Raspberry Pi: A $25 Bare-Bones PC That Fits On Your Keychain

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Small and inexpensive technology is always handy.

There are a number of barebones/mass-market low-cost devices out there, many of them aimed at the huge developing world market, hoping to outfit people with basic PC functionality for as little cost as possible. The OLPC is among the most famous, but perhaps the most luxurious: with a cutting-edge screen, built-in keyboard and networking, and so on, it has perhaps aimed too high, resulting in (as we’ve seen) increasing price and limited uptake. India’s “$35″ tablet comes to mind as well.

David Braben, perhaps best known for developing the revolutionary Elite, is now leading a foundation called Raspberry Pi to mass produce this ultra-minimal PC and distribute it where even an OLPC is too much. Their device is as bare-bones as it gets, and they’re hoping to sell it for $25…

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Uranium Could Be The Future of Hard Drives

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The trick is to keep the uranium cold.

If you’d been putting your money on a bet that SSDs will edge out traditional hard drive technology entirely, you might want to rethink your gamble. Traditional high-capacity moving hard drives will be around for a long time, most likely, and researchers at Nottingham University think they have a way to make them even denser: use depleted Uranium.

Depleted uranium, the same material that the military uses for tank shells and gun turret rounds, may one day be used for super-high density storage in hard drives. The trick is to keep the uranium cold…

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Amazon’s Tablet to Compete with iPad Will Ship This Fall

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Amazon tablet 

Taiwan-based notebook maker Quanta Computer has recently received OEM orders from Amazon for its reported tablet PC and the device will also receive full support from Taiwan-based electrophoretic display (EPD) maker E Ink Holdings (EIH) for supplying touch panel as well as providing its Fringe Field Switching (FFS) technology, according to sources from upstream component makers.

 

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Glasses Convert 3D Movies to 2D

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I have no idea if these 2D glasses — which purport to convert 3D movies to 2D — work, but they’d be a godsend for me if they did. I get wicked headaches from 3D movies, and all the blockbusters in town are showing 3D-only half the time. We’ve switched date-night to art-house movies and live theater, which are great, but sometimes my wife really, really wants to see robots blowing stuff up and I hate to be a stick in the mud…

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NASA Fires-Up Jet Fuel That Tastes Like Chicken

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Fire up the chicken bio fuel!

It may never make it into everyday jet-fighter use but NASA is checking out biofuel made from chicken and beef fat.

The chicken fat fuel, known as Hydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuel, was burned in the engine of a DC-8 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center as part of its Alternative Aviation Fuels Experiment that is looking at developing all manner of biofuel alternatives to traditional Jet Propellant 8, or JP-8. The DC-8 is used as a test vehicle because its engine operations are well-documented and well-understood, NASA says…

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A Travel Trailer Light Enough to Be Hauled by a Mobility Scooter

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The Environmental Transport Association (UK) developed the QTvan — a travel trailer that can serve as a shelter for users of mobility scooters. It contains a bed, a 19″ television screen, and a kettle. Available options include a satellite dish, a gaming console, and a heater. You can watch a video of it at the link…

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Discover Free iPhone Apps Faster with AppFreeway

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It can be tough to sift through thousands of free apps to find those with the highest quality. With their recent release of AppFreeway, Kankado makes it easy for you to find the best free apps, faster.
Each day AppFreeway collects the top five apps in the Apple Store universe and delivers them to you free of charge. The app effort is a collaboration between the AppsMarketing.mobi network and Kankado.com.

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A Coating That Heals Itself with Light

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 It would be great if you could take your car to the body shop and have it repaired in minutes, before your eyes, without anyone even laying hands on it.  There have been several developments in self-healing coatings recently.

 

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Are You Ready For SA Photonics High-Res Digital Night Vision System?

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Luke, I am your father…

Given, it might make you look like the love child of Robocop and a cartoon kitten, but SA Photonics’ High Resolution Night Vision System (HRNVS) could mean smoother night flights for the US military. The light weight head mounted display couples high resolution imagery and an impressive 82.5 degree field of vision — previous devices offered a range of only 40 degrees. What’s more, it provides clearer peripheral vision, virtually non-existent halo effects, digital image enhancement, and night vision recording. The headset was designed in collaboration with the US Army and the Air Force Research Laboratory, which means these robo Sanrio helmets might actually get some play. Full PR after the break…

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Blood-Inspired Perfume Arouses Vampire Curiosity

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Get your blood-fume now!

A new blood-inspired perfume may soon have an ideal group of early adopters: vampires. Last week, a pair of Italian entrepreneurs, Antonio Zuddas and Giovanni Castelli, debuted Blood Concept, a provocative fragrance line based on the four major human blood types: A, B, AB and O… Continue reading… “Blood-Inspired Perfume Arouses Vampire Curiosity”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.