Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, March 07, 2008

QuantumSphere speaks of homemade hydrogen

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/247611349/

We'll be honest, we're not getting ourselves all riled up about this just yet -- after all, it's not like QuantumSphere is the first (nor the last) company to teeter on announcing a legitimate "solution" to ditching gasoline. Nevertheless, said startup has reportedly figured out a way to "make hydrogen at home from distilled water and ultimately bring the cost of hydrogen fuel cells in line with that of fossil fuels." More specifically, the outfit claims to have "perfected the manufacture of highly reactive catalytic nanoparticle coatings that could up the efficiency of electrolysis, the technique that generates hydrogen from water." Unbelievable though that may sound, it's still looking to unveil a battery using its own technology later this year, so we'll just wait and see what becomes of that initiative before bidding gas stations adieu for good.

[Via Autoblog, thanks Sean]

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Sync Your GCal to Outlook and Back Automatically [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/246564105/sync-your-gcal-to-outlook-and-back-automatically

Windows only: Have your calendar available on the desktop as well as in the cloud with the Google Calendar Sync desktop tool, freshly released from the big G. Sync your primary calendar on your vanilla or Google Apps account to Outlook automatically at a refresh rate you define. Syncing can be one- or two-way, meaning you can add and edit events in Outlook and have them sync to GCal or vice versa automatically. The only catch is that it only works with your primary calendar, not secondary ones. Google Calendar Sync is a free download for Windows only. (Of course, having Outlook helps.) This coupled with Gmail IMAP really makes Outlook a viable GApps client.

Google Calendar Sync [via Lifehacker AU]

EA Mobile's Spore becomes first 3rd party iPhone game -- available September

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/246951077/

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Just in case you didn't catch the blip earlier between Steve's announcement of the iPhone SDK and the App Store, here's some fantastic news for the thumb-happy sect: Spore is coming to the iPhone. In fact, the EA Mobile title will go down as "the first 3rd party game on the iPhone." Sadly, it won't actually be available until September, but at least you've got a month to circle on your calender, right? Additionally, EA affirmed that there were "other games in early stages of development," and that it was "actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS." Jump on past the break for the full release.

Continue reading EA Mobile's Spore becomes first 3rd party iPhone game -- available September

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GE invests in electric vehicle-maker Think, battery-maker A123Systems

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/247037609/

Filed under: Transportation

It looks like electric vehicle-maker Think and battery manufacturer A123Systems have each gotten a pretty big shot in the arm courtesy of GE, which has announced that it's investing in both companies with the goal of making "electric transportation practical and affordable." For Think's part, it'll be receiving some $4 million from GE, which'll apparently be used at least in part to get its TH!NK Ox electric five-seater (pictured above) out the door (t's already in production in Norway). A123Systems, on the other hand, has signed a commercial supply agreement with Think to supply it with Nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries, and it's already received a hefty $20 million from GE (which it's now doing some joint research with). That's all apparently only part of GE's grander plans, which it describes as nothing short of "efforts to enable global electrification of transportation." Be sure to hit up the appropriate link below for a video of some of what Think has in store.

Read- GE Press Release
Read - DN.no, Think video

[Via Autoblog Green, thanks Gunnar]

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Universal abit readying two MIDs for the second half of 2008

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/247024296/

Filed under: Handhelds

Details are really light here, but the folks at HEXUS.net caught sight of this pair of MIDs from Universal abit (the company formed by USI's acquisition of abit) at CeBIT, which they say are on track for a release sometime in the second half of this year. Both of those are unsurprisingly Menlow-based devices (otherwise known as Centrino Atom), and HEXUS speculates that they'll each likely show up under any number of different brands (a pretty safe assumption, if you ask us). No matter how they're branded, however, they're sure going to have plenty of competition by the time they actually get let loose.

[Via Pocketables]

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