No pretentious reflecting, no “as we say goodbye to 2009…” clichés, no insomnia-curing treatises on what a year it’s been. Just DVICE, you, and the best technology of 2009.
Keep reading for our staff’s picks for the top innovations of the past 365. Be sure to let us know what your favorite tech of the year is in the comments.
In the first month of 2009 people gave to me: a coal ash spill in Tennessee. (Technically occurred in 2008, but it lingered.) [More]
Some people will go to great lengths to get the best gas mileage possible. There are simple ways of doing this of course, like using a light touch on the gas pedal and coasting whenever possible. If you’re mechanically inclined you can retard the timing or even perform an engine swap in pursuit of high MPGs.
Or you can add a hideous duck tail to your geo metro. Hey, whatever works, right?
Chrysler was in dire straits earlier this year, and while bankruptcy is now behind the Pentastar, the battle that looms ahead will prove if Chrysler can truly remain a viable company. Chrysler’s hope rests with Fiat, the Italian car comglomerate who took a 30% stake in Chrysler as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. While we’ve heard much and seen little thus far in regards to the future Chrysler lineup, the Detroit International Auto Show should give some hint as to the direction of Chrysler/Fiat.
One such car sure to make a big impression (in a small way) is the universally hailed Fiat 500 subcompact. Supposedly, Fiat will have an electric version of the 500 on display in Detroit next month.
Pictured above is a solar charging station under development by Toyota. The company has plans to open the first of 21 in the Spring of 2010, signaling a move by Toyota to become a vertically integrated company. First, make the plug-in car. Then, build the charging station that it plugs in to. It’s comparable to the same company both digging up the oil, and building the car that runs on the oil. But better.
In many ways this is an understandable move. Toyota has held a leadership position in the hybrid market, and, as such, the company has long resisted any mention of a future move to plug-in vehicles. Why cut sales short, with all the expense that that entails: retooling assembly lines and so on – when yours is the market leader?
Reggie urgently needs a loving permanent or foster home. He’s too old to be in kennels during this cold weather and he needs a stress free environment so that he can put on some weight and regain his strength. Please look at his pictures and video – give him a chance.
Charlie was rescued from the pound just in the nick of time as he was due to be put to sleep. He’s only 8 and seems to be a lovely boy, friendly and loveable. He needs a forever home where he can be safe and loved.
Ever since the wildly optimistic projections of progress from the mid-20th century–robot companions, extra-orbital sojourns , 200-year life spans–scientists have been gently dialing back the public’s expectations. So, perhaps it is no sobering surprise that many of the hopeful predictions for scientific advancements for the new millennium have yet to come to pass. [More]
Ever since the wildly optimistic projections of progress from the mid-20th century–robot companions, extra-orbital sojourns , 200-year life spans–scientists have been gently dialing back the public’s expectations. So, perhaps it is no sobering surprise that many of the hopeful predictions for scientific advancements for the new millennium have yet to come to pass. [More]
Tonight, at the stroke of midnight, all eyes will be on the lights in Times Square, New York City to see the year “2010″ light up in all its LED glory. Betcha didn’t know that the power for those lights is coming from a completely renewable resource — humans!
For the second year in a row, Duracell has created the Duracell Smart Power Lab with stationary bike-like Power Rovers in Times Square where folks have been pedalling these bikes to generate the power for the lights. Just in time for the big night, the Duracell Power Rovers have collected over 32,000 watts of energy, which is enough to light up the numerals “2010″ after the ball drops tonight.
How much power you could harvest at home by hooking up your home fitness equipment? Might make for a new kind of New Years resolutions for 2010. Happy New Year!
Secrets of the Universe: How We Discovered the Cosmos by Paul Murdin. University of Chicago Press, 2009 [More]
Sadie and Sam are looking for a very special home. They’re 12 years old and have never been outside their house and garden since they were puppies. They need an understanding, patient new owner who can socialise them and help them get used to the outside world.
Sven Holthusen runs the EDISON project at Siemens’ Energy Sector in the Denmark branch of the international engineering giant. The EDISON project is working on raising charging power to as much as 300 kW so that batteries can be recharged on the go, in as little as six minutes.
The idea is to replicate the familiar: filling up at a gas station in 6 minutes or so, not in order to replace long slow overnight charges in home garages but to have an alternative to meet the needs of those apartment-dwellers who don’t have garages (and those who do, but who don’t sleep at least 6 hours at night) by making on-the-go-charges as available and as quick as filling up at a gas station.
As commercial robotics improve, robot kits are also reaching new levels of sophistication. The most recent example of this trend comes in the form of the new Remo (remote brain) Humanoid Kit robot.
Equipped with high-quality CCD cameras for image processing and pressure sensors on its feet for balance, the robot employs the use of Bluetooth technology to allow you to control it remotely. Powered by lithium batteries or by AC adapter, the Remo can be yours for just 399,000 yen ($4,358) here.
Via PlasticPals
Wishing all a joyful new year, members of the Cassini-Huygens team offer us their views of Saturn and the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini-Huygens, a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, which is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA. The Cassini orbiter (pictured at the top right of this image) and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. Image Credit: NASA/JPL
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