Light Start – Type-R lawnmower, an ancient Merc, the new iPhone, and space couture
Brett Venter
Meet Honda’s Miimo Type-R lawnmower — for when you need to get it done quick
Why is it always Honda with the weird lawnmowers? We’ve seen the souped-up riding mower that can destroy your BMW at the intersection and now there’s a little autonomous mower that owes something of its DNA to the Honda R-Type. And the Honda Fireblade, as there are two special-edition prototypes of the Miimo robot mower running about. The performance-enhanced mowers were made to celebrate 25 years of Honda’s performance labels. The Miimo is currently available in the UK, starting at a mere R34,000. Because that’s a small price to pay to get a robot to mow the lawn, right?
Here’s a blast from the past — a 114-year old Mercedes Simplex
How long does a Merdeces last? That’s the question, really. Given that the Simplex is 114 years old and still goes, we’re going to have to say that the average Merc has a pretty lengthy lifespan. The Simplex 40, back in 1903, was the peak of motoring technology but it’s come a long way in the past century. Still, it must be quite an experience to take one of these old vehicles for a spin. We haven’t been able to play with one, sadly. We can only dream about it for now, so head on to the link below to see what it’s like to experience the Simplex in person.
Look, even Apple can’t keep everything a secret — though they certainly do try harder than most. The newest leak is a final version of iOS 11 which popped up a little sooner than expected and that leak has led to another leak. The title of Apple’s newest iPhone, apparently. Rather than called it the iPhone 8 (which would really mess with the naming convention if Apple also releases the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus this year), it seems that the ten-year anniversary device will be dubbed the iPhone X — which, you know, is the Roman numeral for ten. Which neatly gets around actually using the number. You know, in case Apple wants to release the iPhone 10 in 2022. We should see the end to this year’s rumours tomorrow evening, once Apple gets their annual presentation out of the way.
Peer inside SpaceX’s Dragon capsule in this new concept video
Okay, so most of us are never going to space. SpaceX has shown us a little of what it might look like while also showing what things will look like in orbit in the new Dragon 2 capsule (known as Crew Dragon), which is set to go into use soon. Also visible in the concept video, which was released over the weekend, are SpaceX’s stylish new space suits. Suits which look pulled from a Mass Effect sequel. The suits are designed to protect users from a vacuum but their primary purpose is to be worn inside a capsule rather than during space-walks. Though we’re sure that Tony Stark Elon Musk is working on making them completely space-rated when no-one is looking.
