The Jetpod is a Very Quiet Short Take-Off and Landing twin-jet aircraft, can cruise at 300 knots (350 mph, 550 kmh) and requires just 125 metres to take-off or land using a combination of horizontal and vertical thrust. The Jetpod takes off then reconfigures from a VQSTOL jet into a fast-jet accelerating to 350 mph in just a few seconds. Just 16 months from first flight, the jetpod could represent the future of transport.  Read More

The World Rally Championship took an interesting turn at the Rally of Sweden this weekend with WRC favourite Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) and Swedish event favourite Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) were both forced into retirement while battling for podium positions. Subaru's Petter Solberg sealed his first victory in the event by 2min 11.1sec but the big news was that Ford's Toni Gardemeister took the World Rally Championship lead with a third place finish and Ford now leads both the drivers' and manufacturers' standings in the World Rally Championship.  Read More

The brand new 60-foot carbon race yacht Fortuna III has won line honours in the Rolex Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro Race, taking the winner's gun in Rio at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning. Skipper Cesar Recalde and his team shook off extreme fatigue after a gruelling week's racing to celebrate their arrival in Rio with the popping of champagne corks and the firing of red flares, just as the sun was rising over Sugar Loaf Mountain. The almost windless conditions at the finish could not have been more different from the past seven days, which have seen Fortuna III and the rest of the fleet pounding into high winds and big seas. This was Recalde's fifth time competing in the event, and he described it as the toughest 1,200 miles of his career.  Read More

A Hamburg-based company has developed a sailing propulsion system that can be retrofitted to almost all large ships, enabling us to reharness the enormous energy potential of the wind! With minimal operating costs, the wind-power ed system could make shipping more profitable, safer and more independent of declining oil reserves. It's ironic that the motive force that enabled the Spanish, English, Dutch, Portugeuse and Chinese to explore the world 500 years ago might have a second golden age thanks to a German company but the technology is sound and the prize for success will be immense. World trade is conducted principally by ships. Ships carry 98.2% of intercontinental goods, and 98% of all cargo vessels are powered by diesel engines. In 2002, ships used 25 billion Euros worth of fuel. The Skysails system is expected to more than halve fuel costs.  Read More

Accenture Laboritories is working on an intelligent mirror that analyses your behavioural patterns and can show you what you'll look like in five years time. The mirror is designed as a health-aid to assist people in visualising the long term outcomes of their behaviour and modify their behaviour accordingly. In actual fact, the mirror is a computer-driven LCD screen that captures your image with a digital camera and then based on what the entire system is monitoring of your lifestyle and behavioural patterns - the complex mix of diet, exercise, calorific input, activity levels and the amount of social drugs such as alcohol, tobacco et al imbibed and so on.  Read More

February The announcement last week that two UK companies had developed a secure mobile casino system that will run on any mobile phone was significant. By utilizing the Spin3 wireless casino system, casino operators, mobile network providers and any company with an internet presence can now offer a secure mobile casino via a large selection of mobile phones and other wireless devices. The Spin3 wireless casino system consists of six real-time networked casino games, including blackjack, roulette and scratch card. The Spin3 mobile casino system also includes a progressive jackpot slots game, and players will have the chance to win a continuously growing jackpot that starts at US$40,000, right from their mobile device. Conversely, those people will also have the opportunity to lose their money and that spells some significant social problems over the next few years. Gambling's best clients are the addicted.  Read More

In the future, cell phone users will be able to leave messages anywhere in the form of what might be termed electronic post-its. They will be able to post virtual messages referring to a specific location wherever they are needed. Siemens researchers have now created the technical basis and the computer programs for this "digital graffiti service." Post-its are exceedingly practical. They're a handy way of letting people know if you've gone out quickly to shop or to lunch, or for reminding you to do things. However, you can't stick these yellow memos in mid-air - at least not yet. But that will be possible in future with the virtual post-its from Siemens Corporate Technology's research laboratory in Munich. Dieter Kolb's team of specialists have developed computer programs that assign cell phone messages to specific locations.  Read More

Bigger isn't always better. Unless it's your working truck and you need to carry a large crew and a bunch of stuff. Accordingly, Dodge set out to build the biggest pickup truck possible - more spacious, more comfortable and more practical. The all-new 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab is the result - it's more spacious, more comfortable and more practical, the all-new 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab. It's vital statistics are pretty spesh, and include: the largest, longest cab, the largest interior cargo volume, the largest cargo volume behind the rear seat and the largest flat floor load area. The Mega Cab's large interior can seat six adults in comfort with their gear.  Read More

Toyota unveiled the all-new FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show this week. Like so many other concept vehicles greeted by a positive response, the FJ Cruiser concept of two years ago has catalysed a production version. The all-new production model retains much of the design details of the original concept. "The FJ Cruiser effectively fills a gap in the Toyota lineup which was once our core heritage - capable, affordable and durable vehicles that are youthful, fun-to-drive, aggressive and tough," said a Toyota spokesperson. "The FJ Cruiser will deliver true off-road ruggedness, image and performance at a very low price, making it highly accessible for a large volume of young buyers."  Read More