Now here's another thing you never thought you'd see from Dell. Today marks the launched of the Inspiron Duo, a hybrid Netbook-come-Tablet desperate to find its way under a few christmas trees at just $545. In addition to it's 2GB of RAM and 1.5Ghz Atom Dual-core processor, the device benefits from up to 320GB of SATA glory making it one of the better equipped christmas netbooks on the market. The Inspiron Duo's real party peice comes from it's flippable 10.1-inch multi-touch display, which switches up it's full keyboard for one meaty tablet experience.

Obviously Dell didn't get the note from Apple saying moving-part storage in portables is dead, but then again with the rest of the hardware virtually the same for half the price of a baseline Air, you can't really complain. If the Inspiron Duo makes it onto your list to santa, you might want to link him up to Dell.com as you can grab one over there today.

Now here's a crazy idea: Use the world's existing robotics technology to build an exoskeleton not to help soldiers kill, but to help paraplegics walk. This is precisely what Berkeley Bionics have done and they're calling them the eLEGS. The system is essentially a heavily modified version of the Lockheed Martin HULC, an anthropomorphic exoskeleton aimed to aid front-line soldiers in homogeneous everyday tasks, such as walking long distances and carrying heavy loads.

The eLEGS are basically a commercialised version of the HULC with added padding and extra support, giving people with physical disabilities the chance to walk independently once more. In the following video shot by Wired.com, Amanda Boxtel, who is paraplegic, demonstrates the technology on-stage, taking her first steps in over 18 years despite having only half a day's worth of practice with the breakthrough device.

But the best thing by far about this tech is that it's not far off. The company plan to roll out the eLEGS to selected rehabilitation centers starting July 2011, before developing a home version of the bionics that users could slip into in the morning, and wear all day long.

In December, Google introduced Goggles on the Android, allowing users to search the web using the phone's built-in camera. Well today the big G rolled out the same functionality for their Google Mobile iPhone app. To search with Goggles, simply tap the camera icon and take a picture of the item you wish to look up. The app will then scan the photo using it's image recogniton software and return what it thinks are the most accurate results.

Google has rather modestly stated that since this technology is still in it's infancy, the service works best at recognizing books, DVDs, landmarks, artwork and wine only. Having put this to the test, we've managed to successfully return the latter, alongside everything from obscure musical equipment to Spongebob Squarepants! Read on for some in-app snapshots and the G-unit's promo vid.

 

We all want a slice of USB 3.0, the blazing fast 4.8gb/s peripheral port of the future. So it makes sense for manufacturers such as StarTech.com to try and cash in on an easy upgrade solution for the most of us snailing behind on 1.0 and 2.0 standards, enter USB 3.0 ExpressCard adapter! The perfect resolve for the millions of notebook users desperate to jump on the super-speed bandwagon, but wait a minute, isn't the ExpressCard speed limited? Doh!

 

Consumer electronics whizzes Asus are set to be the first manufacturer to feature USB 3.0 technology. The news comes after specs of their 'P6X58' motherboard were made public.

This new 'SuperSpeed' USB 3.0 boats a data transfer rate of a whopping 4.8gb/s as opposed to 480mb/s in USB 2.0 and 12mb/s in 1.0

Official speed benchmarks are yet to be set, along with a release date or price for this early hardware. 

Video giants YouTube have begun experimentation in 3D video modes. The 3D player can be enabled by using the URL tag: 'yt3d:enable=true', which activates the ability to watch videos in 3D, cross-eyed or with your funky 3D glasses!

 The technology used in parts seems pretty basic and is no way perfect but nevertheless something fun to play with, (and a good way for good to use it's 20%). We must warn you though, if you are sensitive to eye strain or migraines, THIS REALLY HURTS!