The World’s Largest Swimming Pool

This pool is located at the San Alfonso del Mar Resort in Algarrobo, Chile. It measures more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, has a 115 ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. The cost to build the gigantic pool was a whopping $2 billion dollars and another $4 million/year for maintenance.

Marvel Comics Considering Defenders Revival

Marvel Comics Vice President Tom Brevoort has revealed that the publisher is considering a revival of its Defenders title.

Based on the eponymous superhero team, the comic’s most popular lineup comprised Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor and the Hulk.

Brevoort announced that he has discussed reviving the book with editor Axel Alonso. “Defenders is one of those series that we’ve been talking about a lot, Axel and I, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some movement on that front in the near future,” he said.

“By that same token, we’re going to want to feel confident that we’ve got a pitch that captures the essence of what people loved about the Defenders in the past before we greenlight anything. But stay tuned.”

The Defenders traditionally battle mystic and supernatural threats to the Marvel Universe. They first appeared together in Marvel Feature #1 in 1971 and have undergone several lineup changes over the years.

Disney Epic Mickey – Full Opening

Warren Spector, a game designer known for the dystopian game series Deus Ex, is an unlikely candidate to oversee a game featuring one of the most recognizable animated characters of all time. Yet Spector is the man that Walt Disney Co. has charged with making Mickey Mouse into a game star.

Disney Epic Mickey, a game for the Nintendo Wii console coming out for the holidays, is Spector’s attempt to bring some pizazz to a Mickey after a mixed record in the category over the years. “I just think the guy hasn’t had the success in videogames that he has in every other medium,” Spector, 54 years old, said in an interview Thursday in Seattle before the start of the PAX videogame convention here. “I just want to get him to the top of the videogames heap.”

Spector said he plans to do that, in part, by tweaking Mickey’s personality to make him more mischievous, a quality he possessed in some of Disney’s earliest animated films but later lost. Spector is cagey about how the game will do that exactly, but even the logo for the game hints that this isn’t the same old Mickey. It features Mickey’s iconic pair of mouse ears, slightly deformed and dripping with ink that looks almost like rivulets of black blood.

Ink plays an important visual role in the game. In visual teasers for the game, Mickey drips with the stuff, a reminder that he was a hand-drawn character for most of his film career – a foreign concept for kids who have grown up with the computer-generated characters like Lightning McQueen, Woody and other icons from Disney’s Pixar films. Throughout the game, Mickey wields a magical paint brush (controlled by players with the Wiimote) to create bridges for the character to cross over, dispatch villains and remove obstacles like walls.

“We came to the idea of, Let’s give him control over the stuff he’s made of, give him control of paint, give players a taste of the creative process,” said Spector.

Spector said Disney Epic Mickey draws on a variety of game genres, including “platformers” like Nintendo’s Mario in which characters must hop from level-to-level and over obstacles and fantasy games like Nintendo’s Zelda series. The game is set in a place called Wasteland, a place for forgotten cartoon characters. One of those will be Oswald, a rabbit that was one of Disney’s earliest cartoon characters from the 1920s (rights to Oswald were actually held by NBC Universal until a few years ago, when Disney regained them). The visual style of the game pays homage to many Disney films, including the black-and-white “Steamboat Willie” (1928) and “Plutopia” (1951), says Spector, who says he’s a lifelong animation buff.

Spector joined Disney three years ago after the company acquired his Austin, Tex., game development group Junction Point, where Spector is creative director. Disney Epic Mickey is one of a number of initiatives by the entertainment company to play a bigger role in the games industry, a business long dominated by more focused game publishing companies like Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard. This year, Disney has cut deals to acquire Tapulous, a developer of iPhone games, and Playdom, a maker of social games on Facebook and other social networking sites. Spector says about 280 people have been working on Disney Epic Mickey around the world.

Spector said it’s possible some Disney purists will be put off by the liberties he has taken with Mickey Mouse, including his new inky image. Early in the planning for the game, he said he held discussions with Disney executives to learn how far he could push the boundaries of the Mickey character. There was one line he says he didn’t even try to cross.

“You can’t give Mickey a gun,” he said.

Here for your enjoyment is the full, nearly 7-minute long opening cinematic sequence for upcoming Wii game, Disney Epic Mickey.

Tracklisting And Artwork Revealed For John Lennon’s Gimme Some Truth CD’s

EMI Music has unveiled the complete tracklists and cover art for a broad selection of remastered John Lennon albums and new collections to be released on CD and digitally on October 5th. Announced last month, EMI Music’s global John Lennon ‘Gimme Some Truth’ catalogue campaign is being overseen by Yoko Ono and commemorates the music legend’s 70th birthday on 9 October, 2010. Featured in the sweeping initiative are eight remastered John Lennon solo albums and new titles including Double Fantasy Stripped Down, Power To The People: The Hits, Gimme Some Truth, and the John Lennon Signature Box.

