Mereja

Author: Jack Loftus

  • Road Train Autopilot Saves Money, Would Mercifully Restore Driving-While-Texting [Road Train]

    It was only a matter of time before some compulsive texter found a way to get text messaging and driving together again. Called the Road Train, it’s mean to save fuel, but we know it’s true purpose, don’t we? [BBC]

    The Road Train is based on drafting, that age-old technique that NASCAR drivers use to make passing easier and that those suicidal Mythbusters proved was legit when they coasted 10 feet behind a big rig at constant velocity.

    In this case, however, the system is automated. Cars opt in and opt out at the driver’s convenience, forming a moving, amorphous “train” of vehicles that maintain constant speed and distance form one another thanks to software.

    Unlike many cool ideas/concepts, this one is actually being tested, right now, in Europe by Ricardo UK.

    The three-year trial will see seven wireless-linked vehicles traveling the continent as part of an attempt to achieve a 20% fuel consumption reduction per vehicle. Reduced travel times and congestion are also goals.

    And don’t forget texting. We may soon return to a world where texting while driving is just obnoxious, not deadly, as it is today. [BBC via Treehugger]






  • Professor X Chair Dispenses Vodka, Announces Presence with Arduino Sounds and Smoke [Wheelchairs]

    This fully-functional wheelchair comes complete with, well, everything I could possibly think of that’s necessary for something to be called a Steampunk Professor X chair. Vodka cranberry dispenser? Yes. Booming Arduino/Adafruit sound effects? Sure! Working smokestack? Why, yes!

    Better still, there’s video of the creator tooling around a model railroad museum, confusing and fascinating bystanders with his booze-dealing contraption of wonder. And yes, builder Daniel Valdez looks like Professor X:

    Says Valdez on some of the specifics:

    What you get when you mix an 1875 Eastlake Victorian platform rocking chair with a Permobil C300 Power wheelchair and a few trips to an antique store. Toss in screaming digital amped sound system, an event triggered sound processor, oh and a portable smoke machine!

    Indeed. As for my thoughts on the chair, I’m just half-glad something called “steampunk” actually does…something, for once. [Flickr via Adafruit – Thanks, Philip]






  • VU Meter Hack Turns PSP Into Something Functional [Mods]

    This mod turns the PSP into a pretty cool looking little VU Meter (that’s volume meter, to you non-audiophiles). So dust off that PSP kiddo, it’s time to breathe life into that fledgling portable once again!

    The hack is the work of “foo foo” and it works as advertised. Spin up an audio track, and watch the little lights pump up in down with the levels.

    It’s no Korg DS-10, but then again few things are. At the very least this hack would provide you with literally minutes of fun as you wait for Sony to get its act together and release the mythical PSPad, PSP Phone, or whatever it ends up being. [Foo foo via Engadget]






  • Android-Powered Motorola Backflip Now Available at AT&T [Motorola Backflip]

    Normally a phone like the Motorola Backflip wouldn’t get much fanfare when it appears on a retail web site, but this is AT&T’s first Android phone (of many), so let’s give it, say, 40 words or so, shall we? [AT&T]






  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds Cameras Get Handled [Panasonic G10]

    We saw some renders and stock photography shots of the new Panasonic DMC-G2 and G10 earlier this morning, and right on the heels of that coverage are these real-deal hands-on shots. Ogle at your convenience, courtesy the Photography Blog:








    [Photography Blog – Thanks, Mark]






  • Oh Hey Look, Another Unconfirmed iPhone Video Conferencing Rumor [IPhone]

    Will the next iPhone have video conferencing or won’t it? Does anyone really care? If you do, then feast on this, the latest rumor: European mobile provide O2 lists “video calls” as a “key feature” in the “iPhone 4G.”

    Why all the quotation marks? Because, to coin a UK term, it’s more than likely “bollocks.” Most likely.

    You see, as is the case with all but confirmed, but still technically unconfirmed products—especially Apple products—there’s a degree of white lying that goes on in the retail space. Feature sets are often printed on web sites as best guesses or wishful thinking, at which point they are dutifully taken down by stenographers like myself and others, and posted here. Then it’s your job, as the reader, to call me a rumor monger. So true! And, a living.

    Nevertheless, there’s presently a long list of video conferencing rumors floating around in the Internet ether right now, so it’s worth considering and debating and flaming, up until Steve Jobs takes that stage over the summer and confirms or denies…something.

