Limited Edition Sharp Aquos LC-52XS1U-S

Sharp Aquos Limited Edition LC-52XS1U-S As Flat screens continue to improve, transitioning from spectrum-limited fluorescent s to LED's. The 52-inch Sharp Aquos Limited Edition LC-52XS1U-S $11,999 list is the company's first LCD to use LED-based picture. The result is impressive pictures. Out of the box this screen requires professional calibration and complaints about the picture controls not being as effective as one would hope put a damper on the excitment of purchasing a new TV. The list price of $12,000 is pretty insulting where the economy is as well.

Credit Card Thin Pop Up Bulb Light

About the size of a normal sized credit card, this small flip up light bulb is convenient to have in your wallet.

Whenever you need a small light to search for your keys, simply grab this cut-out light bulb and flip it up. It'll immediately light up.

It’s about the size of a credit card and powered by a small cell. Flip up the light bulb shaped cut-out to switch on the soft, mellow glow. What’s the point? You can have a instant light you can carry inside your wallet. Check out the diagrams below

Crazy Hi-Tech Christmas Ball's

I remember those years as a young child where I used to love to watch the Christmas bubbler balls on the tree in amazement.

Now come the high tech ball to decorate your tree with, This ornamental LED display will scroll holiday messages including Merry Christmas, Home for Xmas, happy holidays etc.

Now you to can amaze your children with the same awe we had as children with this High Tech ball!!

Ederly In the Future Will Shuffle No More

Honda has come up with a unique robotic walker for the elderly that will enable seniors or others with disabilities to walk normally again.

The Honda walker should make the disabled so much more mobile than canes and walker's. The Honda walker basically assists with the normal walking process by using a semi exoskeleton to make the legs function rather than a cane to lean on or a walker to slide across a room.

It should not be to long before we see these walkers on the market and people on the streets with robo legs..

This is some of the great technology to hit the market from all the research being done in robotics.

Asus G71 The First Quad Core Notebook

The Asus G71 is the world’s first quad core notebook specially designed for gamers. It is powered by the Intel’s new QX9300 Core 2 Extreme processor and features 17’’ Crystal Shine High Brightness display, an NIVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT GDDR3 512MB graphics card, 4GB of DDR3, up to 1TB of HDD (500GB x2), 2Mpix web camera, Bluetooth V2.1, and Blue-ray writer.

If your a big fan of Eve Online like I am this little powerhouse will definitely handle all the graphics and action that can be dished out without fail. Here is a plug for one of my Eve Online Tip Sites called Eve Online Pirates.

Below is the press release on the ASUS G71

Taipei, Taiwan, October 6, 2008 – Consistent with the tradition of breaking new grounds, ASUS is proud to present the world’s first Intel® Quad Core™ Gaming notebook—the G71. Specifically designed with gamers in mind, the G71 is the first in ASUS’ planned series of Quad Core™ gaming notebooks and an addition to its expanding G Series. The G71 delivers a total gaming experience in a highly portable package, with an emphasis on audio clarity and stunning graphics performance.

The World’s First Quad Core™ Gaming Notebook
The ASUS G71 is the world’s first Quad Core™ gaming notebook, powered by the new Intel Core™ 2 Extreme processor QX9300. The removal of the Overspeed Protection means that the G71 is capable of extreme performance through overclocking, pushing the envelope of computational processing power and thus allowing users to multitask extensively.

Superior Gaming Performance
As a dedicated gaming notebook, the G71 sports an impressive array of high performance components, such as a 17” Crystal Shine high brightness display with a quick response time of 8 ms, powered by a NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT GDDR3 512 MB graphics card. The G71 also features up to 4 GB of DDR3 1066MHz system memory coupled with dual hard disk drives of up to 1 TB (500 GB x 2)—enabling users to enjoy multimedia entertainment and games while on the move.

Direct Console 2.0
Direct Console 2.0 is an all-in-one gaming control interface that allows users to select from three processor speed settings depending on their mode of usage. The same interface also includes controls for Direct Messenger, enabling communication utilities such as Instant Messaging (MSN™), Meeting and E-mail notification. The gaming hotkeys enable users to launch their favorite games with a single touch and execute in-game commands on-the-fly. The chassis of the G71 also features a programmable lighting system, which lights up and blinks during in-game events. These lights can be configured through the Direct Console 2.0, providing the user with a pyrotechnic-like ambience while in the game.

