Korea's IPTV service for the PlayStation 3 we reported on last month will be launched tomorrow, November 20. Named MegaTV, the video-on-demand service is a joint effort between Sony Computer Entertainment Korea and KT, one of Korea's top telecom operators, to bring PS3 users some high-definition games and Blu-ray content.

How soon before other regions get their own PS3 IPTV? Here's to hoping... As for those in Korea, setting up MegaTV is fairly simple.

While the Xbox 360 has its own thing going on with an IPTV service, it seems as if the PlayStation 3 will be getting the same kind of treatment during November in Korea. Sony Computer Entertainment Korea (SCEK) and KT, one of Korea's leading telecom operators, will be launching the Internet Protocol TV service named Mega TV.

Lee Young-hee of the Media Center at KT is optimistic in their partnership with SCEK. To quote, "Mega TV will include high-definition games and Blu-Ray media in its periphery. We will seek more cooperation with SCEK to create synergy."

Unfortunately, there has been no announcements made on the price for the service or its terms.

61-year-old Israeli pediatrician Igal Kushnir and his company Deep Breeze has developed a new technology called Vibration Response Imaging (VRI). What it does is measure energy generated in the lungs, analyze it, and then display an image of the person's lungs in one go.

This new technology has been found to accurately diagnose lung conditions such as asthma, pneumonia, and lung tumors.
 
What makes this method so amazing is the fact that it uses no radiation. It works by analyzing acoustic vibrations resonating or sounds from a person's lungs, much like a stethoscope. The lung vibrations are then fed to a computer, where it's displayed as images.

Deep Breeze was given approval by the US Food and Drug Administration last July 23 to begin marketing a VRI device in the U.S. Other countries such as Israel, the European Union, and South Korea have also cleared the product for distribution.

While the technology is still expensive at an average price of US$ 40,000 to US$ 50,000 per unit. Deep Breeze is working to create cheaper versions of it which will go for as low as US$ 10,000 per machine. This is big news in the medical community as this device will undoubtedly save a lot of lives by removing a lot of the guesswork usually experienced in using the common stethoscope.

After some wild things frolicking on the Blu-ray release list last week, prepare yourselves for something even more... diverse... coming your way this time around. From virus-hosting creatures to the funkiest green plant on earth, to a musician of royal proportions (that would be Prince - yeah! He made a movie! For real!) and a kickass cop hero, there sure is something for that monster/hippie/popstar/man-in-uniform in you.

Got any clues yet what Blu-ray goodies are in store for you on July 24, 2007? Check this list out:

• The Host (Magnolia Pictures)
• Weeds: Season Two (Lionsgate Films)
• Purple Rain (Warner Bros.)
• Out for Justice (Warner Bros.)

Now, they're all rather interesting. But I, personally, would have to go for that herby treat, as well as The Host. The latter is actually set in Korea and tells a story of how a creature of the deep suddenly mutated into something hideously carnivorous, simply because some "careless American military personnel" dumped about 100 bottles of formaldehyde down the drain some years back.

Lesson of the story: make sure there are no reptiles or mammals of any kind within a hundred meter radius when you dump your chemicals in the drain.

Er... yeah. Let's summon Captain Planet!

South  Korea could be at the forefront of the alternative energy race as scientists and engineers led by Professor Lee Kwang-hee have announced that they have successfully developed a cell prototype that yields more power, lasts longer, and is much cheaper.

The project was established in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara. A team led by Professor Alan Heeger provided research support functions and the results came out nicely.

To demonstrate the quantum leap in this breakthrough, the old silicon semiconductor solar technology uses some US$ 2.30 to generate a watt of electricity. It just takes ten cents with the Korean technology which uses plastic solar cells.

"The efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization," says Professor Lee as he points out the levels that solar cells must attain in order to be truly called efficient.

Solar energy is considered to be the cleanest energy source which can replace fossil fuels because it uses natural light which is in abundance and leaves no waste materials. Expenses and efficiency issues have plagued it in the past but plastic cells are ushering in new hope.

 

Taking a step sideways to the techie world of the gizmo-laden geek, Samsung has recently launched its "Swan" line of LCD monitors aimed at the PC enthusiast in Korea. The 20-inch CX2032GW/CX2032BW and the 22-inch CX2232GW/CX2232BW Swan monitors earned their name through the familiar tilt mechanisms.

