The All Electric Audi R8 E-Tron [Video]

New Trends: Cars that Plug into your Surge Protector

Electric cars are slowly starting to replace high end automobiles as Jaguar C X-75, BMW, Tesla, GE Watt Stations, and Volvo all begin massive investment on electric car development. Now it's Audi's turn. The all new Audi E-Tron R8:

• Cost: $200,000
• 313 Horsepower at peak
• 3319 pounds/feet of torque
• 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds

The Battery:

• weighs 1212 pounds
• store 53 KWh of energy
• charges in 6 to 8 hours using a 220V outlet
• goes 150 miles on a single charge

As Audi releases its all new electric sports car, a clear trend in the auto industry is starting to develop. Electric is the way of the future, and in retrospect, always has been. We looking at movies that have depicted the future, Demolition Man, Total Recall, The Sixth Day... electric cars are being used. Since the green car revolution is very new, critics and the media are skeptical to call the future of the automobile industry an electric one, but the money being invested by the major car companies listed above proves a steady trend towards electric cars.

Sources: [CrunchGear]

A Moment in History: Creating Antimatter [Video]

A Brief Video History of Antimatter:

Creating Antimatter and the Future Implications:

Scientists at the Geneva particle-based research lababory, CERN, have created anitmatter. By trapping 38 antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic bottle, scientists can begin to measure and compare matter and antimatter. This is the first step in three fields, first understanding The Great Bang that created our Universe, second, it is the start the engineering of antimatter weapons, and possibly antimatter power stations.

Here is a photo of the machine used to make antihydrogen atoms:

When matter and antimatter meet, they destroying "... each other instantly on contact in a violent flash of energy." [CNN] Here's how the explosion works:

"In an antiatom, the antimatter equivalent of an ordinary atom, the electrical charges of all the component particles are reversed; while an ordinary atom has a positively charged nucleus with one or more negatively charged electrons orbiting it, the antimatter atom has a negatively charged nucleus with positively charged orbiting electrons. An ordinary atomic nucleus contains positively charged protons, while its antimatter counterpart contains negatively charged antiprotons." [New York Times]

DISCOVERY CHANNEL VIDEO - "MATTER vs. ANTIMATTER"

When the matter and antimatter meet, as two opposite electrical charges meet, they create a flash of energy. There has been prior research where scientists have created antiprotons and antielectrons, but this was the first time antimatter atoms have ever been created.

The Antimatter Bomb?

The dream here is to eventually be able to harness this energy for possible use as well as understand the makings of our Universe.

Sources: [CERN] [Huliq] [New York Times] [CNN World] [Boing Boing]

California Mystery Missile [Video]

CBS affiliate KCBS captured a mysterious rocket being launched into the sky Monday night, while so far there is no explanation for the siting.






Sources: [CBS News] [SPACE.com] [Live Science]

The Google Car Drives Itself [Video]

Remember the cab in Total Recall and the beginning of the The Sixth Day, Arnold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger was being driven around in self-driving cars. Well guess what Google has been working on...

Google has been using a Toyota Prius to secretly develop a self-driving car that uses artificial intelligence and "vehicles that drive themselves."

From The New York Times

As Scene on G4's "Attack of the Show"

Source: [New York Times] [G4's Attack of the Show]

The Lexus Driving Simulator [video]

The biggest most expensive arcade game ever!

The Solar Golf Cart

The solar golf cart, save energy while hitting the greens, "... will allow most golf carts to become solar powered vehicles." These solar panels produce up to 180 watts of power, supplying 3 amps of electrical current

Why should Golf Course should Buy this Product

• "The solar panels can generate up to 180 watts and supply 3 amps directly to a 36 or 48 volt battery. Overall, this will increase the distance the cart can go on a single charge by 30%." [Meta Efficient]
• Federal Tax Credits

To be specific [From Cruise Car]:

• Most powerful solar panels on the market: 190-380 Watt Solar Panel Top Systems output up to 88 Volts.
• Batteries constantly recharge in the sun extending the battery life by up to 30%.
• Lower electricity bills.
• Increases driving distance by 5-12 miles per day on the average.
• Eco-friendly; zero carbon emissions when operating on solar power.
• Easy to install, no maintenance.
• Quality construction: mono-Crystalline solar panels, U.L.Certified High Grade Industrial Wiring, Compression Tested Glass.
• Full 10-year warranty included; an extended 25-year warranty is available.
• 2-5 year customized leasing programs available.

Cruise Car even sells a kit that will let you make most golf carts solar powered.



Sources: [Meta Efficient] [Cruise Car]

Join the All New OE MOVIE CLUB

WHY? Because Oprah has a book club, and we really love movies. Click here for more info.

Sign Up Here!

The Race for Cross-Platform Mobile Messaging [SQUAD CHAT]

As all my friends switched from blackberry to iPhones and androids, it became apparent that a messaging service similar to BBM would eventually replace text messaging. After testing six different messaging apps over the past 3 months, we discovered what makes a good messaging app and how this will effect app competition.

Though having a data based messaging app would make talking to all my friends easier, this was not our first focus. We wanted to create a "squad chat." A squad chat is a mobile, cross-platform, group chat that encompasses all our closest friends into one never ending group conversation world wide. We tested six messaging apps (whatsapp, pmessenger, kik messenger, cnect'd, PingChat, crunchSMS) in order to find a cross-platform group messenger.

