TomTom's Go Live family got a little larger today, with the unveiling of the company's new 800 series of PNDs. With the purchase of an 820 or 825 GPS, you'll get a year's worth of free access to HD Traffic, a speed camera alert system, local weather updates and all the rest of TomTom's Live services. The navigators also come with intelligent orientation sensors that allow for easy dashboard mounting, as well as Bluetooth capabilities that enable drivers to make hands-free calls while they cruise. The five-inch 825, much like the ARM11-powered Go Live 1000, generates routes using TomTom's IQ Routes technology, though it won't cost quite as much as its big brother. No word yet on the pricing of the 4.3-inch 820, which is due to hit Europe this September, but the 825 will retail for about £230 ($373) when it launches this month.
As you may know, crafting a katana is a delicate process that involves carefully constructing a razor-sharp high-carbon edge around a soft shock-absorbent core. One day though, smiths and forging fires could be replaced by electrode-wielding mad-scientists, with the technology to selectively harden and soften metal at will. At least that's what we envisioned when we read about Jörg Weißmüller's breakthrough research in the field of nanomaterials. The German scientist discovered that by placing precious metals in acid he could create tiny ducts through corrosion. Once those channels are flooded with a conductive liquid, electrical currents can be used to harden the material and, if you change your mind about the brittle results, the effect can easily be reversed to make it soft again. The tech could eventually lead to self-healing vehicle armor or scratch-resistant cellphones -- but, really, we just want to zap our way to a high-quality samurai sword. Physorg
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