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Android fans and amateur coders rejoice-- App Inventor for Android is now open to the public.

In very typical Google fashion, it's still tagged as "Beta" (of course) and is available on Google Labs' site. Before one had to ask for an invite to make use of the system.

The App inventor does not require any programming knowledge to play around with-- users build apps by connecting "blocks" of code and behaviours with each other. A bit like building a puzzle, if you will.

What one does require is an Android phone connected to their PC while inventing. As it's being built, the app appears on the connected phone.

Google handily provides a number of tutorials as well. Examples include building an app where a cat photo meows when touched.

Go Google App Inventor for Android

Stanford researchers use silicon nanowires to produce 10x the amount of electricity of current lithium-ion (li-on) batteries.

Rechargeable li-on batteries power all sorts of devices-- laptops, iPods, video camers, cell phones, and so on.

This technology could even make li-on batteries a possibility for manufacture of future electric cars. The team behind the discovery even suggests possible uses in homes or offices, storing electricity from rooftop solar panels.

Current li-on batteries depend on the amount of lithium held in the battery's anode (normally made of carbon). The new technology uses silicon (in tiny nanowires) storing the lithium-- unlike other silicon shapes, nanowires do not break down as the lithium is drawn out.

The researchers say the new technology can be quickly pushed into real life applications, as the nanowire manufacture process is a well understood process.

A patent application is already filed, and the team considers forming a company or an agreement with a battery manufacture.

Go Nanowire Battery Can Hold 10 Times the Charge of Existing Battery

Digital download sales slow rapidly slow down as consumers switch to internet radio and video streaming sites, Reuters reports.

In fact, 2010's small gain in track sales (recorded as 5% on November 21st) comes from albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan. On the same day, digital album sales were up 12%-- compared to the same period in 2009's 17%.

There are only a few exceptions in Q4 to 2010's flat track sales trend-- Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" (sold 390000 digital albums and 3 million tracks in its first 4 weeks) and the long awaited Beatles' catalog on iTunes (sold 144000 albums and 1.4 million tracks in its first week).

Nielsen reports even the increasing variety of download stores and their competitive offers (such as Amazon's) fail to slow the download sale shrinkage. Direct-to-fan sites like Bandcamp and Topspin succeed in 2010 (with 1.9 billion-plus sales on November 21st), but not enough to affect shrinking download sales.

Reuters concludes if download sales are like any other consumer product, the reported slowdown is the start to an irreversible sales and revenue slide. Will the increasing streaming alternatives make up for lost revenue? The jury's yet out on that one.

Go Reuters: Growth in Sales of Digital Downloads Slows to Trickle

Eizo announces what it describes as the world's first glasses-free 3D desktop monitor, the Duravision FDF2301-3D.

The 23" display handles 1920 x 1080 resolution and aims at the industrial market.

Eizo's directional backlight technology produces the 3D effect as it displays 2 different images (combined to form the 3D picture) in a time lag.

The manufacturer says the monitor should display stable HD 3D images viewable from all angles.

It should be available by Q2 2010.

Go Eizo to Release World's First Naked-Eye 3D monitor