I always feel warm and fuzzy when the Christmas tree gets put up, but it’s definitely not because I’m sweating from pedaling bikes to keep the decorations glowing. I’ll leave that to these crazy folks in Copenhagen. The 700 LED lights on this particular city’s Christmas tree are not connected to any sort of traditional power outlet, instead relying completely on volunteers pushing the pedals of some stationary bicycles. It’s certainly environmentally friendly, but will they seriously manage to consistently keep 15 people working out? [ CNET ]

Remember the Creative/ZiiLabs StemCell system-on-a-chip from a while back? The one that spawned that Android PMP design ? Well, the Zii project is marching on, which means new hardware, including the dual OS Trinity phone, 360º HD webcam and more. Creative and ZiiLabs are showing off a pile of Zii reference hardware to potential hardware licensors in China today, in hopes that someone will manufacture it. The Zii phone reference design, pictured for the first time above, is the only one we can see right now, and promises full 1080p video playback over HDMI, OpenGL 2.0 accelerated gaming, and support for both Android OS and ZiiLabs’ Plaszma software

You know, there are times when you have to part ways with your adorable kitties at home, and you might not be so keen on getting a cat sitter in case he or she touches your precious game consoles (even if it’s an old granny ). We’ve seen the lazy man’s solution before, but Britain’s Mathew Newton has brought us a new DIY internet-enabled cat feeder just in time for a new decade. Rather than using a CD-ROM tray to push-release unknown quantities of cat food, Mathew’s version has a motor-driven cereal dispenser controlled by signal from port status LEDs on a Cisco switch — an ingenious way to avoid expensive Ethernet relay units. When it’s feeding time the user logs onto a web interface to choose the dispensing quantity, or you can also have an automatic feed schedule set up if you trust the system — Mathew said he “can rely on it 100%,” and his cats do appear to be healthy. Fortunately, you can always check the live video stream just in case you have doubts

Google’s just announced the winners of the second Android Developer Challenge , a homegrown app competition that’s produced some must-haves for seasoned Android owners and nervous new Droid users alike. The overall winners: SweetDreams, which allows you to set specific nighttime settings (deflect incoming calls, disable Wi-Fi and GPS to save battery) automatically; What the Doodle?!, which is an online multiplayer game sort of like Pictionary; and WaveSecure, which lets you track your phone’s location, backup data, remotely lock the device, remote wipe, and restore data. Those guys aren’t super exciting to me, but the competition also resulted in some really cool ones. Plink Art identifies artwork after you’ve taken a photo of it, so you can pretend you knew the difference between Monet and Manet the entire time; Celeste gives you an augmented reality view of the solar system; Car Locator remembers where you parked your car; and Andrometer measures the approximate distance from yourself to any object you can see.

Looks like we’ve got confirmation that Microsoft’s Office 2010 suite is coming in June 2010. There’s still no pricing information for the full and upgrade editions, but we do know that there’ll be six different versions of the product. We’ll get to choose between Starter, Home and Student, Home and Business, Standard, Professional and Professional Plus flavors. There’ll also be a free version which includes Word, Excel, some ads and only comes with new computers. I think that’s more choices than I need, but after seeing the beta , I’ll be getting out some darts and preparing to select an edition. [ Neowin ]

Those incredibly sexy (as far as portable storage capacities are concerned) 64GB SDXC cards coming on the horizon? You’re gonna want some hardware to work with it, and according to DailyTech , three of the largest computer manufacturers are looking to bring the upgrade with Intel’s forthcoming Arrandale CPUs. Lenovo, HP, and Dell are reportedly working on new designs that’ll contain both the new 32nm chipsets and SDXC readers. Not that we’re surprised to see new SDHC’s time running out, but it does give you something to look forward to. Dell, HP, and Lenovo bringing SDXC to laptops alongside 32nm Intel chipsets? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:47:00 EST.

Battlemodos give you a clear sense of what’s good and bad in a gadget category, but there’s no way to include everything. Consider the $99 Asus O!Play the new champ of HD video players —better late than never. The Old Champs If you remember the HD media player battlemodo , I awarded WDTV Live and Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ the two top spots. The WD is still best for people who want a smooth interface and a hopefully increasing number of online services for streamed media.

This is some testing equipment inside Sharp’s new LCD plant in Sakai City. The rest of the facility doesn’t look quite as ominous though. In fact, it kinda resembles an air traffic center with some robots tossed in for fun. Eco-friendly is the general theme of Sharp’s facility because it’s all about creating and saving energy. From the energy-conserving LCD displays and solar panels being produced to the technology being used around the actual factory, Mama Nature’s got plenty to smile about here.

The path back to LCD leadership for Sharp begins at its just opened Sakai City manufacturing facility. Being a 10th generation facility means it can roll out more and bigger displays, producing six 60-inch LCDs from each glass substrate, 60% more than older 8g facilities. Check out the pics for a peek at where 72,000 substrates per month will be made, delivering those slim LED backlit televisions getting so much love, along with solar panels (also being installed on the roofs for that extra green vibe that’s in vogue these days) and a few of the more than 100,000 energy efficient LEDs lighting the factory itself. Whether your closest HDTV purchase is a turkey fueled memory from last weekend or yet to come, bargain hunters and AV fans alike can appreciate an eyeful of the robots and testing equipment slicing, dicing and stamping screens headed for shelves nearby, whether bearing an Aquos brand or any number of other nameplates . Inside Sharp’s new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:46:00 EST

While reaching for salt shakers, I’ve managed to set tablecloths on fire, knock glasses over, and, in one case, flash a dinner companion. No more of that though, because these across-the-table marching, wind-up salt-and-pepper bots are here to help. The bot set is available for $33, won’t be confused with bedroom gadgets , and is almost cute when at work: Now, I’m certain these bots are somehow evil and will take over the world, but frankly I don’t care if they spare me from any more singed tablecloths or hair. [ Suck UK via Nerd Approved via Foolish Gadgets via Geeky Gadgets ]