    Then again, just because a gadget can do something doesn’t mean Apple will let it. [TUAW]






  • Thunder 30 Amplifier is Still Orange, Gets Louder [Amps]

    Most amplifiers are black. Inconspicuous. But not Orange. The designers saw legions of muted amplifiers on the market in 1968 and went, well, really orange. As for this new Thunder 30, it may be just as loud as the color.

    Musically inclined folks will appreciate the amp’s four EL84 class A 30 watt-pumpin’ power valves. Completely new to the Thunder 30 line are a twin channel setup and an FX loop. Further customization is available, as you shredders out there can opt for head alone or front loaded 1×12. That’s all Greek to me, but you musicians out there can get hot and bothered, or bored, at your leisure.

    Unsurprisingly, a company called Orange Amplifiers deals primarily in orange amplifiers, and has since about 1968. This new model aside, the rest of their line is, yes, still very orange. [Orange Amplifiers via CrunchGear]






  • DIY Pixel Qi Kits Arrive Q2, Bring Transflective Displays to Old Laptops [Pixel Qi]

    Were you as impressed with the Pixel Qi display as we were? Good news: There’s a DIY kit coming late this year that will allow you to swap out 10-in. laptop screens with a transforming Pixel Qi transflective combo screen.

    Better news: The folks at Pixel Qi contend that switching out the old display with a shiny new one is only “slightly more difficult that changing a lightbulb.” Naturally, you’ll be voiding whatever semblance of a warranty you may have had on your present laptop by doing this, but for many the sunlight-friendly transflective e-ink-like/LCD combo displays Pixel Qi provides might make it worth the headache should things go awry down the road. We just hope you can uninstall the screen just as easily as it goes on however, should our concerns about this tech being “one or two generations” from true usability pan out when the kit launches later this year.

    Watch for the kit in Q2. No pricing info given , but if you find it updated somewhere be sure to get your citizen journalism on and let us know. [Pixel Qi via Engadget]






  • Tumbleweed Rover Ball Could Be Key to Exploring More of Mars [Mars]

    Martian rovers with wheels are so 2009, man. And they get stuck in the sand way too easily. What we need is an army of tumbleweed beach ball robots surveying hundreds of miles of Martian surface. NASA’s on the case.

    The concept is mind-numbingly simple: It’s a big, bouncing ball that’s light enough to be pushed around Mars by nothing but the planet’s wind. Wind that’s known to be strong enough to create dust devils and clean Spirit’s solar panels from time-to-time, so this little sucker could really get moving if conditions are just right.

    That’s precisely the idea—get moving; get moving fast; and get moving into wide swaths of the Martian landscape so humanity can start doing the kinds of surveys that will be necessary should we ever hope to actually set foot on Mars with a limb that’s decidedly human, and not robot.

    Test designs have already been deployed to Martian-like environments in Antarctica and Greenland, where they successfully traversed hundreds of miles of terrain without incident. These were inflatable designs that had the ability to deflate and remain stationary (to perform experiments), before re-inflating and continuing on.

    So, exciting news for us here on Earth, and super exciting news for whatever might live on Mars—you guys could soon be on the receiving end of your very own ball pit. It’d be like Chuck E. Cheese’s, but with less color and more NASA branding. And probing. Oh, the probing! [MSNBC]






  • Error: 8001050F Takes Down PlayStation Network [Playstation]

    Something is happening in PlayStation Network land this evening, and it isn’t good. Known cryptically as Error: 8001050F, all we know right now is it won’t allow users to log into their accounts or play online.

    According to one user over at the official PlayStation boards, the error does not prevent him from using the Internet via his PS3, but logins have become nigh impossible. Several other users chimed in after that comment to report identical problems.

    Who amongst the Gizmodo population can’t access PSN right now to play MAG or any of the other online games at your disposal? And, if so, what the heck are you doing instead?

    For more info, hit the links or visit Kotaku for more. [IGN Boards, PlayStation Boards – Thanks, Janesh]






  • Sony Vaio P Clone Can’t Compete with the Original [Clones]

    So, the Sony Vaio P has a clone. Congrats, Sony! Too bad the mimicry ends with the aesthetics:

    The appearance is spot on, but the insides are decidedly sub-par. The Atom processor is a less powerful than the processor offered in the Vaio P, and the memory maxes out at 1GB. If you’re comparing, that’s a full GB short of the original.

    Since this is a clone however, the price is really the only area where one could say it “competes” with Sony’s premium-priced Vaio P.

