Porsche EV plans confirmed

Credit: Porsche/Charged EVs

As reported previously in these pages, Porsche has plans to produce an electric vehicle. Details have firmed up a little, in the form of Mission E.

Announced specifications include:

four doors
600 hp (440 kW)
floor-mounted battery pack
range over 500 kilometers (310 miles)

Porsche has developed an 800-volt charger & has demonstrated a wireless charging system.

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/porsche-going-ahead-with-mission-e-ev/

http://www.gizmag.com/porsche-mission-e-production/40786/ / Mission E EV electrically powered Porsche German sports car sportscar manufacturer project called Mission E launching new EV Porsche expansion upgrades Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen plant expanding expand existing engine factory production of electric motors Mission E concept Frankfurt Motor Show four-door car four door car power output 600 hp 440 kW floor-mounted battery pack range over 500 kilometers Porsche 800-volt charger electric vehicle EV demonstrated demonstrate wireless charging system Mission E Dr. Wolfgang Porsche chairman Supervisory Board sports car electric mobility Chairman Executive Board Dr. Oliver Blume solely battery-powered sports cars Porsche sportiest technologically most sophisticated battery lithium ion LiIon charge recharge range /

Riding a motorcycle on water – video – update

Some videos you may have seen of motorcycles appearing to be ridden on water are actually passing through very shallow water, with the tyres rarely leaving the ground. When filmed from the side, there is no way to tell how shallow the water is.

In this video, the motorcycle has a planing surface fitted to provide lift at speed on the water, but it does not appear to have any flotation device. It also uses a paddle rear tyre to create thrust to drive the motorcycle over the surface.

Video is 43 minutes long.



Since posting this item, I recalled that the Mythbusters did something on riding a motorcycle on water. The video is much shorter, but as I recall, & the video appears to show, no hydrofoil used & the tires are conventional knobbies. Check at the 1:30 mark.



Formula Offroad in Iceland. Looks like paddle tyres in use.



Quad bike

/ motorcycle bike motorbike motor bike hydroplane knobby tyre hydroplane hydroplaning plane water dirt bike trail bike scrambler thrust drive lift vertical force weight back more speed ski angle plane planing surface foil hydrofoil shockwave speed velocity Snowdonia Lake force hydraulic lock /

Liquid cooling for Samsung Galaxy S7?

Credit: Fujitsu/Android Police

Liquid cooled phones are not a completely new idea, but the rumour mill is suggesting it for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S7.

Other rumours include:

•      Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip for improved performance – which may explain the liquid cooling references – its predecessor, the Snapdragon 810, had heat problems

•      unchanged 5.1in 2,560x1,440 Super AMOLED screen

•      major camera upgrade

•      microSD card slot – missing from the S6

•      even tougher display glass

•      Android Marshmallow

•      announcement at MWC (22-25 February 2016)

/ Samsung Galaxy S7 release date specifications specs price rumours same design Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 heat could cause problems round up roundup latest rumours Galaxy S7 released release early 2016 Samsung Galaxy S6 Galaxy S5 Samsung completely change materials revamped design more modern look feel upcoming Galaxy S7 very similar design more substantial changes under the hood improvements picture quality performance boost performance Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 820 chip internal heat pipe suppliers new handset apparent overheating problems Snapdragon 810 heat pipes heat dissipation launch dates yearly release schedules launch the Galaxy S7 S7 Edge CES show Las Vegas performance design newer stronger glass panel glass cover Turtle Glass Corning Gorilla Glass top-end smartphones magnesium-based alloy chassis better heat dissipation lighter phone durability aluminium build quality stronger type of glass display 5.1in 2,560x1,440 Super AMOLED screen next-generation galaxy 4K 3,840x2,160 resolution draw more power affect battery life photos and video press-sensitive displays Apple's 3D Touch panels Synaptics' ClearForce technology force-sensitive touch interface processor chipset /

When molten lava meets water

When water meets lava at over 2,050 degrees Farenheit (1,121 Celcius), the water flashes to steam with spectacular & potentially dangerous consequences. Scientists are investigating:



In nature, something similar happens. In Hawaii, lava from the Kilauea volcano reaches the Pacific Ocean after a seven mile (11 km) journey.

/ lava larva magma volcano lava reaches Pacific Ocean Kamokuna seven mile journey Pu'u O'o vent Kilauea Volcano geology geologist flash boil steam superheated steam explosion volcano volcanic nature Hawaii lava Kilauea volcano ocean geology geologist igneous rock basalt /

Smartrope counts your jumps

LEDs embedded in the rope display the jump count in the air in front of you. Rechargable, with a Bluetooth linked app on your smartphone. A choice of different length ropes accommodates users from 4’6″ (137 cm) to 6’7″ (201cm).

