Eco-friendly Tech
Saving our planet and your pocket!
Apr 22nd
It’s that time of year again when we are reminded of our environmental consciousness. Not there ought to be a special day to remind us, but after the 1969 incident turns out we do. What happened then was an outrageous oil spill in Santa Barbara that dumped 100,000 barrels of crude into the Santa Barbara Channel off to California. This urged Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 to dedicate an official day for our Earth as a constant reminder to make better choices on a day to day basis for us and our future generations to come.
You don’t have to take extreme measures to go green, so here are 10 inexpensive ways to go green. You can try to implement one each week or even each year.Not only would you reduce your carbon footprint by a massive amount, but you could probably inspire others to do the same.
1. Your computer may go to sleep, but it’s still sucking up energy. Turn your computer off at the end of the day. In addition, take steps to create aneco-friendly workplace.
2. Look into carpooling. Need convincing? Read why your green commute will save you money.
3. Cancel your newspaper subscription and read the news online instead. (We’ll bet you’re already doing this one!).
4. File your taxes electronically to cut back on paper usage. Look into having your tax forms emailed to you instead of mailed as well.
5. Get e-tickets for the movies through apps like Fandango or get e-tickets and boarding passes when traveling.
6. Put a cover on your pool when you’re not using it. Not only will it keep the water cleaner, but it will keep it from evaporating, saving you refills.
7. Repair your leaky faucet (especially if you live in a drought-prone area).
8. Schedule your errands back-to-back to consolidate your trip and save gas or ride your bike or walk when possible.
9. Buy rechargeable batteries. Learn to dispose ofold batteries properly.
10. Don’t heat an empty house! During the winter, turn down your thermostat to 68 degrees F when you’re home and 55 degrees F at night and while you’re away.
We leave you off with these wise words by Gaylord Nelson
“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.”
Mind over matter; use mind-computing on your iPad!
Oct 22nd
InteraXon wants to get into our brains and get in on all the juicy details that go on there; well, maybe not all the details just certain signals they need to transform into actual data that benefit developers in creating new apps that you can control with your mind.
A little too Star Trek for your taste? Well, we thought so too until we comprehended the technology behind it. Apparently our neurons, the brain cells, have happy feet and like to keep on dancing with electrical potentials that spark, dwindle and drift. If these little neurons dance on their own, then they are very quiet, however if thousands or better yet millions join in on the performance in harmony, then the generated noise can be loud enough for sensors to detect. The humongous neuronal dance parties are yes you guessed it brain rave, ops no, they’re brain waves!
Day or night, awake or asleep; these waves of activity are generated by our brains every moment of our life. This is not new, for scientists have been implementing this technology for over a century, calling it EEG (electroencephalography).
Ostensibly, researchers have concluded that different mental states result in different wave patterns; relaxed states result in gentle, slow-moving alpha wave, while immense concentration results in generating quick jagged beta waves.
InteraXon employs this in their attempts to produce a refined new technology; their latest is a wearable headband called the Muse that works on algorithms that detect these subtle changes in our brain and then showcases them in real time.
All this sounds like rainbows and butterflies doesn’t it? Well, given that the technology can transcend to the point where it’s both compatible for both the developers and users alike. Nevertheless, users will have to undergo a learning procedure, so that “signaling” with their brain becomes second nature.
The company’s target is to raise $150.000 through IndieGoGo, a crowd financing website, through auctioning its head units at a discount rate. First ones to jump on the sci-fi ship will enjoy a preorder rate that will ship for $135, while the price will go up to $200 as a final retail price tag.
Apple made the touch mainstream, Microsoft made voice and motion control conventional with Kinect. What’s next? Squinting until you unlock your screen!
Be part of the smart crowd and download G Cloud today; it’s free!
The new Model S, no not xperia, but Tesla!
Jun 25th
Tesla Motors Inc., the Silicon Valley electric vehicle startup led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, is rolling out its first mainstream car; The Model S.
Its first sports car was the electric Roadster, which was priced at $109,000 which explains why it hasn’t acquired the love of the mainstream market. However, if their latest model lives to its expectations, it might reinforce the whole EV industry.
Retail customers of the first eight models were happy to hear that their Model S would start shipping this Saturday at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif. The company manager was also eager to announce that they already have 10,000 orders and shall deliver 5,300 this year and 20,000 next year.
Even though there are tons and tons of reasons to keep us skeptical about this new model, it seems like one exhilarating car to drive; with its 17-inch central console touchscreen (that so elegantly controls the sunroof), music, maps and above all of that, regenerative braking strength that capture the energy and let the wheels recharge the vehicle’s batteries, quite amazing no? what’s also fantastic about these brakes is their incredible ability to swiftly slow down once you have taken your foot off the gas pedal, regardless of the speed you’re driving at; hence less maintenance and smoother ride.
Tesla S has a lot of things going for it; for instance, going from 0 to 60 mph in a whopping time that is estimated at 4.4 seconds. Another performance advantage it has over many other sports cars is the low center of gravity it boasts. Yet another thing it has in its favor is its marvelous range of 265 miles in the high-end model (160 miles with the base model), what does this mean you ask? Well, basically this destroys the anxiety that you might be having of running out of charge before reaching your destination. All of this is owing to the vehicle’s enormous battery pack (7,000 lithium-ion cells) which accounts for it to weigh at 4,400 lbs- hence the low center for gravity.
The huge touchscreen can be used for more than just control the sunroof; it can be used to update the vehicle in the instance that anything went wrong with the car, Tesla can use the car’s 3G to fix it remotely. Its maintenance policy is similar to that of the Roadster, in that they would come to customers rather than the other way round (however, we do not know how beneficial this would be in the case that Tesla gains in demand).
Still, even with all of these incredible enhancements, the two biggest elephants in the room remain; the price tag and that long road trip with no EV charging stations on the way.
The Model S start at $54,700 and range to $105,400 which is, let’s face it, quite high. If we take a look at the Nissan Leaf which is half its price, has only sold around 30,000 vehicles since 2010. Tesla might be aiming too high with its goal of selling 20,000 by 2013.
Do not be misled and assume that this is just another conventional sedan; oh no it is also a luxury car! Even though Tesla has cheaper models to be introduced in the foreseeable future, however the Model S is not one of those for it’s in the same range as a BMW or a Lexus.
As Franz Von Holzhausen, chief designer at Tesla, explains: “supposed to be an approachable, stylistic, high-design vehicle, but not one that is so quirky or weird it would only appeal to early adopters. “
To view the whole gallery, click here.
Well, we only hope that Elon Musk’s dream would one day be realized and that we would comprehend that electric cars can indeed be better than any gasoline-powered one.
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From kicks to kilowatts; meet the new Soccket!
Jun 20th
How would you fancy if your favorite electronic gadget could be charged by the world’s favorite sport? Well, you might not have to imagine for long thanks to a group of Harvard students.
With millions of soccer enthusiasts all over the world eagerly awaiting the final stages of Euro cup 2012, we’re quite confident that their television sets shall be occupied for the majority of the next couple of weeks. On the other hand, with the ever increasing cost of living, those exact millions of enthusiasts shall spend the rest of their impending future trying to pay off the unreasonably high electricity bills just for the sake of keeping their lights on!
A group of Harvard students have taken it upon themselves to attempt to solve these issues with the new innovative Soccket; a soccer ball that is meant to be kicked through the air in order to grasp otherwise wasted energy that is inaugurated by forces drilled onto the ball during play.
So how does this ball actually work you ask? Well, it is waterproof, sturdy and does not require to be inflated. It implements inductive coil technology which involves having a metal coil and magnetic slug that goes forwards and backwards. This motion powers a motor, and the electricity is then stored in an on-board battery.
An AC adaptor is suitably put behind one of the panels of the Soccket so as to allow a multitude of appliances to be powered in such a manner. The quintet which is made up of : Jessica Lin, Julia Silverman, Jessica Mathews, Hemali Thakkaras and Aiva Presser, had conceptualized a better use for this ball and which is to charge mobile devices as well as power lights.
Even though we do not know how excited American soccer fans will actually be by the idea of a ball that could charge their iPhone, the quintet aspire their invention serves a more purposeful mean.
In many developing countries, due to the fact that electricity is a mere luxury, reliance on kerosene lamps has led to numerous health problems.
The World Bank estimates that breathing the fumes created from burning kerosene indoors equates to the harmful effect of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.
