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Something like 100 new tablets will hit the market this year. Certainly at least one of those will draw your glazed eyes away from the iPad, at least for a minute. Brian Cooley runs down a list of the Top 5 tablets that could be better than an iPad as of early 2011.

All of CNET's latest tablet news, reviews, and iPad alternatives can be found here.

Boeing's two-year study of jatropha-curcas agriculture in Brazil has found that location choice and strong seeds are the key to maximizing the crop's benefits, the company said today.

The jatropha-curcas plant has been under close scrutiny in recent years by scientists and companies because its olives yield an oil that can be made into an alternative jet fuel. The weedy plant can grow in adverse soil conditions. And in addition to yielding oil, it provides, like most plants, the secondary benefit of removing carbon from the atmosphere. Many have been trying to compare the carbon footprint of producing … Read more

I won't name names, but we have an editor here in the office, who, every time a new Apple product comes out, says he isn't going to get it. He had the iPhone 3GS and said he was going to wait for the iPhone 5 and not get the iPhone 4. Two weeks later, he had the iPhone 4 and had given his 3GS to his wife.

I said, "Dude, where's your discipline?"

"I know, I know," he replied sheepishly. "But I wanted it. I couldn't resist."

He's got an iPad, the original. I know he's going to get an iPad 2, even though he says he isn't. How do I know? Because the moment Steve Jobs got up on stage and showed his first slide, he said, "Gee, that looks pretty nice." He had him at hello.

The iPad 2 didn't look any different from what we expected it to look like--and it didn't look all that different from the original iPad. But suddenly there on stage in the flesh it had taken on a new, irresistible sheen. Not the Charlie kind of Sheen. Just the Apple kind. … Read more

Since AAC is the audio format of choice for all music sold or encoded using Apple's iTunes software, many people assume Apple has some special right to the format. It doesn't.

The truth is that AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is just one of many audio standards, and is available on a wide range of non-Apple products. It's arguably a superior format to MP3 because it does a more efficient job of encoding audio. In spite of its advantages, though, the MP3 format is still regarded as the most universally compatible standard for consumer digital audio.

So if … Read more

Japan's three largest automakers are making a push to extend their alternative-fuel power train offerings in the next two years.

Toyota Motor will bring two electric and six hybrid-electric models to market in the next 24 months, including a plug-in Toyota Prius. Lexus will move into entry-luxury with the CT 200h hybrid hatchback in 2011.

Nissan Motor will launch the all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan in five markets in December. Infiniti will introduce the M35h hybrid next spring and an all-electric four-seater in late 2012 or early 2013.

Honda Motor engineers are working on a hybrid platform for such large … Read more

It seems hard to believe, now that Netflix streaming video is available on nearly any Internet-connected home video product, but back in the spring of 2008, the only Netflix-compatible device was a tiny streaming media box called the Roku Player. In the two years since its release, a series of firmware upgrades has expanded the program offerings on the Roku, even as the company added step-down and step-up models to the lineup as well.

In its latest incarnation, the company has made its little black box even smaller, while retaining the same onscreen look and feel and "channel" … Read more

Forget cars powered by human feces, the future of motoring runs on human muscles. Don't fret--we're not talking about blending people to a pulp and pouring their liquefied remains into a gas tank--this is the HumanCar Imagine PS.

The brainchild of U.S. engineer Charles Greenwood, the car is operated by up to four hand cranks. The idea is that driver and passengers pull and push levers--reminiscent of an exercise rowing machine or the railway handcar contraptions you see in cartoons--to produce energy that turns the wheels. Early reports that holes in the floor let you push with your feet … Read more

Whether you are creating your own gaming Web site or simply checking out the latest Buzz Out Loud, trying to choose one of the dozens of Web browsers out there can be a massive waste of time. Among the big five of Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, and Opera, there are still more than a dozen second-tier Web browsers that are trying to make a splash in cyberspace. These obscure browsers got a break in 2009 when the European Union settled the Internet Explorer antitrust case with Microsoft. As part of the settlement, Windows PCs sold in Europe now offer … Read more

Bill Gates and other corporate figures say America's current energy strategy is hurting the economy, the environment, and national security and is asking the government to devote more money to fuel alternative energy.

The group, dubbed the American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC), released a detailed report on Thursday highlighting the problem and offering its own recommendations (PDF). Members of the group were due to meet with President Obama in the White House to discuss their concerns and possible remedies.

The group sees the energy challenge as more serious and much worse than most people realize, predicting a burden that will become more costly unless the U.S. can change its current energy policies.

In its findings, the group pointed out that the nation spends $80 billion a year on military research and $30 billion a year on health and medical R&D, but only around $5 billion each year on new energy R&D. With such a small amount of the national budget devoted toward energy research, the group believes the U.S. lags behind other countries in spending on alternative energy.… Read more