If you're like me, when you think of 3D scanning you probably think of a setup much like they had on the set of the Matrix, with a billion cameras surrounding one object. Well, luckily it's not that complex and, perhaps even luckier, Qi Pan, a PhD student at Cambridge University Engineering Department, is making it as simple as can be.

His setup uses a webcam hooked up to your average PC, and his own hand to rotate an object. Take a look in the video above.

Via Boing Boing

Imation claims a transfer rate of 15 Mbps, which means you can transfer the contents of a full CD in 50 seconds. As soon as you come home and your dongled laptop comes within the 30-foot range, the hard drive automatically reconnects.

You'll pay for this uncluttering convenience - the ProWX is $450, more than three times the price of an old-fashioned wired external 1.5 TB hard drive.

Well, if you have your Doomsday Clock ticking down to the end of November, you'll have to set it back a few weeks for when the LHC is ready to collide some hadrons.

Via PopSci

Plug up to four external hard drives into this baby, and it automatically synchronizes photos, video, music and other content with any computer connected to it. It's easy to access it from anywhere on the Internet, and you can even play back videos from it on your iPhone. This little unit already won beaucoups critical acclaim in its simpler iteration, so look for this improved model to begin gathering even more accolades by the end of the year.

PogoPlug, via CrunchGear

You'll also be able to pick up a card at McDonald's that you hold in front of your webcam, and when you go to an Avatar-branded website, out pops an animation that looks like a real mechanical toy. There will be playable games associated with these controllable 3D animations, offered as bonuses with Big Macs and Happy Meals at the Micky-D fast feeder.

So that's what they mean by augmented reality. We've seen some crude AR before, first with a lame Best Buy ad, where if you held the company's brochure up to your webcam you could move around a 3D laptop. But this goes way beyond that. Whether it sells more big Macs or Coca-Cola, or makes more people go to James Cameron's film remains to be seen. But just think of the possibilities for this augmented reality. Wow. Here's a video of the Avatar card:

Intel is working on it. More specifically, they're working on brain implants that would let you change channels and surf the web using your brain, no remote controls or keyboards needed. Sounds scary yet also convenient! We're still pretty far off from this being a reality, but it's kind of exciting that it's being worked on, no?

Computerworld via io9

This 6-minute animation itself is remarkable, taking writer/director Lucas Martell five years to complete. Released on May 7th of this year, it's already a recipient of multiple prestigious awards. According to Lucas:

"When the project started, it was mostly an excuse to learn 3D animation, but by the end of the project I had spent so much time reworking and polishing the story that I just wanted people to laugh."

Via Pidgeon Impossible

Following a "hexayurt" design and using readily available building materials, HOMErgent uses existing eco-friendly infrastructure technologies to provide users with water, power, cooking, lighting, sanitation needs for living off-grid — whether the grid has just been destroyed or was never really there anyway.

They target the 4 billion people on earth that even subprime lenders couldn't touch: those just made homeless by disaster or who earn less than $1,500/year, the cutoff point for sustaining a "decent life."

When life is about survival, environmental concerns take a back seat. So, areas with a lot of people in this situation — like refugee camps — become squalid, health-threatening eco-disasters quickly, as residents hunt for food, water and shelter and don't worry about waste management. HOMErgent's all-in-one package solves a lot of problems quickly.

Aimed at government aid agencies and NGOs working in the field, HOMErgent's structures can be easily transported and adapted to other uses. Pricing is higher than a typical tent, but users get a lot more comfort.

Via HOMErgent

Sure, in theory this is meant for use while parked. But guess what? People will use it while driving, because people are idiots. And do you really want to be on the road with someone doing their taxes on a desk attached to their steering wheel?

Amazon via Geekologie

It sure looks impressive, but you've gotta wonder how much sense a public 3D display makes. I mean, wouldn't people just need to be carrying 3D glasses around just in case they came across it? For everyone else, it'll be the biggest blurry display they've ever seen.

Tech-On via Engadget

He mentions space mirrors to reflect sunlight and other concepts, but his cornerstone science project? A perforated garden hose stretching into the stratosphere that will disperse a mist of sulphur dioxide, creating a layer that will drive down surface temperatures, much as ash from volcanic eruptions blocks sunlight and cools the planet.

It would also create acid rain, but by Levitt's reasoning that may be the lesser of the environmental evils we face. Interesting reasoning, but I say it's just a Trojan horse for rampant apathy. Continue reading for my full analysis.

That's where the asterisk comes in. Only 250 gigabytes of the aforementioned 300 is on the laptop. The missing 50GB is, curiously, offered up through the eCafe online portal, where you can store whatever you like. Of course, storage like that isn't free forever, and after the first year you're going to have to start paying for it. (Hercules didn't have a price for us yet, it's still being worked out.) You could always ignore that extra storage by never signing up for it, as we understand it.

With all that in mind, the eCafe appears o be a capable contender in the netbook space. It didn't seem to bottleneck running Windows 7, though we didn't get to try too many processor intensive applications. The eCafe has its own suite of proprietary applications for managing updates, email and messaging that puts it all up front — accessibility that casual users attracted to netbooks may appreciate.

The Hercules eCafe is available now for the aforementioned $400.

Via eCafe

Now, there obviously aren't many times when you'd want to do that. The rep we spoke to mentioned that maybe someone using your car is locked out, and SmartStart would allow you to remotely unlock it without them having to break into it or jump through some hoops. Unlikely, but it does happen. The most common use for something like this would be to start your car on a cold day so that it is nice and warm when you get inside. It's worth noting that you can't just drive off. You'll still need a key if you want to drive, otherwise the car just turns back off.

Besides locking, unlocking and starting, you can also use the app to open your trunk or activate the car's alarm, and the app is able to manage several cars at once. The app itself is free, though your car will need to have a Viper remote start system installed to use it. If you don't have that, the entire package will cost you a whopping $500. If you do, you can get an upgrade kit which adds a GSM module for $300. There's one other fee, too — since it relies on a GSM network and it's always on, you'll have to pay $30 a year for the service (though you do get one year free).

Remote ignition isn't new. A lot of luxury vehicles have the capability to do just that, though you have to be within a certain range of the vehicle. Still, now we can finally say that there is indeed "an app for that."