Direct Messenger
Users can now read their emails and communicate via Instant Messaging (MSN™) through the Direct Messenger. Acting as a secondary display, it displays email notifications, instant messages, battery reserves and system loadings in real-time even during a game in progress. This allows users to keep in touch with their friends and family while multitasking between various applications.

Entertainment and Style on the Move
The G71 incorporates several entertainment features that promise to give users a gaming experience like none other. Altec Lansing speakers equipped with a subwoofer deliver excellent sound reproduction, further complimented by Dolby™ Home Theater. A 2.0 megapixel webcam allows users to communicate visually through Skype™ or MSN™; while a dedicated game keyboard layout provides them with strategically placed movement keys on a full-sized keyboard—granting them quick access to their in-game inventories and allowing them to issue commands in the shortest time possible. These features combine to provide an entire host of gamer-centric features for users to immerse themselves in a world of audio and visual entertainment with style.

Fun for Everyone
The G71 may have the sheer power to sate the needs the most serious of gamers, but it is also very suitable for those who prefer to play games on a more casual basis. Attaching ASUS’ innovative Eee Stick—a simple plug and play gaming solution that allows users to interact with the game by translating their hand motions into corresponding movements onscreen—for example, will instantly transform the G71 into a mobile gaming console. The easy-to-use and family-friendly Eee Stick—which works with all of ASUS’ notebooks—consists of an Activation stick, a Navigation stick and a 2.4GHz RF dongle. It has a broadcast range of up to 10 meters, allowing users more leeway for physical movement. Boasting three modes of operation, the Eee Stick can be used with a myriad of game genres, ranging from sports and shooting, to action and beat ‘em up games.

LG KC780 Ready For Release

The LG KC780 an amazing 8.0-megapixel camera phone. This 13.9mm thick slider comes with 2.4-inch display screen.

The LG KC780 camera phone uses a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens is used for the camera with a maximum of 8.0-megapixel resolution and 1600 ISO. The Face detection feature's are simply amazing to the fact the camera automatically finds and focuses on people’s faces to take a clear and perfect shot. Part of this feature relies on the LG's KC780 Smile Detection technology, this smile detection will recognize the angle of people’s mouths and adjust focus for faces and a Beauty Mode will help in removing spots and imperfections on people’s faces. The camera even has built Image Stabilizer that will allow you to take clear and sharp photos even in shaky situations.

In addition, the LG KC780 can also be used as a webcam for online chat, no USB cable required, the phone will be connected to your gear via the phone’s Bluetooth feature. The Bluetooth connection also allows you to send and read text messages via computer. The LG KC780 will be available in November.

Onkyo MHP-UW2 Wireless Headset For The iPod

The Onkyo MHP-UW2 wireless headset is a great way to Enjoy music from your iPod without all the wires, take a look at Onkyo MHP-UW2 wireless headphones. The Onkyo MHP-UW2 utilizes an 2.4 GHz digital connection and it is equipped with a transmitter that attaches to the iPod to broadcast music for up to 8 hours. The unit is light and can be recharged via AC adapter or USB. The Onkyo MHP-UW2 will be available the beginning of November.

Samsung SPF-76H digital Picture Frame

The Samsung SPF-76H digital photo frame is finally released and is available in 7 inch to 10.2 inch size and three colors to blend with your interior. The Samsung SPF-76H digital photo frame features a high resolution of 800 x 480 with scene adjustment and color variation functions and comes with high tech features and high-end components. Besides all that you also get a brightness level of 200, contrast ratio of 300:1, a 1GB of storage capacity, and MP3 playback support. this is the gadget to give this year for the holidays.

Future Crime Predictor - Minority Report-Style

The film Minority Report sparked a series of stories about attempts to predict future crimes before they happen. Most of the stories are more about data mining then cross referencing that data to predict high crime areas and times -- now scientists are going a lot farther.

New Scientist wrote a story about the U.S Government making progress on a high tech device called FAST a pre-crime detector - F.A.S.T stands for "Future Attribute Screening Technologies".

