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moon travel
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Travel
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moon travel
Flying Sucks
US Airways Removing All In-Flight Movies, Didn't Want Your Stupid Business Anyways
Apparently, flying is just too pleasurable an experience, which is why US Airways is getting rid of all in-flight movies and is canceling plans to test out a new entertainment system in its planes. Wah wahhhh! More »
public service announcement
U.S. Travelers Lose 12,000 Laptops Every Week
All you travelers coming home tomorrow from your wild and crazy Independence Day weekend vacations, don't be one of 12,000 people who lose their laptops at airports every week. That's right, that ain't no typo—12,000 dudes and dudettes somehow manage to misplace their portable computers every seven days. That's 600,000 machines a year, many containing sensitive information that companies need to account for. More »
news
TSA Says X-Rayable Laptop Bags are Go
The director of the TSA, Kip Hawley, has spoken to the New York Times and confirmed that X-ray-friendly laptop cases will be accepted by the agency as soon as they hit the shelves, potentially bringing an end to the panic that your laptop will go astray in all the fuss at airport checkpoints. We brought you first hints of this back in May, but it looks like the process of getting the bags approved is well underway. And both Targus and Pathfinder Luggage are hoping to have products on sale as soon as September or October. More »
spaceshiptwo
SpaceShipTwo Spied, May Turn Out to Be A Private Space Turtle
Flightglobal has a picture of what looks like the cockpit for Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, the successor to (you guessed it!) SpaceShipOne, which successfully completed the first private manned flight into space. Like the SpaceShipOne, it is being built by Scaled Composites in Mojave, CA, where these shots were taken. The picture might not seem like much to look at, but it represents a tangible step towards the era of low earth orbit booze-cruises, which I believe to be historically notable. Full wingered analysis at [Flightglobal Hyperbola].
luggage
LiveLuggage Power-Assisted Suitcase Lightens the Load for Travellers
The motors inside LiveLuggage's ingenious power-assisted suitcase can turn a 65-pound load into something one-tenth of the size. With an anti-gravity handle and force sensors in the wheels, LiveLuggage is hack- and thief-proof and, once charged, the battery will run for a couple of hours. Costing $1,300, I'm tempted to try one of these just to see what the Homeland Security bods might do when faced with a plastic suitcase boasting built-in electronics. [LiveLuggage via Born Rich]
wooden cubicle
Man Travels Back in Time to 1738, Brings Laptop and LCD Display With Him
DVICE calls this the most luxurious office cubicle, but we see the world's first time traveler. Here's what we think: Mr. Jared Nelson discovered the secret of time travel. He then packed up his favorite gear, which includes his Dell laptop, an LCD display, headphones, a digital camera which he used to take this photo, his office phone (he likes teleconferencing?) and his leather chair that he swiped from the VP when Dan was on vacation. More »
ferris wheel
Santa Monica has delivered a bright and shiny upgrade to its Pacific Ferris Wheel, dismantling the old one to make way for a new behemoth that boasts 160,000 LED lights. The 90-foot ride, manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides, delivers visual performances every night and cost the city $1.5 million. Thanks to solar panels that soak up energy during the day to power the wheel, those extravagant light shows have a minuscule carbon footprint. More »
Santa Monica's 160,000 LED Ferris Wheel Powered By The Sun
Santa Monica has delivered a bright and shiny upgrade to its Pacific Ferris Wheel, dismantling the old one to make way for a new behemoth that boasts 160,000 LED lights. The 90-foot ride, manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides, delivers visual performances every night and cost the city $1.5 million. Thanks to solar panels that soak up energy during the day to power the wheel, those extravagant light shows have a minuscule carbon footprint. More »
news
Laptop Bags Soon Welcome in Airports
While most of us have become fine-oiled machines in working our way through airport security without shoes, belts (and thereby sometimes pants), ripping one's laptop from its safehaven in your bag and placing it, cluckily, in an X-ray tray is never a pleasant experience. Luckily, the TSA has finally decided that laptop bags that meet certain provisions will be considered X-ray friendly.
But there had to be a catch...
More »
notes
Notes: The Brazilian Band Called Inimigos da HP (Translation: Enemies of HP)
On my last day in São Paulo, the good people we were working with on an upcoming Portuguese version of Giz with took us to some nightclub with an open roof and lots of beautiful younger people dancing and making out. Anyhow, here's the gadget party of this story: There was a band there playing called Inimigos da HP, or Enemies of HP. Yes, that HP. Apparently the members started playing together in college, but are mostly former engineers and industrial designers who were forced in their previously not-rockstar life to use HP calcs every day. I like their music. Now I'm in Rio, taking a long weekend. Going to the beach. I should have played more Wii Fit. [Wiki, Amazon] More »
doctor who
Doctor Who Outed as Secret Ikea Shopper, as Tardis Brought to Set Flat-Packed
Fans of the revivified British TV series Doctor Who are, apparently, reeling, after the shock discovery that the Tardis, the Time Lords' equivalent to a Toyota Prius, comes in a flatpack. "I expected the Tardis to beam down from some far-off galaxy," said one shocked onlooker, "but it looked more like some flatpack furniture when it was pulled off the lorry to be screwed together." Sonic screwdriver jokes below, please. [Times Online]
time travel
Eco Park Time Travel Mart: "Whenever You Are, We're Already Then"
David Eggers can now add time travel entrepreneur to his long list of literary and social accomplishments thanks to the Eco Park Time Travel Mart he recently opened in LA. Some of the humorous products available for purchase include: mammoth chunks, barbarian repellent, packets of shade and anti-robot fluid. More info after the break.
