Friday, March 20, 2009

Mercury In-Line Skates Let You Glide On a Shock-Absorbed Cushion Of Air [Skating]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9KzNkQjlisc/mercury-in+line-skates-let-you-glide-on-a-shock+absorbed-cushion-of-air

Designed for Ronald McDonald optimum comfort, these Mercury in-line skates feature a shock system to minimize vibration, a removable calf plate and an air cushioned interior for an optimum fit.

The result would be less wear-and-tear on the joints, better ankle support and a ride so smooth that it is almost like true ice skating. I haven't attempted in-line skating since the mid 90's, but I would be willing to strap into some of these if they ever went into production (with a different color scheme of course). [Pouyan Mokhtarani via Tuvie via DVICE]



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Gmail Lets You Take Back Sent Messages, Gets Built-in YouTube, Flickr and Yelp Previews [Gmail]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/X3tuOLNpg90/gmail-lets-you-take-back-sent-messages-gets-built+in-youtube-flickr-and-yelp-previews

Everyday, Gmail makes desktop mail clients feel a little more dated. The latest Labs features now preview stuff from YouTube (no more Rickrolling??), Flickr, Picasa and Yelp, and you can undo sending regrettable email.

Undo send, sadly, only has a five-second window to take it back (you can boost it to 10), so you better have excellent reflexes. Previews work a lot like the image preview you're used to. Here's the YouTube preview in action: [Gmail Blog, Cnet]



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Lasers Become Weapons Grade For the First Time Ever [Lasers]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/pbOz2r9vQ0Y/lasers-become-weapons-grade-for-the-first-time-ever

Northrop Grumman just made a laser that measures 105 kilowatts, just north of the 100 kilowatt bar that defense researchers have called the weapons grade cutoff. Pew pew indeed.

Wired's Danger Room says that this won't be like Star Wars' blasters or Star Trek's phasers, but it can shoot "mortars and rockets" in war zones now. Two problems left to solve before we can start using lasers full time: how to dissipate heat and how to get them small enough to be practical. [Wired - Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman]



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Rumored Toyota Hybrid Sportscar is Prius-based [Cars]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ddgZ4mINWMo/rumored-toyota-hybrid-sportscar-is-prius+based

The thing that's always kept me from wanting a hybrid car is that they aren't all that fast. And the ones that are fast cost too much money. That might change with Toyota's MR2 Hybrid.

The rumored MR2 Hybrid is said to be built around the Prius design, but would go 0-60 in under 7 seconds and come equipped with paddle shifters. Jalopnik thinks that the engine would be similar to the FT-HS's 3.5-liter, V6 Hybrized innards from a few of years ago. The price? Supposedly it's would only be around $24,000. I think I'm starting to get hot flashes. [Auto Express via Jalopnik]



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These Carbon Nanotube Muscles Are 30 Times Stronger Than Human Muscles [Man Vs Machine]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/5oL-zlmCyHk/these-carbon-nanotube-muscles-are-30-times-stronger-than-human-muscles

These next gen carbon nanotube muscles have "diamond-like" stiffness side to side, but are as flexible as rubber when moved perpendicularly. When voltage is applied to the structures, they contract with a pulling force 30 times the force per unit of human muscles.

They're also quicker. A human's muscle fibers can contract 10% per second, but these can contract 40,000 percent.

I had no idea synthetic muscles materials have come so far. A few years ago, when I was covering JPL's robotic arm wrestling challenge for Wired, the materials had a fraction of the potential of organic muscles. [Wired]



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