Remote controlled McLaren Formula One car!

Have you ever dreamed about driving a formula one car?

Yes you can (if you manage to get your hands on the phone and the car!). What's wicked is that you can remote control a formula one car using you phone! The video shows a scale model of an McLaren Formula One car being driven across a track in the beginning. This impresses the guys at McLaren and they build a full scale model car that can be controlled by a phone via Bluetooth.

Apparently this seems to be a ad campaign by Vodafone featuring its flagship model – Blackberry Storm.

Enjoy the video!

Modern Day Iteration Of Aladdin’s Magic Carpet!

 

I couldn’t come up with a crazier headline, but this should suffice for now. If you can think of something even crazier, feel free to comment or shout it out in the chat box.

A British Company called Hoverit Limited has come with a nice, futuristic sounding concept of a ‘hovering chair.’

The concept uses the simple repelling force of magnets that gives the feeling of floating on air as one sits on the chair. It is called ‘the Lounger’ and currently retails at a promotional price of £5,875 GBP (almost 40 grand INR). The company’s website says that it usually retails at Usual price £7,500 GBP. So make use of this promotional offer if you are planning to buy one.

The Lounger weighs around 90 Kg and measures 2m x 1m x 1m.

Do not forget to read the safety disclaimer on the Hoverit’s website.

Source: Hoverit

3G Touch Watch Phone From LG

It has been a whirlwind of a show, at least from a crazy media analyst’s perspective. The general consensus however, tells a different story that the CES has lost its sheen and there have been very few products and less excitement. Blame it on the recession.

Apart from Palm Pre and its new webOS platform, only LG comes to my mind. Its 3g touch watch phone did make some news before Palm took the center stage and hogged all the limelight. But LG was no pushover. Fourteen LG products were awarded the CES Innovations Awards. My favorite? The 3G touch watch phone a.k.a. LG-GD910.

LG says that this is a follow up to the prototype that was introduced at CES 2008. How did I miss that? Well like they say, better late than never. Here’s the low down on this watch phone or should I mention it as a phone watch? Never mind.

With the watch one can make phone calls, send text messages, video phone calls with the help of a built in camera, look up contacts using voice, have the watch read out messages and other information loud (being lazy, wouldn’t I love that? Except that people around you can also listen to it.), listen to music with the help of a built in speaker and stereo Bluetooth.  The watch also boasts of a touch screen interface with flash support, 7.2 Mbps 3G HSDPA compatibility, 3.63cm (1.43-inch) screen and it is only 13.9mm thick.

LG says that this phone watch or watch phone will be available sometime this year in Europe. I am guessing Japan. Any bets?

While writing this post, I did come across another statistic telling me how dismal the ongoing recession is. Channel Insider has, after thorough research of all available reports on layoffs, concluded that there have been more than 100,000 layoffs since October in technical, sales and marketing positions.

If I were LG, I wouldn’t bet on many of these watch phones or phone watches selling.

Honda NSX Mugen Concept RR

Came across this beautiful concept car from Mugen. The site was in Japanese and the google translator was not much of a help. So feast your eyes on the pictures. For more information please visit Mugen.

Source: Mugen

Near Death Experience Anyone ?

After reading this article, many of you might think I am crazy or you might even google for it and then agree. Its a great grandmother's story to her granddaughter passed across 3 generations.

The great granny was once suffering from some acute disease, she was approx. 80 yrs of age and was on her death bed. After days of suffering and without intake of food, she died. Or that was everyone thought. They made arrangements according to the Hindu tradition for her smooth transition into afterlife. yeah.. News about her death spread and people started to pour into the house. Dear and near ones were sad. After a few hours the great granny, suddenly came to her senses! she started to squabble something illegible. The crowd around was horrified. Dead woman alive?! This cant happen. Should not happen. Death is a one time call. After sometime of murmuring, she vomited. People around were taken aback because she spilled out, rice grains which were inches long. Then the granny narrated her dream to everyone. She told people surrounding her that she was led by two escorts with horns on their head (like those of an ox) and that she met Yama, who is the Lord of death in Hindu religion. But fortunately or unfortunately she was the wrong person who was picked up from earth. So the Lord treated the old lady with some Bhojanam (traditional food) and sent her back to earth with the escorts.

People were aghast, without words and the story spread throughout.

What the granny experienced then is called as Near Death Experience or NDE in today's lingo.

NDE is defined as the out of the world experience that one has when he/she is terminally ill or met with a sudden accident or a seriously debilitating condition. Many people have reported their experiences throughout the world and has been even recorded. Scientists have tried to decode this phenomenon but have not succeeded much. When i google'd for info on this i came across this amazing website which documented examples of NDE. Go through at your leisure. This amazing phenomenon is so difficult to explain that doctors have debated on the mere existence of such a thing. People belonging to many religions have experiences based on their believes which is something strange.

NDE research has concluded from pre-birth to reincarnation. May be a past-life regression therapy can throw some light on it.

Stay tuned for some write up on another interesting topic!

Working Model Of Antikythera - Just Amazing

I had an opportunity to watch this amazing video on how the Antikythera works. It is a mysterious clockwork thingy made up of many wheels (cogs) and was discovered more than a century ago in a shipwreck.

