Byte size news: Mini gets smart with hip scoots

Mini gets smart
BMW's latest concept will have green-minded hipsters and tech fans salivating.
The German automaker has gone small (really small) with its Mini Scooter E, an all-electric plug-in vehicle that will utilise smart phones to a new level.
Instead of using a key, owners will unlock their scooter by docking their smartphone into the vehicle.
The phone will then act as a GPS, music player, and a hands-free phone.
The scooter will be powered by an electric engine and can be charged via a standard household power socket.
It'll even have GPS software that will cause the lights to flash at other Mini Scooters they come across.
There will be three versions of the Mini Scooter E and, despite all the high-tech wizardry, they will take a lot of their styling from the mini cars of the 1960s, such as retro-styled instruments and speedometer.
Fable finds voices to rival Hollywood's hits
Acting talent that starred in hits such as Monty Python, Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Alice in Wonderland have been drawn together, but not on a film project.
They've been recruited as character voices in a new video game.
The latest instalment of the epic action-adventure series Fable will be unleashed this October and has a star-studded cast to rival any Hollywood blockbuster.
Gamers will be able to talk politics with Sir Ben Kingsley, dish over the latest fashions with John Cleese or stir up trouble with Simon Pegg, all while plotting to bring down a tyrannical king.
"This is my first experience voicing a video game, so what drew me to it was the team, how committed they are, how well organised everything is and how beautiful the game is," said Sir Ben Kingsley.
One of the things that's missing from a lot of games is good writing and good voice work, added Simon Pegg.
"I think this one has a wonderful mythology and it's witty and engrossing."
Fable III launches in New Zealand on October 26 in a standard edition (RRP $119.95) and limited collector's edition (RRP $129.95) exclusively for Xbox 360.
Smallest violin just for you

With everyday items getting smaller and lighter all the time, the "micronium" musical instrument might just take the cake.
Researchers and students from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have constructed a tiny instrument that, despite its minute size, can create sounds a human can hear.
Put together in a "clean room", it's made of springs that are only a tenth of the thickness of a human hair.
Sound is created by the springs being plucked by microscopic weights, which in turn create tiny micrometre vibrations (a micrometre is a thousandth of a millimetre) that are audible when amplified.
"We can learn a lot from this project for the construction of other moving structures. Above all, this is a great project for introducing students to micromechanics and clean room techniques," said PhD student Johan Engelen, the man who devised and led the project.
A composition has been specially written for the unique instrument: Impromptu No1 for Micronium by Arvid Jense. No news on if it can play Smoke on the Water.
Have any news, gadgets or queries? Contact lindsay.harvey@apn.co.nz