Comments

JPnyc

Gadgets

Apple's Magic Mouse Mates a Multitouch Trackpad With Traditional Pointer

By John Mahoney Posted on 10.20.2009 10 Comments
Good idea: ditch the annoying scroll nipple (especially annoying on Apple's previous mice) and turn the entire top surface into a multitouch trackpad. That's what Apple's done with the Magic Mouse. Is this the end of the scroll wheel?

10.22.2009 at 10:05am - Comment by JPnyc

I am happy to report that my last mighty mouse held up until now, so I can finally have it put asleep by the mouse butcher; whilst the almighty mousegod will hopefully soon bless me with a new, fresh, young virgin mouse. Oh dear, I can't wait to let my fingers scroll down on her smooth back ... "A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever" John Keats (or at least, until the next Apple release)
Technology

Lunar Digging Bots Roll Away with $750,000 in Prizes

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 10.21.2009 2 Comments
Robots have finally risen to meet NASA's moon dirt digging competition after three years of failure. Three robotics teams took away a total of $750,000 in prize money by proving they could dig at least 330 pounds of simulated lunar regolith within half an hour. The first place robot alone excavated 1,103 pounds of dirt and deposited it in a container within the time limit. Competitors not only had to dig out the sticky regolith grains, but also had to be light enough to meet a weight restriction of no more than 176 pounds.

10.22.2009 at 09:46am - Comment by JPnyc

Great article! But as a suggestion for future competitions: The value for the reader would have been even greater, would you have published it well before the deadline ... ;-) "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Science

Custom-Tuned Eyesight Is the Latest Trend in Ophthalmology

By Posted on 10.6.2009 7 Comments
20/20 vision is no longer enough to function in this world. In the latest trend in laser eye surgeries, people are tailoring their eyesight to suit their lifestyle or profession, hoping to give themselves an edge in their respective fields. Need better long-range vision for some friendly night-time sniping from half a mile away? Tweak it. Want one eye adjusted for distance and the other for reading? Tweak it.

10.15.2009 at 03:13pm - Comment by JPnyc

I for one find this very encouraging as I have less than perfect eyesight - in addition to 2 past retinal detachments. So, please keep up the good work, and maybe one day folks like myself can see well again. Or even very well. "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Gadgets

Orkin Design and Sony Show Off Roll-Up Laptop Concepts

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 10.7.2009 13 Comments
Laptops keep getting thinner and lighter, but some concept laptops take portable to a new level. Orkin Design's Rolltop consists of an OLED display that can start as a rolled-up mat and deploy as a multi-touch 17-inch laptop. My beastly HP laptop just shed a tear of envy. The Orkin laptop can also transform into a tablet PC operable with a stylus, or become a standup flat screen display. A power adapter and other features fit with the carrying canister that comes with a convenient holding strap.

10.15.2009 at 03:02pm - Comment by JPnyc

Another answer to a question nobody asked. "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Cars

Nissan's Lean, Green 'Land Glider' Banks Like a Motorcycle, Feels Like A Plane

By Clay Dillow Posted on 10.8.2009 12 Comments
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Nissan? Though limited to terrestrial travel, the concept Land Glider automobile from Nissan banks like an airplane, tilting into corners, giving drivers the sensation of flying. But, the likenesses to aviation don't end there. The two-seater orients driver and passenger in tandem -- one in front and one in back -- and rather than a steering wheel, the Land Glider has airplane-style, computer-guided yoke controls.

10.15.2009 at 02:58pm - Comment by JPnyc

Excellent concept, looks like lots of fun! Now they just need to drive a Segway for comparison and get these leaning angles nice and smooth. And how about an active suspension? But ok, either way I would buy one - can't wait so see more ... "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Gadgets

Video Artist Takes Over Every HDTV in Best Buy For Art Installation

By John Mahoney Posted on 11.2.2009 2 Comments
As an electronics mega-retailer, Best Buy isn't normally interested in anything but moving huge quantities of TVs, computers and appliances out of its gaping doors. But the Houston St. location in Manhattan did something unexpected last night: it approvingly looked the other way while video artist Borna Sammak took over every single HDTV in the store for to display his latest work.

