An uncovered patent made by Apple reveals plans to create an iPod powered by light.

MacRumors reports that it has found a patent by Apple to create an iPod (and presumably an iPhone) with a solar panel under the LCD screen by which it can generate additional power.  The patent postulates a thin three-level sandwich of sorts that incorporates a touch sensitive layer, a display and a photovoltaic panel. The unique Apple twist is that by doing so it won’t have to create a separate charging panel; it’ll look the same, only you don’t have to charge it as often, or at all. With its giant screen, the iPhone’ll be especially energy-efficient.

The patent also mentions that the multiple solar cells would be coupled directly with specific components within the device, including the memory and the data-processing system.

Talk about hot gadgets. This is way cool, but don’t hold your breath just yet.

Update on that report on the Samsung L870 slider phone using Apple’s Safari web browser: turns out it ain’t true after all. Or something like that.

Engadget reports that Samsung’s takin’ it all back:

Actually, L870 is equipped with S60 OSS browser, also known as S60 safari browser because both are using same webcore platform. Sorry again for the unclear specification, and bothering you with this.”

Hmph. Ooooooookay.

Something smells mighty fishy here. Either Apple lowered the boom on Samsung for spoiling the surprise and renegged on the browser deal, or Samsung’s PR guys can’t even get their act (or names) together.

As Thomas Ricker of Engadget wryly points out, “the S60 browser has never been known, even informally, as the ‘S60 Safari browser’. “

Many Mac users have been hoping for safer, faster Solid State Drives in their lappies ever since the Air was launched with the option. In fact, many secretly pray that SSDs become (cheaply) available with all new Macbooks, hopefully to be announced at the WWDC Jobs keynote in a few days, cost, capacity and availability notwithstanding.

But what about us with existing clunky and primitive old Macbooks and Macbook Pros? Will we be doomed to be forever looking from the sidelines, laboring under the slower, power-hungry and easily damaged old-fashioned harddrive?

Never fear, ExperCom is here!

ExperCom is offering a service that does SSD upgrades for both new and old Macbooks or Macbook Pros, at prices ranging from US$550 to US$899. Or you can buy preconfigured units directly from them at US$1649 for a white Macbook with a 60gb SSD or a Macbook Pro with a 120gb SSD at US$2649. No word if they’d do it for your tangerine toilet seat iBook G3, though.

Check out the site here. It even includes charts and explanations why SSDs will cure cancer and bring about world peace. That is, if you’re one of the few still sitting on the fence, mind-fogged by the black propropaganda being spread around by traditional harddrive manufactures that SSDs are fragile, low-capacity, expensive cr@p.

The temptation is great, but think I’ll hold off until they offer higher-capacity and cheaper SSDs - or upgrade to some future Mac altogether.

But it is something to think about, isn’t it?

Once upon a time, a Powerbook had a terrible kitchen accident. While the casing was a loss, everything else was saved. Now it’s running bare-ass, its vitals tacked onto a corkboard with pushpins, like a dissected frog still alive in a dish. Fascinating in a tech-gross way.

(From Claudio Sinatti’s blog via Engadget)

For those of you new 10.5.3 updaters who are wondering what this Security Update 2008-03 is and why it isn’t popping up on Software Update, that’s because it isn’t meant for you, you greedy updater you.

You don’t need it, for one thing. Everything in it is already in the 10.5.3 update.

Actually, the Security Update is meant for pre-10.5.3 Leopard systems (10.5 to 10.5.2) and Tiger 10.4.11 users only. Mileage may vary, depending on your machine type and OS client, and can range from 72 to 118mb.

This security update is for those who want to wait out the potential hitches that can result from Leopard updates, like the few nasties that popped up from the 10.5.2 update last Feb., and for the folk who haven’t yet gone on to Leopard and are feeling abandoned in Tiger’s last iteration, yet still want to plug the security holes. If this applies to you, go get it here.

Just a quick heads-up.