Supermarket Asda claims to have answered the prayers of men and women up and down the country. No, it’s not a solution to the recent riots, nor a fail-safe strategy to save the global ecomony. Instead, the supermarket has unveiled hold-everything-in control pants for men that claim to lift and firm flabby behinds, sculpt beer bellies and smooth away love handles.

Nicknamed Manx, after the female underwear brand Spanx, the stretchy fabric is said to be the perfect for the self-conscious man who wants to appear firm and flatter. While women happily cavort around in padded bras and stomach-smoothing knickers, it seems to us that there is something fundamentally wrong with the male of the species taking this approach.

Hypocritical as it sounds, this garment is just utterly and terminally unsexy. Still, given the number of beer bellies we expect they will be flying off the shelves – plus if women are allowed to squash and sculpt their bodies, why shouldn’t men?

The TableDrum app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch transforms rhythmic tapping on just about any surface into real-time virtual drum sounds

With a few notable exceptions, the fine art of tabletop tapping has been a purely non-digital experience for most people. Now, iDevice users can turn their rhythmic creations into real-time drum sounds, courtesy of the TableDrum app from Sweden’s Dohi Entertainment. Rather than have virtual drummers tap out the beat on touchscreen icons, this app uses the device’s microphone to pick out individual sounds made by thrumping on different surfaces, and allows the user to assign them to the various parts of a drum kit.

Who doesn’t like to while away the odd moment or two drumming away on a table, desk or counter top? The Table Drum Augmented Audio application allows iOS device users to turn that acoustic finger pounding into digitized drum sounds, in real time. The developers say that just about any real world object can be used to generate the sounds needed to make up the four piece drum kit. Each virtual pad can be assigned one of 40 drum samples.

With the app active on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you need to grab yourself some household, kitchen or office objects that happen to be lying around and place them within range of your device’s included (or external) microphone. The app recognizes the different sounds made by tapping each object with a pen, pencil or finger and each sound can then be assigned to one of the four drum pads on the screen – such as the top of an upturned coffee cup for the snare, the plastic casing of a computer mouse for the hi-hat or crash cymbal, the thud of a table top for bass drum, and so on.

"By altering sound through live interaction on an iOS device, TableDrum pushes the boundaries of table drumming" says Rasmus Larsson, Software Developer at Dohi Entertainment. "Users interact with objects in their surroundings, teaching the app their distinct drumming sounds, augmenting the input of up to four simultaneous sources into a complete drumming experience."

The TableDrum app comes supplied with a Classic Rock drum kit, but the library can be expanded to include samples from the Ethno and Jazz kit, and Electro and Glitch kit. As you can see from the following video demonstration, once the percussive objects have had drum samples assigned – you can turn your finger drumming into realistic rhythms:

Saudi Arabia knows how to keep up with the Joneses. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai has officially been the world’s tallest building since its opening early last year, but by 2016-ish Saudi Arabia plans to let the UAE know exactly who the big brother is on the Arabian Peninsula. The Saudis have inked a deal between the Kingdom’s holdings company and a certain Bin Laden Group to build the world’s tallest building, an elegant yet extreme tower that will rise 3,281 feet above the streets of Jeddah.

For reference, the Burj peaks at just above 2,700 feet. The tallest tower in the U.S., the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower), will be less than half as tall as the Saudis’ appropriately-named Kingdom Tower. Designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (Smith also designed the Burj), its three-petal shape is inspired by that of local desert flora, a visual metaphor for growth in the desert.

That’s romantic and all, but we’re far more blown away by the jaw-dropping 5.38 million square feet of interior space and the main draw: an observation deck on the 157th floor. Total cost: $1.23 billion. Just another drop in the bucket for the oil-rich Saudi government/family, which will plunge a total of $20 billion into the development in Jeddah where the Kingdom Tower will take center stage.

It doesn’t have quite the appeal of sending a robot to do your shopping, but this Smart Cart service being trialed by SK Telecom could definitely take some of the hassle out of trolling the supermarket aisles. Just launched at the Shanghai Lotus Supermarket in China, the system consists of WiFi-enabled, tablet PC-equipped shopping carts and a smartphone app that can be synchronized with the tablet. By utilizing indoor positioning technology and augmented reality, the shopping "Smart" cart becomes a virtual shopping aide.

