We're letting the readers know about the release of vmcNetFlix Beta v1.0.22, a plugin that will enable you to stream Netflix movies from your Vista Premium Media Center PC to your Xbox 360. Further details on its features are available in the full article.



Download: vmcNetFlix Beta v1.0.22 (x86)
Download: vmcNetFlix Beta v1.0.22 (x64)

We've got a special treat for all those HD-DVD fans out there. Via the magical powers of YouTube, we managed to find a video showcasing Toshiba's Super Bowl advert for HD-DVD. View the video for HD-DVD after the jump!

We're going to be completely evil and reveal a massive spoiler to Paramount Pictures' Cloverfield: it wasn't a Handycam they used to capture most of the footage they had in the film. Instead, digital imaging supervisor Nick Theodorakis incorporated the use of Sony's top of the line CineAlta HD camera, the F23.

For more details on this story, check out the full article after the jump!

Imagine, if you will, a giant-sized version of Tetris, bigger than a humble wall. It's played using the lights of a building, and you actually control the movement of the pieces with a cellular phone.

Well, imagine no more, as we have a preview of a project that does exactly that. It's called the Mikontalo Lights project, and it's made of 100% awesome. More on the Mikontalo Lights project and the video after the jump!

The mobile market won't see a Googlephone for now, but Google is still bent on making an impact on the mobile industry. The internet giant will be trying to develop easily accessible applications on mobile phones, and provide an open-source mobile phone operating system to let third-party software developers go crazy in making applications for Google-optimized phones.

Google already approached a number of mobile phone manufacturers and conferred with them about the production of handsets specifically made compatible for the use of Google software, like the ever-useful Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube, among others.

However, since the internet mogul is planning on releasing an entirely open platform mobile operating systems, there is the issue of privacy as well as data security - two pressing matters that should be addressed.

Will Google be able to push through with their ambitious project? Only time can tell.

The iPhone has sparked a trend in the phone industry with their widely popular touch screen - and not to be bested, the new Nokia S60 Touch Interface will also sport a touch screen that covers almost the entire face of the phone. The product was demonstrated at the Symbian Smartphone Show today.

The S60 Smartphone will have a "complete" Web video experience, featuring support for Flash videos integrated into the browser. This means you can browse YouTube videos on the go. A new toolkit for developers will also ensure third party programs will enter the S60 Touch scene.

It's to be noted that the iPhone and iPod Touch have also been advancing in their web tech. The Nokia S60 phone will be available probably sometime in 2008.

Everybody probably remembers the first few minutes of Star Wars Episode 4, where Princess Leia records a holographic message of herself and was discovered a little later by Luke Skywalker in the film. Well, technology like that may very well be at our fingertips, as several researchers from the USC Institute for Creative Technology, Fake Space Labs, Sony Corporation and the USC School of Cinematic Arts have developed a fully interactive 360 degree light field holographic display through the use of mirrors and other motion-capture equipment.

In the video posted by Deathwnd from YouTube, the researchers show the various degrees and modes where their study has taken them. From a simple holographic rendering of a human head to even a TIE fighter (and thus the Star Wars reference), it definitely seems like a new way for image displays could evolve into in a few years time.

While the degree of detail in replicating images is far from complete, it's a good start in what could be the next generation of visual communication and display devices. Who knows? Current 3G video calls could someday evolve into 3D video calls instead. In the meantime, take a look at the video of the new device in action.

Here's an interesting video clip we found over at YouTube from user CraigFergusonofmetal. It's actually about making your own laser espionage microphone that can be used, hopefully, for good more than bad.

Like we said, setting up this gadget is really a breeze. All you need is an old pair of headphones, Cadmium Sulfide Photocell, and other materials that are easily available on electronics shops. Regarding the laser source, you can actually use an ordinary laser pointer that costs around two bucks.

Anyway, if you are interested, the video clip will tell you all materials you need as well as how to set up this amazingly nifty yet scary gadget. Like we said, use this for good and not for spying on your cute neighbor. This is capable of listening into conversations hundreds of feet away from the user by the way.

A bit of bad news for Google Video users: the media you rented or bought from the web giant's online store will no longer be viewable after the site is shut down by the parent company.

Google said there will be no refunds for any of the transactions, but compensation will come in the form of credits in Google Checkout, the company's online paying service.

The decision to shut the site down came after top officials decided that the Google Video service has become irrelevant due to the success of YouTube, which it also owns and uses to sell videos.

The move was branded as a big mistake by analyst David Card of Jupiter. He also added that the shutdown and the no-refund policy are making consumers more wary of digital media purchases.

"We've seen a physical format-device combo go out of manufacture before: wax cylinders, 8-tracks," says Card. "But can you think of any consumer-purchased medium that actually becomes unusable while there are players that still work?"

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.