The F.A.S.T system is designed to spot "suspicious - devious" people who might be about ready to commit a crime of some type. The scientists behind F.A.S.T say that the early tests are overwhelmingly effective - "We have it at about 78% accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80% on deception". I'm sure there will be many questions related to privacy issues on this equipment .

Days Of Tron Near With Ferrari V4 Superbike

Ferrari V4 Motorcycle:

Packed with a modified engine from a Ferrari Enzo, hand controls from a F-16 fighter jet and buttons from a Formula 1 race car, there's not
much in the world of super fast that hasn't been put into the Ferrari V4 Motorcycle.

Sorry to get your appetite so wet for this high tech treat however the Ferrari V4 is still a concept and no one has any idea how much or how fast it will be, or when it will come to market.

USB Flash Drive Thats Also A Lighter?

USB Flash Drive That's Also A Lighter?
If your draws are bursting with Bic lighters and random USB flash drives, you can finally streamline their inventory with this combination USB flash drive lighter. Now this lighter does manage to pull off quite a few cleaver tricks of its own. In addition to being an easily accessible source of fire, it also houses a decent sized 8GB flash drive with a retractable USB connection that slides out of the bottom. This is one high tech gadget that merges novelty and geek combined.

Via OhGizmo

Casio EX-FH20 High-Speed Camera Faster Than Sight

The Casio EX-FH20 high speed digital camera is everything Casio touts it to be. The Casio EX-FH20 can shoot at a amazing rate of up to 40 frames per second, much faster than the eye can see. There are seven burst-mode settings, and to make sure you never miss a shot the EX-FH20 starts shooting the moment before you press the shutter. Another great feature of this high tech camera is the high speed night setting.

The Casio EX-FH20 creates clean crisp shots with 9.1 effective mega pixels and wide-angle zoom lens, a 26mm equivalent with an 20x optical zoom. The Casio EX-FH20 is also an HD movie function which records at 1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps. This camera is perfect to take to the races or to the games and will capture the images without fail. Hands down this is a serious camera however affordable to everyone at $600.00

First Cyborg Arm Fitted To Terror Victim

A victim "Kira Mason" of the London bombings of July of 2005 has been fitted with a cyborg arm that fuses with her own bone and skin. The intricate procedure has been called "an incredible breakthrough."
Surgeons were able to fit the First Cyborg Arm fitted to the Victim by fusing a titanium alloy rod to her arm stump. The bone and the skin healed naturally around the alloy rod creating a protective seal. "The technique called amputation prosthesis intraosseous transcutaneous, or "Itap" is based on a reindeer's antlers, that grow through the skin without any problems." This prevents infection and eliminates the need for traditional strap and socket prosthesis. Battery-powered sensors allow the wearer to control the movement of her hand by flexing muscles in her upper arm.

What a great breakthrough for people that need to have an artificial limb installed

Invisibility Cloaks Becoming A Reality

INVISIBILITY CLOAK devices, long out of reach except to the fantasies of science fiction, have moved within reach when researchers at Berkeley created a material that can control light’s direction of travel.

The breakthrough at Berkeley could lead to systems for rendering anything from people to large objects, such as aircraft and boats, invisible to the eye - this is still a ways off.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, whose work is funded by the American military, have engineered materials that can control light's direction of travel.

This research follows the earlier work at Imperial College London that had similar results with microwaves. Like light, these waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation but the longer wave-length makes them far easier to manipulate. Underlying the work is the idea that bending visible light around an object will hide it. This gadget is an amazing piece of emerging technology.


Source1 Source2

N85 The Nokia Super Phone Release Announced

Nokia has announced the Nokia N85 a sizzling hot multimedia phone. The N85 comes with an 2.6 OLED screen, music with in-built FM transmitter, “5.0-megapixel camera super crisp lenses plus a dual LED flash, geo-tagging capabilities”, preloaded with 10 N-Gage games, microSD slot and a coupon to activate one full game license.

The N85's 5.0-megapixel camera and super bright dual LED flash will capture a crisp image every time, It does not stop there the N85 blows away the competition with DVD quality videos at 30 frames per second. There’s also a 3.5mm jack for you to plug in your headset and FM transmitter let you play the song in your N85 over the air in your car or home stereo.

