The Bentley Azure T – top down for four at 180mph
From Automotive
Readers will no doubt find it surprising that the time-honoured Winged-B Bentley brand, which had its heyday in the thirties, had its most successful year in history last year measured in either profitability (EUR155 million) or production numbers (10,000). One of the models in the ever broadening range that has driven the company’s success is the Azure T, billed by Bentley as “ world’s most elegant convertible.” The new T is much faster than its predecessor, delivering 500 horses from the twin-turbo 6.8 litre V8. The characteristic Bentley “wave of torque” now peaks at 1000 Nm. If you like thunderous performance, driving a Bentley and experiencing being flung at the horizon whilst surrounded in absolute luxury is a treat – and with the Azure T, you can have the top down and share the experience with three friends, all the way to 179 mph. Read More
Touch Sight camera for the blind
From Good Thinking
Capturing an image takes on a different meaning with the Touch Sight camera. The device makes it possible for the visually impaired to take digital photos by using a Braille-like screen to make a raised image on the user’s forehead of whatever the lens sees. Read More
30 petabyte storage facility for climate and weather records
From Electronics
Analysis of the Earth’s climate relies on and generates a huge amount of data. No one knows this better than the folks at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), who have announced the arrival of AMSTAR, a new digital storage library that will preserve and protect 30 petabytes of valuable scientific data for the next 15 to 20 years. The new system, designed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. and based on the Sun StorageTek SL8500 Modular Library, will give NCAR five times its current storage capacity, enabling it to generate increasingly sophisticated computer studies of Earth’s climate. Read More
The Top 50 Best Selling Digital Cameras
From Cameras and Imaging
Looking at upgrading your old point and shoot to a digital SLR? Need a Christmas gift idea for someone special? If it's been a while since you checked out the price of a new digital camera, you might be surprised at how cheaply you can do it - here's a list of the 50 best selling digital cameras right now on PriceGrabber, with links to the cheapest places you can buy one online. Read More
Lenovo ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive
From Personal Computing
Losing your portable drive is a bad scenario, but if it happens to hold sensitive unprotected data, things can quickly get worse. Lenovo's solution is the ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive, a compact unit available in 160 or 320 GB versions that protects unauthorized data access by requiring users to type an access code into an in-built numeric keypad. Read More
Global spam levels drop significantly after rogue ISP taken offline
From Research Watch
Ars Technica reports that there has been a marked (albeit temporary) drop in global spam levels following the shutdown of two rogue ISPs and an international spam operation. The three takedowns have all occurred within the last six weeks and are the result of work by security researchers and network professionals. Read More
New technology for portable wastewater treatment unveiled
From Health and Wellbeing
In disasters such as hurricane Katrina, dealing with wastewater can be one of the greatest difficulties facing military and relief operations. Nicknamed “DAAB” (Deployable Aqueous Aerobic Bioreactor), this new self-sustaining, portable, and “smart” wastewater treatment system offers a solution to this critical problem. Read More
Historic pics show worlds beyond our solar system
In two separate scientific show-stoppers, unprecedented direct images of planets outside of our own solar system have been captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope and terrestrial observatories in Hawaii. Over the past two decades astronomers have detected around 300 exoplanets and are rapidly finding more, but these have mostly been observed by methods such as monitoring the gravitational effects of a planet on its parent star rather than seen as a direct optical image. We now have the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star from the Hubble, and the first-ever direct images of an exoplanetary system from the massive 8-meter Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea. Read More
Wolverine F2D scanner boasts five second film conversion
From Cameras and Imaging
A solution for those who want to preserve old film and slides without the need for archive boxes and frequent dusting, the Wolverine F2D Scanner can convert 35mm film negatives and slides into 5-megapixel digital images without using a computer and each pic takes just five seconds to scan. Read More
New early warning system to minimize tsunami impact
A new tsunami warning system called the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) has just been implemented in Indonesia. Unlike previous tsunami warning systems, it uses new scientific procedures and technologies which are more suited to the specific geological conditions of the region. Read More
TV-B-GONE goes open source
From Good Thinking
