NEW FORD MIRROR DESIGN AND RADAR SYSTEMS TO MINIMIZE BLIND SPOT RISK * Ford introduces two new features coming in 2009 to aid drivers' visibility: Blind Spot Mirror and the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System. * The Blind Spot Mirror arrives as standard equipment replacing traditional side view mirrors and features an integrated convex spotter mirror aimed directly at the vehicle's blind spot. * The Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System utilizes radar to alert of cross-path traffic while in reverse and, in forward gears, warn when a vehicle enters the blind spot.

DEARBORN, Mich., April, 9 2008 — Ford is actively addressing drivers' demands for increased visibility with the introduction of two new features, the Blind Spot Mirror and the Cross Traffic Alert with Blind-Spot Monitoring System, arriving in 2009.

"Ford is delivering innovative features aiding in a better drive experience for the customer," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford Group Vice President, Global Product Development. "The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System are enhancing the customer ownership experience and bringing more value to their purchase."

Ford will be first to market with the Blind Spot Mirror, answering customers' demands for better visibility as they change lanes or parallel park. This affordable mirror technology will first launch early next year and find its way onto many future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles as standard equipment.

The Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System is a radar-based blind spot detection system with the additional capability to help customers confidently back out of a parking space even when there is traffic approaching from the sides. The optional system will join the Ford portfolio of innovative technologies in 2009 and quickly migrate through the model lineup.

Both of these features demonstrate how Ford is listening closely to customers and responding to customer demand for increased visibility.

Blind Spot Mirror
Ford's push to develop the Blind Spot Mirror and migrate it across its lineup is a direct response to customer research, reports Kelly Kohlstrand with Ford's Advanced Product Marketing and Technology Planning team. "We seek to plan new features that address unmet customer needs," says Kohlstrand. "Customers told us that visibility is important to them and that they specifically desired a more effective outside rearview mirror."

Early drive clinics conducted by Ford show that the Blind Spot Mirror connects with customers — nearly 76 percent of the participants said the mirror improves their confidence while driving. In addition, the learning curve or adjustment to the function of the spotter mirror was minimal.

The Blind Spot Mirror is a consumer-friendly, affordable blind spot solution that consists of an outside rearview mirror designed with a secondary convex spotter in the top outer corner, which is aimed exclusively at the driver's blind spot. When traffic enters the driver's blind spot on either side of the vehicle, it is visible in the secondary convex mirror, thus alerting the driver of potential danger.

Ford's Blind Spot Mirror provides a seamless, more appealing solution than present aftermarket offerings, as it uses one continuous glass surface and is robust to the elements. Because the factory spotter mirror is uniquely and specifically designed for the vehicle - car or truck - it provides an optimized field of view.

Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System
Backing out of a crowded spot in a bustling parking lot, or into street traffic, can be difficult. Drivers sometimes inch their way out with limited visibility on either side, counting on cross traffic to see their vehicle.

Ford's new Cross Traffic Alert feature will assist drivers in backing up by warning drivers of impending traffic while backing out. The feature works in conjunction with Ford's radar-based Blind Spot Monitoring System, utilizing this system's two multiple beam radar modules, which are packaged in the rear quarter panels - one per side. The radar identifies when a vehicle enters the defined blind spot zone and illuminates an indicator light on the corresponding sideview mirror providing a warning that a vehicle is approaching.

Cross Traffic Alert uses the radar when in reverse to pick up moving objects within a 65-foot range from either the left or right side of the vehicle. The radar also works when backing out of angled parking spaces because its view is wider than just strictly sensing traffic coming at a 90-degree angle. Conventional systems have limited sideways effectiveness. When cross traffic is approaching, two warnings are given: an indicator lights up in the corresponding outside mirror and an audible alert is sounded.

The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System will join a portfolio of vehicle parking and back-up aids presently offered by Ford, including the Reverse Sensing System and the Rear View Camera.

[Jalopnik]

Tissue in the urethrovaginal space of the women who were no stranger to vaginal orgasms was, apparently, thicker than in that of the non-vaginal ones. This, says Janini, is evidence that women without any visible evidence of a G-spot cannot have a vaginal orgasm.

Beverly Whipple of Rutger's University School of Nursing in Newark, the team which coined the term G-Spot, is sceptical of Janini's findings. "It is an intriguing study, but it doesn't necessarily mean that women who don't experience orgasm don't have any tissue there." She reckons that the test would benefit from having women stimulate themselves first, and then repeating the ultrasound tests, as the area is believed to swell under physical pressure.

Janini is planning to continue his studies (of course he is) but says that women should not feel despair if they are unable to have vaginal orgasms. "One clear finding is that each woman is different," he says. "This is one reason why women are so interesting." And I thought it was our brains. [New Scientist]

Waterproof, floating, alititude-proof to 21,000 feet and freeze-proof to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, its bright orange case is about the same size as a BlackBerry, and it's powered by two lithium AA batteries.

