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Hopefully your brain has recouped from the explosion it endured when you first laid eyes on someglorious shots of the NIF out in Nor-Cal. Now, xRez Studio's imaging gurus have provided the common folk the ability to virtually stand in front of a 500-trillion watt laser experiment at ultra high resolution. Better yet, the interactive, detailed look at an attempt at nuclear fusion allows for zooming and a full, 360-degree pan-around experience. Since this might be closest in proximity you'll get to the NIF, hit the source link to truly get a feel for what we're yapping about, and -- if you're feeling audacious -- be sure to check out the  BBC  video tour after the break. xRez Studio

We've seen apps that ensure you don't miss the next episode of Jersey Shore , but with the exception of Sling's, there aren't many that stream TV to a mobile device. PCTV's new Broadway 2T does that -- but with a boatload of caveats. The box's built-in Freeview tuner will let you watch your shows over WiFi or 3G from anywhere in the world, but it'll only pick up over-the-air broadcasts from regions using the DVB-T standard (read: not in the US). It also comes with composite cables, which are perfect for setting up a security camera rig, but a deal-breaker for the majority of geeks who own a high-def set. The 2T streams video through the browser, so it works over Wi-Fi and 3G with Mac, PC, and Apple's mobile Safari browser, with Android support coming sometime in the second quarter. No word yet on availability, though it's up for preorder on PCTV's site for €199 ($287.14) if you can't live without your EPL matches while traveling away from yo

We haven't heard much about Hannspree's 10.1-inch HSG1164 tablet since it turned up at the FCC back in December, but a seemingly identical SN10T1 model has now surfaced in Italy, and it's apparently available right now for €399 (contrary to what the roadmap pictured above would have you believe). What's more, it looks like Hannspree will also be releasing two more tablets before the end of the year, including a cheaper 8GB model that will run just €299 (or about $430), and a Honeycomb-based model that packs a higher resolution 1280 x 600 display, 16GB of storage and a price tag of €449, or just under $650 -- look for those to be available sometime in the second and third quarter, respectively.   Notebook Italia

Until now, Samson's Zoom H4n digital recorder has been a staple in niche music equipment stores like Sam Ash, Musician's Friend, and Sweetwater, but a no-show in more mainstream retailers. Now the two year-old handheld is on sale at Best Buy, making it much easier to walk into a brick-and-mortar store and handle the thing a bit before deciding to shell out $299. The H4n's undergone some minor upgrades since its debut, with the current model sporting built-in X/Y stereo condenser mics, a rubberized, shock-proof design, an improved UI, a new digitally controlled mic preamp, and the ability to use internal and external mics for four-channel recording. It comes with a 1GB SDHC card, but you can swap it for one as large as 32GB. Last but not least, there's a tripod mount, making it easier to pair the device with a DSLR that could use some oomph in the audio department -- you know, when you film your next  My World 2.0 fan video next week. Zoom Announces H4n Handheld Recor

Video games have never had a problem sitting alongside movie DVDs and music CDs (back when such things were distributed physically) in stores, so it's frankly overdue to see them pop up in a mainstream awards show like the  Grammys . The US Recording Academy has finally deigned to address video games and their aural landscapes as a separate class of entertainment, and has now amended four of its awards to spell that out. What was formerly known as "Motion, Television, or Other Visual Media" is now reclassified as "Motion, Television, Video Games Music, or Other Visual Media," leading to there now being four awards that explicitly recognize excellence in video game music scores. Guess that was inevitable after Christopher Tin's  Baba Yetu  won a Grammy this February, ostensibly because of its inclusion as one of the marquee songs on  Civilization 4 , but in a category entirely unrelated to gaming. Skip past the break to hear it for yourself, along with a cou

Intel has just announced it will soon be making development kits available for its new Thunderboltinterconnect. The cable that can carry 10Gbps (in both directions!) has so far only seen itself installed in Apple's MacBook Pro computers, but storage and other peripheral manufacturers are starting to unveil their lightning-scorched offerings this week at NAB and this announcement is sure to give Thunderbolt an extra spur of momentum. What's going to be intriguing going forward is to see whether manufacturers take it up  instead of  USB 3.0 or install the DisplayPort lookalike alongside the latest and greatest from the USB camp. If you ask us, we can never have enough high-speed interconnects... how does SuperSpeed Thunderbolt sound? IDG News (PCWorld)

Good news for anyone feeling left behind by the broadband revolution just because of their post code:Fujitsu has just announced a joint venture to deliver fiber optic connectivity to neglected rural homes in the UK. Built on hardware provided by Cisco and supported by Virgin Media and TalkTalk, this network will focus on channeling fiber directly to the home, which is said to provide symmetrical 1Gbps bandwidth with up to 10Gbps speeds considered possible down the line. Best news of all, perhaps, is that the cabling will be available on a wholesale basis to all ISPs, not just the ones involved in the project, so the UK may finally get a decent taste of what competition in the internet service space feels like. Alas, there's a key line in the press release that notes the new venture is dependent on BT providing "access to its underground ducts and telegraph poles on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," which it apparently isn't doing at the moment. Ah well,

