The Doppler-based Pocket Radar has the same degree of accuracy as traditional, bulky radar guns (within 1 mph to be exact) in a unit that's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. It can also take up to 10,000 speed measurements on one set of AAA batteries. In other words, it's a lot more sophisticated than that cheap Hot Wheels radar gun you have been playing with. Of course, it's probably going to be a lot more expensive for makers to tinker with when it arrives in the Spring of 2010. [Pocket Radar via BusinessWire via Gadget Lab]

These numbers are based on Javascript benchmarks, which don't give a total view of a browser's speed but do tell us how adept a browser is at dealing with intensive code. Chromium scored 657ms on the test to Safari's 886ms. Firefox scored 1,508ms and Opera 10 Beta 3 (my personal browser of choice) lagged way behind with 5,958ms. Keeping in mind that Chromium is pre-alpha and thus better seen as a fun dev project than an actual candidate for a primary browser, we're pretty excited. Once Google irons out the bugs and gets some damn extensions, Chrome on Mac is going to be a stiff challenger to Firefox. [CNET]

The Crucial SSDs are available in the current standard of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities at price points of $170, $330 and $600, respectively. Those prices may seem outlandish if you've never browsed SSDs before, but they're actually pretty fair; Crucial is a respectable company and those prices are even a little below average prices at each capacity, regardless of the fact that they're among the fastest on the market. If you're looking to pump some speed into your netbook, and you've got enough money to do something silly like spend twice the price of your computer on one component, they're probably worth a look. [Press Release, Crucial Store]

Basically, students from Richard Montgomery High School are copying the license plate numbers of their "enemies" ('cause high schoolers lead such vicious, angsty lives) on glossy photo paper in a font that looks just like the one Maryland uses for its license plates. They tape the crappy fake license over their own, and intentionally zip past a stupid speedtrap camera, and a couple days later, their victim receives a ticket in the mail. The really clever little bastards are borrowing cars that are the same model as the one their victim owns.

This should pretty much seal the deal on how speeding cameras are. I mean, the whole program is being effortlessly de-constructed and re-purposed by high school geniuses who call their prank speed camera "pimping." And this is the future of public safety? Right. [The Sentinel via Slashdot]

Verizon technology director Vincent O'Byrne declared 2009 the year America finally breaks the 100Mbps barrier that Hong Kongers have, well, long since passed. O'Byrne was quick to note that the bump in speed isn't really essential to most Verizon customers, but that the number represents more of a marketing milestone that could give them a one-up on chief competitor Comcast.

Later, a Verizon spokesperson contacted Telephony Online, the original reporter, to perform some spectacular hedging: "Verizon expects to have its delivery processes for speeds like that locked down in 2009 so that service with speeds approaching 100 Mb/s would be enabled in the very near future," the spokesperson said. So Verizon is going to hit that landmark 100Mbps soon, but it appears for now there's no guarantee. No pricing was made available, either, although the current fastest tier, at 50Mbps, costs $145 without bundled phone service. [DSL Reports]

Wingless Takeoff

For example, the videos showed that if the descending swatter—actually, a 14-centimeter-diameter black disk, dropping at a 50-degree angle toward a fly standing at the center of a small platform—comes from in front of the fly, the fly moves its middle legs forward and leans back, then raises and extends its legs to push off backward. When the threat comes from the back, however, the fly (which has a nearly 360-degree field of view and can see behind itself) moves its middle legs a tiny bit backwards. With a threat from the side, the fly keeps its middle legs stationary, but leans its whole body in the opposite direction before it jumps.

Sideways Takeoff

Backward Takeoff

Legless Takeoff

[Caltech—Videos Copyright 2008 by Current Biology, Card & Dickinson. Used with permission. Thanks Kathy]

Thanks tipster!

Who needs a databus with such a high data rate? For the time being, probably only petaflop supercomputer designers needing to route vast numbers of bits very quickly between parallel processors and memory banks. Before too long though, the size and weight savings offered by that lower power consumption could mean you'd see scaled-down versions of the technology in your laptop or even your phone.

The cleverest bit is that the guys at IBM made these new "optocard" circuits by using commercially available parts and standard techniques like surface-mount soldering. This means the innovations may make it into real products much sooner than if they'd used custom technology.

It's apparently "the world's fastest and most highly integrated optical databus to date," and all that amazing speed is powered by little laser beams, guys... frickin' laser beams. And that's just cool. [Physorg]

The transmission was done with the goal of achieving a 100 Gbps Ethernet connection, which, as I'm sure you'd agree, is a goal we can all get behind. All sorts of fancy, confusing-sounding technologies were used to get the blazing optical transmission, including "a highly linear, balanced optoelectronic photoreceiver and an ultra-compact, temperature-insensitive coherent mixer." I kept telling them that they just needed a more balanced optoelectronic photoreceiver! I'm glad they finally listened.