Archos 5 - 7 About To Be Released

The new Archos 5, Archos 7 sixth generation internet media tablets offer storage capacities upto 320GB with high res screens and just about every codec you’ll ever need , with plugin to cover the others

The Archos 5g adds in that 3.5 HSDPA data providing true on-the-go surfing and all three players sport WiFi as standard.

Sizes start off at 30GB for the Archos 5g, which runs a 800 x 480 4.8-inch touchscreen. The Archos 5 bumps that up to 60-250GB, while the Archos 7 does up 160GB and 320GB, with a 7-inch touchscreen that sadly matches the 5 series’ resolution exactly.

All three players can record VGA video through an optional DVR Station dock or the DVR snap-on accessory, and Archos will have plenty of other accessories in the offing as well.

As for player design, Archos has made considerable strides in thinness, with the Archos 7 at 0.63-inches thick, and the Archos 5 as slim as 0.5-inches, depending on drive size.

Feel Good Cars To Use EEStor's Green Technology

EEStor, a stealth company in Cedar Park, Texas, is working on an "energy storage" device that could finally give the internal combustion engine a run for its money -- and begin saving us from our oil addiction. "To call it a battery discredits it," says Ian Clifford, the CEO of Toronto-based electric car company Feel Good Cars, which plans to incorporate EEStor's technology in vehicles by 2008.

EEStor's device is not technically a battery because no chemicals are involved. In fact, it contains no hazardous materials whatsoever. Yet it acts like a battery in that it stores electricity. If it works as it's supposed to, it will charge up in five minutes and provide enough energy to drive 500 miles on about $9 worth of electricity. At today's gas prices, covering that distance can cost $60 or more; the EEStor device would power a car for the equivalent of about 45 cents a gallon.

And we mean power a car. "A four-passenger sedan will drive like a Ferrari," (Click Here To See The Car) Clifford predicts. In contrast, his first electric car, the Zenn, which debuted in August and is powered by a more conventional battery, can't go much faster than a moped and takes hours to charge.

The cost of the engine itself depends on how much energy it can store; an EEStor-powered engine with a range roughly equivalent to that of a gasoline-powered car would cost about $5,200. That's a slight premium over the cost of the gas engine and the other parts the device would replace -- the gas tank, exhaust system, and drivetrain. But getting rid of the need to buy gas should more than make up for the extra cost of an EEStor-powered car.

EEStor is tight-lipped about its device and how it manages to pack such a punch. According to a patent issued in April, the device is made of a ceramic powder coated with aluminum oxide and glass. A bank of these ceramic batteries could be used at "electrical energy stations" where people on the road could charge up.

By Using water as a fuel(spliting hydrogen and oxygen in its water stage it is more compressed than if it was put in a tank as pure hydrogen)

Courtesy EEStor

Emperor Workstation A Command Center At Home

The Emperor Workstation is for the hard core gamer and in case your current multi-screen setup with the overclocked glowing tower and your water cooled CPU wasn't earning you quite enough nerd cred. Enter the Emperor Workstation: a hardcore techno-cocoon that cradles you in ergonomic comfort, three 19" screens, THX Dolby Sound, Air Conditioning, and tanning therapy since you will probably never leave it. This would be the perfect set up for Eve-Online.

Instantly Turn Your PC To A Mac

Ever wanted to convert a PC to a Mac? With the Efix USB adapter you can. This USB dongle by EFiX, that once you instal it on the motherboard of your PC will allow you to install the Mac Leopard OS X on your PC from a standard retail DVD.

This the Efix USB comes in two versions:

1. Version 1 is the hand-made version that supports a few more mobos. Since it’s hand-made, there are 200 units of this version have been produced and they carry price tag of $125.
2. Version 2 will be a mass-produced version, which is expected to be shipped a month later, and should cost cheaper than the version 1

The EFiX USB dongle is to be installed internally, which you need a vacant USB header on your motherboard. The device now has a limited number of hardware compatibility. Hardware such as nVidia is almost all supported, but for mobos, you can only find the Gigabyte in the list. The more detailed of the hardware compatibility list is here.

So far, the maker, EFiX has made deal with distributors in Taiwan and Bulgaria only, so it will only be available in those two countries for now. I wonder how Apple feels about this?

Nvidia Launches GeForce GTX 200 GPUs

Competition is molten on the graphics front, Nvidia and AMD - having unveiled next-generation graphics processors at one and the same time. While AMD has unveiled its Gen-Next stream processor FireStream 9250, Nvidia has also introduced its GeForce GTX 200 series graphics processor units (GPUs) comprising the GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 GPUs.

