For the past couple of years, many of the
technologies destined for Ferrari’s road-going supercars were initially
developed on the automaker’s track-only 599XX.
Based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, the 599XX is made in very limited
numbers, and serves as a kind of mobile testbed for new ideas. While it
is possible for a few of Ferrari’s favorite people to buy the cars, the
company still prepares and drives the vehicles on their behalf, at test
tracks and race tracks in Europe and the U.S. Although the car was
premiered in 2009 at the Geneva International Motor Show, the latest
version is being presented at this month’s Bologna Motor Show. One of
the more noteworthy features on the new model is its active aerodynamics
system. Read More
Art. Lebedev's Popularis and mini six keyboards up for pre-order
By Pawel Piejko
December 8, 2011
Unveiled more than three years ago, the Optimus
Popularis keyboard has been finally made available for pre-order at Art. Lebedev
design studio's website. Each key of the Popularis incorporates a tiny
LCD running at 64 x 64 pixels resolution and can display any chosen
image (or even an animation), performing any function assigned by the
user. Art. Lebedev is also taking orders for the Optimus mini six
external keyboard which offers six programmable LCD keys. Read More
Want to install a satellite dish at your home but
can't due to a building regulation or uncooperative landlord? Hiding an
in-built dish and LNB, the SatPlus Sat Chair will let you pull in those
satellite signals and the landlord will be none the wiser. The chair
can be installed on a terrace, balcony or anywhere else you want to
install a satellite dish without breaking any rules - although it might
look out of place on the roof. Read More
The WHILL turns any wheelchair into an electric vehicle
By Ben Coxworth
December 8, 2011
Wheelchair users with full use of their arms generally don't need
electric wheelchairs ... but sometimes, especially if those users have
long distances to cover, it sure would be nice to have one. Instead of
going out and buying themselves a full electric wheelchair, however,
those people may soon have the option of using a WHILL. Recently spotted
by Gizmag staff at the Tokyo Motor Show, the prototype device clamps
onto the wheels of an existing manual wheelchair, temporarily providing
it with electric drive. Read More
AOC releases 15.6-inch portable USB display
December 8, 2011
Recent days have seen the release of AOC's
catchily-named E1649FWU display. Its name isn't important. What is
important is that this is a portable 15.6 inch 16:9 LED display with a
maximum resolution of 1366x768 at 60 Hz. Most impressive is that the
e-fwoo (as I'm calling it) is solely USB 2.0-driven, which means a
single cable, connected plug and play to your computer, for video signal
and power. Read More
Could you one day control your smartphone by just
looking at it? Tech company Senseye thinks so, and is developing the
technology to do just that. The technology uses the forward-facing
camera on your smartphone to locate your eyes and then estimate where
you're looking on the screen. The computer-vision algorithms used are
precise enough that your phone will be able to tell even what icon
you're looking at, allowing you to open programs, or even control games.
Read More
Japanese design studio D-Art seems to be popping
up in all the right places. Its design for a robotic exoskeleton arm was
demonstrated at the International Robotics Expo in November, with an
target retail price US$2500 to US$3000 projected for 2013, and just a
fortnight later at the Tokyo Motor Show, it showed an all-electric three
wheeler named the “Style.” The 30 kg Style will do around 25 km/h for
20 km, and costs JPY500,000 (around US$6500). Read More
If one had to describe Behringer's 10,000 W iNuke
Boom dock for iPhones and iPods, it would not be big. That word does
not begin to do it justice. The 700 pound dock is 8 feet wide, 4 feet
tall and about as deep, and looks like the results of a crossbreeding
experiment between a common or garden iPod dock and a monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Read More
More Android in-car entertainment systems are on their way. In September, Hong Kong's Innotrends unveiled an Android 2.3 Gingerbread-based "infotainment" system.
