Video of How the Martin Jet Pack works

Video of how the Martin Jetpack works. Know you guys must be getting sick of this thing by now but here is a great EAA video of how the Jetpack works. This info will come in very handy when I get mine so please start sending in those extra unused bucks I know your all hording.

Video of Nemesis NXT shattering the 3km speed record.

What does this have to do with Power? Big motors, massive speed, Sexy aircraft? Everything!
"Jon Sharp flying the Nemesis®NXT® broke the 19 year old 3 Km C1-b record with a speed of 356 mph (573 km) today in front of a large crowd at AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI. The weather was less than perfect with winds gusting to 20 plus knots, yet the Lycoming Thunderbolt powered Nemesis®NXT®prevailed. “It was incredibly bumpy! I’m surprised by the speed. I thought for sure that we may have just barely made the record.” states Sharp, “I love that Thunderbolt engine!” The speed is calculated by averaging the four passes through the 3 Km timing gates. This is done by a NAA (National Aeronautical Assoc.) approved GPS unit that is placed in the plane. The 1989 record speed was 341 mph set by Richard Greer in a Questar Venture. The next record attempt is scheduled for Saturday, August 2nd during the AirVenture Showcase.
More at the Nemesis site

Electric Powered MINI Cooper coming is 2009!

BMW is releasing its fabulous MINI Cooper in an all electric version in summer 2009!Sadly, it seems that these awesome Electric Minis will only be released only in limited numbers. BMW is developing these to meet California’s strict emissions regulations, which require that automakers build and release a set number of zero emission vehicles in the state. The electric Minis will be easily identifiable, as they will have a silver body and a yellow roof. Tentatively, it appears that only 500 of them will be manufactured, though. All I know is I want mine in a convertible!
More Here

Windowpanes with built-in photovoltaic cells on sale in Japan

Why do the Japanese always get the cool stuff first? Solar power and windows make an ideal pairing of complementary technologies for energy generation, and Japanese manufacturer Nihon Telecommunication Systems is maximizing the potential partnership. The company is set to release a solar windowpane with integrated photovoltaic cells that will be capable of powering a computer and charging your cell phone. The windows are not cheap as each square meter will set you back around $1900. However, each window will generate around 70 watts per square meter, which can be delivered via a USB cable to your device. The solar cells have a power generation efficiency of 7 to 8%. The glass (thickness: 10.5mm) will prevent up to 90% of sunlight coming into a room and therefore reduce air conditioning costs as the tint created by the embedded photovoltaics means that the windows will let less heat and sunlight.
More at Nikkei Shinbun

Makers Website

Sanyo Achieves 22.3% Solar Cell Efficiency

Sanyo Electric Co Ltd announced today, that it has achieved a solar cell conversion efficiency of 22.3% with its proprietary technology called "hetero junction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) solar cell." Although the efficiency was achieved during the research phase, the size of the cell is large enough, 10cm square, to be of a useful size. In June 2007, Sanyo announced that it achieved a cell conversion efficiency of 22.0%. The latest solar cell "broke the barrier of 22-percent conversion efficiency for the first time as a cell with a practical size," the company said. Sanyo aims to enhance the cell conversion efficiency to 23% at the research level, and to 22% or higher at the mass-production level by fiscal 2010.
More Here

Martin Jetpack being flown by founder’s 16 year Son

As thousands looked on Tuesday, the inventor's 16-year-old son donned a helmet, fastened himself to a prototype Martin jet pack and revved the engine, which sounded like a motorcycle. Harrison Martin eased about three feet off the ground for a 45 second demo flight. The Martin jet pack can — in theory — fly an average-sized pilot about 30 miles in 30 minutes on a full 5-gallon tank of gas. There's an emergency parachute that's effective above about 400 feet, and an impact-absorbing undercarriage that can soften a rough landing or short fall, Martin said. It is unclear whether people will shell out $100,000 for a jet pack but if you have a few extra bucks please send them my way.
Read More here.

The Rocket Racing League (RRL) lights up the sky!

