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Mike Hanlon
The KissPhone for remote kissing
By Mike Hanlon
04:23 April 24, 2009 PDT
French freelance inventor Georges Koussouros was thinking outside the square when he came up with the KissPhone. Humans already interact synchronously with voice, text and video, and there's a whole science developing behind closed doors called Teledildonics, which is about remote sexual interplay. The KissPhone fits somewhere in between and has a mouth which you kiss - it subsequently measures the pressure, percussion speed, temperature, and sucking force of your mouth, transmits those same parameters to the remote user's Kissphone where it recreates your kiss for your teleparamour. Read More
The True Utility TripodLite – 30 hours on three AAA batteries
By Mike Hanlon
03:46 April 24, 2009 PDT
Now this will come in handy if you never use it. British True Utility has built an awesome reputation over the last decade for creating practical pocket minimalist pocket tools and one sure to be in demand when it goes on sale in June is the TripodLite – a powerful 21 LED pocket torch with flexible tripod. The TripodLite can stand alone or wrap around whatever is handy to give you a hands free light, that'll run all night! Running on just 3 AAA batteries, it will burn for over 30 hours on just one set of batteries. Camping just got a hell of a lot easier… Read More
Prost's infamous 1990 F1 Ferrari to go under the hammer
By Mike Hanlon
19:21 April 21, 2009 PDT
A Formula One car at the centre of one of the most bitter battles in F1 history, as well as one of its most infamous acts, goes under the hammer at the highly anticipated Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event at Ferrari’s home in Maranello on May 17. The car is the Ferrari 641/2 F1 car driven by Alain Prost in 1990 during his acrimonious run-ins with his McLaren rival, Ayrton Senna. It is also the actual car that Prost was driving when Senna punted him off the track in Japan within seconds of the start of the race, handing the Brazilian the 1990 title – an act which prompted an appalled Prost to make the comment that “motor racing is sport, not war.” In the hands of Prost, chassis 121 scored in total two third-place finishes, two second places and a victory in 1990, and is expected to fetch an estimated USD$700,000 at auction. Read More
Bone-Conduction and Infrared FINIS AquaPulse Heart Rate Monitor for swimmers
By Mike Hanlon
18:34 April 21, 2009 PDT
We have already professed our love for the Finis Swimmers Snorkel, eulogized about the antidote to lap-grinding boredom known as the bone-conduction SwiMP3 underwater music player and now we're gonna do it all over again for the USD$140 AquaPulse heart rate monitor, a workout accessory for swimmers wishing to optimize their water-based exercise routine through heart rate training. Are we just raging fanboys? No, we do however rejoice in the logical and practical application of technology to enable new and better ways of doing things, and Finis will again deliver just that (in May). Read More
MSI Wind Top AE1900 touch-enabled all-in-one PC
By Mike Hanlon
18:29 April 21, 2009 PDT
Due for its first public showing next week at EcoFocus in New York is the next-generation MSI Wind Top AE1900 desktop PC, a touch-enabled all-in-one PC with 18.5” widescreen and surround sound. It'll be interesting to try the Wind Top with its touch-enabled applications and webcam-optimized motion capture games, but we suspect that the ergonomics involved in continually lifting one's arms to touch the screen will soon kill the novelty value and users will be plugging in the color-matched keyboard and mouse that comes with it. One day, no doubt, all PCs will come without a keyboard – don't throw the keyboard and mouse away just yet though. Read More
A2B electric bikes launched in Europe
By Mike Hanlon
16:23 April 21, 2009 PDT
The A2B range of electric bicycles was launched in the UK this week, following a US launch in late 2008. The GBP 1950 (USD$2,860) Metro is a ‘power on demand’ electric bike and the GBP 1750 (USD$2,570) Hybrid is ‘pedal-assist’ electric bike. With the power on demand A2B Metro, riders can choose either to pedal or cruise under power, allowing them to reach their destination with minimum effort. With the ‘pedal-assist ‘ Hybrid, the rider must pedal but the electric motor boosts the rider’s pedal input - perfect for those who want to keep fit but need a little boost from time to time. Both are fitted with Ultra Motor's direct-drive motor, however electric bikes are limited to 15.5mph on roads by European and UK legislation, however the A2B Metro has an off-road button to allow motor powered speeds up to 20 mph for off-road use. Read More
The new BMW X5 Security Plus is AK47-proof
By Mike Hanlon
