John Sisler

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There’s a lot of surface area on this planet that’s ripe for solar panels. It’s flat, it’s got nothing blocking it from the sun, and it lets panels float on it. Yep, its the oceans. But big storms can screw with floating solar arrays, making the installation and use difficult. That’s not so with LSAs.

LSAs (Liquid Solar Arrays) are solar panels that are designed to float in water. When storms hit, they simply submurge themselves under the water until it passes. It’s built using lightweight, readily available plastic with existing solar concentrator technologies, so they’re ready to go now. We’ll see if they end up catching on in the near future.

Via Sunengy

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When tiny USB drives shaped like minuscule DSLRs surfaced late last month, our interest was already piqued. But then this even more-detailed model comes along, sending us hunting for one on eBay.

This 2GB flash drive is only a couple of inches wide, yet still has intricately detailed lens markings, a convincing-looking viewscreen (is it actually lit up with an LED? looks like it in the pic in the gallery below), and a shiny lens that removes to reveal a USB jack.

You’ll need to use the included extension cord to fit it into a USB port, but that’s a small price to pay for such a sweet trinket. Now if they would just roll out a Nikon D300 mini-replica, we’d be more than willing to pay the $40+ these babies are going for on eBay.

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Interesting rumors are flying about the meaning behind a sales memo from Apple. According to PhoneNews, Apple has told retailers to put Apple Composite AV Cables and Component AV Cables on clearance. Why you ask?

Here’s the purely speculative part. Apple is said to be coming out with a single AV cable that will support both component and composite to work with both HDTV and standard-def. One rumor states that Apple will offer a new iPhone and iPod touch with higher resolution screens to support HD.

Of course, iPhone users will need HD content. Apple has started carrying HD movies on iTunes, and there are also rumors that Apple will let the iPhone use Wi-Fi for local networks with HD streaming, as a option to using Apple TV.

While this is all purely speculative at the moment, it seems that all the pieces are falling into place as Apple takes on HD. It’s all good for watching movies on the go, but would you use your iPhone as an HD streaming device in your home? Might make taking a call mid-movie a bit complicated.

PhoneNews via Electronista

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Is this a joke? The Glass Tank is a design concept that supposedly replenishes your drink from its bulbous appendage, keeping a constant amount of grog in your glass. Could it actually work without painting the front of your shirt the deep red color of your favorite Beaujolais?

As the designers say in simple terms, “It is a glass for drinking a lot.” We’re just wondering, is this a design that was created while drinking a lot? The designer says the glass never overflows “because of air pressure and water pressure.” Insert miracle here. Is it us, or is this impossible?

Rocket scientists, plumbers, smarty-pants commenters — help us out here, because if this thing works, it would be a great conversation piece at a party, as well as a convenient way to get tanked. And when stopped for driving erratically, you could truthfully blurt out, “Yes, officer, I had just one drink.”

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Model rockets are cool enough, but this 36-foot-tall monster is the largest flying model rocket in the world. Built by Steve Eves, this Saturn V model weighs 1,600 pounds, took him 1,500 hours to build, and cost $25,000. Good thing he got some sponsors to foot that humongous bill.

This gargantuan model doesn’t just sit there, either. Powered by eight (relatively) big N-Class model rocket engines and one gigantic P-Class engine, it’s going to shoot up to 4,000 feet this Saturday (April 25th), and float gently back to earth using three parachutes.

Can’t wait to see what happens. It’s only fitting that Eves picked the Saturn V rocket for his world record attempt, inspired as a kid when he watched the largest launch vehicle ever made send the first humans to the moon. Sheesh, and we were impressed with our 12-inch-tall Estes rockets.

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Look, I’m as big a fan of awesome Xbox 360 case mods as the next guy, but I’m not sure I’d drop hundreds of dollars on one. I mean, sure, this transparent Xbox 360 case with a laser-etched Master Chief and blue LEDs is pretty slick, but you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak.

After all, with a normal Xbox 360, if it dies with the dreaded Red Ring of Death you can just send it in to Microsoft and get it fixed under the three-year standard warranty. With this guy, if it breaks you’re pretty much screwed. So why risk it? I’d say it makes more sense to focus on the aesthetics of objects that don’t have a high probability of needing replacement in the near future.

eBay, via TechEBlog

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Solar-powered cellphones at first appear counterintuitive. Most people carry their phones in a pocket or bag, so you’ll have to wait until you’re home until you charge it up — usually when the sun’s gone down. But what if you live where electricity is scarce, and you’re outside more often than not, conditions that are all too common in the developing world? Then solar looks like a much better option. And hey, if the phone could be waterproof, too, that would be great. Enter this shiny model from Sharp and Japanese telecom company AU.

Scheduled for a June release, the phone will get two hours of standby time or one minute of talk time for every 10 minutes you charge it. That’s not a lot, but if the closest power outlet is hundreds of miles away that’s a minute more than you’d have otherwise. It’s a great idea for rustic areas, as long as you’re still on a network, of course. Throw in satellite, and it would be golden.

AU (KDDI), via Engadget

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In Britain, the lovable red squirrel — think Tufty, he of the dated public information films — has been virtually wiped out by its cousin, the eastern gray. While some people have more dramatic methods of making sure the species, down to its last 160,000, lives to gnaw another nut, there are other ways of returning them to your garden — such as this solar-powered light.

Made from (un)realistic weathproof poly resin, you stick the squirrel in a sunny spot to enable its solar pod to soak up the rays by day, and then move him to wherever you want by night. What I like most about this $54 light, however, is that, rather like the high-art painting of the poker-playing dogs, the squirrel seems to be playing the ocarina. Now that’s what I call talent.

Eco-lights.com Via OhGizmo!

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Continuing the fine tradition of cute tech currently infecting the industry, Lanchiya has unleashed its digital pig device called the MIP. The white orb is actually a multi-media car speaker designed to look like a pig.

The equally cute controls allow you to touch the pig’s right ear to raise the volume and its left ear to lower the volume. Featuring a docking cradle on top of its head for iPod devices, the MIP also comes in pink, yellow and black and is available for just $119 here.

Via Aving