Ecci Robot Features Bones, Ligaments And Muscles. Can Learn From His Mistakes.

Sci-fi geeks: Your savior has arrived. His name is “Ecci”, short for Eccerobot (Ecce in Latin means Lo or Behold). Ecci is being dubbed the world’s most technologically advanced robot thanks to a complex system of bones, ligaments and tendons all constructed from plastic and powered by small electric motors.

But even cooler than Ecci’s human-like body is ability to learn from his mistakes — the holy grail of robots. When Ecci makes a movement that causes him to fall or fails some other task, his brain analyzes the data to find an optimal solution that prevents him from repeating the same mistake.

Thanks to the scientists at the University of Zurich headed by director Rolf Pfeifer, human robotics just took a giant leap forward. Now how long do we have to wait until Ecci is capable of fixing us breakfast, eh guys?

Check out a video after break showing Ecci what he does best…

Confirmed: iCloud Will Feature Dedicated Mail, Calendar And Contact Web Apps.

Ever since Apple announced iCloud in early June, the world at large — specifically Mobile Me/potential iCloud users — have wondered how exactly they’ll be able to access their iCloud content online as Apple is killing off the Mobile Me name and services.

Thankfully we have a place to go. A newly released FAQ webpage confirms that Apple will launch iCloud mail, calendar, and contact web apps when iCloud launches this fall.

As for iDisk, MobileMe Gallery and iWeb content — better get your stuff saved locally. They’re dead and gone.

Wikileaks Cable Viewer Hits BlackBerry App World For $1.99.

Looking for an easier way to sift through the countless Wikileaks cables dumped all over the web? If you’ve got a BlackBerry you’re in luck. A new Wikileaks Cable viewer app has popped up in BlackBerry App World for $1.99. Features of the app include the obvious reading of full Wikileaks cables, organizing cables by offices and tags and the ability to view Wikileaks tweets.

While the information at hand can easily be found many other places online for free, ease and connivence are key, right?

Wikileaks in BlackBerry App World

2+ Months Later: PlayStation Network, Store Still Offline In Japan.

Despite the rest of the world regaining Playstation Network and PlayStation Store access as early as May 14th, Sony’s PSN and PlayStation Store customers in Japan remain offline.

The reason is the same as it was a month ago — the Japanese government has demanded that Sony show/prove that specific requirements are being met before they’ll allow the switch to be flipped. Making matters worse is that Sony hasn’t offered up any public explanations as to what the Japanese government’s requirements are, how they’re planning to meet said requirements, or a time frame in which we can look forward to a Japanese re-launch of PSN services.

For what it’s worth, Sony did issue a brief apology today to PSN and Qriocity customers which stated they needed more time “to make adjustments with the various related parties” — the “related parties” of course being various governmental agencies.

Tell us, Japanese PlayStation owners: What have you been doing to pass the time?

Failed Opportunity: Why Didn’t Acer Market Their Touchpad/Remote More Heavily?

Computer manufacturer Acer recently made the announcement two new laptops: the Aspire Ethos 8951G and 5951G. For a whopping $1634 a piece, these new laptops of machinery boasts frameless widescreen high definition viewing, a Blu-ray writer, 5.1 channel surround sound, and a backlit keyboard. Acer is also promoting its Fast Boot technology, which allows you to get through startup much faster than most other computers.

Amid the NVIDIA GeForce GT500 graphics and second generation Intel Core processor, the most innovative technology for this computer is its removable touch pad that doubles as a remote. We feel Acer really missed an opportunity here. The removable touchpad/remote is easily the coolest and most intriguing feature of the laptop. Yeah, boasting of top-of-the-line processors and GPUs is great and all. But the only way anyone is going to stand out in this crowded field of consumer electronics is to actually market something unique. The same hardware that everyone else has: not unique. Said touch pad/remote: unique.

Look for the Aspire Ethos 8951G and 5951G to hit the market soon. Though the price is a bit hefty, we can’t wait to see the laptop reviews on this one. Hell, we might even have to pick one up.

Sprint EVO 3D Bloatware Removal Not A Fluke. Coming To More Future Android Devices.

As impressive as the HTC EVO 3D’s specs are, one feature stands out above the rest — the ability to remove pre-installed carrier and manufacturer bloatware. The news hit the blogosphere yesterday with plenty of jubilation and celebration and for good reason. Pre-installed software is rarely used yet takes up precious room that could be better utilized for more useful 3rd party apps.

Thankfully the EVO 3D won’t be the exception but more the norm moving forward. Sprint confirmed with MobileBurn that the ability to remove pre-installed bloatware will become available on more Sprint phones moving forward.

This is a blessing of epic proportions as users will no longer have to bounce off storage limits because of bloatware nor will they have to spend the first hour with their new device removing all of said extra crap.

On the opposite end of the spectrum sits AT&T and Verizon — both of whom have bleak track records when it comes to pre-installed bloatware and the ability for customers to remove it from their phones. To that end, we only hope that all carriers take a step back and really look at what customers are asking for, because it sure as hell isn’t their software services.

Part II: PBS Hacked Again. Entire Database Exposed With Simple SQL Injection

After being hacked by LulzSec several weeks ago, PBS appears to have learned nothing. A new hack by “Warv0x” (AKA Kaihoe) uses the same basic SQL injection technique LulzSec has been using on their many victims, and once again has exposed PBS.org’s entire database.

The “hack” isn’t all that complicated which is why more serious hackers have criticized LulzSec’s claims of intense hacking.

With that said, Warv0x has joined th3j35t3r and WebNinjas in calling out LulzSec for being a bunch of “script kiddies”.

“This wasn’t done for fame or fun,just proving LulzSec aren’t as goodas they think they are. I haven’t rooted the box or been up to crack the hashes, I’m just proving that most of their attacks are very lame and basic (i’m pretty sure and automated) SQL injections and further privilege escalation, which is just matter of time.”

“Support for WebNinjas & Jester, good job at exposing them.Sad to mention, but I really agree with th3j35t3r & WebNinjas – LulzSec are just a bunch of script kiddies…”