From appleinsider.com:

The plan, which got underway last year, calls for the demolition of the historic but under-utilized Fun Factory building on the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street in the city’s South Yarra suburb. Developers want to replace the structure with a three-building, mixed-use development complex comprised of ground level retail shops, a hotel and a high-rise apartment building.

According to design documents, a cubed-shaped Apple store, reminiscent of the company’s flagship location in San Francisco, would consume the largest chunk of space within the retail plaza. It would lay adjacent to both the hotel and apartment complex, interconnecting with those buildings at the podium level by a distinct and suspended translucent space frame characterized by circular, interconnecting rings.

The Melbourne site, if approved, would give way to just the second Apple-owned retail shop in Australia. Development planning for an initial location at 77 King Street in Sydney was confirmed for the first time earlier this week and said to be in the final stages. There, the iPod maker has proposed a three-story shop at the base of a sky-rise, clad by a similarly proportioned glass atrium along the frontal facade.

Looks amazing! More pictures at the AppleInsider website.

Link

This coaster is located at Cedar Point and was the highest and fastest until beaten by Kingda Ka in New Jersey. This is a stunning photo taken looking down from the summit. Riders begin their epic journey aboard this whopping 42-story screamer by securing themselves into ultra-cool trains that resemble top fuel dragsters. The train then moves into a “starting line” position, where it is launched forward, reaching 120 mph in approximately four seconds. The train then zooms straight up the 420-foot-tall hill on track that rotates 90 degrees, crests the coaster’s apex and then free falls back to Earth. But hold on, this isn’t your father’s roller coaster. As the train races 400 feet to the ground, the track twists an unbelievable 270 degrees – what a rush! Riders then return to the station to begin regaling their friends with stories of the greatest ride of their lives.

An official sequel to the traditional Rubik’s Cube is due out this summer.

From engadget.com:

The new cube keeps that 3 x 3 configuration and the iconic colored sides, but adds in electronic games including Light Speed, Rapid Recharge, Pattern Panic, Cube Catcher, Code Cracker and Multiplayer Madness. We’re not quite sure what these do, but we’re guessing most of them won’t be solvable via the tried-and-true sticker swapping method.

I’ll admit that I definitely tried the sticker swapping method on the original and while it works, it yields a bunch of dog-eared corners.  This new version may not have that “functionality” but at least you might be able to hack it!

Link

Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, is launching a web site in which visitors will be able to interact with each other and discuss various campaign-related events and tasks.

From news.com:

Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois and apparent presidential hopeful, will be launching a social-networking feature on his site, BarackObama.com, Saturday, according to a video message he released Friday.

In telling his supporters to be ready for an important Saturday morning announcement from Springfield, Ill., his exploratory committee headquarters, he invited people to join what sounds like a MySpace for his supporters.

He describes it as “a tool to organize your friends, neighbors and networks.” Members will be able to build their own profile, form affinity groups, plan events, and, of course, donate money to his campaign. As if that’s not enough, Obama wants his fans to chronicle their “campaign experiences” on their personal blogs.

This could turn out to be a wonderful help or a terrible headache, depending on how they handle people’s comments. I can imagine a lot of folks who don’t want Obama in the White House signing up and bashing the candidate. I can also imagine a lot of spam making its way on this site if they’re not careful. I wonder how they’re planning on policing it.

Link

The new live-action Transformers movie directed by Michael Bay is coming out this summer. Along with it, there will be a whole new series of toys.

From action-figure.com:

“Hasbro is thrilled to work with DreamWorks, Paramount and Michael Bay in making the most amazing, larger-than-life version of the TRANSFORMERS saga ever created,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer of the film. “Michael, Steven and the production crew have captured the personality of the TRANSFORMERS characters through ground-breaking visual effects and they have translated the storyline into a film packed with non-stop action and excitement.”

To bring the action and adventure into kids’ homes, Hasbro will be releasing a new lineup of toys and games based on the characters and styling of the movie. From the OPTIMUS PRIME VOICE CHANGER HELMET to the ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE figure, TRANSFORMERS fans of all ages will find something that will help them experience the excitement of the movie.

They’ve taken a lot of liberties in the design of the Autobots and Decepticons for this new film. They’re directly addressing the one major aspect of Transformers mythology that never made sense: Why do giant robots from outer space transform into Earth-created vehicles and objects? They’ve decided to make the Transformers look quite a bit more gnarly, as if they really did come from outer space. They are then going to inherit their new form once they reach Earth, taking in their surroundings. It makes a lot more sense, but it also results in some odd looking mangled messes of metal that Bay and his team are calling Transformers. I’ll reserve judgement until I see the movie. Fortunately, Peter Cullen is back reprising his role as the voice of Optimus Prime, so it can’t be all bad!

Link to full press release