The Smart Cart application allows customers to search for shopping and discount information, store coupons, as well as to create a shopping list. After getting to the market, the app synchronizes with the tablet PC mounted to the cart’s handle, uploads the shopping list and authenticates the user. Wandering through the store’s aisles, customers get product and discount information linked to their current location within the store, which is established to within three feet via a WiFi network.

Provided the trial period in China is successful, SK Telecom is planning to build even more personalized service. The cart’s tablet PC could gather wide information on the clients’ habits, including analysis of their shopping history, to make product recommendations more accurate.

Further trials are also scheduled to be launched in Korea, in the second part of 2011.

It seems like the Japanese always have the coolest technology–in this case quite literally. The hip new way to stay cool in an increasingly energy-conscious Japan: cooling foam or gel spray-cans that go right on the skin and provide an instant cool down.

These cooling sprays apparently aren’t brand new, but a thing isn’t a “thing” until it goes mainstream in Japan, and this summer that’s what’s happening. City-dwellers are using the products to cool down on the subways or on the streets. Particularly cool: the foam-like spray that hardens quickly out of the can, so users can make cooling wristbands or neckbands to help keep their core temps under control.

Shopping on the go just got easier in South Korea. A new virtual store developed by Euro grocery giant Tesco for its line of South Korean Home Plus supermarkets lets customers browse store shelves for the products they want just as if they were in a physical store. But they’re not. They’re on a subway platform.

The virtual store has been a huge success among the 10,000 or so customers who have taken advantage of the service, which allows busy workaday South Koreans engaged in their daily commutes to optimize their time by shopping while they wait for the train. Tesco has simply plastered the walls of a subway station with visual recreations of grocery aisles. Each item has a QR code emblazoned on it. Snap that code with the Home Plus smartphone app, and it goes straight into the virtual shopping cart.

Customers can then check out via their smartphones as they step onto their morning trains. The groceries are delivered to their homes that evening at a specified time, saving office drones the added hassle of braving a crowded supermarket during the late-day rush.

This is not the first online grocery shopping scheme by a longshot, but it’s the first we’ve heard of that combines a virtual in-store experience with an online checkout and delivery system while also making the most out of those wasted morning minutes spent on the train platform. That’s good for both user and grocer alike. Users get the added value of a more efficient workday and an easier-to-acquire dinner. And just imagine the targeted advertising opportunities.

Billed as "the world’s smallest true 3-way supreme audio earphones," the K3003s’ housings are each handmade from a solid piece of stainless steel. The cord’s Y connector is also made of steel, as is the 3.5 mm jack plug, and the exterior of the cord-mounted volume control/microphone unit. Both earphone cords are rubber-coated, while the single stereo plug cord is reinforced with cloth.

The AKGs are said to utilize "a new hybrid technology for great sound," and like many higher-end earphones, are reportedly able to seal out most ambient sounds using passive noise reduction. Their frequency range is 10Hz to 30kHz.

Although they won’t be officially launched until the IFA electronics show in September, the K3003‘s are available online as a "sneak peek" from June through August, via the website of Parisian electronics retailer Colette.

If you’re finding it hard to shed those extra pounds because you’re chained to desk all day and can’t find time to fit in some exercise then the Elliptical Machine Office Desk will mean there’s no more excuses. Consisting of an adjustable-height desk that pairs with a semi-recumbent elliptical trainer, it’s claimed the setup will allow the average user to burn about 4,000 calories in a typical working week. And with a healthy body and a healthy mind said to go hand in hand, the setup might even make you more productive in the office.

At the press of a button the desk’s height adjusts from 27- to 47-inches (68.5 to 119 cm), so it can be used with a standard office chair, the semi-recumbent elliptical trainer, or even while standing. The elliptical machine features a padded swivel chair with an adjustable backrest. The resistance level of the pedals is electronically controlled via the included 4- by 6-inch monitor that is attached to the desk on an adjustable arm. The monitor also displays distance, watts, rpm, and calories burned and stores information for up to 30 users.