Burning kerosene for lighting also generates some 190 million metric tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions, according to recent estimates — the equivalent emissions of about 38 million automobiles.
Thus, soccer often captivates near-religious attention from the vast majority of such poor population. These devoted people not only show up for every single match and idolize the big names of this sport, yet they also spend long hours practicing the game whenever they possibly can. Hence, the Soccket could be employed to obtain energy from such spontaneous soccer games that could then be used to actually power lights or heat sources.
It’s definitely more than just your typical ball isn’t it? Apparently Bill Clinton thinks so as well. Check out the video below to see for yourself:
Yet, on a more realistic note, the question is related to the technological components of this ball and how they actually affect the performance of the ball. The added weight caused by the device’s magnet might turn off many prospective players, making it highly unlikely to be actually adopted as the preferred alternative. Think of it, would you risk a head concussion for the purpose of keeping the lights on in your house?
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Eye spy…
Jun 10th
Just when we thought our world had almost reached its full potential when it comes to technological advancements, comes a software called Senseye .
A Copenhagen based project (which first gained momentum back in December of last year) that allows you to control your phone solely using your eyes, is quite intriguing we must admit.
We bet you might be asking yourself right now; how did they actually implement this? Well, the team behind this project has developed technology that tracks the movement of your eyes using the front-facing camera on mobile phone, which then allows you to control all sorts of aspects of the phone. Imagine sending texts, playing games and much more without the need to touch the handset at all.
Third-party apps shall be allowed to work with Senseye through a developer interface, and their strategy is to earn enough revenue through licensing the technology to manufacturers so as it can ultimately be integrated into the operating systems on handsets straight out of the box.
Senseye is not the first work exhibited by the team; an open source eye-tracking product called ITU Gaze Tracker is its predecessor. Its aim is a more humanitarian one targeted at disabled people who might not be able to use conventional interfaces.
On a lighter note, here is a video that we’ve recently stumbled upon and found quite an amusing implementation of this new technology.
Though, as you might conclude from this video, the system is still rather bulky with a preposterously expensive infrared camera and a built-in IR LEDs, and above all of that, it cannot be deemed new since it has been around since 2011.
Yet it is undeniable that with its custom calibration software, new dimensions are added to games such as Fruit Ninja; since a bomb explodes the second you look at it, peripheral vision is required in order to keep them out of your sight. Not to mention the speed at which fruit can now be sliced.
Ultimately, this would be very beneficial for the progression of multitouch screens as well as depth cameras like Kinect; this just might be the way the majority of our devices might work in a decade or two.
Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
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Google; a new visual dictionary!
May 29th
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we’d place the 21,000 words found in our everyday dictionary with their visual equivalent assembled from whatever shows up first for each word in Google’s image search? Apparently UK artists, Ben West and Felix Heyes, were also intrigued to find out as well; hence the birth of ‘Google’.
The visual dictionary, so appropriately named, is a 1240 page behemoth of JPGs, GIFs and PNGs in alphabetical order.
“We used two PHP scripts my brother Sam wrote for us,” says Ben about the process in an email.The first one takes a text list of dictionary words and downloads each image in sequence, and the second lays them out into columns and outputs a PDF.” The PDF was then printed into a beautiful book – handbound, thumb indexed pages held together in a marbled paper hardcover, the golden Google logo clearly oblivious to whatever internet monstrosities it may contain.
Ben and Felix are currently looking into having a small run of softcover editions of Google printed to sell. To sign up for a copy and to see more work by the two go to Ben West and Felix Heyes
So why would should we bother with this new lexicon? Ben says that it ultimately is whatever you make of it; unfortunately we live in a day and age of shrinking attentions spans, collective media lethargy and hindrances of reference books as opposed to the convenience of Google.
So, if a picture is worth a thousand words (or, better yet, a billion dollars) let’s see just how much this visual dictionary will be worth.
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Marine police; new recruiters will be aquatic!
May 22nd
If you’re heading to Northern Spain this summer, port Gijon in particular; do not be frightened if a yellowish fish sprints beside you.
Apparently scientists from all over the globe, in a bid to combat pollution, are experimenting and eager to update the marine watch with a revolutionary robo-fish, composed solely from fiber and metal.
A number of these are actually undergoing rigorous tests to find out if they are compatible to become the new aquatic police.