More »
goodbye
Ulysses Spacecraft Dying Alone in Space
The Ulysses spacecraft, which was launched way back in 1990, has been visiting the planets of the solar system for some 17-years, but now the Ulysses looks like it is doomed. A critical error has occurred in the mechanism that prevents the fuel from freezing, and that means the Ulysses is soon to be heading to spacecraft heaven. More »
science
Time travel may be possible! But probably not! And even if so, not for a long time! But time travel guys, time travel!
More »
Russian Scientists Claim Secrets of Time Travel to Be Unlocked Later This Year
Time travel may be possible! But probably not! And even if so, not for a long time! But time travel guys, time travel!
More »
space travel
Good news for rich guys with spaceman fantasies: Virgin Galactic is on track to start launching commercial space flights in 2009, and they just announced their new spaceship designs.
More »
Virgin Galactic Unveils Spaceships That'll Take Passengers Up in 2009
Good news for rich guys with spaceman fantasies: Virgin Galactic is on track to start launching commercial space flights in 2009, and they just announced their new spaceship designs. More »
peripherals
Laptops usually come adorned with either a trackpad or a IBM-style nub for cursor navigation, but what's a guy that loves trackballs to do? Unless they want to bring a full-sized 1995 trackball mouse with him like Travis witnessed last year at CEDIA, their only option is this Traveler 350 USB trackball. It clips onto your laptop and gives you a small, laptop key-sized version of a trackball along with mouse buttons and a scroller. Although we don't enjoy the added weight, this may be slightly more usable than a trackpad or nipple nub. [Genius Europe via Gadgetizer via DVice]
Traveler 350 Adds More Trackball to Laptops
Laptops usually come adorned with either a trackpad or a IBM-style nub for cursor navigation, but what's a guy that loves trackballs to do? Unless they want to bring a full-sized 1995 trackball mouse with him like Travis witnessed last year at CEDIA, their only option is this Traveler 350 USB trackball. It clips onto your laptop and gives you a small, laptop key-sized version of a trackball along with mouse buttons and a scroller. Although we don't enjoy the added weight, this may be slightly more usable than a trackpad or nipple nub. [Genius Europe via Gadgetizer via DVice]
virtual travel
Remember the retired Indian Airlines engineer whose stationary airplane parked in his backyard was pulling in the punters? Well, Reuters toodled off to Delhi to clock Bahadur Chand Gupta's Airbus 300 experience for themselves, alongside a bunch of underprivileged kids who are flying for free. Anyone who scoffs at the idea, just check out the testimony of a 16-year-old passenger. "Today, my life's dream is fulfilled." Gupta's wife, who plays flight attendant, and guides the kids down the emergency chute (see? Loads better than flying for real) says of the experience, "Their happiness gives me the utmost pleasure." [LiveLeak]
Video of the Backyard Airline Experience in India
Remember the retired Indian Airlines engineer whose stationary airplane parked in his backyard was pulling in the punters? Well, Reuters toodled off to Delhi to clock Bahadur Chand Gupta's Airbus 300 experience for themselves, alongside a bunch of underprivileged kids who are flying for free. Anyone who scoffs at the idea, just check out the testimony of a 16-year-old passenger. "Today, my life's dream is fulfilled." Gupta's wife, who plays flight attendant, and guides the kids down the emergency chute (see? Loads better than flying for real) says of the experience, "Their happiness gives me the utmost pleasure." [LiveLeak]
time travel
It used to be that if you wanted your own Flux Capacitor, you had to hit your head on a toilet. Fortunately, you can bypass that unpleasant experience and purchase one using your superfluous monies. Its functionality is limited to some cool flashing lights and "adjustable power settings," but nothing says you can't mount the thing inside your car and see what happens when you hit 88. Nothing except for the police and the mechanical limitations of that beater you call a vehicle that is. Available for $220. [Product Page via Uncrate via Wired]
Own a Flux Capacitor: No Concussion Required
It used to be that if you wanted your own Flux Capacitor, you had to hit your head on a toilet. Fortunately, you can bypass that unpleasant experience and purchase one using your superfluous monies. Its functionality is limited to some cool flashing lights and "adjustable power settings," but nothing says you can't mount the thing inside your car and see what happens when you hit 88. Nothing except for the police and the mechanical limitations of that beater you call a vehicle that is. Available for $220. [Product Page via Uncrate via Wired]
