drives, which are, frankly, a rip off.

Now if only Microsoft would stop charging an arm and a leg for its hard drives, we'd be set!

Joystiq, via CNET

Sure, this thing is just a concept right now, and it's basically a more cutesy version of a riding lawnmower that is probably far less effective at actually cutting the grass than a more traditional model, but come on! It's a scooter that cuts grass!

Via Yanko Design

Embedded in one of the box's edges is a needle, and when you place the enclosed record on the embedded spindle, it's a simple matter of inserting a pencil into a hole in the middle of the record and turning it.

There you have it — scratchy sound just like in the Victrola days, and a successful promotion that you won't soon forget. Brilliant.

Ads of the World, via Gizmodo

Just what will be inside and how much they'll cost isn't clear, but hey, new Commodores! If you were a nerd in the 80s, you've gotta be excited.

Engadget via Gizmodo

But this wasn't made for me, it was made for the visually impaired. And if they really want to enter this world of pain and frustration, that's their prerogative. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Yanko Design via Boing Boing via Make

The search-engine-turned-everything is partnering up with Intel and Sony to deliver its service to Internet-enabled TVs and set-top boxes of its own, while working with Logitech to deliver peripherals for the service. The idea of Google being so hardware-heavy is kind of an odd one, though the company reportedly already has a prototype set-top box complete and could even integrate the technology directly into television sets.

GoogleTV would allow you to access sites such as Twitter and Picasa from your living room couch — something out services already offer, even a Roku could give you something similar — but that open platform is something Google hopes will inspire the same breadth and width in development that it has for mobile phones. This will allow Google to go where the Internet does, extending its search and ad service to televisions before too many other companies get entrenched in the market.

That doesn't mean companies haven't already put down roots, according to The New York Times:

"The partners will face a crowded field. In addition to the makers of traditional cable and satellite set-top boxes, Cisco Systems and Motorola, many others have entered the game, including Microsoft, Apple, TiVo and start-up companies like Roku and Boxee, which already stream video from Netflix, MLB.com and other Web sites directly to television sets. Yahoo is also promoting a TV platform that uses small software programs called widgets to use certain Web services."

Those companies have come out swinging, too, such as Anthony Wood, founder and chief executive of Roku, who criticized Google's approach by telling the New York Times that "on the TV, people want specific TV apps, not a browser experience."

That very well may be, but just the thought of an open Internet TV experience and the things creative developers could do with it is exciting in itself. Tack on to that Google's track record, and we're very interested in seeing more — and we may not have to wait long, as iterations of GoogleTV could appear as soon as this summer.

The New York Times, via Wired

Click Continue to see a second video showing off the F-35B's incredibly short takeoff abilities.

The Funkyfonic Cassette MP3 speaker is a speaker designed to plug into your MP3 player that's shaped like an old cassette. For only $22 you can make the cassette relevant again, at long last. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Ubergizmo via SlipperyBrick

The Kindle app itself is free, and puts you in touch with Amazon's bookstore where you can buy books or access previews of things you may want to read. In our experience these previews have been incredibly generous, a feature by itself that would have us migrating to the Kindle.

Still, while I love the concept of the Kindle and ebooks, the actual unit never really roped me in besides a decent first impression. With this multiplatform app, Amazon is smart to stretch its ebook store as far as it will go, especially with a looming tablet revolution right around the corner.

Kindle for Mac, via CrunchGear

The Nexus One had plenty of hype and advertising, and even quite a bit of critical acclaim. The one big thing it didn't have was carriers pushing it — well, carriers other than T-Mobile, which, compared with giants Verizon and AT&T, doesn't have the same clout. It may be too little too late, but Google is looking to rectify this, announcing official deals with AT&T, Verizon and even Sprint.

You can get an AT&T 3G-compatible Nexus One from Google's store right now, though you still have to toss down a whopping $530 for it first, instead of getting it bundled with a plan as T-Mobile offers, though there has to be one in the works even as nothing has been announced.

The Nexus One is currently the most advanced Android option out there, but some powerful alternatives are on the way. There's also that little problem of another heavy hitter on AT&T's network — you may have heard of it, it's a little something called the iPhone. Verizon and Sprint will be announcing their plans for the Nexus One later this spring, leaving the Nexus One to duke it out with the iPhone on Apple's home turf, where the old champ is entrenched — not to mention subsidized and cheap.

If we retold the story of David and Goliath using phones, this would certainly be the match-up.

Google Nexus One, via Fast Company

Think about it: what do you have lying on or near your sofa at any given time? Remotes, phones, magazines, books, headphones, gaming gear, bottle opener, tissues, snacks, laptops, small children - anything. How much clutter can you tuck away? Actually, I think I might rather have clutter than this in my house, but could it be that I'm just afraid if I had one, I would never leave my sofa? Handy and handsome, or just plain fugly?

Via Unplggd

Designed by researchers at the Chinese University of Zhejiang, the robot speaks 6 different languages, has a screen for a face and can take photos of visitors. You can see video the HaiBao robot in action here.

Via Shanghai Expoese.

China already has plans to expand its already expansive rail network in the country by nearly 19,000 miles of track over the next five years. The country also boasts the fastest train in the world right now, the Harmony Express (pictured above), which peaks out at around 250 miles per hour.

According to PhysOrg, work is already well underway:

Construction of the Asian network has already begun in the southern Yunnan province, and Burma is soon to start construction of its section of the network. China has offered to pay for the Burmese section in return for Burma's rich lithium reserves. Prospecting and survey work has already been done for the European network, and there is already an agreement for a high-speed rail link across Siberia.

In the end, the massive network will carry both passengers and resources from one country to another, and allow a traveler to get from London to Singapore in three days. Sure, it's not as fast as a plane that has the advantage of flying directly, but it will be cheaper, no doubt, and better for the environment — if that's your thing.

Via PhysOrg