article thumbnail

Who Really Invented the Thumb Drive?

Cars That Think

In 2000, at a trade fair in Germany, an obscure Singapore company called Trek 2000 unveiled a solid-state memory chip encased in plastic and attached to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector. Good-bye, floppy disk Before the invention of the thumb drive, computer users stored and transported their files using floppy disks.

Singapore 145
article thumbnail

Warehouse Robots to Automate Your Living Room

Cars That Think

Well, it’s probably not going to massively boost your productivity or increase your own personal fulfillment all that much, but it’s an interesting idea that might make some things a little more convenient from time to time. Buying the robot plus one two-tier shelf will cost you about $2000 in total, plus an $8 per month subscription fee.

article thumbnail

The Lies that Powered the Invention of Pong

Cars That Think

It sold 2000 units but was never a hit. It sold 2000 units but was never a hit. He divided the cost of a computer by the amount of money an average arcade game made and promptly dropped the idea, because the economics did not make sense. Bushnell a year earlier as an employee of Nutting Associates.

Power 143
article thumbnail

Inside the Universe Machine: The Webb Space Telescope’s Ultra-Reliable Radio

Cars That Think

Menzel says he first saw the frequency selection proposals for JWST around 2000, when he was working at Northrop Grumman. Any scientific data the JWST collects during its lifetime will need to be stored on board, because the spacecraft doesn’t maintain round-the-clock contact with Earth. I knew where the risks were in this mission.

Universal 116
article thumbnail

Ascend Energy and Atrex Energy demo tubular SOFC electric ATV, fueled by natural gas

Green Car Congress

idea Solutions Design, and JB Mechanical to integrate and install a commercial 1000 Watt Atrex Energy fuel cell power generator fueled with compressed natural gas in an all-electric Polaris Ranger ATV. There is no need to transport or store hydrogen, avoiding another layer of complexity. Ascend worked with Tructronics Inc.,

article thumbnail

False Starts: The Story of Vehicle-to-Grid Power

Cars That Think

It occurred in the wake of the California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001, when mismanaged deregulation, market manipulation, and environmental catastrophe combined to unhinge the power grid. Electricity is a commodity that is bought and sold, and yet unlike most other commodities, it cannot easily be stored.

Grid 137
article thumbnail

Faster, Meaner, Deadlier: The Evolution of BattleBots

Cars That Think

Battlebots premiered on Comedy Central in, I think it was, 2000. We want to break any idea of "vertical spinners will always win." What are the biggest changes you've seen technology-wise over 20 years or so? Greg Munson: Probably the biggest is battery technology. Now we're 22 years later. Then NiCad packs became very popular.

Las Vegas 104