Google has confirmed that it's Street View program has stopped operations in Australia - in the wake of it's Wi-Fi data collection controversy earlier in the year.

Google revealed the news at a Senate inquiry into the practice of protecting the privacy of Australians online - with Google admitting it had indeed "mistakenly" collected data from home networks via it's Street View cars - noting that private emails, web addresses and even passwords were among the data collected.

Iarla Flynn, the head of Google's public policy and government affairs, told the Senate that it's Street View cars driving in Australia and overseas were primarily taking pictures for the service and collecting Wi-Fi information to help with it's location based services. Flynn added "When we discovered the mistake in collection of payload data we stopped all Street View driving and we've not resumed driving here at this time,"

Well! This is turning into quite the fight between the GPU titans, NVIDIA and AMD.

NVIDIA have had information slowly leaking out about their upcoming GF110-based GPU, the GeForce GTX580 for a few weeks now - but the specs and information are starting to get a bit more precise, instead of guesstimates.

For nearly 6 months now, the GTX480 has been the single fastest [single] GPU available - yes the Radeon 5970 is faster, but it's a dual GPU design. AMD had the market for Q4 2009 and Q1 2010, but NVIDIA have at least been able to claim that victory amongst the sour grapes of the card (power, heat, noise, delays, etc).

Bang & Olufsen makes some undeniably high-end gear for audiophiles and video fans. I have tested a few of their offerings over the years for the iPhone and iPods and the stuff looks very cool and sounds really good too. I have also had some of their headphones and speakers for computers in my hands and all around the gear has been top notch. B&O has a line of crazy expensive LED TVs for people with the loot to afford high-end hardware for the living room and the company has announced a new, smaller screen set to its line.

B&O have unveiled, the new 32-inch BeoVision 10 LED TV. The TV uses edge lit LED backlighting and the set measures in at 32" x 29.2" x 2.52" and weighs 59.4 pounds. It can be had in black or white cabinets and the frame of the TV is silver. Several fabric colors can be use do the front for accenting including black, blue, gray, silver, orange, and white. The screen can show 16.7 million colors.

The resolution of the set is 1080p and it has a 120Hz refresh rate. Inputs include a trio of HDMI ports and nothing else. The set has integrated stereo speakers and the set ships with a Beo4 remote with the option of getting a Beo5 remote. There are a number of accessories offered including a motorized floor stand, motorized table stand, and several wall brackets. The TV will ship in November for $4,707 on the low end and goes up to well over $5,000 depending on the options chosen.

I'm not sure why it is that in my area I can't seem to get a reliable 3G connection with AT&T on my iPhone. The connection drops in and out of 3G and will go from one bar to full bars depending on how I hold my head and what time of day it is. Anyone with a similar problem knows how frustrating it can be. My 3G connection might be spotty here in Texas and AT&T may drive me crazy, but folks at the top of Mount Everest can now get full 3G connectivity for voice and data.

A Swedish telecom company called TeliaSonera has wired up a nearby village called Gorakshep that is in the Everest region. The 3G base station near the city has the oomph it needs to shoot a signal to the 17,000-foot peak of Everest. The system has enough bandwidth that a video call was made from a base camp at Mount Everest.

Interestingly the same wireless carrier has the world's lowest 3G station at 4,595 feet below sea level inside a European mine. The 3G service reaches to the top of Everest so now people, can Tweet about their summit adventure or beg for help in an emergency. The new connectivity means that climbers won't have to depend on satellite phones in an emergency. The downside is sherpas will now have to deal with the constant ding of text messages during their climb.

Home theater in a box systems have been around for a long time and they tend to put all of the stuff you need in one package so you don't have to guess at what to buy for a nice home theater system. Not all home theater in a box systems are created equal though, some include cables, the Blu-ray player and speakers while others only have speakers.

Harman Kardon has announced a new home theater in a box system called the HKTS 60 that offers speakers only. The company is well known for its line of speakers and has been selling gear for a long time for computer users and audiophiles, plus it has sound systems in some cars and trucks as well. The HKTS 60 system features a powered 8-inch sub with 200W of power, four identical 2.5-inch dual-driver satellites, and matching center channel speaker.

This particular system lacks the amp and other things you will need to complete the system. The speakers are all you get for your $1199 making this high-end system for the folks with a larger budget. "We have always been committed to designing and engineering products that bring out the most immersive entertainment and music experiences for the home in the most convenient of ways," said Christopher M. Dragon, director of Consumer and Field Marketing, HARMAN Consumer, Inc. "The HKTS 60 - the newest of its kind in the HKTS family - is no different."

Earlier today we visited the BitFenix offices here in Taipei and got acquainted with some of its new case fans and accessories for its range of computer cases.

