The Mars Volta To Release New Album This Year

Grammy-winning and envelope pushing rock band The Mars Volta are gearing up for the release of their sixth studio album, tentatively titled ‘In Absentia,’ and possibly due out on March 27. According to Sony’s official Playstation Blog, The Mars Volta have contributed a new single ‘Zed and Two Naughts’ as part of the soundtrack for the baseball game ‘MLB 12 The Show.’ Other bands on the soundtrack include The Black Keys, The Parlor Mob and more. The exact title and release date of the highly anticipated record have not been confirmed by The Mars Volta as yet, but frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala previously stated on his YouTube account, “New Volta almost done. Vocals done. Just trying rebutcher it and add bass and finish guitar. In studio until this week then on to Mexico to add more quantum entanglement to it. The sonogram of the little beast is looking very good.” Strangely enough, there is another tune called ‘Zed and Two Naughts’ by the Finnish group The Vacuum Cleaners, the singer responded to this by saying “Yes, we do have a song on that video game and it is from our new album. It is not a cover. I was just made aware of the Vacuum Cleaners song w/ the same title but they have nothing to do with each other.” The upcoming disc will be the Mars Volta’s first album since 2009’s ‘Octahedron.’

New Xbox And PlayStation 4 To Be Unveiled This Summer?

Rumours are rife that this year's E3 could be one of the most important shows in gaming history, with the Sony PS4 and next Xbox to be announced. Although both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are getting a little long in the tooth, both have performed admirably in the past year, and with the arrival of motion sensors for both the life-cycle of this generation's consoles is clearly not complete. However, the announcement of replacements grows increasingly likely with every passing year, and respected industry magazine MCV is now stating that both Sony and Microsoft will choose this summer to announce the PS4 and Xbox 360 successor respectively.  "Xbox 360 has spearheaded one of the longest console generations ever, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that Microsoft's well into development of a successor – and that's certainly what the industry is saying," CVG's Andy Robinson told TechRadar. "A patent discovered earlier this week has suggested that Microsoft intends its new console to sport DVR functionality, and there's also talk of a dual-SKU strategy similar to the Xbox 360 launch – one for gaming, one for media consumption. "Sony Computer Entertainment boss Jim Ryan has stated that allowing Microsoft to get the jump on the PlayStation 4 would be an "undesirable" situation", so expect Sony to show some next-gen cards too." It's certainly already a big year for faltering Sony as it looks to put the annus horribilis that was 2011 behind it. The arrival of the PS Vita will be a key arrival for the beleaguered Japanese giant, and announcing a successor to the PlayStation could either buy the company or leave it further mired if it does not tick all the right boxes.  

World’s Smallest Aquarium

Anatoly Konenko from Russia has created a smallest aquarium in the world. It’s made of Glass and measures just 30 х 24 х 14 mm. This unique smallest aquarium holds 10 ml water, and contains miniature plants, stones, and small real fish. Anatoly Konenko creation can adjust on the palm and this mini creation deserves appreciation.

Tobii Gaze Lets You Control Your Computer With Your Eyes

A Swedish company has come up with an eye control computer technology, that allows users to operate Windows 8 by looking in the direction they want to click. The Tobii Gaze sits below a laptop screen and tracks eye movement using a sensor, Courier Mail reported. Tobii business development manager Anders Olsson asserted that the interface uses a combination of eye gaze and touch pad for a better user laptop experience. “Gaze takes away the whole intermediate step of having a mouse or even using touch technology,” Olsson told All Things Digital, the online publication that specializes in technology and start-up company news, analysis and coverage. “It uses all seven primary touch commands of Windows 8 (eg., activate, select, zoom, scroll, etc) in a way that is more natural, efficient and precise than any other control when used on laptops and desktops,” Olsson said.

