Apple's New iPods

Here are the gadgets Apple dropped yesterday:

Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs took pleasure in introducing the iPod Touch. This new iPod has the touch screen feature and WiFi of the iPhone. Essentially, it is an iPhone with no calling feature. Unfortunately it only comes in 8GB and 16GB. Watch him introduce it here.

Steve Jobs had many announcements for journalist on September 5th, like the price cut on the 8 GB iPhone from US $599 to 399. He also announced Apple will stop producing the 4GB iPhone, because .

Apple presented another version of the iPod Nano. This iPod has a bigger screen and it plays videos. It is available in 4 $G and 8GB.

The other product Apple introduced yesterday is the iPod Classic. This product is very similar to the iPod Video, but comes with an enormous 80GB or 160GB (40,000 songs)storage.

For more take a look at these pictures :
http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6206181-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg




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First Man On Mars ?

1957, Russia sends the spacecraft Sputnik to space. Sputnik was the first unmanned spacecraft from earth to space.

April 12, 1981 Russia sends the first man to space. America, caught by surprise in this race to space took the lead by sending Neil Alden Armstrong in Columbia to the moon in 1969. The landing on the moon marked the pinnacle of American investment in the space program. Ever since, investment in the space program both in the US and Russia has dropped significantly.
The Russian space program went bankrupt. Now it is coming up slowly especially as they're coming up with new initiatives like the space tourism program, offering people flights to space for monstrous amounts of money (about US $ 20 million or so).

Vladimir Putin rekindled the race to space when he announced last week, that Russia plans to send a man to the moon by 2025, and latter on to set up a permanent base on the moon. He also mentioned they will possibly send a man to Mars by 2035. Like I say, only time will tell.

Take note that space programs are not popular because they are very expensive and not profitable. For more click here

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News : Apple, new iPod, RIM.

This is a speculation among many others of what the next iPod will look like. Here

- Watch out for Apple next week. Apple has scheduled a press conference for September 5th. Lots of speculators say Apple will reveal an upgrade to its iPod line. Apple's shares rose over 5% because of this expectation. Apparently the shares have not been affected by various people taking Apple to court for defective iPhone batteries (which can not be replaced by consumers but by a specialist). Anyways, the new iPod will use a Mac OS and will have a full or wide screen.
Another redesigned iPod shuffle is to be released. Some of these rumors come from Goldman Sachs, promoting Apple's shares.
Others speculate Apple will reveal its European Network partners. Various European giants like Orange (France), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), or O2 in the U.K. cant wait to distribute the iPhone. Steve Job's company keeps coming up with cool devices, and a new one is coming out any time soon, especially as its September. One thing for sure is, all this information will be released in time for holiday season. Time will tell.

- Rumor has it RIM (Research in motion) will be bought by Microsoft. This produced a rise in share value of RIM. RIM makes blackberries. I find it interesting that Microsoft is not starting its phone line, but will be able to compare or challenge Apple's iPhone through the blackberry line. Who knows what this combination could produce?

- Finally I'm still waiting to hear more on Google's phone or the gPhone !!!

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Some Young Innovators

When you think about it the greatest scientists, such as Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein realized the greatest part of their work before the age of 30. Here is a collection of young innovators according to MIT's Technological review. These individuals are all under 35. Many of these innovators start up in university and form a company, or they are simply grad students researching at a University.

This year's winner David berry found a way to turn living organisms into hydrocarbon refiners.
By modifying their DNA, microbes are able to produce the base of crude, oil diesel or gasoline from cellulose. While this technology is still being developed, he has gotten a lot of attention from the gas and oil industry.

Jeff LaPorte, co-founder of Eqo Communications (Vancouver based) came up with the brilliant idea of turning your local minutes into international minutes. Using a computer, one is able to call around the world using Skype or other softwares through the internet. They are able to give you this service, through your cell phone, at a reduced cost and with the same sound quality.

I also took note of other innovators like Adam Cohen, who stops Brownian motion to make particles easier to analyze, or Rachel Segalman who found a cheap and very efficient way of converting heat into electricity using organic molecules. This technology will be able to extend the life of laptop batteries and other such devices.

Of personal interest, the inventor of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg (23 years old), a Harvard sophomore who created this site to share pictures with his friends. This popular website now has over 30 million users and is worth about 1 billion.

Bill Gates created Microsoft in 1975 (picture), at the age of 20. They just designed softwares for clients, but who knew one day this company would be worth 56 billions.

For more, take a look at TR's 35 2007 young Investors.

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Notorious Internet legends

TorrentSpy, a popular torrent tracking site is now closing its access to users in the U.S. after a lawsuit from Motion Pictures Industry. Now here is someone of interest to this topic. This fellow is a particular kind of celebrity, an internet celebrity. Those who download a lot videos from torrents sites should have come across the name Axxo.