For the first time, Lennon’s classic solo albums and other standout recordings have been digitally remastered from his original mixes. Double Fantasy, 1980′s GRAMMY Award winner for Album of the Year, will be presented with a newly remixed ‘Stripped Down’ version produced by Yoko Ono and Jack Douglas, Lennon’s original co-producers for the album. Some Time In New York City has been restored to include the six ‘Live Jam’ recordings featured on the original album.

The deluxe 11CD and digital John Lennon Signature Box includes 13 previously unreleased home recordings, and Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, and Julian Lennon have each written personal essays for the lavish collection.

The cover art for the new titles includes original drawings by Sean Lennon for Double Fantasy Stripped Down, while the cover of 1974′s Walls and Bridges is restored to its original artwork.

The full tracklisting of all of the CD’s can be found HERE.

Power To The People: The Hits

Gimme Some Truth (4 CD Collection)

John Lennon Signature Box (11 CD Collection)

Future of Screen Technology

User interface specialists TAT provides their futuristic take on the UI, screens and technology of computing devices four years from now. The experience video showcases the future of screen technology with stretchable screens, transparent screens and e-ink displays.

Altoids Grill

Are you looking for a DIY project this Labor Day weekend? Wrap up your summer by cooking with this mini charcoal grill, made from a repurposed Altoids tin.

The micro-grill uses a tiny Altoids Sours tin and two small metal computer fan guards built by Instructables user vmspionage.

The Sours grill is powered by a standard-sized charcoal briquette and is capable of cooking wee hamburgers, tiny s’mores or a full-size hot dog, as long as you cut it down to size. Find out how to build it HERE.

U.K. Unveils World’s First ‘Intelligent’ Postage Stamp

The Royal Mail has developed the world’s first “intelligent” stamp that works with your smartphone to bring you hidden messages. The Great British Railway stamps launch a video of British actor Bernard Cribbins reading W.H. Auden’s 1936 poem “The Night Mail” when scanned. Interested users can download the free augmented reality app Junaio (available in the iTunes store and Android market) to open the video.

“Royal Mail’s special stamps mark key events and anniversaries in the UK’s heritage through a program which aims to be both educational and informative,” Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson Philip Parker said in statement. “Through Intelligent Stamp technology, our stamps will open up to a whole new world of information, interest and fun to collectors and the millions of people who will receive them on letters in the coming months alike.”

Kyle Andrews “You Always Make Me Smile” Music Video Featuring 120,000 Water Balloons

The official music video for “You Always Make Me Smile” by Kyle Andrews, filmed in Provo, UT in July 2010. 4,000 people! 120,000 balloons (all biodegradable, filled with non-potable irrigation water)! World record for the largest water balloon fight (pending final approval from Guinness).

LOST: The Complete Sixth And Final Season DVD & Blu-ray Available Now

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released the DVD ($59.99) and Blu-ray ($79.99) releases of LOST: The Complete Sixth and Final Season.

Extras include:

- Bloopers and Deleted Scenes

- Audio Commentaries

- The End: Crafting a Final Season – Examining the challenges of ending a landmark series

- A Hero’s Journey – Which survivors of Oceanic 815 are true heroes?

- See You In Another Life, Brotha – Unlocks the mysteries of the flash sideways

- LOST on Location – Behind the Scenes featurette

- A new Chapter of the Island’s Story from Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse

A highlight of the set is “The New Man In Charge” feature. The 12 minute epilogue takes place after the series finale and features Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) tying up some loose ends for the island’s new boss, Hurley. We even get to an old friend from the show that has not appeared for many seasons.

The Blu-ray set features five behind-the-scenes documentaries, the best of which is “The End: Crafting A Final Season.” This doc features interviews with all the major players from the cast and crew as they work on the final season, intercut with interviews of noted TV producers discussing the bittersweet process of winding down a successful show. Memorable moments abound, and “Crafting A Final Season” gets as close as we’ll ever come to revealing what producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and their team were thinking as they assembled these final melancholy hours of LOST.

