wheels

So Lit Motors is developing what looks a lot like a motorcycle, but with several traits from a car: You don't have to balance and you don't get wet. They call this model the C-1 and the full-size running prototype is, admittedly, in a very basic state. But here we see the sort of thinking that is perhaps just this side of too radical, while performing drastic surgery on one of the last great areas of waste in our daily lives: the amount of car we lug around for no particular reason.

I like Daniel Kim, he wants to change things but isn't up "there" in a world of intangibles. He began his career as a Land Rover mechanic and, like Steve Jobs, did a little coursework at Reed College in Oregon before moving on (probably bored with the routine progression of college.) He's assembled a team of about a dozen people in a old warehouse in San Francisco that looks like a poster child for urban renewal. … Read more

Discovered by Patently Apple in a group of 21 patents issued to Apple by the Patent and Trademark Office, the in-vehicle remote-control patent describes a product designed for drivers wishing to control their iOS devices more easily.

Currently, drivers must fumble around with their iPhone, iPod, or iPad to change songs, get directions, or make calls if their car's in-dash system doesn't support iOS devices. This lack of integration can cause serious distractions for drivers.

Apple's solution is a small device that would attach to any steering wheel, allowing users to connect to their iOS devices and control basic functions.… Read more

Virtual DJ for Mac is a virtual music-mixing program, the capabilities of which vary greatly depending on what version you're paying for -- from the free "Home" edition on up to the $299 "Virtual DJ Pro Full."

That is to say that Virtual DJ for Mac is serious software, and experienced turntablists and club DJs will almost certainly want to check out one of the more full-featured packages, which offer extras like practically unlimited decks (up to 99), full-screen video output, and support for MIDI/HID controllers. For DJing neophytes, being plunged into the overwhelming … Read more

Sometimes little tweaks can make a big difference, and that's definitely the case with AlwaysMouseWheel. This little utility allows you to scroll in windows that aren't active using your mouse wheel. It might not seem like a big deal, but it's a surprisingly useful feature to have when you do a lot of work that involves switching between windows.

The program's interface is no-nonsense; with radio buttons you select whether you want the program to bring the selected window to the front using the mouse wheel or just scroll the selected window while leaving it in … Read more

When you think of the giant tire manufacturers, names like Goodyear, Firestone, and BFGoodrich probably come to mind. So it might surprise you to learn that the largest maker of tires on the planet is none other than the most famous toy company in the world: Lego.

To be sure, Lego's tires are not all-weather, nor can they go off-road. They also fit in the palm of your hand. But for 50 years, Lego has been churning out its little wheels, millions per year, topping out at an unbelievable 381 million in 2011, the company said.

This tire empire … Read more

Most remote control cars come with dual stick controllers, but Hot Wheels opens up many more driving options with its iPhone controller app.

Although a little clunky to set up, Hot Wheel's iNitro Speeders gives the option of using an iPhone to control its little remote control cars. The iPhone app includes the standard dual stick controller, but also lets you drive the car with the iPhone's accelerometer, choose a predefined driving pattern, or draw your own pattern. … Read more

If you've ever compared a Formula 1 racer steering wheel with the one in your street car, you probably found yourself taken aback by the sheer number of buttons, knobs, and controls crammed onto the relatively small surface of the former.

That's exactly the feeling that I got when unboxing the SteelSeries SRW-S1 steering wheel for the Simraceway online racing game. Compared with, for example, the Microsoft Wireless Speed Wheel, S1 (for short) more than doubles the number of buttons available to the player--an attribute that may be daunting to some novices and enticing to many hard-core gamers. However, despite my initial impressions, I'd learn during testing its control scheme (and lack of pedals) it is probably a better fit for casual players than its complex appearance belies. … Read more

I've previously confessed to being a fan of Fanatec's series of racing wheels, I even use its original Porsche 911 Turbo styled wheel, pedal, and shifter combo as my daily digital driver when piloting the virtual cars 'round the tracks of my racing sim du jour.

But my now-discontinued Fanatec kit sits at the bottom of manufacturer's line of racing peripherals and leaves much to be desired.The plasticy buttons on the wheel's face feel cheap with vague tactile feedback; the pedals, while accurate throughout their travel, are too light and mushy for furious racing; and the H-pattern shifter's poorly defined gates have cost me more races than I can count. Most of these issues have been addressed with subsequent versions of Fanatec's Porsche wheels and at the core of this kit is a fantastically accurate 900-degree racing wheel with strong force feedback, great sensitivity, and the ability to be customized on-the-fly to the user's needs. I always wondered, what would happen if you took that awesome core steering wheel hardware and upgraded the components and build materials?

This is the point in our story where the Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and shifter kit and CSR Elite pedal set landed at my desk. These components aim to address each of the issues that I have with my current setup.… Read more

It's not so easy to shop for "tech toys" anymore--not in the age of the iPhone and iPad, where convergence devices fill multiple needs and 99-cent apps substitute for impulse purchases. Still, there are a handful of amusing--and, in some cases, quite useful--ideas for the shopper who's stumped. … Read more