Axxo is, one of the most popular seeders on the web. Over 1 million people download his videos every month. He's known for providing high quality movies, to the extent that most torrent sites have a special section dedicated to his files, to the point that someone used his name to start a torrent site.

File sharing on the internet is a very controversial issue, but this guy's popularity shows a lot of people rely on the internet for watching movies or TV shows. As of now, the filming industry is still not able to take advantage of the internet to make profit off its movies. I'm sure the industry would like to get in contact with file suppliers like Axxo (for various reasons).

So, what do you think about downloading files? Is it a crime? Is it fare? Or even could it be very profitable?

check out this article on Axxo:
http://torrentfreak.com/interview-axxo-the-most-popular-dvd-ripper-on-bittorrent/

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New iMac, on time for school

Here comes another gadget from Apple. Apple's C.E.O, Steve Jobs unveiled the new iMacs last week not too long after releasing the iPhone. This computer appeared greener (environmentally friendlier).
A slightly new design which comprises mainly of a 20" or 24" 'monitor' with an integrated motherboard behind it. The iMacs have a glossy wide screen display with a panoramic resolution of 1920 by 1200. The monitor's casing is made out of glass and Aluminum.It also comes with a redesigned flat keyboard.

So, whats in this box? Lets talk about the top line iMac. It contains a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo Intel processor which you can upgrade to a 2.8GHz Intel Core Extreme processor. An 800MHz system bus and 4MB of shared L2 cache. For graphics you have an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 dedicated video memory. Storage goes up to 1TB ( 1028GB). It also comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a built-in camera.

Jobs also stressed on some improved applications like iLife and iWorks. For more specs, check out the new iMac. The cheapest iMac costs CA $1299 (U.S. $1199).

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Basics_4 : Fastest Car in the World

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 at Paris Car Show.

Named after Pierre Veyron, a French racer who won the '24 heures Du Mans' in 1939 while racing for Bugatti (the firm), the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the fastest and most powerful street-legal full production car in the world. The Veyron detroned the Koenigsegg (2nd) and the McLaren F1 (3rd) when it was presented at on October 13th at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

This machine is built in Molsheim, France by Volkswagen AG through the subsidiary branch Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. Fasten your seat belts lets get into the belly of the beast.The Veyron is supremely engineered with 4 banks of 4 turbo-charged cylinders in shape of a W (W16 engine) or 2 V8 engines producing 1001 hp (736 KW) at 6,000 rpm. 1250Nm maximum Torque at 2,200 and 5,500rpm, thats what I call power. We'll get to the acceleration latter. Or let me say, the Veyron produces more power that four Subaru WRXs put together.

The Bugatti uses custom Michelin tires that allow it to reach a speed of 400km/hr and still provide linear handling. A second key is required to allow the Bugatti to reach maximum speed. When this mode is activated the car transforms into racing mode. It has a 7 gear ratio, all wheel drive. The Veyron has a rear wing (spoiler), controlled by its hydraulics which adjust according to the car's speed.

I know i just scratched the surface, but I can almost say the machine was perfectly engineered for high speed driving. I'm not going to talk about the aerodynamics, cooling and undercarriage.
Supposedly, it is able to break from 400Km/hr in 10 secs. I'm not selling this car, but its got everything from power to speed, comfort and more.

I'll leave you with these figures :

Numbers are according to manufacturer, and have been confirmed in performance tests.

Vehicle type: mid-engine, all-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe

Base Price: € 1,127,210 (£757 359, $1,440,800)

Engine type: quad-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 64-valve W-16, aluminium block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 7993 cm³ (488.8 in³)

Top speed (Handling Mode): 375 km/h (233 mph)

Top speed (Electronically Limited): 407.9 km/h (253.6 mph)

Theoretical Top Speed (Drag Limited): 414 km/h (257 mph)

Performance Ratings as Tested :

* Zero to 100 km/h: 2.5 s

* Zero to 200 km/h: 7.3 s

* Zero to 300 km/h: 16.7 s

* Zero to 400 km/h: 55 s

* Zero to 60 mph (97 km/h): 2.5 s

* Zero to 100 mph (161 km/h): 5.5 s

* Zero to 150 mph (241 km/h): 9.8 s

* Zero to 200 mph (322 km/h): 24.2 s

* Zero to 250 mph (402 km/h): 55 s

* 0-100-0mph / 0-160-0km/h: 9.9 s

* Standing Quarter-Mile / 402 Meter: 10.2 sec @ 143 mph / 230 km/h

Fuel economy:

* EPA city driving: 7 mpg U.S. (34 L/100 km)

* EPA highway driving: 10 mpg U.S. (24 L/100 km)

(from wikipedia)

The stats go on and on, for more go to Bugatti Veyron 16.4.