06:38 April 21, 2009 PDT
BMW is extending its range of security vehicles with the new BMW X5 Security Plus, a car that will keep you safe as long as your assailants have nothing more than AK 47 weaponry, and it could just be one of those luxury extras to come into vogue in troubled times. At least occupants will be shielded from unintentional bullets if they stumble across a gun battle and if someone pops up beside your driver's side window with a handgun intent on carjacking you, you can now safely pull faces and show them the bird, providing of course, you've locked the door. Personally, if you're in grave danger and must travel regardless, may we recommend the late Saddam Hussein's favorite wheels, the Rhino Runner. For more on the BMW X5 Security Plus ... Read More
Rolls-Royce reprises the Ghost name
By Mike Hanlon
00:41 April 21, 2009 PDT
The world's car manufacturers were all vying for the spotlight as the critically important Shanghai motor show, gateway to the biggest automotive market the world has ever known, gets underway. One of the surprises of the show was the announcement by BMW-owned Rolls-Royce that it will again use the magical Ghost name on its new 8-speed, 6.6 liter turbocharged V12. The Silver Ghost was the model upon which the company built its global reputation for reliability and performance and has not been used since 1925. Read More
The new 777 bhp NOVITEC TuLesto joins the supercar ranks
By Mike Hanlon
22:52 April 19, 2009 PDT
There are many fascinating performance automobiles money can buy, but few come within a limited edition of just eleven cars. At the heart of the new two-seater NOVITEC TuLesto is a V8 engine with dual superchargers and a rated power output of 777 hp / 571.8 kW. Thanks to its carbon fiber and aluminum construction the TuLesto coupe has an excellent power-to-weight ratio of just 1.62 kg/hp. The result is performance that very few super sports cars can match: the sprint from rest to 100 km/h takes less than 3.4 seconds, and the NOVITEC TuLesto reaches 300 km/h after just 22.6 seconds. Top speed is more than 350 kmh. Read More
VW to put "green" Scirocco GT24 race car to its toughest test
By Mike Hanlon
20:14 April 19, 2009 PDT
Motorsport is moving towards establishing green credentials very quickly. Last week we reported on Citroen's hybrid rally car testing and now Volkswagen will field two cars with natural gas engines at the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race on May 23-24. Following the historic one-two victory at the Dakar Rally in January, which Volkswagen won as the first automobile manufacturer using diesel technology in the event, the Wolfsburg brand is now taking on another technical challenge – the use of EcoFuel engines in an endurance test twice around the clock on the world’s most demanding race track. The two Scirocco GT24-CNG 2.0-litre turbo engines powered by natural gas deliver nearly 300hp. Read More
Red Bull takes maiden F1 win – KERS dropped by all but three cars
By Mike Hanlon
03:24 April 19, 2009 PDT
Red Bull Racing finally took its maiden Formula One victory in a rain-soaked Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai today. German prodigy Sebastian Vettel took his second career win in the wet (he won in the rain at Monza last year for the other Red Bull Team, Torro Rosso), followed home by team mate Mark Webber to give the team a 1-2 finish. Only three cars elected to use the KERS hybrid systems after Ferrari, Renault and one BMW car dropped the system for the race. Read More
RoboCup Ball Return Robot makes putting practice easy
By Mike Hanlon
17:48 April 18, 2009 PDT
Winner of the Best New Product’ at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando this year was the RoboCup, a new ball return robot designed to play personal caddy on any practice green. When your putts drop into the hole, the US$50 RoboCup automatically shoots the ball right back to you. RoboCup runs on 4 AA batteries and will return the ball up to 14 feet about 15,000 times – more than enough for even the most ardent practice session. Combine it with the RoboCup Caddy Cord, and even missed putts shoot back to you. Read More
The Airnimal folding bike suitcase that becomes a bike trailer
By Mike Hanlon
17:08 April 18, 2009 PDT
There are more than 130 folding bike manufacturers and all of them produce bicycles designed as supplementary transport – designed to be carried in a vehicle for last mile transport, or on a train, plane, boat or bus as ground transport on arrival. Accordingly, most come with their own carry bag, but the latest prototype concept from Airnimal promises a new level of functionality. The concept involves the hard carry case doubling as a bike trailer with a significant carrying capacity. It's a perfect solution for the traveller … almost. We'd like to see another suitcase which clips onto the trailer so you can carry your other stuff. Read More