    The clone offers a 160GB for about $300, as well as a $380 model with 350GB storage, 2Gb ram and 3G.

    Aaand scene. [Gizchina – Thanks, Andi]






  • Nokia Teases, Heavily, That C-Series Phones Are Launching at CeBIT [Nokia]

    Remember Nokia? They make cellphones (still!), and at CeBIT they’re hinting hard that two more, possibly the C5 and C6, are about to join their ranks.

    The hint was packaged in the Nokia Conversations newsletter. C if you can figure out what it is:

    “Of course, we don’t comment on rumours or leaks, but we are looking forward to C BIT for the next series of Nokia announcements. Right we’re off to pack our rucksacks and lederhosen, C you there.”

    Do you C? Because they’re laying it on pretty thick (and so am I!). So coy, that Nokia. Too bad they’re doomed. Maybe these phones will help. Otherwise, C ya later. [Engadget]






  • Growin’ Up Speaker System Design Rooted in Trees [Speakers]

    “Larry, your new speakers look great, really they do. But…something’s off. I can’t put my finger on it, but they just sound, I dunno, kind of wooden. You know?”

    Because they’re inspired by trees! Haha. I kill me.

    Anyway, really, designer Marcos Ignacio Madia must have gone all Sigourney Weaver in the jungle from Gorillas in the Mist on us, because he just went and designed a line of speakers that look and grow (by stacking) like trees. There’s a woofer, midrange and tweeters, all of which you can stack and…hrm…grow as you expand the collection.

    You can even, theoretically, turn the speakers to face different directions as you experiment with sound. Which is just like regular speakers except birds won’t accidentally nest in those.

    It’s just a design at the moment, so you audiophiles will just have to put those woodies away for now. [Home Tone Coolest Gadgets via DVICE]






  • UK Bill Would Outlaw Open Public Wifi Hotspots [WiFi]

    If passed, something called the Digital Economy Bill over in the U.K. could do the unthinkable in this, the digital age: Ban open wifi spots.

    The ban comes as part of a bill that seeks to limit copyright infringement, or something. In summary, schools, small businesses and even libraries would have to effectively become their own ISP and manage the wifi hotspot—or face hefty fines. Even if a shop password-protected their wifi and posted the PW publicly (as they probably should be doing anyway), this “management” would also entail detailed record keeping, as the bill requires that hotspot providers log users who’ve been on their network. Sounds fun!

    I’d love for any UK-based small business owners to weigh in on this debate, and the bill. Is it really as annoying as the ZDNet article makes it sound? Are daily, detailed user records really too much a burden for the corner coffee shop to bear? Light those torches and brandish your pitchforks in the comments! [ZDNET]






  • ASUS Eee PC T101MT Convertible Struggles in Hands-On Preview [Asus Eee PC]

    When we previewed the Asus Eee PC T101MT convertible netbook/tablet earlier this month, it was just on paper. The plucky little netbook looked promising, for an Eee PC, but this latest string of hands-on previews is just plain ugly.

    The 10.1-inch touchscreen tablet portion, for example, struggles with basic tasks, touch recognition and responsiveness. The previewer rated the T101MT “poor” in these areas. Calibrating the device improved responsiveness slightly, but there were still areas of the screen, like the top, where the software struggled to keep up with the user’s input.

    Then there’s the video:

    Now, keep in mind this is all pre-production hardware we’re seeing, and could improve before launch. Maybe. [Touchscreen Tablet via Engadget]






  • Motorized Lego Technic Avatar Helicopter is Grounded—For Now [Lego]

    Give this Lego Avatar helicopter a few aerodynamic tweaks, a slightly more powerful engine and a pilot spouting off canned, predictable dialogue, and I could easily see it taking flight, literally, to fight the Na’Vi.

    I mean, the rotors appear to be spinning at quite a clip in that video don’t they? Enough to sting a stray finger, in any event.

    Looks pretty sturdy too, which is incredibly important should the pilot happen to have a James Cameron-sized ego. [Nowhere Else via CrunchGear]






  • Naysayers Begin to Poo-Poo On Bloom Box’s Lofty Claims [Bloom Box]

    Well, that didn’t take long. Already analysts are crawling out of the woodwork to put the seemingly miraculous Bloom Box fuel cell in its place as yet another energy saving technology that won’t perform as advertised.

    This week it was IDC Energy Insights analyst Sam Jaffe, who said that while the fuel cell developed by Bloom Energy CEO K.R Sridhar and his team was definitely “not bogus,” it just doesn’t differentiate itself well enough from already available fuel cell technologies—especially as it pertains to price.

