A tree that survived the attacks on the World Trade Center has been nursed back to health and replanted at the September 11th Memorial Plaza. (Dec. 23)
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Five years ago I wrote about my new iPod Nano , the 1 ounce, 8 dram wonder that I called the green product of the year. I wrote that it “demonstrates that brilliant design can let us all live as well or better than we do now in less space, using fewer resources and with a smaller footprint. The Nano is an inspiration.” The consensus in the comments was “you can’t be serious.” “The truth is that the iPod nano is not “green” at all. Rather, it is admired and loved by the sorts of people who like the idea of “green” products and they don’t have the cajones to admit to liking so… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Life-saving malaria nets help protect women and children in Africa. Photo: ABC Home & Planet ABC Carpet & Home offers a wide array of gifts in their department stores, from vintage and antiques to artisan indigenous pieces from cooperatives around the world, but it is gifts of compassion, from their non-profit arm ABC Home & Planet Foundation , that I’d like to highlight as a last-minute holiday gift suitable for anytime of the year. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Image via Wikipedia The varroa mite has been the bane of honeybee colonies, and has even been blamed to a certain extent for colony collapse disorder. Beekeepers have few weapons against the mite, but researchers have just created what could be the answer to dealing with Varroa destructor . By isolating genes that can be tricked into putting the mite in “self-destruct” mode, the scientists may have devised a chemical-free way to help honeybees with a mi… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …DARPA aims to make soldier of tomorrow impervious to sneak attacks with 360 degree vision
December 23, 2010 No Comment
DARPA is currently soliciting proposals for the development of Soldier Centric Imaging via Computational Cameras, also known as SCENICC for those who prefer brevity. This latest project is a visual enhancement system that seeks to meet all of our armed forces terrorist-hunting and war-waging visual needs. The system, which is purely theoretical at this point, will provide a 360 degree, three-dimensional field of view for soldiers in the field. This optical omniscience is obtained through the use multiple cameras, including images from airborne drones . Soldiers will have real time 10x zoom capabilities and can operate everything via voice commands. As if that weren’t enough, SCENICC employs augmented reality to identify and track targets in a way (we presume) not unlike your garden variety T-800 . As this bit of kit is years from production, our commandos will have to make do for now with smartphones and wrist displays to keep an eye on enemies of the state. DARPA aims to make soldier of tomorrow impervious to sneak attacks with 360 degree vision originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Anti-Defamation League calls on Polish gov’t to take swift action in response to attack on head of Jewish-themed NN Theater in Lublin
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Local news agencies say package exploded after being opened by Swiss Embassy staffer
Continue reading …Google buys gigantic former NYC Port Authority building, takes a chunk out of Chelsea
December 23, 2010 No Comment
Growing companies need growing workspaces, and Google just bought one of the biggest possible in NYC. It’s the former Port Authority Building at 111 Eighth Avenue, a massive brick establishment that, according to Wired Epicenter , set the company back an equally massive $1.9 billion. There’s a helipad on top, perfect for quick getaways in the company’s ROFLcopter, but more importantly a major fiber line runs through the building, giving the Googs priority access to bits flowing through the city. Google already has a presence within those crimson walls, which also houses offices of communications companies like Verizon and Level 3 , companies who might just need to be finding new spaces when their current leases expire, because Google is “hiring across the board,” apparently hoping to fill that thing to the brim. Google buys gigantic former NYC Port Authority building, takes a chunk out of Chelsea originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Man of the moment, Father Christmas, brings some festive cheer with his debut record ‘Father Christmas Sings.’ Recorded in the world famous Abbey Road Studios, he said it was a great honor to share the same space once used by the The Beatles. (Dec. 23)
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Isn’t it fun when you hit the right place at the right time? We just happened to be chillaxing in Hong Kong when Dell chose the city for the Venue’s global launch (and it’s actually hitting the shops slightly ahead of South Korea), so a quick hands-on is inevitable. As we’ve seen previously, this HK$3,999 (US$514) handset is essentially the Venue Pro’s Android 2.2 cousin sans, sporting the same curved (or “Shear Design”) vibrant AMOLED display at 4.1 inches and 800 x 480, but missing the slide-out keyboard. Under the hood lies a 1GHz Snapdragon with 1GB ROM and 512MB RAM, along with the usual microSD expansion, 1400mAh battery, 8 megapixel AF camera with LED flash, Bluetooth 2.3 EDR, WiFi and AGPS. There aren’t any surprises in terms of software — the Venue shares the same snappy Stage UI and Swype keyboard with the Streak, except for the lack of landscape orientation for the homescreen (and that’s with orientation enabled in system settings). As for hardware, the killer feature here is the screen, and we found its curved Gorilla Glass to be surprisingly nice for our thumbs while swiping across it. The AMOLED panel underneath is also vibrant with great viewing angles. Elsewhere, build quality is almost solid bar the squeaky battery door, but at least it provides some grip. That’s all we got for now — we’ll delve into more details in our forthcoming review, so stay tuned. Gallery: Dell Venue hands-on Continue reading Dell Venue launched in Hong Kong, we go hands-on Dell Venue launched in Hong Kong, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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