Subaru Stella EV specification upgraded for production
By Mike Hanlon
00:36 April 17, 2009 PDT
Subaru has announced an upgraded specification for its plug-in STELLA electric car which will be launched in Japan mid-year. Power has been increased by seven Kilowatts to 47 kW, torque is up 20 Newton metres to 170 Nm and 50 kilograms has been cut from the weight of the vehicle. The sophisticated lithium ion battery pack is smaller and the energy output management refined, though no price has yet been announced. Read More
Nissan GT-R takes new Nurburgring Record
By Mike Hanlon
22:21 April 15, 2009 PDT
We recently wrote up the Nissan GT-R Spec V with its lofty price tag, but proof it is good enough in lesser trim is the news it has set another lap record at the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany. Nurburgring was nicknamed The Green Hell by Jackie Stewart, and is widely considered the toughest and most demanding purpose-built race track in the world. A Japanese specification GT-R, running on Dunlop tyres with RAYS forged alloy wheels (V-spec equipment) recorded a blistering 7min 27.56 secs yesterday. Only eight cars have ever gone faster, and they all cost a lot more than a GT-R, though the Radical SR8 is probably the best on a bang-per-buck basis. Read More
First shots: BMW's 400 kW 6.0-litre all-aluminium V12 engine with TwinPower Turbo Technology
By Mike Hanlon
15:37 April 15, 2009 PDT
BMW's new 7 series is presently arriving in showrooms around the world, so BMW has digitally unveiled the new range-topping 760Li to create extra interest. Due for showrooms in the final quarter of 2009, the BMW 760Li will be powered by a completely new 400 kW 6.0-litre all-aluminium V12 engine with TwinPower Turbo Technology, High Precision Injection with fuel injected directly into the combustion chambers, and BMW’s infinite double-VANOS camshaft adjustment all running through an eight-speed automatic transmission. There are some exceptional shots of the new engine in the image gallery and needless to say, we can't wait to see what it can do when it gets an M badge. Read More
Gemalto launches innovative e-Health Terminal
By Mike Hanlon
23:02 April 14, 2009 PDT
Perhaps a glimpse of the near future of digital health care globally, Gemalto has commercially launched its Sealys e-health terminal, specially designed for the progressive German market, and a significant development on its previous GCR 550 health card reader. The new unit has been developed to incorporate the latest technological advances requested by German health professionals and includes access to the patient’s electronic medical file and emergency data such as blood group, allergies and ongoing treatment records. Doctors will also be able to issue electronic prescriptions that facilitate data exchange with pharmacists and reduce fraud, while eliminating paperwork. The Gemalto terminal offers optional connection of biometric and contactless devices, allowing doctors to sign e-prescriptions using their fingerprint or any contactless device. Read More
Bodelin Launches ProPrompter for iPhone
By Mike Hanlon
22:16 April 14, 2009 PDT
After being swamped with requests at NAB 2008 to use the ProPrompter Pocket PC with an iPhone or iPod touch, Bodelin has done just that. It features landscape mode, smooth scrolling, seven speed levels with on the fly adjustment, unlimited script capacity, a wide variety of fonts and font sizes, and background colors, excellent readability in bright sunlight, looping, recue, mirroring for use with the ProPrompter in-lens teleprompter and an extensive help menu. ProPrompter software is expected to be available as a free download in the Apple App Store by NAB on April 20, and the aluminum ProPrompter Wing Mount costs US$130 to attach the iPhone to the tripod mount of any camera. Read More
Aston Martin Rapide: four-door sports car
By Mike Hanlon
20:22 April 14, 2009 PDT
2009. The Aston Martin Rapide (first pic at top) has moved into the final stages of its development programme, on course for a public debut in late 2009, with the first customer cars due to be delivered in early 2010. First revealed as the Aston Martin Rapide Concept at the Detroit Auto Show in 2006 (pic at bottom), the Rapide is Aston Martin's first true four-door production sports car. The Rapide encapsulates the core values of the brand within an elegant, high-powered sports grand tourer, with four full-sized seats, generous accommodation and luggage space and trademark Aston Martin performance. Powered by a version of Aston Martin's 6.0 litre V12 engine producing 470bhp and 600Nm of torque and, hand built at the company's engine facility in Cologne, the Rapide's rear wheels are driven through a highly responsive Touchtronic gearbox. Read More