Problem is, that system only fits in vehicles with German "2 DIN"
standard dashboard. So the news that Intel subsidiary Wind River, which
makes all kinds of embedded devices found in cars and elsewhere, is
teaming up with stereo maker Clarion to develop new Android-based
in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems is big news for anyone interested
in seeing more Android in more places. Read More
We don't think Franky Zapata knows what's about
to hit him. The French jet ski champion has just put together an
absolutely insane leisure product, released a short video about it - and
then took off on honeymoon, where presumably he's having about the
least romantic getaway of his life as his phone and email inbox go
absolutely bananas. And here it is: the Zapata Flyboard. This ingenious
and deceptively simple device bolts on to the powerful motor of a jet
ski, then routes the resulting water jet through a long hose that
connects to a pair of jet boots and hand-held stabilisers. The
arrangement lets you fly, Iron Man style, up to 9 metres in the air - or
leap headfirst through the waves like a human dolphin. The best part?
You can buy it for under 5000 Euro (US$6700). That is, once Franky digs
his way out from under the avalanche of orders he's going to come home
to. Read More
The Espro Press takes a new approach to coffee-making
December 9, 2011
Coffee lovers Chris Mclean (design engineer) and
Bruce Constantine (engineer/ entrepreneur) have spent the last two years
developing a precision coffee brewer dubbed Espro Press. The product is
similar to classical french presses, however Espro Press features a
two-stage micro-filter that reportedly preserves coffee flavors and
prevents sediments or muddiness in the coffee. Read More
Futuristic bridge planned for Wuxi Xidong Park, China
December 9, 2011
China's L & A Design Group has created plans
for an iconic pedestrian bridge projected for Wuxi Xidong Central Park,
in Jiangsu, China. The bridge will connect the north and south
foreshores of the park, and includes a man-made island in its design.
The island will offer pedestrians commanding waterfront views and the
opportunity to relax and enjoy the surrounding gardens or tea room
facilities. Read More
Kahuna Creations is bringing standup
paddleboarding to every type of terrain the Earth has to offer. The
sport originated as a water sport, and thanks to Kahuna's Big Stick,
came on land a few years ago. Now it's turned into a winter sport thanks
to the all new Snow Stick. Snow SUP! Read More
Tablets and smartphones may now be cemented as a
solid platform for games, but there's still a big difference between the
mostly casual games available in the Apple and Android markets and the
titles aimed squarely at the hardcore gaming crowd. A large part of the
issue is the hardware, since even the iPad 2 can barely hold a candle to
the processing power of the Xbox 360 or PS3; and that's without even
bringing up the capabilities of a modern gaming rig. The video game
service, OnLive, however has found a way to bridge the two with its new
app that delivers console and PC titles to portable devices and, more
importantly, makes them playable. Read More
Top 10 things you CAN'T have for Christmas 2011
By Gizmag Team
December 8, 2011
With Christmas fast approaching it means it's
time for our annual look back at some of the technology that caught our
eye and had us wishing our fortunes didn't match that of the Greek
economy. While not all of the items on this list can be had for an
extremely large wad of cash, those that are available for purchase will
only find their way down the chimneys of those with a lottery winning or
ultra-wealthy - and ultra-generous - family member or friend. Still,
Christmas is a time for miracles so it is in that spirit that Gizmag
presents its 2010 top 10 list of things you can't have for Christmas
this year. Read More
Birmingham UK may be the birthplace of many an
historic motorcycle marque but Birmingham Alabama is where we'll find
Confederate Motorcycles, builder of exclusive "heirloom" machines for
the rich and famous. These aren't custom choppers; not the Bondo-filled
multi-lacquered fantasy machines of reality TV fame. These are properly
engineered and prototyped limited-production models that in the past
have sported prices tags of well over $100K. This time, with the X132
Hellcat, Confederate has created a machine that could almost be thought
"affordable" whilst still retaining its obsession with detail and
stunning design. Read More
Kepler mission discovers most Earth-like planet to date
By David Szondy
December 8, 2011
The ongoing search for Earth-like worlds has
taken another promising step. On December 5, NASA announced the
discovery of the planet most likely so far to sustain life outside of
the Solar System. The exoplanet, given the undramatic name of Kepler 22b, was found by NASA's Kepler spacecraft as part of its mission to seek out Earth-type planets
in our galaxy. Though Kepler 22b is not the first such planet to be
detected in recent years, it is the first one orbiting a star similar to
our Sun and at a distance where it is capable of possessing liquid
water, which most scientists regard as essential for life to exist.
