Filed under: Transportation

When landing or taking off in a plane, the only things you want to see on the runway are lights and stripes. Foreign Object Debris (FOD), the stuff that can get sucked into engines or even flatten a plane’s tires, has become the focus of several new technologies that are setting out to remove the bad stuff. Why do we care? Because some of these technologies call not only for little sensors mounted on runway lights, but also for robots that will cruise out, pick up the debris, and dispose of it as found in the Xsight system from Trex Enterprises. Others, like QinetiQ Airport Technologies’ debris system, displays debris on screen at the airport’s tower. Whatever the solution, we say: bring on the runway bots and safety.

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Filed under: GPS

Okay, so the vast majority of you won’t be needing a navigation unit that also provides pertinent information while cruising several thousand feet above your nearest freeway, but for the amateur pilots out there looking for the best of both worlds, take notice. Bendix/King’s AV8OR is a self-proclaimed handheld Multi-Function Display, which gives pilots “enhanced situational awareness” by providing “real-time satellite weather information, topographic terrain and aeronautical navigation information.” You’ll also find more traditional GPS capabilities suitable for ground transportation routes, and the 4.3-inch display ought to be large enough for most. ‘Course, the $749 price tag will likely keep most non-pilots at bay, but those thinking of picking up an ultralight aircraft probably won’t flinch at such a comparatively minute figure.

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

As we surmised earlier this month with the formal introduction of Mobile Edge’s trio of TSA-approved laptop bags, the flood of competitors are now rushing out. One of the first out of the gate is Targus, delivering its Zip-Thru 15.4-inch Corporate Traveler Laptop Case. Just the first in the outfit’s sure-to-be-long line of checkpoint-friendly bags, this one measures in at 16.93- x 6.5- x 13.98-inches, weighs 3.74-pounds, is constructed from durable black ballistic 1680 denier nylon and can — of course — slip under those airport scanning machines with your precious machine still tucked inside. Unfortunately, it won’t be available for summertime travel (look for it to land in October), but you can go ahead and budget in $99.99 well before Q3 gets sticky.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Filed under: Transportation

Never heard of Fresno-Yosemite International? Thanks to this low-key airport now housing the largest solar installation of any airport in the entire United States, you have now. Arriving passengers will notice the panels a half-mile out, as they cover about seven football fields worth of land and will eventually result in taxpayer savings of $11 million. The 2-megawatt farm has been churning out clean energy for the past month, and electricity from the installation helps to run “everything from airport lighting to tower communications.” FYI’s aviation director even noted that it would “produce about 40% of its annual electrical requirement.” If you’re worried that other locales won’t follow suit, don’t be — a similar, albeit smaller system is already in the works at DEN.

[Via Gadling, thanks Trowa]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Laptops

The TSA got a lot of frequent travelers fairly excited a couple months ago when it announced that it was soliciting bag manufacturers for “checkpoint-friendly” designs that would allow laptop owners to leave their machines safely tucked away as they passed through security, but we didn’t know what any of these bags would look like until now. As you’d expect, Skooba’s first design, the Checkthrough, is pretty minimalist, in keeping with the requirements that approved bags not have any straps or zippers and not feature any space for items that could interfere with the X-ray image. That also means it’s pretty useless if you only want to schlep one bag around, so it looks like we’re stuck with the Bucket Dance for now — hey TSA, would pockets on the sides be such a threat to our nation’s security? Just a thought.

PS.- We’re hoping against hope that nasty “Checkthrough” logo isn’t actually printed on the bag, but given some of the TSA experiences we’ve had, we’d half expect it to be there as a cue for screeners let the bag pass through.

Update: Skooba’s CEO let us know that this still isn’t the checkthrough bag, just another illustration (sigh) and that the “the actual bag will be a full-featured, top-of the-line ballistic nylon business case, packed with cool and unique bells and whistles.” Alright, so let’s see it then.

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Filed under: Laptops

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Filed under: Laptops, Transportation

Responding to travelers’ woes about the laptop-out-of-the-bag shuffle at airport security stations, the TSA solicited bag manufacturers for “checkpoint-friendly” designs. Skooba and Targus are responding with their own line of bags to meet those requirements. What requirements, you ask? In order for a bag to be TSA-friendly, it must be small, have no straps or zippers, and leave no room for chargers, pens, or other detritus that could interfere with the X-ray image. Is it just us, or does that mean we’ll be carrying another bag with us anyway? Nonetheless, the Skooba Skreener pictured here — which doesn’t seem to meet those requirements — is available now for $119.95.

Update: Good looking out, readers — the pictured bag isn’t the forthcoming TSA-friendly bag from Skooba!

