The worlds first flying car : Terrafugia Transition

OMG ! Check this out. The future of travel is here. Has the Jetsons era begun?

Terrafugia, a Massachusets based company is purportedly test driving its road-cum-air vehicle, the Terrafugia Transition, next month. Check out the animation of this vehicle in action here. The animation shows the vehicle as a two-seater with ability to fold its wings. Its currently priced at $200,000 :-) .

It will be interesting to see how this concept picks up. For one, it will require a host of changes in current laws and infrastructure. Simple problems like, how would one take-off and land and license issues (will a pilot license be required or a driving license will suffice?) will hinder the concepts adoption. It will be interesting to see if it solves any energy related issues or adds to existing problem.

Whether it takes off or not in the immediate future, it may well be the pioneer of things to come. I am certainly excited and would have even bought one if not for the current economic crisis :)))).

Design of the Batpod !

Batman: The Dark Knight was released to theatres across US on 18 July 2008 and it was a rocker. I watched the IMAX version of the movie on the second day after its release and it was well worth the money. I think it was the Joker (Heath Ledger) who made this movie the hit that it became. The film had everything to offer right from cool stunts, cool gizmos, great graphics and stunning cinematography. This was probably the best movie of the first half of 2008 for me.

Batman is known for his cool gizmos and machinery and this movie offered no less in that respect. The coolest gadget that batman had this time was his Batpod. At first glance, the Batpod looked completely undrivable. How the hell did Batman (or his stuntmen) drive this thing in the movie?


Firstly here a good photo borrowed from this site:



I also found these few interesting paragraphs on its design :

From this:

The vehicle has
no handlebars, but shields for the shoulders that allow for steering.
It was also difficult to keep balance on the huge 508 millimeter tires,
with engines in both hubs of each wheel. Not only that, the driver has
to lie belly down on either side of the tank, balanced on two foot pegs
spaced 3 ½ feet apart.

From this:

Despite its curious mechanics, this is a drivable vehicle. Flanking the
Batpod behind the front wheel are two elevated stirrup like devices
which the stunt driver, Jean-Pierre Goy, places his arms into and
steers the vehicle using his shoulders. The engines are located within
each wheel hub, seemingly reminiscent of the electric motor integrated
into every wheel of MIT Media Lab’s CityCar. According to the LA Times, this attitude laden design was conceived by Nathan Crowley and built by Chris Corbould.

Neat stuff !

TASERs

Check out this impressive piece of (controversial) technology, called TASER, that is used by US cops to stun criminals. The TASER gun basically fires two dart like things towards a victim, connected to the gun by thin wires. The gun then generates electronic pulses which contract the victims muscles and sends him into a shock. But, these pulses are controlled so as to not disturb the electrical activity happening within the body. For an indepth on how-tasers-work, read the following article http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/dec07/5731/2.

TASER usage has been controversial because of incidences such as the one in University of Florida, where cops hit a student with a TASER after the student asked a series of uncomfortable questions to Senator John Kerry and did not comply when asked to leave the auditorium. The incident can be watched on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3FFnpS-eYA.

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Amazon releases Kindle (Ohh la la !)

For all the gadget lovers out there... lo and behold .....

Presenting the "Kindle" ... (photo courtesy: Amazon site)


Now this is what i call a real gadget ! Amazon released this awesome product called "Kindle" which is a purported replacement for paper books. Its essentially a eBook reader on steroids :).

The product has the following features: (reprinted from http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9820070-7.html?tag=nefd.lede with some minor edits)

• Measurements: The Kindle weighs 10.3 ounces and is about the size of a trade paperback book.
  
• Connectivity: The Kindle connects to the Web via the "Amazon Whispernet," a free high-speed cellular wireless network (Sprint EVDO). Books and other
  content are available for direct download, without the need for connecting to a PC (though a USB port does provide PC connectivity for transferring files). The Kindle's internal memory can store up to 200 books, and it's expandable via an SD slot (which can also be used to load additional media).
  
• Books: Once you're online via EVDO, electronic books are available directly from Amazon for up to $10--just click on the title you want, and it's downloaded (and you're charged) in about a minute's time. Amazon is currently offering more than 90,000 titles, including 90 percent of the current New York Times bestsellers.
  
• Newspapers and magazines: The Kindle can also be used to subscribe to a variety of periodicals, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Le Monde, and Forbes. Newspaper subscriptions are $6 to $15 a month, and magazines are $1.25 to $3.49. Dailies are automatically delivered to the Kindle overnight, and each periodical includes a free two-week trial.
  
• Blogs: The Kindle also offers more than 300 blogs, including Slashdot, The Onion, BoingBoing, and Techcrunch--but these are customized Kindle versions
  that cost at least $1 a month. Moreover, unlike your RSS feeds, you can't add your favorite blog--if it's not on Amazon's list, you can't subscribe to it.
• Web browsing: The Kindle can also browse the Web at large (it has its own QWERTY keyboard directly below the screen), but--unlike the Kindle-ized premium content listed above--most standard Web pages are something of a disaster.
  
• Notation and bookmarks: You can bookmark key passages of what you're reading, and (using the keyboard), make, edit, and export notes. The Kindle also saves your place when reading anything, so you can always pick up where you left off.
  
• Price and availability: The Kindle reader is now available from Amazon.com for $400.

Some more interesting specs from the Amazon Web site

• Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
• No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
  
• Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.