The GTX 200 series aims to take graphics and gaming beyond anything that's been possible on a consumer computing platform. Equipped to do twice the work that other GPUs are capable of, the GTX 200 series is touted to be the most advanced GPU ever built.

As PC applications become increasingly visual, many ordinary tasks will benefit from the graphics horsepower provided by this new GPU. These tasks range from editing photos to encoding/playing high-definition videos, even getting driving directions off the Internet to running a new operating system like Windows Vista. A simple task like converting a home video to upload on video-sharing sites or download on to media players will be executed 18 times faster by the GTX 200, claims Nvidia. So, a transcoding process that a normal CPU needs over five hours to execute will take the GTX 200 a mere 35 minutes, according to Nvidia.
Now Thats what I call impressive power!

Via Techtree

Super Earths Found Orbiting Far Off Sun

As NASA scientists search for water on Mars with the Phoenix Mars Lander, astronomers are finding Earth-like planets orbiting around other suns. Yesterday they found three planets they called “super-Earths” orbiting a star that’s 42 lights years away from us. They found the planets by using clever tech – they can’t see the planets themselves, but measure the affect they have on a star, making it wobble as they orbit.

Using a new Chilean telescope system of planet discovery called HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), the astronomers say they can now detect planets as small as two times Earth’s mass. The three planets found yesterday are 4.2, 6.7, and 9.4 times the Earth’s mass, and all three of them orbit their sun in less than 20 days.

This is huge, especially considering that most all the other 270 planets detected around other stars using other methods are Jupiter-like gaseous planets. Another promising fact: One-third of the stars the scientists have studied using the HARPS system of spectrographic instruments have planets orbiting around them that resemble super-Earths or Neptune-like planets. It looks very possible that we are not alone.

Via News.Com

Samsung SGH-i900 Amazing Features

Samsung announces its new Smartphone OMNIA aka SGH-i900. It comes with a 3.22″ screen with 400×240 resolution, 5Mpix camera (wth smile detection and geo tagging), a GPS receiver, and running on Windows Mobile 6.1. The i900 will be quad-band GSM/EDG , 3G/3G + compatible (up to 7.2 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.





















Via

Sanyo HD1010 Xacti - Just Amazing

Sanyo Xacti HD1010 offers the HD recording in 1080i. It has the face detection feature which can detect up to 12 people at once. This camcorder comes with a 300fps slow-motion video mode, a 10x optical zoom lens, image stabilization, a 2.7 LCD and capable of shooting a 4.0-megapixel still image. The video can be saved on a SD or SDHC cards.


• HD 1080i, MPEG-4, AVC/H.284 Digital Video
• 4 Megapixel Still Images, CMOS
• 2.7″ LCD Display
• 10x Optical Zoom
• Video and Still Image Stabilization
• Sequential Shooting - 7 Frames Per Second
• Face Detection “Still Images” - Up to 12 Faces
• Face Chaser “Video” - Up to 12 Faces
• High Quality Audio Recording (AAC)
• Wind Roar & Red Eye Reduction
• Web Cam Function
• PictBridge Compatible
• USB 2.0 and S-Video Output
• Built-in, Pop-up Flash
• SDHC Flash Memory Compatible, 40 MB Internal Memory (up to 1 hour video recording per GB)

220 MPG Super Hybrid Sports Car

Over the years I've seen plenty of ultra cool rides that manage to combine green living with high performance by going electric. The problem is that America's love of the open road doesn't jibe well with the 200-250 mile range of most electric cars, so hybrids are a good way to stay green without putting you on the short leash.

This upcoming model from Hybrid Technologies is slated to be available within a couple of years with a choice of two different drivetrains. An all electric version with a 150-170 mile range, and a gasoline-electric hybrid that aims to capture the Automotive X Prize by managing at least 220 mpg.

This sounds really cool if they manage to pull it off.

Source
Popular Mechanics

Samsung F480 Touch Screen Phone Announced

Samsung F480 - Samsung has announced their latest touch screen mobile phone the F480. Samsung announced that it is HSDPA phone that comes with 5.0-megapixel camera with face detection technology and a image stabilizer and an intoxicating menu of widgets display functions such as the clock, radio player, music player and more than enough to tantalize the most hardcore gadget aficionado.