After testing all the apps, two stood out as the best:

Kik messenger (best cross-platform messenger) does not have group chat, but it has the nicest interface on all three platforms and is quite consistent and reliable. This is currently the inter-squad one-on-one messenger.

Download Kik Messenger

Cnectd (best "squad chat") has the most reliable squad chat, but it's poor stylistic interfaces on blackberry and older android systems makes more of a practical app then a must have app.

Blackberry Download

Android Download

iPhone Download

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The truth is that once Kik has group chats, it will most likely take over as the cross platform messenger of choice. This week alone Kik has been the number 1 and number 3 top downloaded free blackberry app, competing with with Blackberry Messenger as the messenger app of choice. There is not question that the "Kik nation" has started.

Mars 2025: NASA to Put Human-like Robot on the Moon

NASA's Project M

Recently NASA asked President Obama for $150 billion to send another man to the moon. Due to the current economic recession, such funds are unavailable. Instead, for $200 million + $250 million for the rocket, the US is sending a human robot to the moon.

The NASA and General Motors Built Robonaut [written about a few months earlier on OE Tech] will be sent to the moon in about 1000 days. The Robonaut [top half] was sent to the international space station last Wednesday.

"Project M also draws on other NASA projects that were already under way, including rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and methane — a cheap and nontoxic fuel combination — and an automated landing system that could avoid rocks, cliffs and other hazards." New York Times

Sources: [New York Times] [NASA Project M Video]

Cooking Tech: The Best of the Best

1st Place - Magic Bullet Set

The Magic Bullet is a home / dorm room cook's best friend. It does everything from make margaritas, milk shakes, sorbet, and any other mixed drink. Then it also slices and dices pretty much anything for you to use for cooking. With the entire set you could make salsa, guacamole, and nacho cheese all in 5 minutes. Then make cocktails for an entire party. I want to open up a food truck that mainly uses the Magic Bullet, but the menu would be endless.

Best Cooking Function:
Using it to make grilled chicken or steak quesadillas filling or the mint double chocolate milkshake, both scene in the video above.

Recipe Guide:
- Magic Bullet Recipes - Official Site
- Food.com - Magic Bullet Recipies

Cost: $100 [Buy Here]

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2nd Place - George Foreman Grill

The infamous George Foreman Grill lets you cut the fat as the angled grill plates allow the fat to fall into a nice little cup for easy throw-away or reuse. The grill is amazing, simply plug it in and cook pretty much anything form a grilled cheese or quesadilla to a porter-house steak or a grilled chicken breast. The machine works in rain, hail, sleet, or snow, just remember to make sure your roommates unplugged it after using it.

Best Cooking Function:
Favorite snack, a grilled cinnamon raisin english muffin with pepper jack cheese.

Recipe Guide:
- George Foreman Grill Cooking - Official Site
- George Foreman Grill Recipes .com

Cost: $20 [Buy Here]

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3rd Place - 2-Sided Cast-Iron Grill / Griddle

Though this is not encompass very much technology, being able to grill in your kitchen is an amazing advantage during the winter. This product is special because you can use the griddle to cook pancakes, omelets, and an entire pack of bacon on one side of the grill, creating enough breakfast to feed an entire family, then use the grill side of the pan to grill chicken or steak for lunch and dinner.

Best Cooking Function:
Being able to cook a full pack of bacon simultaneously with pancakes, or Canadian bacon and omelets at the same time, or any other combination of breakfast foods.

Recipe Guide:
- Food Network - Grill Central
- ifood.tv - Griddle Recipes

Cost: $24 [Buy Here]

Jaguar C-X75 Electric Sports Car

Tesla... Look Out

• 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds,
• 780bhp due to 4 electric motors and two of micro gas turbines
• Top speed of 205mph

"There are four 195HP electric motors at each of the wheels, powered by an extended range system similar to the one inside the Chevy Volt."  - Crunch Gear

"You can go for 68 miles just on electric juice or 560 if you let the gasworks recharge the Li-ion battery pack on the go." - Engadget

Sources: [Engadget] [Uncrate] [CrunchGear] [TreeHugger]

Exoskelton News - Avatar Suits Will Soon Be A Reality

In 2006, Masaaki Nagumo created a land walking robot, similar that that seen in The Matrix Reloaded, Avatar, and even Star Wars. The robot lacks arms [covered in guns], but it still takes mankind a few steps closer in to making the robotic weapon. Check out the video below. This same company also made robotic walkers for kids.

Sources: [Engadget]

Energy Monitoring - EnergyHub

The EnergyHub allows home and business users to monitor their utilities usage in order to live greener and save money. The energy monitoring solution also allows for utilities companies to send you electronic messages on usage. There is also a EnergyHub mobile app that allows you to check and manage your energy usage on the go.

EnergyHub CEO, Seth Frader-Thompson

Source: [Inhabitat] [EnergyHub]

Mobile Wind Turbine

Pope Design created The Mobile Wind Turbine, which would allow electricity creation in rural and hard to reach regions of developing countries. It can also be used for natural disaster relief for floods and hurricanes, providing electricity for rescue efforts.

I think the use of mobile solar trucks, such as the Sequoia, are better than mobile wind turbines because there is always sun shine, but wind turbines are only very successful in windy areas such as shores and coasts. It is still an amazing concept though.

Source: [Inhabitat]

PLANYC 2030 - A Greener New York City

I saw a brief report on NY1 about Mayor Bloomberg's new green NYC plan. After further investigation, NYC may become one of the greenest cities in the whole country. Here is the plan for NYC 2030.

Source: [nyc.gov - PLANYC 2030]