The Rocket Racing League (RRL) unveiled its competition racing aircraft Tuesday in a single-ship demonstration to open Tuesday's afternoon air show. This marked the first public flight of these aircraft, which were first introduced in April in New York. As the rocket racer prepared for takeoff, the crowd was advised to put their sunglasses on. After a loud pop, 1,500 pounds of thrust from a liquid oxygen and kerosene engine, a short takeoff, and incredible vertical climb, the rocket racer was high overhead with 15 foot flames out the back. Immediate applause came from the crowd. For this demonstration, the rocket racer rotated at 100 knots, but on the "raceway in the sky," they would normally go 200-250 knots.
Read More Here

Microscopic Microscope on a chip

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have turned science fiction into reality with their development of a super-compact high-resolution microscope, small enough to fit on a finger tip. This "microscopic microscope" operates without lenses but has the magnifying power of a top-quality optical microscope, can be used in the field to analyze blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for giardia and other pathogens, and can be mass-produced for around $10. The new instrument combines traditional computer-chip technology with microfluidics--the channeling of fluid flow at incredibly small scales. An entire optofluidic microscope chip is about the size of a quarter, although the part of the device that images objects is only the size of Washington's nose on that quarter.
Read More at Science Daily

Film based Solar Cells struts stuff in Solar Car Rally

Die-sensitized Solar Cells (Film based Cells) struts its stuff in Solar Car Rally. Showing its Silicon comrades a thing or two, Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd’s Die-sensitized solar car participated in the "2008 World Solar-Car Rally” in Akita Japan from the 25-28th of July. This is the first time a die-sensitized solar cells, film-based ones in particular, were used in any large public event. Taiyo concedes that there is still much room for improvement and durability still remains a problem. While results were not ground breaking Taiyo Yuden still managed a respectable 5th place out of 9 in the Endurance event.
More Here

Martin Jetpack makes debut at Oshkosh Air Venture

More Videos to come!
Great Artical in the New York Times and more video Here

Smart wises up with 100% Electric offering by 2010

Smart Car is showing just how smart they are by going all electric in 2010. Smart ED will be a 100% electric plug-in with trials currently taking place in preparation for a 2010 release! The cars are currently being tested in London, and will feature a Zytek electric motor running at 41 horsepower that makes charging as simple as the flip of a fuel cap. The vehicle will have a range of about 72 miles between charges, which should prove sufficient for most people’s daily commutes, and mileage is expected to improve as the vehicle manufacturer moves to more efficient batteries. Best of all, the Smart ed won’t sacrifice any of the features or performance of the already released Fortwo.
More Here

Buffalo's 32GB and 64GB SSDs For Eee PC Available for Pre-Order

Buffalo announce that they will be shipping their 32GB and 64GB SSDs For 900 series Eee PC at the end of September for Japan only. However you do not have to wait as Conics.net and Kabatek.com are offering the Buffalo RAM upgrade to the rest of the world. Price start about $155 for the 32GB module and move up to about $330 for the 64GB module. Links to their websites below.

www.Conics.net
www.Kabatek.com

Pen’z Gear spinning pens OUTSPINS Fox News

Shame even the biggest Spin Misters at Fox News with Pen’z Gear’s perfectly balance pens. These suckers are just made for spinning. (Even more than Bill O’Reilly) They feature rubberized grips and slick centers that facilitate better handling. Adjustable weights so you can balance the pen perfectly to your desired center of gravity. These pens are made heavier than usual giving them better inertial spinning properties and they come in a 190mm length which is considered perfect length for spinning pens. You can even write with them! So next time you are on Hannity and Colmes be prepared for some serious spinning action with Pen’s Gear pens.
Available at Conics.net or Kabatek.com
Japanese website Here

Los Angeles Bans Plastic Bags but what about all the plastic people?

Ironically the land of Plastic People, Los Angeles, joins a growing list of countries and municipalities that are taking a stand against plastic bags. Following Australia, China, Israel, Melbourne, San Francisco and others, the City of Los Angeles has jumped on the plastic bag ban bandwagon to stop the persistent environmental hazards from entering the LA waste stream by 2010. Please insert your jokes here.

Click to Reard More.

