Gizmodo: Carbon

Draganfly X6 UAV: UFO Thingy Packed With Carbon Fiber, HD/Night Cameras and GPS

Brian Lam — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:09:04 EDT

The Draganfly series of heli cams have been impressive, but the just announced X6 is freaking amazing. The triple-tipped carbon fiber body has two carbon rotors on each end. The design allows it to move in all directions rapidly, provide enough control to zip around indoors yet resist up to 18 miles per hour of wind.

The oil-dampening vibration-killing mount can be loaded with an HD camera, night vision camera, still camera, low light camera or thermal imaging camera. The machine also has GPS, which feeds positioning data into the remote control's LCD. The X6 can even maintain flight if one of its 6 motors stops working. The battery can be charged in 30 minutes, yet can supply the device with 450 watts of power, which allows the machine to climb 23 feet per second, turn 90 degrees in the same time or do fly-bys at 30 MPH. I don't know how much these cost, but I'm getting enough enjoyment out of watching the videos at Dragonfly's site. [Draganfly]

Nokia Pimps 8800 Cellphone With Carbon Arte Version

Kit Eaton — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:37:00 EDT

Nokia's just come up with a new entry in its Arte series of "jazzed up" cellphones with the 8800 Carbon Arte. The old slider phone now has panels of carbon fiber in its front and rear faces, along with titanium and stainless steel. Internally it looks like the phone is pretty much unchanged, though now its storage has been bumped up to 4GB from 1GB. It remains a tri-band GSM phone, though, and Nokia expects it to hit the shops in Europe by the end of the year for around $1,600. [Phone Arena]

New Material Stretches While Conducting Electricity

Mark Wilson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:18:00 EDT

Japanese researchers have developed a new material capable of stretching to roughly twice its natural shape while conducting electricity—before snapping back with no damage to the circuit. It's essentially a rubber polymer filled with carbon nanotubes, and it could be used to create anything from a curved eye-replacement camera (which is currently in development) to a new class of NERF footballs. So are you thinking what we're thinking? Yes, bring on the prank Silly Putty. And who's the sicko pasting T1000 shots on my friendly post? [Reuters via Newlaunches]

Scientists Propose Adding Lime to Oceans to Reduce CO2

Kit Eaton — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:20:00 EDT

The oceans already absorb megatons of atmospheric carbon, but scientists say that there's a way to boost this so that CO2 levels could drop to pre-industrial age levels. The answer sounds like a cocktail recipe: add lime. Limed seawater has boosted alkalinity, which lets it absorb more CO2 and stops it from releasing it back so readily. The idea's been around for a while, but the new proposition is that lime production should occur in areas rich in energy resources and limestone, but where commercial power generation is overly expensive. One suggested location is Nullarbor Plain in Australia which has limestone and abundant sunlight for solar power. Sounds like a whacky but not-infeasible scheme, though I suspect there're quite a few "polluting the oceans" concerns to get around before it could be tried out. [Physorg]

AK Geneve HMS Automatic Warp Watch Is Nigh Indestructible, Inspired by Star Trek

Jack Loftus — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Timepiece designer Arny Kapshitzer is a big fan of Star Trek, and that shows in his latest creation, the HMS Automatic Warp Watch. While it won't take you Warp 9 anytime soon, it does have a ton of carbon fiber, and the perfluorinated, hypoallergenic rubber wristband is impervious to "all acids." From the sound of that last feature, it looks there's a head nod to Ripley in there, too.

There's actually a bit more to this space watch than mere looks. AK factored in the natural asymmetry of the human arm, and made the crown side of the watch thicker so it would fit snug. The super rubber that makes up the band is also used to seal the watch, and will last for 50 years, guaranteed.And lastly, the Star Trek influence (such as it is):

It looks like something straight out of the Star Trek series, uncannily reminiscent of the starship Enterprise. Located eccentrically towards the right of the dial, a cut-away metal piece reveals the jumping hours and minutes on two superimposed discs. The seconds are displayed at 3 o'clock on a cylinder linked directly to the crown. 9 o'clock forms the tail of the “spaceship”. Made of the same metal, it bears the name of the watch and is punctuated by a totally off-centre dot, where the brand logo is engraved.