Some of the most enhanced personal elements include photos and birthday reminders. It also has a drag and drop feature that most should be accustomed to. You will have unhindered access to all your favorite applications with a touch. The Samsung F480 will be at retail locations in June.

Samsung Flash 256GB Solid State Drive

While we’re hot after this 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) by Samsung, the hotness factor of this drive is the blistering speed. This 4-inch-long drive zipping through read times of 200MB per second, thats a lot faster than most spinning drives. Samsung says this 2.5-inch drive will be in retail locations by the end of this year. No pricing has been released.

Device had a lot to say on this subject as quoted here. While SSDs have their profound advantages, that price problem puts a damper on our enthusiasm. To give you an idea of the out-of-reach cost of this upcoming drive, the first laptop packing an SSD drive with half that capacity, the 128GB Toshiba Dynabook SS RX1, costs $4000. By comparison, we saw a conventional 256GB portable drive at Best Buy yesterday for $89. So consider this Samsung SSD a peek into the future, when economies of scale might bring the price of these babies down to earth in a couple of years.

Zero To 4X the Speed Of Sound In A Flash

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) wants to build an engine that can go from zero to over four times the speed of sound as part of a new effort called VULCAN. Darpa says the VULCAN program will "design, build and ground test an engine capable of accelerating a full scale hypersonic vehicle from rest to Mach 4+."

Darpa and the Air Force are working on a number of hypersonic vehicle projects at the moment, ranging from the notional Blackswift aircraft to the X-51 Waverider. VULCAN, however, appears to take a different approach. "A key objective of the program is to integrate the turbine engine into the VULCAN engine with minimal modification to the turbine engine, to operate the turbine engine from rest to its upper Mach limit and to cocoon the turbine engine when it is not in use," the announcement says. "It desired that both the turbine and the CVC engines share a common inlet and nozzle."

So, what's the final goal? "It is envisioned that developing the VULCAN engine will enable full scale hypersonic cruise vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, strike or other critical national missions," says Darpa.

Source

Marion Hyper-Sub - a Cool Submersible Powerboat

The Marion Hyper-Sub is a true submersible powerboat, an innovation of new vessel flexible design. This powerboat / submarine has the ability to skim across the surface at exhilarating speeds. The Marion Hyper-Sub is the first small craft built with the horsepower and range to allow operation on-top of the high seas. The Marion Hyper-Sub also functions as a self-charging, autonomous, one-atmosphere submarine.

The patented design, which was 31 years in the making, will forever enhance the mini-sub industry. The worlds first true general-purpose submarine.

The Marion Hyper-Sub sports such safety features as an pressurized passenger compartment is accessed through a top hatch, which is four feet above water level reducing the chance of the craft being swamped in rough weather. With the hatch closed in a storm, the Hyper-Sub is actually safer than a boat. It can even right itself if inverted. The compartmentalized ballast system has such a high lifting capacity that the Hyper-Sub can suffer a 12 ton loss of buoyancy before losing its ability to surface. That means you will always make it to the top!

JVC Creates Projector Chip - 17x Full HD Resolution

JVC has announced the development of its latest projector chip, offering more than 17 times the resolution of current Full HD systems, and forming the final link in the Super Hi-Vision broadcast - viewing chain.

The 1.75in 8K4K D-ILA chip has laid claim to be the world's first single display device able to handle Super Hi-Vision. It offers a resolution of 35 megapixels – 8192x4320 pixels, against 1920x1080 for current HD TV systems – meaning the 7680x4320-pixel resolution of Super Hi-Vision is well within its capabilities.

The new system is four times the resolution of the 4K2K digital cinema standard already available in JVC's DLA-SH4K pro-use projector.

As well as being used for Super Hi-Vision, JVC says the chip will play a part in the development of what the company calls "the ultimate in imaging technology: ultra-realistic 3D displays."

Source

Zeno The Tiny Humanoid Robot

Zeno is a robot that can see faces and make eye contact, and learn your face and how to call you by name. Zeno has a camera in one of its eyes and on-board speech recognition. It is also wirelessly connected to the network so it can take advantage of what the makers claim are the best speech-recognition algorithms in the world. See the video below.

