GM's Pontiac Solstice racer?
 An alert member of the Solstice Forum attended the March Madness/Final Four Pontiac demofest at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday, and got a brief glimpse of the newest offspring of the GM Performance parts bin - a Pontiac Solstice racer! The car appears to be outfitted for SCCA Showroom Stock 'B' racing (basically a stock car with minimal modifications allowed) and features a nice little add-on hardtop.
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The miraculous CMU Water Runner
 Carnegie Mellon University bot Water Runner's ability to walk on water, is completed by way of lightweight plastic and carbon fiber. It is the newest member of a supposed zoo of animal-inspired devices from CMU's NanoRobotics Lab, owes its gravity-defying skills to research done by Harvard University biologists on the basilisk lizard. Like its scaly counterpart, Water Runner uses a rapid slapping motion of the "feet" that provides enough propulsion for the bot to avoid sinking or tipping over. Although it's currently just in the proof-of-concept, prototype stage (like, it still needs to be plugged into the wall, making it less than ideal for outdoor applications), future versions of the project will sport batteries (of course), sensors for monitoring water quality, cameras for peeping stuff, and even bacteria for breaking down pollutants (think: Exxon Valdez). These applications are all well and good, but as usual, all we really wanna know is: could it take down RoboSnake in a land-and-sea grudge match? Read more..!
Rumble Pak finally available for the Nintendo DS
 Gamers will still welcome the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak with open arms, because as we all know, gamin' just ain't gamin' unless the controller is buzzing and vibrating in your hands. Compatible with such games as Metroid Prime Hunters and Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, the Rumble Pak fits neatly into the DS' Gameboy Advance cartridge slot, and can be yours for the low low price of only $10 direct from Nintendo. Or, if you're in the mood to help out the Japanese Chinese economy a bit, and don't mind 150% markups, Lik-Sang is offering the same product for $25. Read more..!
Kanguru's 64GB Flash Drive Max, only $2,800
 Kanguru's 64GB KMFDM series USB 2.0 Flash Drive Max drops April 15 for a mere, $2,800. The drives come packed in silver or black aluminum and boast a 9MB/sec read and 5MB/sec write speeds. If you can't foot the three large, then Kanguru is also offering 32GB and 16GB models for $1,500 and $800, respectively. Read more..!
OnHand wrist PDA unstrapped
 Matsucom has decided to call it quits and stop producing the PDA device, which managed to incorporate a full set of PDA functions into a fairly ugly watch. The OnHand was hobbled not just by a laissez-faire approach to marketing and a poor design, but by its use of proprietary technology and limited PC support (despite being introduced in 2003, it used a serial cable instead of USB). The small OnHand community did come up with some decent hacks, including a GPS hookup and an external keyboard, but that wasn't enough to keep this going. If you're still dying to get a wrist PDA, though, all hope isn't lost. Despite constant rumors of its death, Fossil's Palm-based Abacus wrist PDA is still available from TigerDirect for about $50. Read more..!
Virtua Fighter 5 footage: 'nuff said
 The verdict is in and the decision is unanimous: Virtua Fighter 5 looks like one hell of fun game. Just download the video footage and see for yourself! Keep in mind this is actually from the arcade version, but PS3 owners will see it ported to the Sony console later on down the road. Read more..!
Booth babe gamer tells her tale
 AMN's Yvonna Lynn took a different approach for last year's E3: she became a booth babe. According to Lynn, "getting a way in wasn't difficult through being a booth babe, but securing the best booth placement was a bit of luck." Stationed at the Twilight Princess booth for Nintendo, Lynn was fortunate enough to meet Sir "Shiggy" Miyamoto. In her latest column, Lynn gives a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an E3 booth babe. While Lynn and a few other babes were excited about the games, she does lament that "99.9% of booth babes would probably think a 'console' is what you do for someone who is sad." Lynn explains why many booth babes "may be more apprehensive to talk up a storm" and why some of the E3 parties are not as fun as one might suspect. All in all, an interesting read, especially for any girl gamers looking for a way in -- now you know what to expect. You can read more about Yvonna Lynn at her website. Read more..!
Anchor's Away! by Alexis Bittar
 The new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Man's Chest, premiers on July 7th. Thus this Pirate-themed pieces to get you into the spirit of the movie, so it is best to check them out early. Alexis Bittar's Anchor's Away! necklace would fit perfectly into the wardrobe of any on-set damsel in distress, to be sure. A sizable silver anchor, with a sea-green Chrysophase quartz charm dangling below, is hung on a 16-inch gold chain in a classy, nautical necklace. At only $98. Read more..!
