So far, Digiboo's movie kiosks have been severely limited by a couple of factors, before you even get to the fact that their content is SD only. Firstly, they've required users to carry a USB stick on their person, and secondly they've only been able to transfer rentals to a Windows device. Today, however, the company has cleared a major hurdle on its passage to relevance, by allowing wireless transfers to any "Windows-enabled PC, laptop or tablet." This should make Digiboo's next step -- Android support, which is promised to come this month -- a whole lot easier.
Speeding along cartoon roads, chasing down an evil Penguin or Joker or outrunning an inept sheriff are just of the duties of TV?s most popular cars. But even the coolest of cars needs insurance in the event it?s stolen, a tree falls on it, or villains and crooks try to disassemble it for its gadgets and gizmos.
Here?s a look at what it would cost to buy auto insurance for some of the most iconic rides on TV.
KITT, 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, ?Knight Rider?
Artificial intelligence in this souped-up black Trans Am meant KITT, which stood for Knight Industries Two Thousand, could crack jokes and be sarcastic while still being bulletproof and able to jump over obstacles, maybe even tall buildings. The highly advanced robotic car makes GPS systems and talking technology of today look obsolete.
Estimated annual premium: The basic 1982 Trans Am would cost about $900 a year to insure, according to Eric Hurt, vice president of SIG Insurance Professionals in Texas. All of KITT?s bells and whistles probably would require policy add-ons that could total $1,000 a year ? on top of the standard auto insurance premium.
The General Lee, 1969 Dodge Charger, ?The Dukes of Hazzard?
Made famous on ?The Dukes of Hazzard,? the General Lee helped Bo and Luke Duke always stay one step ahead of bad guy Boss Hogg. That?s after they used the car to transport their uncle?s outlawed moonshine. Chases, stunt and high-speed jumps were all part of a day?s work for the car, whose doors where welded shut.
Estimated annual premium: Roughly $800, according to Hurt, as long as you didn?t speed, race or chase like the cousins Duke did. Oh, and don?t even think of committing crimes like running moonshine. Drive like those good ol? boys, and the premiums are sure to soar ? or your auto insurance might not be renewed.
The Mystery Machine, ?Scooby Doo?
The multicolor van with a groovy paint job served as a mobile office and part-time home to a Great Dane, a bunch of hippie teens and their ghost-hunting gear. Not to mention Scooby?s cherished snacks.
Estimated annual premium: Hurt says a similar ghost-hunting ?shagadelic? foursome could expect to pay about $650 a year for auto insurance on the Mystery Machine. But you might want to have a pet-restraining device for your ?Scooby? to make sure your pooch stays safe.
The Batmobile, ?Batman?
Wing-shaped tail fins, supercharged afterburners, armor, state-of-the-art computer (for its time), assorted gizmos and all sorts of crime-fighting gadgets make the modified 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car one of them most coveted vehicles in TV history.
Estimated annual premium: Brian Rauber, a Farmers Insurance agent in Missouri, says the Batmobile would cost more than $3,000 a year to insure. That is, if Batman could buy insurance. ?An insurance carrier would have to get beyond the speed capability and the weaponry on the car,? he says.
Red Ferrari 308 GTS, ?Magnum P.I.?
Magnum P.I., portrayed by Tom Selleck, was cool, suave and debonair, even in floral Hawaiian shirts. So it makes sense that his car would be just as cool.
Estimated annual premium: If you want to cruise around the streets of Honolulu (or any other city) like Magnum, you?d have to shell out roughly $1,500 a year for auto insurance, according to Hurt.
1975 Gran Torino, ?Starsky and Hutch?
The ?Striped Tomato? on ?Starsky and Hutch? had nearly as many fans as the show?s stars. It was so popular that Ford released a limited-edition version with a similar paint scheme so fans could emulate their favorite crime-fighting duo.
Estimated annual premium: Auto insurance for a ?Striped Tomato? of your own would be about $1,100 a year, according to Hurt.
1983 GMC G-Series, ?The A-Team?
The band of former special agents turned do-gooding fugitives, including Mr. T, cruised around in a less-than-inconspicuous van outfitted to be nearly as strong as a tank. The van has had its share of crashes, been disassembled and reassembled, and has dodged several bullets. It also had a distinctive paint job that made it a target of the A-Team?s foes ? and would make it a target of would-be thieves.
Estimated annual premium: Hurt says you could expect to pay about $750 a year, but with several crashes and traffic tickets, your rates could go up by 20 percent.
Mach 5, ?Speed Racer?
The 5,000-horsepower animated racing machine had seven buttons on the steering wheel that could adjust traction, slice obstacles out of the way, turn the car into a submarine and more. And that was in the 1970s. Imagine what bells and gadgets artists could draw today.
