Hasta La Gadget!

Shiver-me-timbers, it looks like the movie studios’ latest legal broadside just scored a direct hit against the big bad pirate ship. A UK judge has ordered telecoms giant BT to block its subscribers from visiting Newzbin 2, a site which aggregates Usenet downloads, on the simple basis that BT knows some of its customers are using the site to breach copyright law and therefore has a duty to stop them. This counts as an unprecedented victory for the Motion Picture Association, who brought the case, and it potentially arms them with a new weapon to force ISPs to block other sites in future. Could that be Newzbin 3 we spy on the horizon?

British judge doesn’t like the cut of Newzbin 2’s jib, orders BT to block it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota’s answered a question no one ever thought to ask: What if the Prius were a bike?

The answer suggests it wouldn’t be as boring to ride as it is to drive. For one thing, the bike uses neurotransmitters to change gears. It looks a whole lot cooler than the car, too.

Now, the first question is “Toyota? Bikes? What?” The Japanese automaker is encouraging inventors and dreamers to tinker with its tech through the Prius Projects campaign. It did something similar with the Toyota For Good campaign that generated ideas for everything from better bike helmets to self-guiding ladders.

Toyota doesn’t know the first thing about building bikes, so it called in the guys at Parlee Bicycles, which makes featherlight frames, and Deeplocal, which made the Nike Chalkbot. Together they built the PXP (Prius X Parlee).

I got to take it for a spin. Nothing big, mind you, but enough to get a sense of how the PXP rides. I’m not a racer, just a guy who commutes on a single-speed Bianchi, so this isn’t a Bicycle-type review. But I didn’t need to throw a leg over the PXP to know it’s light years ahead of my ride.

First, the frame. It’s gorgeous. The matte white bike has the look and feel of a slick aero-road bike without looking like its from the next century. Still, it didn’t look like anything else on the streets of Pittsburgh that day.

The PXP, like the car that inspired it, was designed for optimal aero-efficiency. The designers spent a lot of time in a wind tunnel at MIT to get its shape just right. The bike, with a lightweight interlocking carbon fiber frame, comes in around 16 pounds with all the electronics installed, and it provides a super-comfy ride.

That is where this bike starts to really separate itself from the Schwinn in your garage. The bike is unlike anything else I have ridden. It’s a mash-up, part time-trial bike, part road racer and part touring ride. It’s a hybrid, which makes sense, given the Prius connection.

Going for a spin requires a little more than hopping on and pedaling away. Since this bike is guided by your brain a little more thought goes into the process, literally.

The team set me up with a neurotransmitter helmet connected to an iPhone 4 mounted on the stem. The neurotransmitters are embedded in the helmet. Sync your brain bucket to your phone and you can switch gears simply by thinking about it.

Shifting couldn’t be easier. Think, “shift up” and it does in a blink of an eye. It’s faster and smoother than anything else I’ve ridden. It can be tricky, because you’ve got to keep your head clear — the neurotransmitters work off your brain activity, so if your mind is bombarded with grocery lists or thoughts chasing down that guy who blew by you, shifting could be tricky. This is where the bodhisattva training pays off.

If shifting with your brain isn’t your thing, don’t worry. The iPhone will choose gears according to your desired cadence and heart rate. You also can do the shifting yourself simply by touching the screen.

This isn’t the best bike for any one thing, but it does a lot of things really well. It’s not the fastest bike around, and you aren’t going to see it in the peloton. But the ride is smooth and balanced. The bike is easy to toss through corners. It feels solid without being heavy. I could definitely see myself blowing through traffic in the drops. Make a few changes to the geometry and my pannier would be bolted to the back of this thing for my commute.

There aren’t any plans to mass produce the PXP, so you won’t see it parked outside the local coffee shop anytime soon. But it’s an impressive ride, and the technology really does work. It’s too good not to see it in a bike shop.

Photos: Jason Kambitsis/Wired.com

This article was written on October 20, 2007 by CyberNet.

Weekend Website

Today’s Weekend Website is a site called Zipidee which is known as “The Digi-Good Marketplace.” It joins in to compete among other sites that are similar such as Lulu, e-Junkie, Payloadz, and more. This online marketplace is geared equally towards both those who want to sell, and those who want to buy.

–What is Zipidee–

Zipidee is like the eBay of digital goods. It’s a place where people can go to buy or sell videos, music, eBooks, ringtones, wallpaper, and more.  They  launched into private beta back in July, but more recently launched to the public just this week on October 15th.

–Publish, Protect, Promote, Profit–

Publish, protect, promote, and profit are the four main things that are involved if you decide to sell on Zipidee.  Before anyone starts selling on the site, you’ll obviously have to register and create an account.  From there you’ll be free to start the process of selling. Unlike eBay which just about anybody could use, Zipidee isn’t for everybody.  If you’re an independent musician, a filmmaker, a software developer, etc., you could sell your digital goods online and benefit from everything that this site has to offer.