3.1 Philip Lim Victorian Jacket
 This Victorian Jacket by 3.1 Philip Lim fit Mena Suvari when she wore it to the Final Fantasy movie premiere. The fitted waist and short length of the jacket really hugged her curves. The jacket also has an old-fashioned, flared tail in the back. The black and white of Mena's jacket was striking, but for a softer look, there's the light pink. Price: $598. Read more..!
 Escama works with two women's cooperatives Cia do Lacre and 100 Dimensao in Brasília, Brazil. The prices for the handbags are set by the cooperatives. Each bag has a card with the name of the artist who crocheted the piece and the Escama website has a picture and a bio of each of the artisans. The Masha bag shown here sells for $160 and comes in silver, gold or black. Read more..!
 The Charriol Kucha watch is designed for women with a love of feline style. The word Kucha is Swahili for claws and it has diamond set claws curving over the stainless steel case. The watch has four dial variations with matching straps: panther, tiger, white or pink mother of pearl. It sells for $1340 and was chosen as the ladies watch of the year for 2005 by Swiss watch magazines Montres Passion and Uhren Welt. Read more..!
 Remember the Hollywood agent character on The Ben Stiller show? OK, maybe not, but you can combine walking or jogging with working using the Treadputer. A clever combination of Skype, Dragon Naturally Speaking, and lots of keen hardware. Brad Feld, the creator, isn't the first one to do this. There's a whole Squidoo lens on Walking While Working. Read more..!
Change your voice with MorphVOX Junior
 There's a paid version you can upgrade to, but the free one, MorphVOX Junior is pretty fun itself. It's a voice changer application for Windows from Screaming Bee. Your choices are Tiny man (like helium), Man, or Woman. While this app is free of spyware and such, it does run little banner ads at the top of the application itself. Read more..!
 Circuit Simulator is a Java applet that will allow you to simulate the effects of different electronic components on a circuit graphically. It also includes some complex circuits, and some everyday circuits like a three-way light switch so you can observe exactly how they work. Read more..!
Network Magic - automagically configure your network
 Network Magic is a utility that takes on the job of configuring your home network - everything from local file and printer sharing and wireless configuration to remote file access and security. It can also "monitor and repair" your network. One of the coolest features is the ability of Network Magic to create a network topology map with all network-aware devices that it can detect represented. If there is a problem, for example one of the devices gets disconnected, Network Magic can tell you exactly where the disconnect occurred. Network Magic has both free and commercial versions available. Read more..!
This webcam doesn't work with the Mac, or does it?
 This great piece of software brings driver support to Mac OS X for a large number of webcams that claim they only work with Windows. It's called macam, and version 0.85 just hit Sourceforge. This version claims support for dozens of cameras. Read more..!
Make a Far Cry map, win swag
 Planet Far Cry and TeamXbox are giving you the opportunity to unleash the map creating beast within and win some cool swag for your efforts. If you own a copy of Far Cry Instincts Predator for Xbox 360, and have mastered its map editing feature, you'll want to check out the submission rules for the Far Cry Map-Making Madness contest. The Grand Prize includes a Yamaha home theater system, a year of Xbox Live Gold, and other 360 goodies from the Marketplace and Ubisoft. Read more..!
Optool, a smart browser switcher
 For those with challenging multiple browser scenarios, Optool is the solution. With the tap of a hot-key, or an ingenious long right-click, a page can be moved from one browser to another with no fuss, no muss. Out of the box, Optool supports and can automatically detect Mozilla, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer (multiple installations), Netcaptor, and Netscape. And if that's not quite enough for you (hey, where's Maxthon?!) you can manually configure additional browsers. Optool is not quite free, although it's close. If you find you use it regularly, the author of Optool requests that you send him a postcard from your location. Hey, that's not too much to ask, right? Read more..!
Make your Windows look like OS X
 For those that use Windows, yet lust after a Mac and can't afford or justify the purchase of one, you can make your Windows XP PC look as much like a Mac as possible. Follow the instructions at Tech Manifesto, or simply download FlyakiteOSX and let it do all the heavy lifting for you. Be warned that the install for FlyakiteOSX takes quite a bit longer than you might imagine. But it's still faster (or at least more efficient) than doing the transformation manually. Read more..!
Emulate a KVM switch using software
 Avi Dardik has a quick guide on how to set up a secondary PC using VNC (for multi-platform support) to act like a KVM switch and allow you to switch between active full-screen sessions on your host machine and a client machine at the tap of a hot-key. Although many may argue that using VNC software for this purpose is a pretty ugly hack, the reality is that this scenario is extremely common, and very fast on a local network. Remote Desktop is simply faster and more efficient between Windows PCs that there's no reason not to. That is, of course, if you have XP Pro or a flavor of Windows Server for your "client" machine. XP Home won't allow you to make a Remote Desktop connection to it unprompted. Read more..!
