4x4 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 30 Sep 2015 11:11:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png 4x4 | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Tesla Model X officially unveiled, has ‘bioweapon defense mode’ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/tesla-model-x-officially-unveiled-has-bioweapon-defense-mode/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/tesla-model-x-officially-unveiled-has-bioweapon-defense-mode/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2015 09:40:44 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=270042 Although we've seen concept imagery and teasers for Tesla's Model X 4×4 electric car, it was only officially unveiled and launched in the early hours of this morning at an event in the U.S. Tesla debuted the vehicle itself along with a laundry list of features, announcing that the first six reserved cars would be …

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Although we've seen concept imagery and teasers for Tesla's Model X 4×4 electric car, it was only officially unveiled and launched in the early hours of this morning at an event in the U.S. Tesla debuted the vehicle itself along with a laundry list of features, announcing that the first six reserved cars would be delivered today. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, also announced that although the car is expensive, lower cost versions will be released in the future.

modelx2

Beyond the fact that it's electric and therefore has all of the low-noise, cheap running, high-acceleration benefits of that system, the new Model X is said to be the safest SUV ever made. Musk said that the Model X has a five star rating in just about every safety category. Due to the low centre of gravity – with all of the batteries in the floor of the car – rolling it is almost impossible. We were told that even if you drove it off of a cliff, it would probably roll a little and then land on its wheels.

It even has an air-tight, high powered filtering system, so that you won't be hit by any particles or gases that you don't want. Musk really wasn't kidding when he showed off the vehicle's “bioweapon defence mode.”

“If there’s ever a bioweapon attack,” Musk said (via TruckYea). “the safest place is your car. We figure you shouldn't have to think if you’re in an emergency.”

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUz_EXSmp9w']

It's also very intuitive. Ultrasonic scanners will detect when you're walking up to the car and at what angle, and will open the respective door for you. Once you've sat down and applied the brake, the door will close without you ever touching it. The sensors are actually hidden under the bodywork too, which means you get all that functionality with a clean look.

Performance wise, the Model X is no slouch either, as with 259 horsepower in the front wheels alone, the additional 502HP in the rear seems almost overkill. With more than 700lbs of torque, this 4×4 can do 0-60 in just 3.2 seconds, with an 11.7 second quarter mile. That's if you engage ludicrous mode of course, but all Model Xs can hit 155 miles per hour if needed.

Overall range is said to be 257 miles, and it can operate off road really well too.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As awesome as this car seems, I want to see how much of this tech Tesla can cram into the much more affordable Model 3 it's set to unveil next year.

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Intel launches 4×4 for all IT terrains https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/harrison/intel-launches-4x4-for-all-it-terrains/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/base-unit/harrison/intel-launches-4x4-for-all-it-terrains/#respond Mon, 03 Dec 2012 06:49:22 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=117413 Given that KitGuru has had quite a few conversations with AMD in the past about the benefits for creating a simple PC, in the smallest possible form factor, that could perform a wide variety of tasks – it's ironic that Intel is the company to launch the device. KitGuru takes a quick look at specs …

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Given that KitGuru has had quite a few conversations with AMD in the past about the benefits for creating a simple PC, in the smallest possible form factor, that could perform a wide variety of tasks – it's ironic that Intel is the company to launch the device. KitGuru takes a quick look at specs and prices to see if Intel has anything to challenge Sapphire's Edge VS.

Intel calls the device, which measures 4 inches by 4 inches (10cm in new money), an NUC – or Next Unit Computer.

There are 2 models at launch, both of which use a Core i3 processor chugging along at 1.8GHz. For business, you get a pair of HDMI connectors and physical ethernet connection, which becomes wireless with Thunderbolt and a single HDMI for the home.

Given that both have Intel's fastest graphics solution, HD4000, it's a fair bet that they use the low power mobile versions of the Core processor. The QS77 chipset mainboard included can take up to 16GB of SO-DIMM in its twin sockets.

Retailing at around £299 ($399), both of these NUCs have modest specs, but Intel is planning to push through an entire series – with Core i5 and even Core i7 models to follow.

Standardising on the size of the NUC seems to be a smart move. When commenting on the launch of the product, Intel stated that it had applications in the business and consumer markets – and could even be used in a car. So much for AMD having the embedded market to itself.

Sapphire's drive on this kind of technology has been really impressive, with the recent launch of the Edge VS bringing next-gen game console levels of graphics power to market in a stylish little box.

Given that it's top dedicated partner put such an effort into this kind of form factor, it's surprising that AMD was not more firmly behind Sapphire with the big budget marketing that would be needed to firm up the new category with a wider audience.

One of Intel's sales managers for APAC, VR Rajkumar, said, “While there isn’t much on the choice front at present, we’ll be having a ‘good, better, best’ motto. We’re going to have Celeron at  the low end, and it will be Core i5 and Core i7 on the other. The benefit for resellers lies in the NUC’s form factor and quiet operation. The 4×4 inch build means that it is open to a large range of applications and markets”.

With the revelation that Intel processors will be glued to mainboards in the future, what hope is there for local system builders etc if Intel comes to market with its own complete PCs like this. Good for Ingram, bad for local PC builder?

Intel follows Sapphire into Edge territory with the launch of the 4x4 series

KitGuru says: Having first discussed the idea of a ‘PC Console' that could sit next to a TV etc with AMD many years ago, it would be sad for Intel to bring the whole ‘Fusion everywhere' concept to the broad market in a bigger/better way. Unobtrusive desktop power, with easy installation/use, is something that we feel a lot of people would be interested in. Even though, right now, Sapphire's Edge VS model has a huge lead in terms of specification – how much difference will Intel's marketing dollars make?

Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.

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Nano-bots given 4×4 transport (and it’s not an X1, 3 or 5) https://www.kitguru.net/channel/science/harrison/nano-bots-given-4x4-transport-and-its-not-an-x1-3-or-5/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/science/harrison/nano-bots-given-4x4-transport-and-its-not-an-x1-3-or-5/#respond Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:20:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=67777 When you hear Clarkson and Co discussing the latest 4×4, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Top Gear team is about to blow another £100,000 of the TV licence payer's money on a trip to the Arctic or the Himalayas. Not so with the coolest new 4×4 in town. KitGuru sneaks under the …

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When you hear Clarkson and Co discussing the latest 4×4, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Top Gear team is about to blow another £100,000 of the TV licence payer's money on a trip to the Arctic or the Himalayas. Not so with the coolest new 4×4 in town. KitGuru sneaks under the security fence at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology for a peak.

With the best part of 2 billion Swiss Francs at their disposal, the boffins at EMPA (Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt) can afford to buy as much Toblerone as anyone could eat in a few thousand lifetimes. But they don't blow their Francs on chocolate or Swiss Army knives. Nope. Instead they push all the various scientific experts they can find into a room, and no one is allowed out until they have invented the unimaginable.

Tough call, but the Swiss take this stuff seriously – and they have some pretty impressive results to show for their efforts. The latest of which is the world's smallest, functional, 4×4 vehicle.

It's noiseless, emission-free and is the size of a single molecule.

Recharging this beauty requires a mere touch from a scanning tunnelling microscope. You know, the kind we've all found at the bottom of a cereal box.

How far will it go on this ‘tank full of electricity'?  Right now, just half a revolution of the wheels. But that does not mean that design enhancements won't increase the range of this unusual 4×4 in the future.

While it is, technically, a 4×4 – the actual car measures only 4 nano metres by 2. So, in the cause of accuracy, this is a 4 by 2, 4 by 4.

The Top Gear team working on this project includes researchers Karl Heinz Ernst and Manfred Parschau. When asked about the range and service interval, they confessed that the nano car had only managed a journey of 6 nano metres so far – but were keen to point out that it was ‘in roughly a straight line'.

The research group have been keen to point out that the key focus for their work is to show that individual molecules can absorb external electrical energy and transform it into targeted motion. Next step? Hitting things with ultra violet lasers to make em move.

Even Top Gear would have to give this nano-car a 'cool' rating. It's the realisation of a weird and wonderful dream, make no mistake. Now where will this technology be in 20 years' time?

KitGuru says: We can laugh, but there could be huge applications for this kind of technology 10-20 years in the future. If part of nano technology's promise was to move in mighty leaps – and to shock us with its applications – then it's already succeeded. Nanoscopic 4×4 cars?  Well done EMPA, well done!

Comments below or in the KitGuru forums.

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