Estimated annual premium: Rauber says the Mach 5 would cost nearly $2,000 a year to insure.
Neolithic man: The first lumberjack?Public release date: 9-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Transition from hunting to agricultural society parallels development of woodworking tools, Tel Aviv University research reveals
During the Neolithic Age (approximately 10000 BCE), early man evolved from hunter-gatherer to farmer and agriculturalist, living in larger, permanent settlements with a variety of domesticated animals and plant life. This transition brought about significant changes in terms of the economy, architecture, man's relationship to the environment, and more.
Now Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations has shed new light on this milestone in human evolution, demonstrating a direct connection between the development of an agricultural society and the development of woodworking tools.
"Intensive woodworking and tree-felling was a phenomenon that only appeared with the onset of the major changes in human life, including the transition to agriculture and permanent villages," says Dr. Barkai, whose research was published in the journal PLoS One. Prior to the Neolithic period, there is no evidence of tools that were powerful enough to cut and carve wood, let alone fell trees. But new archaeological evidence suggests that as the Neolithic age progressed, sophisticated carpentry developed alongside agriculture.
Evolution of axes
The use of functional tools in relation to woodworking over the course of the Neolithic period has not been studied in detail until now. Through their work at the archaeological site of Motza, a neighbourhood in the Judean Hills, Dr. Barkai and his fellow researchers, Prof. Rick Yerkes of Ohio State University and Dr. Hamudi Khalaily of the Israel Antiquity Authority, have unearthed evidence that increasing sophistication in terms of carpentry tools corresponds with increased agriculture and permanent settlements.
The early part of the Neolithic age is divided into two distinct eras Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Agriculture and domesticated plants and animals appear only in PPNB, so the transition between these two periods is a watershed moment in human history. And these changes can be tracked in the woodworking tools which belong to each period, says Dr. Barkai.
Within PPNA, humans remained gatherers but lived in more permanent settlements for the first time, he says. Axes associated with this period are small and delicate, used for light carpentry but not suited for felling trees or other massive woodworking tasks. In PPNB, the tools have evolved to much larger and heavier axes, formed by a technique called polishing. The researchers' in-depth analysis of these tools shows that they were used to cut down trees and complete various building projects.
"We can document step by step the transition from the absence of woodworking tools, to delicate woodworking tools, to heavier woodworking tools," Dr. Barkai says, and this follows the "actual transition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture." He also identifies a trial-and-error phase during which humans tried to create an axe strong enough to undertake larger woodworking tasks. Eventually, they succeeded in creating a massive ground stone axe in PPNB.
Home makeover
Whether the transition to an agricultural society led to the development of major carpentry tools or vice versa remains to be determined, says Dr. Barkai, who characterizes it as a "circular argument." Whatever the answer, the parallel changes led to a revolution in lifestyle.
Beyond the change from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural economy, a new form of architecture also emerged. Not only did people begin to live in permanent villages, but the buildings in which they lived literally took a different shape. The round and oval structures of earlier domiciles were replaced by rectangular structures in PPNB, explains Dr. Barkai. "Evidence tells that us that for each home, approximately 10 wooden beams were needed. Prior to this, there were no homes with wooden beams." In addition, humans began to produce limestone-based plaster floors for their homes which also represented a growing use of wood, since plaster is manufactured by heating limestone.
These architectural developments, along with building pens and fences for domesticated animals, also necessitated the felling of trees in large quantities.
###
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.
Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Neolithic man: The first lumberjack?Public release date: 9-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Transition from hunting to agricultural society parallels development of woodworking tools, Tel Aviv University research reveals
During the Neolithic Age (approximately 10000 BCE), early man evolved from hunter-gatherer to farmer and agriculturalist, living in larger, permanent settlements with a variety of domesticated animals and plant life. This transition brought about significant changes in terms of the economy, architecture, man's relationship to the environment, and more.
Now Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations has shed new light on this milestone in human evolution, demonstrating a direct connection between the development of an agricultural society and the development of woodworking tools.
"Intensive woodworking and tree-felling was a phenomenon that only appeared with the onset of the major changes in human life, including the transition to agriculture and permanent villages," says Dr. Barkai, whose research was published in the journal PLoS One. Prior to the Neolithic period, there is no evidence of tools that were powerful enough to cut and carve wood, let alone fell trees. But new archaeological evidence suggests that as the Neolithic age progressed, sophisticated carpentry developed alongside agriculture.