    And the device’s supposedly unique “fuel-switching” ability? Not unique at all, Jaffe claimed on his Energy Insight blog, in a post titled “Four Things Bloom Energy Forgot to Tell the World”:

    “Any high-temperature fuel cell should be able to do that. The fact that it’s solid oxide and it’s primarily ceramic opens up the possibility of making it much more cheaply, but every start-up in the energy field has an expensive product that they claim one day will be cheap. There is no reason to believe that Bloom has the ability to make it that much more cheaply. I’m pretty pessimistic about it.”

    Indeed. Further…fueling Jaffe’s pessimism is the belief that a Bloom Box isn’t really all that green if you’re comparing it to the way we traditionally get power from the grid. At a cost of $7-$8/watt, he contends, the miracle box is no less expensive than photovoltaics that have been purchased at a rate of 100 kW at a time.

    Another miracle energy tech bites the dust? Unless Bloom Energy can curb costs and green things up a bit, the answer for now is “maybe.” Unless the unicorns get involved, anyway.

    Still confused about fuel cells and the Bloom Box? Be sure to check out our regular Giz Explains column on this very topic! [IDC via CNET]






  • The World Cup Goes High-Tech [World Cup]

    From the ball to special uniforms that make you jump higher, this year’s World Cup could very well be the most techie soccer tournament the world’s ever seen.

    The ball, for example (called the Jabulani, fyi), isn’t stitched together—it’s thermally bonded. It’s also the roundest ball ever created for a World Cup. Last I checked it was about $140 and available to the public, so get Googlin’ if you want to kick around a near perfect, leak proof sphere.

    Those uniforms I mentioned? Somehow, thanks to specially designed Adidas “TechFit” crisscrosses in the back, they allegedly help a player increase vertical leap, speed, endurance and power by anywhere from 0.8 to 4 percentage points throughout a match. Sounds like snake oil to me, but that could just be jealousy talking since I didn’t have access to the tech during my team’s 11-3 drubbing yesterday afternoon. You can see the shirt on number 8 in this video:

    Even the shoes got an overhaul for South Africa this year. Looking more like carbon fiber inserts on my friend’s Audi A5 than soccer boots, they’re light, streamlined and contain something called a Powerspine.

    Again, there’s more Adidas witchcraft at play here, but they promise the spine reduces the chance of an ACL injury. Nothing wrong with that. [CrunchGear]






  • The Pentagon Wants You—Yes, You!—to Develop a Life-Saving Robot [Robots]

    Hey you! Be all that you can be! Help the U.S. military design an autonomous robot capable of ferrying injured troops from the front lines to safety with little or no help from a human hand:

    It’s no joke—direct from the Pentagon comes word that the Army wants someone out there, beyond its secretive five walls and uber secret underground lair, to develop a robot with powerful limbs and grippers that will be able to adapt to “the large number of body positions and types of locations in which casualties can be found.”

    Oh, and not that this is a surprise or anything, but the robot also needs to be able to enter, navigate and escape terrain “without prior knowledge” of the geography. Flying blind, so to speak. Finally, if the robot can perform as part of a hive mind, and cooperate with a swarm of other robot rescuers, that’d be just peachy with the military too. You have until March 24 to submit your life-saving ideas. [Pentagon via New Scientist]






  • Cheap, Flexible Microfiber Solar Cells and the Future’s Energy-Producing Clothing [Solar Power]

    Caltech researchers may have unlocked the holy grail of gadget-powering clothing, thanks to a recent discovery that could eventually produce cheap, flexible solar cell microfibers.

    The team, led by Harry Atwater, says the bendy solar cells use just 1% of the silicon needed by a solar cell with the same output. Additionally, the bendy cell does this with only 5% of the size. The base that “grows” the micrometer-wide silicon wires is also reusable, further lessening the future costs of a pair of theoretical Gap Gadget khakis. Better still, the Caltech cells are efficient, reflecting back only about half as much energy as a similar sized “traditional” cell.

    So they’re small, flexible and cheap. Seemingly perfect, but will they really work in the merciless real world? So few of these promising designs end up passing that test. If they don’t work we’ll always have those solar powered tobacco leaves to fall back on.

    Oh, and these guys, who are working on kind of the same thing, but prettier (that’s their image, above). In any event, the future of solar cell clothing appears bright, or leafy, depending on where its coming from. [New Scientist]