[AK Geneve via Wrist Dreams]

Smallest Ramen Bowl in the World

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:30:00 EDT

According to legend, University of Tokyo professor Masayuki Nakao was bitten by a radioactive ramen bowl when he was a kid, which gave him the ability to spit 1-micron-wide bowls made out of silicon—full of dozens of 20-nanometer-think carbon noodles floating in an ethanol soup—at supersonic speeds. Or maybe he did this one with a metal particle beam to demo a new circuit manufacturig technology using carbon nanotubes. Whatever it is, they are low on sodium: two molecules per serving. [Pink Tentacle]

World's First Solar Speedboat Does 30 Knots Gas-Free

Elaine Chow — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:30:00 EDT

Looking to zoom through the oceans in a stylish, but also somewhat environmentally friendly, manner? Check out the Czeers MK1 prototype solar speedboat, a 10-meter long rig that manages to pack in 14 square meters of solar panels to power an 80kw electric motor. The MK1 plows through the water at a breakneck 30 knots, using no oil and producing no fumes or engine noise. Hit the jump for a video of the boat in action.

The boat is made from 100 percent carbon fiber and has an LCD touch-screen control system, leather trimmings and, most importantly, photovoltaic cells on almost all its horizontal services. Czeers is hoping to produce between 4 and 8 boats per year. Pricing is not yet available, but considering that the last version of the MK1 was last shown at the Millionaire Fair, you can probably bet it's super expensive. [Gizmag]

F1/Carbon Watch has Expensive Looks, Like Real Formula 1

Kit Eaton — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:43:31 EDT

Designer John Pszeniczny was trying to combine elements of Formula 1 racing with gems and crystals, and we think he's done well with his F1/Carbon GMT watch. It's even got a stopwatch and laptimer built in, and has the time in each of the cities on the F1 calendar. The red-lit display looks kinda mean, and the 18 identical embedded rubies sure are in the spirit of the huge cost of F1. The bracelet style would make it look like a high-tech tyre wrapped round your wrist— though we can't help but wonder about chafing. Just a concept. [Yanko]

Carbon Fiber Macbook Air, A World of No

Mark Wilson — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:15:05 EST

While we generally love to see gadgets receive new alloy skins, this mod that added carbon fiber to the back of a Macbook Air is—sensitively put—fugly. The trade-off is that carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum, though at the installed thickness, it's a bit flimsier too.

But maybe we're just grumpy. Does anyone think this actually looks good? [MAKE]

ONELink Wireless, Networked, Talking Smoke Alarms Tell You When to Get the Hell Out

Sean Fallon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:00:16 EST

If you are ever confronted with a fire or carbon monoxide situation in your home, it goes without saying that you would want an alarm that will give you the best chance to escape. That having been said, the ONELink system from First Alert does just about everything outside of physically carrying you out of the building. Because they can be wirelessly networked (up to 16 units), when one of the devices goes off, they will all go off, giving you more time to take action no matter where you are in a building.

The ONELink can also give you verbal alerts that define whether you are dealing with smoke or carbon monoxide and where the problem is occurring in your home. They can even be tested and/or programmed using your standard television remote. As you might expect, the ONELink is a bit pricey at $99 a unit, but if they work as advertised, it may be a small price to pay. [Smarthome and First Alert via Gizmag]

Scientists Date Corpses by Looking into Their Eyes

AddyDugdale — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:10:31 EST

A team of Danish researchers has discovered a way of dating dead bodies via the corpse's eye using a nuclear particle accelerator. The procedure, which measures the amount of a carbon isotope in the eye lens, has been made possible because of atomic weapons testing half a century ago. The technique only works for people born after 1950 and will only be valid until levels of the carbon isotype have returned to normal—probably 100 years. Here's how it works.

