There are currently debates raging about whether cellphones should work mid-flight. Every time I hear about an airline possibly extending the network to planes, I think about my "friend" in the grocery store.

But there are a few more things to consider. My take on the in-flight conversation after the jump.

It's packing more power than its brandmates, employing the latest Intel Atom Z515 processor, with storage choices consisting of either a 60GB or 120GB hard drive. Thankfully, instead of Archos's own clumsy operating system, this one comes loaded with Microsoft Windows 7.

We're hoping Archos has improved that touchscreen, which we found a bit cumbersome in the Archos 5 and Archos 7. Whether its resistive touch system will be as responsive as other advanced capacitive touchscreens remains to be seen. The company hasn't announced pricing yet, planning to ship the PCtablet this Fall. Here's the Archos press release:

So far, a purse is the most accommodating and portable conveyance for the anti-paparazzi device, though Harvey is looking at ways to make it smaller so that it might work just as well on a necklace or tie.

PDN Gear Guide, via CrunchGear

We weren't aware the kids these days are calling those nocturnal interactions "videoconferencing," but hey, we do our best to keep up. Like you see in the pic above, this technology might be great for shooting videos of owls, and other night creatures.

Other than that 3-megapixel night shooting trick, this 3G slider is fairly conventional, using a 2.8-inch AMOLED display with 240x400 resolution. Available in Korea first, Samsung isn't saying if it will find its way Stateside, but we're guessing this see-in-the-dark cellphone tech will soon be widely available.

Akihabara News, via Electronista

Those colorful detonations are chemical-laced bombs, carefully configured for explosive effect, and launched with lift charges from mortars, with fuses lit by brave souls wearing fire suits. Sometimes, they're lit by computers and remote controls.

We got to see 10,000 of these bombs lit, fired and launched, up close and personal last year. It was unforgettable.

Via Gizmodo

Not so fast, says FINA, the sports federation that rules over such events. Even though the officials allowed Bousquet to claim the world record wearing that Jaked 01 suit, it was not officially approved. The ruling body disqualified it and nine other high-tech swimsuits for "not passing the test of buoyancy and/or thickness." What the heck does that mean? Besides giving swimmers a skin similar to a shark's, some of these suits trap too much air inside, giving them more buoyancy, which is deemed unfair.

The most frustrating part of this story: Even if the new technology is eventually approved, some swimmers such as Phelps are contractually bound to Speedo, and won't be able to use these faster suits because of legalities. Phelps can still win, though — there's more to winning swimming races than a stupid swimsuit. He'll just have to train harder and lay off that bong for a while.

Via DailyTech

This makes sense, letting you use just about any bottle of your choice rather than some elaborate water bottle and a holder. The design concept is cheap, light, and unfortunately, not available yet. But like most great ideas, this one has a good chance of seeing the light of day. Two more pics:

Grilling in the 21st century has evolved way beyond just holding meat over a fire with a forked stick. Once you have your high-tech grill in place, you'll want only the best gadgetry to precisely turn that raw animal flesh into grilled nirvana. We've found the right tools for the job, certain to turn even the most ham-handed backyard cook into a master outdoor grill chef extraordinaire.

SCRATCHbot, which stands for Spatial Cognition and Representation through Active Touch, uses a technique called active touch sensing. The "rat"'s plastic whiskers sweep the area in front of its nose to work out the size and shape of the object in front of it — useful in places where there is low visibility, such as smoke- and dust-filled rooms.

While not quite as real as this guy, the SCRATCHbot will be able to do one thing that its real-life counterpart can't, and that's clean up after itself. So, the closest ordinary citizens like you or me will come to this technology (unless we're being rescued from a towering inferno) will be when our robot slaves are pushing around the vacuum cleaners of the future, while we while away our time watching bad disaster movies.

Via Daily Mail

Similar to TuneUp, MusicBrainz Picard is a user-generated database that identifies the songs in your library and adds the correct song title and artist name. It's a "user-maintained community music metadatabase." Unlike TuneUp, however, it cannot add album art or lyrics, which are protected under copyright. And, unlike TuneUp, it's free and run by a nonprofit group. While TuneUp relies on Gracenote, MusicBrainz is built from user input. Consider it a music Wiki that you can also add your own info. See a mistake? Log in and correct it.

Now, MusicBrainz isn't nearly as easy to use with iTunes as TuneUp because it requires a few more steps and file transfers, but hey, it's free, and you get to help make it better.

MusicBrainz via The Wall Street Journal

The mighty space bird is the mothership parent satellite of the new $700 Terrestar satellite phone, which yesterday had its own, somewhat less stellar, launch back on Earth.

TerreStar-1 should be put into action in around a week's time, when its 60-foot reflector umbrella is unfurled in a procedure that should take around four hours. Once up and running, expect the satellite and its super-slimline handsets to change the worlds of drug-running, drug-busting, terrorism and counterterrorism. Forever.

Via BBC News

The camera is attached to a 4 gigabyte USB drive that easily plugs into your computer for video/audio transfer after you're done shooting. Perhaps the coolest thing about this set-up is that it is activated by a very unassuming ring that is worn like any other piece of jewelry. You can pick up your ultimate spy rig for 5,980 yen ($61.78) here.

Via Akihabara News

The solution? Make passengers stand! Well, not completely, but close enough. "It's just like bar stools. The safety belt is the most important thing. It will still be fastened around the waist," Spring Airlines' Zhang Wuan told China's CCTV. The new arrangement, according to Spring Airlines, would allow 40% more passengers on every flight and help reduce the carrier's cost by up to 20%, which would in turn lower fares.

Spring Airlines president Wang Zhenghua may even want to take the idea further, after talking with China's vice premier, Zhang Dejiang. "He suggested that, for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient," Mr. Zhenghua said.

That kind of reasoning is entirely opposite to most airlines, which seek to recoup losses through luxury services and optimized routes while still providing comfort. Still, it's just a proposal for the time being. Spring Airlines wants to submit its plan by the end of the year.

Via Sky News

Why? Simple: Page layout. The design of the page — including position, headline size, and the number of columns — would have subtly encouraged me to read other articles before that one, or possibly skip it altogether. Curious, I picked up a hard copy of the Journal to confirm if the paper's diligent copy editors working late last night agreed with me that Chinese drywall was, well, rather dry. And there it was, stuck on the bottom of page 2 with a fairly small headline.

Of course, those visual cues are lost on the Kindle's screen; the drywall story is the top story on page 2 of the PJ section on the DX. Stories are typically ordered first to last in a section, with few hints as to their relative importance. Sure, the ones up top are on the front page of that section, but beyond that all articles are created equal in the Kindleverse.

Does this matter? Do the benefits of a gadget that does away with paper, delivery, and all the hassle and expense that go with them outweigh the tradeoff in graphic design? And what can the next generation of e-readers do to improve in this area? Browse the photos beyond the Continue jump that compare the paper journal with the DX's section lists, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Asteroid Storm is an interactive 3D game that has the audience help an alien captain pilot his spaceship through an asteroid field. The audience accomplishes this by raising their hands: to go left or right, more people on the left or right side of their crowds put their arms up. It only takes two IR cameras mounted on the ceiling to monitor the audience's response.

Right now, Asteroid Storm is scheduled to play before movies such as 3D versions of Toy Story and Ice Age 3 in 20 Vue theaters in the UK this summer. No word on whether the audience can lose, or if a couple of pranksters can get the ship going right for an asteroid.

Register Hardware, via Gizmodo