Military Stealth Dirtbike: Your Dirt Racing Dreams Have Never Been This Quiet

I’ve been driving around a Super Motard motorcycle for the last six months, and let me tell you, it’s extremely loud, so loud that my neighbors have asked me to start it outside the courtyard where it’s usually parked. One friend said that it sounded like my bike had eaten another one for breakfast. While all this racket is a fun part of having a motorcycle, you can imagine how this would be problematic for military motorcycles.

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Note: Bike Shown Here is an Earlier Design by ZERO Motorcycles

With that in mind, DARPA has commissioned the development of a stealth motorcycle, which would allow soldiers to ride for long periods of time without emitting much noise. The bike, would use an extended-range hybrid-electric engine, and will be built by BRD and Logos Technologies. In addition to its stealthy operating capabilities, the bike will have all-wheel drive to help tackle difficult terrain.

Electric and hybrid bikes also make sense for commuters, especially in city traffic. Switching over to electric drive would mean no shifting and reduced noise, and of course lower fuel costs. Also, I’d probably not get any complaints from neighbors either.

[DefenseTech via The Verge]

Razer promises sneakier sneak attacks with $130 Orbweaver Stealth Edition mechanical keypad

Razer promises sneakier sneak attacks with $130 Orbweaver Stealth Edition mechanical keypad

That guard you just stealth-killed in Dishonored never heard you coming. But everyone else did. Which is why you might want to consider a noise-dampened mechanical keyboard of some sort. There are a few of ’em out there, not least the Matias Quiet Pro we reviewed last year, and now Razer has a keypad option solely for gamers: a new Stealth Edition of the original Orbweaver that came out in January. The price is unchanged at $130, as are the main specs and adjustable design, but Razer promises “silent tactile feedback” that provides an “entirely new feel,” alongside a slightly reduced actuation force of 45g (instead of 50g). Perhaps your long-suffering colleagues will throw in a decent headset to go with it.

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Source: Razer

DIY Silent Computer Doesn’t Make a Peep

I’ve gotten used to my computer rig making lots of noise, when it’s totally quiet, it usually indicates some sort of a hardware failure. Some computers run 24/7 and generate a lot of heat because getting work done. While there are certainly some machines out there that have no fans and are pretty quiet, Redditor DeFex wanted to build a rig that was completely silent, by doing away with fans, and all other moving parts.

diy silent computer heatsink

His DIY silent computer  features a 65W Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor, so it’s powerful enough to handle all his media center needs. A solid state disk replaces a traditional IDE drive, which gets noisy. SSDs also generate less heat. This system also has no DVD or Blu-ray drive. In order to cool this computer, DeFex picked up a large 10″×7″ heatsink from HeatSinkUSA, which draws away heat from the motherboard.

diy silent computer heatsink complete

The case includes some parts that were 3d-printed using a MakerBot 3D. The overall project is pretty cool, though it’s still a work in progress. You can check out more pics of the build over on imgur.

diy silent computer heatsink construction

[via Liliputing]