In the first couple of years of an individual's life, the carbon isotope C-14, discovered in the 40s, forms transparent proteins, or lens crystallines, which enable sight. These remain unchanged—rather like dental enamel— for the rest of a person's life. By measuring the level of C-14 in the person's eye, and comparing it to records of levels in the atmosphere, the corpse can be dated.

The team, from the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, thinks that, as well as being a forensic breakthrough, the method will be able to tell us more about the behaviour of cancerous cells.

"We think that carbon dating of proteins and other molecules in the body could be used to study when certain tissues are generated or regenerated," says Associate Professor Niels Lynnerup from the Dept of Forensic Sciences in Denmark. "This could, for example, be applied to cancer tissue and cancer cells. Calculating the amount of C-14 in these tissues could tell us when the cancerous tissue is formed and this could further our understanding of such diseases." [Telegraph]

Super Green Ecobutton Puts PCs into Extra Deep Sleep

Kit Eaton — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:45:00 EST

Give the USB plug-in Ecobutton a thump when you pop off to lunch or a meeting, and it puts your computer into an electricity-saving deep sleep. While snoozing in "ecomode," the Windows PC will draw less power than if you just left it in sleep or screensaver, which can be nothing but good for your electricity bills and the environment, right?

If you want to know exactly how good you're being (you eco-geek, you), the Ecobutton's software tells you how much energy and carbon units you've saved. It's PC-only for now, and is available for $12-$18.

Note: If you're truly environ-mental, you've probably realized that Ecobutton is mainly a software fix, so the manufacturing of the plastic component is itself a needless waste of our earth's precious resources, even before packaging and shipping—but who's keeping score anyway? Oh, right, this is. [OhGizmo]

Darkest Material Ever Is Almost Blacker Than Karl Rove's Soul

matt buchanan — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:35:24 EST

Is there anything you can't do with the wonderful stuff that is nanotubes? A scientist at Rice University has created the world's darkest material ever with pure carbon nanotubes, reflecting only .045 percent of all light shined on it. To put that in perspective, it's 100 times darker than the paint on a black Corvette, or roughly 27 percent as dark as the viscous substance running through Karl Rove's veins. But this stuff is useful, since its ridiculous light absorption would be great for solar panels. [Houston Chronicle via MAKE]

Toshiba Helps Mask Your Guilt By Planting Trees

Benny Goldman — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:15:01 EST

Toshiba cuddled up to the environment today by creating a new Carbon Zero offset scheme. UK customers now have the option to tack on £1.18 ($2.44) to the purchase of a laptop that will go toward planting a tree in Cumbria, a rural area in England. According to the company, said tree will offset carbon emissions produced by the laptop over each one's respective lifetime. While it's nice that Toshiba is thinking about our air supply, this plan seems less "Carbon Zero" and more "scheme" to me.

Just think about the lifetime of a laptop vs. the lifetime of a tree. A laptop lasts 6-7 years, tops, and that's if you take great care of it and don't mind staying behind the technology curve. On the other hand, trees can live for centuries. If that's how long it takes to offset the carbon produced by one laptop, maybe Toshiba should be rethinking manufacturing them altogether.

This plan seems like more of a way to play into people's guilt, keep the environmental nuts at bay, and join the other companies who have similar initiatives. And as of now it's only available to people in the UK, preventing the vast majority of Toshiba's customer base from getting in on the alleged carbon savings. Whatever the offset really may be, why can't we all get a chance to feel good by planting a tree when we buy a new laptop? [Toshiba via Reg Hardware]

E7 Cop Car of the Future Still Despises Batmobile

Mark Wilson — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:30:10 EST

Carbon Motors would like to begin selling this made-to-order police vehicle to your local precinct. No, it's not just a fancily painted Dodge Charger. It's a car all on its own, the E7, made specifically for cops. And since it doesn't exist yet, ex-Ford employees at Carbon Motors are prepared to brag heavily about all the sweet new features:

Diesel powered with 40% better fuel economy than a standard police vehicle, the E7 will still get 0-60 in 6 seconds with a lifespan of nearly 3 times that of standard patrol vehicles. But the even more appealing advantage is its ability to shrug off bullets. Door and dashboard armor will deflect small arms fire up to 9mm. Meanwhile, cops can trace the shooters through infrared cameras that will cut through the cloak of night.

