The country just had one of its bleakest Mondays ever. A man intent on recovering what he fully believed to be his own killed several unarmed tourists after the authorities refused to give in to his demands.

When the smoke had lifted, the country found itself the subject of global ridicule and the national fury of about a billion people. Just when we thought we could not get any lower in the international pecking order, along came August 2010's fourth Monday.

No-Glass 3D

In time for this year's holiday shopping season, Japan's electronics giant Toshiba plans to introduce three models of the world's first 3D television that does not require viewers to use special glasses. A new system, developed by the company's engineers, emits light rays with different angles from the TV's screen, allowing viewers to see stereoscopic images without those usual, geeky glasses.

Toshiba claims that this technology will allow customers to enjoy 3D movies in their living rooms without the discomfort normally associated with using 3D glasses.
Earlier this year, Japan's leading electronics manufacturers and their Korean counterparts launched 3D television. Sales, however, have failed to take off as strongly as expected.

Cheap Smart Phone

Dell, in partnership with telco AT&T, began selling its Aero smart phone in the U.S. for $99. Coming with a two-year contract, the Dell Aero uses version 1.5 of Google's Android mobile operating system, also called "Cupcake."

The Aero comes with a 3.5-inch touch screen and a 5-megapixel camera. Some industry analysts, however, berate the Dell phone for using an outdated version of the increasingly popular mobile OS. Some observers are even claiming that the Aero is not a smart phone at all but a high-end features phone.

Hmm. As some poets and romantics would say, "A rose by any other name…"

Kindle on Fire

Amazon.com said that its new generation Kindle is outselling all previous models of the online retail giant's electronic book reader. The company said orders for the 139-dollar Kindle have outpaced those for the older ebook readers.

The latest Kindle is 15 percent lighter and 21 percent smaller than its predecessors and connects via WiFi to the online Kindle store.

Would this enable the Kindle to withstand the iPad's onslaught?

Heavy iPads

The Japan Sumo Association, the organization of sumo wrestlers, is using the iPad tablet computer from Apple to improve communication among the country's 51 training stables and top association officials. The group chose the iPad because it believes its screen is big enough for wrestlers' fat fingers.

Previously, the sport's governing body was roundly rebuked for its failure to investigate scandals over wrestlers' alleged links to illegal gambling and gangsters, match fixing, and hazing of apprentices.
That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.