300 million dollars out of thin air: Bitcoin turns four and approaches $30 value

Money is a delusion – but a delusion that works as long as it's shared. The value of a U.S. dollar was once tied to a government guarantee that you could, at any time, exchange it for a quantity of precious metal – but since America officially abandoned the gold standard in 1971, its value is now more or less rooted in its ubiquity. If large swathes of people decided they would no longer accept it, it would suddenly be worth a lot less.

SteadyWheel takes a circular approach to stabilizing video

As can be seen by the increasing number of stabilizing rigs available for DSLRs and small camcorders, people don’t like shaky hand-held video. Most of those rigs are inspired by the Steadicam Smoothee, utilizing a counter-weighted arm that extends below the gimbal-mounted camera. It’s an effective set-up, but one that’s also kind of fiddly. Fabricator and machinist Robert Stone has created something much more simple, in the form of the SteadyWheel.

VOYAGER smartphone designed specifically for use in cars

Cars and mobile phones haven’t had a very happy relationship. For most people, a car/phone interface means a bracket suction-cupped to the windscreen. At best, it means a Bluetooth connection between the phone and the car’s infotainment system, that leaves much to be desired. Trying to rectify this situation, Israeli telecom company Accel Telecom describes its new VOYAGER smartphone as the “first standalone connected car smartphone,” designed with the car specifically in mind.

The scooter gets a little rounder in the Cycon Circleboard

In designing a new scooter, Swiss company Cycon looked to a new geometrical form. Instead of basing the scooter on hard lines and angles, they made it circular. What follows is a scooter that promises to flow as smoothly standing still as it does while riding.

New capacitor developed for brighter camera flashes on mobile devices

While stand-alone compact cameras are increasingly at risk of being made obsolete by smartphone cameras, they do still have their advantages. One of those advantages is the fact that, in most cases, their flashes are considerably more powerful. Smartphones may soon be catching up in that area, however, thanks to a new small-but-mighty capacitor paired with a dedicated xenon flash.

NASA's Kepler finds exoplanet smaller than Mercury

NASA’s Kepler space probe has discovered the smallest planet yet orbiting a Sun-like star. Dubbed Kepler-37b, the exoplanet orbits the star Kepler-37 about 210 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. It’s only one-third the size of Earth and smaller than Mercury, which makes it not only the smallest planet yet found outside the Solar System, but the smallest planet ever discovered.

Google shows what it's like to use Google Glass

With smartphones and tablets firmly embedded in mainstream culture, where will the fast-moving world of technology focus its attention next? According to two of its biggest players – Apple and Google – the future is in wearable computing. Apple is reportedly developing a smartwatch, while Google has been upfront about its smart-glasses, Google Glass. But what’s it like to actually wear a pair of smart-glasses?

Bicycled project transforms junkyard cars into bikes

Once a car is relegated to the junkyard, its usefulness as a vehicle generally comes to a close. However, Spanish design firm Lola Madrid has created a new project dubbed “Bicycled,” which transforms unwanted scrap cars into bespoke, handmade bicycles.

NASA's basement nuclear reactor

If Joseph Zawodny, a senior scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, is correct, the future of energy may lie in a nuclear reactor small enough and safe enough to be installed where the home water heater once sat. Using weak nuclear forces that turn nickel and hydrogen into a new source of atomic energy, the process offers a light, portable means of producing tremendous amounts of energy for the amount of fuel used. It could conceivably power homes, revolutionize transportation and even clean the environment.

New Bentley Flying Spur set for Geneva debut

Spurious Bentlivius, latin for a large flying machine of bespoke origin, Bentley’s Flying Spur has been one of those top shelf luxury items reserved for those of Grey Poupon-loving origins. Famous for its old world mix of natural materials and current day performance technology, the British marque is set to debut its new Flying Spur at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Frenchman nails perfect backflip ... in a Mini

Despite what you may have seen in movies and TV shows, cars aren’t generally much good for aerial acrobatic work. That hasn’t stopped professional skier and rally driver Guerlain Chicherit combining his two areas of expertize to become the first person in the world to perform an unassisted backflip in a car and execute a perfect landing on a bed of fresh powder snow.