And that fancy paint job you are admiring wouldn't be paint at all, but thermoplastics that can take a lot more abuse from your area's pissed-off teenager with car keys.

Given that the E7's $20,000-$70,000 price tag could make it accessible to the masses, you might want to ditch that "herbal garden" before it's too late. Hit up Popular Mechanics for their other future cop tech. [popularmechanics]

Arantix Carbon Mesh Bike From Delta 7: Light, Sturdy, Shrapnel-Resistant? (Video)

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:31:41 EST

Delta 7's Arantix bike frame is see-through and weighs just 2.75lbs but is so strong there's no rider weight limit. It's made of Isotruss, a material consisting of carbon fiber strands bent into a wide mesh to emulate the sturdy geometry of steel truss structures. That tech ain't cheap: Expect to pay $7,000 when it ships next spring (frame only—the other parts will run you $4K more). We are a little creeped out, though. If it's all about sports, why this talk about how well it withstands shrapnel hits? When we asked about military applications, one of the Delta 7 dudes said, simply, "Rapid deployment." Kinda alters the significance of "light artillery."–Video by Richard Blakeley [Delta 7 Sports]

Dell Set to Go Green By 2008

Haroon Malik — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:45:00 EDT

Mr. Dell has pledged that Dell shall be set to become carbon neutral by 2008. Apparently, this fuss with the ozone layer is quite a big deal and it is nice the big boys are standing to attention. Mr. Dell said:

"There's been a time in history of business where it's more important for organizations of all sizes to partner together to positively impact the Earth that we all share... It's not enough for Dell to be an environmental leader. We also need to partner with our customers ... to dramatically improve our own customers' environmental impacts."

Dell plans to create more energy efficient products and will utilize other energy efficient sources during production. Those measures seem a bit ambiguous to us—let's see a completely biodegradable laptop made from nothing but recycled toilet rolls, then we would be impressed. Very, very impressed. [Washington Post via Consumerist]

EasyJet Shows off its EcoJet with Giant Orange Man

AddyDugdale — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:00:27 EDT

This is the EcoJet, EasyJet's green plane of the future. Either EasyJet's CEO Andrew Harrison has been stealing Giantman's serum, or his new plane saves so much energy because it's made for hamsters. The budget airline is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2015 and reckons this is the aircraft to do it with. In an open letter to airline manufacturers last month, it outlined its wishlist...

Rear-mounted "open-rotor" engines offer unrivalled environmental performance for short-haul flying due to their higher propulsive efficiency. However, the significant difficulties in fixing such a large engine beneath the wing of a narrow-body aircraft, make rear-mounting of the engines the best solution.

A lower design cruise speed to reduce drag and a shorter design range to reduce weight. Will someone please tell Mr Harrison to duck, because there's another plane heading straight for his ear.

Noise reductions are expected to come from a gear box between the engine and the open-rotor blades keeping them subsonic during take-off and landing, the use of the rear empennage to shield the ground from engine noise, and airframe improvements (such as no slats on the front of the wing).

The airframe will be made of advanced weight-reducing materials similar to those used in current projects like the Boeing 787, which itself is estimated to be 27% more fuel efficient than the aircraft it will replace in many fleets.

