What’s even better than a Wall-E robot toy made by WowWee? A Wall-E robot toy made by the animatronic people at Disney. This Wall-E robot is supposed to roam around Disneyland/Disney World entertaining patrons, but got spotted on the streets of LA panhandling and glad-handing for cash. You know who else can say their name? Timmy from South Park. Wall-E! [Slashfilm]
While OLPC tries to wise up to the real demands of the market and build a cheap laptop that people actually want — which means Windows XP for most — Walter Bender, OLPC’s former president of software and content for the project is taking his open source Linux-based Sugar OS and has started up a new non-profit to aid its development. Bender still has the vision of an open source learning OS, and plans to give Sugar full support for other low-cost platforms like the Eee PC. Ooh, burn.
I’m not sure what show this video is from, but it is funny—and that dude’s skills with a digging machine are impressive to say the least. It’s not really NSFW because in the end she is no where near fully undressed, but you might want to take caution when viewing the video after the break just in case.
GM lugged 17 environmentally friendly cars to New York—fittingly, to Tavern on the Green. The rain-soaked occasion was a display of Challenge X contenders, nearly identical 2005 Chevy Equinoxes modded by teams from schools across the US and Canada to be environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and/or low in emissions. University of Waterloo’s hydrogen powered, zero-emissions, electric SUV earned the most awe from the crowd for its ambitious yet completely safe, student-built fuel-cell power plant.
This vehicle from University of Waterloo in Canada uses a 400kg fuel cell to turn on-board hydrogen and airborne oxygen into energy that powers two 67-kW electric motors. If the SUV demands more power, it has a backup battery that is charged in part by a regenerative brake, like on today’s hybrids.
They actually let me drive the thing. Here’s what I thought: The ride is extremely smooth. Since the SUV doesn’t have an engine, it’s relatively quiet, especially when accelerating. Most of the noise comes from the oxygen intake system, but it only comes in quick bursts. The brakes are sensitive, but part of the reason for that is to use the kinetic energy harvested by braking for recharging the battery. A touchscreen computer in the center displays all the diagnostics, and shows where the vehicle is getting its power.
The truck holds about 4kg of hydrogen packed at 5000psi, which gives it the equivalent of ~25mpg. It is extremely clean, as the only emission given off by the vehicle is a bit of water, a byproduct of the fuel cell process. It tops out around 65mph, but that can be improved in the future. The main problem with the fuel cell SUV is the lack of places to fill up the tank. Hydrogen fueling stations are a long way from the mainstream, and the team said there are only two locations where they can reload on the way to Washington, DC, their final destination on this tour. Hopefully this will change soon, because a clean, abundantly available fuel source seems like a pretty good option to me. [Challenge X]
I say “guaranteed” date disasters, but that may be a little too strong a word. After all, it is possible to find a cool chick that can handle your geeky obsessions—but the likelihood of that happening is remote at best. So, if you have a date this weekend, it is probably in your best interest to hide gadgets that could be viewed negatively by women—gadgets like those found after the break.
If the Clapper is bad, a Star Trek Voice Activated Light Dimmer is liable to have her hospitalized for tearing a muscle in a fit of laughter. This geeky gem plugs into any standard wall outlet and can be illuminated in three brightness levels using simple voice commands—which will be confirmed by the voice of Majel Roddenberry herself. It also doubles as a night light—and we all know how much women love men who are afraid of the dark. Available for $69.99. [Kleargear]
Creepy binoculars that make you seem like a pedophile are a definite no-no. So steer clear of these plushes with built-in binoculars. [Global Sources via Link]
I hate to break it to you guys, but there probably isn’t a woman out there that would be interested in having sex with the Dr. Who Dalek, Optimus Prime, or the Dalek Sec Hybrid. So get those voice-changing helmets out of sight. Priced at $79.99, $34.99 and $64.99 respectively. [Dalek and Optimus Prime and Dalek Sec Hybrid]
As impressive as your collection of Star Wars figures, video games, and squirt guns might be, many women will be turned off by a hobby that requires a significant financial investment—not to mention a dedicated wing of your home.
Religious fanatics are just plain creepy—so avoid over-the-top imagery like this Miracle Eyes Jesus plaque. If a woman sees a statue of Jesus with eyes that follow you around the room, she is going to think that you are in some sort of applesauce eating, Kool-Aid drinking cult. Besides, “Jesus didn’t come to Earth to give us the willies.” Available for $8.75. [Merch-Bot]
When a woman enters your bathroom for the first time, she is going to poke around in there. We all do it. So, make sure that anything incriminating is disposed of properly. This is especially true if you happen to own one of these Turd Twisters. Basically, it is a device similar to those old Play-Doh machines that transform the dough into various shapes—only, instead of Play-Doh you are using your own feces. In all seriousness though, if you do use one of these, do the world a favor and stop dating altogether (no need to breed!). Available for $14.89. [Prank Place via Link]
Sure a toolbox is functional, but it lacks aesthetics. My suggestion: paint flames on the side and add some ground effects lighting from Snap-On. The AC-powered lights come in singles or dual packs in blue, red and green colors—and they can be attached to any number of surfaces using magnetic clamps. Unfortunately, the Snap-on site is a little wonky with regard to pricing on these things, but we do know that the dual packs will set you back about $90 (which seems to be the same price for a single green). Way overpriced if you ask me, but that is what you get when you buy a big name brand. [Snap-On via Toolmonger]
After watching Honda’s Asimo conduct the Detroit Symphony, Toyota’s distressed team of robots hopped a box car with a jug of wine and wound up leaning in and kicking out a clear harmonic cry to some corporate goons in Japan. The band consists of a couple repurposed DJ Robots and new Partner Robots. While laudable, there’s not enough ecstasy for us, not enough life, joy, kicks, darkness, music… not enough night. Video after the break, Jack.