No wonder that they call this masterpiece as the world's first Computer! It was a built in calender, an astronomical reader and what not...

I would suggest you to watch this episode or a prologue on the Antikythera here and then watch the working model.

How About Some Bling For Your Computer?

Super Talent Technology, headquartered in San Jose, California has come up with a limited edition 18-carat solid gold USB drive. It boasts of a 30MB/sec data transfer speed and a storage capacity of 8GB.



There are some additional goodies like a certificate of authenticity, an 18-carat gold keychain, FIPS certified AES-256 encryption software and a Black velvet jewelry box. There is also a cool concept where one can get their personalized text or logo etched onto the drive with the help of a laser, at no charge!



Now that’s what I call a customized, limited edition Bling for $599.





Author

Roomba! Roomba!!

By Deeksh

“One company doesn’t make an industry” said, iRobot’s CEO, Colin Angle.

But iRobot’s vacuum cleaning robot has made a recognition symbol for the robotic vacuum cleaning industry around the world.

Welcome to the world of Roomba.

Robots are being increasingly used for household chores. Today, I will take you to the RoombaBedford, MA. world. The Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner made and sold by iRobot, a company founded by Colin Angle, Helen Greiner and Rodney Brooks. iRobot recently had a grand opening of it’s new headquarters in

When I saw the Roomba, it looked like a dinner-plate picking up dirt.

hE hEE

I wondered if people wanted this craze roaming around their home. But the answer was astonishing, over 2.5 million Roombas have been sold by January 2008.

Consumers are attached to these robotic vacuum cleaners; some give names and treat like a pet.

The Roomba automatically cleans your floor while you enjoy life. Isn’t it a perfect robotic home pet!!

One step further, owners have started dressing up their Roomba. Now, consumers can listen to the screaming of the Roomba for clothes.

hE hEE

Cleaning the floor was never so easy. With the press of a button, this incredible gadget cleans your floors. It has the ability to automatically recharge.

I am honestly impressed with this gadget!!

Has anyone tried this …

What is your experience …

A Chair That Follows You Around!

Now isn’t this a boon for those who badly need to sit down and browse through the pages of their favorite book and are too lazy to find themselves a chair? After walking through the isles of a big library, searching frantically for the book; I guess I can afford to be a little lazy. 

That’s exatly what I can be if I am walking through the aisles of the public library in Amsterdam. Openbare Bibliotheek Endhoven has commissioned an special couch / chair that follows the person around the library offering him a seat if he/she needs to sit down. This chair designed by a Dutch designer Jelte van Geest uses RFID technology to follow the user around the library. All a user has to do is to swipe an RFID card against the scanner located in the chair and the chair follows the card which of course is with the user. Once the user walks past a designated “RedLine” at the checkout counter the chair stops following and returns to its docking station and powers up. Cool! Wish I had one at my office too.

Checkout the video for an eye-popping demonstration of what technology can do for you.

Author

Handmade Designer Keyboard To Satisfy Your Geek Cravings

Here’s a fine masterpiece, from Nishi-Ki. Sporting a QWERTY layout, its got 86 keys, can be plugged in via an USB port. It’s compatible with Windows XP, Vista and 2000. It’s got a price tag at around $155.

Image Source: geeksugar

Two Seater “Green” Plane For Jetsetters Looking For A Way To Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

People who clock up flying miles faster than the “Doctor” on his Yamaha M1 and are worried about how much they are polluting the air, fret not, cause Pipistrel has come with a two-seater, electric-powered commercial jet which it plans to mass produce at the end of the year.

Hope all you CEO’s and “rich enough to afford a private jet” people out there do take notice that Taurus Electro gliders from Pipistrel costs $133,000. You can now jet around the globe and sport the “green” label too, which is the latest thing to show off considering the hordes of celebrities lining up in front of hybrid car maker’s doors to buy their products; cause they wanna go green.

Enough of me ranting about erasing the guilt of humanity and lets get to the features and specs of this aircraft. Ivo Boscarol of owner of Pipistrel based in Slovenia has come with a worthy successor for Sinus, a microlight motorglider named Taurus. Taurus according to Pipistrel is a fully equipped aircraft with a separate ventilation system for each pilot and side-by-side seating arrangement; featuring a fully retractable engine and glide ratio of at least 1:40; also featuring a total rescue ballistic parachute system which saves the aircraft and both pilots, all instruments, radio etc. at a reasonable price. Whew!

The “green” part comes here. The internal combustion engine is substituted with its electric counterpart. Pipistrel says that “Using the latest findings in the fields of batteries and charge storage as well as the recent developments of synchronous electric motors with small mass and high specific torque, the flight of electric-powered aircraft can now become a reality.”

Pipistrel has not delved deeper into the technicalities of the engine on its website and I could not get my hands on any aviation magazine which has featured Taurus Electro Glider. Hence, please visit Pipistrel website for more details or contact them. My job is done here. I have just provided a spark and you guys reading the posting have to make the fire. Oops! Not too environment friendly is it? Lets hope Taurus Electro Glider lives up to its expectations.

