Fun & Frivolity: Amazing Creations, OS's, And Funky Phones

Lots of fun stuff to share with you to send you off into the weekend! First, we take a look at the world's tallest building:



Built in Dubai, this building will be almost 3,000 feet tall! Unfortunately, the opening date will be delayed because some of the features were redone to accommodate the latest in luxury - after all, it's been four years since they started construction. Must be rough!

From there, we go to one of the latest BMW concept cars:

Instead of a metal or plastic body, BMW's latest concept, the GINA Light Visionary Model, drapes a flexible fabric material over a moveable wire mesh frame, creating a nearly seamless surface that can alter its form at the whim of the driver.

•Click here for video of GINA in action from BMW.

If you're feeling frisky, you can raise the tail like an angry dog, bulge the fenders as if you've injected them with steroids and reshape the sides of the car to transform it from a sleek roadster into an intimidating racer.

No need to lift the hood to get a look at the engine — it opens from the center like Hulk Hogan tearing off his T-shirt. Even the seats and the dashboard can be customized under their smooth surfaces to fit the desires of the occupants.

The cloth skin of the car makes it lighter and easier to make, but I have to wonder how protective and strong it would be. Something tells me a run-in with a small scooter would probably destroy the car. Still, it looks pretty amazing!

Now, for the geek segment!

If you're one of those who have developed a less-than-warm-fuzzy view of Microsoft Vista, PC World has some good news for you. Check out this article on how to get (and keep) Windows XP beyond June 30th, the official end date of XP sales.

While we're on the subject of operating systems, here's an interesting write-up about four of the main desktop operating systems available: Vista, XP, Mac OS X, and Linux. An expert in each OS shamelessly promotes his own product, usually while flaming the others. You may or may not learn something useful, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

Finally, for the inner geek in all of us, as well as for the sheer you've-got-to-be-kidding-me factor, check out this list of real smart phones that are on the market somewhere in the world today. These include phones built into your belt, pen, shoes, and steering wheel, among others. I think one of the most useful would be the pillow phone:



Wouldn't it be nice to not have to even flail your hand over to the nightstand when someone calls? Then again, it might also be the most annoying.

Anyway, have a great weekend!