When Mitch Altman created the TV-B-Gone he envisioned a simple, keychain-mounted device that could surreptitiously switch off the annoyingly loud TVs in public places. But he was pleasantly surprised to find out that electronics enthusiasts had turned his invention into a hat, incorporated it into a mobile phone, modified it into a long-range “sniper” model, and tweaked it to provide more power output. These innovations led him to make the device open source, allowing anyone to build or hack their own model. Read More
Packaging innovation promises to reduce landfill
From Good Thinking
Each year an estimated 20 billion cubic feet of styrofoam is used globally for the shipment of 250 million perishable packages. Once the packages have arrived safely, this quickly translates to mountains of landfill. Coldpack's eco-friendly alternative is an inflatable insulating liner that converts a corrugated box into a cooler with better insulation and cushioning properties than styrofoam, reducing supply chain costs as well landfill. Read More
The Top 50 Best Selling Laptops
From Mobile Technology
Need a new machine for the road or a Christmas gift idea for someone special? We've got something that might help you make a decision, and will definitely help you find the best price - a list of the 50 best selling laptops right now on PriceGrabber. Read More
BRABUS customized Tesla Roadster gets space-age soundtrack
From Automotive
The era of the electric car is dawning and BRABUS isn't about to be left behind. Often gracing these pages with its high-performance adaptations of Mercedes Benz and other vehicles, the German tuning specialist has announced the formation of a new Zero Emission division which, as its first order of business, has produced a customization program for the Tesla Roadster EV that sets out to "define a potential limited edition as well as an individual tuning program for the Tesla driver". For the pilot concept, the electric engine and drive-train remain untouched but almost everything else gets a dose of cosmetic surgery - new matte white paintwork, new wheels, splashes of carbon fiber bodywork and yes, a sound-generator that not only simulates the noise of a V8 or racecar engine, but also gives drivers the option of cruising to truly 21st century sounds dubbed ‘Beam’ and ‘Warp’. Read More
First ever World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse
From Games
SteelSeries has unveiled the first ever gaming mouse aimed at the global community of World of Warcraft (WoW) Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) players. Co-designed with WoW publisher Blizzard the MMO Gaming Mouse features advanced macro creation capabilities, six possible DPI settings, 16 million profile-specific illumination colors and manages to squeeze in15 programmable buttons to give players that extra edge. Read More
World first imaging system to shed light on engine lubrication
From Automotive
Yesterday we looked at the promising future of liquid crystal based lubricants in dramatically improving engine efficiency, now the other side of the equation - how to improve engine design. A neutron imaging system developed by Nissan and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) that can see through lightweight metals may help uncover some of the answers by providing researchers with unprecedented visualization of oil flow in an engine operating at high speed.
Biofuel-powered jet completes transcontinental flight
From Aero Gizmo
Following on from its breakthrough flight in October last year, Green Flight International has set another green-aviation record, this time flying a jet across the U.S. using environmentally-friendly Biofuel. Piloted by President and CEO Douglas Rodante and Chief Pilot Carol Sugars, BioJet 1 completed the flight from Reno, Nevada to Leesburg, Florida in just over 11 hours at altitudes ranging from 13,000 to 17,000 feet. While 1,776 miles where flown on 100% Biofuel, a 50/50 mix of Biofuel and standard jet fuel was used for the remainder of the 2,486 journey in order to compare performance data and also demonstrate the ability to blend these fuel types. Read More
3M MPro110 handheld digital projector
From Mobile Technology
The much anticipated advent of ultra-portable projector technology is upon us with new offerings hitting the market at a rapid rate. Early market mover 3M's work on miniature projection modules has crystalized the form of the handheld 3M MPro110, a 5.6 ounce unit measuring 4.5" long x 2" wide that can project up to a 50" image. Read More
Belkin releases Switch-to-Mac Cable
From Personal Computing
Apple’s switch to Intel chips has proven to be a good move. Giving Macs the ability to run Windows and therefore Windows based applications has helped Mac sales almost triple in the past three years after a decade of stagnation. That equates to a sizeable number of people making the switch from Windows PCs to Intel based Macs. Recognizing this growing market, Belkin has released the Switch-to-Mac Cable, which provides a simple way to transfer files, settings, preferences, and more from a PC to a Mac. Read More
Cricket portable laptop stand
From Mobile Technology
Laptop stands are a great solution for keeping your machine cool and your posture upright when spending hours at the desk, but when it comes time to pack your bags and get on the road, there just never seems to be room for these types of added extras. It's a problem that the collapsible, lightweight Cricket Laptop Stand is designed to solve. Read More