Nothing about improving their rotten food, though, which without a doubt increases EasyJet passengers' gas emissions. [EasyJet press release and O'Reilly-GMT]

Carbon Butterfly Gallery: RC Plane Lighter Than a Sheet of Paper

Brian Lam — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:34:00 EDT

The Carbon Fiber Butterfly is the world's lightest RC Plane. Between its transparent plastic wings, the carbon fiber skeleton, the prop, controller chip, drivetrain and rudder, it weighs 3.6 grams. That's less than a sheet of paper.

The motor and 5:1 gearbox are Swiss made, and the rudder actuator is sensitive to 64-steps, allowing 180-degree turns within a 12-foot-wide room. And the battery pack is a dot-sized 30Mah Lithium ion that docks on the 2-channel remote. The prop? Carbon fiber, of course.

How does it fly? I won't lie, I'm going to use the included simulator software before I try piloting this $300 plane in my house. But after the gallery, there's a video. More on my maiden flight, later, after flight school.

Video after the jump...as soon as youtube gets its shit together.

A little history: The Carbon is the successor to the original Butterfly, made from Balsa wood. I won't mince words: That thing was the most fragile gadget I'd ever seen. Within minutes, the slight frame was smashed in three places. –Brian Lam

Carbon Butterfly [Gizmodo]

Blackbird Rider: Carbon Fiber Guitar Waited for this Moment to Arise

Charlie White — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:28:13 EST

The Blackbird Rider is a guitar made out of carbon fiber that was designed using 3D CAD software. It's 2/3 the size of an ordinary guitar but makes up for that by being hollow throughout—even in its neck and head—making the entire guitar a sound box. The goal of this design was to get the sound of a big acoustic guitar in a smaller form factor that's easily portable.

More pictures, info and pricing:

Notice the sound hole is next to the guitar's neck rather than underneath the strings. Then, there's another opening called the stereo sound hole (the company calls this SSH, making it sound all scientific-like) on the guitar's head, in an attempt to maximize the resonance of this instrument.

There will be just 100 of these axes available, and pros taking this carbon fiber jewel on stage will certainly elicit the awe of any geeksters in the audience. But this Blackbird is going to have to do a lot of singing in the dead of night to make up for its $1599 price tag.

That price is not too bad, though, considering that the gold-standard Martin D-28 guitar costs at least $500 more than that. – Charlie White

Product Page [Blackbird Guitars]

Carbon Fiber iPhone Mockup

Travis Hudson — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:23:53 EST

This is a carbon fiber iPhone mockup that I normally wouldn't care about, but this one comes with a humorous story. Supposedly, Apple will be developing a special edition carbon fiber iPhone called the Carbon Electra X Apple iPhone. It will be limited to 200 units and be given away in the Oscars goodie bags. This is where the story gets iPhoney, but kind of funny.

In addition to the beautiful carbon fiber case, the phone will come pre-loaded with every M.O.P. song ever produced, every episode of Mythbusters and Rosario Dawson's cell number. There is also a custom software installed, approved by the FAA, that allows you to use your phone while on board any commercial airplane.

Who the hell is M.O.P? Regardless, it will also (not) be available for $700, 11-percent of which will be donated to the International TonTon Preservation Fund. –Travis Hudson
UPDATE: ENOUGH with the email. You know this isn't real, yes?

Carbon FiPhone [CFiR]

DIY Carbon Fiber MacBook

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 11:50:27 EST

While it may look like the Giz was visited by one of Apple's little elves, what you're looking at is actually an ordinary MacBook. Albeit one that's in disguise. Tired with the MacBook's lack of color options, an inventive Apple fan customized their MacBook with Carbon Graphix, an easily attainable $20 vinyl sticker that looks like real carbon fiber. The sticker can be easily applied and removed from your MacBook to give it that MacBook Pro look. This definitely beats the alternative, and looks more polished too. – Louis Ramirez

World's First Carbon Fiber MacBook [via New Launches]

Samsung D900 Black Carbon Reviewed (Verdict: Sexy All-Around)

Travis Hudson — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:09:45 EST

Rejoice, Americans. Finally, Samsung has begun sharing some of their European and Asian phones with our market. One of the phones they have decided to bring over is the Samsung D900 "Black Carbon." This is a GSM-enabled slider that is slim and sexy on the outside.