Though this is a significant milestone, the question remains, how good a
candidate for a second Earth is Kepler 22b? Could there be life there
or is it a planetary blind alley? Read More
Amazon makes a move which could fundamentally change retail sales
By Mike Hanlon
December 8, 2011
Online retailing leader Amazon is to make a
compelling offer this coming Saturday – use their smartphone app to
compare prices, and they'll effectively pay you $5 to walk out of the
store. It is an historic move in the evolution of retail sales. As smart
phone penetration heads for ubiquity, the price comparison app might go
mainstream quite quickly from here. For the customer, it means getting
accurate comparison information before a purchase. For the shopping app
provider it means an opportunity to make a bid on a customer's patronage
at the time- and point-of-sale, inside a competitor's bricks and
mortar, at the same time as creating a marketing intelligence tool par
excellence. A bold move indeed. Read More
Nanoscale electronic circuit suggests new possibilities for computers
By Ben Coxworth
December 8, 2011
A team of scientists from Montreal’s McGill
University have successfully formed a circuit between two wires which
were separated by a gap of only 15 nanometers – that’s about the width
of 150 atoms. It is reportedly “the first time that anyone has studied
how the wires in an electronic circuit interact with one another when
packed so tightly together.” Along with being one of the smallest
electronic circuits ever created, it has also led to a discovery that
may have big implications for the world of computing. Read More
In a move that should see the humble agricultural
equipment of the future both cleaner and more efficient, Oerlikon
Graziano - a supplier to the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini - has come
up with an innovative a range of transmissions, including a mechanical
continuously variable transmission (CVT) for small tractors. Released
at Agritechnica in Germany last month, these new drive-trains are
claimed to provide higher road speeds and be easier to operate so that
the equipment can get to its work site much quicker without the need for
a float or trailer. Read More
Electronic Drum Machine Shirt lets you bring beats with you
By Emily Price
December 11, 2011
You never know when you'll be walking down the
street and want to bust out a few sweet beats. This Electronic Drum
machine lets you bring a drum machine with you wherever you go, and
create and layer beats on the fly. The shirt has nine different drum
kits built-in, including Rock drums, Techno Punk drums, Classic Jazz
drums, and Scratchy drums. Drums can be played and looped by tapping the
drum pads and controls on the front of the shirt, and loops can be
recorded up to three minutes in length. You can mix-and-match drums from
different kits in the same loops, and even play all seven at once if
you're feeling really adventurous. Read More
Universal TriggerTrap camera trigger enters pre-production phase
By Paul Ridden
December 11, 2011
After attracting more than three times its
funding target on the Kickstarter crowd-sourcing portal, the TriggerTrap
universal camera trigger is now speeding towards production. The
battery-operated, pocket-sized device has five built-in trigger modes -
including firing the flash or shutter release in response to light or
sound input - and is compatible with a growing list of camera models. It
has a touch-sensitive user interface and an LCD display to help take
the guesswork out of choosing settings, and can control hundreds of
different cameras via wired or IR trigger systems. It has also been
built to allow (if not actively encourage) hacking. Read More
There's a bit of controversy surrounding MVRDV's
design for a luxury residential environment in South Korea. Some people
are concerned about the resemblance of MVRD's “Cloud” to the 9/11 twin
towers explosions. Whether it is a 9-11 lookalike is immaterial because
it's meant to be a cloud, and it's an ingenious reinvention of the
skyscraper using glass and sky and light and sun to create a unique and
compelling environment, with many material advantages to the community.
Read More
Optrix HD transforms your iPhone into an HD sports camera
By Emily Price
December 10, 2011
Shooting video while you're riding a motorcycle,
steering a jet ski, or skiing down the slopes of your favorite mountain
isn't exactly easy, especially if you're trying to shoot that video with
your smartphone. Optrix is aiming to make that process a little simpler
by creating the Optrix HD, a rugged water-proof case for the iPhone and
iPod touch that can be mounted on your helmet, bike, or anything else
to shoot video while you're literally on the move. Read More
Timberland trail shoes fold up and zip closed for stowage
December 10, 2011
Along with better mouse traps,
the search for ever-lighter hiking shoes will likely always be with us.
