Month: May 2018

EcoCAR 3 / Flickr

Ever looked at your car and thought "I bet I could improve its engineering"? That's the challenge for the student teams that participate in EcoCAR 3, a competition sponsored by General Motors and the US Department of Energy. Run by Argonne National Laboratory, it's a four-year program that's had each team take the conventionally powered Camaro sports car and turn it into a high-performance hybrid. When we last checked in with EcoCAR 3 back in 2016—halfway through the run—The Ohio State University was leading the pack. Earlier this month, the Buckeyes did it again, taking top honors in the fourth and final year of the competition.

EcoCAR 3 is the latest in a long-running series of Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions sponsored by DOE. The first, the Methanol Marathon, took place between 1988 and 1989 and involved 15 teams from North American colleges and universities, each of which had to convert 1988 Chevrolet Corsicas to use alcohol as a fuel. Subsequent ATVCs saw student teams convert vehicles to use natural gas or propane, add hybrid systems, or just boost fuel efficiency.

Enlarge / We need your help to produce a new newsletter to chronicle the dynamic launch industry. (credit: Aurich Lawson/background image United Launch Alliance)

Welcome to the first edition of the Rocket Report! This collaborative effort with readers of Ars Technica seeks to diversify our coverage of the blossoming launch industry. It publishes as a newsletter on Thursday and on this website every Friday morning.

We welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe in the box below. Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Another small booster company tests its engine. In a key step toward developing its Intrepid booster, Rocket Crafters has test fired a small-scale engine for 10 seconds. Florida Today reports the company's engine runs on a plastic-based hybrid fuel and that the Intrepid rocket could begin launching as soon as 2020. Under present designs, the Intrepid will carry up to half a ton into low Earth orbit. Rocket Crafters has already won a $650,000 contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to help develop a larger 5,000-pound thrust engine.

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

A 15-inch laptop will rarely top anyone's list of the most comfortably portable PCs out there. However, portability is just one benefit that laptops and convertibles have. Last year, HP introduced its Spectre x360 15, a high-end convertible made for artists, creative professionals, and the like. The company updated that device this year and fixed our biggest problem with an otherwise solid two-in-one: the new model features a quad-core Intel CPU and Nvidia's MX150 graphics chip.

Those improvements alone should make the new Spectre x360 15 an improvement over its predecessor, but HP also made other small changes to up the convertible's game. With a standard 4K display, claimed 13-hours of battery life, and an optional upgrade to an Intel hexa-core processor and Radeon RX Vega M graphics, the new Spectre x360 15 could be the two-in-one to get for creatives, media lovers, and workaholics who crave powerful, well-rounded performance in addition to portability and style.

Look and feel

HP's newest big two-in-one is a leaner-looking version of last year's model. If you're familiar with the updates the company dished out to its Spectre line in the past few months, you'll recognize the changes in the new Spectre x360 15. It's edges are narrower and sharper than before, its CNC aluminum body has that sleek dark-ash finish with copper accents along its edges, hinges, and lid, and its speaker grilles have been moved to the top of the keyboard to allow more space for the new numeric pad on the right side. The geared hinges stick out when compared to the previous model's hinges—not only do they gleam with their all-copper finish, but their internal gears mesh together when you open and close the machine's lid. This makes for smoother movement and increased longevity. The hinges are also quite supportive no matter which position you're using the Spectre x360 15 in, be it laptop, tent, tablet, or another.