Honda to Halve Cost of Hybrid System for 2009 Model

Honda Motor Co Ltd announced that the development of its hybrid-only model slated for release in early 2009 is progressing smoothly and the cost for its hybrid-related system is likely to be about 50% lower than that of the Civic Hybrid. The hybrid-only model will be a five-passenger car with five doors suited for family use, with the size somewhere between Honda's "Fit" and "Civic" The market price is expected to be less than ¥2 million (≠ US$18,580).
Read More Here:

Smell you later, Digital Signage Emits Scents

Recruit Co Ltd is delivering advertising videos for the cafes and restaurants in the underground mall of Tokyo Station by using the "Scent-emitting LCD Display System" The system, developed by NTT Communications Corp, emits appetizing aromas along with the advertising videos shown on a 42-inch LCD display. Who says the Japanese lack originality, especially when it comes to wackiness. Now if we could get Youtube to adopt this technology I have some great toilet videos…
Smell More here:

Your first Virgin never looked this hot.

Video of a fresh beautiful Virgin. Video of Richard Branson and Burt Rutan’s roll out the WhiteKnight 2 today. "The rollout of WhiteKnightTwo takes the Virgin Galactic vision to the next level and continues to provide tangible evidence that this most ambitious of projects is not only for real but is making tremendous progress toward our goal of safe commercial operation," Branson said. Whatever… let see this thing fly.

Cash for Trash

Recyclers are devising dazzling new ways to mint fortunes from America's mountains of waste. The broad category of "waste and recycling," which includes everything from materials recovery to sewage biotechnology, drew a record $622 million of investment in 2007, compared with $245 million a year earlier and just $20 million in 2001, according to Cleantech Group, a green investing consultancy. Sober investors are throwing money not only at established recyclers like Casella Waste, but also at bolder ventures like Warrenville (Ill.) trash-to-ethanol startup Coskata and Austin-based e-waste recycler TechTurn, so confident are they that there's real cash in trash.
More at BusinessWeek

Yamaha Unveils Wii Controller-like Music Instrument

Yamaha Corp showcased a stick-like device, "Muro Sensor," that can be used to play music by sensing the direction and speed of acceleration.When a user swings the Muro Sensor, the values of the acceleration are wirelessly transmitted to the base unit of the wireless system and, then, to the user's PC. If the PC is connected to a sound generator, preset sounds can be played based on those values.The best part is that it is possible to connect up to 24 units of the Muro Sensor to one base unit at the same time leading to Wii enabled 24 person ensembles.
More here:

Hanging Bubble house “eco-sphere” can be Yours!

The company Our Planet Retreats is building their eco spheres in trees of the most exotic locals and offering ownership. The UK-based company, is building eco-resorts in gorgeous pristine locations like the Phillipines, Vanatu, and Papua New Guinea. Guests or owners stay in simple floating spheres in the trees that are reached by spiral stairs. Crafted from fiberglass and built by locals, each sphere can accommodate up to 4 people. The first resort is comprised of 12 spheres. Other sustainable features include small solar panels and solar water heating systems.

See more pictures and to find our more here:

New WhiteKnightTwo mothership to be unveiled Monday

Sir Richard Branson and other dignitaries will roll out WhiteKnightTwo, the mothership that will take a commercial vehicle into space, at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on Monday. According to Virgin Galactic, WhiteKnightTwo would reach an altitude of 50,000 feet. At that point, SpaceShipTwo would be released, and that craft would take passengers up to 360,000 feet. Branson’s venture, Virgin Galactic, in partnership with Scaled Composites, founded by Burt Rutan, will offer space tourism to travelers who can afford six figures for the ride. Can't wait till you can get these things in WalMart.
Read More Here

New Noon Solar handbags try hard, still show the world you’re a Dork

Inhabitat blog is reporting on the new Noon Solar handbags. They say “ Go back to school in sustainable style with Noon Solar sexy new solar handbags! (in style?!?!?) We first wrote about Noon Solar in 2007, when the Chicago-based design company blew us away with their unusually stylish take on the typically boxy / techy solar powered bag. We love the idea of photovoltaic solar power bags in general, but most of the available options are so uninspired in terms of aesthetics, that when Noon Solar’s impeccably tailored designs hit the scene, they came as a breath of fresh air for those of us who want to look good while also trying to do good."
We say you still look like a dork. Live with it.
Read more here.

