FAA Approves Flying Vehicle, Ignoring Its Own Safety Stipulations
June 30, 2010
The day we’ve all dreamed of is finally here. A new flying automobile has just received approval from the FAA, officially bringing the world one step closer to Jetsonian utopia. The Terrafugia Transition is a two-seat, “light sport” aircraft that can fly for up to 460 miles at 115 mph, and carry up to 450 pounds. It only needs a 1,700-foot runway to take off, and, with electrically powered folding wings, can get a decent 30 miles to the gallon. Designers at Terrifugia have heralded their craft’s safety, claiming it can fly even in weather too inclement for most other planes. Yet the liberal manner with which the FAA gave Terrifugia the green light might raise a few concerns from safety recommends.
As the Telegraph reports, the Transition weighs in at a maximum of 1,320 pounds, which means that it should qualify as a small, private plane under the FAA’s classification. Terrafugia’s designers, however, found it difficult to squeeze into the contraption all of the pesky airbags and crumple zones that the FAA requires of thusly classed planes. Luckily for the designers, aviation authorities decided to give the Transition an exemption, and classified it as a light sport aircraft (even though it’s 120 lbs. over the established maximum weight). Essentially, this mean a license to fly the Transition is much more easily obtained than are licenses to fly most other private planes. All it takes is 20 hours of flight training and about $194,000. Get those little hurdles out of the way, and the skies are yours to roam — along with the other 70 people who have pre-ordered the Transition.
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Filed under: Car Tech
FAA Approves Flying Vehicle, Ignoring Its Own Safety Requirements originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error
June 30, 2010
In 2004, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) awarded South Africa the privilege of hosting Africa’s first World Cup. Based on concerns — both legitimate and ethnocentric — over crime, violence and inadequate facilities, some observers immediately proclaimed the tournament doomed. But the World Cup, which is now in its 80th year, is currently enjoying enormous success and international amity, as fans intermingle and jubilantly deafen one another with the already legendary vuvuzelas.
The tournament has undoubtedly been indelibly tainted for a host of nations, though, because of FIFA and its outmoded, ignorant and infuriating devotion to neo-luddite ideology. U.S. fans continue to deservedly bemoan two inexplicable and unjustifiable disallowed goals, one of which occurred when a referee mysteriously waved off a score, even though replays glaringly depicted Slovenian players fouling, hugging and head-locking their U.S. counterparts. During the very next U.S. game, a sideline official negated another goal, an offside ruling that replays — again — have clearly disproved.
Continue reading Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error
Filed under: Cameras
Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Japanese College Distributing Free iPhones
June 30, 2010
Sounds too good to be true - Japan’s Aoyama Gakuin University will be giving away about 500 iPhones to students and faculty members in a deal with Softbank Mobile, as part of the new Mobile & Net Society Education and Triaining program. The basic charges will be paid by the university so there will not be any extra financial burden on the students. The catch To track the students’ attendance using the built-in GPS system in the iPhones given to them. There are also plans to roll out tests and handing out assignments on the device as well. Hopefully the balance of work and play can be achieved, knowing how (much more) fun an iPhone can be.
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Best Deals
June 30, 2010
$239.99, Gateway LT 1005U Netbook Black Intel Atom
$5.99, Sony Universal Remote Control
$149.99, Samsung 2243BWX 22inch Widescreen LCD Display
$59.99, Merkury 10.2inch Digital LCD Pic Frame
$111.00, Haier 7inch Portable LCD Television
Best Deals at www.UberBargain.com
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PlayStation Move support added to XMB with PS3 firmware 3.40
June 30, 2010
It seems 3.40 firmware update added more than PlayStation Plus to the PS3. It appears support for the Move motion controller has also been added to the system, as evidenced by a new option in the “Settings” area of the XMB. This setting (pictured) will allow you to calibrate the motion controller, if the controller doesn’t move “as expected.”
The Move controller isn’t scheduled to launch until later this year. However, this isn’t the first time Sony has prepped future-tech in earlier firmware releases. For example, firmware 3.30 added support for 3D games about two months before the first 3D games were released. Barring any further changes to the PS3 OS, you may be able to play Move games sans system update when the controller launches.
[Thanks SecretAgentHam!]
