Audi To Step Up The Pace In Electric Car Market May 06, 2008

Read more Cars , Motoring , Science , Technology

Sorting out the increasingly shoddy state of the battery in modern technology is becoming an increasing priority and would have far wider-reaching effects on our lives than just allowing a phone to go without charge for a few weeks.

Provided a more effective solution can be found, Audi seems optimistic that it’ll break the electric car market within five to ten years.

Switch Your Dish For A Sqish May 06, 2008

Read more HDTV , Home Cinema , TV , Technology

Satellite dishes aren’t exactly a rare sight these days, being plastered to the outsides of half the properties in the UK.

In fact they’re common enough that the average Joe wouldn’t even notice one, but if you are concerned about a not entirely ugly black dish affecting the aesthetic beauty of your home there’s an alternative available that should tidy things up a bit.

For Sale: Batmobile - Read The Fine Print Robin May 06, 2008

Read more Cars , Entertainment , Gizmodo UK , Motoring , Movies

The Batmobile from the original 1989 Batman movie with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton is going under the hammer at eBay, with bidding starting at a cool £250,000.

The car is one of 5 created for the movie, measuring 20-feet long and 8-foot wide which should make storing it a joy. According to the owner:

“The chassis is custom built and the motor is a Chevrolet 350. There an no doors on the car. To get in you have to be able to enter through the top where the canopy opens, just like in the movie. There is no title to this car and will only be sold with a bill of sale. Batman 5 has been sitting in the "Batcave" for almost five years now, and it is time for another Batman enthusiast to enjoy her as much as I have.”

Flashy New iPod Speakers Available In Range Of Sizes May 06, 2008

Read more Apple , Hi-fi , MP3 , iPod

There is certainly no shortage of iPod-oriented speakers knocking about, and if you’ve been holding off buying one until you find a design that’s quirky or dramatic enough to fit your home it’d be worth taking a look at a new offering from Geneva.

The Geneva Sound System series is available in three sizes, M, L and XL, with varying degrees of power and speaker combinations to offer a choice of sound.

Hamsters Get Cars, Start Cruising The House May 06, 2008

Read more Cars , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , Technology

Got pet vermin? Tired of looking at them running around endlessly in that wheel in the cage and getting nowhere? Then you need to get that hamster a ride.

Meet the Critter Cruiser, a wee car that houses a wheel and is just about as green as a car gets. Take said pet vermin and place them in the car and watch as your furry friend takes his new ride for a spin around the house.

You can set the spin wheel into neutral which means the car goes nowhere – what’s the point of that? – or to a setting that lets the critter screech around the floor, bashing into things and freaking out your mother. This will also run on those special vermin racing tracks, called Hamtrac.

Freesat Launches Today May 06, 2008

Read more Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , HD , HDTV , Home Entertainment , TV

Most of the UK’s households will be able to tune into a raft of new, free-to-air digital TV channels today following the official launch of Freesat.

The venture, co-owned by the BBC and ITV, will bring up to 80 TV and radio channels to 98% of UK households and, the best bit, is that there’s no ongoing subscription fees. Once you shell out for digital box, satellite dish and installation – which ranges from around £150 to £220 for a standard definition or HD box – there’s no more payments. Freeview currently has 47 channels but 20% of UK households can’t get the service.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Freesat’s Emma Scott commented:

Keyboards Dirtier Than Toilet Seats May 06, 2008

Read more Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , PC , Peripherals

Yuck. Survey firm Which? has revealed that some keyboards are dirtier than toilet seats, crawling with enough germs to make you really ill.

Testing keyboards from a typical London office, researchers discovered at least one board that had 150 times more bacteria than the recommended limit – making it five times worse than a toilet seat. The biggest culprit in the Dirty Keyboard sting is eating lunch at your keyboard, which can encourage the growth of millions of bacteria leading to upset stomachs and diarrhoea.

Almost half of those surveyed said they clean their keyboard less than once a month while 10% admitted to never doing it. A further 20% said they don’t even bother to wipe their mouse now and then.

Microsoft Cancels Yahoo Takeover Bid May 06, 2008

Read more Gizmodo UK , Online , Software , Technology

Microsoft has pulled its $47.5 billion bid for Yahoo after the company refused its latest offer.

Yahoo has been playing hard to get for months now but this weekend, Microsoft’s vocal CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced that it’s ending the takeover bid.

Microsoft originally offered $31 per share for Yahoo, an offer that was rejected. Microsoft then threatened Yahoo but Yahoo countered with plans of a hook-up with Google. Ballmer tried convincing Yahoo founder Jerry Yang last week and upped the offer to $33 per share, or around $5 billion extra but Yang claimed Yahoo is worth $38 per share - yeah right - and refused. In an open letter to Yang, Ballmer said: