The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain by Crompton and Co and re-invented in 1909 in the United States. Since then we have had to deal with burnt and over done toast... why? Paul Brown, the inventor of the Perfect Toaster may put and end to this saga. The Perfect Toaster is the world’s first toaster technology to be able to sense the browness of toast by monitoring caramelisation effects, guaranteeing perfect toast every time without burning. And you ask how this is all done... with a ionising particle sensor. If you work for a major appliance or toaster manufacturer, please contact Paul over at Magnetic Design so we all can enjoy perfect toast. [via Gizmo]

When I first heard about HD Radio, I thought it was some new advanced method of sending high quality 5.1 Surround Sound audio, FREE over the air... I was right except for the 5.1 Surround Sound part. HD Radio is a new technology that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally while also providing RDS (Radio Data Services). The digital broadcasts provide improved audio quality and reception making signal fading, static, hisses and pops are a thing of the past. Data services such as displayed song and artist information, weather and traffic alerts can provide useful information at a glance. The best thing going for HD Radio, unlike XM Radio, is that it's all FREE... that's not counting the $999 it will cost you for a Panasonic CQ-CB9900U HD Radio ready tuner. Panasonic, Kenwood, JVC and a few other manufacturers will also be releasing HD Radio products soon, hopefully bringing the cost down.

Whistler Investments Inc., who are leaders in the development and marketing of lithium ion vehicles products announced today that they have successfully completed negotiations with the British Embassy, Mexico City to provide the world's first lithium powered Embassy fleet vehicle. The vehicle platform that has been selected is BMW's MINI COOPER S and based off of numbers on their website, the MINI should achieve speeds in excess of 90 MPH, go over 100 miles before needing a recharge (which takes about 3-5 hours) and is a Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) that produces no air pollutants.

It may be a while before we see WiFi enabled paints... but I just found out that two new patents have been issued to Color Kinetics Incorporated.

U.S. patent number 6,717,376 is a utility patent covering Automotive Information Systems that, in part, relates to color-controllable automotive lighting systems. This includes the application of LEDs in color and dimmer-controlled systems used to customize the look and feel of a vehicle, as well as feedback-controlled lighting systems that tailor the lighting conditions based on information from sensors. For example, a driver could use this technology to customize the color and intensity of a car's dashboard or instrument lighting, or to use sensor feedback to convey information, such as the car's temperature, through color.

U.S. patent number 6,720,745 is a utility patent covering a Data Delivery Track. The patent relates to an LED lighting system where the lighting control signals are communicated through a light track. This facilitates designs and installations that call for intelligent LED illumination in a traditional track lighting scheme. The data used to control the LED-based lights on the track may be communicated through the track itself.

If you can't have true color changing paints, why not settle for the next best thing... color changing lights that can change the look and feel of the paint.

AT&T Wireless has announced the availability of a new music recognition service that allows people to identify songs by placing their phones near a music speaker. The service is the first of its kind in the US. To use the service, a customer dials "#ID" (#43) from any AT&T Wireless phone. When prompted, customers then hold the phone near the music source for approximately 15 seconds. Users will immediately receive a text message on their wireless phone with the name of the song title and recording artist. First time is free, $.99 cents each time afterwards.

This has to be one of the coolest technologies I have seen in a while... Wagner Zip-Change is releasing the ZipVision eSignage Reader Board, it's a large format display that's based on Gyricon's SmartPaper(TM) technology. Long ladders are a thing of the past with this product, the WiFi enabled reader board allows you to manage and change the sign(s) content from a central location. SmartPaper technology was invented at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and is a reusable display material that is electronically writeable and erasable. The ZipVision is suitable for indoor and outdoor applications making it a more cost effective alternative than LCD, LED, or Plasma displays. I'm still waiting for WiFi enabled paint... anyone?