Time Machine Coming Closer to Reality

Possibly the first practical model of a time machine proposed by Professor Amos Ori from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, may prove to be the first step towards a construction of a mechanism that will allow time travel into the past.

General relativity theoretically allows the existence of Closed Timelike Curves. This space time curving, if successfully created, seems to permit traveling back in time. The question remains if this unique curving is actually allowed according to the laws of nature in our universe, and if it is possible to create such curving artificially – thereby "building" a time machine.

One of the claims against the possibility of building a time machine is that a negative density material was needed for the creation of the machine. However, Professor Ori proposed a model in which such material is not needed. The time machine is actually only made of vacuum and dust! (One should keep in made that the terminology "machine" might be misleading, as there is no machinery involved in this model. It is actually a theoretical configuration of space-time that could allow travel back in time).

According to the model, traveling back in time may only be accomplished to a point in time which is later than the construction of the machine. In other words, if we were able to prepare such a space-time curvature mechanism today, our future selves wouldn't be able to go back and visit the dinosaurs, kill Hitler or stop 9/11. However, even this restriction doesn't prevent many of the philosophical difficulties associated with time travel.

Source

Keep Snoopers At Bay With A USB Port Blocker

Data theft and introduction of viruses is a prime concern for mobile workers. The USB Port Blocker prevents data thieves from plugging in USB devices to grab your precious data or injecting malware when you’re not looking. So, if you must leave your computer unattended for a brief period of time (or if you’re the type that gets so absorbed with work that you don’t notice your surroundings), this is a nifty device to help you physically block points of entry into your laptop.

I think this is a great Idea for the office and home computers- Not just only for your laptop..

First Hydrogen Powered Manned Air Flight

The First Hydrogen Powered Manned Air Flight has been completed.

Three test flights took place in February and March 2008 at the airfield in Ocana, south of Madrid, Spain. During the test flights, a two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter wingspan was used as the airframe. Built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria, it was modified by BR&TE to include a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.

During the flights, the pilot of the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. After reaching the cruise altitude and disconnecting the batteries, the pilot flew straight and level at a cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour for approximately 20 minutes solely on power generated by the fuel cells. Although the takeoff required the use of a regular engine, it is still considered by many in the industry as a remarkable feat.

Source

Upgradable Graphics Cards Have Arrived

Taipei (Taiwan) - The vision of upgradeable graphic cards goes back to the late 1990s, when Micron Technology was experimenting with removable sockets. In 2006, both MSI and Gigabyte showcased upgradeable graphic cards, but their concepts, which were based on GeForce Go MXM boards, never took off. Earlier this year, Asus introduced a single board with three MXM slots for ATI Mobility Radeon 3850 or 3870 cards (upgradeable with future parts), and has now unveiled its single-MXM product.

The Product is called Splendid HD 3850M, this card doesn’t look like anything special, until you remove the dual-slot cooler. What you can see then is a MXM card with a RV670 chip and 512 MB of memory attached to the PCB that contains the Splendid HD video processor: The video processor features 12-bit gamma correction, 7-region color enhancement and dynamic contrast engine.

Source

The Blind Now Can See Electronic Images

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology have been developing "and licensing" technologies that can help bring an affordable graphic reading system for the blind. The systems bring electronic images to life in the same way that Braille makes words readable.

The display uses close to 3,561 small pins that are known as actuator points – that can be raised in any pattern displayed on screen, then locked into place for reading. The points can then be withdrawn and reset in a new pattern, allowing the blind or visually disabled to "see" a variety of images. Each image is sent electronically to the device, that uses software to determine how to create a tactile display that matches the image.

Parasitic Plants Might Invade Your Yard

A very rare parasitic plant that was first discovered in Mexico in 1985 has been rediscovered.

George Yatskievych of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Says the odd plant, that is unable to photosynthesize, is an completly new species and is a member of the Orobanchaceae family. Here is the interesting part, Plants of this type attach themselves to the roots of other plants to survive.

Dr. Yatskievych plans to publish his research later this year and will propose calling the plant Eremitilla Mexicana, which means "little hermit of Mexico."

My random thought: I think its pretty interesting new species of plants are emerging, however I really hope a lot of these don't start popping up all over the world.