P.S.
There might be a faster car, either they're not in production or just concepts. Another car (Ultima 720 GTR )is said to have beat the record by five hundredth of a second for the 0 -100 mph speed test.

Engineering Watch

Flying Cars

The are a lot of concepts out there. Here is a flying car of particular interest. Terrafugia is developing the "Transition ". The 2 seat vehicle is designed as a light-sports airplane that can fit in your garage. The Transition is a project of M.I.T. grad students assisted by colleagues at the department of Aeronautics and Astronautic. The wings fold in so the vehicle can move around in regular traffic with the size of an S.U.V. Their main challenge will be to create enough cargo room to suite consumers. Only time will tell if this vehicle is practical from an economic perspective.

The aircraft will be equipped with airbags, aerodynamic bumpers, and a GPS unit .In 2009, this jewel should be available for $148,000. What you get is :

Engine: 100 hp Rotax 912 S (four-stroke)

Cruise Speed (75% power): 100 kts (115 mph, 185 km/hr)

Takeoff Distance over 50 ft obstacle: 1,700 ft (520 m)

click here for more specs.

Personally I prefare the Moller International's concept, the Skyblazer, an airplane that can take off and land vertically like a hover craft. Although we have no more information about the progress of this concept, rumor has it that people who invested in the Skyblazer (video) lost their money... Moller international is coming up with another concept called The M200G volantor (watch the video by the article) which is practically a hover craft that looks like an alien vessel. I will give you updates on this as the year goes on.

For more information on the Transition go to:
http://www.terrafugia.com/index.html
http://news.com.com/Flying+car+ready+for+takeoff/2100-11389_3-6040007.html
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/articles/2006/02/15/baby_you_can_fly_my_car/

Also take a look at this very interesting design, the Airscooter.

Now enjoy this preview.



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Multi-touch Screen

One of the features that make the iPhone so special is the touch screen developed by Perceptive Pixel. Jefferson Y. Han presented this multi touch technology in February 2006, at the TED Conference in Monterey California. Check out the first video

The next video is a preview of Microsoft's TouchLight technology which is stillbeing developed.

Compare !

Engineering Watch

Nature and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) _ 1

According to The Matrix (The movie), Humans invented A.I., then there was a war between humans and machines... Machines used humans as a source of energy (batteries) and cultivated humans in fields... Thats a nice story, but are we heading there?

The University Of South Florida (U.S.F.) is working on Gastrobots (picture), robots powered by themselves through the digestion of food . They are expected to be autonomous and energy self -sufficient, as long as they are out doors. In 2000, Chew-Chew was created in the U.S.F., as the first world's food powered robot. This Gastrobot can eat sugar and produce electricity out of it, and is able to move around.

The University of West England brought out the SlugBot in 2001. Slugs are very annoying as they destroy a lot of crops, this is a big problem in England. Slugs were picked up as a source of power because they move slowly. "The SlugBot navigates using a combination of the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, and an active infrared localization system. It detects obstacles through a combination of ultrasonic sonar and bump sensors." from : SlugBot : Enemy of Slugs. The robot is able to generate electricity from slugs using some bacteria. It has an arm that picks up the slugs and can rotate in 360 degrees. For more about the SlugBot check this out. Such robots will be commercialized. Right now they're working on more projects check them out.

Within the next decade, we will see these products of A.I. everywhere around us. In school, at work, at home, even in public places. In Liverpool, robotic birds are being let out in the city to get rid of pigeons droppings. New friends are coming to life to helper us. Lets hope they do not get too intelligent, or even too greedy. Look out for the next article on Nature and Artificial Intelligence.

P.S. I like such projects because they unite a lot of disciplines (Bio, Chem, Mech and computer engineering or more).

Its called aerogel

It sounds like a gel but this is a solid, tougher than glass. This crazy material is a product of Nanotechnology. Aerogel is like foam, principally made out of air (99.8% air).

Aerogel is made from alcogel (a gel made by polymerisation silicon alkoxide with water in a mixing solvent). The alcogel is dried and liquid is extracted from the solid silica. The remaining solid is then filled with air to 50-99% of the volume of the original alcogel (Aerogel - gel filled with air).

Aerogel is 1000 less dense than glass, but is 39 times more insulating than the best fiber glass. It also has a low thermal conductivity, meaning a 3,000°F blowtorch under a thin slice of Aerogel will not affect objects above it. You can find out more on the web.

Aerogel was used by NASA on Mars' Pathfinder. It has at least 15 entries in the Guinness book of records. Now watch this video of a blanket made from Aerogel : Aspen Aerogel.

Properties :

Melting point : 1,473 K (1,200 °C or 2,192 °F)

Density : 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter.

