Pilot ejects split-second before crash

Canadian fighter pilot Captain Brian Bews was in the middle of a practice flight near Lethbridge County Airport in Canada when things went south. As in straight down.

Practicing a maneuver on Friday for an airshow over the weekend, Bews' CF-18 fighter jet banked and then went straight into the ground. Luckily, Bews was able to eject at the very last second and is said to not have sustained any life-threatening injuries. LINK

Just ahead is a video of the crash, or check it out — and the resulting explosion — in the gallery below.

Laser fueled by human breath cuts glass tube in two

I love people who do wild scientific experiments in their homes, and anyone who creates a glass-cutting laser in their bedroom belongs on that list.

Carbon dioxide lasers are commonly used for cutting (think Goldfinger slicing James Bond in two), but where does a regular Joe get a cheap and reliable supply of carbon dioxide? Heck, we all emit the stuff when we exhale, so this laser is fueled by a balloon filled with human breath.

Watch as he uses it to cut a xenon glass lamp tube in half.

YouTube, via Boing Boing

AMD Unlocks 3D Internet Potential with OpenGL ES 2.0 Driver

AMD is a steadfast supporter of industry standards, including those that unlock the power of GPU acceleration," said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, AMD Fusion Experience Program. "At AMD, we see the future of computing as being intensely visual, requiring a variety of rich media 2D and 3D applications. With functionality like the OpenGL ES 2.0 driver and technology breakthroughs made possible by AMD Fusion APUs, we aim to deliver the ideal development platform for immersive experiences both online and natively on virtually any PC form factor. LINK

iPhone jailbreaking (and all cell phone unlocking) made legal

Jailbreaking — the practice of unlocking a phone (and particularly an iPhone) so it can be used on another network and/or run other applications than those approved by Apple — has technically been illegal for years. Most jailbroken phones are used on the U.S. T-Mobile network or on overseas carriers, or are used to run applications that Apple refuses to sell, such as Safari ad-blocking apps, alternate keyboard layouts, or programs that change the interface to the iPhone's SMS system and the way its icons are laid out. LINK

Secret Documents : View Is Bleaker Than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan - WikiLeaks

A six-year archive of classified military documents made public on Sunday offers an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan that is in many respects more grim than the official portrayal.

The secret documents, released on the Internet by an organization called WikiLeaks, are a daily diary of an American-led force often starved for resources and attention as it struggled against an insurgency that grew larger, better coordinated and more deadly each year.

The New York Times, the British newspaper The Guardian and the German magazine Der Spiegel were given access to the voluminous records several weeks ago on the condition that they not report on the material before Sunday. LINK

Flash vs. QuickTime vs. Windows Media

There’s been a substantial amount of press about web-based video performance lately, specifically aimed at Adobe Flash - and with good reason. Historically, Flash has been buggy, used a great deal of CPU, and consequently drained battery life as a result. However, Adobe has taken great pains to try to alleviate these issues. We propose to test the three most prevalent web-based video formats, comparing CPU usage and battery life. LINK

It's party time with a shipping container entertainment space

People have started using recycled shipping containers for all sorts of purposes, but this instant outdoor party space is by far the most fun way I've seen to reuse one of the old steel boxes.

Once it's been dropped into your yard, the Boxman folds open like Optimus Prime to reveal a fully equipped party space complete with a bar, tables and couches. Options are fully customizable, but a typical configuration would include couch seating for 20, a marble bar that seats an additional six, a bamboo dance floor, a DJ booth, and solar panels with battery storage to run everything. Setup takes around 20 minutes.

While I'm sure Boxman Studios would be happy to make one just for you, these are clearly designed as rental units. Still, it sure looks a lot easier than those big marquees people put up for fancy parties. LINK

Boxman Studios, via Born Rich

Looks literally kill with this next gen fighter pilot helmet

Defense contractor Raytheon is on a roll lately. First the company demos that powerful laser cannon we showed you earlier, and now Raytheon is showing off a monocle-like helmet attachment that'll have pilots killing with a glance.

