When you name a custom built vehicle Eleanor, it better be good. It better be really good. But in fairness, the machine concocted by MIT's Solar Electric Vehicle Team is actually one of the more stellar creations we've seen on wheels. The newest iteration is a touch taller than prior versions and should be more comfortable to operate. Additionally, designers managed to increase the frontal area by 30 percent, all while keeping the drag area exactly the same. The juice comes from six square meters of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, and reportedly, the car can run all day long (providing the sun shines brightly the entire time) at a steady speed of 55 miles per hour. Eleanor will be competing later this year in the World Solar Challenge in Australia, and in preparation, the team is hoping to drive it across America this summer. So yeah, if you've ever wanted a summer to try hitchhiking, this would be it.

[Via Wired]

Filed under: Storage

MIT team develops solar car, bodly calls it Eleanor originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We'll just go ahead and warn you -- don't even think of giving the read link any attention if you're both a) a Lego freak and b) strapped for cash. Otherwise, you'll definitely be $169.99 further away from paying the light bill next month, as the limited edition Mindstorms Black NXT Brick is simply a must-have item for even amateur collectors. The device, which was created to celebrate ten years of Mindstorms, boasts four input ports, a trio of output ports for motors, a large dot-matrix display, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, a 32-bit microprocessor and a digital wire interface for third-party developments. We'd get in line now if you want to be assured of a piece come March 3rd, but that's totally your call.

[Via GoRobotics]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Limited edition Lego Mindstorms NXT brings back a decade of memories originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that we haven't seen cooking robots before, but there's just something distinctly awesome about one that whips up a sandwich. Particularly one that kvetches first, and then gives in and makes a sandwich. Bre Pettis' Sudo robot isn't exactly sophisticated -- anything more than a simple grilled cheese is asking a bit much -- but even that should be plenty for the average college student. Check the read link to see it in action, and don't be surprised to see Subway pick this up and tweak it for use with multiple toppings and condiments.

[Via Digg]

Filed under: Robots

Sudo robot begrudgingly makes sandwiches on command originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not which you haven’t seen in progress robots before, though there’s only something clearly overwhelming about the single which whips up the sandwich. Particularly the single which kvetches initial, as well as then gives in as well as creates the sandwich. Bre Pettis’ Sudo drudge isn’t just worldly — anything some-more than the elementary grilled cheese is asking the bit most — though even which should be copiousness for the normal college tyro. Check the review couple to see it in movement, as well as do not be astounded to see Subway collect this up as well as tweak it for make make use of of with mixed toppings as well as condiments.

[ Around Digg]

Filed under: Robots

Sudo drudge begrudgingly creates sandwiches upon command creatively appeared upon Engadget upon Sat, twenty-eight February 2009 20:21:00 EST. Please see the terms for make make use of of of feeds.

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Well, here's a novel concept. Rather than bothering with turning up the volume on your ancient television, just crank up the volume on this here remote. Asahi Electric's block-shaped remote is about as unergonomic as it gets, and it sure won't bring along any advanced functionality, but we suppose that's sort of the point. The 30mm speaker connects to a wireless transceiver in order to blast out the audio, and while most everything else is lost in translation, do you really need to understand any more?

[Via OhGizmo]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Curious ELPA remote sports built-in speaker originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, your PC sucks. That video card you "borrowed" from your brother two years ago makes an exasperated sigh every time you fire up The Sims 2, and you're pretty sure your power supply is one Cheeto crumb away from giving up the ghost. Not this thing, however. Cooler Master has built an utterly ridiculous setup, with five separate quad-core computers running simultaneously under one roof, off of one power supply. The whole thing, which Cooler Master dubbs the 53GHz, is basically a showcase for various Cooler Master components, and will be displayed at CeBIT in Germany next week. Personal grid computing here we come? Video is after the break.

[Via Make]

Continue reading Cooler Master's 5-CPU monstrosity has your craptop cowering in a corner

Filed under: Desktops

Cooler Master's 5-CPU monstrosity has your craptop cowering in a corner originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We powered up ye olde NAM 5800 XpressMusic today, and the weirdest thing happened: it worked on 3G. This comes after a day of frustration trying to get it hooked up to UMTS yesterday -- a sentiment echoed by several others who took the plunge. The only theory we can come up with is that we were in Chicago yesterday at the Nokia flagship store -- a place where many of the "defective" units were sold -- and today we're elsewhere, so it's conceivable that there's an issue with AT&T's 3G network in Chicago. We've noticed an uptick in 3G loss on other devices in Chicago the past few days, so it's possible that the 5800 is just particularly sensitive to crappy networks; then again, there seem to be others in New York that have the same issue, so it's anybody's guess. All we know for sure is that we're showing a big, fat "3.5G" logo in the upper left corner of our unit at the moment -- and we're going to cross our fingers that it stays that way. We have a request out to Nokia for official comment on the issue, and we'll let you know as soon as we have more.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Our Nokia 5800 magically starts working on 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Amazon's Gold Box sale features Nokia E71 for $289, shipped originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

ASUS' P565 superphone canned due to Garmin partnership? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First off, it's rather amazing that someone in a developed nation is still using the Nokia 1600 as their primary handset. Secondly, it's even more astounding that said handset lasted a week in the belly of a cod and could still make calls after it was rescued. In a just-barely-believable story hosted up at The Sun, a businessman was both shocked and confused when his presumably sunk cellphone began ringing his lady friend around five days after he dropped it at sea. As the tale goes, a 25 pound cod managed to swallow the thing, and a pair of fishermen discovered it upon gutting their catch. The best part? The bloke who it was returned to is still using it, despite the fact that it literally reeks of rotten fish. Who knows -- maybe he suffers from ichthyomania.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish's belly, still makes smelly calls originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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