All I have to say is, wow.
Cops Use Taser on Gasoline-Soaked Man. He Burns to Death! – Cops Use Taser on Gasoline Soaked Man . He Burns to Death! [Dvorak]
Solar motorbike uses snail shell shape for surface area -Filed under: Transportation
Powering a car with solar panels is a relatively easy task, but on a motorbike it's a lot harder to find flat surfaces to catch the sun. That means that a solar powered motorbike has got to look rather odd in order to provide enough surface area for the panels: hence the snail shell-like design of SunRed's prototype solar powered bike. When (or if) SunRed completes a real world prototype, the bike's surface area will be 25 square feet, allowing the bike to store enough of the sun's energy to ride for 13 miles at speeds of up to 30 MPH. The motor is integrated into the wheel too, so there's no transmission. Once these "green" bike thinkers sort out the problem of running a bike without oil, we hope they'll move onto making them a little less fugly. It seems like a precedent is being set here.
[Via Autoblog Green]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
[EnGadget]
Featured Linux Download: OS X style widgets with Screenlets -
Linux only: Open-source app Screenlets runs Mac OS X-style widgets on the Linux desktop.
Practically identical to Dashboard widgets and Windows Vista gadgets, Screenlets are small under-the-desktop apps including RSS readers, weather reports, sticky notes, etc. that add a great deal of functionality and convenience mixed with a dash of eye-candy. Screenlets play very well with Beryl and include a bunch of location preferences like always on top, always underneath, etc. Additionally, with the widget plugin for Beryl, you can hide and show your Screenlets exactly the same way you can with Mac OS X widgets.
While there aren't nearly as many Screenlets as gDesklets, kDesklets, or aDesktets, Screenlets tight integration with Beryl makes it a must have for desktop app lovers. Screenlets is a free download for Linux only.
[LifeHacker]
Vision Robotics' harvesting machines edge closer to the farm -Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
In just eight short months, the automated harvesting machines at Vision Robotics have apparently come quite a ways. Currently, funding is flowing in from growers' associations who are "very nervous about the availability and cost of labor in the near future," which has allowed the company to move forward in developing a pair of robots to pluck fruit from trees or vines. The duo would work in succession as the first robotic "scout" would scan the area and construct a 3D map with the location of each item that needs captured; the "harvester" would follow behind and pick the fruits that its eagle-eyed teammate mapped out. The firm has reportedly reached the build phase on the complex machines, and while a prototype or two should be ready to rock by next year, we're unlikely to see these go mainstream before the next decade.
[Via Wired]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
[EnGadget]
