Absolutely excellent list of super-modern, incredibly creative instruments that have come about in the last few years. Happily, there are also video demonstrations of most of them, so you can see what a hydraulophone looks like while being played. (Hint: wet.)

Palm’s stock went up roughly 35% (!) today when their new phone, the Pre, was unveiled at CES 2009 (International Consumer Electronics Show).

It looks a bit like an ‘iPhone Professional’- a phone that has same or better features than an iPhone without the toy-gadget, status symbol look.  Unlike an iPhone, the Pre is able to copy-and-paste (what incredible technology is this?) and the battery can be removed.  It’s a fairly safe assumption that Palm is trying to do away with unnecessary limitations on phone capability, and it definitely seems like they’re trying to capture the professional market along with the average users.  It’s a good balance- clean, pretty, touch-based, but with more solid features like a QWERTY keypad and a scroll wheel.

However, two missing details in the specs are battery life and price- potential deal-breakers.

My gadget lust is calling out to me.. must.. get.  As soon as it wears off though, I’ll be back to being satisfied with my basic, reliable, text-message-and-calls phone.