Countdown to Zero Trailers

During the Cold War, nothing loomed as large in the public mind as the bomb. When the Soviet Empire collapsed, the bomb became a symbol of another era. Naively we felt the danger had passed. In recent years, the threat of nuclear proliferation has grown more urgent, and the political will to eliminate nuclear weapons is greater than ever in our history. We have now entered a second nuclear age. Nuclear..

iPad-powered holographic display is 360° of 3D without glasses

From Aircord Labs comes this pyramidal holographic display that uses an iPad to supply the image. It's something of a clever optical illusion, but the result is a 3D image that can be viewed from almost any direction and you don't need glasses.

For a bit of added functionality, the iPad also responds to sounds, much like how the famous Clapper would turn off your lights with a clap of your hands.

Don't know about you, but I would even go so far as to change my living room so I'm sitting around a pyramidal TV just so I don't have to wear those damn glasses.

Vimeo, via Fubiz

Alibre 3D Program

Stop playing around and start playing around. If you have projects that require any type of design, then you need Alibre Design Personal Edition (PE). It's easy to use, powerful, and much faster than a trash can full of crumpled paper drawings.

What Alibre Design PE delivers the hobbyist

No-fluff, unabridged 3D power with automatic 2D drawing creation and STL export at a hobby-friendly price. Design it, document it, change it around, perfect it, and then make it. Explore more design options and get it right the first time.

LINK

Apple's free bumpers: There's an app for that

As most people in the known universe are aware, Apple recently announced plans to give a free case to any iPhone 4 user who requests one (and to refund the purchase price to those who already bought one--a process that is apparentlynow underway).

What we didn't know until today was how Apple planned to handle the giveaway. Would you have to fight traffic on a special Web page? Bring your iPhone to an Apple Store? Chant "antennagate" 10 times while standing inside a pentagram? LINK

Apple delays white iPhone 4 yet again

Apparently, making a white iPhone is a much harder undertaking than Apple or anyone else thought it would be, because that version of the phone has just been delayed yet again to "later this year."

Despite Steve Jobs himself promising the release of the white iPhone by the end of the month at a press conference last week, it looks like that won't be the case.

Reportedly, there have been issues with the printing process of the backs of the phones, with the manufacturer unable to consistently get the correct white color printed. Who knew white, of all colors, would be so tough to nail? Of course, they might be just making sure the antennas work on all the white ones before shipping them, but that's just my inner conspiracy theorist talking.

But never fear, Apple obsessives: the black iPhone is still available for order now, even if you'll have to wait a few weeks to get one.

Darth Vader robs a bank

Apparently being a Sith Lord isn't as profitable as it used to be, because Darth Vaderseems to be on hard times: he was recently spotted robbing a Long Island bank at gunpoint.

Although, a few things seem a little off. For one, he was wearing a blue cape, not a black one. And are those camo pants? And why does he have a semiautomatic pistol? Where's the lightsaber?

I'm beginning to think this isn't the real Darth Vader...

RedLasso via BoingBoing

Indian 'laptop' is world's cheapest at $35

Researchers in India claim to have put together a computer that costs — parts and all — only 35 smackaroos. That's cheaper than that $65 laptop from not too long ago, and surprisingly this tablet-like device is no slouch.

Sony's new optical disk format could fit 50 movies on one disk

Sony is working on a new type of blue-violet ultra-fast pulsed laser for optical disks, one that would be used for a new format of super-high-capacity discs. The only problem? We probably won't be using disks anymore when they get around to releasing it.

It's becoming pretty obvious that streaming and downloading are where media consumption are headed. Blu-rays have caught on, sure, but nowhere near as much as DVDs did. And people are watching movies and TV shows via services such as Netflix streaming and Hulu rather than buying or renting a disk.

Sure, streaming doesn't have the quality of Blu-ray, but it will eventually. And with it just being more convenient to not have to deal with physical disks, consumers have decreasing patience to deal with them. But hey, for archiving and professional uses, I'm sure this new format will be a game-changer.