Here are some link related to Aerogel :
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html
http://www.unitednuclear.com/aerogel.htm
http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~aerogel/aboutaerogel.html

Basics_3 : The Fastest Train in the World

France is well known for arts, culture and fashion, but few people know it is one of the world leaders in rail transport technology. Alstom's V150 Translet is the fastest rail train in the world. On April 3rd, it bit its own record by 59.5 km/hr set in 1990. The train's code name is V150 which stands for 150 meters per second (or more).
Alstom supplies rail equipments worldwide. Some of its competitors are Bombardier, Siemens and Ansaldo-Breda.
" Alstom is hoping to sell its high-speed trains in several countries, including China, Argentina and Brazil. The state of California is among the interested buyers. California's project would link Sacramento and San Diego by going through San Francisco and Los Angeles. The project, if approved, would cost an estimated $40 billion. It would take less than 2½ hours to reach Los Angeles from the Bay Area." From ABC News world.

A couple points you need to know:

Record Speed : 574,8 km/h (357.2 mph)

Power : 2 engines totaling 25, 000 horsepower

Check out the video on YouTube.

Note the Maglev train set a record in 2003. This uses magnetic levitation and will be discussed latter on.

Basics_2 : Fastest Aircraft

The SR-71 Blackbird

Imagine flying from New York to London in less than 2 hours !

Designed about 30 years ago, Lockheed's airplane is the fastest jet fueled manned vehicle. The SR-71 is powered by Pratt and Whitney's J-58 turbojets. Each turbojet has an after burner and produces a thrust of 32,500 pounds.

The SR-71 can have up to a speed of 3.2 Machs (more than three times the speed of sound), and can fly at altitudes over 85,000 ft ( 25,908m).

In order to resist the heat produced by friction at such speeds, the Blackbird is made out of Titanium (frame), and is coated with a special heat-emitting black paint (hence the name Blackbird) which helps cool the aircraft.

NASA has been doing some research on the SR-71 for more information, follow the link (NASA) and check out the modification like the SR-17 LASRE or sonic boom recordings. We might also look at the Scramjet-powered X-43A, designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 10. Also look at the blackbird's pictures.

I guess we don't know if there an aircraft faster than this right, until the right occasion shows up.
One never knows what the U.S. or the Russian governments can come up with.

3D Printing Taken to Another Level

The Z Corporation is introducing the ZPrinter 450. It brings CAD files to life.3D samples can be printed from selected solid models. This is considerably useful for designers and the manufacturing Industry.
The ZPrinter 450 has a build speed of 2-4 layers per minute with a 300 x 450 dpi (resolution). The equipment is quite big and weighs 193kg (425 lbs), but has no physical support structures attached, compared to other 3D printers. Check out the customer's list; including NASA, Boeinng, And1, BAE Systems, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Adidas International, Timberland, Alcan Packaging and more.
Watch the video on Youtube, its simply amazing.

Tallest building in the world

On July 21st the Burj Dubai became 21 feet taller than the Taipei 101 (509m, 1,667 ft) hence becoming the tallest building in the world. Currently with 141 floors, the final height of this building is till unknown. They say its going to be over 800m (more than 2600ft) tall and should be finished by 2009.
I quote " Burj Dubai is located downtown Dubai and the 500 acre development already welcomes its first residents. It will also contain the luxurious Armani hotel. The hotel will include 175 guest rooms and suites restaurants and spa covering more than 40,000 sq m. Alongside the Burj Dubai will offer 144 luxury residential apartments all designed and fully furnished from a specially designed line of products from the Armani Casa home furnishing collection. "
For more please go the Burj Dubai web page. Its kind of beautiful.

Is the iPhone safe

Imagine a website that can take control of your phone. A website that can make calls from your phone, view your text messages extract any file and the list goes on. Check out this NY Times article.
This flaw was discovered by researchers working for Independent Security Evaluators. It took them less than a week to discover this crack. All it takes is to trick you to go to a certain website through WiFi connection. The site injects some code into the iPhone which in turn follows instructions like extracting text messages or making phone calls. More details available on this Youtube Video.
This shows apple softwares can also be vulnerable to worms, viruses or malicious softwares, but do not worry, as with windows, there is a patch that can fix this flaw. I'm looking forward to owning this phone as soon as its released in Canada. Can't wait.
A guide to hacking the phone can be found on www.exploitingiphone.com. Enjoy !

Basics_1 : Longest Bridge In the World

Lets start with the basics. Many people would know this, but the longest suspension bridge today is in Japan. Cost about U.S.$ 5 billion with a toll of U.S.$ 20.
The bridge was completed in 1998 and has 6 lanes, here are some other facts you might want to know:

Name : Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (AKA Pearl Bridge)

Length : 3,911 metres (12,831 ft)

Longest span : 1,991 metres (6,532 ft)

Introduction

Welcome to Engineering Watch. This blog targets outstanding engineering projects and companies involved in such projects.