Clipmarks | CrazyRedHead's 'technology' clips

Segway motorbike

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:11:40 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

A young inventor has created a motorbike with a twist – it uses two wheels but they are positioned right next to each other, giving it the illusion of being a powered unicycle.

Ben Gulak, 18, from Toronto, Canada, named his creation the Uno and the vehicle, which looks like half a motorbike, works like a Segway.

It's powered by electricity and uses gyroscopic technology to make it move. Two gyros have been fitted – one to move forward and reverse, and a second for turning.

It has an on/off switch and Gulak says riders simply have to lean forward to start moving. To slow down or stop, it's a case of leaning back.

Gulak says he turns heads whenever he's riding the Uno, which he designed himself with the help of a 3D software tool called Google SketchUp.

There aren't any current production plans for the vehicle, which is on show at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto and it's the only place it can be seen, unless you spot Gulak taking his Uno for a spin.

Tags: science, technology

New shoes that grow with children's feet

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:26:43 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

It's an expensive exercise keeping children in shoes, as any parent would attest.

All too often, the little darlings are bursting out of their new ones before the soles have been scuffed.

But one inventor claims to have found the solution - shoes that grow with the feet.

The INCHworm trainers use a technology called iFit to expand up to one full size.

They are altered by pressing a button on the side and pulling the toe out to the required length.

Each pair goes up in two half-size increments, which means that each offers three sizes.

According to the makers, the shoes are sturdy enough that they won't stretch accidentally and can withstand the roughest of playground workouts.

They are not cheap, at £47.99 including delivery.

However, the patented technology means that each pair would last about three to six months longer than a normal pair.

They are also great for the thousands of kids who have one foot bigger than the other - they could have one shoe set at size 11 and one at 11 and a half.

Tags: children, shoes, innovation

Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:11:01 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

It might not look much, but this device unveiled yesterday by Amazon.com could sound the death toll for the humble book.

The Kindle electronic reader takes away the hassle of thumbing through a heavy paperback and forgetting what page you just read.

The device will be able to download an e-book in less than a minute and uses a high-speed mobile phone network, rather than wi-fi, so you could even store a novel while sunning in the park.

The battery-powered gadget can hold up to 200 books and weighs just 283g (10oz) - the same weight as a standard paperback. The Kindle screen is not back-lit and uses electronic ink to mimic paper.

Some experts say the Kindle could reverse a decline in book-reading as downloading a book will only take 30 seconds and the new technology may appeal to a broader audience.

Mr Bezos added: "Customers think that electronic books should be less expensive than physical books, and we've done that.

Clip Source: www.amazon.com

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Tags: books, technology

Moms Get Special Social Networking Site

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:57:35 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.nbc5i.com

When you think social networking sites on the Internet, chances are you think of teenagers or young adults.

But CafeMom is a social networking site for moms.

It already has about 300,000 members.

It was set up by Meredith Vieira and actor Andrew Shue and lets moms swap stories, discuss a variety of topics and share photos, in addition to setting up public or private groups with other moms who have similar interests.

Tags: technology, computer, internet, mothers

Can one have too many Firefox extensions?

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:31:55 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.habitablezone.com

Firefox extensions, can one have too many?

Like 200 maybe?

Tags: technology, internet

Futuristic Concept Phones

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 02:59:05 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.weirdomatic.com

Concept Phones

Tags: science, technology

Glowing Butterflies

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:22:44 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Photo in the News: Glowing Butterflies Outshine LEDs

November 17, 2005—A hot new thing in high tech may actually be 30 million years old. Glow-in-the-light African swallowtail butterflies essentially have highly efficient LEDs embedded in their wings, according to a study co-authored by physicist Pete Vukusic (pictured above) that appears in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science. (Read the full story: "Glowing Butterflies Shine With Natural LEDs.")

Found in computer monitors, brake lights, flashlights, and other electronics, efficient LEDs (light-emitting diodes) were only recently perfected by humans. But the same basic structures that make the new technology possible—tiny mirror systems and crystals—have apparently been lighting up butterfly wings for millennia.

As a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Alexei Erchak developed the first prototype "high-efficient LED" in 2001. His take on the butterfly discovery? It "means that butterflies are smarter than MIT students."

—Written by Ted Chamberlain, reported by John Roach

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Photograph courtesy Peter Vukusic/University of Exeter

Tags: insects, photography