At 9oz (255g) each, the Radler Trail Camp hikers are Timberland's
latest tilt at this quest - and when you add water repellent properties
and the ability to fold up for storage, you just may have a piece of
outdoor gear as essential as the cork screw or pocket knife. At the very
least, insurance for cold, wet feet could be only a couple of zippers
away. Read More
Competition shooters like their bullets to fly as
fast (and thus straight) as possible, and they try to keep recoil to a
minimum. Italian ammunition-maker CompBullet produces a series of
bullets of the same name, which are claimed to both go faster than
normal ammo, and produce less recoil. The secret? The bullets have
go-faster holes in them. Read More
Thrustcycle demos new version of its self-balancing SRT
By Ben Coxworth
December 9, 2011
Back in August, we heard about a self-balancing prototype vehicle known as the Thrustcycle SRT.
Utilizing a flywheel-based gyroscopic stabilizing system, the electric
vehicle was able to remain upright on its three inline wheels, even when
standing still. The flywheel also served as a kinetic energy recovery
system, helping to extend the vehicle’s range by storing energy that
would otherwise be lost when braking. Now, four months later,
Thrustcycle Enterprises has contacted us with information about the
latest version of the EV, and provided some video of it being driven
around ... and getting the crap kicked out of it. Read More
Estimating another person's age comes naturally
to most people. Some find it more challenging than others, but it's an
ability we usually don't give much thought to. For computers, however,
it's not all that easy. There have been many attempts at age estimation
software, but the one offered recently by a group of researchers from
Singapore seems unique. It relies on widely available and inherently
diverse web resources, and can therefore be used across all ethnicities.
Read More
Winning Taiwan Tower hosts a "21st-Century Oasis"
December 9, 2011
Japanese architecture firm Sou Fujimoto has won the Taiwan Tower International Competition
with its green architecture design that features a floating forest. The
competition is part of a larger urban plan in Taichung, Taiwan as a
part of a new development for the "Gateway City." Architects were given
the task of designing a tower that would be located at the southern tip
of Taichung Gateway Park, with a minimum height of 300 meters (984 ft).
Read More
Earlier this week, we brought you the story of a
radiologist and two violin-makers, who used computed tomography (CT)
imaging to create a copy of a 1704 Stradivarius violin.
The instrument that they produced was almost an exact replica of the
original, as far as the shape, thickness and volume of its wooden parts
was concerned. As one of our readers pointed out, however, much of the
tonal quality of Stradivari's instruments was likely due to the
microstructure and resonance characteristics of the wood of which they
were made, caused by the growing conditions at the time. Well, it turns
out that someone is working on reproducing that aspect of the violins,
too. Read More
Mantis Stand for iPad - pricey if not deadly
December 12, 2011
There's no shortage of iPad stands on the market,
but those looking for something a little bit more flexible and robust
might be interested in the solid aluminum Mantis Stand from U.K.-based
flatscreen arms. Like a praying mantis, the Mantis Stand clasps its prey
(well, your iPad) in a vise-like grasp. Rather less like a praying
mantis, the stand's x-shaped head swivels and tilts for portrait or
landscape viewing from almost any angle. But the similarities and
non-similarities to the praying mantis do not end there. Read More
Strap-on macro lens works with any smartphone camera
December 12, 2011
The cameras on most smart phones tend to be
rather simple affairs so it's not surprising that savvy inventors have
dreamed up numerous add-on attachments such as mini-microscopes and wide/telephoto adapters.
They do tend to be rather elaborate and brand-specific, however, not to
mention somewhat pricey. Not this one though - the Macro Cell Lens Band
is a simple close-up photography solution that has two definite pluses -
it works on any camera equipped phone and it's very inexpensive. Read More
The watersports world has been a little spoiled in the last week with news of the Zapata Flyboard
breaking - but even though that one's going to be very tough to top, we
thought the Abyss Board was pretty unique and fun in its own right.