Evolution of axes
The use of functional tools in relation to woodworking over the course of the Neolithic period has not been studied in detail until now. Through their work at the archaeological site of Motza, a neighbourhood in the Judean Hills, Dr. Barkai and his fellow researchers, Prof. Rick Yerkes of Ohio State University and Dr. Hamudi Khalaily of the Israel Antiquity Authority, have unearthed evidence that increasing sophistication in terms of carpentry tools corresponds with increased agriculture and permanent settlements.
The early part of the Neolithic age is divided into two distinct eras Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Agriculture and domesticated plants and animals appear only in PPNB, so the transition between these two periods is a watershed moment in human history. And these changes can be tracked in the woodworking tools which belong to each period, says Dr. Barkai.
Within PPNA, humans remained gatherers but lived in more permanent settlements for the first time, he says. Axes associated with this period are small and delicate, used for light carpentry but not suited for felling trees or other massive woodworking tasks. In PPNB, the tools have evolved to much larger and heavier axes, formed by a technique called polishing. The researchers' in-depth analysis of these tools shows that they were used to cut down trees and complete various building projects.
"We can document step by step the transition from the absence of woodworking tools, to delicate woodworking tools, to heavier woodworking tools," Dr. Barkai says, and this follows the "actual transition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture." He also identifies a trial-and-error phase during which humans tried to create an axe strong enough to undertake larger woodworking tasks. Eventually, they succeeded in creating a massive ground stone axe in PPNB.
Home makeover
Whether the transition to an agricultural society led to the development of major carpentry tools or vice versa remains to be determined, says Dr. Barkai, who characterizes it as a "circular argument." Whatever the answer, the parallel changes led to a revolution in lifestyle.
Beyond the change from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural economy, a new form of architecture also emerged. Not only did people begin to live in permanent villages, but the buildings in which they lived literally took a different shape. The round and oval structures of earlier domiciles were replaced by rectangular structures in PPNB, explains Dr. Barkai. "Evidence tells that us that for each home, approximately 10 wooden beams were needed. Prior to this, there were no homes with wooden beams." In addition, humans began to produce limestone-based plaster floors for their homes which also represented a growing use of wood, since plaster is manufactured by heating limestone.
These architectural developments, along with building pens and fences for domesticated animals, also necessitated the felling of trees in large quantities.
###
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (www.aftau.org) supports Israel's leading, most comprehensive and most sought-after center of higher learning. Independently ranked 94th among the world's top universities for the impact of its research, TAU's innovations and discoveries are cited more often by the global scientific community than all but 10 other universities.
Internationally recognized for the scope and groundbreaking nature of its research and scholarship, Tel Aviv University consistently produces work with profound implications for the future.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
When I was within the market for a new property some years ago I was lucky and located just the one I was looking for, except that it had a small kitchen that seemed out of place in what was a nice, significant property. It also did not have a covered patio inside the backyard, and it was missing a handful of other amenities. I bought the house but knew it needed some alterations and additions, and that I wasn?t going to be content with it till I had actually made it mine. Does that sound familiar
Lots of folks live in properties which are good, but could be that much nicer with just a little bit operate. And how usually have you noticed a property that looked impressive from the front, but in the back there was? absolutely nothing That?s also bad, as a nicely developed deck can make a huge difference. I initially realized this when I saw incredibly innovative decks and terraces in beach homes on North Carolina?s Outer Banks. When I got household I did some sketches and had a trustworthy builder do a terrific deck in my personal backyard. A deck not merely adds for the visual impact of a house, it also extends the living space. As well as the sky?s the limit in relation to designing and constructing fantastic decks.
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Pergolas are freestanding garden or attached structures that might link buildings or simply define an outdoor space. Pergolas can turn an ordinary yard into an fascinating landscape that delivers shade, a location to sit and take pleasure in the outdoors, or perhaps a location to grow plants and vines. I had mine built over a hot tub, generating it a superb location to unwind and appreciate the hot water and a cool breeze.
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The bottom line is the fact that residence improvement does not cease at exterior painting, replacement windows, or creating a brand new look with, for example the rugged and attractive Hardie plank siding I?ve had my eyes on for an although. Such projects have to be done, of course, but whilst you are at it, take the opportunity to produce your dreams come true. Rip out that wall and place within a sunroom. Take a great, long look at your yard and add a multi-level deck or even a covered patio. You are going to be substantially happier along with your dwelling, and you will boost its value. It is truly a win-win scenario.
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Artificial intelligence in this souped-up black Trans Am meant KITT, which stood for Knight Industries Two Thousand, could crack jokes and be sarcastic while still being bulletproof and able to jump over obstacles, maybe even tall buildings. The highly advanced robotic car makes GPS systems and talking technology of today look obsolete.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 9-Aug-2012
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