Wireless connectivity meets the highway, in a major way.

Acura dubs its RDX model to be “technocharged” so it’s very clear the intended customer is expected to be familiar with technology to fully appreciate all this SUV has to offer, especially for young families who wish to drive around in style.

Perhaps trying to curb the gas cravings usually associated with SUVs, the RDX is notably smaller than other crossovers like the Mazda CX-7 and the Ford Edge. Although it’s officially an SUV, it drives like a car, hence the “crossover” tag applied to it.

Featuring a 240-hp i-VTEC turbo engine, Super Handling AWD and a Technology Package including Bluetooth-enabled phone connectivity, the Acura RDX hits all the right buttons for the tech-savvy crowd. As such, the occupants are both firmly connected to the road -and- to the outside world.

Overall, this nicely designed vehicle makes for a fun drive. The engine is peppy, the handling is excellent and the sound system is probably one of the most impressive you’ll get to hear in a long time (even considering it’s in a car).

The 650 voice command and on-board navigation screen (including live traffic reporting) add the the futuristic feature set but perhaps a little more integration between all these “things” would’ve helped. Perhaps that’ll get fixed in version 2.0.

Your kids, assuming you have any, will be delighted by the practical use of interior space, in the Acura RDX. Even parents will be amazed how much useful storage space has been packed in this SUV.

Expect to see more “tech-savvy cars” coming to the market, in the months to come as all major car makers are “gearing up”.

Acura did a great job with this one… even if it’s still at version 1.0.

Tags: acura rdx, suv, crossover, cars, trucks, family, driving, turbo engine

Global climate change is today’s greatest challenge.

In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that human activity is the dominant single cause of global warming. As a consequence, temperatures could dramatically change living conditions on the planet leading to more droughts, erratic weather patterns and rising sea levels.

Appliances account for about 20% of the average household’s energy consumption via refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers as well as stoves / ovens that all happen to use the most energy of any appliance in a typical house.

The much awaited 2007 Electrolux Design Lab challenges students to design eco-friendly, sustainable household appliances and solutions, for the year 2020. It’s sure good to know that some of the brightest minds out there are busy working to save the planet, one household at a time.

Like the past years, submissions are expected to be environmentally-sound, commercially-viable while enabling people to better live in harmony with the environment.

The ultimate goal, sought by the Electrolux Design Lab organizers, is to go above and beyond simple energy and water efficiency and suggest ways to foster sustainable behavior and product usage.

To get you in “the mood for innovation”, here are the finalists for the 2006 Edition of this international competition:

• Nevale – A food carrier designed in layers offering consumers the opportunity to store up to four different hot and / or cold meals.
• Organic Cook – Appliance that offers oil-free frying, grilling and boiling using infrared technology and vacuum cooking.
• VESSTO – Sleekly-designed, portable cooker that uses renewable energy as a power source through an advanced version of the Stirling Engine.
• Fit-Snack-Joy – Table-top appliance that turns raw fruits and vegetables into healthy cookies.
• HotPod – Delivers healthy food in single portions in each color-coded pod so everyone can enjoy their preferred meal.
• HydroSphere – Transparent, clear sphere, that allows consumers to grow their own herbs, small fruits and vegetables in their kitchen.
• Nutri Print – Makes use of fruits and vegetables to process them into a fun figure which can be selected from the menu screen, thus ensuring childrens’ interest into healthy food.
• SpiceHood – Revolutionary cooker hood with an integrated spice rack and dispenser system. It reduces the clutter around the kitchen while simultaneously encouraging the use of herbs.
• VEGE – Appliance that allows consumers to grow fresh, healthy vegetables in their kitchens all year round using hydroponics.

It’s pretty obvious that this prestigious competition encourages students worldwide to fire up their creative juices to design the household appliances of tomorrow.

In roughly 24 hours from the moment this post is published, the competition will close and on October 1st, 2007, the finalists will be announced while on November 27-28, the global final (in Paris) will be the place where the winner will be announced.

Anyone looking towards a more sustainable future should love this year’s exciting new entries.

Tags: electrolux, design lab, household, appliances, future, environment, competition

While ground-based wind-powered turbines are currently all the rage, tapping into the limitless power of the wind can now happen way up in the sky.

Since 1978, Magenn Power has been researching and developing advanced materials and structures, from their head office in Ottawa, ON.

Their hard work has given way to an amazing concept that helps produce power from wind currents in the sky. Generally refered to as “MARS”, the Magenn Air Rotor System is an innovative lighter-than-air tethered device that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, efficiently generating clean renewable electrical energy at a lower cost than all competing systems, namely the various types of ground-based wind turbines.

The electrical energy, produced by a MARS unit, is transferred down the tether to a transformer at a surprisingly compact ground station and then transferred to the electricity power grid. Just imagine the “clean energy generation” possibilities!

From a technical standpoint, helium (an inert non-reactive lighter than air gas) sustains the Air Rotor which ascends to an optimal altitude, high off the ground, for best winds and where its rotation also causes the amazing Magnus effect.

This well-known physical phenomenon provides additional lift, keeps the device stabilized, keeps it positioned within a very controlled and restricted location allthewhile causing it to pull up overhead rather than drift downwind on its tether.

To make a long story short, Magenn has taken what’s best about ground-based wind turbines and multiplied the efficiency by inventively tweaking the basic design or the rotor while having it ascend between 150 and 1,000 feet, in the air.

The sheer genius behind the Magenn Wind Power Anywhere solution should help even more demanding customers to benefit from the wind to produce clean energy. Advantages over existing Conventional Wind Turbines and Diesel Generating Systems include: global deployment possibilities, lower costs, better operational performance and greater environmental advantages.