Towed quite slowly behind a boat, this simple device lets you steer
yourself around under the water. With separate control of right and left
side wings, you can dive, rise, bank, carve and barrel roll your way
through the water. As you're underwater the whole time, you don't need
to be going fast to get quite a motion thrill - so in a way the Abyss
Board is a reasonably eco-friendly rush. I tell you what though, I
wouldn't want either of my brothers at the boat throttle while I was
playing with this thing - and they wouldn't want me driving either! Read More
How many times have you been going about your
usual business of cheating on your spouse, being an idiot around your
boss, or drunkenly harassing fellow party-goers when some wildly
irresponsible person tags you in a photo and posts it online? What's
that? "Never," you say? Well congratulations on being an alright human
being then. You can feel good about the fact that you don't need the
Norte Photoblocker to ruin any potentially damaging photos of your night
out as they're being taken. Read More
Having previously been forced to get rid of the
Elise and Exige from its U.S. lineup because of the expiration of a
smart-airbag exemption coupled with Toyota ceasing production of the
1.8-liter engine found in previous models, the 2012 Lotus Exige S is set
to make it stateside - although only as a track model. The vehicle is
already available in European markets, and comes sporting a Lotus Evora S-derived
3.5-liter supercharged V-6 engine producing 345 hp, and weighing in
some 300 pounds (136 kg) more than its predecessor. Read More
Last Friday, a German court found Apple in
violation of a Motorola Mobility patent, ruling that Apple’s iPhone and
3G model iPads infringe on cellular communications patents owned by
Motorola Mobility that relate to General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
data packet transfer technology. Although the court in Manheim, Germany
granted Motorola’s requests for damages and an injunction banning the
importation of iPhones and 3G iPads
into Germany, because the ruling relates to the importation of new
device shipments, Apple has said it already has sufficient existing
inventory to ensure German shoppers will be able to purchase said
devices in the all-important lead up to Christmas. Read More
We have covered luxury watches many times on
Gizmag and it's often a little problematic. The marketing spiel from the
manufacturers is always in that strange flowery language that's
designed to appeal to those for whom the primary concern is not cost.
However, every now and then along comes a series of watches that seem to
truly justify their price tag in terms of provenance, style and sheer
craftsmanship. The extraordinary "Blue Ocean" and the Platinum
Collection from which it comes is just such a line. Read More
Mitsubishi's concept EMIRAI driver interface system
December 11, 2011
Sneak peeks at future technology often come with a
curious mixture of excitement (it's new!) and frustration (you have to
wait ten years) and so it is with Mitsubishi's innovative EMIRAI
automotive interface concept. While the system steers clear of the
hands-free personal transportation envisioned in futuristic films such
as Minority Report, it does explore interacting with your ride
in some very compelling ways. From the looks of it, getting around by
car will be a lot more interesting in a decade or so ... to say the
least. Read More
Aldebaran Robotics' NAO Next Gen is smarter but still cute
By Jan Belezina
December 11, 2011
Remember NAO, the robot that stole the show at the recent Robotville
event? Well, NAO's already impressive set of abilities have just been
extended with Aldebaran Robotics releasing a new version of its cute
little humanoid robot. Around two thousand NAOs are used for research
and education purposes all around the world but now that the NAO Next
Gen is ready, the founder and chairman of Aldebaran Robotics, Bruno
Maisonnier, hopes to see it become useful to humans in a more direct
sense. It's new abilities are to make it even more versatile and, among
other things, prepare it for working with autistic children and the
elderly. Read More
German speed merchant Brabus has unveiled its
latest performance vehicle - the Brabus 800 Coupe. Based on the
Mercedes-Benz CL600, the 800 make-over takes the already impressive 5.5
liter V12 previously developed for the SV12 R Biturbo 800 to an eye-popping 788 hp (588kW) with 1047 ft.lbs (1420Nm) of torque. Read More
Card Radio was conceived as an environmentally
friendly piece of consumer electronics, presumably with the mass market
in mind. Its entire housing is made from recyclable, though not recycled,
cardboard. Despite its low cost and eco-credentials, Card Radio aims
not to sacrifice elegance, harkening back to the 1960s aesthetic that
designer Chris McNicholl claims as its influence. Read More
Just when you thought that you still had loads of
room on the 1TB of storage in your PC or Mac, another holiday season
comes around and tempts you to capture all the antics at the office
party in multi-megapixel clarity, or record high definition movies of
loved ones as they excitedly rip through reams and reams of wrapping
paper. Suddenly your monster hard drive starts to look somewhat
elf-like. Hitachi GST (Global Storage Technologies) has unveiled two new
