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As India experienced its worst power failure ever last week, leaving 600 million people without electricity, disrupting the operation of hospitals and public services and shutting down transportation in key regions vital to the country’s economy, New Delhi will have to face up to some critical power realities. On one level, increasing demand for electricity as a result of increasing demand for consumer electronics, particularly air conditioners, caused the crash. On another level, the entire power grid collapsed as a result of one or more states overdrawing power to meet excess demand. This post origionally ran at Oilprice.com. There are two main problems here that represent a mixture of policy and technology: First of all, India, already the sixth-largest electricity consumer in the world, depends almost entirely on hydro-electricity, which is not sufficient to supply its growing demand. Secondly, the grid is outdated, under-managed, abused and dangerously centralized.  Let’s start ...

Aug 8, 2012 1:40 PM   A portable battery pack is only as useful as long as you're able to keep it charged. So Exogear has created a new compact power system that uses stackable modular battery packs to prolong its life almost indefinitely—as long as you're willing to carry enough of them as backups. The $90 Exovolt Plus base unit contains a 5,200mA lithium polymer battery that provides enough juice to recharge even an iPad from a built-in USB port. But if you don't think you'll have an opportunity to recharge the base unit before it's depleted, you can simply connect it to a $50 sub-unit which contains the same 5,200mA battery—minus the USB port. In theory you can stack an unlimited number of the units together for perpetual power, but you're probably going to be limited to how many you can physically carry. [Exogear] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts a...

Tempting as it may be to covet plunge routers, nail guns, and compound sliding miter saws, they're just not right for most guys. A tiny drill, though, that's something no junk drawer should go without. Here's a look ten power tools a regular homeowner ought to have on hand, a list Gizmodo put together as an installment in Esquire's excellent Best Month Ever. Not too many power tools can be stowed away in a kitchen drawer and also put a hole in a brick wall. Bosch has been releasing pistol-sized 12-volt drivers since 2006, and the tools got ridiculously useful with the addition of a masonry-punching hammer function. At 2.3 pounds, this one's zippy 3/8-inch chuck bites on a bit and kicks a little when you pull the trigger. It's got oomph. But owning it also means you have no excuse as to why you can't hang a pot rack, assemble a bookshelf, or tighten up a deck rail—like, today. Don't kid yourself. There is not room in your life for a compound sliding mite...

Bicycle commuters like me face a conundrum: Use regular platform pedals and get about half the power out of our strokes (pulling up is just as important as pushing down), or use "clipless" pedals and deal with the accompanying annoying/ugly special shoes. This means either toting an extra pair of kicks to the office or clacking around in bike shoes all day. Carrying extra stuff really cramps the streamlined life I'm trying to use, and bike-specific shoes are generally as ugly as any other item of bike-specific clothing. Neither option is a good option, at least for me. Now, innovative companies have made casual shoes with clipless cleats in them before, but they usually look like they belong at the skate park or the natural foods store. I am a grownup in New York City, so I have held off on buying anything. That's not going to last long, because I just stumbled across these DZR Concubines: a pair of Shimano SPD-compatible casual clipless sneaks that I would probably ...

Jul 23, 2012 9:00 AM   What looks to the layman like a chunky under-the-desk computer power strip is actually a full-fledged hacking tool designed to let white hat hackers (aka the 'good' guys) test the security level of a given computer network, wired or wireless. With Wi-Fi, ethernet, Bluetooth, and an entire suite of hacking software tools built-in, the Power Pwn can let anyone put an office's computer network to the ultimate security test. And with an optional 3G/GSM adapter, they don't have to be anywhere near the facility being compromised. Not surprisingly, the development of the Power Pwn was partly funded by DARPA, which has a vested interest in protecting the government's networks, but with a pre-order price tag of almost $1,300, it might just push some non-government types into a life of hacking crime to afford it. [Pwnie Express via BoingBoing] View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org Thi...