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Synthetic 'blubber' could triple divers' survival time in icy water
Even the hardiest diver can't last longer than an hour in cold water using a modern wetsuit, and that's no good if you're a special ops soldier or otherwise need to stay under the sea for hours at a time. MIT has a simple solution: imitate the blubber that keeps seals and polar bears safe. They've developed an "artificial blubber" that promises to extend swim times in chilly water (under 50F) to as long as three hours. The approach combines a newly processed material with pockets that keep the cold out.
New from TwelveSouth: SurfacePad Colors for MacBook
The Apple fans at TwelveSouth have done it again, this time with a product for the oft-neglected MacBook. SurfacePad Colors is a line of colorful leather pads that protect your glistening white MacBook from scratches and stains. The colors were well-researched by TwelveSouth. The Cyan Blue SurfacePad matches the current iPod nano blue, Perfect Pink is a perfect match to the Incase pink neoprene sleeve for the MacBook, Infinite Grey is identical to the grey on the base of the MacBook, and Orange Crush will make Clemson University, University of Tennessee, and Syracuse University fans and alums happy (hey, guys, you forgot that it also matches the orange in the Denver Broncos logo). The SurfacePad Colors pads are available now from TwelveSouth for US$29.99, and they're celebrating the release of this new product with free shipping. Be sure to check out the gallery on the TwelveSouth site for lots of sexy shots of SurfacePad Colors on a bevy of MacBooks.
Ermenegildo Zegna's iSolarX jacket juices up gadgetry
While Ermenegildo Zegna made the plunge into high-end, electronic savvy outerwear last Fall, its newest piece ups the ante by allowing gadgetry that you keep on your person to be charged up whilst out and about -- sans batteries. The Solar JKT is based around Interactive Wear AG's iSolarX technology, and sports a number of solar modules around the neoprene collar that can pass energy through conducting textile leads for storage in a buffer battery or to charge a connected device directly. The jacket can even be switched from 5V to 6V in order to handle a more diverse group of gizmos, and integrated LEDs enable you to quickly view the state of the charge. Sadly, there's no mention of an expected pricetag for this uber-useful garb, but it will likely cater specifically to the affluent set when it hits the market as part of the 2008 Spring / Summer collection.
A quick glance at MacBook sleeve cases
Now that laptop case manufacturers have had a few weeks to react to the new MacBook, they've started to release an array of sleeves that fit perfectly around the MacBook's refined curves. There's something for everyone here, whether you want a sleeve with a little more padding than usual, a sleeve that makes a colorful statement or one that keeps your nether regions nice and cool. Read on for the round-up.
