Transporter

Update 3:20 p.m PDT March 22: This blog has been updated with additional details about the city's beet-derived de-icer and sensor systems.

CHICAGO--Many Chicagoans pride themselves on surviving extreme weather, and laugh when a rainy day makes headlines in California. (With snow falling at two inches per hour Friday, the second day of spring, can you blame them?)

Seeking more eco-friendly ways to clear snow and ice from more than 9,500 miles of roadways, the Windy City is combining low-tech "green" chemicals with digital sensor systems.

Extract from sugar beet juice is key in … Read more

The X Prize Foundation, best known for sponsoring space travel competitions, on Thursday offered $10 million to make a super-efficient car.

At the New York International Auto Show, the foundation and sponsor Progressive Casualty Insurance announced the newly named Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize. The competition, open to both established automakers and unknown engineers, is meant to result in "real cars" that are available for purchase, rather than concept cars.

More than 60 teams have for a signed up for the competition, including Aptera Motors and Tesla Motors, California electric-car manufacturers; Loremo, a German maker of diesel fuel … Read more

Co-eds enrolling at the University of Washington at Seattle this fall should be able to zip to class on electric bikes rented through Intrago Corporation's self-serve system.

The company plans to launch its first stable of 40 rental electric bikes at four stations around the campus around August.

Intrago's goal is to offer rental wheels around the world at transportation hubs like train stations, so people can reach their final destination without having to cab it, hoof it or pedal uphill on a manual bike.

Each user will get a key that works on any Intrago bike. They … Read more

Over on Boing Boing this morning, I read about the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's brand new blog, called Evolution of Security.

The idea behind the blog, according to TSA administrator Kip Hawley, is "to provide here a forum for a lively, open discussion of TSA issues. While I and senior leadership of TSA will participate in the discussion, we are turning the keyboard over to several hosts who represent what's best about TSA (its people). Our hosts aren't responsible for TSA's policies, nor will they have to defend them--their job is to engage with … Read more

We didn't think it was possible, but we've finally come across a conveyance that outdoes the "Armchair Cruiser." In the tradition of the motorized cooler, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the "Flying Barstool."

OK, so maybe "flying" is an exaggeration, but Lussorian does say it can hit a top speed of 30 mph on the asphalt. To avoid any confusion, we're talking about the new model with a 6-horsepower Suburu engine, as opposed to its 4-horsepower predecessor.

Best of all are the options, which include "rear light, front light, foot … Read more

A chunk of 36 city blocks in Manhattan will have free, ad-supported public Wi-Fi access by the end of November, thanks to a new initiative from CBS Corporation in conjunction with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit.

Called the CBS Mobile Zone, this area of coverage will stretch through a bustling, tourism- and business-heavy swath of midtown from 42nd Street north to Central Park south, from Sixth Avenue west to Eighth Avenue. (Landmarks-wise, that's roughly Times Square to Columbus Circle.)

The new effort will be supported largely by advertising. Upon logging on, Web surfers will … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The legendary Internet technologist Bill Joy has found a better place than the Internet to put his venture capital dollars: green technology.

On Monday Joy gave a talk on why he is exploring a wide range of green technologies as a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. He spoke at the Lux Research conference on nanotechnology where he also predicted major changes in transportation industry and solar energy.

Joy, credited with inventing several Internet technologies as a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, joined the high-profile Silicon Valley venture capital firm in 2005.

Although it was originally developed a few years ago by SlimDevices, the Logitech Transporter has seen its way through a number of enhancements. Realizing its worth to the consumer, Logitech acquired SlimDevices just to sell the Transporter along with the company's SqueezeNetwork. In doing so, Logitech has added some of its own flair, but has basically kept the Transporter securely fastened in its original design. That said, the unit I used is not the silver you see pictured here, but the new fully-black design.

Regardless of its history or color differences, the Logitech Transporter is a well-built device with … Read more

Sure, we can see some advantages to luxury travel like that envisioned in Boeing's latest VIP binge. But we really hate flying, in case you hadn't noticed, and would much prefer to travel by terra firma, or as much of it that West Coast seismology will allow.

So imagine our barely containable excitement upon seeing the "Armchair Cruiser," the ultimate in personal vehicles. These are no makeshift Barcaloungers on skateboard wheels--check out the photos of the latest "Rumble Bee" model to witness the care in craftsmanship, which explains the price range of $3,995 … Read more