Examiner via CrunchGear

Play Western shooter Lead and Gold without paying $15

Okay, so maybe you weren't convinced just because I happen to like it. But now's your chance to try the clever Western shooter Lead & Gold without having to pay the measly fifteen bucks it would cost to buy it. This weekend, publisher Paradox is offering to let you play for free. So boot up Steam, download the game, and jump into the more-crowded-than-usual servers full of n00bs asking where they're supposed to take the flag (hint: it's not a flag, it's a respawning totem!). When it comes time to choose a character, I recommend the deputy. Then when you come back here after the weekend, I can say I told you so.

Computer Board Table makes every cup of tea a sci-fi adventure

For a true, green-blooded geek, nothing could be cooler than having a cup of Earl Grey tea on a coffee table masquerading as an oblong Borg cube, which is exactly what we have with the amazing Computer Board Table.
Cobbled together as a DIY project, the table uses decades old boards and drives from old Intergraph 6000 series machines, 2800 baud modem parts and an assortment of other tech ephemera tacked on for good measure. Of course the crowning touch is the LED light array framing the entire contraption, just to ensure that onlookers understand that you're committed to your badass futurist decor.

Via Make

Galaxy Phones From Samsung Are Worthy iPhone Rivals

Despite the weak economy, consumers seem to crave these hand-held computers, which typically cost around $200. Apple this week said it can't make enough of its new iPhone 4 models to meet strong demand. HTC, the Taiwanese-based manufacturer behind many of the better-known Android phones, also is struggling to meet demand for models like the Droid Incredible on Verizon (NYSE: VZ -News) and the Evo 4G on Sprint (NYSE: S - News). LINK

Thief nabbed 10 minutes after snatching iPhone with tracking app

Some thieves just don't have luck on their side, like Horatio Toure, who thought he saw easy money when he spotted a woman walking down the street waving a shiny newiPhone.

According to the San Francisco PD Toure rode up on his bike, snatched the phone out the woman's hand, and sped off down the street. The only problem is the woman had been sent out by her boss at Covina Labs, as part of a test to demonstrate the company's new phone tracking software. Once she ran back into the office, the Covina staff called the cops and gave them second-by-second updates on Toure's location. Ten minutes later he was arrested and booked on suspicion of grand theft and possession of stolen property.

"This reminds me of the bank robber who arrives during the security test," said Covina Labs CEO David Kahn, owner of the phone in question. He also pointed out that they could have activated the iPhone's microphone to listen in, or taken a picture remotely, but they didn't want to alert the thief to its special features.

Covina Labs' Alert & Respond software is designed for military and police users, as a way to locate personnel when they can't respond directly.

SF Gate

Apple: Still a Mac company now?

While crowing this week over its record quarterly sales of 3.47 million Macs in its latest fiscal reports, Apple opened up a bit on who’s buying the iPhone 4 and iPad. Of course, they are Windows users.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook pointed to the deployment of iPhones in the enterprise, a market that is certainly Windows country. LINK

Chopper scooter combines the world's coolest vehicle with the least cool

Do you want the style of a chopper with the dorkiness of a scooter? Well, say hello to the Chopper Scooter, a concept design that combines a chopper motorcycle with a scooter. Hoo boy.

The ridiculous vehicle features a long body, swooping lines and handlebars and a set of motorcycle-esque wheels. It's got a motor in the back and can scoot around at a good clip, in theory. This thing straddles the line between cool and seriously dorky precariously. Fortunately for you, you don't need to figure out which side it falls on as it's merely a concept and not for sale.

Via Yanko Design

Jaw-dropping video shows every nuclear explosion from 1945-1998

Here's a video that'll have you riveted: an ominously comprehensive rendering that shows the time and place of every nuclear detonation from 1945 to 1998.

Although the map and graphics are almost comically low-res, the minimalist presentation is so effective you can't look away. Every explosion produces a musical chime, and every time a new nation goes nuclear, it gets a different note. We were particularly struck by the Cold War musical duel between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., as each responds to the other's nuclear testing, resulting in a darkly impressive light show on the map.