The sexiness of this phone only begins on the outside. Samsung, with the help of another software giant did some special things with the inner workings of the phone.

Hit the jump to find out how this phone became even sexier with the help of one giant software manufacturer, and hit our gallery.

Samsung teamed up with Adobe, yes, that Adobe, to make the UI a little more intuitive. They succeeded with flying colors. Some folks may shrug off the look of the interface, but you don't truly appreciate good design until you actually have a phone with good, intuitive user interface sitting in front of you.

This interface built for the D900 has the same Samsung feel, but with added style. It is really hard to describe good design, so just hit the photogallery to get a better glimpse at this design.

Getting your grubby paws on this phone is a bit harder than strolling to the mall and picking it up from the T-Mobile kiosk. The D900 Black Carbon is only available directly from the Samsung website for $400. Purchase it this way and drop in your SIM card and proceed with bringing sexy back.

Specs
• GSM Quad-Band
• 3.0-megapixel Camera with Image editing, video recording, autofocus, PictBrdige
• Music Player, Document Viewer
• MicroSD expandability

– Travis Hudson

Product Page [Samsung]

Samsung Black Carbon Hands-On

Jason Chen — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:15:50 EST

Inbetween bouts of picking his nose and reading those thousands of books he has in his office, John Biggs somehow managed to find the time to show off the Samsung Black Carbon. Featuring a 3-megapixel camera, the Black Carbon is a thin slider that has UI co-designed with Adobe. This means the $399 you spend directly buying this from Samsung online will get you an interface that doesn't completely suck the paint off the side of your Camaro.

Not dealer-subsidized, but that also means you're going to be the only one at your Christmas party with one of these. Well worth four hundred bones to score with Suzanne in marketing. – Jason Chen

Samsung Black Carbon Quick Look [Crunchgear]

Sony Vaio G1: Sub 2-Pounder, Carbon Fiber Goodness

Charlie White — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 08:14:03 EST

Sony's smashed the 2-pound barrier with its Sony Vaio G1, a 1.98-pound carbon fiber laptop that the company calls "the lightest fully usable notebook ever produced." Despite that feather weight, it still has a 12.1-inch display, 1.5GB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive.

Unfortunately, its 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo processor isn't going to set any speed records, but we'll forgive this slim little jewel for that, which still is just 2.46 pounds light even with its DVD-RW drive inserted and a double-capacity 12 hour battery inside. Available in Japan in the first week of December at around $2000, you can pre-order it now for US delivery from cool-tech importer Dynamism.

This one stirs our techno-lust, especially since we find a 12.1-inch screen particularly useful for airborne computing while crammed into munchkin-sized airplane seats. – Charlie White

See a slew of gorgeous pics, after the jump!

Sony Vaio G1 [Dynamism]

Live From Korea: Samsung Black Carbon Hands-On

Gizloco — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:31:30 EDT

Apparently unfamiliar with the current geopolitical crisis going on right now in East Asia, CrunchGear sent head scribe John Biggs to South Korea to check out all the latest and greatest Samsung products. One of the gems so far is this hands-on with the Samsung D900, henceforth known as the Black Carbon. This damn thin slider packs a 3-megapixel camera and its UI was designed with the help of Adobe. The GSM cellphone will make its way to the U S of A fairly soon, or so Biggs was told, for around $350-400 and more than likely on T-Mobile. Jump for a few more pics.

Godspeed, Mr. Biggs. – Nicholas Deleon

Samsung D900 aka Black Carbon Hands On [CrunchGear]

Plantraco's Carbon Butterfly Remote Control Plane

Jason Chen — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 19:45:27 EDT

At 3.6 grams, this Carbon Butterfly is the lightest RC plane in the world. And because it's made out of Carbon Fiber, it's got the strength of steel but the flexibility of a 14-year-old gymnast.