3M has been touting its mini-projectors for some time now (along with many others), but it looks like they’re now finally a bit closer to landing in an actual product, with Samsung reportedly set to begin offering them later this year. What’s not clear, unfortunately, is whether the projectors will actually be built into the cellphones (and if so, which ones), or simply offered as an attachment of some sort, but either way you can apparently expect to pay between $200 and $400 for the chance to spread a bit of visual pollution.
Digitimes is reporting that the Atom-based Asus Eee PC 901 that we got a peek at the other day is set to ship on June 3. And it looks like the cosmetic enhancements (like the metal accents) aren’t the only bit of newness on board: Apparently, it’s got Bluetooth, and the Linux version will come with some new software. Otherwise, the guts are supposedly the same as the 900, and it’ll go for somewhere under $650. Hopefully way under that. [Digitimes]
We’re not certain what’s up with the sudden rash of news about EU- and EC-funded roboticsresearch, but we’re not going to turn down robotic kitchen assistance either, so say hello to the Cooperative Human Robot Interaction System (CHRIS) project, which aims to build a service robot capable of working safely with humans. According to the researchers, the plan is to “to develop the rules we need to introduce this level of sophistication into service robots who are working closely with people,” and to that end they’ve already built several prototypes and started testing specific scenarios, like how a bot should react to accidentally splashing a human worker with hot soup, or how to read facial expressions and tones of voice. That’s fine by us — we’re pretty certain an army of deathbots can’t do too much damage with soup — but let’s make sure we leave the chopping to the people, k?
I’m not sure what show this video is from, but it is funny—and that dude’s skills with a digging machine are impressive to say the least. It’s not really NSFW because in the end she is no where near fully undressed, but you might want to take caution when viewing the video after the break just in case.
GM lugged 17 environmentally friendly cars to New York—fittingly, to Tavern on the Green. The rain-soaked occasion was a display of Challenge X contenders, nearly identical 2005 Chevy Equinoxes modded by teams from schools across the US and Canada to be environmentally friendly, fuel efficient and/or low in emissions. University of Waterloo’s hydrogen powered, zero-emissions, electric SUV earned the most awe from the crowd for its ambitious yet completely safe, student-built fuel-cell power plant. 
I say “guaranteed” date disasters, but that may be a little too strong a word. After all, it is possible to find a 
If the Clapper is bad, a Star Trek Voice Activated Light Dimmer is liable to have her hospitalized for tearing a muscle in a fit of laughter. This geeky gem plugs into any standard wall outlet and can be illuminated in three brightness levels using simple voice commands—which will be confirmed by the voice of Majel Roddenberry herself. It also doubles as a night light—and we all know how much women love men who are afraid of the dark. Available for $69.99. [
Creepy binoculars that make you seem like a pedophile are a definite no-no. So steer clear of these plushes with built-in binoculars. [
Religious fanatics are just plain creepy—so avoid over-the-top imagery like this Miracle Eyes Jesus plaque. If a woman sees a statue of Jesus with eyes that follow you around the room, she is going to think that you are in some sort of applesauce eating, Kool-Aid drinking cult. Besides, “Jesus didn’t come to Earth to give us the willies.” Available for $8.75. [
When a woman enters your bathroom for the first time, she is going to poke around in there. We all do it. So, make sure that anything incriminating is disposed of properly. This is especially true if you happen to own one of these Turd Twisters. Basically, it is a device similar to those old Play-Doh machines that transform the dough into various shapes—only, instead of Play-Doh you are using your own feces. In all seriousness though, if you do use one of these, do the world a favor and stop dating altogether (no need to breed!). Available for $14.89. [
Sure a toolbox is functional, but it lacks aesthetics. My suggestion: paint flames on the side and add some ground effects lighting from Snap-On. The AC-powered lights come in singles or dual packs in blue, red and green colors—and they can be attached to any number of surfaces using magnetic clamps. Unfortunately, the Snap-on site is a little wonky with regard to pricing on these things, but we do know that the dual packs will set you back about $90 (which seems to be the same price for a single green). Way overpriced if you ask me, but that is what you get when you buy a big name brand. [
Digitimes is reporting that the Atom-based Asus Eee PC 901 that we got a 
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