Why does it stop at 1998? Creator Isao Hashimoto used a book published in 2000 as reference material for the vid. I think it's time for an update, Mr. Hashimoto. LINK

Via Blip.tv

Turn your toilet flushes into free electricity

Every time a toilet flushes, water rushes downwards thanks to gravity and an opportunity is lost. But with the HighDro system, those flushes can be converted into energy to power whatever building they're in.

Designed for large commercial buildings rather than homes, the HighDro system acts like a very small hydroelectric dam, turning the rushing water from long soil pipes into electricity using four blades turning a turbine. It's estimated to save $1,400 per year in electricity costs in a seven-story building. Not bad for something you were just flushing away without thinking about!

Creative Boom via Gadget Lab

Personal submarine fits two people, costs two million

Owning a submarine used to be only something the super-rich were able to afford, but now...oh, wait, who am I kidding? It's still only something the super-rich can afford. But hey, this $2,000,000 personal submarine sure looks awesome!

Yeah, this two-person sub will let you descend up to 1,000 feet under the waves for up to six hours. It features a climate-controlled acrylic pressure sphere, a 120- and 24-volt battery bank, two 3-hp main thrusters, two 3-hp vertical thrusters, four external halogen lamps, upright seating, a VHF radio for communication with the surface and GPS so you know just where the hell you are in the Atlantic.

And geez, for only a cool two mil, you might as well buy two of them.

Hammacher Schlemmer via Uncrate

Is Droid X pushing Verizon to kill unlimited data?

The days of unlimited data for smartphones are numbered. That number, thanks to the Droid X, may be even smaller than anyone thought as Verizon has found that the X consumes a whopping five times the amount of data as its other smartphones.

As early as this month Verizon customers could see their unlimited data plans disappear, replaced by metered rates resembling AT&T's new model. Of course, like AT&T, if you're already in the unlimited data family, you'll most likely be able to stick with your plan.

Verizon is a network that's no stranger to smartphones but, with the Droid X, now it's got the kind of proper data hog AT&T's had to put up with the iPhone. It's also possible that Verizon wasn't ready for the numbers of Droid Xs that would flood the network, as when it comes to sales the Motorola phone has been no slouch.

Via Maximum PC and TFTS

Expensive fuel-cell charger promises 'free' energy

For decades, the entire energy industry has been hearing about how awesome hydrogen fuel cells are. Finally one company is putting some H2 where its mouth is: Horizon just announced pricing for its portable fuel-cell charger for gadgets that weheard about in January, which should be available later this year.

'Hot' Russian spy leaves enigmatic Facebook trail

Two weeks after 10 Russian spies flew back from the United States to Moscow, the buzz of interest around the ring's most photogenic member, the feisty redhead Anna Chapman, shows no signs of receding.

While Chapman remains in an unknown location since her arrival in Moscow, reportedly being debriefed, she has apparently found time to write enigmatic Facebook updates and negotiate with journalists on her first interview. LINK

Beware of jumping whales if you’re sailing off South Africa

Ralph Mothes and Paloma Werner of Cape Town Sailing Academy in South Africa are old hands when it comes to expeditions on the open seas. But there's no way they could have anticipated Sunday's wildlife encounter when they set out for a routine sail near Robben Island: A 40-ton whale leaped out of the sea and landed on the deck of their boat, the London Daily Telegraph reports. Luckily, Mothes and Werner both came away alive, as did the whale. LINK

We're all familiar with tasers and pepper spray. Now, there's a new non-lethal option to get acquainted with: the "Dazer Laser." It won't leave criminals blind forever, but it will have them seeing green for the few seconds it takes police officers to go in for the tackle.

Duelling iPhones are like a lot of real-life couples

Talking Carl is an iPhone app that repeats back everything you say, only in an annoying squeaky high pitched voice. So what happens when you take two iPhones running Talking Carl, and get them talking to each other?

Watch the video for the hilarious result, which on some level appears to be amazingly close to many real life couples, or people who get into fights on Internet message boards.