Liquid Cooled Racing Shirt - Keeps Racers Cool

Cool Shirt is a really cool shirt to wear under your racing suit. I decided to write about this hardly known gadget from my years of racing experience.

When I had started racing porches back in 99 in sunny south Florida , The heat was so intense on Sebring, Homestead raceways that I felt I was in a convection oven soon as I got in the car.

My crew worked out a solution from Cool Shirt, This shirt has two plugs attached to it, One for input of cold water and one for output of the water warmed by your body - that would then be recirculated to a water tank in the car that would be cooled by dry ice or a more modern version refrigeration tank.

I would just plug it in and it felt like I had a nice cold running shower all over my upper torso. What a relief, I was now able to concentrate on racing - get less fatigued and push harder than ever.

On a random thought, I will mention the main unit is even capable of pushing cold air though a wide hose that will attach to a racing helmet keeping the air icy cold around your head!

New Monowheel Bike Gets Rolling

This design has been around since 1885 however, there has been much improvement to the original monowheel bike.

Ben Wilson is now meddling with the classic design. Wilson says that he does not suggest getting one for the moment, Since the normal bicycles of today are more efficient.

So whats the reason you ask, why he is working on a monowheel? Wilson says that its value comes from the discourse and ideas that have been generated as a result of the research.

Random Thoughts: Honestly, I don't think I would like to riding that low on the street. I rather be able to see and avoid a possible collision.

Transformer Like Fire Prevention Robot

I would just love to have one of these robots around the house for a lot of reasons. This is a Forest fire prevention robot by Jordan Guelde is an advanced robot designed to clear large areas of trees, Bush and other foliage from around a forest fire to stop the flames from spreading.

Back Burning thats traditional would certainly be less expensive and less lethal to surrounding wildlife but complete with and array of hubless motors, and integrated fuel system - My thoughts are that this robot is a a marvel of technology.

Make Your Walls Shine With OLED Light Up Wallpaper

If your wallpaper can use a cool face lift never fear as Ingo Maurer has created an wallpaper using OLED technology. You can now see organic LED’s being printed on to wallpaper or this clear film as shown in the picture.

Traditionally wallpaper is for old people who live in houses that smell musty and dank but lighting designer Ingo Maurer feels differently. while this wallpaper is surely expensive, we know its only a matter of time before its mass produced thats just my thoughts.

Check out the Picture below of the clear wallpaper he created hanging from the center of a room with Ingo standing behind it.

EEStor Putting An End To Batteries As We Know Them

For Years, battery storage technology has been a much relied on way to power up your gadgets, keep a pacemaker running and far out in space to keep systems running, cell phones to electric vehicles, our technological capabilities always seem to be several steps ahead of our ability to power them. Several promising new technologies are currently under development to help power your needs, but one small start-up looks especially promising to transform the way we think about energy storage.

EEStor is not exactly creating a new battery, since no chemicals are used. The storage technology is based on the idea of a solid state ultracapacitor, but cannot be really described in these terms either. Ultracapacitors have an advantage over electrochemical batteries for example lithium-ion technology - in that they can absorb and release a charge virtually instantaneously with virtually no deterioration. Batteries low away ultracapacitors in their ability to store much larger amounts of energy at any given time.

EEStor's revamp of the ultracapacitor is called the Electrical Energy Storage Unit, or EESU it combines the best of both worlds. The advance is based on a barium-titanate insulator claimed to increase the energy far beyond whats achievable with today's ultracapacitor technology. It is claimed that this new advance allows for a specific energy of about 280 watts per kilogram, more than double that lithium-ion technology and ten times that of lead-acid batteries. This could make an electric vehicle capable of traveling up to 500 miles on a five minute charge, compared with current battery technology which offers an average 50-100 range on an overnight charge. EEStor claims they will be able to mass-produce the units at a fraction of the cost.

EEStor claims the technology can be scaled up or down for virtually any application, from pacemakers to use in the renewable energy sector (think solar panels). If it comes to fruition, the technology could revolutionize virtually every aspect of energy storage. Further, because it is based on a solid state design and not dependent on chemicals, the technology would be extremely safe, environmentally friendly, and benefit from an unparalleled lifespan.

EEStor plans to roll out the first production units later this year, and Zenn hopes to have cars utilizing the technology on the road by Fall 2009.