Horizon highlights – CES edition
By Chris Gaylord | 01.09.09
Free-range electrons: Wireless electricity is here (seriously)
“We both shift our gaze to an unplugged Toshiba television set sitting five feet away on a folding table. He’s got to be kidding: There is no power cord attached to it. It’s off. Dark. Silent. ‘You ready?’ he asks. If Soljacic is correct – if his free-range electrons can power up this untethered TV from across a room – he will have performed a feat of physics so subtle and so profound it could change the world. It could also make him a billionaire. I hold my breath and cover my crotch. Soljacic flips the switch.” [via Fast Company]
CES: Video projector comes to your cellphone
“Sure you can watch videos on some cellphones, but the picture is so tiny. Now comes a solution. At CES, Samsung and Texas Instruments debuted the first cellphone with a tiny video projector hidden inside that can shine whatever is on the screen onto a wall, the back of a notebook or even a friend’s shirt.” [via LATimes]
Obama’s wheels: Secret Service to unveil new presidential limo
“As a candidate, Barack Obama promoted hybrid cars. As president, he’ll be handed the keys to one. Sort of. Shortly after taking the oath of office, Obama will climb into the Mother of All Hybrids – part car, part truck and, from the looks of it, part tank.” [via CNN]
Facebook nation: New year, 150 million Facebook users
“Nearly half of those 150 million members, Zuckerberg wrote, use Facebook every day. Most of the site’s new members now come from outside the United States. ‘This includes people in every continent – even Antarctica,’ the post read. ‘If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia, and Nigeria.’ ” [via The Social]
Jalopy jungle: Car parts made from coconuts
“A team at Baylor University there has made trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers using fibers from the outer husks of coconuts, replacing the synthetic polyester fibers typically used in composite materials.” [via LiveScience]
MacWorld: Apple without its core
“Schiller seems as if he’d be a natural as CEO: He’s charismatic, he has command of every product detail, and he’s also proved able to articulate the company’s bigger-picture goals. Yet watching him give a State of the Apple address was like puzzling over a Zune after spending years with an iPod – all the same basic functions are there, but the experience is somehow naggingly dull and awkward.” [via Slate]
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