350 miles on one tank of fuel is respectable, but not terribly above average - unless the fuel is free.

We first brought you news about Honda's FCX Concept Car back in June. Since then, the competition for the "green auto" market has intensified, and Honda has now announced a target date of 2008 for public release. It promises to be the first affordable hydrogen-fuelled automobile widely available to average consumer. The power generator which generates the electricity that actually runs the vehicle is 20% smaller and 30% lighter than its most recent predecessor, and allows the vehicle to travel up to 350 miles on a "fill-up."

Other companies, such as BMW, have been dabbling in hydrogen fuel-cell technology and hybrid cars. Hydrogen-powered cars are available, but at a price of almost 0,000 there haven't been many takers.

In a related story, Honda has come up with a catalytic converter for their high-tech Diesel powered vehicles. Diesel engines are far more efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts - but historically, far more polluting as well. This particular vehicle should be available in the U.S. within the next three years. In the meantime, you might be interested to know that a Diesel engine was originally designed to run on used vegetable oil, which is far more environmentally friendly.

Your car will smell like french fries, however...

The people of the world may be starving, going without clean water, decent air and proper health care, and the planet's climate may be changing in ways that will make it ultimately uninhabitable - but you can always count on the world's governments and their private corporate masters to use technology in profitable - if destructive - ways.  After all, what's human life compared to a defense contractor's bottom line?

The latest toy (over which U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his British counterpart in the Ministry of Defence, Des Browne are already giddy about) is an "armed remote-controlled robot" manufactured by the Foster-Miller corporation of Waltham, Massachusetts. The machine-gun-equipped robot, called "Sword," was certified safe for use by the US forces last summer.

Robots have previously been used to detonating improvised bombs in the UK, Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest version has been developed from an earlier machine from the same company, called "Talon."  This one had a manipulator arm which has been replaced by a rotating machine gun carrier. According to Foster-Miller general manager Bob Quinn, "It's for urban combat and perimeter security and it's fully controlled by the soldier." Indeed, none of the robots currently under development will operate autonomously, except for a "return home" function pre-programmed into them.

Since the bellicose Bush is handing out defense contracts like the Easter Bunny throwing candy to eager little children, defense contractors are busily designing the next generation of "battlebots" that they believe will be "smart" enough to tell friend from foe.  There has been some outcry about this from the AI community, fortunately. "It is ethically problematic to use software that may work in lab conditions but not under a whole range of extreme conditions, such as when you suspect someone might be a suicide bomber," says Kirsten Dautenhahn, an AI expert at the University of Hertfordshire.

Lucy Suchman, a researcher at the University of Lancaster whose work involves studying interactions between humans and computers adds, "This plan is just ridiculous. It involves the worst kind of simplistic profiling. It's a fantasy on the part of technology enthusiasts within the Pentagon."

Since there is so much profit at stake, Bob Quinn - predictably - disagrees. "Recognition technology is progressing fast. I think it will separate the wheat from the chaff," he says, pointing out that the Pentagon's Office of Naval Research - through which the funding is being channeled - is "not known for wasting research dollars." By the way, anyone out there wanna buy a bridge in Tacoma...?

In his 1942 story Runaround, science-fiction author Isaac Asimov first delineated his three Rules of Robotics:

• No robot may harm a human being, nor through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• A robot must obey all commands given it by a human being, except for situations in which it would conflict with the First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence, except for situations in which it would conflict with the First and Second Laws.

Now, if we could just get the things to understand some simple rules of etiquette...

After all, even we as humans don't always pick up on another's moods or feelings. Imagine then, how difficult this is for a silicon-brained, artificial being who can only think in terms of ones and zeroes. According to Waseda University's Shuji Hashimoto, robots need kansei - emotion, intuitiveness and sensibility. In short, robots need to be able to "read" a human's emotional state and act appropriately. Otherwise, the relationship between Wooster and his silicon Jeeves is not likely to be a long nor happy one. As Hashimoto points out,  "Emotion is one of the most crucial factors influencing the success or failure of communication between humans...robots are going to need similar emotional capabilities if they are to cooperate smoothly and flexibly with humans in our residential environments."

Hashimoto believes this could be accomplished by using artificial-intelligence-based programming techniques currently available. The example given was that of floor-crawling robotic vacuum cleaners that sense when it has reached the wall.  Its computer brain knows it is time to cut its motor and set a new course. Another example is the oxygen sensor in modern automobiles, that are able to adjust fuel mixtures for varying driving conditions. In the case of robots, their AI could theoretically pair sensed situations with a set of pre-programmed actions.