Remember the Razer Switchblade? It's that 7-inch multitouch gaming device with a fully tactile and adaptive keyboard. It first stole our attention as a Windows 7 concept on the way to wowing us with ahands-on in January. Well, we've now got the first official launch country: China, with the help of Tencent Holdings, China's largest internet service portal. Unfortunately, we still don't have final specs on the Oak Trail clamshell, a price, or even a date. Fear not rest of world -- China's just the first market announced in what appears to be an attempt to highlight a new partnership between Intel and Tencent. Today the two companies announced plans to staff a new research center with 60 engineers (expected to grow to 200, eventually) who'll work together on products and services for tablets and gaming in the Chinese market. Good luck guys, we hear the Chintendo Vii is fiercely competitive. Netbook News Tencent ,  Wall Street Journal

Aside from shipping without Adobe Flash Player preloaded, the Motorola Xoom also has the ignoble distinction of having a   non-functioning MicroSD card slot. We're assured by the company's reps that the update to make storage expansion work is imminent, but if you have to have it  right this very minute , there's now a kernel for you. It goes by the name of Tiamat, originating on xda-developers (as most good things do), and has recently stepped up to support MicroSD card storage. You'll find download links and instructions for Tiamat at the source link, plus a few happy reports of it working as advertised.   Android Central xda-developers

You had to know it was a matter of time before Windows 8 showed up on these great internets for all to download -- illegitimately. An early version (6.1.7850) has been making the rounds at manufacturers and it's finally escaped the confines of beta labs. We haven't braved the torrent sites ourselves to download this, and we certainly wouldn't recommend that  you  do, but the screenshots we've seen definitely peg this particular revision as a slight evolution of Windows 7, seemingly not including all the revolutionary tweaks to come. It's still early days, remember. Plenty of time left for the magic to happen.   Redmond Pie ,  Neowin BetaArchive

You don't have to be a coder to appreciate the wonders that a software development kit can contain, especially when there's a nice emulator tucked in there to give an early taste of things to come. That's exactly what can be found within the webOS 3.0 SDK, and that SDK is exactly what's been leaked to the world, giving anyone who wants it the ability to play with the OS that'll make the HP TouchPad tick. PreCentral.net  took the emulator within for a heck of a test drive, providing a lengthy textual overview of everything from keyboards to calendars, along with the video that's embedded below. Sure, clicking and dragging in an early emulator isn't nearly as much fun as tapping and swiping on some beautiful hardware, but it sure does cut down on the smudgy fingerprints. It's cheaper, too. PreCentral.net

Open up Android Market on your Android device today and (most of) you will see a familiar set of three headings -- Apps, Games and My apps -- bidding you welcome. Do the same on your  Sony Ericsson Android phone, however, and the last item in that list might no longer be there. That's because SE has decided to introduce its own "channel" to the Market, wherein you'll find a load of Xperia handset-specific  junk  software and other specially curated bits that your smartphone is adjudged to be in need of. The change means you'll need to open up your menu to get at your own apps, but that shouldn't be an entirely unfamiliar activity for Android users. Sony Ericsson may be the first manufacturer to pull this switcheroo, but it's following in the well-worn footsteps of Verizon and T-Mobile in the US. And speaking of carriers, Sony Ericsson says this change is operator-dependent, so if you're nice and lucky, your operator won't bother to roll this out.

Dual 14-inch touchscreens not big enough? 21-inches of touch sensitivity still failing to sate your fingers' need to roam wild and free? Maybe the 23-inch behemoth of a tablet that Lenovo is planning on unleashing this year will make those digits dance with delight. The plan is, apparently, to take one of the company's Windows-powered all-in-one machines, delete the stand, put it on a crash diet, slap a big 'ol battery on there, and then watch the eyes of pixel junkies around the world light up with glee. William Cai from Lenovo said "It's obviously not for full mobility use, but it could be moved from room to room in the house... you could lay it on a table top and use it for family games." Never mind that -- with the addition of just a few legs this 23-inch slab could  be  a table. Update : Lenovo just pinged us back when reaching out for a comment, and unfortunately for those with big (big!) aspirations, it seems that something was taken out of context.

It's still not saying anything about the lightweight EliteBook 2560p and 2760p models that leaked out last month, but HP has now gotten official with three new slightly less portable laptops: the 14-inch EliteBook 8460w, 15.6-inch 8560w and 17.3-inch 8760w. The latter is expectedly on the top end when it comes to specs, with it boasting your choice of Sandy Bridge processors up to a Core i7-2920XM, either AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics with up to 4GB of memory, and up to  three  hard drives with RAID 5 support. The other two EliteBooks each dial things down a bit across the board, but you can still get up to a Core i7-2820QM on each of them, and there's not even an option for integrated graphics. Look for all three to be available next month with base prices starting at $1,299, $1,349 and $1,899 -- full press release is after the break. HP Unveils Mobile Workstation Portfolio for Ultimate Performance, Design and Durability  LAS VEGAS, April 12, 2011 HP today annou

A lot of portable PC power cells last for only four or five hours, after which you'll find yourself chained to a wall socket. Good thing there are external batteries to keep us in current when a plug's nowhere to be found, and  Tom's Hardware  has done some benchmarking on a slew of such devices so you'll know which one's suited for you. A Dell Vostro 3300 and an Inspiron Mini 10 running Windows 7 were used to put packs from Amstron, Brunton, Digipower, Electrovaya, Energizer, Lenmar, PowerTraveller andTekkeon through some real-world paces -- we're talking word processing and web surfing, not fragging and film editing. So if you're in the market for a mobile power unit, hit the source link and get the down and dirty on which external battery's best. Tom's Hardware