Its simplicity rests on an annual service charge and front-end website: through this you can send an unlimited number of GPS position updates to a list of buddies for $100 a year, though you have to pre-arrange the messages since all SPOT itself has is those three controls. If you do need to call in assistance, it prioritizes that alert and repeats the message until its battery is dry (about seven days). But since there's no way for a message to get back to you, it might be a long, hard wait.

SPOT will cost you $170 for the unit, and $100 a year for the support, with an optional $50 automated 10-minute position update service. [Findmespot via Allthingsd]

Also called ALAVs, (Autonomous Lighter than Air Vehicles) the Blubber Bots sense and react to movement, sounds, lights and heat, thanks to the Sun SPOT chips that power their brains, which hang down beneath them*. LED lights and cellphone vibrators allow them to communicate amongst themselves—and, as the video shows, with us.

You can have your own for just $99, but you have to assemble it yourself. Alternatively, get yourself to LA and have Jed Berk himself help you out for $185.

*Another way in which they are similar to man.

Product Page [Maker Store via "Oh Gizmo]

Confuse your friends as you walk toward them, surprising them with the fact that you are neither a light at the end of the tunnel nor an oncoming train. Quite a thrill for $24.95, and if you still fall flat on your face even with all that good lighting illuminating your path, there's a Medical Alert tag built in to tell your rescuers what's really wrong with you. – Charlie White

Product Page [First Street, via The Red Ferret Journal]

It's pink, fluffy, wired, and can shock you with 50,000 volts. Oh, and it's shaped like a tampon. Fantastic, eh?

Just be careful not to mix this up with a real tampon, ladies. This is not a proper way to deal with unwanted pregnancies. – Jason Chen

A Security System More Lethal Than PMS: The Tampon Taser Gun [American Inventor Spot]

There's no setup, subscription or Internet connection required—it's all broadcast to you via the FM band. Plus, the coffeemaker automatically grinds and brews that java for you, so you can load it up with beans and water the night before and be greeted with a steamy carafe of that jitter-inducing manna from heaven.

What a great idea, to have a live weather display on a coffeemaker. That's exactly the place you're standing when you're wondering what kind of day it's going to be outside. Spot-on use of SPOT, but you'll pay dearly at $199 when it's available November 15. – Charlie White

Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffeemaker With MSN Direct [SpotStop]

What a great idea—this beats the hell out of that "objects are closer than appear" concept which gives you a distorted view of reality in that right-side rearview mirror.

LaneFX does make two assumptions, though: that you have power mirrors in your car and that you actually use your turn signals when you're going to change lanes. You do signal when you're changing lanes, don't you? Prices start at $197, but we're thinking installation must be rather complicated. – Charlie White

Product page [LaneFX, via OhGizmo]

That has changed, thanks to Microsoft's decision to create a SPOT watch that anyone—from jock to dork to nerd to alternakid—would wear. I know that sounds like a shallow assessment, but it's the truth. The one thing holding back SPOT was mass acceptance and understanding of the concepts behind this FM-radio based data transfer system. Now that Microsoft will have to explain the SPOT concepts to the rest of the free world, we're might just be ready for a blossoming of the service into something ubiquitous and useful.

The latest models are designed to be fashion watches rather than geek watches. The LCD screen is much brighter, the brushed steel case is heavy and attractive, and the whole movement is 3mm thinner and has a more accurate antenna. Best of all, each new $179 comes with a 12-month subscription to Microsoft Direct, a considerable improvement over the old "Open the box and pay lots of money" scheme.

The watch also has double the memory of the previous versions which lets you download just about everything on the MSN Direct service has to offer including sports scores, lottery numbers, and traffic information. The general, yearly subscription costs $39. Outlook Sync and MSN Direct messaging services cost an extra $20 a year.

The styling is much improved over the previous models. Band is very easy to resize. All it requires is a small screwdriver and a paper clip. Plastic covers keep the bracelet pins in place and simply slip out. Overall, the metal version we test looks more like a bracelet than a watch, but that's fine. Fossil also offers leather and cloth bands in various colors.

Another excellent improvement is the charging system. The watch comes with a USB cable that can plug into a wall adapter or USB port. The watch connects to the cable with magnets. No ugly stand, no strange prongy thing—the charger snaps into place.

These Abacus watches will be available online on June 10. While this won't mean the end of our constant wariness towards the technology—these models certainly improve our opinion of the platform on the whole and make us look forward to a SPOT-filled future.

Product Page [MSNDirect]

You can currently pick up Abacus watches for about $44 on Amazon, et al.

Fossil Stopped Selling Technology Wristwatches [Wristdreams]

Fossil Abacus watches and accessories [Amazon]

Oregon Scientific Complete Regional Weather Station Review [SpotStop]

Specs and pricing for Oregon Scientific weather stations [Shopping.com]

Fossil to Exit SPOT Market, MSN Direct Update [SPOTStop]

Most of the HOW-TO involves downloading a bunch of software but the fact that you can control your own content on these watches makes the entire "pay to use your watch" proposition quite a bit saner. There are even tips on how to get POP mail sent over.

HOW TO get MSN Filter news (or any RSS) on a SPOT watch [Make]