miami

People who work at Miami's Jungle Island zoo have figured out a hi-tech way to communicate with orangutans. Rather than using old-fashioned sign language, they're using iPads.

According to the Associated Press, trainers are working specifically with 8-year-old twin orangutans helping them draw, play games, and work on new vocabulary as part of a mental stimulus program.

"Our young ones pick up on it. They understand it. It's like, `Oh I get this,'" Linda Jacobs, who oversees the program, told the Associated Press. "Our two older ones, they just are not interested. I think … Read more

Ten Mini Cooper art cars were part of an event featuring pop surrealist artist Aleloop in Florida earlier this month.

Each of the Mini Coopers featured a theme: Fine Arts, Grunge, Video Game, DJ, Mini Me, Free Hand, Comics, Pattern, Driver, and Nature, and an additional Mini, called Graffiti Mini, allowed event attendees to add their own artwork to the car.

The event took place from Dec. 1 to 4 in Miami and Miami Beach. The Mini Coopers, which traveled in a caravan, stopped at parties, art galleries, and restaurants.

At each stop, 40 performers dressed in Aleloop-designed T-shirts emerged … Read more

With about 2,000 parts to choose from, four designers created high-fashion clothing and accessories from a disassembled Lexus CT 200h.

The Lexus Fashion Workshop highlights not only the talents of fashion designers Moss Lipow, Eddie Borgo, John Patrick, and Alejandro Ingelmo, but also the Lexus CT hybrid as a 90 percent recyclable vehicle.

The fashions created from the car parts push the idea of recycling and are part of an upcoming advertising campaign for Vogue.

The collection will be on display at Art Basel Miami Beach, on Dec. 1 and 2, 2011. The pieces will also be available through … Read more

This sub could make even Philippe Cousteau, with so many water toys at his disposal, a little jealous.

The Ego "compact semi-submarine" from Raonhaje--showcased at the Miami Boat Show last week--functions as both a motor boat and as a sub that seats two just below the water's surface.

Instead of using a rudder and outboard motor, both the Ego LE (luxury edition) and the Ego SE (standard edition) are run by electric podded propulsion with a battery-powered BLDC (Brushless DC electric motor).

The completely battery-powered sub uses a Trojan T-890 battery pack--a golf-cart battery--that allows the … Read more

To help celebrate Friday, we bring in our good buddy Tim Geisenheimer to end the week on a good note. Of course the big news we talk about right at the top of the show is the unprecedented announcement of LeBron James' decision to sign with the Miami Heat.

Being an actual fan of the NBA, Tim helps us break down what this means for basketball and how technology played a role in the ultimate decision.

Staying in the vein of sports-related news, we'll watch an interesting video of Paul, the octopus who is current six-for-six at predicting World … Read more

When new software comes out, usually the more well-to-do get access first, and then eventually it trickles down. However, some of the first to use Windows 7 will be among those traditionally left behind--including those in some of Miami's poorest areas, many of whom don't even have a home computer.

That's because the city is moving to Windows 7 in several of the computer centers that are part of the Elevate Miami project, which aims to equip all of the city's residents with digital know-how, including its vast Spanish-speaking population and the city's most economically … Read more

Alright now, you know-it-alls, show-it-alls, and tell-it-alls. It's time you people learned a little discipline, a little social decorum, a little good old fashioned discretion.

So here are the rules. No more Twittering. No more friending. And definitely no more updating people on your latest moods, feelings, lovers, and hangnails.

Yes, in what seems like a concerted effort on the part of traditional culture, two highly similar organizations, the Marines and the NFL, have decided to fight back against all the careless talk.

They have each reportedly begun to ban Twitter and Facebook.

Let's start with the Marines. … Read more

Canadian watercraft maker Sea-Doo is unveiling the Sea-Doo GTX Limited iS 255 and RXT 255 models this week at the Miami Boat Show.

Although personal watercraft is a little out of our realm for The Car Tech blog, and we won't be test driving the new Sea-Doo models, we can't pass up revealing Sea-Doo's new technology. The new Sea-Doo models offer an industry first for personal watercraft-- suspension and braking systems.

The Intelligent Brake and Reverse (iBR) is a Sea-Doo offers an on the water braking system and a hands-on-the-handlebars reverse. A lever on the left handlebar … Read more

MIAMI--In the basement of a Catholic church, a woman loudly shouts the word "three," and a chorus of seniors repeats the word several times as part of their regular English lessons. A few yards a way, a small flea market features a display of clothes and other items. But next door to the flea market is the crown jewel of the Gesu Senior Center: its computer lab.

What began last year with only a couple computers in a corner, now consists of two enclosed rooms packed with PCs. This past Friday, about thirty Spanish-speaking seniors learned how to … Read more