New information is trickling out about Nintendo’s non-update to its formerly barely next-gen, soon to be stone age-gen console. Sure, it’s reportedly slightly slimmer and it has a newfound fondness for the horizontal plane, but apparently it’s losing something fairly important in the process: GameCubecompatibility.

Aside from that, a Nintendo rep told the company ”does not currently have any plans” to bring the console to the US, much like Sony did with its just-announced “el cheapo” flavour of WiFi-less PSP. We’re not entirely sure when Europe became the dumping ground for gimped cut-rate consumer electronics, but we think most Europeans would much rather have the proper ones for a sane price, thank you very much.

We’re not entirely sure what makes otherwise discerning professionals go in for these fanciful predictions. We just hope video game consultant Mark Cerny provided more than the one example Eurogamer wrote about, although it’s not like anyone actually takes starry-eyed industry futurists to task unless they’re named Peter Molyneux.

“We’re already seeing the wall starting to crumble a bit,” he said. “Demon’s Souls, even though on one level it’s a single-player game, as you’re walking through the world you’re seeing the ghosts of everybody who died in that world via the internet. You can leave messages for them. They can leave messages for you. There’s actually a boss you fight in that game which is controlled by another player.

“We’re talking five, 10 years out. I believe three years from now, if you aren’t doing that, you are being criticised in your reviews for your lack of innovation.” Ah yes, even today games are getting mercilessly picked on by critics for having compelling gameplay, sumptuous visuals, original writing, but no Deathmatch option. And that’s been around for ages.

A trip to the aquarium will wow you with giant turtles, sharks, and colorful fish, but the one exhibit that always seems to mesmerize us is the jellyfish tank. There’s something about those free-swimming sea creatures that just captivates the viewer as they move about the water using undulating contraction-pulsations. Besides some of them having the ability to sting, you might wonder why we never see the little creatures, made up of more than 90 percent water, in the average person’s fish tank.

The main reason is that they can’t be kept in a regular aquarium since they’ll get sucked into the water filtration intakes and are liquefied to death. We know it’s sad to think about, but, to solve this problem, Duke University Biology and Environmental Science alumnus Alex Andon developed a tank that was jellyfish-friendly. Andon started a business called Jellyfish Art and retrofitted an existing fish tank to be suitable for a jellyfish. Once he figured out what it takes to make a fish tank jellyfish-safe, he started selling the first edition tanks online, and then decided to sell them on a broader level, taking to Kickstarter for support.

The Desktop Jellyfish Tank pulls water through a layer of rocks at the bottom of the tank. The water is then pulled up one side of the cylindrical tank to the surface. It then goes back down the other side and is sucked up once again by the rocks. The circular flow also keeps the jellyfish centered in the middle of the tank so that they’re not all huddled into one area. The tank itself is rather large, holding 7 gallons of water. It can house up to five jellyfish, which are lighted by a built-in LED lamp. If you want your jellyfish to look different in various colors of light, the LED lamp can be changed with a provided remote control.

The rocks Andon uses are called “living rocks,” and they have been seeded with live nitrifying bacteria, which break down the jellyfish waste. You’ll have to change the water each week though, so even though you don’t have to take your jellyfish out for a walk a few times a day, you still have maintenance you have to tend to to make sure the jellyfish stay happy and healthy.

If you’re worried about having stinging jelly fish sitting on your desk, some freshwater species, that are colorless and are less than an inch in diameter, don’t actually sting. The jellyfish provided to customers of the Desktop Jellyfish Tank are moon jellyfish are aren’t harmful to humans. Each fish will cost $39 and will be shipped overnight from the company’s breeding center. You can also buy frozen plankton from Jellyfish Art, which is what the little critters dine on.

Andon is raising money via Kickstarter right now to get the tanks into commercial production. He thinks the first tanks will be ready in the next few months. To get your very own Desktop Jellyfish Tank, you’ll have to pledge $350 to reserve the tank and get a voucher for a starter kit that includes three jellyfish and plankton.

And the flames are being fanned by news of a second victim this month. The ‘outbreak’ of the amoeba, which grows in stagnant water passages, is so far confined to Virginia. The parasite is believed to have killed three dozen people in the past ten years and affects its victims by causing meningitis. So far only children are most vulnerable and the spread of the amoeba may be a seasonal thing.

Of course, the concern from parents will likely dissuade swimming in open pools of untreated water. The amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri usually enters the body through the nose then proceeds to trigger symptoms like headaches, nausea, and fever. Unfortunately, i cannot be treated with medicine.

Update: Less than a day after the initial reports about a second victim, a third has now been confirmed dead from the nefarious amoeba. A 16 year old girl from Florida was the latest casualty. Uh oh, it’s spreading.

There’s a chance the recent chain of events involving Naegleria fowleri might break into mainstream news and become a hot story for the next few weeks. While the news barrage might be tiresome, it’s probably best (if you’re in the United States in general, Virginia in particular) to confine swimming activity to a couple of showers a day. That sounds horrible! Hey, at least you can use soap a lot.

As well as their update to their iOS Search application Google has also today rolled out a new updated for its Android Reader app. Bring Honeycomb support to the application together with a number of visual improvements.

The new Honeycomb support within Google Android Reader app provides a similar look to its desktopversion within two viewing panes. Together with a streamlined interface and easy to use navigation and sharing controls positioned in the top right of the screen.

Its looks and feel of Google’s Reader app on Android smartphones has also improved bringin it more inline with other device version with a slicker interface design and easier navigation. Also note the “Mark Previous as Read” button has now moved into the context menu; simply press and hold on an item to use this feature.

If you haven’t already downloaded it Google Reader for Android is free from the Android Market now.

