Tesla competitor

UK-based Lightning Cars has revealed a competitor to the Tesla Roadster electric sports car.

The Lightning GT has very similar performance to the Tesla Roadster, but can recharge its batteries in ten minutes if 3-phase power is available.  Battery life is claimed to be 12 years, with 85% of charge capacity retained after 15,000 charge cycles.  In shades of Car Wars tech, the Lightning GT uses individual 120kW motors in each wheel for a total of around 700HP.

Better start saving those nickels though.  It's priced at £120,000-£150,000 with £15,000 down.  But don't rush out to the bank, it's not available in the US yet.

Sorta looks very reminiscent of an Aston Martin or a TVR, doesn't it?

Putting the cat among the pigeons

The [US] Patent and Trademark Office has now made clear that its newly developed position on patentable subject matter will invalidate many and perhaps most software patents, including pioneering patent claims to such innovators as Google, Inc.

The shouting's evidently far from over on this, but it's going to shake up a lot of things, and spell the deathknell for a lot of patents that should arguably never have been granted in the first place.  Hopefully it will also extend to some of the more stupid "business methods" patents.