'Fuel battery' could take cars beyond petrol

A new approach to storing electrical energy can store more energy than gasoline in the same volume, and could help extend the range of electric vehicles. But some experts say other approaches are more practical.
Read more here

Cow Power Could Generate Electricity For Millions

Converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel source could generate enough electricity to meet up to three per cent of North America's entire consumption needs and lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), according to new research.
Read more here

Wave powered boat USA to Japan in 109 days!

109 days after departing from Hawaii on the world’s longest voyage in a wave-powered boat, 69-year-old Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie arrived in Japan.


Sailing the wave-powered Suntory Mermaid II, the 6,400-kilometer (nearly 4,000 mi) journey, took 5 to 6 weeks longer than originally planned. Taking in to account this trip can ordinarily be completed by a diesel-powered boat in about 10 days - it's no speedboat.

The Suntory Mermaid II is a 9.5 meter (31 ft) long x 3.5 meter (11 ft) wide, 3-ton vessel made of recycled aluminum, does not use an engine for propulsion. Instead, it relies on a pair of fins under the bow that move up and down as the waves come in, propelling the boat forward.

ZPM’s 106 MPG Compressed-Air Hybrid

Compressed-Air Powered cars could take you over 800 miles on a single fill-up, at speeds of up to 96 mph. They should refuel in less than 3 minutes, and at speeds over 35 mph emit about half the CO2 of a Toyota Prius. Best part? You could see them in the US at the end of next year.
Read more here:

Two of the smallest Class 1 bluetooth on the planet

Today we compared two of the smallest Class 1 bluetooth adapters on the planet... Planex BT-MicroEDR1 and Princeton PTM-UBT4.

Princeton is smaller, but Planex has a cool feature to attach a hand strap - which is helpful when trying to remove the little buggars!

Full spec review and photos here

No more TSA strip searches for me: ICON Personal Amphibious Sport Plane flies

Upstart light sport aircraft manufacturer ICON Aircraft successfully flew a prototype version of its ICON A5 amphibious sport plane. The ICON A5 two-seat sport plane features an amphibious design with retractable landing gear for flying off land and water, plus several patent-pending technologies highlighted by folding wings that allow the plane to be easily stored and towed on the road with a trailer. Designed to be predictable and easy-to-fly, the ICON A5 features a lightweight carbon fiber airframe and is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912 ULS engine that runs on both auto and aviation gasoline at an estimated top speed of 120 mph. Besides the folding wings, more unique features specific to the ICON A5 include an sports car-like cockpit with MP3 port, and patent-pending Seawing platform for easy access and docking on water.

LED-Embedded Light Films light up our lives

Thin, flexible sheets that can be imprinted with any pattern in colored lights—no wires needed. Called LED-embedded Light Films, teams an LED with conductive polymer films, creating a thin, flexible transparent sheet with LED lights embedded into the surface. There are no visible connectors between the lights (the polymer sheet itself acts as the "wiring"), and the sheets may themselves be laminated between glass, added to molded polymers, or used as lightweight backlighting for electronics. The films are then simply connected to a power source via a wire. The largest single sheet of film currently available is made by SUN-TEC Swiss United Technologies in Hünenberg, Switzerland, and measures 4 x 11 feet (1250 mm x 3500 mm). No more sleeping in the dark with an LED blanket that big.
More at Businessweek.

Interview: Driving towards the 100-mpg car

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize is a global competition offering $10 million in prizes to teams that can develop commercially viable cars able to travel 100 miles on one gallon of petrol, or the equivalent energy in another form.

However they are powered, the vehicles must also emit less than 200 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. That is around half that of a typical passenger vehicle, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Read the John Shore Interview here:

Microgrid Network More Dependable, Cheaper Power

Hurricane Katrina helped University of Texas professor, Alexis Kwasinski, formulate a new plan for the U.S. telecom system: a de-centralized power architecture that would have kept the lights and phones on in New Orleans. Kwasinski maintains that a microgrid-based power plant with its own local power sources and independent control would be more dependable, efficient, and cost effective than traditional telecom power systems.
Read More here:

Three Gram 'Dragonfly' Takes Flight

Engineers have made a new tiny DelFly Micro air vehicle. This successor to the DelFly I and II weighs barely 3 grams, and with its flapping wings is very similar to a dragonfly. Ultra-small, remote-controlled micro aircraft with cameras, such as this DelFly, may well be used in the future for observation flights in difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas
Read more here:

First Intel Menlow MID in Hong Kong!! aigo MID P8860

umpcfever is reporting news of the first Menlow based MID in HK.