hard disk storage solutions of gargantuan capacity that may well help
to alleviate some of those storage woes. Both center around the same 4TB
Deskstar 5K4000 HDD - with one being prepped for internal use, and the
other given a nice outer jacket and USB 3.0 connectivity. Read More
Google engineer builds ultimate LAN party house
December 13, 2011
Anyone who has a attended a LAN party - where
people connect their computers on one network in one location to play
multiplayer games together - can tell you that they can be both very fun
but also kind of a hassle. Playing games with your friends all in the
same room: fun. Having to organize all your friends to each haul their
usually-oversized gaming rigs to one person's house, ensuring they all
have the same software, and inevitably dealing with one or more people
having trouble connecting: not fun. With that in mind, it makes sense
that one Google employee decided to bypass all that inconvenience and
just build a house specifically for LAN parties, complete with multiple
networked computers and TVs connected to game consoles. Read More
Coby announces five new Android 4.0 tablets to debut at CES 2012
By Paul Ridden
December 13, 2011
The scramble to take the new flavor of Google's
Android operating system for a test drive has been pretty intense since
the source code was released in the middle of last month. The first
commercial hardware products running on Ice Cream Sandwich, though, will not hit the shelves until early in the new year. One of the first to break cover was Acer's Iconia A200
tablet, which is now going to have some company. New York's Coby
Electronics will be launching five new Android 4.0 tablets at the 2012
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this coming January. Read More
For more than twenty years, the software program
Photoshop has been the industry standard for seamlessly manipulating
images, especially the removal of unwanted items like blemishes, wires
and telephone poles. When it comes to adding something to a
photo, however, the process is still rather involved. Now, a team from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), led by PhD
candidate Kevin Karsch, is presenting a new algorithm at Siggraph Asia
2011 that promises to radically simplify the procedure of believably
incorporating new or "synthetic" objects in still shots and the results
are quite impressive. Read More
GM looking to bring carbon fiber to mainstream cars
By C.C. Weiss
December 12, 2011
Carbon fiber is nothing new to the automotive
industry. Race teams and exotic automakers have been using it to
decrease weight and boost performance for years. However, due to the
great expense of production, carbon fiber hasn't yet extended past these
top-end applications. With a new partnership, GM seeks to bring the
advantages of carbon fiber to mainstream automobiles. Read More
Although we may think of smartphones as being
like tiny desktop computers, they do have at least one key difference –
in order to save battery power, many of their functions are hardwired
into highly-efficient dedicated processors, instead of taking the form
of software. Because smartphones perform so many functions,
however, not all of them can be hardwired. As a result, designers of
mobile devices must decide which functions will be handled by software,
and which by hardware. Computer scientists from MIT have recently
devised a system that should make those designers’ jobs a lot easier –
if they’re willing to adopt it. Read More
The pocket watch was the standard portable
time-keeping option for around 400 hundreds before being replaced in the
20th century by the more convenient wrist-worn variety. So could the
pocket watch return to its former glory? Way-out watchmaker Tokyoflash
seems to think so, having combined the classic pocket watch with its
futuristic Kisai Rogue unit to create the touchscreen-equipped Kisai
Rogue Touch Pocket Watch. Read More
MIG 675 is said to draw its power from the water
By Ben Coxworth
December 12, 2011
If money is no object to you, but environmental
concerns are, then LUXURY’s MIG 675 might be your kind of boat. The 22 x
8-foot (6.7 x 2.5-meter) cruiser seats three, has a top speed of 70 mph
(113 km/h), and produces emissions consisting of nothing but water
vapor – this sucker is hydrogen-powered. It's where that hydrogen reportedly comes from, however, that may really raise a few eyebrows. Read More
New 3D transistors could mean faster, lighter, cooler computers
By Ben Coxworth
December 12, 2011
Starting next year, computers will be available with three-dimensional transistors
– these will incorporate vertical components, unlike the flat chips
that we’re used to seeing. This structure will allow them to have
shorter gates, which are the components that allow the transistors to
switch the electrical current on and off, and to direct its flow. The
shorter the gate, the faster the computer can operate. While the new 3D
transistors will have a gate length of 22 nanometers, as opposed to the
present length of about 45, the use of silicon as a construction
material limits how much shorter they could ultimately get. That’s why
scientists from Purdue and Harvard universities have created prototype
3D transistors made out of indium-gallium-arsenide – the same compound
recently used in a record-breaking solar cell. Read More
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