The Daily Slash: April 1st 2010

It's the first of the month, and here we are, at the end of the day, bringing you another Daily Slash. Tonight's pretty big, but we'll make sure that you don't miss a thing. First, we've got a helmet that just might save your life. Near the middle of our late night story, we've got two tales from the automobile industry: one hits a milestone, and another offers up a pretty nice gift package. Finally, two iPad stories that will make you look twice at the tablet from Apple.The Helmet That Acts as a Headlight, and Brake Lights: First off, this thing is called the "Lazer Urbanize Bicycle Helmet," and that should be just about all you need. We promise you, it looks as cool as it sounds. And yes, we definitely said a helmet looks cool, and no, we're not crazy. These helmets aren't cheap either: costing a cool $100 a pop, these things definitely have an objective. The helmet has two lights, one on the front and one on the back. The front is a bright white, and the rear is a nice red hue. You guessed it: headlights, and brake lights. Perfect for those late night treks. [via Crunch Gear]GM Motors Passes Pre-Production Models of Chevrolet Volt: This one's a quick one, but it's big in its meaning and value. GM has passed a huge milestone today, as they watched the first pre-production models of the Chevrolet Volt roll off the assembly line. These models are meant specifically for testing, and will (hopefully) never see the retailers or roads. It just means testing can begin, and as factory workers develop more pre-production models in the later months, as long as everything works out, final models can start being constructed later this year. That's the plan, anyway. [via GM]Hyundai Equus Comes With a Multimedia Tablet for a User Manual: Remember the user manual sitting in your car's glove compartment? Yeah, it's that big, bulky collection of papers that acts as an instruction novel for your car. The trouble is, they're becoming a hassle for auto manufacturers to create, especially when our cars are gaining features faster than we can type words. Especially when it comes to the luxury models out there, which, for all intents and purposes, can think for themselves. So, what's Hyundai got planned? They're releasing a multimedia tablet with every Hyundai Equus purchase, which is going to work as your user manual. Oh, and it will also help you coordinate your next oil change, and whatever else you need with the dealer you picked the car up from. Pretty cool, right? [via Autoblog]An iPad Hacked to Run Apple's Newton OS: Sure enough, it looks like if you get the right developer, you'll get all sorts of crazy things. Take, for instance, the iPad that's already running Newton OS. That may sound familiar, because it's the one that Apple released in the '90s. Sure, it may not have been a hit then, but maybe it's got a better chance working on that iPad screen. All you need is the Newton emulator app, and your screen turns a green shade of . . . Well, kind of green. The developer's name is Jonathan E. Vi, and he was one of the early developers to get an iPad well before launch. This is what he has done with his time with the tablet, and we applaud him. [via DVICE]David Letterman Licks an iPad. Yes. Licks it. We understand that David Letterman of the Late Show is an old man, and he may not understand the full complexities of today's latest technology, but we can safely say that licking something is generally not the way to make something work. We could be wrong, but we'd be willing to bet that's definitely not the way to make the iPad turn on. Maybe that's a new app. In any case, the iPad was a guest on Letterman's show, part of the staple "Top 10," and it was there that the gadget got molested. But, you should definitely watch the video to see it for yourself. [via Everything iPad]