Prices are now available for the Aigo MID P8860.

"The retailer version of aigo MID P8860 will come to us few days later. 
More details review will be available soon. Keep Checking!!"

We had a play with similar devices at Computex 2008, can't wait for their review of the latest production medel!

more here

Flexible Solar Cell that work as well as the stiff silicon ones

Cannot wait to have that solar cell bussiness suit? AIST Claims 17.7% Efficiency with Flexible CIGS Solar Cell. A Japanese institute announced that that it confirmed a cell conversion efficiency of 17.7% by using a CIGS solar cell made with a flexible substrate. The efficiency of the solar cell, which was developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), is one of the highest in the world for a flexible CIGS solar cell.
read more

Sharp (Willcom) D4 Gets Skinned alive

Great photos and breakdown of the Willcom (Sharp) D4 at PC Watch. It is in Japanese so grab your favorite website translator (Google’s works great) and get a look at the D4 all naked. Some nice findings are that it uses Toshiba's 1.8-inch HDD, "MK4009GAL HDD so finding a larger HDD should not be a problem. Of course, cracking the computer apart like this will shred any warranty it had. See more pictures and read more with Googles’s translation.

Go to the Japanese site here

Supper Bright White LEDs are coming our way. (Eventually)

The biggest problem white LED’s have always had was there inability to match their older cousins (incandescent or neon light bulbs) in the lumens department (brightness). Well not anymore, Osram has announced that they've pushed white LEDs to world-record brightness. Osram’s lab was able to squeezed 500 lumens out of a single LED at 1.4A. How bright is that? I have no idea but according to Gizmodo “That's bright enough for projector tech, and certainly makes the single unit good for car lighting and even interior lights.” Wahooo, cell phone projectors and road clearing bicycle lights here we come!
Find our more at Gizmodo

Massive Sewer Japan’s next tourist destination.

Forget Kyoto, Geisha, or Mt. Fuji when planning your next visit to Japan. Instead why not spend your time in Saitam’s city’s (about 30 minutes north of Tokyo) massive storm water sewer. Designed to suck it up when typhoons hit, the 25.4 meters tall (83 feet) by 78 meters (255 feet) wide and 177 meters long (580 feet) massive cavern is open for tourists. Sure beats sitting around under some cherry blossoms and drinking sake...

To see more great photos and get more info at Inhabitat

Sharp / Willcom D4 (WS016SH) unboxing

Hot on the heals of the Kohjinsha SC3 unboxing video, WoW-PoW wows us all again with the equally riveting "D4 Unboxed"

Expect a Full feature overview soon, and of course full & detailed review from Jenn over at "Pocketables" within a few days.

watch the video here

Through-the-Road PHEV Conversion Kit

Poulsen Hybrid is developing a conversion kit that will add through-the-road plug-in hybrid capability to conventional vehicles by externally mounting electric motors onto 2 of the wheels. The motors are normally applied to the rear wheels, in the process converting a FWD car to all-wheel drive, but the system works with rear- and all wheel drive vehicles as well, according to Poulsen.
Read more Here

Chemical breakthrough turns sawdust into biofuel

A wider of range of plant material could be turned into biofuels thanks to a breakthrough that converts plant molecules called lignin into liquid hydrocarbons.

The reaction reliably and efficiently turns the lignin in waste products such as sawdust into the chemical precursors of ethanol and biodiesel.

Read more here

Mobile Phone Repels Mosquitoes!

SK Telecom, a South Korean phone operator says their phones can repel mosquitoes. For approx $2.50 USD, people using SK Telecom can download and play a noise similar to the buzz of a male mosquito, which the blood-sucking females tend to avoid.

