This innovation is hoped to be embedded into tables and work surfaces so that as soon as a device is placed on the surface, it will be able to draw power. The technology uses magnetic fields to transmit up to 60 watts of power to a distance of up to two to three feet while only losing around 25% of the power during transmission.

A major concern of any wireless power technology is its possible effects on users. Fortunately during the demonstration the electricity was broadcast without electrocuting anyone who passed between the transmitter and the receiver. Intel’s lead researcher Josh Smith explained that, “The trick with wireless power is not that you can do it; it is that you can do it safely and efficiently.” Magnetic fields, used by Intel’s WREL technology do not affect the human body (at least as far as we currently know), unlike electric fields, which might give the user a zap.

The idea of using resonant magnetic fields to wirelessly transmit electricity was demonstrated by a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who refer to their idea as WiTricity. More recently Intel researchers joined forces with MIT to explore the phenomenon known as ”resonant induction,” and the outcome is a technology capable of transmitting power several feet away without wires.

Currently, resonant induction is used to recharge small devices such as electric toothbrushes. Future induction systems based on Intel’s technology will not be restricted to a physical touch between transmitter and receiver and will be able to transmit power over a distance of several feet with efficiency of 50 percent or more.

“In the future, your kitchen counters might do it [supply the power],” Mr. Smith said. “You’d just drop your espresso maker down on them and you would never have to plug it in.”

The new technology would initially be used to charge the battery of devices such as laptops, cameras, and cell phones, but Intel hopes to eventually eliminate the use of batteries altogether. Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle said, “That is potentially a world changing event. This is the closest we’ve had to something being commercially available in this class. Previous wireless power systems consisted basically of firing lightning bolts from sending to receiving units.”

Intel is not the only player in the growing market of wireless power companies. Many companies are currently working on different types of wireless power technologies. Two American start-up companies, WildCharge and WiPower, have already shown simpler wireless power technologies. Intel’s next target is to design a system to recharge a laptop computer without wires.

Intel looks on this next development as a strategic move since attaching a WREL receiving antenna to a laptop would be easier than trying to implement the WREL technology into cell phones or PDAs due to their small size compared to the WREL receiver. If successful, the system would be implemented in airports, offices, and other buildings and deliver power to laptops and other mobile devices. The technology could also be built into plugged in computer components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left on desks or carried into rooms.

Smith says that Intel’s wireless power system is still in an early stage of development and much research remains before it can be brought to the market. “You’d like to cut the last cord,” Smith said. “It’s great that we have wireless email and wireless internet and stuff like that but at the end of the day it would be nice to have wireless recharge as well.”

You can read more about MIT’s first test of the technology mentioned above in “Wireless Power Demonstrated,” where a 60 watt light bulb was able to be lit wirelessly from a distance of about 2 meters in mid 2007. Another wireless power technology is currently being developed by the U.S. company Fulton Innovation under the title “eCoupled Wireless Power.” While waiting for all those wireless power technologies to be developed, you can check out a new, fully operational, green plug universal adapter, which helps you power all your devices from a single adapter.

Flying cars take another step into reality.

Introducing the new line of Multi Mode Vehicles (MMV) from Samson Motorworks. With the revolutionary SkyBike leading the field, Samson Motorworks vehicles are as thrilling to fly on the ground as they are in the air. Utilizing our patent pending Telescoping Wing and AirLean™ systems, Samson Motorworks new product line offers motorcycle simplicity, economy and excitement, blended with the versatility of being able to fly and drive. Or take a tour on one of the ground-only vehicles, yet still feel the thrill of flying as the AirLean™ system banks you automatically into the turns. With our lightweight MMV series, a new plateau of performance and fuel economy is reached, granting you passage through life in ways previously only dreamed about.

Fisker Automotive has announced a joint venture with Quantum Technologies to build this sleek 4-door sports sedan. But unlike Fisker’s previous entries, the Tramonto (a rebodied Mercedes-Benz SL) and the Latigo (a rebodied BMW 6 Series), this car is a completely original design from the ground up. But the real kicker is that the new car will be a plug-in hybrid.

Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive, says the car’s sleek design is “a direct result of our breakthrough chassis which carries the battery pack at the center of the vehicle between the two axles.” He went on to say the car’s design will enable it to achieve “industry standard performance figures within this car class.” Those claimed figures include 50 miles on a pure electric charge as well as 100 mpg when combined with the car’s gasoline or diesel engine.

