Renault appoints Dacia Logan creator to head its Nano-rival program in India

After watching the Tata Nano post sales numbers smaller than its engine displacement, Renault gave up on its much publicized intention to build a truly inexpensive car to rival it. Then, a month ago, reports emerged that Renault was resuming work on a couple of low-priced cars for emerging markets, but this time it would work with its in-house partner, Nissan. That plan envisions an offering for €3,000 ($3,888 US) and another for €5,000 ($6,400 US), both of which would be more spendy than the Nano but might avoid the charge of being cheap – and nasty – and instead be considered affordable.

Autoblog , Renault appoints Dacia Logan creator to head its Nano-rival program in India, Renault appoints Dacia Logan creator to head its Nano-rival program in India

Meet the Smart Fortwo that should be competing in the 2013 Dakar Rally (video)

When it comes to specialty applications of the Smart Fortwo, "off-road motorsports" may seem about as likely as "amphibious assault vehicle." Yet a team has come up with just that (the former, not the latter), creating a rally-ready runabout dubbed the Smart Dakar. The team used a Fortwo to create a "Smart Buggy 4x4." The creator's website claims that the vehicle is in compliance with FIA regulations, and weighs only 750 kilograms (1,653 pounds). As the name suggests, the intent of this vehicle is to compete in the Dakar Rally, and it looks the part.





Autoblog , Meet the Smart Fortwo that should be competing in the 2013 Dakar Rally (video), Meet the Smart Fortwo that should be competing in the 2013 Dakar Rally (video)

Free in iBooks: Hubble Space Telescope Discovery eBook

If you have any interest in astronomy – backyard hobbist or more serious scientist – you need to download this free eBook to your iBooks app on your iPad.  (Requires an iPad using iBooks 2 or later and iOS 5 or later.)  This is a huge book, almost 1GB, that's chock full of informative text, interactive photo galleries, and movies.  It documents the more than two decades of the history and discoveries of the Hubble space telescope.  The Hubble Space Telescope Discoveries ebook is free in Apple's iBookstore.

The Gadgeteer , Free in iBooks: Hubble Space Telescope Discovery eBook, Free in iBooks: Hubble Space Telescope Discovery eBook

Generate Your WiFi Password As A QR Code

Now here is a story that you might just want to live it out, especially when you have an organization or do invite plenty of friends over to your place often. Since we live in a mostly wireless environment these days, folks would definitely ask, "May I have your WiFi password please?" A Reddit user decided to do something about this situation, and has "enlisted" the help of QR codes to get the job done. In particular, an extremely large QR code that is subsequently printed out and framed, so that you can just let them use their smartphone app to scan and enter the code themselves.

Ubergizmo , Generate Your WiFi Password As A QR Code, Generate Your WiFi Password As A QR Code

NuForce Cube Speaker review

With the growing popularity of wireless speakers - both Bluetooth and AirPlay - many speaker companies have begun to release products that are redefining how we listen to music. Suddenly, there are very small speakers that can produce quality audio with decent bass. Until recently, this was almost unheard of. Jambox, Soundmatters, Braven, Scosche, Jabra, and a host of others have created a new market that is exploding in popularity. NuForce, a company that makes high-end home audio, has jumped into this market with their Cube portable speaker. However, NuForce has never been a company that follows trends.









The Gadgeteer , NuForce Cube Speaker review, NuForce Cube Speaker review

South Korea Looking To Filter Swear Words And Pornography On Teenagers' Smartphones

With today's society, we're sure that most parents will be appalled by the things their teens say when they text their friends, what with all the abbreviations, acronyms and swearing involved. While it is debatable as to whether it is right to invade the privacy of your teen, the South Korean government is hoping to do that for parents by installing software on the smartphones of teenagers that will block "illegal" and "harmful" information which includes swear words, slang and access to internet pornography.

Ubergizmo , South Korea Looking To Filter Swear Words And Pornography On Teenagers' Smartphones

See also:
itband, South Korea Looking To Filter Swear Words And Pornography On Teenagers' Smartphones

VLC for Windows 8/RT/Phone hits its Kickstarter target

Good news VLC users, it looks like VLC's Kickstarter campaign was a success with  only a few days left, which means that those looking for native VLC support on their Windows 8, Windows RT or Windows Phone 8 devices, well that looks like it will be definite possibility although at this point it is unclear as to when the software will be released, although they did announce that development for it will kick off in 2013. The folks at VLC have also come up with several new ideas that they hope to incorporate into their software once the initial release has been made, such as:.

Ubergizmo , VLC for Windows 8/RT/Phone hits its Kickstarter target, VLC for Windows 8/RT/Phone hits its Kickstarter target