If this works, we can assume it won't be long before the sound file makes it's way onto a P2P file sharing network near you for a more reasonable price :P

'Nanosculpture' Could revolutionize Energy Converters

A new technique for growing single-crystal nanorods and controlling their shape using biomolecules could enable the development of smaller, more powerful heat pumps and devices that harvest electricity from heat.
Read more here:

Pocketables.Net : Review: Kohjinsha SC3

Pocketables has reviewed the Kohjinsha SC3. 

For those waiting to see performance reports and video playback reports, this review was worth the wait! (ok, so it's only 6 days after JP release :) )

Great review Jenn!!

Read the full review is here.

Jetpack to blast off at AirVenture 2008 with True 30 Minute flying time

The dream of a personal flying jetpack has always been stymied by the minuscule flying times. 43 seconds is the longest anyone has ever staying aloft on a jet pack with most flights under 30 seconds. Finally the 30 second flight barrier has been broken. Although AirVenture officials are mum as to who the maker of the jet belt is, they have stated that this year event (opens July 28th in Oshkosh Wisconsin) will premier the first true Jet pack with a 30 minute flight time. A quick Google search easily reveals the New Zealand based company Martin Jetpacks as the maker. Not much is known about the company. The Web site provides only the date of the launch. No word on pricing or availability either. However, ANN is reporting that the developers of the “World’s First Practical Jetpack” state that their innovation is distinguished by a unique, patented technology. Capable of flying 100 times longer than the Bell Rocket Belt of the 1960s, it uses regular gasoline and complies with FAA Ultralight regulations.”

World’s first jailbroken iPhone 3G

iphonedev reports "iPhone 3G running our own software. I think you’ll agree that this was worth the wait" - certainly is! well done!

below is a video of their progress:

World's 1st Jailbroken 3G Phone from iphonedev on Vimeo.

Intel Centrino 2 Launch proves to be Powerful but a bit late to the party!

Dubbed Centrino 2, Intel’s new chip platform, formerly Montevina, is shipping three weeks later than initially targeted. A version with Intel integrated graphics is not expected to ship until the first week of August. The good news for Intel is that its new chips are smoking-fast and far more energy-efficient that anything on the market with its power geared for media-centric and gaming laptops. (I want, I want) According to Cliff Edwards of BussinessWeek, this new fifth-generation Centrino chip appears to be so much better in terms of performance that it’s worth getting the new Centrino 2 moniker. It will be easy to demonstrate to both consumers and businesses the extra cash they may shell out for such a system is worth it.
Read More Here:

3G iPhone costs $174.33 in materials to make.

Tearing Down the iPhone 3G, analysts at iSuppli found that the company knows how to strike bargains with suppliers. Apple is making a healthy margin on each iPhone sold. That's the conclusion of researchers at market research firm iSuppli, who took apart the new device to learn who made what inside, and how much Apple spent on the parts.
The total cost of materials used inside the latest iPhone is $174.33, If the analysis is correct, Apple (AAPL) is spending about $53 less on materials than it did with the first iPhone, which iSuppli says costs $227 to make.
Read more at BusinessWeek:

A “Green” Ferrari? Hybrid in the works.

It is now official, Ferrari is developing a hybrid sports car. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the company president, said, “We are currently working on the development of a Ferrari that will use alternative energy sources and which will be based on what we are doing at the moment in Formula One.” As per the 2009 Formula One regulations for vehicles, all race cars will utilize a kinetic energy recovery system, or KERS, which is essentially the hybrid system. The Italian sports car manufacturer expects to have the new vehicle on the market by 2015. So start saving those pennies.
Read More Here:

Solar Cooling Becomes a New Air-conditioning System

A research team from the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid has designed and built an absorption chiller capable of using solar and residual heat as an energy source to drive the cooling system. The technology used in this machine, which looks like an ordinary air-conditioning system, minimizes its environmental impact by combining the use of a lithium bromide solution, which does not damage the ozone layer or increase the greenhouse effect, with a reduction in the use of water by the machine.
The team is building a solar cooling system that unlike the existing machines on the market, uses an improved absorption mechanism capable of producing cold water at a range of temperatures from 7º C to 18º C when the exterior temperature ranges from 33º C to 43º C. Suitable for residential use, the cold water produced can be used for climate control applications in houses by combining it with a water-to-air heat exchanger (fan coil).

