Apparently, Microsoft has plans for Sync that extend beyond the standard voice-activation scheme they’ve got going right now. The company wants to deliver a wider range of network connectivity for in-car use, and they’re debating the possibility of moving away from subscription-based services to an ad-funded scenario. What exactly does that mean? We’ll let Martin Thall, general manager of Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit explain: “We know where you are and we know where you’re headed,” he says, seemingly unaware of the Orwellian implications. “We could target that advertising directly to your car.” You getting that? Targeted ads. In your car. While you’re driving. Apparently, execs don’t think you’ll mind being bombarded inside your vehicle because you’re, “used to advertising in the car. We hear ads on the radio and see billboards on the road.” Of course, this is speculation on future technologies, so nothing is set in stone — hopefully someone comes to their senses before our hovercar interiors glitter with holographic spam.
If a wave of déjà vu just hit you like a ton of bricks, fret not, as this most certainly isn’t the first (or second) time we’ve heard of researchers looking to the seas to create more intelligent / nimble submersibles. Apparently, a few more folks have gotten involved, as gurus from Drexel, MIT, Harvard and George Washington are now collaborating to develop a “fish-like fin to make autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) more agile.” Apparently, the current iteration has improved on prior versions by eliminating drag during part of the “cut and sweep” motion. The general idea is to combine several of the fins in order to “allow robotic submarines to hover and turn on a dime as natural swimmers can,” but it’ll still be quite some time before devices such as this one can overcome ocean currents and ill-willed sea creatures.
Tesla VP of Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Service, Darryl Siry, set the record straight on the whole airbag wavier thing: in case it wasn’t already clear, the Roadster does indeed have driver and passenger airbags. The waiver was regarding the fact that currently “front passenger airbag does not vary its deployment based on the weight of the passenger,” and thus needed the waiver not unlike other boutique automakers (he cites the Ferrari F430 as an example). Of course, this misunderstandings and misinformation might have been mitigated if Telsa just addressed the issue at the time (instead of waiting a month after the fact); we can only hope their non-metaphoric airbags don’t take as long to deploy.
Although the mention of a magnetically levitating train outside of US borders won’t grab too much attention, saying that phrase here most definitely perks up ears. Sure enough, a maglev project that would shuttle folks from Disneyland to Las Vegas at up to 300 miles-per-hour is now jousting with a cheaper diesel-electric alternative (dubbed DesertXpress) for support. Reportedly, the latter would cost “just” $3- to $5 billion to construct — compared to $12 billion for the former — but rather than escorting folks from Anaheim or even Los Angeles, its origin would be planted in Victorville, California. Still, the trip from there to Vegas would only take three to four hours including the 1.5 hour drive to Victorville, but that still doesn’t sound nearly as nice as “well under two hours” for the maglev. As it stands, there’s quite a bit of red tape to wade through before either option goes forward, but kicking back on a whizzing train sounds an awful lot better than staring at pavement and blasting the air conditioner for five or so hours.
[Via Gadling]
With Easter and spring breaks coming up fast, many families are looking ahead to travel plans, whether heading to warmer weather, to the house the Walt built, or just to visit relatives across the country. Whether you’ve already experienced the challenge of getting kids onto and off of a plane or are new to that kind of fun, the Dumb Little Man blog has lots of advice on making everything run a bit smoother. One must-do I had no clue about, for example:
Carseats. You can bring these on the plane. Check the label on your carseat and also check with your airline to make sure that yours will meet FAA regulations. Carseats are recommended for safety, but not required. Children under 2 years old can fly for free on most airlines if they sit on your lap. Consider the length of the flight before taking advantage of this. Holding a baby or small child on your lap for several hours is harder than it sounds.
Hit the link for 17 more tips for kids and pets as well, ranging from snack ideas to mental tricks to stay calm and keep the little guys happy. Photo by Paul Schultz.
