tech

MIT devices detects land mines from safe distance

Researchers at the Lincoln Lab at MIT have come up with something that can be described as a sound flashlight. It emits powerful, but tightly focused acoustic beams that can penetrate underground.

When the beams hit a mine, the vibrations from the collision push up dirt around the area. That movement of dirt is then registered by a radar device.

"It turns out that mines will vibrate quite differently from anything else," said MIT's Robert Haupt in a prepared statement. "You can determine what types of mines there are--and which countries made them--by their unique signatures.&… Read more

Super information highway?

Most people don't go out driving to make friends, but that's the philosophy behind a new (and extremely optimistic) social networking SMS service called PL8Scan, which enables cell phone-wielding drivers to contact other drivers by text message via the latter's license plate numbers.

Having signed up to PL8Scan, drivers who wish to initiate contact with other road users send a text message to a central repository using a five-digit number. In the message, the driver includes the license plate number of the intended recipient (including details of the state in which it is registered), as well as … Read more

SimpleTech 2GB Secure Digital Flash Card for $20.99 after a $20 mail-in rebate

Newegg.com has the SimpleTech 2GB Secure Digital Flash Card for $20.99, after a $20 mail-in rebate >> Regular price is $40.99 >> Offer ends 12/31/2006 >> Click here for deal

A clean, well-lighted car

All you Hemingway wannabes out there no longer have to freeze in the winter in your old drafty Defender. New, improved versions, resembling Papa's old British jeep, are finally on the way.

Rumors of a Land Rover Defender returning to the North American market are true. The car will be back in 2007 as a 2008 model. Soft-top, long-wheelbase and short-wheelbase versions are also "in the works," according to Atlantic British, which would probably know as the leading U.S. supplier of after-market parts for Land Rovers in the United States.

Land Rover wants to recreate the … Read more

Shopping for fruitcake-free holidays

Even if the people in your life are spoiled, you don't need to turn to coal as a holiday gift. Instead, you can stuff stockings with gift cards that send cash in their honor to a worthy cause.

Changing the Present lets you make charitable contributions in the name of a loved one. Unlike other do-good gifting services (see below), you and your giftees can set up personal profiles that specify favorite causes. Plus, Changing the Present's Stupid Gifts Hall of Shame could be a destination in its own right (although I think fake vomit makes a fine … Read more

Surveys, raspberries, reputation, and crime: New Tech start-ups (updated)

The San Francisco New Tech Meetup met at our offices Wednesday. Presentations were given by four interesting companies:

Vizu's new Answers service lets anyone create a market research poll, which is distributed to various sites and blogs that have an audience of visitors the researcher wants to poll. It looks like a really fast way to get basic product research done. It's not free: You pay to distribute your poll to the sites in the network that have agreed to run polls; they, in turn, make money for running your research. In other words, it's much like … Read more

Ecofriendly three-wheelers

Meet the Dolphin, a three-wheeled, two-seater concept car that carries driver and passenger in tandem configuration. The aerodynamic prototype (pictured left) weighs just 475 pounds, and relies on a 200cc Piaggio scooter engine. According to this article in the U.K.'s Telegraph, the Dolphin can reach speeds of more than 60mph and gets an average fuel economy of 90 miles per gallon.

While the Dolphin is still a concept, a tandem-style, three-wheeled, two-seater production vehicle is not that far off. Myers Motors is scheduled to launch its electric-powered Qui Moto (right)--a successor to the Corbin Sparrow and NmG … Read more

ParkMagic takes the payn out of pay 'n' display

Forget coin meters and time-stamped windshield stickers. A new service called Mobile Parking Service, launched this week by Irish company ParkMagic, in collaboration with Verizon's Skytel subsidiary, brings parking into the digital age.

Rather than digging around for coins down the back of the passenger seat, drivers use the service to pay for parking by making a call from their cell phones, which debits a prepaid account. A message is then sent wirelessly to a digital display on the car's dashboard to show the parking time remaining. The service, which will be coming to cities across the U.… Read more

Electroluminescence + basketball = dorky

Correct me if I'm wrong, but basketball seems to be one of those rare sports that's not getting all high-techified. I heard something about them redesigning the standard NBA ball a few months back, but aside from that, the sport seems to have stayed pretty true to its roots.

Well, not anymore. In Australia, basketball teams are testing out a new kind of shirt that uses electroluminescence to display information like how much time is left in the game, the score, and the foul count. According to Gizmowatch, the technology, known as "TeamAWear," is designed to … Read more