Talking Carl is available for 99¢ ($1.98 for two if you want to stage your own screaming match) in the iPhone app store.

Via Laughing Squid

Green suit is like an invisibility cloak for your home videos

Here's a neat green suit that you can use with any Chroma Key video effect to disappear on camera. The idea is that you can use it while standing in front of a green screen to manipulate objects while remaining completely invisible.

That's pretty cool, but I think Dvice readers could come up with a bunch of more creative ways to use this. How about replacing your face with a tranquil forest scene as you recite Thoreau's Walden? Or modeling clothing without actually using a model?

The Video Green Full Cover Suit is available now in two sizes for $225. Also available in blue.

TubeTape, via Red Ferret

Boeing's commercial capsule spacecraft

Boeing has announced its plans to produce a low-cost, high-occupancy passenger capsule called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (or CST-100) vehicle. It'll ride at the nose of rockets just like the capsule that came before it, and it could be ready by 2014.

In terms of size, the CST-100 lands somewhere between the old Apollo capsules and the proposed, larger Orion that NASA has since scrapped. Where Orion could carry four, Boeing's CST-100 carries seven. (At least, that's the plan: Orion was supposed to carry six during its early stages.)

It's worth noting that Boeing is working on the capsule under an $18 million award from NASA, and is also the space agency's primary American contractor for the International Space Station.

Boeing is looking further than just the ISS, though, as its CST-100 will be compatible withBigelow's inflatable space stations, set to launch in a few years.

Via PhysOrg

Slotted power strip should be how all power strips are designed

This ingenious power strip design swaps out holes for slots, allowing you to slide your plugs right up next to each other, saving all sorts of space. Why hasn't someone thought of this sooner?

Sure, sure, if you have any three-pronged plugs this thing will be pretty much useless. But why not combine the two ideas, with a couple of three-pronged outlets on one end and a slot taking up the rest? I don't know, I'm no designer, I just know I've run out of room on power strips enough times to wish I had a clever design like this.

Via Yanko Design

Defense contractor developing Android phone for soldiers

As smartphones get more versatile by the day, they're getting attention from unexpected places. Case in point: a defense contractor is working with Google to develop a device for soldiers that would display real-time battlefield intel — powered by Android.

The same guys who brought you yesterday's airplane-destroying laser, Raytheon, sought to create a compact gadget that would relay battlefield images from satellites and aircraft to soldiers on the ground, and allow them to easily zoom in on details like license plates or faces. Since smartphones already do things like that, it makes sense they hooked up with Google, who offered up its Android tech for the job.

Star 300 times more massive than our sun is theoretically too big to exist

For a long time, it's been thought that the largest a star can physically get is 150 solar units, or 150 times more massive than our sun. That was before we discovered R136a1, a star nearly 300 solar units large. What the heck is going on?

The massive star is in a cluster of equally-massive stars called R136. Many of the young stars in this cluster were greater than 150 solar masses at birth, tens of times larger and several million times brighter. This particular one appears to have been born at a whopping 320 solar masses before shrinking to its current observable size of 265 solar masses (stars shrink as they age, unlike humans).

DIY turret kit let's you build a coworker-annoyance device to your specifications

Do you love to tinker? Do you also love to harass your coworkers with an elaborate remotely-controlled turret? Have I got the project for you.

Trossen Robotics' turret kit allows you to build a controllable turret that can do any number of things, from give you a webcam for spying, a fan for keeping cool or, of course, a pellet gun with laser sight for making you the most annoying guy in the office.

You'll have to put the whole thing together and configure it to your specifications, but isn't that part of the fun?

