Would you like a hand?

Credit: Suck/The Gadgeteer

Looks like a bit of fun: a Mickey's hand stylus on your pencil, pen or marker. Another piece of good news is that when I looked at the Suck web site, they were priced at £UK5 ($US8.20, $A9.16), rather than the $US35 indicated in the linked article.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/02/06/not-to-put-too-fine-a-point-on-it/ / styli stylus Suck UK company name design designed fine line fine-line, precision drawing Touch Point Stylus Pencil Topper Mickey Mouse Mouse’s hand slide fit slides end practically stick like stick-like object pen pencil marker stylus capacitive screen capacitive-screen smart phone smartphone tablet Mickey Mouse phone smart phone smartphone tablet /

Toyota prepares solid state batteries for the 2020s

Lithium ion batteries are state-of-the-art for electric vehicles. Energy density is around 300 Watt hours (Wh) per litre. At this density, cramming enough energy into a vehicle creates design problems.

Toyota claims an energy density of 400 Wh per litre for its existing solid-state batteries. By 2025, they predict energy density between 600 & 700 Wh.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140127/OEM06/301279980/toyota-preps-solid-state-batteries-for-20s / solid state Tokyo Toyota Motor Corp. corporation major advances develop development developing smaller more powerful solid-state solid state batteries battery next generation next-generation power pack power-pack succeed lithium ion battery technology litium-ion LiIon twice the energy density drive power electric vehicles more than 300 miles single charge enter production early 2020s top engineers company 20s manage managed five fold fivefold increase power output experiment experimental liter solid-state managing Soichiro Okudaira conference current coin-sized cell lab laboratory stage Toyota technology cars early 2020s Hideki Iba general manager Japanese carmaker's battery research division developments at Automotive World annual engineering engineer technical conference Tokyo more compact higher power output energy density liquid electrolyte nickel-metal hydride lithium ion batteries solid ceramic polymer electrolyte more compact stable molded more flexible shapes better packaging electric vehicle EV hybrid vehicle vehicles increase increased performance EV-mode driving lithium air batteries power output lithium cathode react interacts with oxygen less material lighter packaging /