Please go to Scienedaily to read more:

Sony updates its VAIO lineup with the Z, FW, SR and BZ laptops.

Sony has officially announced their updated Vaio lineup with the Z, FW, SR, and BZ. All the new VAIO's use Intel’s latest mobile Centrino 2 processors, with built in optional Blu-ray. The model that excites us most is the VAIO Z, (Replacing the TZ series?) It has the be the smallest Blu-ray equipped notebook available and has the balls to include a HDMI port into a 1-inch thick, 3 and half pound, 13.1-inch 16:9 form factor, carbon fiber body. Plus it includes NVIDIA’s 9300M graphics chip, amazing 1600x900 screen resolution, an option for 128 GB SSD in a RAID configuration! The Z, FW and SR all employ the same type of keyboard that Sony developed with their T series over 5 years ago, well before Apple. The 13.3-inch VAIO SR looks to be Sony's mainstream computer and will be priced competitively with multiple color options. The 16.4-inch VAIO FW is their desktop replacement and offers everything and more you would find in a desktop. The VAIO BZ is Sony bid for the business laptop space adding to their G series which never sold well outside of Japan. It has a 15.4-inch screen, magnesium alloy case, spill-resistant keyboard, and security-related features suited for a business machine. Availability is slated for in the end of July to mid August.
Read More via Gizmodo

An Altitude Change on Wind Power

Oilman T. Boone Pickens, whose blood would likely trade for $140/ barrel, is repositioning himself as America's voice of reason on alternative energy. His company is building the country's largest wind-farm - a 4,000 megawatt field in Pampa, Texas. Kibby's turbines would only produce 3.3 percent of Pampa's output.

Pickens is expounding the plains potential for wind in the "Pickens Plan," his well-publicized campaign advocating to massive American investment into wind.

Read more here

Betting on a Butanol

Chemicals maker DuPont Co. and oil giant BP PLC have placed a big bet on a biofuel they think will work much better than ethanol. It's called biobutanol. It's less corrosive for car engines than ethanol. It's easier to mix with gasoline and, unlike ethanol, can be transported via pipeline. Its energy content is higher than ethanol's.
Read more here

Home Delivery Fabricating the Modern Dwelling

Prefab is taking center stage this summer at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC with the Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibit opening on July 20th. As part of the exhibit, five renowned architects will bring a mix of existing and prototype prefabricated designs to full form on an exterior lot adjacent to the museum. The exhibit has been in construction for several months and the full scale prefabs are almost ready to deliver on what is one of the most talked about prefab events of all time.In total, the exhibit will feature 63 prefabricated houses: the five full-scale projects outside and 58 projects in the sixth-floor International Council of The Museum of Modern Art Gallery. Home Delivery will be “the most thorough examination to date of both the historic and contemporary significance of factory-produced architecture.”
Read more at the MoMa site here:

Pratt & Whitney Launches Biofuels Research Program

Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is leading a four-year aerospace industry-university research program to investigate the potential use of biofuels from non-food sources for small- and medium-size aviation engine applications. These could include jatropha- and algae-derived biofuels, as well as biobutanol, to power aircraft engines.

The objectives for the project include identifying and assessing appropriate biofuels, studying their effect on engine components such as combustors and fuel systems, developing appropriate technologies and design changes to accommodate them, and conducting tests comparing current jet fuels with first-generation ethanol, as well as second-generation biofuels.

read more here

What's the 3rd DIRTIEST thing on EARTH ?

Following closely behind the mouse and keyboard at an internet cafe, Number #3 goes to : the iPhone on display at your local Apple shop!

An estimated 1500 people were lined up at the Omotesando Sofbank flagship store on this past weekend.

Local blogger Danny Choo joined the action (aka Tokyo-Trooper), check him out on CNN

Note: Broken iPhone from here

After most of it's competitors - It's been confirmed Fujitsu Siemens have developed a new Netbook. The still nameless model is to appear @ approx 400 EURO in autumn, was announced by the boss of Fujitsu Siemens Austria.

Comparrison shots with a full sized laptop is showing the German / Japanese joint venture product. First pictures of the 8.9" PC are from a reader of the German site NETBUX.

The Netbook is pictured beside 17 ″ laptop - which looks like a MONSTER.

