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     Volume 5 Issue 87 | March 24, 2006 |


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Sci-tech

3D Pool
If conventional billiards is too easy for your taste, perhaps you should turn pro. Or if that doesn't interest you, try playing in three dimensions. Zocker Toys 3D Pool makes the game a little more interesting by turning the play surface into three surfaces, forcing players to consider a far greater number of variables before each shot. It sort of reminds us of that multi-level chess set from Star Trek.

Mio DigiStruts Its Stuff
This week at Cebit, Taiwanese GPS/PDA maker Mio has launched a whole new line of navi-gadgets in its DigiWalker line, including this GPS smart phone, the Mio A701. Running Windows Mobile 5.0, the A701 sports a zippin' 520MHz Intel processor, carries up to 2GB of extra storage via its SD card slot, and includes a 1.3-megapixel camera. The A701 looks pretty slick for such a beefy PDA, and its a significant design departure from the company's more stoic products of years gone by. No pricing or availability information is available for this phone yet, but we'll be sure to revisit it soon.

Put On Your Dancing Shoes
If you're in the market for a new pair of boogie shoes, look no further than the Dada Code M. With a MP3 player built in, these sneakers give a whole new meaning to the phrase "fancy footwork." You transfer tunes to the shoes via a USB port, and they hold up to 100 songs. A full charge of the integrated battery will give you up to six hours of playback. Just push the buttons on the tongue to control your tracks and you'll be pumping the jams out of the speakers on the sides of these $199 shoes. Sorry, there's no display screen.

Dimming Mirrors a Bright Idea
The 2006 Infiniti QX56 SUV includes rear view mirrors that automatically darken when the car is hit from the rear by headlight glare. The rear and side view mirrors use technology from Gentex that optimises the mirror for the driver's vision. Considering that we've had photo gray sunglasses for decades, it's about time auto manufacturers started including the technology. The QX56 also has a wireless control system from Johnson Controls that enables drivers to control their garage doors, gates or home security systems.

Wolves might be cut from endangered list
A federal official released details of a plan to remove gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from federal Endangered Species protection. U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the plan would return the species' management to the Department of Natural Resources, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The gray wolf has been on the protected list since 1974, when only an estimated 700 remained in Minnesota only. Minnesota currently has an estimated 3,000 gray wolves, with another 800 to 900 in Wisconsin and Michigan. Public hearings on the proposal will be held in each of the three states, with a final decision on the proposal expected within the next year.

New spray bottle invented
Three U.S. men have developed a spray bottle that they say actually sprays out every drop of liquid. The problem goes back to the failed, weighted dip-tube innovation said Kevin Cotter. Cotter, Dave Youngberg and Kevin Ostrom have developed a video and posted it on their Web site myspace.com/spraywell to collect opinions from consumers. Everyone we've shown the prototype to has asked for a bottle said Cotter. Hopefully, we can get someone at SC Johnson or Proctor & Gamble to listen to the people.

 

Compiled by IMRAN H. KHAN

 

Source: Wired and Webindia123

 

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