PlayStation Move support added to XMB with PS3 firmware 3.40 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kindle Editions for Apple Devices Gets Embedded Audio and Video
June 29, 2010
Not even a week after slashing its e-reader’s price, Amazon has also revamped its Kindle application for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch with shiny new upgrades. According to Engadget, the Kindle app now features embedded audio and video on select titles. The first e-books making use of this feature are Rick Steves’s “London,” which features a walking tour of the town narrated by Steves, and “Together We Can’t Fail” by Terry Golway. Of the dozen titles with this functionality, there are also, for example, e-books with embedded video clips showing how to bake a cake, and e-books with embedded audio clips of bird calls. Of course, we expect Amazon will incorporate audio and video into more titles in the near future — unless consumers absolutely reject this move.
By embedding audio and video within an e-book, Amazon has certainly blurred the lines between a digital text and a full-blown multimedia experience. Many users will no doubt embrace the chance to watch videos and to hear authors speak about their work (a “sexy” feature, if reading, even on an Apple device, can be described as such). But more traditional readers, who might already be hesitant to jump on the e-reader bandwagon, could be totally turned off by so much stimuli. We’ll keep an eye on this move, while reading our paperback books by candlelight. [From: Engadget]
Filed under: Audio/Video, iPod, iPhone
Kindle Editions for Apple Devices Gets Embedded Audio and Video originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error
June 29, 2010
In 2004, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) awarded South Africa the privilege of hosting Africa’s first World Cup. Based on concerns — both legitimate and ethnocentric — over crime, violence and inadequate facilities, some observers immediately proclaimed the tournament doomed. But the World Cup, which is now in its 80th year, is currently enjoying enormous success and international amity, as fans intermingle and jubilantly deafen one another with the already legendary vuvuzelas.
The tournament has undoubtedly been indelibly tainted for a host of nations, though, because of FIFA and its outmoded, ignorant and infuriating devotion to neo-luddite ideology. U.S. fans continue to deservedly bemoan two inexplicable and unjustifiable disallowed goals, one of which occurred when a referee mysteriously waved off a score, even though replays glaringly depicted Slovenian players fouling, hugging and head-locking their U.S. counterparts. During the very next U.S. game, a sideline official negated another goal, an offside ruling that replays — again — have clearly disproved.
Continue reading Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error
Filed under: Cameras
Archaic FIFA Taints World Cup With Devotion to Human Error originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sony Ericsson Releases T715 Slider
June 29, 2010
Sony Ericsson today announced the T715 slider phone, available in the third quarter. According to Marketing Business Manager Quentin Cordier, this mid-range handset is for busy lifestyle users looking for a phone with practical up-to-date features. This compact credit card-sized phone has neither CyberShot nor Walkman, but it is 3G-capable with preinstalled Google Maps and Accuweather, 2.2-inch display, 3.2 MP camera with Photo light, FM radio, media player and 90MB storage with MicroSD expansion. Not the Memory Stick. The premium brushed aluminium shell and glossy front makes a complementary packaging. Price is still undisclosed, but mid-range is the keyword here.
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Nokia N97 Pricing Confusion
June 29, 2010
At a glance it might seem that Nokia USA understood the discomfort of its fans when the N97 was priced at $700 (pre-order price). After all, what would you be thinking if there was a promotional code that lowered the device’s price to $454.35, and even had a BH-703 Bluetooth headset thrown in for good measure It seems that such a pricing was an error of sorts, as the device was going for $524.25 a tiny earlier to that, and now it’s back to $629.10 for just the phone on its own. Somehow the deal doesn’t seem so compelling anymore, right
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‘Celeb Spotter’ App Is a Great Way to Get Yourself Slapped With a Restraining Order
June 29, 2010
Here’s something that’s guaranteed to spawn a few lawsuits: OK Magazine’s Celeb Spotter iPhone app. That’s right. The Mark David Chapmans of the world now have a new, high-tech way to make famous people call the police.
As The Next Web’s Martin Bryant reports, the British gossip mag’s app uses the iPhone’s location-based technology to provide users with a list of known celebrity hangouts, allowing them to scour London for crotch shots with even greater ease. In the event that you actually spot a celeb (without hyperventilating), you can use the app to give the scoop, along with a geo-tagged photo, directly to OK’s editors. If the shot’s juicy enough, OK might publish it in its print edition, even though it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll see much in the way of money.
Continue reading ‘Celeb Spotter’ App Is a Great Way to Get Yourself Slapped With a Restraining Order
Filed under: Celebrities, Web
‘Celeb Spotter’ App Is a Great Way to Get Yourself Slapped With a Restraining Order originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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