OK, perhaps this is not to be considered PC hardware. Regardless, it still sounds pretty cool! Apparently there is a new kind of non-lethal defense on the streets known as the shotgun Taser. This bad boy can hit ya from up to 98 feet away!

Taser International will move into production on a projectile that can disable someone up to 98 feet away with a quick blast of electricity.

The company has successfully completed tests with the Office of Naval Research on the Extended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile (XREP). Unlike current Taser guns, this projectile is fired out of a shotgun. When it strikes a target, the projectile transmits a jolt of electricity, and a second round can then be fired.

In current Taser guns, the projectile has the same function, but it is connected to the gun and a power pack with a wire, limiting the range to 25 feet. XREPs are wireless. [Read the rest]

Tags: taser shotgun, office of naval research, extended range electro-muscular projectile, non-lethal defense