Swedish walking with bouncy BungyPump poles

According to the American Nordic Walking Association, walking with poles burns more than 40 percent more calories per hour and works more muscles than normal walking. Swedish company BungyPump believes that it can better those numbers with its unique springy poles. We call it Swedish walking ("Nordic" includes Sweden, too, but Nordic walking is a Finnish export), and it's a potential new trend for fitness nuts.

Wikipad gaming tablet returns with a 7-inch redesign

We first saw the Wikipad tablet, which features a detachable game controller and runs on Android OS, way back at CES 2012. After that though, its release date passed, and we didn't hear anything new about the gaming-centered device. But that doesn't mean the Wikipad disappeared – the developers have been busy over the past year redesigning the tablet with almost completely different features, including a 7-inch screen, extra storage space, and Android 4.1 support.

Pop-Up Office re-invents the workplace with reclaimed pallets

Thanks to the prevalence of powerful laptops and cloud-based infrastructure, dreary office cubicles can increasingly be jettisoned in favor of dynamic spaces which encourage collaboration and innovation. The Pop-Up Office installation by Dubbeldam Architecture and Design is an example of this, delivering an office space concept which seeks to re-invent the workspace for the Post-PC era using reclaimed wooden pallets.

Simple, portable test developed for detecting mercury content in water

Researchers at the University of Burgos in Spain have developed a portable and inexpensive new method of detecting levels of mercury in water. The simple test uses a sheet that changes color when inserted into mercury-contaminated water, with results visible to the naked eye.

Wayki combines two of your favorite things – a toothbrush and an alarm clock

Whether it’s smartphones, cameras or MP3 players, it probably goes without saying that most consumer electronics are designed for maximum user convenience ... that doesn’t always end up being the case, but it is at least the intention. The Wayki is somewhat unique, however, in that it’s specifically designed to force the user into doing two things that they’d rather put off: getting out of bed, and brushing their teeth. That’s right, it’s a combination alarm clock and toothbrush.

Wingman bag keeps bike commuters' work clothes neat and wrinkle-free

Bicycle commuting is one of those things that sounds like a universally great idea up until you actually try it. Nothing will start the day off on the wrong foot like showing up 20 minutes late (you may not be in as good of shape as you thought), dripping in sweat and pothole water. But, hey, at least you get to brag about being green. The Henty Wingman aims to make the practice of bicycle commuting as great as the concept, by keeping your suit dry, free from sweat and road grit, and looking like it just popped out of the dry cleaning plastic.

Limited Edition Beetle GSR unveiled at Chicago Auto Show

What’s black/yellow, can bullet through the 0-100 km/h mark in a tick over 18 seconds and is considered one of the people’s cars most collectible scarabs? Volkswagen’s wasp-colored 1303s Beetle, circa 1973, of course. The German automaker’s "Sport Beetle" was a limited edition, with only 3500 copies made available to the public. Aside from the obvious aesthetic markers, the 1303S carried with it the bullet-proof, almighty and all-powerful flat-4 capable of delivering 50 hp and 78 lb/ft of torque to the back wheels.

Curiosity collects first bedrock drill sample

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity collected its first drilling sample on Saturday. The 4x4-sized robot used the drill in its hand to collect samples from the interior of a flat, veiny sedimentary bedrock that was formed by ancient Martian water.

Meindl builds a retractable spike system into its winter boots

German footwear manufacturer Meindl recently added an innovative solution for winter traction to its line. The metal spikes in the Tecvision Spike System provide traction during the slipperiest winter conditions and quickly retract back into the rubber sole when they're not needed. You can tackle all winter conditions with one pair of boots.