The starting price will be $80,000 when initial deliveries begin toward the end of 2009 — Fisker is predicting annual production of up to 15,000 cars.

Evel Knievel never denied his scrapes with the law — the late motorcycle daredevil often reveled in them. But even he objected to a 1970s FBI investigation of whether he was involved in a string of beatings.

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the federal government came close to charging Knievel, who in turn threatened to sue the FBI for alleging he was connected to a crime syndicate. Neither followed through.

Knievel, who died last November in Clearwater, Fla., repeatedly denied his involvement to both investigators and victims, according to the documents.

“Knievel stated that he was not responsible for what just happened to (name redacted) and that he had no control over the ‘thing”‘ according to one phone conversation recounted in an FBI interview.

Knievel, immortalized by the Smithsonian Institution as “America’s Legendary Daredevil,” donned red, white and blue for his death-defying stunts. He had a knack for outrageous yarns and claimed to have been a swindler, a card thief, a safe cracker and a holdup man.

His most well-known run-in with the law was a 1977 attack on movie studio executive Shelly Saltman, whom the daredevil beat with a baseball bat in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox.

Saltman promoted Knievel’s infamous attempt to jump Idaho’s Snake River Canyon and then wrote a book about the experience, angering Knievel by portraying him as “an alcoholic, a pill addict, an anti-Semite and an immoral person.”

Knievel was sentenced to six months in jail and Saltman won a $12.75 million judgment, but never collected. Saltman did not return a phone message recently to discuss the FBI file.

Knievel’s file shows investigators believed he was involved with other violent acts — a threat in Phoenix, an attack in a Kansas City hotel room and a vicious beating in San Francisco. All were allegedly carried out by Knievel associates, according to subjects quoted in the file.

The investigation bounced between field offices in Miami, Chicago and California. Knievel’s business associates were interviewed, his phone records examined.

Of the 202 pages of Knievel’s 290-page file released to the AP, some were heavily redacted, with identities, interviews and contact information excluded. The names of victims were not released, though some details of their experiences were.

One man told agents he received a threatening phone call, and shortly after was beaten by a Knievel associate who left him hospitalized. The man was interviewed by the FBI, but could remember his assailant’s black loafers better than his facial features.

He told the AP he wants to remain anonymous because he had moved on from the attack and into a career not associated with stunt jumping. He said the FBI wanted to know if he could identify his attacker.

“They gave me mug shots at one point in time and I couldn’t pick him out,” he said. “It was a dark room, he had dark glasses on him. All I know is he was big. I could describe his shoes better than anything.”

Authorities first wanted to charge Knievel with violations of the Hobbs Act, which prohibits a person from interfering with interstate commerce by attempting to rob or extort someone. But the case was dropped when it inherited new federal prosecutor who decided there was insufficient evidence. The federal government today will not comment.

“The Department follows the facts and the law in making decisions and beyond that, couldn’t comment on matters in which no public federal charges were filed,” Department of Justice spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said in an e-mail.

The daredevil’s widow, Krystal Kennedy-Knievel, said she was unaware of any FBI investigation involving her husband and declined further comment. They were married in 1999.

FBI files are available to the public after the death of their subjects and can provide rare glimpses into the private lives of public figures. For example, former President Ford advised the FBI that two of his fellow Warren Commission members doubted the bureau’s conclusion that John F. Kennedy was shot from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, according to his file.

Not all of Knievel’s altercations were detailed by the FBI.

Bob Gill, a competitor of Knievel’s during the 1970s, said he was part of a confrontation associated with Knievel, but the daredevil later apologized and denied his involvement and the two became friends. Gill was not interviewed by the FBI, but said his run-in mirrored others described in the file. He declined to elaborate.

“I was really, really mad at Evel over the whole thing, but he apologized at least 10 times, and said it was out of his control and I believed him,” Gill said.

Gill, who was paralyzed after a failed stunt, said Knievel tried to help him set up a meeting with a doctor who Gill thought would help him walk again. He said Knievel also devised a plan to help pay for the expenses.

“Evel’s never done any wrong besides that one little incident,” Gill said. “And he’s made up for it 1,000 times.”

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