Shenmue Creator Wants To Buy Game Rights From Sega

Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki has hinted that his YsNet studio might be able to obtain the rights to the adventure franchise from Sega. Speaking in an interview with Shenmuemaster.fr, Suzuki explained that though the publisher owns the IP, "we can obtain the license from Sega". He didn't confirm any concrete plans to attempt to do so in the immediate future but did offer a few brief hints at the direction a third entry in the revered Dreamcast saga might take. "This is the person who has trained with Iwao [Hazuki] in the olden days in China," he said, referring to an image of a character stood next to the father of series protagonist Ryo Hazuki. "Then, in the story that will take place after Shenmue II, he will become a 'key' character." "So far we are only at Shenmue 2," he added later in the interview when asked what his favourite moment in the series is. "I developed the story until chapter 11. It's in this sequel that the part of Shenmue I care about most is hidden." See the full interview below for more. The last full entry in the series was Shenmue 2 way back in 2001. There has been frequent talk of a third game ever since but nothing has materialised. Earlier this week, YsNet announced that a Japan-only mobile social spin-off, Shenmue City,has been shut down only a year after launch. 

Chick Corea to Release "The Continents"

Chick Corea will release The Continents: Concerto for Jazz Quintet and Chamber Orchestra Feb. 7. The two-disc set is on Deutsche Grammophon. Disc one of The Continents is composed of six sections depicting Africa, the Americas, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, and Europe and is described as a globally inspired concerto for jazz quintet and chamber orchestra. The work was conducted by Steven Mercurio and performed with an all-star New York orchestra, including members of the Harlem String Quartet and Imani Winds, among others. The Jazz Quintet consists of Corea, piano; Steve Davis, trombone; Tim Garland, reeds; Hans Glawischnig, bass; and Marcus Gilmore, drums. Disc two features new solo and quintet jazz recordings.(more)

Lexus LF-LC To Debut In Detroit

Lexus, the luxury-vehicle unit of Toyota Motor Corp., said it will unveil a four-seat sports car concept called the LF-LC 2+2 on Jan. 9 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The car maker’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, Calif., created the hybrid-powered coupe to combine high-performance driving and fuel efficiency. The car is also part of a continuing program to remake the Lexus division’s image as a sharper, more youthful car maker. The LF-LC 2+2 reflects the company’s “L-Finesse” styling theme that has influenced the looks of production models from the new GS sport sedan to the $375,000 LFA supercar. Lexus has been trying to make its cars more exciting for some time as luxury buyers increasingly move toward sportier, more eye-catching designs.

700 Unreleased Thin Lizzy Recordings Found

A mysterious benefactor has emerged with hundreds of unreleased Thin Lizzy songs, stored in secret since the death of frontman Phil Lynott in 1986. Universal Music will release a selection of these recordings in June, working with the full co-operation of the band's surviving members. "This is an absolutely stunning find," Steve Hammonds, project manager for the box set, told the Irish Independent (via Brooklyn Vegan). Featuring nearly 700 songs, "[these] are out-takes, unheard versions of Thin Lizzy hits and, most exciting of all, material that was recorded but never released at the time". It's been exactly 26 years since Lynott died, aged just 36, and almost 30 years since the original Thin Lizzy lineup split. As Lynott was dying, Hammonds explained, he entrusted 150 tapes to an unnamed third party, described as a "Thin Lizzy fan". "They held on to it for decades because they were waiting for the right people to come along," Hammonds said. "They really didn't trust anyone enough to release it properly." That changed last year, when Universal Music released a seven-disc Thin Lizzy box set, drawn from the BBC archives. "[That] made them believe we were the right people," Hammonds said. The fan came forward with Lynott's musical cache, offering it to Universal free of charge. The label is now working with Lynott's former bandmates, including Scott Gorham, who still tours under the Thin Lizzy name. "We have been sending them tapes of what we've found and respecting their wishes as regards the material being issued and the artwork," Hammonds said. Formed in Dublin in 1969, Thin Lizzy released 13 albums, including four UK top 10 hit singles.