Two sets of ball bearings in the handles make swinging the rope silky-smooth.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2015/12/04/smart-rope-makes-jumping-rope-fun-again/#more-190266

Manufacturere’s web site:
http://tangramfactory.com/home/htm/pc_eng.htm / Tangram jumping rope jump rope skip skipping fun again Smart Rope makes Smart Rope so awesome 23 embedded LEDs rope display in mid-air number of jumps future software updates select modes app allow rope display calories burned interval training data magnetic sensors accurately detects completion each revolution rope handles contain two sets ball bearings ensure rope swings smoothly two hours of charging micro-USB cable 36 hours of active use over a month’s of daily hour-long workouts handles chrome gold black colors colours add soft grips silicone five colors blue green pink orange neutral Smart Rope used independently without being connected device blutooth connection device smartphone smart phone Bluetooth ready works with Smart Gym app iOS Android devices app provides number jumps completed calories burned does not sense heart rate calories burned approximate exercise duration show your data week month year rope not adjustable five lengths available accommodate users Smart Rope available Tangram $89.99 pouch exercise cardio /

Metadata retention – what is it & is it important?

Around the world, governments are planning, or have already begun, collecting data about their citizens’ use of mobile communications & the Internet. In most cases, they do not plan to capture the content of phone calls, emails or web pages: merely metadata. E.g. calls who, where from, who sends emails to whom, addresses of web pages visited. This metadata will be available to authorities without a warrant.

“It’s only metadata,” is commonly heard.

This raises two questions:

1.    If metadata is of no importance, why do authorities wish to collect it?

2.    Just what information can be gleaned from metadata?

In Australia, metadata collection & retention for two years, became compulsory on 13 October 2015. An employee of the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) acquired a copy of his metadata from his mobile carrier & made it available to the public to see what they could find out about him. This is what they found:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-16/metadata-retention-privacy-phone-will-ockenden/6694152

What is metadata, & is it important?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/metadata-data-retention-what-is-it/6324962 / your phone tracks your every move digital age how much of your life is actually private ABC reporter Will Ockenden access metadata data looks like many of our actions leave behind electronic footprint collects data critical questions modern society Australia's new data retention laws phone internet companies save information two years every time you call someone where you call them from which cell tower your phone pings connects internet what data might reveal ABC reporter Will Ockenden surveillance selfie access metadata individual Australian's metadata tracking device critics Australia's data retention law mass surveillance metadata track where people go Attorney-General Department map shows every time phone communicated cell mobile tower outgoing call text message internet connection markers locations cell towers phone contacted direction of travel route time of connections daily routine mandatory data retention Federal Government security agencies nothing to worry about metadata content of communications Prime Minister Tony Abbott data system generates metadata dataset contained year outgoing call SMS records six months data sessions records kept phone connected internet cellular mobile network simple data request 13,000 individual records 1,500 outgoing phone calls SMS 11,200 records data sessions time date phone connected mobile network cell tower connected to smartphone Will carrying tracking device logged roughly where he was every 20 minutes Government departments police security agencies all the data more without the need for a warrant pattern recognition follow daily movements collate visualise data patterns heatmaps phone communicated different cell towers patterns ping pings journeys filter heatmaps patterns emerge time slices intimate portrait aspects life tools explore metadata conclusions where you live how gets to and from work when he leaves town where he goes social network metadata show information about an individual connections to other people organisations major main most important top 10 contacts people communicates with most often contact how and when communicated with them preserve their privacy relationships concealed contacts' identities patterns data showed scarily accurate provided analysis metadata many insights about life revealed data dataset mobile cell provider Telstra who he called texted dataset phone numbers how long each phone call lasted time of the communication location of the cell tower contacted outgoing calls were initiated location cell tower contacted SMS Internet connections data kept by telcos Internet providers data retention laws not included in the dataset details of incoming phone calls time date size recipients emails sent ISP's email service webmail services Gmail Yahoo Hotmail file type size attachments sent received emails using ISP's email service internet usage how much bandwidth internet service provides /

Which is Nerdier: Star Wars or Star Trek?

It’s a vexed question which exercises serious minds everywhere. For a definitive answer, CollegeHumor gathered together two of the most central figures for a debate:



More at: www.collegehumor.com / Star Trek Star Wars Luke Skywalker Dart Vader Obi-Wan Kenobi Ben Kenobi fictional character Star Wars universe played by Alec Guinness Ewan McGregor Wookiee Wookie Star Wars Wookieepedia Chewbacca Chewie Death Star C-3P0 Padme Amidala Qui-Gon Jinn Liam Neeson Anakin Anakin Skywalker Lando Calrissian Jawa Jabba The Hutt Princess Leia Organa Carrie Frances Fisher Stormtrooper Yoda R2-D2 Han Solo Harrison Ford Jedi Captain James Tiberius Kirk Jim Commander Data Captain Jean-Luc Picard Enterprise Mr Spock George Takei Mr Sulu Hikaru Sulu Leonard McCoy Montgomery Scott Scotty Nyota Uhura Pavel Chekov Number One William Riker Deanna Troi Beverly Crusher Geordi La Forge Worf Klingon Tasha Yar Wesley Crusher Guinan Whoopi Goldberg /