When I first downloaded the beta version of the new Twitter for BlackBerry application to my Curve 8900, I’ll admit I was enamored. The app reflected the minimal, simplistic design of the Twitter website, with obvious buttons, an always-present tweet box, and nice, easy-to-read text.

But I was also confused. I thought it was the creation of RIM, as that’s who came to DVICE pitching its trial run, but upon the app’s public launch last week, it was revealed that it’s really the “official” Twitter app for BlackBerry, and that the microblogging service worked with RIM on it.

Upon learning this, I wondered what Twitter was thinking.

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Chariot Skates, a form of “wheel-skates,” promise to make quite a few improvements over your average set of inline or roller skates. According to creator Michael Jenkins, Chariot Skates are faster, handle rough terrain better, retain momentum longer and offer a more fluid and comfortable experience. We’ll believe faster right off the bat, as these odd-looking skates boast a top speed of 24 miles an hour.

It may look like Jenkins was inspired by a wheelchair (you can even stop by grabbing the wheels with your hands), but the creator was instead looking to combine a few of his favorite sports: cycling, skiing and skating. “The wheel-skates allow riders to commute like a bicycle but give a freedom which can only be experienced without a seat or handlebars,” Jenkins told Courier Mail, “and greater aerobic exercise value because you’re not sitting.”

There’s one area where pretty much any ol’ set of skates has the Chariots beat, though — the price. A pair of Chariot Skates will set you back a whopping $11,000 when they come rolling out in August. Check out how they work in the video below.

Chariot Skates, via Courier Mail, via Geekologie

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While frowned upon by many in my home state of Connecticut, off-roading is nevertheless a prevalent past time in a state filled with farms, forest, and Fortune 500 CEO’s. In fact, for such a politically liberal state, there are a surprising number of Hummers (though far more Priuses). While mostly reserved for commuting, every now and then I’ve seen a Hummer tearing it up off-road.

Still, there is a part of me that winces everytime I see the mud flying and the engines revving. It is bad for the environment, and off-roading definitely breeds a disregard for nature. It is still fun, but if there was a better way to do it, I would be all over it. Raser Tech’s plug-in hybrid Hummer might just be that better way.

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Steampunk has been with us since the late 80s, gaining more widespread
attention in the last decade.   So what will be the next
movement to move in and replace steampunk?  My guess is that it’s
already in the works in someone’s workshop somewhere.  What do you
think it will be?
By: scoochmaroo

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In my view, one of the most important aspects of next generation vehicles is how well their drivers (and passengers) can interact with them. As our cars become much more complicated machines that provide increasing access to valuable information available through features such as detailed navigation, energy usage statistics, vehicle status reports, and Internet access, they also risk becoming too complicated for people to effectively use them.

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Americans are no doubt used to having a bottle of shampoo or sharp grooming tools confiscated at the airport, but what if you had your $500+ iPad taken away from you with a dubious promise to get it back later? That’s exactly what Israeli authorities are doing after a new regulation passed in the country this week, and nearly a dozen passengers have had to surrender their shiny new toys.

The reason, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, is that American Wi-Fi gadgetry is allowed to broadcast at a higher signal than is allowed in Israel and Europe. The iPad, then, could interfere with the wireless operation of other devices in the country.

Travelers aren’t the only ones feeling the pain, either. Israeli software developers eager to make the move to the iPad have had to practically smuggle the unit in, according to the Huffington Post:

Amnon, a software developer who legally brought an iPad into Israel but asked that his last name be withheld to avoid potential government repercussions, said he and other high-tech businessmen need the iPad to develop new applications for the device.

“There are several hundred people in Israel who make their livelihood developing apps… and there are going to be companies that suffer, because they can’t deliver the services they’re supposed to be delivering,” he said.

It’s thought the the European version of the iPad will meet Israel’s standard and therefore be allowed into the country.

Via Financial Times and the Huffington Post

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Project Runway is now casting for its 8th season!  Do you have
what it takes to make it work ? Strut your stuff on TV and get
the entire Instructables community behind you to vote for your
creations.  Find out more about the process here and get your
applications in by April 22 – there’s no…
By: scoochmaroo

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When Sen. David Vitter persuaded the EPA to agree to yet another review of its long-delayed assessment of the health risks of formaldehyde, he was praised by companies that use or manufacture a chemical found in everything from plywood to carpet. [More]

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Aptera unveils a design-intent version of its all-electric 2E and insists that it’s on the road to financial stability.

This post originally appeared on the Popular Mechanics website, where you can read the entire post. Written by Basem Wasef.

CARLSBAD, Calif.—On Wednesday, Aptera’s vice president and chief engineer Tom Reichenbach unveiled a design-intent prototype of the Aptera 2E. The all-electric vehicle—which was hours away from being shipped to Detroit to compete for the Automotive X Prize—wears a number of outwardly visible alterations from the earlier Typ-1 e prototype that will make it more suitable for daily use. Though the body is visibly paunchier than the predecessor we test drove two years ago, the 2E retains its striking, head-turning silhouette, not to mention a coefficient of drag that’s below 0.15.

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You’ll never get tired of the same view from these windows. Winscape consists of a pair of 46-inch 1080p plasma monitors mounted vertically, some high-resolution footage shot with a RED ONE camcorder, and a Mac Pro running software that splits the video into two feeds that fit into the twin screens.

Ryan Hoagland’s masterpiece would’ve been impressive enough at that point, but he took it to the next level. He rigged up a necklace that shines an infrared beam at a Wiimote, which with the help of a little computer and video trickery, makes the image pan in the opposite direction you’re moving.

Completing the uncanny illusion of reality is Ryan’s expert carpentry, building the two monitors into the façade that looks perfectly real.

