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Saturday, June 25, 2011

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Audi launches 99 g/km A1 1.6 TDI in Europe

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 02:43 PM PDT

Audi launches 99 g/km A1 1.6 TDI in Europe


Audi launches 99 g/km A1 1.6 TDI in Europe
Filed under: Diesel, MPG, Audi, Europe/EU German automaker Audi has launched a revised version of its A1 1.6 TDI with CO2 emissions of 99 grams per kilometer. Its 104-horsepower 1.6-liter diesel-burning engine, which is mated to a five-speed manual transmission, has undergone a slew of revisions that help slash the A1's CO2 emissions from 105 g/km down to just 99 g/km, meaning that this vehicle is now exempt from London's congestion charge. The...

Boys Going Wild Is Cheaper Than Ever With Online Coupon Deals

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 02:13 PM PDT

Boys Going Wild Is Cheaper Than Ever With Online Coupon Deals


Boys Going Wild Is Cheaper Than Ever With Online Coupon Deals
Nearly two-thirds of visitors who go to Groupon and Living Social are female, but Thrillist focuses on a narrower market that targets only young men in their 20s or 30s

Duke University physicists test first air-based acoustic invisibility cloak

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 01:42 PM PDT

Duke University physicists test first air-based acoustic invisibility cloak


Duke University physicists test first air-based acoustic invisibility cloak
Firmly departing from the Stuff Of Dreams category, Duke University physicists have successfully tested an acoustic cloaking device that fools sound waves while looking nowhere near as scifi as you'd think. Layering nothing more than a bunch of hole-punched plastic sheets -- known as meta-materials, for those curious -- atop a ten centimeter long block of wood, highly-directed sound in the 1 - 4kHz range bounced right back into the ether...

Apple product managers respond to Final Cut Pro X criticism

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 12:11 PM PDT

Apple product managers respond to Final Cut Pro X criticism


Apple product managers respond to Final Cut Pro X criticism
During our call to discuss Final Cut Pro X earlier this week, an Apple product manager boasted about the product's low price, media management, and ground-up redesign. Unfortunately, when starting from scratch, developers seem to have overlooked a few features that professional users have come to depend on, prompting widespread backlash -- both on internet forums and even on Apple's own App Store, where the $300 download-only app currently has a...

Fujitsu delays TH40/D release, puts slide-out tablet dreams on hold

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 10:39 AM PDT

Fujitsu delays TH40/D release, puts slide-out tablet dreams on hold


Fujitsu delays TH40/D release, puts slide-out tablet dreams on hold
If you've been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the latest shape-shifting slate, it looks like you're just going to have to wait. Fujitsu's just announced that it will postpone the release of the convertible TH40/D tablet -- the Windows 7 slide-out was originally slated for a late June debut in Japan....

Report: Next-gen Renault Twingo to get 900cc 3-cylinder engine

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 10:08 AM PDT

Report: Next-gen Renault Twingo to get 900cc 3-cylinder engine


Report: Next-gen Renault Twingo to get 900cc 3-cylinder engine
Filed under: MPG, Renault, Lightweight, Europe/EU Renault Twingo Eco - Click above for high-res image gallery Before Renault can launch its fifth battery-powered model - an electrified version of its Twingo minicar dubbed the Twingo Z.E. - the vehicle it's based on will have to debut and that's the next-gen Twingo, which is scheduled to launch sometime in the second half of 2014. Aside from that electrified version, Autocar reports that the next-gen Twingo...

Nokia's Stephen Elop is still over MeeGo, even if the N9 is a hit

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 09:38 AM PDT

Nokia's Stephen Elop is still over MeeGo, even if the N9 is a hit


Nokia's Stephen Elop is still over MeeGo, even if the N9 is a hit
An awful lot has been happening in Nokialand over the past week. A few days ago, we spent our first real quality moments with the much discussed N9, and we were pretty blown away by the MeeGo smartphone. Fast forward a mere two days, and we catch wind of a pretty suspicious looking leak of "Sea Ray," the company's first Windows Phone handset where else but sitting firmly in the hand...

Canon 18-55mm lens torn open to expose visuals of Image Stabilization (video)

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 08:36 AM PDT

Canon 18-55mm lens torn open to expose visuals of Image Stabilization (video)


Canon 18-55mm lens torn open to expose visuals of Image Stabilization (video)
Hey there, snap-shooter. If you've ever used a Canon DSLR with a 15-55mm lens, you may be horrified to know that the image above is its exposed lens elements. Don't worry, though, it's for science! Recently, Preston Scott from Camera Technica used a laser to show how unsteady your hands are when taking a photograph; now he's back to detail how lenses with Image Stabilization compensate to help in achieving crisper...