Air Travel with Kids and Pets - How to Keep Your Sanity [Dumb Little Man]
My new Tandem Z1 Chinook finally arrived. And guess what? Two rotors and proper six-way control actually does equal twice the crashes. At least while starting out, anyway— just like a real helicopter these things are a bugger to learn to control. Balancing throttle, forward, backwards, turning and the trimming controls felt like it needed about 3 extra hands. So, I had crashes. A lot. But, eventually, I got the hang of it, as the video shows.
Once my crash factor had reduced, it’s the most fun toy I’ve ever played with. I even felt bold enough to take off the extra plastic vane at the front—something the instructions say to do only once “you obtained certain control skills.” Then there was renewed whirling and high-speed encounters with floor, ceiling, curtains and wife (sorry!), but I eventually got the hang of this maneuverable mode too.
Alas, the attempt to carry a Legoman hanging from its payload hooks totally failed, as you can see from the crash compilation video. There was lots of footage to choose from.
The Tandem Z1 charges from the remote control, just like other Picoo Z choppers, though this controller has an extra trim adjuster for forwards/backwards. The four-way steering joystick comes with a plug-in limiter so you can get the hang of things while starting out. The attention to detail on the model is great: it’s even got undercarriage and a switchable nose searchlight. Despite the extra complexity of the design, the styrofoam seems pretty resilient, and has survived a hundred crashes with only a few dents.
Overall verdict: awesome, flyable, crashable fun.
Finally, mankind has the answer to that eternal question, how many coconuts does it take to go from London to Amsterdam? The answer: 150,000 — converted into biofuel and poured into a special 747, of course. Virgin Atlantic completed its first biofuel tests yesterday with solid results, using a mix of 20 percent coconut oil and 80 percent jet fuel to power a 747 — a first for the airline industry. There’s still a long way to go, of course — only one of the jet’s four tanks carried the alternative fuel, and even Richard Branson admits that giant coconut plantations devoted to airline fuel probably aren’t workable — but despite harsh criticism from skeptics, it’s still an impressive achievement. Branson says that although this test didn’t use a viable fuel, it’s a landmark proof-of-concept — and that next-generation biofuels made from algae may one day power all our aircraft. Sure, that’d be nice, but we’ll stick with tiki-power — anyone have a drink umbrella?
[Via The Register]
It’s really too bad nanotechnology is so gosh darn morally unacceptable, it could do so much good for humanity! Take this new wiperless windshield, for instance. Designed by Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina, the Hidra features an aerodynamic design, and a bit of a nanotech sandwich (mmm, sandwich) to keep the front glass clear of water and debris. The first layer protects from sun and repels water, the second layer features “nano-dust” to push dirt to the edges of the windshield and is activated by the third layer which senses the dirt, while the whole kit is powered by the fourth layer which conducts electricity to keep it going. The tech could be ready for mass production within 5 years, but there’s already a working prototype in the Hidra concept car.
[Via Sparking Tech]
Ever on the lookout for the next step in up in Big Brother policy, there’s a new camera technology being developed in the UK at Loughborough University which can count car occupants by figuring out how much water and blood content there is inside the car. The obvious application is for trimming down those carpool lane offenders, trying to squeeze by the law with a dummy or a pet in the passenger seat. Look, privacy concerns aside, there’s just something awkward about traffic cams tracking quantities of blood and water inside of commuter cars. Do we really want to let the Machines have that kind of inside (literally) information on us?
[Thanks, Richard W]
And you thought puttering around the intarwebz on your EDGE-capable iPhone was bad — just think of trying to find anything on the ‘net while accidentally moseying through a dodgy part of town. Nevertheless, BMW is gearing up to offer “unrestricted access” to the web as an option in any new 2008 vehicle, but alas, it’s only for European clients at the moment. Of course, BMW’s no stranger to letting bits and pieces of the web into its motorcars, but this creation will let you catch up on the latest gadget news and pre-order the latest Elmo doll from the comfort of your heated seat. Sadly, the service is only available to front seat passengers when the car is in park (it’s for the best, we know), but your kiddos can surf into all sorts of bizarre chatrooms while seated in the rear. Nothing like a predator tailing you on the autobahn!