The final season of my favorite show was uneven at times but answered many lingering questions; not all of them but many. Perhaps that is a good thing.  LOST was ambitious, ground breaking, thought provoking and great fodder for Friday morning water cooler discussion. Each cliffhanger episode seemed like an hour long movie with a deep storyline, great special effects, wonderful production and strong interesting characters. I tend to casually watch most television shows usually multi-tasking while the program is on in the background but LOST demanded my full attention. My cell phone switched to silent and no outside plans for Thursday night. My family would discuss in great detail the easter eggs, hidden meaning, mythology and direction the show was headed. Many felt that the finale of LOST was a copout similar to the final episode of the Sopranos. I liked both…understanding that you can’t please everyone and in the end the writers had a chance to tell the tale that they wanted to tell. It will be difficult to find a worthy replacement this season. AMC’s Rubicon puts me to sleep and we’ll see about NBC’s The Event. At least I can always watch the Blu-ray of LOST and go back to that mystical island!

Apple’s Ping Users Top One Million In First 48 Hours

Apple today announced that in less than 48 hours since its launch on Wednesday, more than one million users have joined Ping, its new social network for music which lets users follow their favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading.

“One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping,“ said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing.“

Ping lets you follow your favorite artists such as Lady Gaga, Coldplay, U2, Jack Johnson, Yo-Yo Ma and more, to see what they’re up to, check out photos and videos they’ve posted, see their tour dates and read comments about other artists and albums they’re listening to. In addition, you can post your thoughts and opinions, your favorite albums and songs, the music you’ve downloaded from iTunes and the concerts you plan to attend.

iHome Introduces First AirPlay Speaker

iHome has added information to its web site announcing its plans to release a new speaker system compatible with Apple’s AirPlay technology introduced earlier this week. Replacing Apple’s venerable AirTunes technology, AirPlay allows not only audio but also videos, photos and metadata to be transmitted to other AirPlay-enabled devices. AirPlay will also be available on iOS devices with the release of iOS 4.2 in November, allowing media content to be streamed to AirPlay receivers from an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. As a departure from AirTunes, Apple has licensed its AirPlay technology to third-party companies to allow them to integrate this capability into their products such as speaker systems and AV receivers. Details on the iHome AirPlay are currently minimal, although iHome indicates that it will include a rechargeable battery and be available this holiday season.

20 Back-To-School Gadgets For 2010

As the academic year begins, so begins your hunt for the perfect back-to-school devices. To ease your search, TIME has put together a comprehensive shopping list for this year’s hottest gadgetry — from the best java fix to a pen that does the listening for you. Check out the list HERE.

The Livescribe's Echo smartpen includes a voice recorder with up to 8GB of storage capability and includes neat little trick — just tap a word of your notes to replay the corresponding audio snippet of that moment of the lecture.

35 Life Hacks You Should Know

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Paste Magazine Suspends Print Publication

According to a statement on their website, Paste magazine has suspended its print edition after eight years of publication. Its online edition will continue. The award-winning monthly was best known for its music coverage of Americana and indie rock, but also featured writing on film, TV, books, and videogames.

The announcement follows in a sad trend of music magazine closings that includes Blender. Last year, Paste asked for fan donations to help it through financial troubles, but “mounting debt” has “forced a hiatus,” according to the official message.

Your Fall TV 2010 Season Premiere Calendar

It’s that magical time of the year when Television Networks attempt to cram the premieres of 23 new and 83 returning shows into a mere 25 days. You can print out a helpful calendar HERE.

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Television Series in Development

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is being planned as a television series reports Heat Vision.

Warner Bros. is allegedly seeking a creative entity to become the program’s showrunner, but the article notes that “Supernatural” creator Eric Kripke may be at the top of the studio’s list.

Sandman, which launched DC Comic’s Vertigo imprint, ran for 75 issues beginning in 1989. Gaiman’s worlds-within-worlds weaved an episodic anthology, focusing on the allegorical character of Dream and his brothers and sisters, known as the Endless (Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny).

An adaptation of the series has been rumored since its inception two decades ago, most recently as a spinoff film for Dream’s sister, Death, which Gaiman had plans to write and direct himself. It is unclear whether or not this proposed series would conflict with that project if it is, indeed, still moving forward.

Power Laces

Every fan of the film,Back to the Future remembers the shoes that Marty Mcfly donned in 2015 that autolaced on to his foot and his exclaimation: “Power Laces- alright!”

As part of an Art project for a contest, Blake Bevin created a version from spare parts which is demoed in the short video clip below. Despite it’s laughable looks and simplistic function, it went on to get over 1 Million views and the story was picked up by various outlets around the World.

That, and all the messages and feedback Bevin received in the weeks afterward showed the inventor that there is a market for something like this.

Blake is planning on developing and finalizing a marketable version with the goal of mass producing it. The next version will operate under a different, more efficient mechanism, and will be more suitable for everyday use.

Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis: Sean Penn

Seth Galifianakis fills in for his brother Zach in the latest installment of “Between Two Ferns Presented By Speed Stick,” featuring famous actor-humanitarian Sean “Spicoli” Penn.

iPad iOS 4.2 Announced For November. Features Include AirPlay & Printing

During today’s Apple event, Steve Jobs announced that the next version of the iPad’s operating system, iOS, 4.2, will be available as a free update in November 2010. The iOS 4.2 version will support the iPhone and iPod touch (4.0 friendly versions of those devices) in addition to the iPad.

Among the new features in 4.2 will be folder organization for apps on the iPad, bringing parity with the 4.x smaller devices.

Innovations include AirPlay, which will allow you to stream video and audio from iTunes to your iPad or from your iPad to the newly-announced Apple TV. Also added: printing! The iPad will be able to print to networked printers or printers connected to your computer.

Fantasia & Fantasia 2000 2 Movie DVD & Blu-ray Collection To be Released On November 30th

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced a 2-disc DVD ($39.99) and 4-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo ($45.99) releases of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000: 2-Movie Collection which will arrive in stores from November 30th.

Extras on the DVD release will include a commentary on Fantasia with Disney historian Brian Sibley, a tour of the new Disney Family Museum, and a Musicana – Walt’s Inspiration for a Sequel documentary on Fantasia 2000.

The Blu-ray release will include all that plus audio commentaries from the Fantasia Legacy Collection for both films, Interactive Art Gallery and Screensavers, a 14-minute The Shultheis Notebook: A Disney Treasure feature, a 7 minute Destino short film , a Dali & Disney: A Date With Destino feature length documentary, and more.

Apple Premieres New Apple TV for Breakthrough Price of $99

Apple today announced the new Apple TV which offers the simplest way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows on your HD TV for the breakthrough price of just $99. Apple TV users can choose from the largest online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just $4.99, and the largest online selection of HD TV show episodes to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America for just 99 cents.

Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well as music, photos and videos from PCs and Macs to your HD TV. Enjoy gorgeous slideshows of your photos on your HD TV using Apple TV’s selection of built-in slideshows. Apple TV has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply for easy set-up, and features silent, cool, very low power operation in an enclosure that’s less than four inches square—80 percent smaller than the previous generation.

Apple TV set-up is quick and easy with a single HDMI cable connection (HDMI cable sold separately). Just connect Apple TV to your HD TV, join a Wi-Fi network and with a few clicks on the seven-button aluminum Apple Remote, you have access to amazing content. Users can also control Apple TV with their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch using the Remote app, available as a free download on the App Store.

Pricing & Availability

Apple TV will be available late this month for a suggested retail price of $99 (US) and can be pre-ordered beginning today on Apple’s online store (www.apple.com). Apple TV, which comes standard with an aluminum Apple Remote, will be available through the Apple’s online store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple Introduces iTunes 10 With Ping

Apple today introduced iTunes 10 with Ping, a new music-oriented social network for following your favorite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading. iTunes Ping lets you post your thoughts and opinions, your favorite albums and songs, the music you’ve downloaded from iTunes, plus view concert listings and tell your friends which concerts you plan to attend. iTunes 10 also features HD TV show rentals for just 99 cents an episode and AirPlay wireless music playback.

Ping lets you follow your favorite artists to see what they’re up to, check out photos and videos they’ve posted, see their tour dates and read comments about other artists and albums they’re listening to. You can also create a profile on iTunes to let your friends know who you’re following, what you’re listening to and which concerts you’re going to. There’s no better way to discover new music than to find out what your friends are listening to, and Ping’s Recent Activity feed shows you their posts about artists, albums, songs and concerts, plus a consolidated Top 10 list of the songs and albums your friends and the artists you follow are downloading from iTunes. In addition to using Ping on your desktop computer, you can take it with you on your iPhone or iPod touch so you’re always plugged into your personal music scene.

iTunes 10 also features AirPlay wireless music playback to listen to your music on remote speakers using Apple’s AirPort Express base station. In addition, AirPlay now works without AirPort Express, using speakers, receivers and stereo systems from companies including Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, Denon and iHome, so you can enjoy your entire iTunes music library wirelessly from any room in the house with no extra gear required. iTunes 10 is available immediately as a free download at www.itunes.com.

