UPDATE: Giveaway is closed! Thanks to all who posted here. Everyone is of course free to post more comments here, but no more patches will be given out. The cool thing about Instructables is how so many people share their knowledge and ideas so freely with everyone else. This can be with an Instru…
By: fungus amungus
Reports of maples on the march northward and butterflies flitting far afield are already flooding in, and climate scientists predict that with escalating temperature changes more species will need to either get out of dodge, or hope for emissions reductions that will help the planet dodge the climate bullet. [More]
So you missed out on being a member of the greatest generation. You never got to partake in a “good war.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t drive around on a motorcycle with a sidecar built to look like a WWII fighter plane, you hero.
Wait a minute, it’s modeled after a German WWII fighter plane? Well, I’m not quite sure how to feel about that one. But I guess as long as you use it for good and not evil it could be seen as a big middle finger to the folks who used the real things back during the war. Or something like that.
Motorcycle News via Gizmowatch
Meet Womble.
Gorgeous Womble sadly found himself in an overcrowded council pound this December. More and more dogs were coming in so Womble was at risk – unwanted dogs that cannot be moved out to rescues may be put to sleep once they have ‘done their time’ and nobody has claimed them. Womble’s owner [...]
An Israeli hacker has found a way to defeat the digital rights management (DRM) on e-books for the Amazon Kindle. Of course. Ever since DRM-protected e-books came into existence, this day was inevitable. Now if you want to copy a Kindle book over to your IREX or Sony Reader, all you have to do is download the hacker’s program, called “Unswindle,” which converts the e-book to the MOBI format.
Now that anyone who wants to decrypt an Amazon e-book can do so, will all you content “protectors” please finally realize that these DRM schemes do nothing to stop real pirates? All they do is make things inconvenient for paying customers. Which are the majority, by the way — most people are actually honest and willing to pay for their media, even if free pirated copies are available. iTunes ditched DRM awhile back, and it’s not like everyone stopped buying music there and headed to the Pirate Bay. Get the message: DRM is stupid. Kill it now.
I♥Cabbages, via Slashdot
UPDATE: Giveaway is closed! Everything is all set up, now we just need some presents so… Post a new comment with a picture of a present and get a patch. Never added an image to a comment before? At the bottom of the comment box, click "add image," then click "Choose Files." Pick your image an…
By: fungus amungus
Here’s the first video look at the Google Nexus One smartphone, set to make its big market splash in the next few weeks. Even though this YouTube video is not quite steady or sharp enough for our taste, you can see that the Android 2.1 operating system is well served by HTC’s powerful hardware underneath.
Just look at that smooth scrolling! Google’s improved software with its spiffy animations, that smoothly rounded design with the textured back, and this sprightly performance has us eagerly anticipating the Nexus One’s arrival.
Via Ubergizmo
As a construction industry giant, Caterpillar is best known for moving earth, and now the company seems ready to move the entire off-road vehicle and equipment sector into more sustainable technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and cuts reliance on fossil fuels.
With its new D7E tractor, Caterpillar is out to demonstrate that a diesel-electric hybrid tractor can save fuel and beat the performance of diesel-only equipment. If it proves a successful mix of energy-efficient power and maneuverability, the D7E could inspire other manufacturers to adopt hybrid technology for a wide range of offroad vehicles and equipment, including smaller engines that account of a significant chunk of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., such lawn mowers and ATV’s.
Tired of that same old/same old Christmas tree? It’s time to freak out Aunt Edna with this levitating tree, likely to fool the nearsighted and willfully unobservant. How does it work? Tell them it’s magic.
The geniuses at the Instructables website thought this one up, giving you step-by-step instructions for the trick. Might we suggest installing a distracting-looking star at the top, close to the ceiling?
Team this up with that levitating audio shelf and the levitating sofa, and your nitwit relatives will start talking about how gravity is “just a theory.”
Via Instructables
In a world full of absolutely braindead high-end audiophile equipment, the Moon Audio Zero Gravity Magnetic Levitation Audio Shelf sets a new standard it uselessness. You see, it’s a shelf that levitates using magnets! It’s also a $500 shelf.
