Technology posts

The sun-powered Solar Impulse HB-SIA is the  brainchild of Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg and the futuristic vessel has finally taken it’s first flight. On April 9, 2010, the solar-powered plane took off in Paverne, Switzerland and soared high in the sky for over 87 minutes. The Solar Impulse was flown by pilot Markus Scherdel and climbed its way to over 1,200 meters high. The team who designed and built the aircraft hope to be able to fly the Solar Impulse non-stop around the world. The Solar Impulse has a gigantic wingspan of over 200 feet, which is the same size as a Boeing 747, but weighs…

A USB stick that shows you what’s on it, without having to actually plug it into your computer? Yes please! They were really thinking of convenience when they came up with the idea for this. It’s really simple: the pink area shows images, the blue represents documents and green is for movies and other multimedia files. The colors fill up the space in proportion to how much is actually stored so you’ll be able to tell what’s taking up the most room and where there’s extra space to add files. The design for this new USB stick is just a prototype at the moment but it will hopefully be on the market soon. You’d…

Which company is the most social-media savvy? It’s not Apple. It’s not Twitter. It’s not Google. It’s not even Facebook. Of all the companies analyzed, the company that came out on top was Microsoft! Shocking, right? NetProspex, a marketing and contact database provider, surveyed over 100,000 executives at Fortune 1000 companies in the first quarter of 2010, and they found that many of the companies that we would expect to rank high in social media usage were there: primarily software development companies. However, the interesting part, as you might have noticed, is the fact that Microsoft,…

No, we are not talking about some fake, artificial wave generated at a water park. We are talking about the real deal, just as mother nature intended. But we also know how much of a pain it can be to attempt to catch some tubular waves at the ocean or lake: it requires patience or powered assistance. Well we don’t have time for that, and if you don’t either, the PowerSki Jetboard is going to be the perfect solution. With the ability to jet across the water at an amazing 40 miles-per-hour, the PowerSki Jetboard will take you on a ride you never thought possible. So I guess what we are saying is, well, Surf’s…

Having entered the browser wars during a period of utter stagnancy, Firefox’s success can be largely attributed to its pristine timing. In the years preceding its existence, a heated competition for browser usage share had taken place. Following a cutthroat battle that ended with the demise of Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer emerged victorious in the first wave of browser wars. With little threat to its dominance, Internet Explorer would rest comfortably in the lead for years to come. As a result, innovation in the web browser space came to a grinding halt. Aware of the market’s vulnerability,…

You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had one of those slightly ridiculous Web 2.0 names that drops a vowel somewhere to be hip and cool. But Songr are bringing that trend back, baby! Fortunately for the music-discovery service, they actually seem pretty promising. Perhaps the best way to describe Songr is as a mix of Digg and Twitter for what you’re listening to. Rather than simply sharing which exact one is on your playlist right now, Songr lets people share what they’re listening to and then allows others to vote those songs up or down. So instead of rummaging around your music collection or…

Silk is being used to make electronics that stick to the brain. A far cry from fabric but doctors are hoping that using silk will help them explore parts of the brain that they weren’t previously able to. “This development heralds a new class of implantable devices, not just for the brain, but for many other tissues,” said neurologist Brian Litt of the University of Pennsylvania, in an interview with Wired.com. Engineers chose to use silk because it’s easily stretched and the material is super thin, making it easy to mould and work with, making for better brain-computer interfaces. BCI’s…

In light of the tablet buzz of the past few weeks, we’ve been lucky enough to see some amazing magazine concepts meant for the future. The newspaper, however, has sorta’ gotten the shaft – maybe because not everyone believes the newspaper has a future. But if newspapers look anything like this ‘The Page’ concept, it seems like they’ll be sticking around for a while. Although you won’t see this in production for years, the idea is basically this: using a flexible screen about the size of your average daily, users log in using their fingerprint and get personalized news stories on an adaptable screen….

For everyone using their DSLRs to shoot HD video, it just got a bit more convenient. You can now take off your glasses and stop looking at your 2.5 inch LCD screen and substitute it for a 5.6 inch HD monitor. Sitting right on the hotshoe of your camera, SmallHD has developed a product to help all aspiring cinematographers. Connecting via HDMI, this monitor comes equipped with a 1280 x 800 resoultion. I guess it would make life easier if you are recording video all the time, but if you are, why not just spend the money on a good video camera instead of having a DSLR with attachments all over the place. Source:…

While searching for the latest and greatest technology and gadgets, I rolled upon this website and was both intrigued and confused. Introducing Chariot Skates, a innovative idea from inventor Michael Jenkins from Australia. He has turned his idea of meshing skating, skiing and cycling all into one idea. He has essentially taken two large wheels and attached the skater’s foot below the axle for a more fluid ride. Although I am extremely interested in testing out these skates, I wonder if I will have the guts to strap them on and head down to the beach and actually use this product in public. It kind…