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DIY air-powered sliding doors add Star Trek touch to your home
Dec 8th
Instructables has posted a do-it-yourself guide on installing Star Trek-style air-powered sliding doors in your home. The process is relatively complicated, involving an air compressor, various pneumatic hardware, a door cut in half, above-door vent (to allow the famous whoosh sound to be heard), and more. A PIC microcontroller powers a key-equipped door open/close switch on the wall and controls the air supply. A lot of work, but the results are pretty impressive. We’re tempted to try this at home ourselves.
Video of the door in action after the break.
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McLaren resurrects Mercedes-Benz SLR for 25-car limited edition
Dec 5th
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was discontinued a year ago, when the German automaker and British racing specialist decided to part ways. Mercedes has since released the SLS AMG, and McLaren has its new MP4-12C. But it looks like McLaren has one last ace up its sleeve for the old supercar.
The new SLR McLaren Edition sports revised bodywork (front bumper, grille, hood, side gills, rear diffuser, rims) and interior parts, along with upgraded steering and suspension components and new ceramic brakes. The 5.5L supercharged V8 appears to have been left untouched and is expected to deliver 626 hp, 575 lb-ft of torque, 207 mph top speed, and a 0-62 mph run in under 3.8 seconds.
In line with its name, the limited-edition car’s Mercedes badges have been given a smoked finish to blend in with the rest of the car, while the McLaren badges are highlighted in red. The company plans to build just 25 examples of the McLaren Edition, which it showed off recently at the Essen Motor Show in Germany. No word on pricing or availability, though we’d imagine they’re probably all spoken for already.
More photos and a walkaround video after the jump.
More >
TA Maps: Google Maps for Windows Phone 7
Dec 4th
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 OS ships with an integrated Bing Maps client, but Bing’s map data is lacking in many parts of the world. Unfortunately Google does not have a maps client for Windows Phone 7 yet, so some WP7 users are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We’ve come up with (the start of) a solution: TechAutos Maps is a basic Google Maps client for Windows Phone 7. It’s meant as a temporary solution until Google releases its official app (hopefully soon), and is still missing lots of features (POI search, favorites, etc.), but some users might find it useful even in its current shape. TA Maps must be side-loaded (i.e. not from the Marketplace), so it requires unlocking your WP7 phone (see instructions).
See here for more info, screenshots, and installation instructions: TechAutos Maps for Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7 unlocked, app side-loading commences
Nov 25th
A new tool named ChevronWP7 lets Windows Phone 7 users install applications outside of the Windows Phone Marketplace. Previously, only developers could test their applications on (just their own) phones. Now, any phone “unlocked” by ChevronWP7 will allow home-brew apps – including those denied from the Marketplace because they access private or native parts of the OS – to be installed, which could allow for customization or features beyond what Microsoft currently allows on the platform.
ChevronWP7 is available at chevronwp7.com and will run on any Windows Phone 7 device, with Windows XP SP2 and higher on your connected PC.
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Steve Jobs action figure hits the market
Nov 22nd
If you’ve always wanted to add an Apple reality distortion field to your action figure collection, here’s your chance! The illustrious iCEO, Steve Jobs, has been crafted into miniature form, complete with his trademark black turtleneck shirt, Levi’s 502 jeans, New Balance sneakers, and beard. He also comes with rimless glasses, a mini iPhone 4, and an Apple logo to stand on.
The $79 figurine is highly detailed and even comes with a set of speech bubble cards that you can mount next to him, so your playtime routine can include such gems as “People don’t read anymore,” “I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do,” “It turns out people want keyboards…we look at the tablet, and we think it is going to fail,” “We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas,” and more.
Check out M.I.C. Gadget for more photos and ordering info.
Update (11/23): Apple has of course issued a cease-and-desist notice to the site selling these, so unfortunately no more Steve Jobs toys!
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Artificial retina restores mouse vision, humans not far off
Nov 17th
A new type of artificial retina may one day allow blind people to see with much greater detail than today’s prosthetic eyes allow. The new system, described in a study by Sheila Nirenberg and Chethan Pandarinath of the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, was designed to work more like frontline photoreceptor cells naturally do. ”If you want to really restore normal vision, you have to know the retina’s code,” Nirenberg said. “Once you have that, the door is open to the possibility of restoring normal vision.”
In mouse testing, the researchers found the new retina (center photo above) sensed more details of the original image (left) than current systems (right). ”Incorporating the [more accurate] code jumped the system’s performance up to normal levels – that is, there was enough information to reconstruct faces, newsprint, landscapes, essentially anything,” said Nirenberg. Prosthetic eyes may one day benefit over 25 million people worldwide who have lost sight due to retinal diseases– the next step forward is to begin studies in humans.
Source: PhysOrg, ScienceNews
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Windows Phone 7 outlasts Android, iPhone 4 in grilling contest
Nov 13th
If “Will It Blend” isn’t enough for you, the makers of EZGrill have put up a comparison video between a Windows Phone 7 device (HTC Surround), an Android phone (T-Mobile HTC G2), and an iPhone 4 to see which lasts longer on a grill. Looks like Windows Phone 7 has a stronger “firewall” than the iPhone, and the Android phone roasts the quickest.
See the video after the break.
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T-Mobile HTC HD7 Unboxing & Hands-on
Nov 10th
Here’s our unboxing and hands-on video for T-Mobile USA’s new HTC HD7 smartphone, powered by Windows Phone 7:
For more details on the phone, check out our earlier specs post, and to learn more about the OS, see all our Windows Phone 7 posts.
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Microsoft launches Windows Phone 7 – 10 phones, 30 countries
Oct 11th
Microsoft just officially launched its new Windows Phone 7 operating system. CEO Steve Ballmer showcased 10 phones that will go on sale in 30 countries soon– October 21 in Europe and Asia and November 8 in the U.S.
HTC showed off its 7 Mozart (3.7″ slate), 7 Surround (3.8″ slide-out speaker), Pro 7 (3.6″ slider), 7 Trophy (3.8″ slate), and HD7 (4.3″ slate). LG has the Optimus 7 (3.8″ slate) and Quantum (3.5″ slider). Dell showed its Venue Pro (4.1″ AMOLED vertical slider), and Samsung trotted out the Focus (4″ Super AMOLED slate) and Omnia 7 (4″ Super AMOLED slate).
All are powered by Qualcomm’s (aging but still speedy) QSD8250 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU, with 8-16 GB of fixed memory and 5-8 MP cameras (with LED or Xenon flash). None appears to have HDMI output or a front-facing camera.
More info at Engadget.
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GM launches Volt EV amid controversy
Oct 11th
GM has officially introduced the Chevy Volt, its much-hyped electric vehicle. The $41,000 (before $7,500 federal subsidy and local incentives) sedan can travel a rated 25-50 miles on battery power alone and then uses an onboard gasoline engine as a generator to charge the batteries for a full range of over 300 miles.
Motor Trend and others have discovered, however, that the car’s gas engine, which GM has for over 3 years portrayed as simply a range-extending generator that charges the batteries when depleted, is actually connected to the wheels (to drive the car at high speeds). The engine, along with the two drive motors, feeds into a planetary gear set—very similar to how the Toyota Prius has worked for over a decade. So the Volt is more like a plug-in hybrid with a bigger battery and different programming than a “real” EV like the Nissan Leaf (or REVA).
The problem is that GM explicitly refers to the Volt as “purely electrically driven” and “not a hybrid” and even went so far as to say that there is “no direct mechanical linkage from the engine, through the drive unit to the wheels,” which is not true.
More at Edmunds InsideLine, with technical analysis at Motor Trend.
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