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Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 5, 2009

Bike Moto Horn


Get your bike motor humming and people jump out of your way.

Revving the Moto Horn!

Rev it up!

Did you ever wish that your piddly little bicycle was a fearsomely noisy motorbike? Course you did. It’s why you stuck spoke-bothering lollipop sticks in your forks and bent your mudguards inside out. ‘Phturrrrrppplll!’ But if you were really cool you bought one of those rev-able vroom-vrooming soundboxes.

The Moto Horn is an exact replica of the deafening spring-loaded noisemaker coveted by every bike-loving kid back in the 70s. Simply attach it to your handlebars (via a peasy clamp system), give it a twist and prepare to have your eardrums assaulted by its realistic (well, sort of) revving noise. Think Strepsil-less dinosaur gargling chainsaws and you’re halfway there. VROOM, VROOM!


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Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 5, 2009

Bixi, Bicycle Sharing


I have a bike, but right now it is out of commission. At this present time, I would be a good customer for Bixi, a bicycle sharing program.

It works by going to one of the bike stations that you see in the picture here, and borrowing one of the bikes. All a user needs is a credit card, and then the user can ride around freely as they normally would with their own bike. Once the user is done, he or she simply returns it to another bike station.

I am not certain how Bixi keeps track of all of its bikes, but I’m told that the setup is “computer-chip based, solar-powered, and Wi-Fi enabled”.

Montreal is the first North American city to host this program, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t the last. I’ve never heard of Bixi before, but it really is a program that is ingenious in its simplicity.

In fact, this bicycle sharing program has to be big in certain regions of Asian countries like China. I’ve seen pictures of Asian bicycle racks that rival parking garages in the Western world. If Bixi doesn’t have presence in places like these, then it really ought to.

But hey, who am I to offer advice to a bike lender? Right now, I am in need of one. Too bad I’m not in Montreal.

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Thứ Tư, 13 tháng 5, 2009

Robotic Taxi Service


I’m sure all of you remember the movie Total Recall, where Arnold Schwarzenegger rides in a cab that drives itself. It would appear that someone has taken inspiration from science fiction with this Robotic Taxi Service.

It looks a lot like the “Slimos” that we reported on a week ago. Designer Kubik Peter’s automated transport is electrically powered, and can seat about two. That may not sound like much room, but there is a trunk in the back for some luggage.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering: how does the passenger tell the robo-cabbie where to go? I believe the user just makes a selection of cross-streets on a touchscreen controller. I would imagine that the touchscreen would have internet access, so maybe the passenger can watch a little YouTube video while he or she is waiting to get from Point A to Point B.

I’ve noted that the robo-cab looks a little skinny. Perhaps it is prepared for an era where two people can comfortably travel side by side in a lane normally made for one car. Considering that many metropolitan cities have way too many cabs on their streets, they could use an exclusive lane devoted to cabs.

This robo-cab could hearken in an age where a taxi driver is no longer needed. Of course, they could always create the Johnny Cab dummy drivers from the aforementioned Total Recall. Remember that cabbie that could talk and attempt at make conversation with starters like “hell of a day, isn’t it?” Well, if these robo-cabs are ever perfected, I’m certain it will be a “hell of a time”.

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