The technical specifications lie still in the dark, however the Windows Vista key evident, it's a possible operating system option. As soon as us here further data are present, we supply later the information naturally.

So from the first “German” Netbook will come from Fujitsu Siemens. The global No. 7 among PC manufacturers (between Asus and Apple), Fujitsu Siemens develops all products in Germany, and recruits also internationally.

Roughly translated from NETBUX

Electric-Powered ElectraFlyer-C Sport Plane Flying to Oshkosh July 28th!

ElectaFlyer has converted a single place, all metal Moni motor glider into a small, efficient electric airplane. They used their ElectraFlyer propulsion parts kit their large battery pack, (Lithium Ion) custom built to fit the available space in the airplane. The plane was raised for more ground clearance and a larger, slower-turning, much more efficient prop was installed. Static thrust has increased 60%. The plane received its airworthiness certificate in April. The ElectraFlyer-C is flying now and the climb rate has increased dramatically. The flying character of the plane has changed from a very loud, vibrating experience to a smooth quiet ride.
Systematic flight testing has stared and ElectraFlyer plans to display their aircraft at this years Air Venture in July, 28th.

Read more Here

Kohjinsha SC3 SC3WP06GA Video Overview

As promised, a full Video Overview of the new Kohjinsha SC3WP06GA. This is the higher end SC3 with GPS and Bluetooth 2.0. Click on the link at the bottom to see the Youtube version of link below that to see the bigger High Resolution version ( 48mb file) We liked the SC3 a lot and found it the best of the Kohjinsha computers so far. The ATOM 1.33 CPU performed better than we expected. We ran the SC3 with 2GB of RAM which is a necessity with any Vista OS computer. The 15mm pitch keyboard took time to get used to but after a few hours it was fine. Thank you to Conics.net and KabatTek.com for the computer.
Youtube Video Link

High Resolution DivX Video Link

Mitsubishi’s I MiEV Electric Car coming in 2009

With soaring energy prices and better than expected public interest, Mitsubishi has decided to offer the I MiEV Electric Car 1 year ahead of schedule in Japan. The i MiEV is powered by a compact 47 kW electric motor (133 lb-ft of torque) and a 330V, 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Top speed of the i MiEV is 130 kph (81 mph), with a range of up to 160 km (100 miles). No word on charging times. They are not cheap. Mitsubishi Motors will set the price at around 4 million yen. (About $40,000 with today’s exchange rate) Government subsidies for low-emission vehicles will help to reduce the actual retail price for the vehicle in Japan to an estimated 3 million yen [US$28,000]. These cars are great (I want one) but at close to 4 x the price of their standard fossil fueled sibling, (the I MiEV is base on a Kei car already in production) I don’t see deep market penetration until prices become competitive even considering the gas savings.
Read more at Tree Hugger

Acer One Released in Japan mid-August 2008

Acer Japan plans to sell the Acer ONE from the middle of August. It's expected local Japan retail price will be approx 55,000 Yen.

The Japanese Acer One will come in Dark Blue or White.

AOA150-Bb (black)/ AOA150-Bw (white)
CPU：Intel Atom processorN270(1.6GHz)
Memory：1GB(512MB onboard + 512MB) / possibly 2GB via upgrade (untested)
RAM slot : 1 (512MB installed as ships)
Hard Disk : 120GB
WiFi: IEEE802.11b/g
LAN：100BASE-TX/10BASE-T
OS：Windows XP Home Edition
USB：3
IEEE1394 / PC card slot / DVD drive : none
Slots: SD, MMC, RS-MMC, MS, MS Pro, ｘD
Others ： mini D-SUB 15 VGA out
LCD : 8.9" wide
Size: 249 x 170 x 29mm
Weight: 1.1 Kg
Battery : approx 3hrs max

Acer PDF (Japanese only) here

Custom Receipt - print your own fake receipts

Tom Blackwell's cool web tool lets you make your own custom receipts.

You can customize your receipt on their website, the custom receipt will be shown (containing the text that you entered) in a simple JPEG file.

"The completed receipts are in dollars only but you can enter non-dollar amounts for prices if you like. That way, you can say that something is "free" or "cheap" or whatever you like".