Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) was an automotive engineer and founder of the car company Porsche. In 1898, he personally built his first car: a 1898 Egger-Lohner electric C2 Phaeton. It had a 3-5 horsepower engine that could propel the car up to 21 MPH. He marked it “P1” because it was his first but certainly not last car.

He took it out onto the streets of Vienna in June of 1898, then participated … Read More → "The first car that Porsche built has been rediscovered in a barn"

NYC-based artist duo The Laser Girls produced a set of 3D printed artificial fingernails they call Sour Razz. They’re made of dyed nylon.
via Boing Boing

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Guests at the Aloft Hotels in Manhattan and Cupertino, California will soon be able to use their smartphones as room keys, The Wall Street Journal reports. By the end of the quarter, guests will be able to skip the check-in desk and receive a virtual key through the Starwood app instead. Users can then unlock their door with a tap or twist of … Read More → "Smartphones will soon replace room keys at some Starwood hotels"

While likely not committed with the driving of a silver spike, Tesla has completed the first Supercharger line spanning from each coast. This achievement now makes it possible to drive a Tesla Model S from LA to NYC, recharging the vehicles exclusively through Superchargers. Best of all, at these stations, Tesla drivers can top off their tanks for free.

Tesla’s website now brags there are 85 such charging stations across the lower 48 and part of Europe.
via TechCrunch

… Read More → "Field testing with Matt & Jamie — Portege Ultrabook vs. drooling dog"

Brains are the most powerful computers known. Now microchips built to mimic insects’ nervous systems have been shown to successfully tackle technical computing problems like object recognition and data mining, researchers say.

Attempts to recreate how the brain works are nothing new. Computing principles … Read More → "Insect nervous system copied to boost computing power"

For those people unprepared to learn to scuba dive, snorkeling is a great way to explore the water while remaining close to the surface. The main problem with it is that it forces the swimmer to breathe through only their mouth, which can feel unnatural. Tribord’s new Easybreath mask aims to solve that problem, by allowing natural breathing through the nose or mouth.

The design is actually pretty simple at its core. Instead … Read More → "Easybreath snorkel mask promises more land-like breathing underwater"

Moog’s Theremini has a pitch control knob that, when set at 100, makes it impossible for the musician to play a wrong note. Players can turn the knob all the way down to zero for gradually decreasing levels of pitch assistance. The Theremini also has a built-in tuner that shows players how close to perfect each note is in real time, a useful feature that could help beginners learn to master the … Read More → "Theremini, a theremin that can make it impossible for beginners to play a wrong note"

For the first time in history, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have captured how our brain makes memories in video, watching how molecules morph into the structures that, at the end of the day, make who we are…

These insights into the molecular basis of memory were made possible by a … Read More → "Scientists watch how the brain makes memories for the first time ever"

… Read More → "Watch cosmonauts install a livestreaming HD camera on the ISS"