Trossen Robotics via BotJunkie

You Don't Have to Pay for Cable TV

Over 99% of U.S. TV households can receive at least one local sation over the air, while 89% can watch five or more. The picture is perfectly clear thanks to the switch to digital TV completed on June 12, 2009. You'll either see a crisp, beautiful image or no image at all (static is a thing of the past). And the best part? All your favorite programming will still be in HD. LINK

Vampire Weekend's Cover Art 'Contra'-versy: Model Sues Band for $2 Million

While debate regarding unauthorized use of Facebook pics rages on, a photograph from the pre-digital age has gotten one indie group in some serious trouble. Former fashion model Ann Kirsten Kennis is suing buzz band Vampire Weekend for a cool $2 million, claiming a 1983 photo of her was used in their Contra album cover art without her consent. LINK

How Apple got tricked into approving an iPhone tethering app

If you want tether your iPhone to your computer to share its 3G connection, you have to pony up $20 a month to AT&T for the privilege. Unless you're 15-year-old Nick Lee, who snuck an app that could do it for free into the App Store under the guise of a simple flashlight app.

Handy Light, which has since been removed from the store, was a $0.99 app that looked just like a slew of other garbage flashlight apps cluttering up the App Store. It's main functionality appeared to just be changing the screen to different colors.

But underneath? It gave you the ability to easily turn your iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing your laptop or iPad to share the 3G connection without having to pay AT&T a ransom to do so. Awesome.

Unfortunately, Apple was clued into the trick once people started talking about the app online. But for those lucky enough to snag it before then can keep enjoying the free hotspot ability as long as they want.

MacRumors via Gizmodo

Droid X is Here - Commercial

'Food printer' cranks out meals like a Star Trek replicator

You know how on Star Trek Captain Picard is always going up to his replicator and coming away with tea, mug and all? Well, MIT's "Cornucopia" food printer won't create the plate, but it is designed to build you a meal from the ground up to exact specifications.

The conceptual Cornucopia takes a page from 3D printers, which are already very real. Instead of just recreating a model, though, the Cornucopia would be able to tailor the specific ingredients present in a dish, thereby also determining its nutritional value.

It's kind of like what people are already doing with microwavable meals, but now you're cutting out the middleman for weird, knobby doohickeys that squirt out paste. Check out a render of the Cornucopia's nozzles down below. LINK

Inhabitat, via Geekologie

Magic fingers turn virtual worlds into touchable reality

Touch the Invisibles, a system that provides tactile feedback to your fingertips corresponding to what's happening on a touchscreen, essentially ensures that ourholodeck dreams will come true in the near-term future.

Developed by a trio of Japanese researchers, the system employs circular sensors attached to your fingertips that translate the digital actions onscreen into touchable events. Even though this is still early in development, such a system could easily be embedded in gloves, or even a full body suit, and then married to a few other existing technologies to give us the most realistic virtual world experience we've ever had.

Via Junji

Improved gesture system makes Minority Report look prehistoric

Gesture control isn't anything new, but it hasn't found its place like its cousin the touchscreen. A team of scientists at the Fraunhofer technical institute in Germany has developed a system that doesn't need you to wear gloves, and can detect multiple hands.

Motorola Droid solves massive, 7x7x7 Rubik's cube

I can't even complete a regular Rubik's cube, yet here's the Motorola Droid back with another cube-solvin' trick. This time, it's tackling a massive 7x 7x7 monster of a puzzle with the help of David Gilday and his Lego Mindstorms robot.

It looks like there's going to be some room for improvement, as it takes the Droid/Lego robot combo 38 minutes and 53 seconds to complete the Rubik's cube. Check it out in the video below.

Android Guys, via CrunchGear

LEAKED! NEW DROID X AD!!!

Airbus engineers go wild designing gorgeous future plane

Even Airbus admits that its concept plane is "not likely to come together" exactly how it predicts, but oh what a prediction it is: morphing, self cleaning seats; see-through walls; personalized, holographic decorations. Taking in all that and the plane's space-age looks, we think Airbus definitely has a right to call this an "engineer's dream."

Of course, it wouldn't be a futuristic design if it didn't improve the efficiency of air travel and all of that. Airbus thinks that the ecological impact that flying represents will be just as important to tomorrow's consumers as price, so the company see the plane using better materials, a sleeker and more aerodynamic design and razor-thin wings to glide through the air easier. That means it'll use less fuel, which will make it less detrimental to Mother Nature.

