Join Supermarket to be powered by cars in parking lot
The effort to keep business expenses low while trying to transition to a more green lifestyle has prompted a British super market to look to their parking lot to power their lights and run their cash register. And the idea may catch on for other power needs as well.
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Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit: World’s Highest Tech Roller Coaster?
I remember watching some documentary special on roller coasters, and was very surprised to find that there is nothing holding the cars upside-down on the loop except centrifugal force. In other words, there is very little advanced technology involved with roller coasters, which is why I am skeptical of Universal Orlando theme park calling their Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit “the world’s highest tech roller coaster”.
The 3,800 foot long attraction is unique because it allows the user to select his or her personal soundtrack from many genres, then an individual song. I would hope that Universal would choose “Song 2” by Blur. Just listen to it, and you’ll see why it is perfect song for a roller coaster.
Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit also has a various LED flashing lights, and fourteen digital video cameras to capture the experience. I can’t help but wonder if the user has the option of getting a video clip of their experience after it is over.
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Circuit City to Re-launch
Yeah, that whole worldwide financial crisis has bankrupted a lot of businesses, and I, like many others, was completely shocked that Circuit City, one of the most well-known tech retail businesses in the world, was one of them.
It would appear that Systemax, the owner of CompUSA, has acquired Circuit City’s brand name on May 19th. It would also appear that the company wants to relaunch. At least the website aspect, for now.
If you go to the official website, you will see Gilbert Fiorentino, chief Executive of the Systemmax Technology Group tell all about it. Actually, the video is merely a placeholder “for a day or two” before they can get the official site in. So don’t be surprised if you go to circuitcity.com and find Circuit City completely up and running. If you want to see the video for yourself, I have it available here after the jump.
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Zune and Xbox 360, combined!
Just to let you know, this product here, complete with picture, is a rumor. The source of this story comes from Team Xbox, who say that Microsoft is working on this Digital Entertainment Handheld. This is what it is: an Xbox 360 with a Zune. Your two favorite things in one package? Well, maybe not the Zune, but one out of two ain’t bad. (Not another “Zune slam”, stop it already.)
Anyway, the project is codenamed “xYz”. I am assuming the “X” comes from the Xbox 360 and the “Z” comes from the Zune. As for the “Y”, the answer to that is “because they can, and it would make money”.
Other facts are pretty sketchy at this point, but we do know that the xYz will come with a WVGA touchscreen. Assuming, of course, that it gets created.
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ACE: The robot who needs directions
Since I am male, I have this thing about not wanting to ask for directions. It would appear that a German research group known as the Institute of Automatic Control Engineering has created a robot that asks directions for them.
In fact, the Autonomous City Explorer, or ACE, is completely dependent on directions to get to where it needed to go. This robot was recently let loose off campus from a University in Munich, and it was programmed to get to a landmark 1.5 kilometers away. Check out the video after this jump.
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GPS Tracking is now legal in the US
Even though we are a quarter century past 1984, I am glad to say that Big Brother is not watching us. That is, unless we want to be watched with our webcam. Yes, we clearly live in a world that we never saw coming, and I am also glad to say that we don’t live in the dark dystopian world predicted by science fiction.
However, we may have taken a step toward a surveillance society last week, as a Wisconsin court ruled that the police can covertly attach a GPS tracking device to a citizen’s car without a warrant.
Apparently, it is okay for the police to plant their trackers because “GPS tracking does not involve a search or seizure”. Of course, one could argue that having the authorities track your whereabouts could be viewed as some sort beginning of a civil rights violation. I’m sure you can understand how the ACLU sees it.
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Personal Rapid Transit set to debut soon
With the population rising, it leaves people searching for alternative forms of transportation for heavily populated areas. Well this idea for Masdar City looks like something straight of an Isaac Asimov book I read years ago. They are basically an electronic taxi without a driver. You choose where it is you’d like to go and it will take you there or close to it. Initially the system will stay fairly simple, but as time progresses it will continue to be modified and become more complex.
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Target Video Game Reservation Program
If you are a hard-core gamer, then you want to get your newest video games the day that they are released. The problem is, so does everyone else.
Imagine if you could reserve your game for the day of its release. In fact, let’s say you had a coupon, a golden ticket, if you will, and you can just walk up to the counter and claim what is rightfully yours. After you pay for it, of course.
Fortunately, this is what Target wants to do with its new video game reservation program. It costs a dollar for these coupons, but it is a small price to pay for knowing that your video game will actually be at the store when you get there.
Another bonus of these cards is that they give you a $5 gift card that is good for a future purchase. These five dollars can’t be used for the precious video game that you reserved, but hey, it will definitely be used for another.
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