Vespa has unveiled two prototype hybrid scooters that deliver 25% more power and use 20% less petrol. You plug them into a standard European 220V socket for three hours to charge them or run them on normal gas-engine mode. They can run battery-only at low speeds, which is useful in indoor/zero-emissions environments. The helmet-space under the seat has been replaced with a stack of 12V/26Ah batteries — via Boing Boing
Agents from the US bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents detained a suspicious individual
on a Georgia college campus — a guy dressed up in a ninja costume, on his way to a party on campus — via Boing Boing
Scientists studying organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) have made a critical leap from single-colour displays to a highly efficient and long-lived natural light source. If the device can be mass-manufactured cheaply interior lighting could look vastly different in the future. Almost any surface in a home, whether flat or curved, could become a light source: walls, curtains, ceilings, cabinets or tables — via Warren Ellis
Users thinking of pirating the next version of Windows may have a surprise in store: no Aero for you. The upcoming Microsoft OS will run a check to ensure the copy was legally purchased. If it comes up short, the shiniest part of the OS will not be available. The Aero display also won’t be available to those who buy Windows Vista Basic, the low-end consumer version of the operating system. Let’s see how long that security feature
takes to crack
US forces in Afghanistan are checking reports that stolen computer hardware containing military secrets is being sold at a market beside a big US base. Shopkeepers at a market next to Bagram base, outside Kabul, have been selling memory drives stolen from the facility
Google has launched a Web-based calendar service that allows users not only to input and track events, but also to coordinate schedules with others and create automatic event alerts
Internet shoppers accustomed to tax-free purchases from Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store soon may be in for an unpleasant surprise. State legislatures and tax officials, eager to find new ways to boost government spending and curb budget shortfalls, are eyeing the burgeoning market for digital downloads as a potentially lucrative source of revenue
Ministers may now hesitate before using anti-terrorist powers against suspected extremists after a court ruling against control orders. Lord Carlile, the government’s independent assessor of terrorism laws, gave his view after a High Court judge in London ruled that ministers’ powers to put accused terrorists under house arrest contravene human rights laws
70 year old Yasumasa Matsuzaki was evicted from a convenience store because of his habit of reading magazines without ever buying anything. He returned five minutes later with a chainsaw and threatened the staff before returning to the magazine rack. The incident last week is part of a wave of so-called grey crime in Japan. The percentage of over-65s in prison has trebled in the past decade and exceeds 10 per cent of the total prison population – four times the UK figure. Japan has the highest rate of incarceration for pensioners in the industrialised world
Sitting in a culture dish, a layer of chicken heart cells beats in synchrony. But this muscle layer was not sliced from an intact heart, nor even grown laboriously in the lab. Instead, it was printed
, using a technology that could be the future of tissue engineering. Droplets of bio-ink
— clumps of living cells a few hundred micrometres in diameter — flow together and fuse when squirted close to each other. They can be made to form layers, rings and tubes — which could serve as blood vessels — depending on how they are deposited. Bioprinting could develop into a fast and cheap way to engineer a variety of tissue types
MIT scientists have harnessed the construction talents of tiny viruses to build ultra-small nanowire
structures for use in very thin lithium-ion batteries
A Tasmanian company has obtained the first state or territory licence to use hemp in a pet food product. Hemp is banned in food for human consumption in Australia, unlike most other western countries. Industrial hemp contains very low levels of psychotropic chemicals and is used in products like paper and clothing. Business owner Ian Rochfort says he has been fighting bureaucracy for years for the right to harvest hemp, which will be used in the company’s dog biscuits — Hemp Hound Hors d’oeuvres
This Anzac Day descendants of Turkish soldiers will for the first time be officially allowed to join in the march of veterans. Turkish-Australians whose fathers and grandfathers fought at Gallipoli have been defying RSL policy by marching in the Melbourne parade since 1996. But now they’ve been given official sanction from Victoria’s RSL
Microsoft has developed Oklahoma’s Computer Spyware protection Act. The law will supposedly protect people from unwarranted hackers or virus attacks and can fine individuals up to $1M who are found guilty of breaking into a computer without the owners knowledge. At the same time, it also allows some of the better known capable companies to look
into your computer for possible virus/spyware and fix the problem without informing you. And, while these friends are doing their job, they can also take the moment to do other things — via Slashdot
An ultralight autonomous aircraft that mimics the navigational abilities of a fly could one day become a real fly on the wall. The 10gm microflyer, being developed by a team of researchers lead by Dario Floreano at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, has a 36cm wingspan. But it could one day be shrunk to insect size and used for search and rescue
Google has snapped up the rights to an advanced text search algorithm invented by a University of NSW student. The algorithm, or search engine tool, is called Orion and was developed by UNSW PhD student Ori Allon at the university’s School of Computer Science
ABC will make a number of its most popular programmes available online at no cost. Beginning 30 April, a redesigned ABC.com web site will allow web surfers to watch full episodes of programs such as Lost, Desperate Housewives and others starting the morning after they air on ABC. In addition, programming from other Disney-owned networks will be made available online over the next couple of months. All programs will be shown in their entirety, including commercials which cannot be avoided. Aside from being unable to avoid commercials, watching the programs will be similar to watching timeshifted content in that viewers will be able to pause, fast forward, and rewind
Popular social-networking site MySpace is responding to concerns about teen safety by bringing a security officer on board and hiring more employees to handle inappropriate content
Neurosurgeon Kenneth Smith has performed a revolutionary operation on St Louis resident Cheri Robertson, connecting a camera directly to her optic nerve. The rig is in principle similar to Geordi La Forge’s visor, albeit in very rudimentary form. At present, the image
consists of a number of white dots, as on an LED display. There are also governmental restrictions on this research, forcing Kenneth and his team to fly to Portugal to carry out the operation. If this technology takes off, the future will be bright for the sight-impaired — via Slashdot
An RAF doctor who refused to serve in Iraq because he believed the war to be illegal was jailed for eight months. The conviction and imprisonment of Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first member of the armed forces to be charged with disobeying orders to deploy in Iraq, has provoked widespread condemnation. Anti-war groups declared that a man who had shown great moral courage and acted according to his conscience was being pilloried for his beliefs
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