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News Briefs
News Archives 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Running Out Of Time…
 How fast can you run? It had better be faster than
22km/hr, because that’s how fast the MIT Biometrics Cheetah robot can run. In
fact it’s not a record and even faster animal robots have been developed but to
date they’ve all been unwieldy contraptions, unable to operate independently or
support the weight of the batteries that would allow them to roam freely and
chase humans. What makes this one really scary – and whatever you do don’t
watch this
video if you are of a nervous disposition -- is that the use of highly
efficient electric motors to move the legs, rather than pneumatics, has
resulted in a lighter and more agile beast that can carry its own batteries. If
science fiction movies teach us anything it is only a matter of time before packs
of these malevolent mechanical monsters will be prowling the streets…
2005
Flying Car by 2020?
 Well, it may happen one day; probably at around the same
time that I get my long awaited personal jetpack and take holidays on Mars…
This latest prediction comes from a Massachusetts outfit called Terrafugia,
which, to be fair, has already come up with a flying car design, called
Transition, though this was a proper small plane, with folding wings, that
could, at a pinch, be driven on the road. The
new concept craft, is called the TF-X, which currently only exists as
drawings and an animation. It seeks to address the many problems of flitting
around the sky without a pilot’s licence by automating take off, flying,
navigation and landing. The passenger does have a final veto on landing though,
and can override the autopilot if they think it is unsafe. The design is quite
cunning with two swivelling electrically powered rotors for near vertical
take-off and landing. In flight they fold away and a petrol (avgas) engine
drives a ‘pusher’ fan at the rear that propels it through the air at up to
200mph and at the same time recharges the batteries. The range should be around
of 500 miles. On the ground the stubby wings fold down and it can be driven
like a car. Terrafugia reckons that anyone with an ordinary driving licence can
handle it after 5 hours training. The price is said to be around the same as a
top-end luxury car. There really are too many issues to mention but here’s a
couple to be getting on with starting with the minor problem that batteries
with the capacity to provide this aircraft with lift haven’t yet been invented.
But the biggest and most obvious one is letting Joe public go aloft without
proper training and at least a grounding in aerodynamics, metrology, and the
perils of gravity and let’s not even get into the regulatory arguments. Pigs
will probably fly before this one gets off the ground…
1305
iPhone Obsolete Already
 It seems like only yesterday
when Apple wowed the world with the revolutionary iPhone. Actually it was in
2007, which wasn’t that long ago, but such is the pace of development, and
Apple’s eagerness to get you to upgrade every few weeks that the original
iPhone is about to become officially obsolete. It will happen on June 13th to
be exact, according to leaked documents seen by 9to5mac.com. Don’t worry, in
the unlikely event that you’ve been deviant and are still using a Mk1, it’s not
going to suddenly stop working on that date, but if and when it does curl up
its toes, you won’t be able to get it fixed in Apple Stores, unless you happen
to live in California. They have a local statute that says manufacturers are
obliged to continue to service and repair ‘vintage’ products purchased in the
state
0605
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In the past few years video editing has been transformed
from a mysterious black art that depended on fancy hardware and expensive
software, into an everyday application, but there’s always room for another
simple to use and reasonably adept editing program, especially if it is free. 