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A Japanese company called KLab managed to create a duplicate of the Kindle Development Kit, which was given out to developers on a limited basis and allows programmers to start creating alternate software for Amazon’s e-reader. Using its homebrew Kindle emulator — which KLab claims is the first of its kind — the company managed to port Super Mario Bros. to the e-ink device. Guess what? It looks awful.

Then again, who wouldn’t have guessed that? While I can imagine a world where Kindle games are kind of cool (and basically just Game Boy games from the ’90s), KLab’s efforts here help demonstrate that devices such as the Kindle just don’t have the same range as a tablet. Sure, maybe the e-ink screen is good for reading, but that’s all you’re going to get out of it really.

Check out Mario in action below. Such as it is.

Via Asiajin

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It was actually astronaut Naoko Yamazaki’s seven-year-old daughter who posed the scientific question to be tested. She asked her space-bound mother why, in a bubble bath, bubbles appear to be clear even if the bubble bath mixture is a fun color. Yamazaki, Japan’s second woman to be sent into space (and possibly the first mom), would be remiss not to test her daughter’s theory out.

Once aboard the International Space Station, Yamazaki mixed tropical fruit juice with soap and began the experiment. Rather than appearing transparent as the do here on Earth, the weightlessness of space allowed the pigment from the juice to spread out evenly around the orb of soap, keeping its red color. Yamazaki showed it all to her daughter in real-time, who watched with her father on a videophone.

While it may seem mundane, it highlights something interesting about the Japanese astronauts’ time in space. The Japanese have made a name for themselves with wacky, far-out ideas, such as throwing paper airplanes, simulating a magic carpet, attempting to make sushi and even simple stuff like just putting in eye drops. While these might not seem like the most groundbreaking scientific pursuits, they are helping to develop a picture of what it would be like to live in space.

Via The Star Online

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The Hyper Sub is yet another submarine designed for rich people with more time and money on their hands than they know what to do with. But hey, why not?

This model combines a speedboat with a sub, offering up a surface speed of 40 knots and a range of 500 surface miles thanks to twin diesel engines and a 525 gallon fuel tank. Once it dives down underwater, it can hit depths of up to 250 feet and offers amazing views thanks to a glass ceiling that lets you observe everything above you.

There’s no price on this one yet, but it’s a safe bet that mere mortals can’t afford it.

Hyper Sub via Uncrate

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Nike’s new Free Run+ shoes do not make music when you flex them. Nor do they feature ports on the back for plugging them into speakers. But just for this video, they definitely do.

Somewhere in a top secret location in Tokyo, break beat music duo, HIFANA (composed of KEIZOmachine and JUICY) discovered that Nike Free Run+ running shoes can drop beats like realtime samplers and no other. HIFANA eschewed a part of their regular break beat set up and hooked up the mixers and sound systems to Nike Free Run+ shoes. When bent or twisted, the ultra-flexible Nike Free Run+ drops different tunes and sounds.

I’m not quite sure how this advertises the qualities of these running shoes, because it just makes me wish the rest of us got to try to make music with sneakers. Alas, maybe next summer.

Freshness Mag, via Josh Spear

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Sure, you’ve seen photos of the moon’s surface. But have you seen them in amazing 3D? OK, maybe, but how about without having to cross your eyes? I didn’t think so. But now, if you’ve got a pair of red/green 3D glasses kicking around, you can do so right now.

The photo above is of the Apollo 14 landing site. In 3D you can see the lander popping up from the surface, as well as the depth of all the craters. It’s actually pretty amazing.

The images were made by Nathanial Burton-Bradford from images taken by the LRO. Here’s hoping he makes more.

Flickr via Bad Astronomy

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Rare: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species by Joel Sartore. National Geographic Focal Point, 2010

[More]

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Some of you may have noticed that I stopped doing my famous ‘Desktops of
[current month] ‘ Forum topics.  These few days of past, I may
have bought myself three cameras, so it prompted me to think. Thus I
bring you my new monthly forum topic, which I hope more people can get
involved with than th…
By: gmjhowe

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Promising to change the way we all interact with data, NeoView KOLON recently unveiled its T-OLED (transparent OLED) technology. The idea behind the technology is that automobile drivers would be able to use the T-OLED to view information on the go, sans any distractions that might cause accidents.

Of course now that we have fully enabled touch technology in everything from ATMs to iPads, it would be easy to imagine using this interface dynamic to make our Minority Report dreams come true.

Via Akihabara News,

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The crews of STS-131 and Expedition 23 gathered for a group portrait in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station while space shuttle Discovery was docked at the station. STS-131 crew (in light blue shirts) are commander Alan Poindexter, pilot James P. Dutton Jr., and mission specialists Clayton Anderson, Rick Mastracchio, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. Expedition 23 crew Commander Oleg Kotov, cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Alexander Skvortsov, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and NASA astronauts T.J. Creamer and Tracy Caldwell Dyson. Image Credit: NASA

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Verizon has been something of the odd-network-out as it doesn’t carry either the iPhone — which is constantly rumored to be coming to the carrier — or the Nexus One (though Verizon is in the cards to get Google’s “superphone,” too).

Well, now it’s Verizon’s time to shine thanks to the coming of the humbly-named HTC Droid Incredible, which is set to hit stores April 29th. Verizon carried the original Droid and now, with the Incredible, it’s got a phone that’s on the same level as the Nexus One.

The Incredible has the same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the Nexus One, a 3.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen display, runs Android 2.1, an 8 megapixel camera with a dual LED flash, and has integrated GPS and wireless.

It’s all yours for $200 (with a contract, most likely), and the HTC Droid Incredible will be ready for preorder this Monday.

Via Gizmodo

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