Google Toolbar 2 for Firefox released
 Google has finally released version two of their browser toolbar for Firefox. The new version picks up on some of the features that have been in the latest IE version for some time, but as they state on the Official Google Blog, Firefox and IE users have different needs, so there are some differences between the two toolbars. Luckily, everything is there, including spell checking (including a new 'autofix' feature), Send from Gmail which intercepts mail links online and allows you to use Gmail as your mail client rather than popping up another mail client's window, and some classic features like the ability to go up a level, AutoFill in online forms, and of course the famous PageRank indicator. Read more..!
Guild Wars Factions Championship details revealed
 NCsoft and ArenaNet are already preparing the next global event for the game's sequel, Factions. This second tournament will take place August 24-27 at the Games Convention in Leipzig, where rival guilds will again compete for over $100,000 in prizes. The first of three qualifying seasons begins today, and the winners of this opening round will win a trip to E3, courtesy of ArenaNet. Read more..!
Evergreen's $8.50 DN-2000 MP3 player
 Japanese Co. Evergreen is no stranger to the cheap and crap-plasticy product. Now they combine their love of the two in this $8.50 DN-2000 MP3 player targeting the ill-fated shores of Japan, and perhaps, beyond. It runs for 5-hours on a single AAA battery and supports 1GB SD cards. Read more..!
Kids corrupted ... BEFORE video games?
 Sure, Grand Theft Auto purportedly trains kids to kill hookers, but what about the decadence caused by the Waltz? According to The Times of London in 1816, this "foreign dance" was seen so unfit that the paper felt it "a duty to warn every parent against exposing his daughter to so fatal a contagion." Then came movies in 1909, blasted for causing many to lead "dissolute lives." The telephone? Yeah, that, too. Wired has a few choice quotes from the advent of each of these technologies and art forms, among others. Of course, the point of this comparison is to show that the current hysteria over video games -- "known" to promote drinking, drug usage, and sexual deviance -- is just an initiation rite. Some works of art will always cause controversy (Catcher in the Rye, for some reason, is still not allowed in some schools). Read more..!
Escient ships new FireBall DVDM-552
 Escient's new $6000 FireBall DVDM-552 has just started shipping, and from the looks of things they're spending most of that $6000 on component video hookups, though there's plenty more to love here. The DVDM-552 can manage up to 2000 DVDs or CDs stored in Sony DVD changers, can send multiple video or digital audio streams to multiple rooms, holds a 500GB HDD, and can stream networked media. Everything can be operated through a web control panel, a PDA, or from a particularly brave remote. Sounds pretty exciting, though for the amount you'd be spending on this thing it seems like you could afford to put a WMCE PC in each room instead. Read more..!
That's what you get for installing Windows!
 Here's a PowerBook that still runs when hooked up to an external keyboard and monitor. So, don't feel sorry for this Mac's owner. Just think of him as the ultimate case modder, who managed to turn an old laptop into a desktop using nothing but a Hummer H2. Read more..!
MIT researchers use virus to build tiny batteries
 At MIT a small team has been spending the last few years trying to coax an organism to self-assemble into super thin lithium-ion battery out of tiny "nanowire" structures. The process involves a gene-manipulated version of a common virus which collects cobalt oxide and gold, and then assembles itself as an ultrathin wire on top of thin film. The wires are 6 nanometers in diameter, 880 nanometers in length, and a full fledged battery can be the size of a grain of rice. Once the genes are modified, the researchers say they can easily replicate millions of the wires. While this might sound like a good fit for a B-movie plot, it also sounds like they've managed to develop a rather large jump in battery tech. It looks like the first application for this tech will be for mini batteries like those of hearing aids, but there are hopes this tech can eventually make its way into laptops and perhaps even power electric cars in the future, thanks to its high density. Read more..!
Fujitsu to boost drive capacity with advanced lube
 Fujitsu has plans to increase hard drive capacity using advanced lubricants. The idea seems fairly simple: if you can reduce the space between the read/write head and the platter, you can squeeze more data into a smaller space. The problem is, there's only so close the head can get to the drive without causing damage. However, as Fujitsu sees it, new lubricants could eliminate such concerns, allowing the head to float a mere 2 nanometers above the drive, compared with 10 nm as is typical with current drives. While Fujitsu is being coy about specifics, the company boasts that the technology could allow hard drives with a capacity of 1 terabit per square inch by 2010. That would double the density offered by InPhase's holographic drives, which currently hold a record at a half-terabit per inch. Read more..!
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-Lytir1
