RINSPEED SQUBA - The Swimming Car

The sQuba, developed by Swiss company Rinspeed, is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water.

Upon entering water, it floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge it. It can be submerged to a depth of 10 metres (33ft), powered by twin electric-powered propellers supplemented by two Seabob water jets. It "flies" when underwater, like a submarine, as it is not designed to drive along the surface at the bottom of the water.

The twin water jets mounted on rotating louvers at the front of the vehicle provide steering and lift while it is underwater and the propellers at the rear provide forward movement.

The sQuba is a zero-emission, all electric vehicle which uses three electric motors, one for land travel and two for water. It drives on land powered by its electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, utilizing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

The car's top land speed is 120 km/h (75 mph). On the surface of water, the top speed is 6 km/h (3.2 kn/3.7 mph) and underwater it is 3 km/h (1.6 kn/1.9 mph).

The vehicle can transport a driver and passenger in its open cockpit. The open cockpit design is intended to allow the occupants to escape easily in case of emergency. When underwater, the occupants breathe air carried in the vehicle through scuba-style diving regulators. Without occupants, the sQuba will surface automatically.

The vehicle's interior is water and salt resistant so that it can be driven in the ocean.

The sQuba also comes equipped with a laser sensor system made by autonomous cruise control system manufacturer Ibeo to allow autonomous operation.

Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop PC

According to Dell, the Inspiron 1525 is about 25 percent smaller than its predecessor, the Inspiron 1520. At 9.8 by 13.9 by 1.4 inches, the 1525 is even smaller than the Dell XPS M1530. The 15.4-inch widescreen is a boon for video enthusiasts and photographers with their first D-SLR camera.

Dell Inspiron 1525 is equipped with these ample specifications:

* 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) CCFL TrueLife (glossy) screen
* 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 processor
* 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
* 120GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD
* 8x Dual-layer DVD±RW drive
* Video: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
* Wireless: Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card
* Mobile Broadband: Dell Wireless integrated mobile broadband mini-cards Sprint and Verizon serice
* Colors: Multiple colors and finishes available
* Media Card: 8-in-1 flash memory reader
* Input and Output Ports: 4 USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA, IEEE 1394a, RJ11, RJ45, 2 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 ExpressCard 54mm slot, 3 mini-card slots, consumer IR, S-Video
* No webcam (optional Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam available)
* Windows Vista Home Premium
* Dimensions: 1.00" - 1.48" (height) x 14.05" (width) x 10.08" (depth)
* Weight: 5.9lbs with 6-cell battery

Dell rarely disappoints when it comes to features. The Inspiron 1525 is meant for a more mainstream buyer looking for good multimedia and productivity features from a notebook, and not cutting edge 3D performance. You'll find a 2.0-megapixel webcam right above the screen. The four USB ports and a FireWire port are enough to handle all your peripherals. The HDMI port is not your only video-out feature; S-Video and VGA-out ports also come standard with the system.

The keyboard on the Inspiron 1525 is fairly similar to the 1520. The keyboard is firm with virtually no flex and the keys have excellent travel and cushion.

The palm rests, unfortunately, have a grainier feel, removing the smooth, lustrous finish that can still be found on the Inspiron 1420.

The good news with the touchpad is that it's responsive, has dedicated scroll areas and the textured feel is good.

The 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the 1525. With Vista's power management running in "high performance" mode, screen brightness set to maximum and wireless on, the 6-cell battery delivered 2 hours and 53 minutes of battery life.

We're certain that the 6-cell could deliver three and a half hours of life with the notebook set to "balanced" or "power saver" mode and the screen brightness turned down.

In addition to the eight color options available on other Inspiron notebooks, the 1525 offers four new patterns. These designs are inlaid molds so there's no risk of the design coming off.