Westwyck development from Sanctuary magazine. Photo: Emma Cross Inside the 13th issue of Sanctuary Magazine you’ll find design notes on passive cooling, which is harder to achieve than passive heating. And a companion article argues that whilst fixed eaves work well at the height of winter or summer, the transitional months of spring and autumn (fall) require more resident participation, “passive houses need active inhabitants.” Such a building, with operable shading would offer energy rewards, whilst being simple and fun, “just like sailing!” Yet another article discusses the life cycle assessment (LCA) of building materials… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Continue reading the main story PIRACY CRISIS Growing risk Q&A: Prosecuting a pirate Spotlight on ‘guns for hire’ Somali piracy: Global map…
Continue reading …BBC iPlayer going international next year, will be either fee- or ad-supported
November 9, 2010 No Comment
The BBC’s iPlayer video-on-demand service has been an unqualified success since its rollout back in 2007 and now it’s taking the next logical step in expanding its reach: it’s going global. Such is the word from John Smith, the generically named head of BBC Worldwide, who sees the international market for British shows as “under-exploited” and wants to see the iPlayer opened up beyond the Queen’s home isles. Of course, since continental Europeans and North Americans aren’t subject to the same backbreaking TV license fee, there’ll be a new commercial element to the service, though the Beeb’s bigwigs have yet to figure out if that means users will have to pay a levy or put up with some ads. Either way, we’ve got quite a few eager iPlayer viewers on our own staff, so we imagine whenever and however the switch does get flipped, it’ll be welcomed by all. BBC iPlayer going international next year, will be either fee- or ad-supported originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice
November 9, 2010 No Comment
Well, what have we here? In the sea of me-too ultraportables , it looks as if Lenovo is doing its darnedest to mix things up with a somewhat unorthodox screen size. The leaked IdeaPad U260 hasn’t been confirmed by the mother company, but word on the street has it rocking a 12.5-inch display, 0.71-inch thickness and a total weight of just 3.04 pounds. Naturally, it’s living life sans an optical drive, and we’re told that it’ll ship with an Ultra Low Voltage Core i3 or Core i5 CPU. There’s no ExpressCard slot, but you will spot a four-cell battery, Bluetooth 2.1, VGA / HDMI outputs, WiFi, 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive and a couple of semi-vivacious color options (Mocha Brown and Clementine Orange). Mum’s the word on a price, but you can catch one more glimpse of the heretofore unannounced rig just after the break. Continue reading Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice Lenovo slips out 12.5-inch IdeaPad U260 ultraportable, hopes you’ll notice originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Truth be told, it’s exactly what the world needed. More 3D gimmickry … on the iPhone and iPod touch, no less. With over 125 million of those two devices in circulation, Hasbro’s betting that a new accessory will have a greater-than-average chance at taking off next Spring, with the My3D goggles set to put the View back in ViewMaster. Purportedly, the toy firm is expected to fully reveal the device to investors later today, with it being “aimed at both children and adults” and offering a 3D viewing experience on games, virtual travel, augmented reality apps and entertainment content. The device itself resembles a set of binoculars, and just as the aforementioned ViewMaster, there’s a slot where you place your iPod touch or iPhone. Users will have to browse the App Store for compatible My3D content, with some of it to be offered up gratis. We’re guessing more than a few curious consumers will bite at just $30, but how hard would it have been to get this thing onto store shelves next month? A holiday opportunity missed, Hasbro. [Thanks, Bill] Hasbro’s $30 My3D goggle accessory brings 3D to iPhone, iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Stars including Fergie, Kate Hudson and Cher talk about the importance of raising awareness about bullying on the red carpet at this year’s Glamour Women of the Year Awards. (Nov. 9)
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They’re still far from being in the bargain bin , but solid state drives are slowly but surely walking their way down from the pricing stratosphere. A week after revealing a 96GB V+ 100 model , Kingston has now uncovered a more capacious sibling that’ll definitely tempt existing HDD users who have been holding tight to their platters while scoffing at the tiny SSD sizes cluttering the market. The 256GB SSDNow V100 is a 2.5-incher with sequential read speeds as high as 250MB/sec and write rates as high as 230MB/sec, and as with other Kingston SSDs, this one too packs a three-year warranty and Windows 7 TRIM support. It should be popping up on NewEgg and Buy.com soon here in the US of A for $489.99, and for those in need of an upgrade kit, it’ll find its way into a pair of desktop / laptop bundles for $10 more. Continue reading Kingston introduces 256GB SSDNow V100 SSD for $490 Kingston introduces 256GB SSDNow V100 SSD for $490 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The sponsors of a dog-themed Rose Parade float auditioned canine athletes in Los Angeles. The water-loving dogs and their owners hope to jump and slide their way to a spot on the float. (Nov. 9)
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President Barack Obama has arrived in Indonesia, a country where he lived for several years while growing up. However, his stay will be shortened by a couple of hours because of an erupting volcano in Indonesia. (Nov. 9)
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So, everybody has a Facebook page now: your parents, your next door neighbor’s cat, and now even the Queen of England … or more specifically, the British Monarchy. Yes, the Crown of England has launched an official fan page for itself on everybody’s favorite and most hated social network. Apparently, the page managed to rake in over 40,000 likes in its first hour of operation — no small feat considering it took Miley Cyrus something like three days to get that many. Regardless, the Queen is posting tons of candid photos and we’re hoping to get some videos of her getting crazy with the Cheez Whiz any day now; we’ll let you know if / when they appear. The British Monarchy launches official Facebook fan page originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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