The argument here is that by lifting your components off the shelf, it protects them from vibrations that will screw up your sound. Of course, I’m sure there are plenty of other expensive devices out there designed to protect your equipment from the harmful effects of magnets, which surely hurt those precious sound waves. Probably also sold by Moon Audio. But hey, levitation! Neato!
Moon Audio via New Launches via Oh Gizmo!
Pumpkin is a sweet old lady looking for a new home due to her owner’s ill health. She’s very undemanding and only asks for short walks and plenty of love. She loves human company and will make a great companion for someone who is home most of the time.
When I look at a clock, I don’t just want to see the time. I also want to be reminded of my own mortality, and how little time I have left before shuffling off this mortal coil. Which is why I love the Daily Life Clock.
This clock has a grandmother, grandchild and dog as the hour, minute and second hands, all rotating around the globe and passing through various scenes. Scenes that repeat themselves over and over again with no chance of variation, just like our lives. Or at least that’s how I interpret it.
BGM Project via DesignBoom via Gizmodo
Despite price hikes and setbacks, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project marches on, and now it’s getting even more ambitious. Get a load of this: Here’s the third OLPC, the spectacular XO-3 tablet that’s the new goal of the altruistic project. With a target of 2012, this super-thin plastic panel boasts wireless charging and an 8.5″ x 11″ touchscreen. The kicker? Its designer says it will cost $75.
2012? We’re thinking more like 2015 for this tech. While this gorgeous tablet might be nothing but fantasy, we like the way designer Yves Behar aims high. And who knows, maybe there will be a gigantic technological leaps in the next two years, enabling a waterproof tablet that’s thinner than the iPhone, contains an “8GHz processor” (really?), and is so cheap that every child in the developing world can possess one.
Heck, while we’re fantasizing, why not just claim it’ll be able to cure malaria, too?
Via Engadget
When fashion and tech mix, I am torn between thinking, “Wow, way to go,” and “Jeez, is that really necessary?” This Climate dress from Danish design company Diffus has hundreds of LEDs that light up when air pollution is detected. So, apart from attracting moths and geeky guys when the sun goes down, how does it work?
Hidden somewhere about this dress is an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor and a carbon dioxide monitor. Conductive embroidery transmits info from the monitor to the lights, which flash at various speeds depending on the concentration of the greenhouse gases. Much as I like the embroidery, I’m not sold on the shape of it — big bustle-y-thingy, baby — but I guess you’ve got to appreciate the thinking behind this. My one question, what happens to the lights if you fart?
The Coolist Via technabob
When the day arrives that humanoid robots are an integral part of human society, one can only hope they aren’t as terrifying beautiful as the HENGE robot. The art piece/robot model is the creation of Japanese designer Tomoo Yamaji, and is exquisite not just for its tech aesthetic, but also for its simplicity.
Set up on a stationary stand for display, the model won’t talk back to you or walk around, but as a futurist conversation piece representing your robot lust, it’s pretty much perfect. The model is available for 100,000 yen ($1,090) here and you can see video of the HENGE going through its various transformations here.
Via Jean Snow
Tens of thousands of people living within the danger zone of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines were forced to evacuate to emergency shelters in mid-December 2009 as small earthquakes, incandescent lava at the summit and minor ash falls suggested a major eruption was on the way. On the evening of Dec. 14, the local volcano observatory raised the alert level to Level 3, which means “magma is close to the crater and hazardous explosive eruption is imminent.” This natural-color image of Mayon was captured on Dec. 15, 2009, by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. A small plume of ash and steam is blowing west from the summit. Dark-colored lava or debris flows from previous eruptions streak the flanks of the mountain. A ravine on the southeast slope is occupied by a particularly prominent lava or debris flow. The Phillipine Star said on Dec. 22 that “ashfall blanketed at least three towns in Albay, raising new health fears for thousands already bracing for an eruption that could come at any time … Health officials warned the tiny particles could cause respiratory problems or skin diseases, and could affect the thousands of people crammed into evacuation centers. Also on Dec. 22, CNN reported that “tens of thousands of people have already fled their homes. More than 9,000 families — a total of 44,394 people — are being housed in evacuation camps after authorities raised the alert status of the country’s most active volcano” as “fountains of red-hot lava shot up from the intensifying Mayon volcano.” Image Credit: NASA/Jesse Allen
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