I’ve never read the rule book, but I assume the addition of an electric motor to your bike during the Tour de France is not allowed. But if you opt to cheat using the Gruber Assist, no one will know you didn’t really earn that yellow jersey. That’s because the Gruber Assist’s electric motor is designed to hide inside a bike’s seat tube (minimal diameter of 31.6mm required) and provide a bit of extra help with the pedaling, instead of powering the back wheel. So not only is it almost impossible to tell it’s installed, but the Gruber Assist can be retrofitted to any bike, as long as the seat tube is large enough.
However, I say “almost impossible to tell it’s installed” since you’ll still have to carry a set of NiMH or LiON batteries (good for about 1.5 hours) which are somewhat hidden inside a saddlebag. So if someone starts poking around your ride, your secret might not be safe. But lying and cheating aside, the Gruber Assist is definitely a very clever way to retrofit your bike with an electric motor, even if the complete NiMH version will set you back about $2,400.
We posted about the Martin Jetpack Ducted Fanpack last year, and since then, Martin has been getting some criticism for the fact that in most of their demos so far (including the one we saw), the jetpack has only been seen operating a foot or so off the ground, accompanied by a couple nervous looking attendants ready to grab onto the thing should it develop a mind of its own. To quell some of this, Martin has released the following video of the jetpack maneuvering around all by itself:
So yes, it still hasn’t gotten far enough off the ground to show that it’s capable of achieving significant altitude without the assistance of ground effect… My first question would be, how far off the ground would I WANT to get in something like this anyway? But Martin has thoughtfully included an integrated ballistic (i.e. rocket propelled) parachute for the entire unit, which should keep you mostly safe even in a low altitude failure.
The Martin Jetpack is capable of 30 minutes of flight at 60 mph and 8,000 feet, which is more than enough for your commute. It doesn’t technically require a pilot’s license, and has just two primary controls: left joystick controls pitch and roll, right joystick controls yaw and throttle. It runs on standard automotive fuel, too. The cost? Only about $100,000, and the first 10 units should be delivered sometime this year.
This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net
I can’t think of a gamer I know that actually enjoys knowing that their software is locked down with DRM. All too often the player’s rights are abused because the publisher is worried about pirates. The funny thing is that rarely does it actually deter such people, and only serves to harm the paying customer. EA in particular has come under heavy fire thanks to the SecuROM that has been featured in several titles, which caused some serious issues. Hell, they had to release a special tool not long ago just so you can properly uninstall such games without causing issues. Surely someone over there might be thinking twice about continuing down that same path, right?
Apparently there is, at least in the Bioware division. According to the Bioware community manager, “we’re happy to announce that the boxed/retail PC version of Dragon Age: Origins will use only a basic disk check and it will not require online authentication.” Now that’s some good news. I’m really looking forward to that game, and I was a bit worried about having to deal with the SecuROM. Now lets just hope that the same courtesy is extended to future titles distributed by EA.
I suppose there is something relaxing about watching fish meander around their fake little worlds, which is probably why you find fish tanks in doctor’s and dentist’s offices and other places where pain and discomfort are reliably imminent. But said fish, as relaxing as they may appear, don’t actually do much to relieve stress. The fish who live underneath the HydroGlass hydrotherapy table don’t do much to relieve stress either, but at least they’re attached to something that does. The table comes with a heated water mattress and seven overhead shower heads for Vichy shower treatments. Now, I don’t know what a Vichy shower treatment is… I’d tell you what I think (based on hazy memories of high school history), but I wouldn’t want to Godwin my own post.
There’s no price listed, but it’s undoubtedly cheaper to just go get yourself some regular hydrotherapy somewhere, and bring along a goldfish bowl to put under the table.
I love the power of press. If something gets enough coverage (positive or negative) then something usually comes out of it. Remember that Nine Inch Nails iPhone app that was denied earlier this week by Apple? Well we weren’t the only place to cover the story; in fact, it spread like wildfire throughout the internet. It was a perfect example of everything that’s wrong with the App Store approval process. Well it’s only been a few days, and change has come.
Apparently all of the negative press lead to Apple taking a second look at the app. For whatever reason, this time they decided that everything was peachy and gave it their stamp of approval. It’s just sad that it takes this much bad publicity for Apple to approve an app that had nothing wrong with it in the first place.
Last time I checked, vinyl stickers weren’t gadgets, but every now and then I come across something too cool not to post. These spiffy stickers go near your electrical outlets and really make them stand out. Some might say that they make you stop and think about everything that goes into getting power from one place to another. Me? I think they’d just look really cool in my office. They’re a bit pricey, at around $71 for the set (don’t quote me on that, I had a heck of a time figuring out the currency), and unfortunately you’ll have to get them shipping from out of the country.
Last year I reviewed Scosche’s passPORT iPhone adapter, which helped me to charge my iPhone when I was in my car. Well earlier this year they released their home version of the passPORT, which did the same thing, only for the iPhone docks that you have sitting around your house. I got my hands one of these, and put it through our grueling review process.
Much like it’s mobile cousin, there really isn’t much to this device. It fits any dock that uses the standard iPod dock, so as long as you’re not using the iBoo or iPanda (which have really funky docks) you should be good. Just remove the dock insert from your device, insert the passPORT Home Dock and put the dock insert into the passPORT. That’s really all there is to it.
The Kindle DX might lighten a college student’s backpack, but there’s no chance that Amazon is ever going to dethrone Wikipedia as being the website of choice for surviving post-secondary education. And if you’ve got a friend or family member graduating in the near future, this shirt is the perfect gift to give credit where credit is due. $20 from Fusilly.com.
Digital cameras have finally invaded the world of handheld GPS units with Garmin’s new Oregon 500 & 550T models, though given the popularity of geo-tagging these days, it’s a pretty obvious synergy. Both the 550 & 550T feature an integrated 3.2 megapixel autofocus digital camera, a sunlight-readable touchscreen display that’s also glove friendly and a 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass that shows your heading even while the unit isn’t being held level. They’re both powered by a pair of rechargeable AA NiMH batteries which are good for about 16 hours, and each model is of course waterproof.
The Oregon 550 is priced at $499.99 while the 550T model, which comes preloaded with 100K topo maps for the entire U.S. in a 3D elevation perspective, is $599.99.
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