As far as Windows-allied computer companies go, it seems Dell is trying the hardest to answer Apple’s design-heavy approach tit-for-tat. The Adamo took on the Air , and now the Latitude Z600 is looking to be the laptop for business users thanks to what’s going on inside and out. We’ll let the pictures speak for the design. As for the meat of the machine, Dell’s got a few tricks. The most impressive? No wires. You can buy a $200 inductive charging pad that’ll juice up the Z while it’s resting atop it. It’s also got built-in support for wireless connectivity, and, after spending another $200 on a wireless hub, the Z will be able to talk to USB, video and sound devices without having to plug them in. It’s got a couple of other bells and whistles, too, such as a quick boot environment where you can check your email without having to boot into Windows, and a FaceAware system that uses your webcam to know when you leave and locks your laptop. It’s a high-end laptop that’s priced as such, starting at $2,000. For that, you get 16″ inches of screen and 4.5 pounds of laptop.

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Latitude Z: this is what a heavily-engineered Dell laptop looks like

This tote bag is designed to look like a sweet retro boom box, which is great. But what elevates it to the next level is the fact that the speakers actually work, and it’s got a jack for your iPod or other MP3 player built right in. Just unzip the cassette compartment, pop in your player of choice, and you’ve got a boom box that can also hold your workout clothes. Amazing. Kitch U Like via The Daily What

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Boom box tote bag actually plays your music

A couple of months ago we told you about Japan’s plans to build a life-size version of Gigantor, the first giant robot featured in manga, in the ancient imperial capital of Kobe. Our friends at our sister site, Sci Fi Wire, have a new video of the massive sculpture being made. Follow the link below to watch the Kobe construction team in action. Video at Sci Fi Wire

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Video: 60-foot robot statue being built

If you want your house to look a little more like a set piece for Arachnophobia , this Electronic Webcaster Gun should do just the trick. It’s loaded up with “Web Sticks” that give it something of a glue gun feel, but — instead of hot glue — it shoots out icky streams of webbing. You’ve got a few options, here: One package of Web Sticks covers approx. 350 square feet, or one 12-ft. x 15-ft. room. Choose Clear for traditional webs which glow blue under black light; Glow In The Dark for an even stronger eerie effect; or Neon Yellow for webs that glow yellow under black light. So, unless you’re Spider-Man, it’s probably the easiest way to get those webs in hard to reach places. The Webcaster itself along with six sticks costs $50, while replacement sticks are bought in packages of 20 for $6.

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Electronic Webcaster Gun makes Halloween decorating a cinch

Remember that unusual and beautiful design concept for a Thermaltake PC case we showed you last March ? When we visited its designers, BMW DesignworksUSA in California, they hinted that this product of their Munich studio would eventually be available for you and me, and they weren’t kidding. Our pals at MaximumPC got a hold of one, and here it is in all its glory, the Thermaltake Level 10, making its way out of the concept stage and into reality for a cool $700. Just one look, and you know this case is unlike any other. It’s got room for three optical drives, six hot-swappable SATA drives, and each modular component has its own cooling. Hope it’s not too noisy. Check out the gallery for plenty of views of the inside and outside of this baby. It’s the computer of the future, available in mid-October. That does it, we’re buying one.

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Future PC: Spectacular Thermaltake Level 10 arrives

You’d think the hand-lettered warning scrawled on a piece of cardboard reading “CAUTION This May KILL You!” would be enough to scare off Popular Mechanics writer Seth Porges. But no. He hops on board the world’s first jet-powered merry-go-round, test-piloting the home-made deathtrap with one other intrepid volunteer. They even hang tough when one of the jets flames out. Despite the fact that those attending to this crazy contraption are wearing white coats, they’re not scientists. They’re part of a Brooklyn-based arts collective, The Madagascar Institute — not exactly inspiring confidence in the riders of this beast. And what, they’re somehow controlling it with a leaf blower? We get a kick out of home-made jet travel , even it’s just around in circles like this. Still, there must be a law against this kind of stuff. The Madagascar Institute’s motto ought to give you a hint: “Fear is never boring.” Via Popular Mechanics

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Video: Jet-powered carousel is spinning insanity

Yeah, we know. There’s yet another rumor about the Apple touchscreen tablet floating around, but wait. This one’s really, really hot. It turns out that first rumored prototype of the Apple tablet was way too small, so this one’s bigger, sporting a 10.7-inch screen instead of that measly 7-incher (or 9.7-incher) whispered about before . Better yet, this tall tale has the sweet screen cranking out resolution that’s “near 720p.” But it’s is not a netbook, no sir, it’s intended to be a “iPhone OS media player and light communication device.” As the story goes, there will be two Apple tablets introduced on January 19, and both will be running the same operating system that’s on the iPhone. One of those tablets will have 3G connectivity, and the other won’t, but both will be big enough to comfortably read newspapers and magazines, yet slim enough to carry with you wherever you go. So what we’re talking about here is an overgrown iPhone 3GS. The alleged timing of this rollout will be similar to the genesis of the iPhone, where we’ll first be teased by this shiny object in January and it’ll release a few months later in June/July, giving blogs and media mavens plenty of time to hype it up and fawn all over it, big-time. Oh, and the rumor specifically says there’s a 20% chance that Steve Jobs will nix the whole thing. This sounds pretty specific, but standard rumor BS detectors are recommended. iLounge , via Gizmodo

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Apple tablet rumored anew, this time even more specific

We’ve been hearing about Garmin’s n?viphone — a cellphone with full-featured turn-by-turn GPS — for years literally years . Turns out it’s not just a mirage; this morning AT&T announced it would start selling the the n?viphone G60 Oct. 4 for $299. That’s with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate, and the navigation service adds $5 to your monthly bill as well. This might have been exciting a year ago. But now that more than a few navigators have brought turn-by-turn GPS navigation to both the iPhone and Android phones, we’re thinking too little, too late. True, this device has both real and assisted GPS onboard (whereas other GPS phones only have the latter), but is that really worth it? Via AT&T

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Garmin GPS phone is coming to AT&T. Should you care?

It got more aggressive of late and I just noticed a few dozen good comments in the spam bucket. Humblest apols if your deathless prose did not make it “in time” to the posts in question!

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Sorry if you got caught in the spam filter

Peek’s selling lifetime subscriptions again. $300 gets you the email-only handset and the WWAN hookup it needs, for ever. To demythologize that a little–let’s say lifetime is 5 years–that’s about $5 a month, or a third of the normal price. Great for people who hate bills, give gifts, or stay loyal to their gadgets. [Peek]

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Peek lifetime subscriptions return