Source: Pipistrel.

Author

This Keyboard Gives A New Meaning To The Phrase “Lap-Top,” Literally….

Erik De Nijs has woven a laptop into a pair of pants (looks like jeans) and was featured in the concepts section of the website Vous Pensez. Well geeks are going to love these pair of pants which also has a pair of speakers built into the knees. The mouse can be stuffed into one of the back pockets and the website also adds that for gamers, there is a joystick controller located just behind the front zipper.

Do check out the concepts section of the website, which features some really crazy and cool concepts.

Source: Vous Pensez

Optimus Maximus Keyboard Makes Me Wish I Was Richie Rich

Art Lebedev Studio, headed by Artemy Lebedev has come with a masterpiece. Or is it? Titled “Optimus Maximus” it’s a high end keyboard with 133 tiny OLED display keys. Now coming to the part where I wish I was Richie Rich. This keyboard costs a whopping $1,600. A bomb. Did someone say that it is the costliest keyboard on the face of the Earth? More on that later.

The trick here is each key can be individually programmed to display different tasks, like playing tiny movies, HTML codes, or your favorite websites. Let me break that down into common speak. There is a screen in each key that displays the function currently assigned to it. Each of its keys is a display which can dynamically change to adapt to the keyboard layout in use or to show the function of the key.

According to the company website, Optimus Maximus’s customizable layout allows convenient use of any language—Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, hiragana, etc.—as well as of any other character sets: notes, numerals, special symbols, HTML codes, math functions and so on to infinity.

Optimus Configurator software allows programming every button to reproduce a sequence of symbols and editing the image separately for each layout.

Most of the reviews I came across on the internet criticized the keyboard for inordinately high CPU usage, slow response time, and buggy configuration software. Another grouse is that after plugging the keyboard to the USB port, one has to slog, programming the keys. The only talking points of this keyboard are that it lets you see the shortcuts visually and the level of customization it offers.

One can individually configure what each key does when it is depressed. Currently scripts, commands and few other functions can be programmed. The keys can display whatever you want it to display according to the guys at Gizmodo. They say that apart from static images, one can also play back a movie on one of the keys Wow. Is it Alien Technology?

Source: Art Lebedev Studio, Gizmodo, Wired.com

Nokia Morph: Nanaotechnology In Full Flow

Nokia Research Center and the University of Cambridge unveiled on February 25th, a joint nanotechnology concept titled “Morph” which will be on view from February 24 to May 12, 2008, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Morph is being touted as a futuristic shape changing, self cleaning, transparent electronics and self charging (through harvesting) mobile phone. The interface of the phone as shown in the video reminds me of the futuristic computer interface in the movie Minority Report.

The technology behind the Morph concept is Nanotechnology.

The video gives us a graphical demonstration of the Morph’s capabilities. I have refrained from giving an insight into Morph’s capability to preserve the shock and awe element. The video is self explanatory and describes all the features of the concept phone.



The phone can be stretched into any shape as desired by the user and it still retains the touch interface. Wow….However, this technology will not be available any time soon. For the individual concepts or ‘elements of morph’ to be incorporated in to our everyday usable mobile phones, might take around 7 years. Expect the cost of such phones to be astronomical.

How feasible is this technology….only time will tell.

Source: Nokia

Award Winning Moldable Mouse From Lite-On

The traditional mould in which manufacturer’s of computer peripherals used bring out their products, focused on one single ideology that what works for one person will work for every one else.


However, with increasing competition and the constant struggle to remain on the top of heap has forced them to rethink on their strategy, focus on innovativeness and more importantly cater to individual customer’s need.

Lite-On has come up with a moldable mouse, a concept design which is made of lightweight modeling clay and covered with a nylon and polyurethane blend fabric and hence, can be kneaded into desired shapes by users.

Traditionally the mouse is made of hard plastic, and even the most ergonomically designed mouse followed the ideology mentioned above.

The salient features of the concept mouse are as follows:

The Moldable Mouse is made of non-toxic lightweight modeling clay, covered with nylon and polyurethane blend fabric. It can be kneaded into any shape the user prefers, and the shape is self-retaining.

It allows a wide variety of hand positions when holding the mouse; hence, it reduces repeated motions of the same posture, thereby minimizing the chance of common mouse-related injuries such as the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The click buttons and touch-sensitive scroll pad of the mouse are stick-on parts with built-in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device), which can be repositioned for maximum comfort.

The nylon and polyurethane blend fabric covering comes in a variety of colors. The texture of the material feels similar to silk, but is much more flexible. Its softness significantly increases the comfort level of the mouse over that of the traditional plastic versions.

Patterns and graphics can be printed on the fabric to make the Moldable Mouse more visually appealing.

The base of the mouse, made of 100% recyclable PC/ABS plastic blend, houses the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), laser optics and batteries.

Reducing plastic usage to a minimum by using mostly non-toxic clay and fabric, the Moldable Mouse is also an ecologically responsible product.

The Moldable Mouse from Lite-On had won the Red Dot Award for the Design Concept 2007.

Source: Red Dot