A new company appears to have cracked one of the major obstacles towards full-scale adoption of solar power: Cost.

Its cells can generate power at a price approaching "grid parity" - that is, the same acquisition cost over their lifespan that it would cost to buy power from a normal electric company. It turns out that cost is about $1 per killowatt of capacity.

Previous solar cells cost about $2-4 per killowatt, so this is huge cost savings over the previous technology.

Read the full story at the link.

Filed under: solar power, cheap, and grid parity

Virgin's Richard Branson and friends board their new plane, "My Other Ride's a Spaceship" for a trip to their partner Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites, and the beginnings of a new era in space, starting with launch vehicle White Knight.

"I'm old enough to have seen the moon landing ... I've wanted to go into space when I saw the moon landing ... I've never had that opportunity ... and ... it will be one of the most exciting things I've done in my life." --Richard Branson

Filed under: space, scaled composites, virgin, richard branson, and burt rutan

Many have dreamed of a way for them to soar above the ordinary in a flying device strapped to their body ... and many have failed.

An Australian inventor decided to buck the odds, and his bizarre creation - more a "proppack" than a "jetpack" - is to be unveiled at the legendary Oshkosh private flight event.

He even used his wife as a guinea pig, and - here's the amazing part - she loved it!

Filed under: jetpack and personal aviation

In San Francisco, the fight for parking spaces has often turned ugly. Fortunately, a new company now lets you find empty spaces by turning to your cellphone. Ask your phone for a space and it will track down the nearest empty one thanks to sensors embedded in the spaces (see picture).

Filed under: parking, sensors, san francisco, and driving

Why creating hotels like the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, UAE, of course, where your every visual fantasy is made real.

Most hotel rooms I've seen are considerably smaller than the bathroom of the Presidential Suite.

You're seeing the gorgeous atrium to the left ... and there's more at the link.

Filed under: emirates palace, hotel, uae, and Abu Dhabi

Here's the best picture i got of today's fireworks in Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

How were your fireworks? Any pictures to share?

Filed under: fourth of July, fireworks, monongahela, and pa

At this point, probably more people have heard of Snow Leopard as the name of Apple Inc's new operating system release than have heard of the animal itself.

So what's a Snow Leopard like? This beautiful set of photos from National Geographic Magazine, shows us the life of these magnificent animals, their endangered status, and their threatened future.

Filed under: snow leopard and apple

Here is a grouping of amazingly dramatic images of our planet, space and the world around us.

Filed under: space, land, and images

Have you ever thought your existing computer display was too heavy and bulky? Check out this new invention, active-matrix e-paper, which you can fold in your hands, like real paper.

A lot more development is needed in this process, so widespread availability is expected around 2015.

Filed under: paper, e-paper, electronic paper, lcd, and display

Wouldn't it be great if your cellphone company spent a few more bucks to give you fewer dropped calls and better service?

Call us cynical, but we know that's about as likely to happen as an invasion of Mars.

But how about trying to make the reality of things easier? This Apple patent, as reported by Appleinsider, covers a system that will check to see when your call is about to lose coverage, and automatically notify you and your caller that the call may be dropped.

And, to make things even better, if you lose your Bluetooth keys or phone, this system will track them and tell you when they are near or far.

Looks like life may indeed becomre easier for the absent-minded and those who live in dangerously bad cellphone areas, both of which happens to describe me -- and probably even you.

Filed under: cellphone, apple, patent, poor connections, and lost

I never was frightfully keen on the idea of killing and taking apart an animal, and apparently scientists have listened: There is now a new, genetically engineered breed of frog that you can see through while he is still alive.

Not only does this reduce the gross factor it also lets you examine the development of the frog's organs over his life, from the tadpole stage on.

(The frog doesn't look particularly transparent in the picture, but I'm sure the photo just doesn't do it justice.)

Filed under: transparent frog, frog, wildlife, nature, and genetic engineering

A soft pink halo appears, magically before your girl, and she vaguely wonders what it is. As you hold it, it shimmers beautifully. Your girl picks the bottle of perfectly chilled champagne out of it, the beginning of a perfect evening.

A perfect evening that cost you $4,000 plus the cost of the champagne.

Ouch.

Sounds like a great gift for the couple that has everything, as long as you do too.

Filed under: champagne cooler, glow, pink, and magical

The rules:

• It must be mechanical


• It must be useless


• It must make people laugh

Filed under: japan, stupid, robot, and contest

Creators of satellites sure are bad at taking out the trash. Or maybe there is just noplace for it to go, for there are no incinerators in space. At least not near enough to us to do the job.

These pictures show space junk, broken satellites, results of explosions, gloves accidentally left out there, and so on.

It's starting to become a problem; the space shuttle has lost windows because of it and the international space station has had to maneuver to avoid it.

Filed under: space and space junk

I normally avoid politics here at amazing.com - and for the record, I don't think Barack Obama is any more or less hypocritical than the other candidates - but I really enjoyed visiting Billionaire's row with this guy.

He was audacious enough to try and find out when the private, no reporters allowed fundraiser was and to stop by to take some pictures.

If nothing else, this gives a nice glimpse into how the other 0.0001% live.

As a special bonus, I found some real estate listings from this area. It turns out that houses in this block go for $48 million to $65 million, which I have to admit is a lot more than even I would have expected.

Filed under: real estate, barack obama, big money, campaign, and contributions

Many of you remember brushing your teeth as not one of the most enjoyable or stimulating activities you could think of.

Courtesy of some inventive minds from Taiwan, this is about to change. Brushing your teeth is now a challenging video game. By incorporating miniature cameras and LEDs into a toothbrush, your kid will visually see plaque and disease being knocked out of his mouth by his hard work.

In experimental testing, this system has caused kids to brush their teeth more often and more thouroughly than kids using a less cool brushing system.

Filed under: toothbrush, toothpaste, and fun

Anyone wonder how the space shuttle is prepared for launch?

This fascinating sequence of pictures tells us how.

(Via Instapundit).

Filed under: space shuttle, launch, and vehicle assembly building

We all love the dream of living on a tropical island of our very own, with perfect weather, beautiful white sand beaches awaiting us and our girlfriends, and of course the boats and private planes at our fingertips to wisk us anywhere we desire to go.

So what's it really like to have a private island? I love this site since it doesn't really seem to be selling much, it just lays out what has to be done, from where to find reasonably priced islands to how to generate electricity and find people who share your dreams.

If you think private islands are just Mai-Tais and mayhem, you may want to stick to the Four Seasons resort. But if you're willing to do a lot of legwork and spend a pile of money, yes, it's possible to have an island of your very own.

It seems somehow fit that we launch the brand new amazing.com, with our amazing dreams, starting with the first one: The dream of the freedom and romance of a private island.

Enjoy.

Filed under: private island, paradise, tropical, getaway, and escape