Flat-packed tripod

Manfrotto is a well-known brand among camera enthusiasts for its sturdy (and expensive) tripods. That's not to say it doesn't have anything for the casual user. Here's one of its cheapest and smallest models, the Modo Pocket. When folded, it can be easily tucked away. When you need a stable surface for that difficult flash-free shot in low light, whip this baby out, unfold it, and you have an instant tripod. Well, quadpod, if you want to be anal about it.

There are other cheap mini tripods around which will cost significantly less than this one which goes for US$30. But hey, it's a Manfrotto, a brand that gives you bragging rights immediately. The company has distributors almost everywhere in the world, so check with your local camera store if the Modo Pocket is available in your country.

Via Red Ferret Journal

Box your aggression with this USB Boxer

Every now and then, everyone experiences the need to punch that annoying someone in the face. But being peace-loving folk at CNET Asia, we'd suggesting mentally chanting a few "Ooomms" and keeping in mind that whoever it is probably isn't worth the energy.

There is a second option. This one lets you work out all that aggression on your keyboard, which translates into some real action punches thrown by an interactive USB boxer at a speed ball. There're even realistic boxing ring sounds and crowd support, though we doubt there're swear words. In fact, you'll probably be so caught up in the different game modes, you won't even remember what you were mad at in the first place. Best of all, for US$53.98, this anger management therapy won't cost you a law suit.

Honda looking at engine heat to power hybrids

The batteries in hybrid cars now get recharged slightly whenever the driver taps the brakes. If research at Honda pans out, heat from the engines could do the same thing.

The Japanese auto giant has released a paper detailing how a Rankine cycle co-generation unit could help recharge the battery in a hybrid and thereby increase gas mileage, according to Green Car Congress. Honda put the Rankine unit in a test car (a Honda Stream) and found that the unit generated more electricity than regenerative braking. However, the unit isn't very efficient so more work will be required before Honda can put one of these in cars.

Waste heat, according to some, is one of the untapped sources of power in the world. Some have proposed harnessing the waste heat from nuclear plants to run water purification systems or produce hydrogen.

The tough part is that it's not easy. Paul Marcoux, vice president of Green Engineering at Cisco Systems, was recently asked if computer companies could harvest heat from processors and hard drives and turn that into power. Probably not, he said. The temperature generally doesn't get hot enough.

In a Rankine unit, a water pump keeps water under high pressure. Heat from the gas engine in a hybrid is then captured, compressed, and used to make steam out of the water. The steam then turns a generator to make electricity, which charges the battery that runs the electric motor.

Hybrids have two motors: One gas, one electric. In conventional hybrids, the electric motor powers the car around town while the gas motor does more of the work on the freeway. General Motors and Tesla Motors are building cars in which the gas motor doesn't drive the car at all, but runs a generator which charges the battery for the electric motor. Conceivably, a Rankine system could be used in either but would probably work better in a conventional hybrid because the gas engine is larger.

Right now, Honda's Rankine unit is only about 13 percent efficient.

Honda is also trying to bring efficient, cleaner, high-mileage diesels to the US.

Via CNET News.com

It's the hydrogen-powered phone

Oh, the humanity!

Fuel cell maker Angstrom Power and cell phone maker Motorola have teamed up to create a prototype mobile phone that runs on a hydrogen fuel cell. Hydrogen is produced--by cracking water molecules--with a desktop fueling station and then inserted into a metal hydride storage container on the phone, says Aron Levitz, manager of business development for Angstrom. When the hydrogen molecules pass through a membrane in the fuel cell, electrons are stripped away and get diverted to run the phone.

The two companies are trotting the phone to various tradeshows. Startup Angstrom has received investments from of Chrysalix Ventures.

A number of companies have been working on miniature fuel cells for portable electronics for a while, but nearly all of them run on methanol. Toshiba, for instance, last year at the Ceatec electronics show in Japan showed off a methanol fuel-cell powered portable TV. Using hydrogen has its advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, you have to harvest the hydrogen yourself. With methanol fuel cells, you just pour in the methanol.


Read more »

HP UMPC coming this spring?

Over a seafood dinner with HP management last Friday, the PC maker offered more than just aorta-clogging cuisine. In an informal chit-chat session, we learned that HP is readying its first UMPC which may hit the market in late spring.

Spec-wise, it disclosed... absolutely nothing. But digging deeper between the lines, we suspect the company's maiden voyage into this niche segment is likely to be competitively priced, much like the ASUS Eee PC. In fact, according to one HP staff, "you won't even need to consider this purchase. You'll buy it like a handphone without a thought". At this price range, we reckon it is unlikely to be a convertible tablet PC like the LifeBook U1010. Claiming that its UMPC will address several issues plaguing the current crop of pocketable portables, we were told that one of the key areas of improvement will be in battery life, though again no specific numbers were mentioned.

HP staffers also mentioned that this product has great potential as a lifestyle accessory, catering to professionals as well as youths. Again, we read between the lines that it is likely to be exceptionally portable and no larger than 10 inches. In the personalization department, the Palo Alto company mentioned laptop skins, so it may be possible that HP may offer custom skins for its first UMPC.

The only thing for certain is that HP is gearing for an official launch within the next few months. So for those of you contemplating a UMPC, you may want to wait just a little longer.

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