Macromedia Flash in the new Jaguar XK
About 5 years ago I wrote a few Macromedia Flash apps to be used in cars along with a “Flash and Telematics” article – besides my hacked up car the project didn’t get any far. But! The new Jaguars will now use Macromedia for their user interfaces! “…audio, navigation, climate control, telephone and vehicle settings can all be adjusted making it a critical design component in the driving experience, now fully enhanced with screen graphics reminiscent of a quality website.” No word, if you can put in your own . SWF files. [via] Link.
The same technology found in Bluetooth headset or wireless LAN could be used to build a cheap, powerful transmitter for communicating with deep space probes. It could even illuminate planets and asteroids for radar astronomy. The proposal is to build an array of millions of small antennas printed on circuit boards, just like the antennas in consumer electronics such as wireless headsets and GPS receivers. [
The Design Trust for Public Space, in cooperation with Parsons The New School for Design, presents Designing the Taxi, an exhibition that builds on the momentum of the extraordinarily successful two-part workshop held last spring that investigated the future of the iconic New York City taxicab as it approaches its centennial in 2007. The exhibition of designs presenting future ideas for the taxi will be on view from November 3, 2005, through January 15, 2006, at the Parsons gallery at 2 West 13th Street. An opening reception will take place on Wednesday, November 2, 6-9 p.m., which will also celebrate the publication of the Designing the Taxi findings. 
The most 30″ Apple Cinema displays, ever. Scientists at UC Irvine have completed the world’s highest-resolution grid-based display for visualizing and manipulating massive data sets. The Highly Interactive Parallelized Display Wall (HIPerWall) is a room-sized display that measures nearly 23 x 9 feet. The HIPerWall system, consisting of 50 flat-panel tiles, resides in the Calit2 Center of GRAVITY (Graphics, Visualization and Imaging Technology) at UCI, and provides a total resolution of 200 million pixels, bringing to life terabyte-sized data sets. HIPerWall’s resolution is nearly twice that of the world’s next-highest resolution display wall. [
Stunning photos of the Orrery clock from Make pal Jacob Appelbaum. The Orrery is a ten foot tall planet tracking display. The lower half is a mechanical binary calculation engine. Each layer is calculating the orbit if one of the six human eye visible planets (Mercury through Saturn) to 28 bits of accuracy. The Orrery is primarily made of monel (a nickel copper alloy), and stainless steel. The planet spheres are ground from natural stones that resemble each planet they represent. [
Rick writes “How to make ultra light weight boats and canoes. Plans are available but there are enough details on the web site for you to go from there.” From the site: What is Geodesic Airolite Construction? It is a simple, inexpensive, low-tech, forgiving system utilizing some exotic materials. The sequence consists of building a simple rugged wood framework, braced with triangulated KEVLAR® roving strands. This tough basket-like frame is then covered with Dacron. This is a first cousin to sail cloth; except it heat shrinks. It is a super-weight, airplane wing covering type of fabric, used on crop dusters. 
Maker Rich Gibson is welding up a neat looking chopper bike – on the MAKE flickr photo pool he writes “Chopper bike ‘complete.’ I am going to lower the seat some more. It is still basically unrideable by mere mortal. I’m going to make a new front fork that is shorter. Keep the original one for ‘special’ occaisions.”