CNN has a pretty cool feature on their website about the big automakers and their plans for making so-called “green” cars.  Fuel economy and environmental-friendliness are becoming increasingly important to consumers, and all of the major car companies are taking notice.  Some of these are closer to being in full production than others, while some are just concept cars. 

The one pictured is the Flexstream, which stores and carries two Segway scooters that are charged when “docked.” From the article:

“The diesel engine provides an additional charge only if needed and is never used to drive the car. On a full charge, the Flextreme can drive about 34 miles before the diesel engine starts.Total range on one 7-gallon tank of fuel is 444 miles”

You can see a ton of photos of the Flexstream here at the Autoblog. 

Google, the internet search giant, is sponsoring a $30 Million moon contest. 

Now for me, that’s all I need to know.  I’m in.  But you may want to know more.

The cash prize will go to the first company (or individual, I imagine) that manages to build a robotic rover that can land on the moon and beam back a gigabyte of images and video to Earth.  Now, building a space craft that can land a robotic rover on the moon is tough enough without the added requirement that it be able to beam signals back to Earth.  But I’m sure someone will do it.

The contest is being cosponsored by the X Prize Foundation, which famously held the contest that produced the first manned private spaceflight in 2004. 

You can read more about this contest here.  As for me, I’m done reading.  Reading wastes precious rover-building time.   I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me if I’m going to win that $30 Million. 

A very popular type of online article these days is the Top 10 List.  Or the ”Top 15″ List.  Just pick a number and write a list…and people will come.  That seems to be the philosophy at least. 

We decided to go with 7.  Seemed like a nice round number, and we could only find 7 decent lists to present to you this week, so it worked out nicely.  (Plus, our last compilation of lists capped out at 7, so there’s some continuity there.)

Here, then, is a sampling of the lists currently getting buzz online:

• 3 Things Your Resume Can do Without
• 10 Fast Fixes for Common Nagging PC Problems
• Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop Battery’s Life
• The 23 Wackiest Houses
• Top 10 Reasons Not to Buy an iPhone (Yet)
• 10 Great (but Fake) Tech Videos Online
• The 7 Wonders of the IT World 

Hope you enjoy! 

A few interesting articles of note in the world of search over the past week or so:

• A super-secret, super-powerful new search engine called Cuill is in the works.  Developed by a lot of former Google gurus, this one has the industry buzzing.  Apparently, Cuill’s algorithm can do what Google’s does, only much faster and much cheaper.  This article suggests that the fine folks at Google are surely less than pleased about their former employees who started this new engine. 
• Speaking of Google, did you know that you can create a custom search engine for your website that is based on Google’s index?  Using the Custom Search Engine tool from Google, anyone can create a filter based on keywords.  So if you have a hundred-page website about woodworking, you can create a custom filter based on your content and keywords that would allow clients to seamlessly search your site and find exactly what they need.  Cool.
• Lastly, a new company has taken a simple concept and launched a business.  It’s Google search, but with a customizeable image as the home page.  The comapny, called Groovle, uses Google’s index–so you get the same results you would get on the Google home page–and adds in the ability for the user to customize their own home page image.  They have a ton of pre-set images, from celebrities to sports teams, but they also give you the option of using one of your own pictures.  Here’s an example of a Groovle Search Home Page.  You can read more about it here. 

Today, at an event called “The Beat Goes On,” Apple is holding another one of their glorified press conferences that Apple disciples flock to in droves, and they’ve announced several new features and services.  They’ve also introduced a new product or two, the most impressive of which is the new iPod Touch. 

The iPod Touch is an 8mm-thick iPod with the touch screen capabilities of the iPhone.  Which means it’s an iPhone without the phone.  There are 8GB and 16GB models, retailing for $299 and $399 respectively. 

Other announcements of note to Apple fanatics:

• The new iPod Nanos will have video capabilities.
• The iPhone is going to get cheaper, soon to cost $399 (take that, all you people who paid $600 or more just three months ago!)
• iTunes customers will be able to easily turn their purchased songs into ringtones, and will also be able to purchase music while connected wirelessly

So yeah, you can buy an iPod Touch for $399, or you can buy an iPhone for $399 (which is the same thing as an iPod Touch only with the added convenience of being able to make phone calls and stuff).  Which one do you think people will choose? 

Also…while there isn’t any official Apple word, a VW spokesman has confirmed that the automaker is in conversations with Apple to develop an iCar.  Yes…an iCar.  Lines are forming already at a VW dealer near you, I’m sure. 

That may be one of the best headlines of all time!  And it’s totally true too. 

This article from CNN’s website talks about the scientific achievement.  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or, Darpa) has been working on a $55 Million project to create prosthetic limbs capable of performing the same functions of a natural arm, including specific joint movements such as piano playing. 

The project was inspired by returning Iraq war veterans who had lost limbs. 

They hope to petition the Food & Drug Administration by 2009 for clinical trial permissions, with full-scale production of the arm to hopefully follow. 

The US Department of Labor has released some interesting information about how Americans spend their time.  The main chart is for all adults 15 and older, but they have subgrouped charts for different age groups. 

I have no idea how they compiled all this information, but it’s pretty interesting.  For instance, the average American apparently spends 1.1 hours per day caring for others.  We’d do more for others, I guess, if we weren’t spending 2.6 hours a day on leisure and sports activities. 

The web is full of interesting resources like this, but most people just don’t know about it.  Here’s a few more that you may find interesting:

• The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Collection:  Thousands and thousands of searchable images.
• NASA’s collection of over 9000 photographs of space, space missions, and spacecraft.
• The country’s 5000 fastest growing private companies list from Inc.
• A huge list of historic government documents courtesy of the University of Michgan Library.

It’s easy to get so busy with our usual leisure surfing and forget that there’s a terribly vast opportunity online for learning and exploration.