Today Boeing has announced the first hydrogen-powered manned flight in aviation history. The aircraft climbed to 3,300 feet over Madrid, Spain, using only electricity and probably several bottles of yummylicious Ribera del Duero wine and Iberian Pata Negra ham rations. The aeroplane then cruised for 20 minutes at 100kph using only hydrogen cells. The bad news, however, is that this technology may never reach large passenger airplanes. At least, not as a main source of power:
If you were in the least bit unsure of why Australia needed an R18+ Rating for games (and yes, we’re talking to you South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson), ScreenPlay is reporting that GTA IV has been modified to obtain a MA15+ rating in Australia.
Opposition to the rating will probably see this as a good thing. Even though Rockstar haven’t made it clear exactly what elements were removed from the game, they’ll be claiming that it will certainly be the most sexual / violent aspects, and they’d probably be right.
The problem is that GTA is a violent game, and if the only thing they took out was, let’s say, the ability to murder prostitutes after they service you, there’s still a myriad of other violent possibilities for players to choose from.
Griffin’s new ClearBoost case promises protection and a cellular signal boost for the iPhone, but does it deliver on those promises? Well, that would depend on who you believe. iLounge claims that the signal boost works, but not under the weakest signal conditions. Crunchgear, on the other hand, called the signal booster “one of the greatest scams perpetrated on mankind since the Kennedy assassination.” Hmm…strong words. However, both agreed that the case itself was decent, so at least you have that for your US$30. As for the question about who to believe, Giz will be posting a tiebreaker review soon. [iLounge and Crunchgear]
So it’s no surprise that Panny have announced the DMC-FX520 compact snapper with touchscreen technology. As a camera, the specs are good: 10.1 megapixels, 5x optical zoom, 25mm mega wide-angle Leica DC lens, 720p video mode at 30 fps, and Panny’s new Venus IV engine to process the pics.
Originally set to get the axe at the end of June, XP Home got a call from the brass at Microsoft, delaying its demise for at least another 2-3 years. Not surprisingly, the reason was the increasing popularity of budget laptops like the Asus Eee PC and Intel’s Classmate PC. Microsoft has vowed to keep XP on the market until one year after the next version of Windows is released, so it is conceivable that it could live on beyond 2011. [AP via Ars Technica]
Although this 500GB Datto NAS backup seems to be targeted towards small businesses, most of us on Giz have enough data lying around our computers for it to be worthwhile to us as well. The Datto comes in two models, 100 and 500GB, and both automatically back up whatever data’s on it to the Datto servers in case your house gets destroyed by Godzilla and the Cloverfield monster playing footsies.
According to the designers at Transparent House, the idea behind the Perspecktiva lamp was ” to integrate an iconic object into modern day life while maintaining the qualities of art and function.” In this case the “iconic object” was a vintage camera inspired by the classic Leica design. The result is a work of art that should appeal to just about anyone—especially Hollywood hopefuls that dream that they too will one day have to file a restraining order against a paparazzo. Too bad it is only a concept at this point. Video after the break.
You wouldn’t necessarily think that the humble water jug would be in need of reinvention – it’s been working pretty well for centuries. But that didn’t stop the Australian crew at Vert Design – those crazy cats behind the MC Mallet – from having a pretty good attempt at it.
In their own words: Cup & Jug from Vert design is an exploration of fluidity, interaction and function. It’s smooth, organic form has a lightness and elegance that addresses notions of aesthetic appeal. It is a unique design that is stylish, functional and natural to use.Cup & Jug was designed with seamless user interaction in mind. A simple rotation of the wrist and hand results in a natural pouring action, unlike other conventional jugs. The spout works as air outlet when filling the body with liquid and provides a smooth pouring function when in use.
It looks awesome, and is available in a range of colours. But anybody willing to drop 500 big ones on a water jug must be earning too much…
Intel is currently hard at work on its new Anti-Theft Technology (ATT), a relatively vague new project that would help prevent theft by making a computer inoperable without the owners permission. It differs from disc encryption methods of protection by rendering the computer inoperable even if the drive has been swapped out. Intel’s currently working with a number of other companies on the project, but don’t expect to see the fruits of their labour until the fourth quarter of this year or later. [ArsTechnica]
The official announcement won’t be until next Monday, but the N-Gage blog just let everyone know that their mobile phone gaming platform went live today. If you’ve got an N81, N81 8GB, N82, N95 or N95 8GB, you can go download and install the service now (available on both Mac and PC). If you’ve got an N73, N93i and N93, you’ll have to wait a bit for support. Here’s our hands-on of it at Mobile World Congress. In short, it’s like Xbox Live for your phone. [N-Gage Download]