Kansei-enabled robots  would have a slightly more complex task. They would need to make use of sensors worn by their owner to spot signs of stress, allowing them to read emotional indicators such as perspiration, blood pressure,  and heart rate. Neural networks could then decide how best to react to the person. According to Hashimoto,  robots will at least appear capable of intuitive behavior. "Kansei robots will seem to understand human feeling to some extent and will appeal to us with their reactions. But they are not machines with a heart; they just look like they have a heart," he says.

The danger lies in the sheer complexity of programming. As any first-year programmer soon learns, the more complex the code, the greater the complexity - and the higher the chance of "bugs" and instability. In order to avoid these problems, Hashimoto believes that the robots would have to be able to "learn" from their environment and come up with their own sets of "rules" - much like humans do as they grow and mature from childhood through adolescence into adulthood.  This, unfortunately, would mean jettisoning Asimov's Three Laws - and anyone who's raised children can understand how dangerous this could potentially be when dealing with a robotic "teenager."

Hashimoto is adamant, however. "We have to design environments where human and robot learn together," Hashimoto says. "As long as we obey Asimov's laws, we will never have a machine that is a true partner for a human."

Ever wondered how traffic signal lights work? Sometimes, they change at the darndest, most inconvenient and seemingly arbitrary times. Other times, they're amazing - they seem to "know" you're coming and turn green for you just before you have to stop.

The fact is, signals work in several different ways, depending on where they are. In most large metropolitan areas, most of them on on timers. The reason is there's usually traffic 24/7. On the other hand, in suburban and rural areas where traffic ebbs and flows - or in left turn lanes (right turn lanes if you're in Great Britain or Japan) - various types of sensors are used.

Laser sensors and rubber pneumatic hoses are used frequently, but the most common mechanism is an inductive loop. An inductor consists of a coil of wire, which builds up a magnetic field. The coil keeps current from flowing to the electrical device - in this case, the light bulb in the signal - until the magnetic field is fully formed. Once this magnetic field is in place, the current can flow normally.

By putting more iron in or near the inductor, the amount of current  is reduced because of raised induction levels. Since an automobile contains a substantial amount of iron, it's presence over a coil increases induction - thus inhibiting the flow of electricity to the red light. (Ah! Another mystery solved...)

Even for those of you with "wireless" systems, chances are the back of your computer area is an unholy mess of tangled cords. Just keeping a set of headphones in your pocket, you'll often wind up with a Gordian Knot that would have frustrated the great Macedonian general himself.

How many of you have spent a half-hour or more untangling headphone cords? Ummm...ALL of you...?

So - what's the best solution? There are two approaches: one is to neatly wind the cord around one's finger. The other is just to stuff  'em in your pocket.

A contributor to a British science column tried both of these. His results were counter-intuitive: oddly, stuffing them randomly into your jeans seems to make them less likely to become tangled. This would seem to go against the common wisdom that neatness makes for better organization. The best theory as to why random stuffing works better is because by doing this, one part of the wire is less likely to cross another at an angle and thus pass under it to form a knot.

Other possible strategies: fold the headphones and tie the cord in place using the end of the lead. The danger is that the wire may break. Another might by to simply let the cord hang straight down outside your pant leg, but then there's the danger of stepping on it and tripping - damaging both your headphones and quite possibly, you.

So...anyone else have some experiences with this issue? And, how might you apply it to the dusty, tangled mess under your computer station? Let's hear from you!

This has been a bad year for some electronics manufacturers. There have been several reports of laptops that simply explode and burst into flame, and at least one company had to recall a portable DVD player when it was reported to have blown up.

The problem lies in the fact that we continually demand more and more of these machines. Applications demand more RAM and more processing power, which in turn require more and more energy.

Recently, chipmaker Intel has begun to address the required "energy per instruction", or EPI. The goal is to create chips that are not only powerful, but energy efficient as well. A more efficient chip can make for a lighter computer that runs at cooler temperatures - reducing the chances of mishap.

For awhile the trend was disturbing. The original 1993 Pentium required 13 nanojoules per instruction. Ten years later, a Pentium 4 consumed four times that much energy. The trend seems to be reversing, however. The latest Pentium chip consumes no more than the original, but has three times the processing power. The Core Duo processors consume only 10 nanojoules per instruction, yet their processing power is comparable to the Pentium 4.

The trend looks promising. The original Pentium chips in 1993 consumed 13 nanojoules per instruction. But the Pentium 4s from a couple of years ago consumed a whopping 49 nanojoules per instruction.

"There is a little good in all evil." My grandmother said that once. If any good has come from the recent spate of laptop and DVD player explosions, it's that the need for greater energy efficiency in computer chips has become apparent - and that the issue is finally getting the attention it deserves.

Recently, a Washington DC commentator on Air America's Randi Rhodes Show complained that talking to a local journalist was like trying to have an educated adult discussion about sophisticated issues with an adolescent. Not that this isn't possible - there are very bright and sophisticated high schoolers out there - but the point seems to be that this journalist lacked any sort of in-depth understanding of the issues which which he was supposed to be dealing with.