First up David introduced us to their full range of new Spectre case fans. The fluid dynamic bearing fans come in either black or white and in a range of sizes (12cm - 52 CFM and 18 dB-A, 14cm - 60 CFM and 18 dB-A, 20cm - 65 CFM and 19 dB-A and 23cm - 115 CFM and 20 dB-A) for your cooling needs. There is the standard Spectre that comes in black or white and then there is the Spectre LED that just comes in black with four LEDs if I recall correctly. LED fan colors up for grabs are green, blue, orange, white and red.

Next on the agenda and kind of linked in with the BitFenix fans is the Hydra, which is a LED fan controller. This nifty little black device allows you to hook in up to 9 Spectre LED fans and adjust the intensity of the LEDs on the fans.

Electronic paper screen are on the market in force with several different products being the same basic thing. We have ePaper and eInk for instance that are different flavors of the same tech that offers a black and white image on a screen that uses little power and lacks a backlight. These screens are very common today in devices like eReaders and you can find them on some watches even.

A company called EKING has unveiled a really cool new product called the S700 that claims to be the world's first E-notebook. The device is in a case that looks like a spiral notebook and inside that notebook is a 7-inch digital paper screen. The big difference between this digital paper screen and the ones on devices like the nook or Kindle is that the S700 has color. The screen also support two input methods with resistive touch and electromagnetic induction touch. That means the screen supports navigation with your finger and it recognizes handwriting from a stylus.

The S700 has 3G and WiFi connectivity and can surf the web and check email. Those emails can even be handwritten. When work is done, you can use the device to watch video and play games as well. Other features included a fingerprint security system and a 3MP camera. That camera can take photos of business cards and then put the contact information into the contacts list on the S700. The S700 sounds very interesting and the only issue is that we don't know the price or if the Chinese gadget will come to the US or other countries.

I have seen some strange gear for iPads and iPhones over the years. A new accessory for the iPad called the AppStation looks weird at first glance, but when you think about some of the uses for the device, it's actually pretty cool. The AppStation is aimed at pilots or other users who need to keep an iPad stable and accessible when their hands are busy in a situation where a normal holder won't do the trick.

The AppStation has a Velcro-style strap that holds the iPad holder and iPad to the user's leg near the knee. The iPad holding portion of the AppStation is black polycarbonate material and has a curved back to comfortable fit the leg. The rear of the strand is raised s the screen naturally tilts towards the user. The iPad can easily be inserted and removed from the holder as needed.

The holder also has integrated storage for small items like a Mini Mag Lite flashlight and an iPad stylus. The thing is thin enough to fit in a smallish flight bag or other briefcase. It only comes in black and will fit any version of the iPad according to the maker. The holder is aimed at the pilot who might use the iPad for navigation. However, I think if you fly a lot on commercial aircraft, it might be good for keeping your iPad close while you fly. You can order one right now for $69.95.

Audiophiles won't be caught dead using the earphones that came with their MP4 payer or music phone. They are always out for a set of earphones or headphones that offer better sound quality and look cool while sounding good. Future Sonics sells a line of earphones that are certainly aimed at the audiophile and the companies latest are called the Atrio Special Edition.

The ASE earphones use a new MG7 transducer and have TrueTimbre audio quality to deliver rich, full sound to the listener. The earphones use multiple drive earphones have no crossover allowing them to be used on stage, in a studio, or plugged into your iPod. The earphones also have noise-isolating tips and come with several tip sizes for a custom fit. The drivers are also designed to deliver quality audio for a rich sound at lower volumes to protect the wearers hearing. Future Sonics earphones have been used by musicians like U2 and Phil Collins.

The ASE earphones have a frequency response of 18Hz - 20,000Hz and a sensitivity level of 112dB @ 30Hz. The ear tips can block up to 26dB of external sound to reduce the noise and allow the user to use lower volumes. The earphones are offered in a special edition brown color and come with a zippered case. The case is green with construction from rubber reclaimed from old inner tubes. The earphones sell for $229.

If you are an audio fan that has dreamed of playing a guitar instead of just listening to your favorite tracks or playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero Rockmaster is for you. This new stagekit is from Peavey Guitars and Wicked Audio and it packs in everything an aspiring musician needs to start playing the guitar for realz.

The kit includes a 5-in- bundle with a guitar, internal dual channel headphone amp, cable, integrated digital tuner, a strap, picks, and a GT-5 amplifier. That GT-5 amp has an MP3 input that will let the player plug in a MP3 player to play along with their favorite tunes on a real guitar. Wicked Audio also adds a set of its black Jaw Breakers earbuds to the kit.

"Peavey Guitars is a leader in the world of guitars, music accessories and everything rock, and we pride ourselves on providing ground-breaking accessories for musicians and consumers alike," said Paul Marshall, VP of Sales. "With interactive and simple music composition being such a huge trend, this is an ideal partnership to continue providing our customers what they demand." Rockmaster will land in Best Buy stores this fall for $199.99 and will hit other retailers next year.