It’s suitable for users ranging in height from 5′ 2" to 6′ 9" (157 to 206 cm) and weighing up to 300 pounds (136 kg) – although hopefully the device will help bring the weight of anyone on the borderline down in a timely fashion.

The Elliptical Machine Office Desk is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for US$8,000 with an additional $450 for delivery – which means most offices will still be encouraging their workforces to lose weight the old fashioned way – by eating healthier and walking instead of driving when possible.

Play the guitar without having to learn the guitar

Researchers at Tokyo University, along with some help from Sony, created a device that straps onto your arm, sort of like a blood pressure cuff, and sends electrical signals to your fingers that can move them in precise ways. It’s called, of course, the PossessedHand.

The PossessedHand uses an Arduino microcontroller, the low-cost tool of choice for DIYers, and 28 electrode pads that are applied externally. There have been other devices that do this sort of thing, but they’ve often been pretty clumsy, needing electrodes to be inserted into the skin (ouch!). The PossessedHand is entirely external and painless, and, according to PhysOrg, "is said to feel more like a gentle hand massage." The signals are also not unpleasantly strong, apparently feeling more like a nudge to move rather than a forceful automatic movement of the fingers and wrist.

The uses for such a device are pretty clear, especially as you can preprogram strings of signals. It could be used in music education, to teach the proper finger movements and placings, or it could translate spoken language into sign language, which your hand performs automatically. There are potential medical uses as well; teaching stroke victims how to use their hands again, that kind of thing. It’s not a prosthesis, really, but it could prove useful to a totally new set of people. And it’s definitely more useful than Daito Manabe’s face-electroshocking hobby. Here’s a video of it in action from New Scientist:

The 10,000 Year Clock is a giant timepiece that will be located in a remote cave in Texas, that is intended to keep time for the next 10,000 years

When we hear about things being built to last, we usually think in terms of years or decades … or maybe, centuries. But millennia? Well yes, if you’re talking about the 10,000 Year Clock. As its name implies, the 200 foot (61 meter)-tall timepiece is intended to run for 10,000 years, in a remote cave in West Texas. The clock’s “century hand” will advance one space every 100 years, although individuals who make the trek to the cave will be able to hear it chime once a day. The whole project is designed to get people thinking in the long term.

Inventor Danny Hillis first came up with the idea for the “Clock of the Long Now” in 1989, and has been working on it ever since. Since that time, construction on a series of tunnels and chambers has been under way in the Sierra Diablo mountain range, in a location that is several hours from the closest airport, and that requires visitors to traverse a rugged trail that rises 2,000 feet (609 meters) above the valley floor.

The final design and engineering of the clock itself is reportedly near completion, with fabrication of the actual full-scale clock parts now in progress. Most of the parts will be made from stainless steel, although all of the bearings will be ceramic. It will be powered by a thermoelectric generator, which will create electricity from the difference in temperature between the sunny outdoors, and the cool interior of the cave. A “solar synchronizer” will allow it to self-adjust, so it keeps accurate time.

Once a day (so the plan goes), the clock’s chime generator will create a different sequence of ringing bells. On its one-year anniversary, the clock will run a special orrery, which is a moving mechanical model of the Solar System. Besides the Sun and the planets, it will also include all the space probes launched in the 20th century. That orrery will continue to run once a year, on a yet-to-be-determined date at solar noon.

Special treats are also intended to take place on its ten year, 100 year, 1,000 year, and 10,000 year anniversaries, although Hillis is leaving the last three to future generations – a mechanical interface will be provided for them to implement their ideas. He’s open to suggestions for what should happen on its ten-year anniversary, however.

So, is it even remotely possible to build a device that will keep running for ten millennia? It’s hard to say, although the project seems to be as much about what it represents, as what the clock will actually be. “As I see it, humans are now technologically advanced enough that we can create not only extraordinary wonders but also civilization-scale problems,” said Jeff Bezos, Hillis’ partner in the endeavor. “We’re likely to need more long-term thinking.”