The tilting neck uses an elastomer at the hinge, allowing the monitor to be angled ergonomically for the viewers comfort instead of having to rely on various mechanical parts. Sporting the same sleek, black and rounded look as its HD LCD TV counterparts (which are most popular in Asia at the moment), the two monitors also boast a maximum resolution of 1680x1050 at a 16:9 aspect ratio.

No refresh rate has been given at the highest resolution, but the response time has been pegged at 5ms and DVI input is expected as bare minimum. The prices go for US$ 399 for the 20-inches, while the 22-inches can be had for a pricier US$ 474. The monitor has yet to launch in the U.S., yet as of press time no details on when that will be has been said.

If you know your basic internet culture, you probably already know that the question on every other person's mind online is "what insanely innovative stiff will Google come up with next?" Today, we have the answer for you: Google-owned YouTube is coming to mobile phones soon.

The most popular video sharing site in the world has signed a deal with the fifth-largest mobile handset maker in the world today, LG Electronics of South Korea.

At the core of the agreement is the development of a mobile phone which can access the YouTube server and deliver streaming clips on the go. It's never been done or attempted before, but LG says a working design could be seen as early as this year. "LG Electronics will unveil a mobile handset that fully supports the YouTube service for the first time in Europe in the second half of this year," said the company in a statement.

Right now, YouTube has around 100 million users worldwide, driving up the demand to have it in every appropriate medium. It has some 70,000 user-created content which are readily accessible and are steadily on the rise.

A new image sensor chip that lets digital cameras capture vibrant images in dark locations without the need for a flash has been announced by South Korean government officials.

According to officials from the state-run Korea Electronics Technology Institute, they developed the chip -- called the single carrier modulation photo detector (SMPD) chip -- using nanotechnology.

Cameras equipped with the chip can take high-resolution photos or record video at 1 lux. That's as bright as a the lighting from a candle one meter away in a dark room.

The chip was developed over four years at a cost of about US$ 10.5 million. South Korea is expected to make a nice profit, though, with the country expected to earn about 2 trillion won (US$ 2 billion) annually once the chip starts being exported.

Remember iRiver? The Korean company which gave us the USB watch? Well, it has come up with two new innovative gadgets again: two new portable media devices, the Clix 2nd Generation and S7.

Both products feature SRS WOW HD technology. This technology is a complete and scalable suite of 3D audio, bass, and mono and stereo speaker technologies that can be customized by portable audio manufacturers to improve the quality of any audio played on any digital audio player.

Through the SRS WOW HD technology, both models of MP3 players improve the playback quality of digitally compressed audio and provide powerful audio performance from standard ear-buds so consumers have a more natural audio experience. These two are currently shipping in Korea.

The Clix 2nd Generation provides a bright display with vivid colors for a great video playback. Meanwhile, the S7 is display-less, having only faceplate images of animals and humans which represent volume control and fast-forward and reverse.

The two gadgets already sound good to us. We wonder about the price, though? Just be posted so we can tell you as soon as we get more info on these.

All addictions are hard to quit, especially when you're unwilling to quit. Well, according to a Korean company named Xtive, they might just have the cure via subliminal messages.

Xtive has developed an inaudible sound sequence created to send subliminal signals to the gamer's brain. According to Xtive president, Yun Yun-hae, "We incorporated messages into an acoustic sound wave telling gamers to stop playing. The messages are told 10, 000 to 20, 000 times per second. Game users can’t recognize the sounds. But their subconscious is aware of them and the chances are high they will quit playing."

Tests have reportedly been successful. The project was brought about by game addiction becoming a major problem in Korea (as in anywhere else for that matter). Yun-hae adds that forcing kids to quit have their obvious side effects. The sound sequence can make them stop on their own. They plan to have the phonogram commercialize with help from their government and game companies. The game devs can reportedly install the system themselves, playing the inaudible sounds when the gamer has exceeded a certain period of time.

This had us scared though. "We can easily change the messages. In this sense, the potential for this technology is exponential." Would that be like the Simpsons' "yvan eht nioj"? Hmmm. That remains to be seen. Or subconsciously heard.