Apple Unveils New iPod shuffle

Apple today announced the new redesigned iPod shuffle which features both clickable “ring” buttons and Apple’s innovative VoiceOver technology, enabling users to easily navigate their music and playlists without ever looking at their iPod shuffle. The new wearable iPod shuffle has an all-aluminum enclosure with a built-in clip and comes in five brilliant colors—silver, blue, green, orange and pink. With nearly 50 percent more battery life, the new iPod shuffle features over 15 hours of music playback on a single battery charge* and offers 2GB of storage for just $49.

iPod shuffle is based on Apple’s incredibly popular shuffle feature, which randomly selects songs from a user’s music library. The clickable buttons make the new iPod shuffle even easier to use. Press the center button to play and pause, press the outer buttons to skip forward and back or adjust the volume up and down.

The new VoiceOver button on top of iPod shuffle allows users to hear the name of the currently playing song and to switch between songs, playlists or Genius Mixes. VoiceOver speaks 25 different languages and even alerts users when their battery needs charging.

The new iPod shuffle now supports Genius Mixes, the popular iTunes feature that automatically creates mixes from songs in a user’s music library that go great together. Genius Mixes provide the perfect way to rediscover music users already have, but may not have listened to recently.

Pricing & Availability

The fourth generation iPod shuffle will be available next week for a suggested price of $49 (US) for a 2GB model in silver, blue, green, orange and pink through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple Reinvents iPod Nano With Multi-Touch Interface

Apple today unveiled a completely redesigned iPod nano featuring Apple’s Multi-Touch interface that lets users navigate their music collection by simply tapping or swiping a finger on the display. Nearly half the size and weight of the previous generation, the new iPod nano features a polished aluminum and glass enclosure with a built-in clip, making it instantly wearable. The new iPod nano features Genius Mixes, the ability to create and edit playlists, a built-in FM radio with live pause and up to 24 hours of

The new iPod nano with Apple’s Multi-Touch interface allows users to access their songs, artists, albums and playlists with a tap or swipe of their finger on the display. Holding down a finger returns the user to the Home screen, and users can easily use two fingers to rotate the screen if it is clipped onto their clothing upside down. Users can also customize their Home screen by simply dragging icons from other screens onto the Home screen.

iPod nano also features Shake to Shuffle, giving music lovers the ability to shake their iPod nano to shuffle to a new song in their music library. With its built-in FM radio, iPod nano lets you listen to your favorite radio stations, and live pause lets you pause and resume playing your favorite FM radio shows without missing a beat.

With an amazing new design that is nearly half the size and weight of its predecessor, the new ultra-portable iPod nano is a natural workout companion. Clip iPod nano onto your workout clothing, touch your music and start your workout. iPod nano features a built-in pedometer that makes it easy to track your steps and also supports Nike + iPod, giving users the ability to track runs and workouts.

Pricing & Availability

The new iPod nano will be available next week for a suggested price of $149 (US) for the 8GB model and $179 (US) for the 16GB model. Both models are available in silver, graphite, blue, green, orange and pink through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple Introduces New iPod touch

Apple today announced the new iPod touch, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s stunning Retina display, FaceTime video calling, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1 and Game Center—all combined in the thinnest and lightest iPod touch ever. The new iPod touch features up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge.

With the new front-facing camera and mic, iPod touch users can make FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi. With just one tap of the new FaceTime app, iPod touch users can call other new iPod touch or iPhone 4 users to easily see what their friends are up to, share important moments like the first day of school and even show others what they are seeing by easily switching to the rear-facing camera.

The rear-facing camera on iPod touch is perfect for HD video recording. Users can easily capture HD video wherever they are and share it via email, MobileMe and YouTube. With the iMovie app, users can combine movie clips, add dynamic transitions and themes and include photos and music right on their iPod touch. Users can buy and download the app for just $4.99 through the App Store right on their iPod touch.

iPod touch is the world’s most popular portable game player. Now with Game Center, iPod touch users can challenge and play friends or be matched automatically with new opponents. Game Center lets iPod touch users showcase their scores and achievements and discover new games their friends are playing. With the App Store on iPod touch, users have access to the world’s largest catalog of apps with over 250,000 apps, including over 65,000 game and entertainment titles to choose from.

Music and entertainment lovers can now easily access iTunes Ping directly from their new iPod touch. iTunes Ping lets you follow your favorite artists and friends to discover the music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading. iPod touch users also have the entire iTunes Store at their fingertips, giving them instant access to the world’s largest catalog of music, TV shows and movies.

The new iPod touch comes with iOS 4.1, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 4.1 enables new features like FaceTime video calling, multitasking, folders and Game Center.

Pricing & Availability

The new iPod touch will be available next week for a suggested price of $229 (US) for the 8GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.