Urban Mole robot could deliver your mail via insane network of underground tubes

Designer Phillip Hermes has come up with a new system to transport packages which, if ever instituted, could probably be much faster than any of today’s available options (trucks, mailmen, airplanes, ponies). The Urban Mole — which recently placed second in the Vision Works contest — enables the use of “existing networks” of underground pipes (yes, sewer pipes) to transport packages up to about the size of a shoebox, which are put in capsules to fully protect the contents from the surrounding sewer water. The packages would be moved via a system of electric rails within the pipes, creating a robotic underground highway for transporting goods to drop off points, or “Mole Stations” where people can pick up their goods. Hermes estimates that an average cross-town trip could take less than ten minutes. Sounds a lot more eco-friendly and way faster than the grumpy mailman, right? It doesn’t sound like there are any plans to bring this project to fruition, but we sure will keep hoping.

[Via Wired]

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Urban Mole robot could deliver your mail via insane network of underground tubes originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget’s recession antidote: win a 16GB iPhone 3G from Rapid Repair!

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got a 16GB iPhone 3G on offer, courtesy of Rapid Repair! Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!

Big thanks to Rapid Repair for providing the gear!


The rules:

  • Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
  • You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
  • If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  • Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly. Winner will receive one (1) 16GB iPhone 3G.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • Entries can be submitted until Saturday, August 1, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
  • Full rules can be found here.

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Engadget’s recession antidote: win a 16GB iPhone 3G from Rapid Repair! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iJoyPad demoed on iPhone 3GS, full screen PSX games looking rather sweet

The iJoyPad has been floating around for a bit now, but we’ve never seen a full demo of the add-on gamepad. Well, it’s back in a video demoing its performance on an iPhone 3GS, using the psx4iphone emulator in full screen glory. The demo shows off Wipeout XL and Ridge Racer performing quite quickly and smoothly, and the iJoyPad itself seems totally functional — and while it’s a tiny bit clunky looking as far as we’re concerned, we’d still like to swipe one for ourselves. Hit the read link for the video.

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iJoyPad demoed on iPhone 3GS, full screen PSX games looking rather sweet originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First broadband over power lines working spec released

It’s been a long slow go for broadband over power lines, but it looks like things are finally picking up steam — an IEEE working group has completed main development of the standard and released the first draft of technical specs. Of course, there’s still the arduous finalization process to go through, but now that BPL is an actual functioning standard we’re hoping to see a new class of 100Mbps internet providers pop up and bring some much-needed competition to cable and DSL.

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First broadband over power lines working spec released originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What we Craved this week: Blu-ray, e-book news, ancient video games

Samsung SNE-50K

Samsung’s new e-book reader, the SNE-50K

(Credit: Samsung Electronics)

This week has been a hot one here in Seattle and a fun one at Crave. We’ve covered Blu-ray players that cost more than laptops as well as cheap laptops with Blu-ray players included. We don’t have any …

MiLi Universal Charger for the psychedelic world traveller

Are you a globetrotter with a penchant for vivid colors? Mili’s got your back with its compact and surprisingly practical Universal Charger. Capable of plugging into US, UK, EU or Australian-style sockets, this unit covers quite a bit of ground and can power a pair of devices at once via USB. Technically then, you’re unloading the chargers from your bag and refilling it with USB adapters, but a lot of UK road warriors would carry live rattlesnakes around if it meant freedom from those humongous plugs. There are nine color options — some of them are even socially acceptable — for the discerning customer with £20 ($33) in his pocket, and pre-orders are being taken now for August 14 delivery.

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MiLi Universal Charger for the psychedelic world traveller originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer rolls out ASM5800, ASM3202, ASX5810 desktop PCs

Sure, Acer’s newly-refreshed Predator gaming rig is all well and good if you like your PCs orange and menacing, but less adventuresome folks need PCs too, and Acer’s more than happy to cater to them as well with a range of decidedly more understated offerings. New on that front is the company’s just-announced ASM5800 (pictured above) and ASM3202 models, the former of which packs your choice of Intel Core 2 Quad or AMD Phenom II X4 processors, 4GB to 8GB of RAM, 750GB or 1TB hard drives, and ATI Radeon HD 4650 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 graphics, while the later is an AMD-only affair with a Phenom II X4 925 processor, ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics, 2GB to 8GB of RAM, and a 640GB or 750GB hard drive. Rounding out the lot is Acer’s slightly slimmer ASX5810 Aspire X PC (pictured after the break), which offers up a Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, GeForce 120 graphics, and a bundled 20-inch LCD. No word on a release ’round here just yet, but all three will be available in Japan by next week for between 69,800 and 139,800 (or about $730 to $1,460).

Read – Akihabara News, “ASM5800 & ASM3202: New Desktop PC from Acer”
Read – Akihabara News, “ASX5810: New Acer Aspire X Available Next Week”

Continue reading Acer rolls out ASM5800, ASM3202, ASX5810 desktop PCs

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Acer rolls out ASM5800, ASM3202, ASX5810 desktop PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel discontinuing Z-series Atoms?

It’s sourced from Digitimes, so don’t get too worked up, but word on the street is that Intel’s no longer accepting orders for Z-series Atom chips. If you’ll remember Intel’s initial distinctions, the Z-series was for MIDs and the familiar N-series was for netbooks, but since the Z-series didn’t carry the same max hardware restrictions as the N-series, it became popular in a whole host of devices that didn’t fit the traditional mold, like the Sony VAIO P and the ASUS Eee PC T91. Of course, Intel’s got the next-gen Pine Trail Atom platform on tap, so killing the Zs might not have a huge impact in general, but it’s just one more nail in the MID coffin.

[Via SlashGear]

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Intel discontinuing Z-series Atoms? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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