Apple is experiencing a few problems in China of late. We recently heard about 22+ fake Apple Stores being located in the city of Kunming. They were such good copies even the staff thought they were working for Apple. That problem seems to have been sorted out though, with many of the fakesrenaming themselves to Smart Store.

Now there’s another problem, but this time in the official Apple Stores and at authorized dealers. Multiple complaints have appeared about customers being sold refurbished iPhones as brand new devices. In six separate incidents so far the customer is discovering this when they get home and go to register their product only to find the warranty lasts for 6-9 months rather than the full year.

Returning the phone to the store has also seen a mixed reaction. Some receive an apology and a new handset, while others are just told they will have their warranty extended rather than being given the brand new handset they paid for.

Clearly Apple wouldn’t endorse such practices as it would have an impact on its reputation and get the company in trouble with Chinese authorities. Instead, it looks like this is individual members of staff deciding to sell display phones or refurbished units as new. Something a store employee would never admit to when asked.

While Apple has yet to officially respond to the claims, Wang Hai, well-known for his fight against counterfeit goods in China, has decided to take action. Two lawsuits have been filed on behalf of customers against Apple. They demand compensation and an apology from Apple for each customer. The compensation claim is for twice the price of the iPhone.

We suspect Apple will launch its own investigation as well as ensuring those customers affected by this walk away happy in the end.

IBM have announced the creation of two experimental chips by it researchers that are structured more like a human brain than a computer chip as we know it today. IBM are calling the new chips an “unprecedented” step forward in creating intelligent computers and is hoping the new experimental chips will become the building blocks for it to develop cognitive computing.

In developing these new chips IBM is hoping to create technology that more closely emulates human behaviours in the way they learn and take action. Providing the chips with the ability to be able to make decisions by processing immense amounts of data. “We aren’t there yet, but before long these chips will be able to rewire themselves on the fly,” says Dharmendra Modha, an I.B.M. researcher.

Both of the new chips developed by IBM have 256 neurons; one of them has 262,144 of what the company calls programmable synapses, while the other has 65,536 “learning” synapses. Just like the how our brains work the synapse establishes connections between digital neurons, and the more signals that are sent to a synapse, the stronger that synapse becomes.

“In today’s computers, there are some key fundamental limitations that are projected to come to an end,” – “The ever-increasing clock rates are unsustainable. In contrast, the brain is an ultimate computer.” - ”We now have the seeds of a new architecture that can allow us to mine the boundary between the physical and the digital world in an ever more efficient way,”

Lets just hope they have seen the Terminator films, and implant a power off switch that is easy to access.

Microsoft has today revealed that their new Windows 8 OS will indeed have its own “App Store”. Confirming the rumours that have been circulating since a number of Windows 8 development documents were leaked in the middle of 2010. Together with a few leaked Windows 8 screenshots earlier this year that idicated a navigation tab for an “App Store”.

Microsoft will now be matching Apple who has already launched it own App Store for its OS X software announcing the new App Store ins a list of features within a blog post by Microsoft’s Windows president, Steven Sinofsky called ” Introducing the Team”.

Even though Microsoft has confirmed a team is now working on the new Windows 8 App Store no other details about the feature were disclosed within the blog post. But as always when we hear anything else we will keep you updated.

You can read the full Steven Sinofsky blog post titled “Introducing the Team” on the Microsoft website.

Acer first introduced their new Acer Iconia Smart smartphone back in the middle of February of this year. But until now very little has been announced about its arrival date. But thanks to post published to the Acer Germany Facebook page it now looks like the Acer Iconia Smart will be arriving next month for around $730.

The Acer Iconia Smart is equipped with a massive 4.8 inch display sporting a 1024 x 480 pixel resolution and  a 21:9 widescreen ratio. Powered by a 1GHz Scorpion processor, Qualcomm MSM8255-1 Snapdragon supported by 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM and 8 GB of storage.

Its also fitted with an 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash camera complete with Geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilisation and video capable of  recording 720p @ 30fps. On a full charge the Acer Iconia Smart is expected to provide around 11 h on 2G with up to 8h while on 3G.

You can view a video of the new Acer Iconia Smart in our featured post.

Razer has unveiled a new leap forward in the creation of gaming headsets in the form of the Razer Tiamat 7.1 surround sound gaming headset, which Razer claims is the worlds first true 7.1 headset gaming headset to be available.

Rather than using virtual surround sound to create the illusion of 7.1 surround sound, the Razer Tiamat 7.1 is equipped with a 10 discrete drivers. Creating the perfect and true to life 7.1 surround sound experience for gamers.

Razer explains:

“The Razer Tiamat headset range is the pride of our audio engineering, the world’s first 10 driver headset, built to deliver the most powerful, clear and accurately produced positional audio gamers will ever need for the competitive edge,”

The Razer Tiamat 7.1 packs a total of 10 discrete drivers, 5 in each circumaural ear cup to give you true pinpoint positional surround sound with 3D clairty. The 10 drivers represent the 7 surround sound channels plus subwoofer; 2 for center, 1 each for the left and right, surround sound left and right, surround back left and right, and 2 for the subwoofer as indicated in the diagram below.

The Razer Tiamat 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming headset will be arriving in the Autumn and will be priced around $180.

If space within your travel bag is a little restrictive or you would like to cut down a little on the number of cables and adapters protruding from your plug socket. The new iSurge Charging Station created by Energizer might be worth a look.

The Energizer iSurge has been designed to provide an all-in-one AC adapter equipped with a top-mounted 30-pin dock for the iPod and iPhone, 2 x USB ports with 2.1 Amp output for fast charging of the iPad, 3 x standard, surge-protected AC outlets.

Not only does it have all those charging points but it also has a 180 degree rotating plug and doubles as a night light. The iSurge will be arriving in stores during October and will be priced at around $60.