forklift
Latest
Hydrogen-powered forklifts could speed up your Amazon deliveries
Amazon will replace its forklifts' batteries in 11 warehouses with an alternative power source: hydrogen fuel cells (HFC). The e-retail giant is investing millions in the technology, acquiring the right to buy up to 23 percent of hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power. In a press release, Plug Power has revealed that the tech titan will spend $70 million this year on hydrogen fueling infrastructure, the fuel itself and fuel cells for forklifts and for backup power.
This forklift simulator is basically 'Shenmue' VR
Shenmue's forklift truck sequence was effectively my first job. I was 15 when Sega's open-world adventure came out and truly captivated by the game. After two discs of mystery, adventure and capsule toys, I can still remember dropping disc three into my Dreamcast, full of anticipation. Infamously, the third and final disc of Shenmue involves the protagonist, Ryo, getting a job at the docks as a forklift truck driver. After the first day of moving crates around, I expected we'd soon be uncovering information about the gang Ryo was tracking down. Instead... I went back to work the next day. And the next. And the next. Moving crates was just part of life now. The story does unfold along the way, and you're eventually treated to perhaps the game's best fight sequence. Jumping forward some 16 years, while at Gamescom I spotted a strange machine in the corner of one of the business centers. It was Sanlab's SimPro 3, a hydraulic platform with controls of several real-world construction vehicles including... a forklift. I had to try it. With only my Shenmue experience and some brief explanations on how the controls work from a Sanlab representative, I donned an HTC Vive and got started.
ForkLift 2, slick file management, fast file transfers
ForkLift 2 was officially released this week. This is the second generation of the FTP client-cum-Finder replacement, and it brings with it a veritable shipping palette full of new features. When it comes to file transfer, ForkLift 2 has just about all the bases covered: FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, iDisk, SMB, AFP and NIS, with impressive speeds and FXP copy capabilities. You can connect directly, as you would in a standard FTP browser, or you can mount the disk in the same fashion that the latest version of Transmit does. This allows for access to remote files from any application, remote editing and some additional file management tools. ForkLift can save "Droplets," similar to other FTP clients, which give you a drop target for uploading to a specific server and folder. You can also set up a sync between any two folders, remote or local, and save the set as a "Synclet," a small app that will run the sync automatically. The interface is slick, with a few features that make this a killer app for me. It maintains the original ForkLift's two-pane, tabbed interface, and it adds a Favorites panel, better progress meters and extensive keyboard navigation. My favorite new feature is the Stack, similar to what Path Finder has, where you can temporarily collect files on which to perform mass actions. You can turn any file selection into a stack, and you can have multiple stacks going at any time. Another feature I love is Workspaces, which lets you define pairs of folders to open at the same time. It sounds simple, but if you do a lot of filing from one folder to other subfolders, it's a very nice time-saver. The tool set is pretty impressive, too. From being able to create both aliases and real symlinks to splitting and combining large files, it brings in a ton of functionality that Finder has always been missing. It even has a Trash App command for removing an application and its data, à la AppZapper. Selecting files is a breeze with the advanced search, filter and selection tools. ForkLift even has a multi-rename feature for performing mass filename changes. I won't try to detail every one of the new features -- it's an extensive list. I will say that I think ForkLift 2 brings to life a truly integrated file management environment that combines the best features of leading FTP apps and file managers. A single-user license is US$29.95, and ForkLift 1 users can upgrade for US$19.95. There's a family license available as well, which covers all the Macs in your household, for US$49.95. You can find out more, and download a free trial, at the BinaryNights website.
Ask TUAW: Prepping a Mac for transfer, adding words to spell check, updating Boot Camp, and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about preparing a Mac that you're transferring to a new owner, updating Boot Camp, adding words to the built-in spell check, dealing with flaky network disks, FTP clients, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.
MIT concocts semi-autonomous forklift for war zone unloading
So, envision this -- a Mars rover of sorts, but on the battlefield. In a nutshell, that's what engineers and researchers at MIT have created. The so-called semi-autonomous forklift could be loosed in war zones in order to unload cargo and move supplies for soldiers. Obviously, having humans behind unwieldy crates isn't the most ideal scenario when bullets are flying, so enlisting a robot for such duties is clearly preferable. The bot can even be remotely controlled, and an array of inbuilt sensors help to direct it around objects that can't be seen from in the brush. Gurus behind the project are hoping to include voice / gesture recognition in future iterations, so that simply yelling "unload the truck!" could give the machine all the direction it needs. Come to think of it, we could use one of these buggers around the office -- reshuffling hefty HDTVs can take a toll on one's back, you know.[Via PC World, image courtesy of OneMansBlog]
$1.4 million IBM server falls off forklift, finger pointing ensues
Yeah, we've seen our fair share of pricey accidents, but this one is just brimming with ridiculousness. Reportedly, a mysterious IBM server that was headed to the US Patent and Trademark Office managed to fall off of a forklift managed by federal contractor T.R. Systems. The firm claims that the mishap occurred after the forklift "hit the raised surface at the entry door of the warehouse," but rather than taking the fall for the incident, it's seeking damages in excess of $1.4 million from IBM for Big Blue's shoddy packaging. Not surprisingly, IBM has stated that it will "defend itself vigorously" in the case, but there's no word on whether the traditional shipping cartons will be replaced with armored iterations in the future.
ForkLift 2-pane file manager with SFTP ships
A while back when we mentioned a preview of ForkLift, a new 2-pane file manager for the Mac, the comments suggested that I may have somewhat under-appreciated what it offered. Well ForkLift has now shipped and appears to include quite a few nice features. Among these are a full-fledged (S)FTP client, tabs, spring loaded folders, Amazon S3 support, an Application Deleter (a la AppZapper), the ability to browse archives as if they were folders, and quite a bit more. For those moving over from using an orthodox file manager on the PC, or for anyone who finds the Finder rather limiting, ForkLift is worth a look. (Incidentally, if you're interested in the new Mac indie development company behind ForkLift, BinaryNights, MacApper had an interesting interview a while back.)ForkLift is $30 and a demo is available.[via MacNN]
