Recycle bin hard drive stores your deletions, mimics a trash can

Posted Aug 26th 2007 8:20AM by Darren Murph

We'll admit, it does seem a bit unnecessary to purchase an external hard drive that reserves its space for your deleted files, but if it looks this good, we can't help but be awed. Designed by Franco Cagnina, the Tempo concept is a 250GB hard drive that somehow resides in a trash can-shaped enclosure, and as expected, stores every single byte that you (haphazardly or otherwise) direct to File 13. The standout feature, however, are the blue LEDs that creep up the can as you add more and more junk to the heap. Well played, Franco, well played.

[Via TechnaBob]

Flexible displays created by stretching crystals

Posted Aug 24th 2007 6:18PM by Darren Murph

As researchers continue to forge ahead in their quest to create commercially viable flexible displays, a new team from Canada has apparently unearthed a breakthrough of sorts. Reportedly, the crew has been able to conjure up a full-color display which boasts pixels made from photonic crystals, and by "bonding them to an electroactive polymer that expands when a voltage is applied to it," the colors of the pixels change. According to André Arsenault of the University of Toronto, the newfangled devices "can be viewed just as well in bright sunlight as in indoor light," and if all goes as planned, we could be seeing a whole lot more of these promising units "in as little as two years" when the startup Opalux looks to fit these bendable creations into billboards, handheld gadgetry, and anything else it deems fit.

[Image courtesy of MSNBC, thanks Alan]

Festo's fluidic muscles make us all look weak

Posted Aug 24th 2007 10:29AM by Darren Murph

Yeah, we've seen some pretty fancy robotic arm work already this year, but Festo is out to show 'em all up with its fluidic muscle-packin' Airic's_arm. This robotic prosthesis sports a "bone structure" which mimics that found on a real live human, and can be moved via the 30 "muscles" built within. Essentially, Festo's approach to movement relies on "an elastomer tube reinforced by aramid fibers, which contract quickly and exert a pulling force when they're filled with a blast of compressed air or liquid." Of course, you'll notice it doesn't offer quite the same range as less bionic alternatives, but this thing's pretty accurate, indeed. Check it out for yourself, the video's right down there.

First all-electric police car takes to the streets

Posted Aug 24th 2007 8:31AM by Darren Murph

C'mon, fess up -- you'd be a lot less intimidated by a whisper quiet, all-electric squad car than one with a roaring V8, but it's hard to argue the fuel savings that would accrue if an entire precinct resorted to using the former. Such a car has now been loosed by the Connellsville Police Department, which had its combustion engine removed and replaced by a "pure-electric" alternative. The modified Chevy Impala will reportedly cruise for eight hours on a two-hour charge from a 240-volt outlet, but can't chase down baddies in heavy rain for fear of water "destroying its electrical circuits." Furthermore, Coherent Systems International (the car's converter) will be monitoring its effectiveness over the next two years as it aims to "work with other state agencies" and create more alternatively-fueled automobiles for public service.

HP's MediaSmart Home Servers get a release date

Posted Aug 22nd 2007 6:03PM by Joshua Topolsky

If you're keeping abreast of the Windows Home Server proceedings (and we suspect you are) then you're probably somewhat familiar with the HP EX470 / EX475. Furthermore, If you've been eyeing the two, drive-filled towers and been hoping to know when you might get your hands on them, you may be in luck. According to reports from retailers like Amazon and PCMall, the $599 EX470 (clocking in at 500GB) and and $749 EX475 (1TB) will begin shipping on September 15th. As you'll recall, the servers rock 1.8GHz AMD Semprons and contain four drive bays, plus tout four USB ports and one eSATA port -- for additional external expansion. As the supposed launch date for WHS draws ever nearer (or further... it's hard to tell) it's at least nice to know that we'll have some options when it does eventually land.

[Via DailyTech, thanks Mark]

Ageia announces PhysX 100M processor for gaming laptops

Posted Aug 22nd 2007 4:32PM by Darren Murph

Although it's been well over a year since the Ageia PhysX processor made any noise at all over on the desktop front, the firm is taking full advantage of the exposure provided at the Games Convention in Germany to unveil the PhysX 100M processor for "high-performance" gaming lappies. According to the company, this new device aims to provide "the most intensely realistic gaming and entertainment experience to PC gamers" on-the-go, but the nitty-gritty we were hoping for simply hasn't been divulged just yet. Of course, it's fairly safe to assume that we'll only be seeing this unit packed within beastly gaming laptops that can't stray far from an AC outlet, but only time will tell which manufacturer takes the bait first.

[Via ExtremeTech]

Baterai 'Kertas' Siap Hidupi Gadget Masa Depan

Fino Yurio Kristo - detikinet

Baterai 'Kertas' (BBC)

Jakarta - Baterai 'kertas' fleksibel bisa memenuhi kebutuhan sumber daya energi gadget masa depan. Demikian klaim para peneliti dari Rensselaer Polytehnic Institute. Mereka membuat contoh baterai yang hanya sedikit lebih besar daripada kertas perangko. Baterai ini bisa mengeluarkan daya sebesar 2,3 volt, cukup untuk menghidupkan cahaya kecil.

Ambisi mereka lainnya adalah untuk memproduksi baterai kertas yang suatu hari nanti bisa menjadi sumber daya mobil.

Profesor Robert Linhardt, salah satu peneliti menuturkan bahwa baterai kertas ini bisa jadi merupakan masa depan penyimpanan daya. Berbeda dengan baterai konvensional yang mengandung berbagai komponen, baterai kertas ini mengintegrasikan seluruh komponen baterai dalam struktur tunggal.

Baterai tersebut mengandung carbon nanotube sebagai elektroda dan dalam keadaan terpotong atau terlipat, baterai ini masih bisa berfungsi. Karena hanya mengandung kertas dan karbon sebagai unsur utama, pengaruhnya terhadap tubuh juga diklaim tidak berbahaya seperti baterai biasa yang bisa mengeluarkan racun.

Meskipun daya output yang dikeluarkan untuk sementara ini masih berukuran kecil, Professor Linhardt optimis energi yang dihasilkan oleh produk ini mudah untuk ditingkatkan.

"Jika kita menumpuk 500 baterai kertas bersama-sama, voltasenya juga meningkat 500 kali. Sesederhana itu," klaim Profesor Lindhart seperti dikutip detikINET dari BBC, Kamis (16/8/2007).

Namun, Profesor Daniel Sperling, seorang pakar sumber energi alternatif dari University of California mengatakan bahwa penemuan ini masih belum meyakinkan. "Saya kira, belum akan ada perubahan drastis akibat penemuan ini. Mereka juga harus memikirkan soal biaya," tegasnya.

Carbon nanotubes memang sangatlah mahal. Baterai kertas untuk mendayai mobil misalnya, mungkin juga tidak akan terjangkau. Profesor Lindhart sendiri pun mengakui baterai kertas ini juga masih membutuhkan waktu untuk bisa dipasarkan secara massal.
(ash/ash)