Hasta La Gadget!

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Here’s a more reassuring timeline for that proposed standardized plug for electric vehicles. The SAE J1772 Task Force-developed charging system, based on an initial design by supplier Yazaki, is now at Underwriters Labs for certification. That’s scheduled to be done by the end of May and, if all things go according to plan, it can be adopted for use in the next few months. Speaking to Autoblog Green, General Motors’ Gery Kissel listed his company, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Tesla among those participating or supporting the standard. He also said the we-swear-it’s-coming-this-year Chevy Volt should be equipped with the new plug, and Tesla’s reportedly pledged to adopt it for current plans and retrofit its older models. Things are starting to look up for the EV industry.

Filed under: Transportation

Standardized EV plug could be adopted within months, says GM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re following the Time Warner Cable capping drama (and we know that you are), then you’ll be interested in a short post published on GigaOm today. From the looks of things, TWC isn’t just backing off of the tiered pricing plans that they’d proposed recently — it also looks like they’re fully prepared to take their ball and go home when it comes to DOCSIS 3.0 trials. Originally the broadband provider had been hatching plans to roll out the ultra-fast internet service in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, Greensboro, N.C., and Rochester, NY — but attitudes seem to have changed now that they might not get the new cash infusion that pricey metered usage would provide. In a flurry of tweets from the company’s cocky VP of PR, Alex Dudley, there seems to be an indication that with the consumption based billing (CBB to us industry types), so potentially goes the DOCSIS 3.0 trials. In his own, understanding words — responding to Stacey Higginbotham’s query about whether or not the company will pull the high-speed without tiers:

@gigastacey it was scheduled as part of cbb trial, but we all know how you feel about that.

Filed under: Networking

Time Warner Cable to axe DOCSIS 3.0 trials without tiered billing? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two computer science professors at Washington University have produced a USB ultrasound probe which is compatible with Windows Mobile smartphones. The project, funded by Microsoft, has developed and optimized probe that uses less power, and is enhanced for data transfer rates on cellphones. The devices could be especially useful in on-the-go situations — for ambulances, emergencies, and for use by traveling medical staff. The makers also foresee that the device could positively effect medical practice in the developing world, where equipment and doctors can be scarce, and a small, but cellphone access is ever increasingly prevalent. We don’t know when these might be commercially available, but they are hoping to sell them for around $500 — significantly cheaper than many portable ultrasounds, which can cost almost $30,000.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

USB ultrasound device coming to a Windows Mobile phone near you? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RepRap is an open source hardware project that aims to create a self-replicating machine or a ‘universal constructor’ by using rapid prototyping. That means the machine can manufacture objects directly including itself, endlessly.

The project has had its latest breakthrough with the first circuit made entirely automatically by the RepRap machine.

The soldering isn’t perfect and in the words of the RepRap: Blog a bit "blobby". Still it is an important step forward for the group. Head over to the blog for details and pictures on how they did it.

Meanwhile other objects that users have made using the RepRap machine, so far, are a door handle, coat hook and a pair of children’s shoes.

See also:
Imaginary Gadgets 0003: The RepRap

Photo: Adrian Bowyer/RepRap Blog