Archive for August, 2008
August 31, 2008
Alvin, the submarine operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, has been used since 1964, but it’s finally getting an upgrade. Currently, Alvin can dive down to a maximum depth of 2.8 miles, but new replacement, which is costing $50 million to build, will be able to go over four miles underwater. With the added distance Alvin can explore 99% of the ocean floor compared to the paltry 62% of the deep scientists have previously been able to reach by submarine.
Alvin 2.0 has also been pimped out with more windows, a larger cabin, higher top speeds, and new batteries that will allow the sub to operate for up to eight hours instead of six. Submarine construction is difficult, because diving four miles deep subjects subs to nearly five tons of pressure per square inch. To survive the pressure, the wall of the “personnel sphere” on the new Alvin will be three inches thick, which is an inch thicker than the wall on the old model. I guess when it comes to submarines, size really does matter!
August 31, 2008
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Worried that retailers might be running out of utter crap to sell? Been looking for that perfect accessory to go with your “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps” sign? Enter the USB-powered, soda can-shaped anion humidifier. Not only will this magical and totally necessary device clean the air around you and re-energize your fat, lazy body, but it will look cool while doing it — you know, just sitting there being all soda-can-badass. When you absolutely, positively can’t find anything else to do with $24.99, the “Portable Can Shape USB Office Home Miniature Anion Humidifier” is there.
[Thanks, Simon]
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August 31, 2008
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota hasn’t made a huge secret of its plans to develop and sell a plug-in version of the Prius, and it the wheels are turning a little faster than we’ve heard — fleet testing of plug-in models has been pushed up to early 2009, with the goal of having “several hundred” on the road by the end of the year. Still no timetable for actual retail sales, so you’ll have to be a wheelman for a government or commercial fleet to get your hands on one — good thing all those modders have the rest of us covered.
[Via Autoblog Green]
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August 30, 2008
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Remember that fad where everyone had dining room tables of their favorite Disney character? Or the age in the 70s where tables were shaped like lava lamps? No? At any rate, the modders over at SCAD Inc. have spent all summer crafting a fully-functional Super Nintendo controller-table, which reminds us an awful lot of the fully-functional NES controller-table we saw in May of this year. So, which geek is gonna take on the N64 controller table? Or better yet, the Virtual Boy?
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August 30, 2008
Filed under: Laptops
HP has always been confident that the 2133 Mini-Note would sell quickly, to the point where the company planned to build some two million units this year, and it sounds like that bet’s paying off — China’s Apply Daily is citing sources at HP Taiwan quoting worldwide sales growing 50 percent monthly. That’s pretty good for one of the more expensive small laptops on the market — we’ll see if that rumored cheaper edition moves even more.
[Via Brighthand]
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August 30, 2008
Filed under: Laptops
Well, that took long enough, now didn’t it? We’ve been hearing about an 8.9-inch MSI Wind for months now, but it has just now popped up on the outfit’s website. The Wind U90 will pack an Atom N270 processor, built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, stereo speakers, microphone, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 512MB or 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 80GB hard drive and a 4-in-1 card reader. Additionally, you’ll find an Ethernet port, three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA out, a 3-cell battery (optional 6-cell available upon request) and a weight of 2.2-pounds. Your guess is as good as ours when it pricing / availability, but hey, we’re just thrilled to know this thing is destined to be more than a trade show crasher.
[Thanks, Peter]
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August 30, 2008
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We can’t verify the claim, but we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this picture taken of Microsoft’s new 16GB flash-based Zune 16 and FCC approved, 120GB Zune 120. It’s not the backstory we find so solid, it’s more the thought that some lonely soul is busy Photoshopping Zune rumor images on a Friday night — an ennui so black we could not possibly fathom. Oh and the French? Zune’s in Canada remember, blown-up international and the source country of this photo.
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Filed under: Displays
You’ve got to feel bad for the vendors at the Sign and Display Show 2008 that’s going on in Tokyo right now for being totally overshadowed by IFA, but this nifty dual-sided transparent touch display from Teraokaseiko is definitely noteworthy, even if it just because it’ll make future versions of Battleship and Connect 4 super fun. It’s just a monochrome 256 x 120 EL-panel prototype for now, but it recognizes simple multitouch gestures like pinching, and there’s definitely promise in the idea — now if it could make it out of the Sign and Display Show and into the big leagues, we’d be all set.
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Filed under: GPS
Blaupunkt’s TravelPilot nav units have never really stood out from the pack, but it looks like that’s about to change — the new TravelPilot 700 and 500 feature an integrated camera that displays realtime video with nav overlays on their 16:9 screens. That’s definitely a novel and intriguing feature, but there’s not a lot of information on how it works or what kind of hardware is under the hood to keep it running smoothly — with the 700’s estimated list price of $740, we’re guessing it’s pretty beefy. Both units also feature voice control, DVB-T traffic, live traffic, Bluetooth, and the usual PMP features, and the 700 also has a browser, email app, and VoIP client that work over Bluetooth tethering with your phone. Yeah, definitely intriguing — hopefully we’ll see this thing make it Stateside soon. Video after the break.
[Via Navigadget; thanks, Khattab]
Continue reading Blaupunkt TravelPilot 700 and 500 overlay nav info on realtime video
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August 29, 2008
While Panny’s 150-inch plasma from CES gets its very own room at the Panasonic booth, the new “budget-friendly” TH-103PZ800 103-inch plasma was relegated to a bit part in the back row of an artsy, rock garden-planted collection of displays. We don’t have much to say about the actual display, and we’re sure that anyone planning to drop $50k on one will be doing a bit more than taking our word for it anyways, but trust us when we tell you that the 150-incher makes the 103 look like a tiny pretend television for tiny pretend people.
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