Technology News

From: Load Controller [mailto:loadcontroller@gmail.com]
Japan's space agency planning space-based solar power arrays

We've seen some pretty out there solar installations, but JAXA, the Japanese space agency, is about to get really far out with its latest project: a space-based solar array that beams power back to Earth. The agency is set to begin testing on the microwave power transmission system on February 20th, with an attempt to beam enough power over the 2.4GHz band to power a household heater at 50 meters (164 feet). That's certainly not the sort of large-scale sci-if power system we were hoping for, but fret not -- if the tests are successful, JAXA's plan is to eventually launch a constellation of solar satellites, each beaming power to a 1.8-mile wide receiving station that'll produce 1 gigawatt of electricity and power 500,000 homes.

Motorola rolls out Wave 2-ready WiMAX PC Card and desktop unit

Motorola's already made some moves in advance of the big Mobile World Congress going down in Barcelona next week, but it looks like the company still has plenty more up its sleeve, with it now announcing a new Wave 2-ready WiMAX PC Card, along with a desktop unit for those less concerned with mobility. Likely of primary interest to most, the PCCw 200 PC card supports both 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz to keep you connected 'round the globe, and is of course fully compliant with the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard. The desktop-bound CPEi 750 (pictured after the break), on the other hand, is available in your choice of 2.5GHz or 3.5GHz configurations, and includes two VoIP/ATA ports to accommodate your various devices. No word on a price for either one just yet, but you can expect the PC card to hit sometime in the second quarter of this year, with the desktop unit slated for "mid-2008."

Design makes for space saving printer

One reason that LCD monitors have become so hugely popular is that an office always sets a premium on real desk top space. Any item that can reduce the hardware clutter from a cubicle desk will be embraced by the business world. Which is why when a design comes out to minimize the desktop footprint of a printer, it’s bound to turn heads. It's another great find from our friends at Yanko and it’s called The Hanging Printer.

The basic idea is that the business end (the print head and paper feeder) of the printer takes up the space it needs on the edge of a desk while the main guts of the device hang off and below the edge. This means that paper doesn’t need to take up space above the rim, but can be fed into the printer head area through an intricate arrangement of wheels and belts. The result is cool, form fitting, and occupying a small amount of deskspace. And those who worry about it falling off can make note of the cleats underneath that help the printer to grip around the edge to latch it tightly to the desk. Two USB ports make for direct connect to your PC (although a wireless option would truly make it clutter free) and an embedded LCD to indicates printing status and error messages.

No word on price or availability, but for the space saving capability of this design, it’s worth it’s weight in corporate gold.

Utilize the power of the sun for extra talk time

These days people seem to be taking more notice of the amount of energy their gadgets use. I’m not talking about how long their batteries last, but rather they are being more conscious about their impact on the environment. The easiest “green” power source that can be incorporated into many gadgets is from our sun. I’ve seen few practical solar designs for recharging phones, however, this latest product from Strap-Ya may be something worth looking into.

CES: Nokia Eco Sensor Concept

While the solar panel won’t directly charge your cell phone, it juices up a small battery booster that can give your phone up to 25 minutes of extra life. You’ll need to soak up between 6-10 hours of fair weather rays for a full charge, but its small design makes for a perfect keychain which you can let hang out of your pocket.

If you know you’re going to need the spare power, but don’t have 6-10 hours to sit in the sun, you can hook it up to an AC adapter for 3 hours. Looks like it will be out in Japan by February 9th.

Everything this year seems to be all about being “Eco-friendly” and “green”. Well, in the mobile electronics industry, this trend is nothing new.

Nokia had announced their Eco Sensor Concept phone a while back, and at this year’s CES, they have a non-working prototype on display. From the official Website:

The concept consists of two parts – a wearable sensor unit which can sense and analyze your environment, health, and local weather conditions, and a dedicated mobile phone.

The sensor unit will be worn on a wrist or neck strap made from solar cells that provide power to the sensors. NFC (near field communication) technology will relay information by touch from the sensors to the phone or to or to other devices that support NFC technology.

Both the phone and the sensor unit will be as compact as possible to minimize material use, and those materials used in the design will be renewable and/or reclaimed. Technologies used inside the phone and sensor unit will also help save energy.

Get a hi-tech rearview mirror for your bike

I used to do a lot of biking when I was younger. I grew up in a relatively small town, and it was just as easy to get around on your bike as in your car. So as long as it was warm, I would save the gas and pedal my way around the city. The only incident that I ever had was when I was riding on the outskirts of town and someone drove up behind me and became impatient with my speed and proceeded to run me off the road. I ended up face-down in a culvert, which is no fun at all. Had I been able to see behind me properly, that might not have turned out so bad. Those boring old rearview mirrors never seem to work very well, however, I would have taken this gadget in a heartbeat.

The Cervellum Bike Digital Rearview Mirror features a cam and a small screen that shows you everything directly behind you. What’s really cool is that when it hits production (it’s only a prototype for now) it will have options such as GPS and a heart rate monitor. All that for around $200, not too shabby.