That's all great, but how about those personalized holograms eh? And a button to make the cabin transparent so you can see the air around you? That's just crazy. You can read Airbus's entire vision here.

Check out a bonus image of Airbus's concept plane down below.

Airbus, via Inhabitat, via Gizmodo

Smart car tanks show that even the little guys can play tough

Smart cars are great in big cities like here in New York, because they can be squeezed into all kinds of tiny parking spots that other drivers simply ignore. The problem is you're not going to be too intimidating on the road next to a bunch of giant SUVs.

What you need is a way to make your Smart into an alpha dog, or failing that, at least an alpha pup.

Check out what these Smart owners have done to give their cuddly coupes a little more street cred. LINK

Treehugger.com

Amazing simulation program makes particle physics fun again

Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0 - Teaser from Thiago Costa on Vimeo.

Back when I took physics in school, it was all about studying the 'laws' discovered by a bunch of old dead guys, and crunching lots of numbers. If only we had this type of visualization to make things more interesting.

Created by Thiago Costa, the Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0 physics engine takes all of those boring formulas and calculations, and turns them into an amazing rendering that's simply cool to watch.

So far the Costa's program can render reaction videos for high friction granular materials, incompressible fluids, elastic structures, plastic deformations and others, and the numbers of potential applications for this is pretty mind boggling.

Any video game developers watching? LINK

Via Crunchgear

UltraViolet: watch all your media on any device (for real this time)

Imagine that after you buy a movie — either physically in a store or online — you can watch it on any device, in any format. That's the promise of UltraViolet, which will begin testing in the fall. If it delivers, it could be more popular than Hulu.

Virtually every major electronics manufacturer and content provider has dreamed of true"convergence," where all our devices become simple windows to our movies, music, photos and everything else. The device would truly become independent of the content. UltraViolet, which just happens to be backed by virtually every major electronics manufacturer and content provider (disclosure: DVICE's parent, NBC Universal, is one of the members), is the closest thing we've seen to this concept realized. LINK

Salad Spinner Centrifuge: A Cheap, Ingenious Health Care Tool

We already know that we need to eat plenty of leafy greens to stay healthy, but who knew that a salad spinner itself could help save lives?

As we learn from EurekAlert, Rice University undergraduates Lila Kerr and Lauren Theis were presented with an assignment in their Introduction to Bioengineering and World Health class. As Theis explains:

"We were essentially told we need to find a way to diagnose anemia without power, without it being very costly and with a portable device." LINK

OMG! UFO! Or Maybe Not.

Last week, the Web was aflutter over rumors that a UFO had been spotted over Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, China. There was even video that showed, well, something, soaring high in the sky.

The Atlantic reports that Geoffrey Forden, a weapons expert from MIT, has analyzed several of the alleged UFO videos. He has come to the conclusion that a) what people saw in one of the videos wasn't a UFO, but a rocket, and b) the same video wasn't taken anywhere near China. It was shot near Kazakhstan.

CNN explains how "Forden used scientific theories to examine the images of the flying object that he felt were not created with Photoshop." Then, on a blog, Forden wrote: "It seems to me that a DF-21 [missile] launch somewhere near Jiuquan and aimed at a point somewhere in the eastern Gobi desert is the most likely cause of this 'UFO.'" LINK

Solar-powered moped borrows design from the Batmobile

Oriol Guimera and Joan Cinca of Barcelona-based design firm, Guimeraicinca, joined forces to create this "armored" moped.

While the moped is parked, the solar panels charge and protect; when you're ready to head out on the town, just roll back the retractable shell and go. The SunRed may not be the zippiest vehicle on the road, but it can reach about 30mph with a range of 12 miles — and you're pretty much guaranteed to get lots of attention from other motorists.

Now, for the sad news: The SunRed is a concept, so it's not available for us regular folk to take for a spin, but maybe someday…

In the meantime, check out some other pictures of the SunRed below and judge for yourself if Tim Burton should sue the Guimera and Cinca for stealing his design of the Batmobile.

Design Spotter