“The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it,” explains Luke Speller, a senior scientist at the research division of BMT Group, a technology consultancy.
The idea is speeding up the shore monitoring process from months to seconds; since at the moment, samples are being taken once a month, according to Dr Speller.
This could eliminate the chances of a ship leaking chemicals into the coastline and getting away with it.
The fish, which are 1.5 meters (5 feet) long and currently cost 20,000 pounds ( $31,500) each, are designed to swim like real fish and are fitted with sensors to pick up pollutants leaking from ships or undersea pipelines.
So what’s so special about this fish?
1. A minute chemical sensor is one of the key features that lives inside the fish. Water is allowed to pass through the body of the fish and could pass over the chemical sensor allowing scientists to detect pollutants in the water such as lead, copper etc.
2. The fish can also “see” under water using a sonar; this allows the fish to perform obstacle avoidance and range viding under water so it knows where it is and can stay safe and return to base when its battery life runs low.
3. Deep inside the core of the fish lives a small computer than runs the artificial intelligence of the fish allowing it to figure out where to go and the best ways to monitor pollution.
4. The fish can work either autonomously, or co-ordinate with each other through acoustic signals, to transmit their readings back to shore station, that could be up to a kilometer away.
5. Another key feature of the fish is its propulsion ; it doesn’t use a propeller like standard underwater robotics, but has a tail, which allows it to look and move like a fish under water ; this is quieter, more efficient and also allows for better maneuvering.
After the tests this week, the team will look at modifications needed to move the fish into commercial production, which they expect to reduce the cost of each unit and hopefully prolong the current eight hour battery life.
Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
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All we need is the sun to sail across the world!
May 15th
It had occurred to Raphael Domjan, a 39 year old Swiss, in the spring of 2004 a notion that might seem obscure to some, but to him it was more of a second nature. Being quite the jack of all trades; trained electronics engineer, jet and glider pilot and avid eco defender, it seems only natural to seek new and innovative approaches to reduce our carbon footprints.
So what was this eccentric thought you ask? Well, Jules Verne’s novels have undoubtedly inspired him to go on an adventure of his own and attempt journey to travel around the world aboard a ship powered solely through solar energy.
This journey seemed quite feasible to execute, both ecologically and technologically, yet it puzzled him why no one had attempted it before.
It was not until February 2008 that his dream started to be realized owing to a meeting with Mr. Immo Ströher, a German entrepreneur in the field of renewable energy with adequate experience in the concerned matter.
What is so unique about this particular endeavor? Well, a clean and eco-friendly navigation that runs without any fossil fuel would have enormous commercial implementations. Two year of designing and assembling result in a boat that remains unrivaled: Tûranor PlanetSolar.
The PlanetSolar project consolidated an international dream team made up of physicians, engineers, shipbuilders and sailors whose contributions to the success of the first trip around the world using solar energy have been unparalleled.
A top view of the Boat
“It was one month with soldiers onboard, and a lot of stress,” he says. “We were at 5 knots with the solar energy, and we were between Yemen and Somalia. In Yemen, with the soldiers and guns we had, we could have gone to jail. And in Somalia, we could be hostages, and eat rice for one year.”
Ships that cross the stretch usually go at speeds from 15 to 20 knots, to make it as quickly as possible. So, you might infer how dangerous it might have been to go as slow as 5 knots.
The four-strong crew followed the equator as closely as possible in order to get the most sunlight. They did a pretty good job, since Domjan revealed that the solar power worked almost perfectly, allowing the boat and everything onboard to function with great precision. A gas-powered cooker was an exception though, yet the crew were never concerned it would run out of power since even on dark days, the panels generated sufficient power.
The Boat while stopping in Abu Dhabi
So what did Domjan ultimately prove with this expedition? Well, for one, that solar power is something that can actually be effectuated today even in the face of the worsening threat of climate change, and is not a work of fiction for “sometime in the near future”.
Another valid utilization, as Domjan pointed out, could be for diving boats; since you can enjoy the underwater wildlife in a much better perspective with no noise and vibration to distract.
So, just beware of the pirates and ay ay Captin!
Looking for a simple, elegant backup solution?
Genie Timeline 2012 is a new version of the number one continuous data protection program Timeline 2.1. It offers the first metro style user interface; enhanced performance, and added features. Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.
>Follow @Genie9backup