It has a range of 400 feet, and is directed by a 4xAA RC remote control. It's a little pricey at $300, but it also includes a carrying case. You can even fly it around your living room dive bombing your little sister and aggravating your father's hypertension. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Plantraco via Cool Hunting]

Acer Ferrari 1005WTMi Laptop: With a 12-inch Screen, More Like a Go Kart

Brian Lam — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:37:51 EDT

Look here, a little Acer Ferrari Laptop with a 12-inch screen, at an impressive 1366 x 768 resolution. What sets it apart from many other notebooks of this size? The faux carbon fiber lid, and built in 1.3Megapixel camera.

Inside? an AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 CPU, and an ATI XPRESS 1150 chipset that provides integrated graphics. Hmm...integrated graphics aren't very racy. Still, this machine has a decent set of ports and wireless options. The rest of the stat-smather after the jump.

When it comes to connectivity and multi-media options, the notebook promises the best. With options like Gigabit Ethernet , Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR and Extensions ports like AC adapter, Docking-port, Firewire, Infra-red, Line In, LineOut, RJ-11, RJ-45, S/PDIF, S-video ,USB 2.0 and VGA-out.

No info forthcoming on US availability or pricing.–Brian Lam

Acer Ferrari 1005WTMi Laptop [Mobilewhack]

Earthrace Boat: Carbon Trimaran Stabs Through Waves, Video

Brian Lam — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 19:47:16 EDT

The Earthrace boat isn't some Greenpeace sponsored, treehugging tug. No! It's a treehugging, carbon/Kevlar-hulled, 1080-Horsepower, 78 foot speedboat with a sharp bow meant to harpoon waves. Apparently, submarining through the crests of waves is a lot more efficient than going up and over them. And, as Wired reported, the boat ran a section of its circumnavigation off biofuel processed from the captain's ass fat. Really.

Video of the ass-powered boat slicing up waves, after the jump.– Brian Lam

Ass Powered Boat [Thanks, Brian Chiko ]
Ass Powered Boat [Wired]

Ginity Carbon Fiber Caps

Charlie White — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:46:42 EDT

Now you can wear a piece of Formula One technology on your head with Ginity's baseball cap, whose visor is made of carbon fiber composite (pictured at top). If that's not quite fancy enough for you, get yours with a silver or gold fiber brim.

The rest of the hat is made of microsuede in your choice of colors, giving you an interesting blend of metallic and smooth textures. The carbon fiber cap is 115 ($146), and a silver or gold-brimmed hat is a relative bargain at 99 ($126). – Charlie White

Product Page [Ginity Trading Corporation]

Drop the Kids Off at the Pool, in Style, with the Carbon Fiber Toilet

Travis Hudson — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:03:10 EDT

And by pool we mean absolutely beautifully crafted carbon fiber toilet. This toilet would look perfect in an contemporary bathroom. It would also look pretty good as the shift knob in a tricked out Honda Civic. You kids love that carbon fiber look. So carbon fiber is generally synonymous with high-quality auto parts, so does that make this toilet high-quality? Quite possibly. All I know is that this toilet will let you take the Browns to the Superbowl, in style. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Coolest-Gadget]

Woot Deal: Rio 5GB Player

johnb — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:56:20 EDT

Act fast, because this deal will probably go fast. I had a Rio Carbon back in the day—a great little MP3 player—and this one even comes with Zcyber i3 portable speakers... all for $99. You can't even get a 5GB flash drive for $99.

Sometimes we still cry a little when we think about poor Rio, but thems the breaks. – John Biggs

Woot Page [Woot]

Sony Vaio Carbon Fiber Blunders

Travis Hudson — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:51:39 EDT

It seems some users, including Randall25, over at the NotebookReview forums are in an uproar regarding Sony and the carbon fiber option on the VGN-SZ160p/c laptops.