UrtheCast to stream live HD footage of Earth from ISS, like Stickam for space

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 07:05 AM PDT

UrtheCast to stream live HD footage of Earth from ISS, like Stickam for space


UrtheCast to stream live HD footage of Earth from ISS, like Stickam for space
Space nerds, get your browsers ready -- UrtheCast will soon be streaming HD video of Earth straight from the ISS. The system will actually consists of a pair of cameras, one still and one video, that will be mounted on the Russian arm of the station. The still shots will be very wide, covering about 30 miles with a resolution of 18-feet per pixel....

Central Japan Railway breaks ground on two 313-mph Maglev train lines

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 06:04 AM PDT

Central Japan Railway breaks ground on two 313-mph Maglev train lines


Central Japan Railway breaks ground on two 313-mph Maglev train lines
Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, Japan Models of Japan's high-speed trains We envy any nation that's packed with high-speed bullet trains traversing its land. Period. Them crazy cats in Japan have some of the trickest trains in the world and with its government approving two additional Maglev train lines - one connecting Tokyo to Nagoya and the other linking Osaka to Tokyo - jealousy has truly sunk in....

New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 05:34 AM PDT

New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)


New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)
Looks like harvesting waste heat is all the rage in 2011. Yet another team of researchers -- this time at the University of Minnesota -- has found a way to harness energy from our hot castoffs. The group has apparently created a brand spanking new alloy that spontaneously creates energy when its temperature is raised by a small amount....

Updated Time Capsule opened, server-grade hard drive nowhere to be found?

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 04:01 AM PDT

Updated Time Capsule opened, server-grade hard drive nowhere to be found?


Updated Time Capsule opened, server-grade hard drive nowhere to be found?
Well, fancy that -- a teardown of last week's refreshed Time Capsule has revealed a regular, non-enterprise drive lurking within. Curious, as Cupertino's website lists a "Serial ATA server-grade hard disk" as standard equipment on the device's official spec sheet. It's generally assumed that for a drive to be qualified as "enterprise," it must sustain a mean time between failure -- MTBF for short -- in excess of one million hours....

Mountkestrel DuoPod turns your shaky shoulders into a DSLR steadicam (video)

Posted: 25 Jun 2011 01:57 AM PDT

Mountkestrel DuoPod turns your shaky shoulders into a DSLR steadicam (video)


Mountkestrel DuoPod turns your shaky shoulders into a DSLR steadicam (video)
So you've got an expensive new DSLR that can shoot video, and you've seen all of the press about people using the things to make movies and music videos. But really, you're not going to become a DIY Kubrick without the proper accessories. The Mountkestrel DuoPod is a pretty solid looking option if you're looking to do the steadicam thing with your DSLR, slipping over your shoulders for on-the-go shots....

Spectral Layers promises to let you edit audio Photoshop-style (video)

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 11:55 PM PDT

Spectral Layers promises to let you edit audio Photoshop-style (video)


Spectral Layers promises to let you edit audio Photoshop-style (video)
Visually editing audio files isn't exactly a new idea, of course, but Divide Frame's new Spectral Layers application looks to take things to an even more Photoshop-style extreme than other tools. While still in the alpha stage and not available to the public just yet (though both Windows and Mac versions are promised), the software does appear to be fairly complete, including the ability to use multiple layers, work with multi-channel...

Verizon Palm Pre 2 gets its webOS 2.1 wings

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 10:53 PM PDT

Verizon Palm Pre 2 gets its webOS 2.1 wings


Verizon Palm Pre 2 gets its webOS 2.1 wings
Good news for Palm Pre 2 owners of the Big Red variety, the endless breath-holding can finally stop -- webOS 2.1 is finally making its way to your handset. Released back in March to the global unlocked masses, this update to HP's platform brings along voice-dialing, email and security fixes, messaging backup (sorry, no MMS), and a Sense 3.0-like charging display that'll float your photos, agenda, or simply keep the time....

2011 Nissan LEAF — Flash Drive

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 10:23 PM PDT

2011 Nissan LEAF — Flash Drive


2011 Nissan LEAF — Flash Drive
Staffers at MSN Autos take a spin in the electrified 2011 Nissan LEAF.

Camera-equipped hexacopter turns summer vacation videos into aerial masterworks (video)

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 09:21 PM PDT

Camera-equipped hexacopter turns summer vacation videos into aerial masterworks (video)


Camera-equipped hexacopter turns summer vacation videos into aerial masterworks (video)
Wakeboarding is so 2005. Wakeboarding with a camera-packing six-rotor MikroKopter tracking your every jump and belly flop? Now that sounds like something we can get behind. The folks over at MikroKopter have renewed our interest in the sport by mounting a FollowMe transmitter (which lets the drone track your every move), along with a GoPro camera to one watersportsman's helmet....

