Hasta La Gadget!

The third-generation version of the ubiquitous technology is creeping to market–but the leader of the group overseeing USB 3 says it’s par for the course.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

This is the Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit. Welcome to culinary hell.

During the 1970s, The French developed Nouvelle Cuisine, simpler, fresher dishes that were a reaction against the heavy, overwrought, cream-laden excesses of classical French cooking. The fashion spread, and by the time it hit England, Nouvelle Cuisine was a tainted word, with crappy regional hotels serving giant plates with minuscule portions. The name became a joke.

And with the Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit, the latest food fashion can be equally mauled, in the privacy of your own home. The set is more like chemistry kit than a cooking kit, containing sachets of agar-agar, calcium lactate, sodium alginate, soy lecithin and xanthan gum. In short, it’s the same as the list of ingredients you’ll read on the back of any pack of processed food. You also get silicon tubing, pipettes, a syringe along with other less weird tools, plus a DVD with recipe demonstrations.

Molecular gastronomy is a wonderful thing, bringing critical scientific thinking to the superstition-laden world of cooking. But it is also a fashion, with freeze-dried raspberries appearing in the salads of otherwise traditional restaurants. Can it be done in the home with a simple kit of chemicals? We should probably leave it to the professionals, like Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal.

On the other hand, playing with this stuff is probably awesome fun, and even if it doesn’t taste so great, at least you get to eat the results. $70.

Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit [ThinkGeek]

See Also:

• Kitchen Lab: The Highest Tech Food Gadgets on Show
• Cocoa Pipe Lets You Literally Inhale Chocolate

First, the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation tested a Nexus One’s ability to deal with the stress of a rocket launch. Then, Google floated seven Nexi to the edge of space to see if the phones could cope with the void. Now, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) is looking to launch a satellite into orbit and use a ‘droid — much smaller than the Astromech variety — to control said satellite. SSTL, who is helping build Galileo (and is acutely aware of its cost, no doubt), views smartphones as a way to democratize access to space because they are far less expensive than purpose-built control systems. The company hasn’t said which handset will be used in the satellite, but they chose Android because it allows engineers to easily modify the phone to do their bidding — from controlling pulse plasma thrusters to handling the advanced guidance and navigation systems of the foot long satellite. Additionally, the open source OS means that they “could get people to develop apps” for the satellite. We’ve seen plenty of Android apps, but we’re really hoping this venture is successful so we get to see apps… in space.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

SSTL using Android handsets to control satellites, conquer the final frontier originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Considering how far we’ve come with in-flight connectivity, internet for the automobile hasn’t gained an awful lot of traction. With the introduction of the 3G-connected Comodo console, Israeli start-up Iway Mobile and cellphone provider Cellcom are hoping to change that. The Comodo — for all intents and purposes — looks like an iPhone on a stick, and sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen, rear camera for easy reversing, GPS antenna and a cellular modem for consistent connections. Predictably, there’s also 3D navigation, an MP3 player, and functionality in 30 different languages. Drivers can access 80 total apps and receive, but not send e-mail — video functions are accessible only when the car is stationary. Comodo’s website features the device mysteriously shrouded in black satin, and provides no evidence of a spec sheet. According to Cellcom, the console costs 109 shekels (or $23.50) a month for 36 months and hits Israel in February. No word on when Comodo will make its US debut, but honestly, we’d be content to just strap our smart phone in and go to town.

Comodo console brings internet to Israeli autos, dares you to keep your eyes on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just think about this the next time a FedEx van comes speeding past you — that four-wheeled transporter could be carrying containers equipped with liquid nitrogen cooling that keeps its innards at a chilly -150 degrees Celsius. Don’t worry, though, says FedEx, the use of dry vapor is actually safer than the currently used dry ice and classifies this new methodology as non-hazardous. While we may like to poke fun, it sounds like a pretty legitimate boon for healthcare and biotechnology shipments, which can now be maintained at a deeply frozen temperature for up to 10 days at a time. FedEx will provide the self-sufficient container and collects it upon delivery of the goods, while also monitoring its condition during transit. No word on whether or when DiGiorno will be signing up for the service.

[Thanks, Pavel]

Continue reading Federal Excess: FedEx introduces liquid nitrogen-cooled biotech shipping, we can envision other uses

Federal Excess: FedEx introduces liquid nitrogen-cooled biotech shipping, we can envision other uses originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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