If your unit has VGN-SZ160P above the left hinge and the lid does not have a criss-crossed weave pattern, then it's plastic.

The thread on the forum is chock full of carbon fiber experts who put in their own two cents, but we are still waiting on an official word from Sony. What's that smell? Oh yeah, lawsuit!

All SZ160p/c owners must read this! [NotebookReview Forums]

Parlee Z3S1 Custom Bike Makes Others Look Like Lead Balloons

Charlie White — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 08:44:31 EDT

If you thought that Mercedes bicycle we showed you yesterday was light, take a look at the Parlee Z3Sl Custom, weighing 10.86 lb. It's so light, its weight is expressed in grams; this one is 4929g. Made in the great U. S. of A., the 950-gram carbon frame alone costs $4700.

So never mind impressing everybody with that famed Mercedes logo—though beautiful, that bike is like a tank dragging an anvil compared to this one. Readers, school us further: are there even lighter bikes than this?

Product Page [pk0r Bike] Thanks, Tom!

Mercedes-Benz Carbon Bike

gizmodo.com — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 12:04:59 EDT

This sexy, sexy beast is the Carbon Bike from Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH, the star of their 2006 Bike Collection. While this is their very first racing bike, the use of carbon fiber in vehicle shells isn't new to Mercedes-Benz—the McLaren Mercedes F1 cars of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya heavily incorporate it, and their SLR McLaren is the world's first production car with a body shell made entirely of it. The Carbon Bike weighs in at an amazingly light 8.3 kilograms, comes with components from famed Japanese manufacturer Shimano, a €2990/$3665 pricetag and in a limited edition of 1999.

The first carbon racing bike from Mercedes-Benz [gizmag]
Mercedes-Benz 2006 Bike Collection [WorldCarFans.com]

Target Carbon Fibre Razor

Travis Hudson — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 06:24:03 EST

Who needs the damn Gillette Schick Quattro Midnight Fusion Deluxe razor when there is a razor that looks this classy? This product is part of a Target's designer series that takes ordinary crap and makes it look semi-cool. The razor is made out of stainless steel and features a carbon fibre-looking shaft. It is officially called the Caldo Razor and is available for $40 in-store. It also uses the replacement blades from the ordinary Gillette Mach3.

Caldo Razor [uncrate]

Bike Frame Uses Nanotube Technology, Light as Five Cellphones

Charlie White — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 11:00:54 EST

Carbon Nanotube (CNT) technology is making lots of things possible that were never dreamed of before, for instance, this bike frame on the BMC SLC01 Pro Machine that weighs 2.1 lb., or about as much as five cellphones. How is it made? Said its makers:

Tiny tiny tiny (you can t even see em) tubes of carbon fiber (ie: nanotubes) are mixed into the resin which bonds the carbon sheets together, and work to add strength to the resin much like using wire-mesh in concrete does.

All this feather-light high technology comes at a steep price, though, where the frame, fork and headset alone for this bike cost $3650.

PEZ-Clusive Test: BMC SLC01 [PezCycling News via Digg]

Motorola 5-Inch Carbon Nanotube Display

tgrumet — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 12:30:46 EST

If you didn't watch the Super Bowl on a flat panel TV, but have been eyeing them up at your local Circuit City, here's a little something to think about. Certain circles are talking about a breakthrough technology in flat panel TVs from Motorola.

The company is said to have unveiled a working flat screen prototype display using carbon nanotubes—albeit one just five inches wide. The technology uses standard color TV phosphors, has a response time equaling CRTs and comes in a package just an eighth-of-an-inch thick. Basically, the gist is that it could eventually bring us 40-inch flat panel HDTVs for about $400, though it all rests on whether carbon nanotubes can be mass produced. And that, of course, is the tough part.

Nanotube based flat screens [Nanodot]