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Posted: 14 May 2011 02:14 PM PDT Solar Impulse completes first solar-powered international flight, Captain Piccard returns to earth We're big fans of charming, ungainly Solar Impulse, and of Captain Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg's quest to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered plane. In case you missed the live stream: the Swiss flier just got a little closer to that goal by completing its first international flight, taking off near Berne, Switzerland and landing in Brussels, Belgium, just under 13 hours later....

Posted: 14 May 2011 01:12 PM PDT Power Matt joins the Wireless Power Consortium, gains the power of Qi Powermat's Power Matt proclaimed his cord-cutting capabilities to the people while bearing a striking resemblance to Superman. And now, just as the Kryptonian joined the Justice League, Power Matt has teamed up with the Wireless Power Consortium to benefit all mankind -- or at least get us closer to universal contactless chargers....

Posted: 14 May 2011 12:08 PM PDT Microsoft-approved tool fixes your 'walshed' Windows Phone, helps you get official updates once more There are certainly advantages to rooting your Windows Phone 7 device, but there's a heck of a downside too -- Microsoft can't update your handset to the latest and greatest build if you've unofficially patched your phone. Good to know, but what if you've already done the deed? That's why you'll want the application above, a ChevronWP7-tested, Microsoft-approved program for pulling your phone out of Bizzaro World and setting things right....

Posted: 14 May 2011 10:33 AM PDT VW's China-only, electric vehicle-only sub-brand will be called Kai-Li Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Volkswagen, China FAW-Volkswagen Bora Back in December of 2010, the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture unveiled the electric E-Bora in the Chinese city of Changchun. The vehicle, built with core components made in China, utilizes the underpinnings of the standard Bora (called the Jetta in the U.S.) pictured above. FAW-VW asserts that the E-Bora will eventually hit dealer lots in China....

Posted: 14 May 2011 10:33 AM PDT FCC reveals Seagate GoFlex Satellite, a WiFi-capable battery-powered external hard drive For a purportedly doomed manufacturer of magnetic storage, Seagate sure is spinning some interesting ideas these days -- last year, we got modular, upgradable cables, and now the company's testing external hard drives that don't need those pesky wires. According to filings, the Seagate GoFlex Satellite not only plays the network-attached-storage card with built-in 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, it's also got a 3.7V battery inside its case......

Posted: 14 May 2011 09:30 AM PDT HTC Thunderbolt inductive charging back hits FCC, makes life with LTE a little easier That inductive-charging backplate for the HTC Thunderbolt just hit the FCC, which means keeping the battery-devouring device juiced is about to get a little less inconvenient. Instead of having to plug in three times a day just to keep that LTE radio happy you'll simply be able to rest it on charging mat......

Posted: 14 May 2011 07:55 AM PDT Caption Contest: you shall not interrupt Gandalf's 3D viewing session Nobody likes being bothered while they're really getting into a movie, and as we all know you can't really get into a movie unless it's in 3D. Right? Sir Ian McKellen took things a step further, not only watching a screening of The Hobbit in the third dimension but doing it in character, and looking ever so slightly perturbed at having his viewing session interrupted by a rogue photographer....

Posted: 14 May 2011 06:52 AM PDT HDHomeRun Prime TV tuner officially available for preorders for $249, six tuner version next week After a false start when it passed certification earlier this month, SiliconDust's three CableCARD tuner HDHomeRun Prime is finally available for preorder from Newegg for $249. The release date is scheduled for June 29th but those interested in getting it hooked up to their HTPC as quickly as possible may want to wait until next week when the six tuner 6CC version goes up for preorder, as those are expected to...

Posted: 14 May 2011 06:20 AM PDT Renault Fluence Z.E. to transport celebs at Cannes Film Festival Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Renault, Europe/EUFrom May 11th through the 22nd, ten electric Renault Fluence Z.E. sedans will escort actors and film professionals to the foot of the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. In near-total silence. The Renault Fluence Z.E.'s tour of Cannes comes just a couple of months ahead of its launch in France, Israel and Denmark. Actors, film professionals and other celebs will be able to reserve Renault vehicles...

Posted: 14 May 2011 06:20 AM PDT Robot orchestra marries music and machines (video) It may not be the first go-round for the Karmetik Machine Orchestra, but the automated musicians, fashioned by a group of students at the California Institute of the Arts, took the stage last night to prove that robots can rock. Among the mechanized musicians scheduled to perform at the Walt Disney Modular Theater were MahaDevibot, Glockenbot, BreakBot, and NotomotoN, described as a "duel-head drum with twelve beaters and a mallet orchestra."...

Posted: 14 May 2011 04:12 AM PDT MOPS Shadow T800 brings analog joystick, hearts & spades to Android Sure, the Xperia Play may have that slick gamepad slider, shoulder buttons, and Sony Playstation's official blessing, but can it hold its own against the Shadow's analog pad? Probably, because despite the new contender's self described status of a "mobile Playstation," its lack of shoulder buttons won't help it play any of those Xperia exclusive PSone games it can't download....

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:38 AM PDT Kinect hack enables psychedelic acupressure, far-out graphics (video) We've seen the Kinect do some pretty wild stuff, but this "Kinected Massage" thing might just take the cake. Jason Stephens, massage therapist and grad student, has employed the ever-expanding power of Microsoft's Kinect in combination with a video projector to create "flow fields" that follow his hands on a client's body while he performs a massage....