Could robotic journalism be an answer? Thompson Financial, a business journal, is now using "news robots" to gather breaking stories in the financial world. Human journalists may have cause to worry: news-bots can churn out a story in a fraction of a second, never miss a deadline, don't argue with editors and don't require expense accounts.

However, as one scientist pointed out long ago, humans have the unique ability to take initiative (most of the time) and make value judgements. At their current stage of development, machines can only obey. "News-bots" are unable to find stories for themselves, cannot interview sources and have no way of separating the proverbial "wheat" from the "chaff." Until we have a real-life Dr. Soong to create some sort of positronic thinking machine, it's unlikely that news-bots will be replacing human journalists.

In the meantime, news-bots can conceivably focus on the "grunt-work" of gathering very basic information, freeing human journalists to investigate more important stories - if only they would.

How mANY TIMES HAS THIS HAppened to yOU? yOU'RE TYPing along, theN NOTICE suddenLy, you'VE GoT a bUNCh of cAPiTaLS oN tHE pAge wherE THeY SHOULdN't bE...

Or perhaps you can't access a web page or a file because that dAMnable thing keeps screwing up your "CaSe-SEnsitIVE" pASsworD?

We don't know about you, but Pierter Hintjens of Belgian software company iMatrix is mad as hell and  isn't gonna take it anymore. He has made it his holy crusade to remove the "CapsLock" key from keyboards all over the world. In his blog on Slashdot, he said: "Sure, there are more serious problems to solve but please, think of the children! How am I going to explain to my kids why some of the most valuable keyboard real estate is squatted by a large, useless key that above all you must not press!"

Hintjens has launched a new blog called cappsoff.blogspot.com and has gone so far as to start a CappsOff forum on Google. The forum has 300 members, and its growing.

It's true that the Caps Lock key can be a problem. Still, there are software solutions already available that can deactivate the key, as well as many custom keyboards on the market. Is Hintjens overreacting...? What do YoU thInK?

Europe's premier aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, has slipped behind Boeing in the race to produce a fuel-efficient "superjumbo" jet airliner - and may wind up becoming a "niche" planemaker.

This is a result of problems with the A380, a double-decker passenger liner designed to carry over 500 passengers. There have been glitches with the electrical "harness" - a complex of 300 miles of electrical wire running throughout the aircraft. A total of 700 workers have been temporarily transferred from the Hamburg plant to the main factory in Toulouse and are working 24/7 to replace the harness.

This delay led to parent firm European Aeronautic and Defense Company to remove one of Airbus' CEOs (instead of giving him a raise as has been common corporate practice in the U.S. for the past five years), and may cost the manufacturer €2B ($2.6B) over the next four years. Also at stake is an estimated $450 billion revenue that Airbus could receive by offering a mid-size craft to compete with Boeing's 787. Design and manufacture of this particular craft has been delayed by the wiring problems in the A380.

"Airbus is at risk of becoming a marginal, niche manufacturer in a couple of years unless they act now,'' says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Teal Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm.

"There's not much time left,'' adds Peter Rieth, an analyst at BHF-Bank in Frankfurt. "The new chief executive officer primarily has the task of bringing the problems in the company back on track, especially with the A380. That means not delaying deliveries any further and making strategic decisions such as how things will continue with the A350. These are two huge challenges for the new management.''

Doug McVitie, managing director of Arran Aerospace, a French consulting firm, says despite the problems and delays, airlines may support Airbus because they need two strong planemakers to keep prices in check. "Most of the major airline bosses would hate to see a duopoly become a monopoly,'' he stated. "They'll be anxious to see Airbus solve its problems. That'll translate into patience and flexibility, and airlines will also think twice about their orders in case it tipped the balance too far in one manufacturer's favor.''

In keeping with tradition and U.S. Americans' love of stuff that goes boom, especially on Independence Day, we present the Ultimate Home Fireworks Display. (Caution: don't actually try this at home.)

You will need "moon rockets" or bottle rockets (a case of 3,000 rockets can be gotten for around $30), sparklers, and a fairly heavy cardboard box. Use additional cardboard, cut into strips, and duct-tape them together to form compartments inside your box. Cut the top of the box off so that the top half of the rockets are exposed when standing upright inside the box.

Now that the container is ready, stack the rockets neatly and tightly into their compartments. Poke a number of sparklers into the sides of the box, making sure the "business end" is inside. These will function as your fuses.

View the video below to see "Project Vulcan" in action - and please note that the action is filmed from a respectable distance. (Note: Neither QJ.net, nor its editors nor reporters accept any liability should you decide to attempt this yourself - which you shouldn't. Have a safe and happy Fourth!)