Remotely located potential customers will love the speed at which they can become fully independant from “the main power grid” with their very own MARS unit generating power 24/7, way up in the sky above their location.

Magenn is still working some of the technical and regualtion details but overall, this wind-power solution is, in many way, a notch above the rest.

Tags: magenn, wind power, windmills, air power, remote locations, power generation

Pool cleaning companies should be worried for a surprisingly affordable -and efficient- robotic alternative is making quite an impression on pool owners, worldwide.

Say hello to iRobot’s selection of pool cleaning robots: the Verro 300 and 600. Both use the same fine filter bag to pick up and trap dirt and debris plus algae, bacteria and debris as small as 2 microns. These devices make it possible for pool owners to clean their whole pool, from floor to waterline, in roughly an hour… with the touch of a button.

The Verro is basically a “drop in the water and forget” device. You plug it in a standard (outdoors) electrical outlet and gently drop it into your pool. Then, you let it go to work against whatever shouldn’t be in your pool, wether you see it or not.

Technically speaking, roller brushes scrub pool surfaces while a powerful vacuum and self-contained filtration system assist in the cleanup process. It works so well that it’ll even reduce the run times of your pool’s filtration system -and- improve the distribution of chemicals and temperature. Needless to say you’ll love bathing in this much cleaner water.

Compared to other pool cleaners, this one really hits the bullseye. The fact you can let it do the dirty work for you is amazing enough but the quality of the cleanup it provides set it in a class all by itself. Even in the deeper end of you pool, this robotic marvel easily climbs up walls (yep, it’s a lot of fun to watch) and therefore cleans the pool floor -and- all sides.

When you empty the fine filter bag from all the debris the Verro gathered, hose it down a bit and then, make sure to throw it in your washing machine to make it even cleaner (read: like new). Ideally, you should get yourself a second fine filter bag, for about 50$.

Considering how much it costs to have the “pool boy” come and clean things up, the Verro 300 at 699$ and the Verro 600 (which scrubs surfaces) at 1,099$ mean that your investment will likely pay for itself in about 6 to 10 weeks.

If you’re used to cleaning your pool by yourself, consider that using the iRobot Verro will help you reclaim at least two hours a week which you can spend doing all the other “interesting” things you want to do.

Overall, it’s a wonderful new way to cut back on the pool-related chores while still diving into pristine pool water.

Tags: irobot, verro, pool cleaning, clean water, algae, bacteria, debris, cleanup

Countless people, especially those minding their health, get frustrated by the food industry’s evident lack of creativity (or interest) in offering healthier alternatives to consumers.

Too much sugar (boatloads of it, actually), excessive use of salt, freightening amounts of cholesterol, heavily OGMed ingredients and dubious mixes of chemical additives should rightfully be feared by everyone, not just the savvy grocery shopper crowd.

Because your health is priceless, you’ll probably be happy to learn that Arthur’s Fresh is offering a delicious array of nature’s finest fruits and vegetables in the form of juice smoothies kids, teenagers and parents will all quickly fall in love with.

If you plan on enjoying on healthy life, these are the nutritious juices you want to add to your diet: Strawberry Rainforest, Blueberry Tea, 24 Carrot Energizer, Mango Plus, Verry Berry, Green Energy, Pomtastic and last but surely not the least, A?ßai Plus which sports a tasty little berry coming straight from the lush Amazon Forest.

Like all Arthur’s products, A?ßai Plus provides 2.5 servings of fresh fruit from completely natural ingredients but that’s not all because each serving of A?ßai Plus provides a good source of fibre and precious prebiotics. Ingredientwise, expect non genetically modified (non GMO, hurray), amazingly fresh (meaning not concentrated or adulterated) and as previously stated, it’s completely natural.

If you’re an Oprah fan, you probably already know the acai berry tops the number one position in her superfood list. The fact you can benefit from the very strong antioxydant power of this Brazilian berry just by drinking Arthur’s A?ßai Plus juice is news worthy of writing home about.

The company producing this unique collection of juice smoothies also has a different take on life than that of the widely known food industry giants — and it’s very refreshing:

Arthur’s Fresh was founded by a 5th generation fruit farmer from Goderich, ON and the son of Arthur John Bell (where the name of the company comes from).

His commitment to the land and making products that are actually beneficial to consumers has been passed down through the generations and shapes everything Arthur’s Fresh does.

This lays in stark contrast to the recent trend of products being made with lots of marketing hype that are empty calories offering little nutritional value for their consumer.

More specifically, here’s how Arthur’s Fresh is seeding positive changes:

1st make 100% natural products that are 100% good for people.
2nd procure ingredients ethically and support the agrarian lifestyle.
3rd minimize waste and maximize total system recyclability.
4th lead by example and take the high road.
5th seed profits into ideas that enrich childrens lives.

Walking their talk, Arthur’s Fresh seed at least 10% of their annual profits back into the community, every year. Even better, since 2003, their contributions have actually exceeded their annual profits, thus greatly exceeding their “minimum” commitment.

This quote from their web site really sums up their philosophy quite well: “We want to leave things a little bit better than we find them” and if every other food company out there observed such high ethical standards, the planet would arguably be in much better shape.

For all these reasons (and your own good, of course), it’s probably time that you changed (at least part of) your juice drinking habbits to include your favorite flavor of Arthur’s Fresh juice smoothies.

Tags: arthur’s fresh, juice, juice smoothies, health, acai, berries, fruit, vegetable, grocery