Potential Hulu deal with Disney increases ads, value to potential buyers

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 08:20 PM PDT

Potential Hulu deal with Disney increases ads, value to potential buyers


Potential Hulu deal with Disney increases ads, value to potential buyers
Now that Hulu's owners have apparently decided the best thing to do is sell it to someone else, long arrangements for content are needed to bring the highest price. Bloomberg is reporting that after cutting a deal with Fox a few days ago Hulu has now tentatively reached a deal with another of its owners, Disney....

Sprint's 2011 Q3 roadmap leaks, gives a glimpse of our smartphone future

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:47 PM PDT

Sprint's 2011 Q3 roadmap leaks, gives a glimpse of our smartphone future


Sprint's 2011 Q3 roadmap leaks, gives a glimpse of our smartphone future
Sprint finally released its much-anticipated Evo 3D into the wild today, but it turns out that's not the only good news for fans of the Now Network. Courtesy of This is my next, we've got some tasty tidbits regarding Sprint's forthcoming phone lineup for Q3 of this year. Apparently, we can expect to see the successor to Samsung's Epic 4G, the Epic 2, sporting a 4-inch display, a single-core 1.2GHz Hummingbird...

10 Cool Summer Car Events

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:47 PM PDT

10 Cool Summer Car Events


10 Cool Summer Car Events
Here are our picks for the must-attend auto gatherings of summer 2011.

Video: Subaru WRX at Isle of Man

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:47 PM PDT

Video: Subaru WRX at Isle of Man


Video: Subaru WRX at Isle of Man
200 corners over 37 miles. Average speed: 115.356 mph, a record.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 now syncs with your Mac, updated Kies software to thank

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:16 PM PDT

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 now syncs with your Mac, updated Kies software to thank


Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 now syncs with your Mac, updated Kies software to thank
You heard right -- Samsung's slimmest slate yet is now on speaking terms with OS X, well over a month after the first ones slipped out to developers at Google I/O. Oddly enough, it looks as if Android File Transfer is still stuck in yesteryear, with Samsung itself pushing out a revised build of Kies to enable Tab-to-Mac relations....

Size matters! U.S. consumers prefer compacts over subcompacts

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:15 PM PDT

Size matters! U.S. consumers prefer compacts over subcompacts


Size matters! U.S. consumers prefer compacts over subcompacts
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, MPG, Lightweight, USA With gas prices on the rise, U.S. consumers are turning to fuel-efficient compact vehicles, according to a study conducted by GfK Automotive. Surprisingly, demand for subcompact vehicles has remained relatively low despite an uptick in pump prices. According to GfK Automotive, compact vehicles accounted for 18.1 percent of what it refers to as "six-month demand" in May of 2011....

BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:15 PM PDT

BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again


BioBolt brain implant could help the paralyzed walk again
Controlling a cursor with your brain? Yawn. Restoring movement to paralyzed mice? Color us unimpressed. Help a wheelchair-bound man walk again using only his thoughts? Now we're talking. That's the goal of researchers at the University of Michigan who have developed BioBolt, a (comparatively) noninvasive implant that rests on top of the cortex rather than penetrate it....

Boeing 747-8 completes historic biofuel-powered transatlantic flight

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 04:14 PM PDT

Boeing 747-8 completes historic biofuel-powered transatlantic flight


Boeing 747-8 completes historic biofuel-powered transatlantic flight
Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc. On June 20th, a Boeing 747-8 Freighter landed at Paris Le Bourget Airport, completing a historic biofuel-powered transatlantic flight. This marks the first time that a sizable commercial airplane crossed the Atlantic Ocean with all of its engines burning a somewhat sustainable aviation jet fuel. The unmodified Boeing 747-8, piloted by captains Keith Otsuka, Rick Braun and Sten Rossby, flew from Everett, WA to Le Bourget with all four...

Google 'retires' Health and PowerMeter, lets you save your vitals through 2012

Posted: 24 Jun 2011 04:14 PM PDT

Google 'retires' Health and PowerMeter, lets you save your vitals through 2012


Google 'retires' Health and PowerMeter, lets you save your vitals through 2012
Remember that Withings blood pressure monitor for iOS that we went hands-on with last week? It integrated with Google Health. The search giant's health management portal also paired with dozens of other services (a heaping handful can be seen in the image above) to aggregate and track all of your data, and share it with family members, friends, and doctors....