[Via Gearlog]

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Filed under: Storage, Networking

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Apple_says_AirPort_Disk_use_with_Time_Machine_is_unsupported_2′; Okay, the Time Machine / AirPort Extreme situation is now officially ridiculous. TidBITS’s Glenn Fleishmann says Apple’s confirmed to him that the Extreme is unsupported for use with Time Machine, even though the latest batch of updates enable AirPort Disks to show up in the Time Machine disk-selection box. Fleishmann thinks a it’s leftover developer testing glitch, but either way, Apple’s will-they-won’t-they routine means lots of people now have an unsupported backup solution that works “erratically.” Seriously, if you thought AirPort Extreme owners were pissed off about Time Capsule, just wait until backups start failing. Not a lot of options left, Apple — better get this feature up and running ASAP.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ll go ahead and warn you: if you’re hoping to purge your mind of all things science this weekend, this post isn’t the one to be reading. For the rest of you knowledge seekers, Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch has developed a biosensing nanodevice that could possibly revolutionize health screenings and speed up that grueling airport security process. Put simply (well, as simply as possible), he discovered that the enzyme F1- ATPase can be equipped with an optical probe and “manipulated to emit a signal when it detects a single molecule of target DNA.” Currently, a prototype of the DNA detector is already being worked up, but there’s no word on when (or if) the device will escape the lab and hit the commercial realm. Still not geeked out? Hit the read link and hold on for dear life.

[Via Physorg]

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Filed under: Wireless, Storage

Who knows why it took so long, but the latest AirPort Extreme firmware update (7.3.1, out today) finally brings Time Machine compatibility to AirDisk. In typical Apple fashion, there’s no mention of it on the release notes, but the crew over at TUAW says it’s working, and commenters are confirming. We’re still holding out for Time Machine to work with any NAS we want, but for now, it looks like all you Airport Extreme owners who felt like you were getting played by the release of Time Capsule are finally in the game — get those USB drives ready for some hot backup nights.

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Filed under: Features, Wireless

Well, what can we say? The new 802.11n AirPort Express looks exactly like the 802.11g AirPort Express we’ve been using to stream iTunes and wirelessly print to an el-cheapo USB laser printer since 2004. In fact, if not for the different model numbers (A1264 now, instead of A1084) and the fact that our old unit has some random battle scars, we would have found it almost impossible to tell them apart. Check the gallery for the hot side-by-side action.

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Filed under: Features, Wireless

Well, what can we say? The new 802.11n AirPort Express looks exactly like the 802.11g AirPort Express we’ve been using to stream iTunes and wirelessly print to an el-cheapo USB laser printer since 2004. In fact, if not for the different model numbers (A1264 now, instead of A1084) and the fact that our old unit has some random battle scars, we would have found it almost impossible to tell them apart. Check the gallery for the hot side-by-side action.

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Filed under: Transportation

Britain’s Heathrow airport has already made plans to step its game up once this year with a swank new parking garage, but the latest development most certainly outshines the prior. Reportedly, a network of 18 four-seater pods will be unveiled within two years after Terminal 5 opens next March in order to shuttle passengers “to and from a business car park to the new terminal building.” Hailed as the UK’s “first personal rapid transport system (PRT),” this energy-efficient, battery powered system will enable the driverless pods to be summoned on demand by individual families and taken to a variety of nearby locations. Creators claim that users will be thrilled by having their own taxi of sorts without having to ride alongside strangers, but not surprisingly, each pod will indeed support CCTV surveillance. Hey, it’s Big Brother or John Doe — pick your poison.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Paperless boarding schemes aren’t exactly revolutionary, but they’re still far from common at US airports. Now, however, Continental Airlines has announced that it will be trialing a cellphone-based boarding setup at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport, which will enable single passengers (as in, one barcode per person, per device) to show personnel a jumbled mixture of blocks alongside their ID in order to hop on board. The three-month program will allow guinea pigs to receive a paper pass should their mobile / PDA run out of juice before boarding time approaches, and while hard plans for future use aren’t laid out, it was noted that the process could spread to other airlines and airports if things go smoothly.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

Thanks to that freaky would-be shoe bomber dude, we’re all now forced to endure the embarrassment of exposing foot odor and sock holes to our fellow passengers every time we take a flight — but thanks to a company named IDO Security and its MagShoe metal detector, this long national nightmare at airport security lines may soon be at an end. The high-speed portable device allows folks to simply stand in its dual foot bays — shoes on — for just a few seconds before the all clear is given, and has already been tested successfully overseas. Military Tech goes on to report that a US deployment is almost a done deal, according to the company, with the TSA currently evaluating the MagShoe for domestic use. Now, will someone please come up with a way for us to bring a bottle of water on the plane?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!