We're still pretty far from seeing speeds anywhere near this in consumer connections, as the technology being worked on here will go towards the internet's backbone rather than in a line to your house. But I mean, honestly, at what point is bandwidth so fast that it doesn't matter if it gets any faster? When we're talking about speeds that'll allow you to download a full HD movie in 15 seconds versus 3 seconds, you really start to lose the right to complain about it. Those 50 Mbps connections we'll start seeing offered to consumers in the next few years should be just plenty for the time being, no? [IT News Australia via Slashdot]

Under just the right conditions, this vapor cone shows up, often as a jet approaches the speed of sound, but other times even at lower speeds. In this case, he's probably not going that fast, and kicking up some vapor from the water. But it looks cool nonetheless. And video shooters, check out how much faster the jet appears to be going when the videographer lets the aircraft fly into the frame and then quickly begins panning along with it. Spectacular. [Blue Angels, via Jumpcut]

Product Page [via NaviGadget]

In other words, by spinning in opposite directions, they'd balance out the loss of lift experienced by the retreating blade and let the chopper reach speeds of up to 334mph. There's no official test date for the chopper, but you must admit, design-wise the mock-up looks badass. – Louis Ramirez

High-speed Helicopter Revolution [Popular Mechanics]

The first, Nike's Flight+, will be released May 1 for $129. The volume and track controls are built into a "rocking bezel" around the Electroluminiscent backlit screen. There will be two colors and it will be able to play back the Nike + iPod voice feedback.

The second, a lower-end bracelet called the Amp+, has its own LED display which can show the time or the iPod control status. You also get an iPod shuffle control pad to adjust volume, playback, or call up the Nike Sport kit stuff. This will be $79 on May 1.

The third one, Aero+, seems to be the male version of the Flight+. It's less feminine and comes with two colors as well. It's the same price as the Flight+ ($129) and will also be launched May 1.

Once again, these compliment the iPod + Nano system instead of replacing the Nano like the Speed+ kits. All of them will be out on May 1 (for the thousandth time.) – Jason Chen

Nike iPod watch details, photos leaked [iLounge]

Nike+ Without The iPod? New Product Info Leaked [Podophile]

By Sean Captain

Random routers may give you a crust of bread and such. But god bless the child who's got his own always-on, high-speed connection from a cell phone company. Laptop data cards have been trying the patience of early adopters for years. But three US services now offer bona-fide broadband download speeds in the 400-to-700-kilobits-per-second range. Jump to read about the state of high speed cellular data.

Verizon kicked off wireless broadband in the US about two-and-a-half years ago with Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). In late 2005, Sprint followed with its own EV-DO service, and Cingular switched on its High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network. Fast service from T-Mobile is nowhere in sight. So Catherine Zeta-Jones groupies should stick to IM-ing on their SideKicks.

Sporting one of the wireless broadband connections on a laptop feels as liberating as getting a drivers license and no longer having to ask mom and dad for rides to the mall. I've tried out cards from Verizon and Sprint in New York City and had no trouble connecting from anywhere. If you're someone who needs to be connected all the time — say a journalist filing articles from the field — consider a wireless broadband plan.

That's assuming you live someplace that has the service. Cingular currently covers over 60 cities and their burbs with HSDPA. Sprint claims to support about 220 communities, where 153 million people live. Verizon says its broadband reaches half the country.

All three companies charge $80 per month for a standalone, two-year, unlimited data plan. But they lop off $20 monthly for customers who also have all but their cheapest voice plans. Notebook cards cost from $50 to $100.

You can save an extra $20 per month if you forego a laptop card and instead use a broadband-equipped cellphone as a modem, connected via USB cable or Bluetooth. The downside is that most phones can't provide data and voice service at the same time. (But Cingular's LG CU500 can.)

These phones all work as broadband modems:

Cingular
LG CU500


Sprint
LG FUSIC
Palm Treo 700P
Samsung A900
Samsung A920

Verizon
LG VX-8100 LG VX-9800LG Chocolate
Motorola RAZR V3c

You might be thinking you can offset the cost of a wireless plan by dropping your cable or DSL service at home. But if you're more than a casual Web surfer, you'll find this frustrating — especially if your pad isn't in a prime location to get a signal. I tried going wireless-only and went nearly mad waiting for episodes of Battlestar Galactica to download. (Okay, I'm a sci-fi nerd.) And even if you get all five bars, you'll suffer through any sizeable uploads - like sending a card's worth of candid shots from that bachelor party to your Flickr account. Upload speeds are in the paltry 50-70 kbps range.

Relief is in site, though. The next version of EV-DO, called Revision A, will push the upload speeds into the 300-700 kbps range. (Hello video conferencing!) Sprint and Verizon will be rolling it out in early 2007. Then in late 2007 or 2008, Sprint introduces a new technology called WiMax with download speeds between two and four megabits per second. (Yee haw!) Cingular is being mum about upgrades. But Sierra Wireless, which makes a lot of the data cards out there, has already announced an HSDPA model that can handle double the speeds currently offered by Cingular's network.

Sean Captain is a nerdy Manhattan hipster and freelance journalist who covers technology for great outfits including The New York Times, Wired, Slate, Popular Science, Real Simple, and Laptop Magazine. When he has time to spare, he posts to his technology blog at seancaptain.typepad.com.

A serious advantage these ToughTech enclosures have had all along is their FlexMount anti-shock protection, keeping that valuable data and all your most important porn safe even if you jostle it around. The enclosure by itself, to which you add drives, is $119.95, or you can get it with SATA drives included, were the 250GB unit is $252.95, the 500GB is $455.95, and the 750GB is $784.95. Just add a SATA card to your Mac or PC and you're off and running like the wind. – Charlie White

Product Page [WiebeTech]