Kubota's innovative 4WD transforms between passenger and cargo mover
By Mike Hanlon
19:33 April 14, 2009 PDT
Work vehicles are evolving rapidly thanks to some clever design being applied to target niche markets, with the latest example being Kubota's transformable four-passenger 4WD utility vehicle. The new RTV1140CPX quickly converts from one-to-two-row seating, allowing the operator to choose between additional passenger capacity or cargo space, depending on the task at hand. We're betting such clever functionality will provide a unique solution for a wide variety of applications. The 24.8 horsepower diesel can carry a cargo of 1,100 lbs., or tow 1,300 lbs. Read More
Ducati Desmosedici GP9 carbon fibre frame
By Mike Hanlon
17:24 April 13, 2009 PDT
Ever since designer John Barnard built the 1981 F1 McLaren MP4-1 chassis from carbon fibre, the world has become increasingly aware of this novel composite material that is very stiff, three times stronger and more than four times lighter than steel! Within a year or two, carbon fibre became the construction material of choice for F1 designers. Strangely, it has taken nearly three decades for a carbon fibre-framed motorcycle to take a race win at the highest level. The World MotoGP Championship kicked off this evening in Qatar, with Casey Stoner taking the first win on the carbon fibre-framed Ducati Desmosedici GP9. His emphatic win indicates yet another competitive-edge Ducati technology to back up its landmark desmodromic valve-train and traction control technologies. Read More
Cities with MLB baseball teams have a lower divorce rate!
By Mike Hanlon
18:21 April 12, 2009 PDT
The family unit is society's fundamental unit - 95 percentage of US citizens marry by age 55. A marriage breakdown is one of the most stressful life events possible, yet more than one in three will experience the trauma of divorce. Not surprisingly, the dynamics of relationships are increasingly the focus of ever more research. The University of Denver Center for Marital and Family Studies in particular is constantly shedding new light on the institution of marriage with recent research findings establishing that the quality of the relationship with parents-in-law is directly connected to marital satisfaction, and more recently, that 90 percent of couples experience a decrease in marital satisfaction once their first child is born. A new study from the centre looking at divorce rates before and after cities got Major League Baseball teams is fascinating in its implications. The study showed that cities with major league baseball teams had a 28 percent lower divorce rate than cities that wanted major league baseball teams. Can marital harmony really be this simple? Read More
Citroen tests the world’s first hybrid WRC rally car
By Mike Hanlon
03:25 April 10, 2009 PDT
Citroen Racing has started testing its Citroen C4 Hybrid World Rally Car, proving that its technological showcase is much more than just a motor show model and that it is paving the way for low consumption, low emission, low noise motor sport cars of the future. Just hours after winning its fourth World Rally Championship event of the season, Citroen driver Dani Sordo took the new car testing in Portugal. Read More
Raser to unveil 100 mpg SUV at SAE World Congress in Detroit
By Mike Hanlon
17:07 April 8, 2009 PDT
Raser Technologies will unveil a 100+ mpg SUV at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress later this month. The vehicle will be powered by Raser’s E-REV powertrain and was developed in conjunction with Raser’s integration partner, FEV and an as-yet-unnamed global automaker. The full-size SUV is a four-wheel drive Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) designed to achieve over 100 mpg in typical local daily driving with near zero emissions by driving up to 40 miles per day in all-electric mode. Read More
Dilbert celebrates 20 years of cubicle lifestyle and workplace dysfunction
By Mike Hanlon
16:44 April 8, 2009 PDT
If you're a modern office worker, the chances are you'll know Dilbert, the most photocopied, pinned-up, downloaded, faxed and e-mailed comic strip in the world. Many Dilbert readers, particularly those employed at large corporations, are convinced that Dilbert creator Scott Adams works at their company since he conveys corporate inanities so well in the ever-funny, ever-savage satire of life in the modern workplace. Indeed, in some newspapers, the strip runs in the business section rather than the funnies, reflecting its accurate portrayal of the realities of work life for 21st century cyberserfs. Dilbert turns 20 this month, and a book/online resource has been created to celebrate. Dilbert, we love you! Read More
John M
- November 25, 2009 @ 17:19 UTC
