Rock

Geothermal potential reaches coast to coast

By sifting through oil and natural gas drilling data, a Google-funded study found that geothermal power in the U.S. could produce ten times the capacity of coal plants today.

The Geothermal Laboratory at Southern Methodist University yesterday revised estimates for the country's potential to use underground heat to make electricity. Drawing on geological data from some 35,000 sites as deep as 31,000 feet, the study concludes that geothermal could supply a large portion of U.S. electricity needs in the future.

Most geothermal power plants are located in western states where underground temperatures are higher. But … Read more

Granny: NASA scared me into returning moon rock

If you happen to find yourself at a bar on a Monday, it's nice to hear stories that will warm the heart as quickly as your pinot noir.

This may not be one of those stories. Indeed, the tale of NASA, Joann Davis, and the tiny piece of moon rock, might make you question the content of the space between some people's ears.

As the Associated Press tells it, NASA operatives turned up at a Denny's in Lake Elsinore, Ca., in order to enjoy one of their fine Big Cheese Country-Fried Steak and Eggs.

Well, almost. In … Read more

Ideo's electric bike wins design competition

An electric bike, created by the Palo Alto, Calif., design consultancy Ideo and Santa Cruz, Calif., bike maker Rock Lobster Custom Cycles, has won the competition for creating the best urban utility bike in the Oregon Manifest creative collaboration challenge.

The bike, which combines classic styling with an electric motor, beat out the creations of the pairing of Portland, Ore., design firm Ziba with bike builder Signal Cycles, and the tandem of San Francisco design consultancy Fuseproject with Santa Rosa, Calif., SyCip Designs.

On its Web site, Oregon Manifest posted reviews of each bike from four independent critics. Then, it … Read more

RockMelt: Does the world need another Web browser?

Once upon a time--actually, it was less than a decade ago--Microsoft's Internet Explorer dominated the Web browser business so utterly that it appeared that the market didn't have room for a second significant player. 

Then Mozilla's Firefox came along and became that strong second-place browser. And Apple's Safari, with its Webkit rendering engine, proved enormously influential. And Google's Chrome displaced Firefox as the favorite browser of Web nerds.

Today, breakdowns of browser usage vary, but they all show vibrant competition. Research firm Net Applications says that IE retains 51.8% of the market, Firefox … Read more

The ultimate utility bike? Maybe it's an e-bike

PORTLAND, Ore.--For years, the cycling industry has wrestled with creating a bike convenient enough for the masses.

A new effort from the Palo Alto, Calif., design consultancy Ideo and Santa Cruz, Calif., bike builder Rock Lobster Custom Cycles may have pushed the industry a step closer to achieving the goal. The team created a bike for the Oregon Manifest 2011 Constructor's Design Challenge, a bike building competition pitting three teams of designers and handcrafted bike builders. Their goal: create the best utility bike for urban living.

This summer, CNET visited with the three teams--including the pairing of Portland … Read more

Kia hamsters roll into a new ad campaign

Those hip hamsters of soul are back in a new ad campaign featuring "Party Rock Anthem," by the electro-pop group LMFAO.

The Kia hamsters have rolled through suburban neighborhoods and urban streets and are now in a dark, video game-inspired world to "Share Some Soul," in a new ad campaign.

The new campaign will feature 30- and 60-second TV spots as well as in-cinema, digital, and social media elements, Kia said in a statement.

The 60-second spot, available now on YouTube (check it out after the jump), will make its television debut on August 28 during … Read more

Power Fish'n hybrid reel catches fish on autopilot

Fishing is supposed to be relaxing. Kick up your feet, have a cold domestic brew, and wait for the little swimmers to nibble on the bait. This calm experience is sometimes rudely interrupted by the flurries of energy required to reel in a fish.

If you have a Power Fish'n Pro Hybrid Reel from Rock Island Equipment Company, you won't even have to set down your beer to catch a bass. It's the ultimate fishing relaxation-enhancement gadget.

The Power Fish'n Pro uses a standard Shakespeare spinning reel with a motor that activates at the push of a switch. The motor is quiet enough not to scare away your prey. You can still set it to manual mode if you want the full thrill of the hunt. It runs on four AA batteries.

This isn't a case of another gadget for lazy Americans. It's aimed at people with disabilities and senior fishers that could use a little extra assistance. … Read more

LaunchRock sets up site launch placeholders

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Thirty-one early stage entrepreneurs pitched 31 start-ups today at the 500 Startups event. (See news of previous 500 Startups launches.) The company I was most interested to see pitch: LaunchRock. It's a service that enables small companies to quickly put up "coming soon" pages. It collects e-mails and looks professional.

It's a fine service. But, really, from the outside it looks like just a feature. Is it a company?

I talked with co-founder Thomas Knoll about the venture, and there is, thankfully, more behind it. In addition to sending e-mail addresses to customers, … Read more

Mad Catz calls on Rock Band 3 for encore

Mad Catz is trying its luck with Rock Band 3 in the hopes that consumers might respond more favorably to the game this time around.

The company, which is best known for third-party game peripherals, announced earlier this week that it will handle a re-release of Rock Band 3 for the holiday-shopping season. The title, which features 83 songs, will come with a wireless keyboard controller and a wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar controller. In addition, Mad Catz will bundle the Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar controller, which the company says, will help people learn how to play a real guitar.

Rock Band … Read more