Well, it takes the cake, but it won’t eat it. The VLC has to maintain its svelte and trim form, you see, as it tips the scales at a mere 830 pounds (376 kg). To put that in perspective, a super lightweight car like the Lotus Elise still weighs in at over 700kg, saying nothing of more conventional passenger cars. It also helps that the Edison2 VLC offers remarkable aerodynamic efficiency too, winning the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize back in 2010.

The next generation VLC improves upon its predecessors in just about every way, getting even better aerodynamic efficiency, a roomier interior and larger wheels. You’ll also notice the unique in-wheel suspension, which improves handling, reduces mass and reduces the overall complexity of the vehicle.

No word on when a consumer-ready model will hit the roads, but Edison2 CEO Oliver Kuttner says the architecture has a “promising future” and that the car “opens up the possibility for a whole new type of car… in a much more responsible, sustainable way to the future.”

[Source]

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The team behind the VideoLAN VLC media player has officially announced plans to develop a native app for Windows 8. While the VideoLAN project has traditionally turned to user donations to help fund its endeavors, the team behind VLC is attempting to take this release to the next level by asking for help through a Kickstarter campaign.

With this campaign VideoLAN is attempting to raise $64,000 (£40,000) to hire two full-time developers to make the new app play nicely with ARM based Windows RT devices, as well as Intel-based Windows 8 hardware. The funds will also help pay for graphic designers for the upcoming Windows 8 application.

VLC, originally released in 2001, provides a catch all media player that is a must have for many video playback enthusiasts. With the Windows 8 app, the team hopes to bring all the same great functionality to the new Windows 8 Start UI.

There are several different rewards for backing the campaign, depending on the amount you donate. Just a few reward examples include having your name listed on the application as a sponsor, certificates of contribution, keychains, mugs, t-shirts, a banner add, and even an opportunity to meet the team in person.

[source]

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Applidium, the company behind that fantastic VLC media player that was recently released for iPad, has just announced they have a universal version presently going through the iTunes App Store scrutiny. Once it makes it through, you’ll be able to use VLC on any iOS device, which leads me to believe that also counts for Apple TV too. That’s pretty exciting, as I used to use my old Xbox 1st gen with XBMC for streaming videos over the network, it could play the divx and avi files without a glitch until 1080p came along. Now with VLC for iOS, we should be able to do the same thing not only on our iPhone’s and iPod’s, but also on our TVs via Apple TV. Applidium says that the iOS SDK “does not” always allow use of the decoding chip, so some 720p videos “may not be very fluid.” Perhaps it has something to do with multitasking and what other apps have priority, they have enabled some low-level optimizations to make the most of the A4 chip but make no promises at this stage.

Only iPhone 4, 3GS and same-generation iPod touch can run the VLC player, everyone else will be left in the dark. The processing power on earlier gen devices can’t keep up with the decoding.

They’ve also included support for Mail or Safari files to be opened. Strange, but cool.

SOURCE: Gadget Lab via Applidium

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