10.15.2009 at 02:42pm - Comment by JPnyc

Best Buy = Worst Deal Sad but true! "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Cars

Test Drive: 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 10.12.2009 5 Comments
With not quite 50 horsepower at the wheels, the original Volkswagen Rabbit diesel couldn't hit 125 miles per hour from the barrel of a circus cannon. Yet here we are in the 2010 Golf TDI, outgunning the locals (at least some of them) on a stretch of autobahn near the company's Wolfsburg headquarters. Not since I found my stash of Kiss solo albums in the attic has 1978 felt so long ago. Volkswagen's on-again-off-again production of diesels for the US in the ensuing three decades entered a new "on" phase in 2008 with the reintroduction of the Jetta TDI. This year, the company is returning the diesel Golf TDI (formerly Rabbit, formerly Golf, formerly...) to the US after a four-year absence.

10.15.2009 at 02:38pm - Comment by JPnyc

Once this car becomes widely available in the US, I think it will be most serious competition for the Prius and Insight crowd. More refined and reliable than the current Jetta, this Golf VI gets up to 50mpg while providing great torque and driving fun. And no one needs to worry about the unresolved battery issues of the Hybrids. (As there are plenty: What happens after the battery life is over? What does it truly take to make the battery in the first place? What happens if such a battery gets discarded improperly?) "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Gadgets

Scientists Find Fundamental Maximum Limit for Processor Speeds

By Adrian Covert Posted on 10.23.2009 21 Comments
Silicon wafers. Quantum computing. Light-based processors. Any way you slice it, scientists say that processor speeds will absolutely max out at a certain point, regardless of how hardware or software are implemented. Lev Levitin and Tommaso Toffoli, two researchers at Boston University, devised an equation which sets a fundamental limit for quantum computing speeds. According to their studies, a perfect quantum computer can generate 10 quadrillion more operations per second than fastest current processors. They estimate that the maximum speed will be reached in 75 years.

10.15.2009 at 02:18pm - Comment by JPnyc

I hope this won't mean another 75 years of trashing whole computers just to upgrade one tiny little piece inside. Hello computer makers, when do you finally come around to introduce the universal "processor-tray" !? I mean, honestly - isn't this the pink elephant in the board room of all computer makers? "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
Science

World's First All-Electric Locomotive Has Over 1,000 Batteries, Runs 24 Hours On a Single Charge

By Adrian Covert Posted on 10.7.2009 12 Comments
Norfolk Southern is the latest company to push a piece of heavy industrial machinery into green territory with their 100% electric NS 999 locomotive. The zero-emissions train makes use of 1,080 12-volt batteries that allows it to run for 24 hours on a single charge--all while carrying the same load as a conventional locomotive.

10.15.2009 at 02:08pm - Comment by JPnyc

All diesel locomotives are actually diesel-electric hybrids, a fact most people don't know. Hence any diesel locomotive could be turned into this battery-driven locomotive simply by swapping the diesel with a bunch of batteries - or even better - by simply adding a battery-car. This way, these battery-cars could be exchanged as needed. Ideally, the necessary batteries inside would actually be previously used and recycled car batteries, which have been regenerated. To recharge them, one nifty way would be to install solar cells on top of each car. Another (more crazy) idea: To install solar panels between the track beams of the railroad tracks (a vast amount of free, protected and flat surface area) and feed the energy into the nearest available battery car ... fascinating, endless possibilities ... "Learn to Live & Live to Learn" Alexander von Humboldt
The Environment

Message In A Bottle

By Posted on 1.23.2009 11 Comments
Given the choice, you probably wouldn't risk sailing 11,500 miles from San Francisco to Sydney in a boat handmade of 20,000 plastic water bottles. But David de Rothschild, the founder of the nonprofit educational organization Adventure Ecology, sees such a vessel as the perfect way to "beat waste" by promoting new uses for recycled plastic while dramatizing the problem of ocean debris. Next month, de Rothschild and a crew of scientists will sail the Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran, to environmental hotspots including Bikini Atoll, the former atomic-bomb testing site, and Tuvalu, an island rapidly disappearing under rising seas.

Article Rating:

3.12.2009 at 03:09pm - Comment by JPnyc

it must be hard to overcome the "rich kid gone mad" image for a guy who bears the name (and fortune) of one of europe's wealthiest families. i wonder how much fuel will be burned if he needs to be rescued - if he isn't already followed by a motorized safety crew? and hey, what happens to all these plastic bottles if the boat actually sinks? does he really think someone will drink less soda just because he crosses the pacific? if this guys intentions really were that good, he would take his money and donate it to public television. to educate people to drink less soda. but of course, this would be much less self-promoting ...