Publish is the first step because you have to have something to sell before you can do anything else.  And because this is the selling ground for original digital goods, it’ll take creating a product before you move on. You must have the legal rights to digitally distribute the content that you’re selling. You have the choice to allow people to buy or rent.

The next step is protect.  Everybody who uses Zipidee has the option to choose whether or not they want to add DRM to their content. They don’t have to, but if they do, they can download Zipidee’s Digital Rights Management software to make the process simple and protect their work. Zipidee says they don’t promote either option so it’s really up to you if you want it or not.

Promoting is another part of how the whole process works.  Once you’re ready to sell your digital goods, you’ll want to promote them so that there’s a better chance that they will sell. To help market, you’ll be able to create a “virtual store” where people can come to shop.

Profit – Of course the whole point of this service is to profit and make money for both you and them.  You set the price which means you then ultimately determine how much you can make. There’s a lot to the whole process of making a profit, so we’ll dedicate a section just for it below.

–Making $$ from Zipidee–

Before you decide to use the service, you need to take into consideration the money you could potentially gain, but also the money that you’ll pay out to Zipidee for using their service.

• Currently they’re not charging for people to list items, but in the future there will be a $1.00 per uploaded media charge.
• Anytime something sells, they take 20% of the purchase once PayPal costs have been paid
• Note: PayPal is their “official method” for transferring funds between sellers and buyers. They say in the future they intend to offer other options of payment as well.

Should you make over $50, you’ll receive a payment.  If during one month you don’t meet the $50 limit, you’ll have to wait until you do before you can receive any payment.  All payments are made to a PayPal account which means you have to have one to use this service.

–Buying Content–

While selling items here certainly isn’t for everybody, buying content is.  Just go to the site and do a search for what you’re looking for.  Another great idea is to just browse through some of the different categories like business, education, music, health and fitness, and more to see if there’s anything that piques your interest. It’s super easy to use, and has a simple interface. If you’re familiar with the eBay process, you should have no trouble understanding and using Zipidee.

They’ve set up their site so that anybody can start browsing the content. What’s especially helpful are the “top picks,” “new additions,” and “top sellers” which they display on the homepage so that you have someplace to start.

–Wrapping it up–

Zipidee certainly isn’t the only service like this to exist, but since when is there only one service per concept? They’re off to a pretty good start, and the sellers seem to price everything really reasonably. The only downside that I really see to the service at the moment is that its name really has nothing to do with the service that they offer which means they’ll have to spend a good amount of effort marketing and gathering up a group of dedicated users. The whole concept behind Zipidee definitely is interesting, and I recommend checking out their marketplace.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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It had to happen eventually, and here it is: Toilet 2.0. Nope, it’s not a toilet designed specifically for number twos, but it will handle those admirably, as we shall see. No, the Toilet 2.0 concept is a smart, modern take on the old-fashioned WC.

First, it is lighter, stronger and thinner than porcelain thanks to its Corian construction. Corian is the touch, stone-like material made from acrylic and alumina trihydrate, often used for bars and kitchen countertops.

Nextis the shape. The designer, Dave Hakkens, studied shapes that keep water in when it swirls. It might not help if you sprinkle while you tinkle, but it does mean that the flush can be a lot more effective. When you press the lever, water shoots in jets from eight nozzles, pressure-cleaning the bowl each time, which means you can ditch the toilet brush.

Finally, the Toilet 2.0 makes use of gray water, collecting waste water from the bath and sink and storing them to use for flushing.

As a resident in an apartment built 100 years ago, and with plumbing to match, I am probably more excited than I should be by Hakkens’ design. Hell, I’d settle for Toilet 1.0 over the piece of crap I have to put up with.

Toilet 2.0 project page [Dave Hakkens via Yanko]

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In space, Nikon’s SB800 speedlights get their own cute, custom-made spacesuits. Photo NASA

You or I might prepare for an extreme photography trip with a few Ziploc bags or even a proper waterproof housing. When NASA packs for space, though, things are a little more complicated.

The NASA photo above shows a Nikon D2X modified for use in orbit. Further, it shows an SB800 speedlight comfily ensconced inside its own cute little space suit. While a pro-level DSLR requires nothing more than a firmware tweak and a “lubricant modification” to work in the extremes of space, the flash needs a little more coddling.

The white cover is a “thermal blanket” which protects the unit from extreme temperatures, and keeps the “touch temperature” between minus 129 and plus 120 degrees Celsius.

But underneath that cover is a pressure suit. NASA says that the flash won’t work properly in a vacuum, so it gets wrapped in a pressurized jacket to make it feel like it’s back on Earth. A modified SB29 sync cord connects the camera and flash together.

So what becomes of the cameras after a successful mission? Unlike the Apollo missions’ Hasselblads, which were left up on the moon (imagine what one of those would go for at auction if it was ever rescued), the Nikons return to Earth. Then, they are inspected to see if they are fit to go up again. The biggest problem is the effect of cosmic radiation on the sensors, which can kill pixels. Enough dead pixels in one camera and it is grounded forever.

How Does NASA Get a Nikon D2Xs DSLR Ready to Go to Space? [Popular Photography]

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