Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green. This week Inhabitat showcased several hot new eco vehicles including the world’s fastest plug-in hybrid and an insane screwdriver-powered tricycle that sends you flying through the streets headfirst. The field of alternative fuels also advanced by leaps and bounds as the U.S. Department of Energy announced a new breed of cost-effective biofuel and a team of researchers discovered a way to efficiently produce hydrogen from urine . From flying houses held up by balloons to skyscrapers that harvest energy from bolts of lightning , this week we also showcased some of the world’s most incredible buildings. We were wowed by the futuristic finalists of the eVolo skyscraper competition, which included underwater spires made from plastic debris and massive megaprojects that contain entire cities. This week we also spotted several exciting new examples of green consumer tech – from a clever brain-shaped CFL bulb to ASUS’ new line of cardboard computers to a wearable mix tape you can pin on your sleeve. We also celebrated the launch of Apple’s latest tablet by rounding up 14 of the best eco-friendly iPad cases, sleeves and bags . Finally, we kicked off a contest where you can win a beautiful recycled leather iPad case from Dewdrop Designs , and we shared 11 chic travel essentials for jet-setters on the go. Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Brain-shaped bulbs, houses that fly, and hydrogen bolts from the sky originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. This January, Vizio became the second major TV manufacturer to announce its support for Google TV at CES 2011. Samsung and LG also rallied behind the idea of “smart TV,” with the former announcing results of a “Free the TV” competition designed to encourage television app development. After years of serving mostly as a display for other development platforms such as video game consoles and TiVo, it seems the TV is ready to serve as a connected platform of its own, not wholly unlike the PC and smartphone. However, there are two things standing in the way of the television as a platform to lead interactivity in the home — a lack of access to the core video assets, and the separation of user interface from display. Continue reading Switched On: A screen too far Switched On: A screen too far originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …You knew this was coming — it was only a matter of time — and here it is, Apple’s latest creation sans the iOS 4.3 chains. The development community credits @comex with installing Cydia on this white iPad 2 , and he’s apparently already hard at work on a public jailbreak. According to his Twitter feed, the hack required a brand new exploit, as previous bugs were squashed in iOS 4.3. We’ll keep you posted on when the hack’s ready for you to use, too. [Thanks, Henrique and Vassilis] iPad 2 jailbroken, no ETA on public release originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 20:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …If electric cars are ever going to replace their gas-guzzling ancestors, we’ll inevitably need a few more places to plug in and charge up. Cue Google, who’s just added a database of EV — that’s electric vehicle for you non-green folk — charging stations to Google Maps, enabling drivers to locate places to get their juice on while on longer trips or when out of town (though without the social flare of PlugShare ). We’ve gotta say, a future of self-driving cars that can automatically charge themselves doesn’t sound too bad to us — and spending less on gas only makes the deal even sweeter. Google adds EV charging stations to Google Maps, but you still have to drive to them yourself originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Whoa, Nelly. Ready for another round? The elusive white iPhone — spotted only in the hands of Woz and occasionally in those of our own Richard Lai — may ship after all. After hearing from Apple that it was being delayed twice in 2010, we’ve heard an extended radio silence ever since. Sure, we’ve seen hints here and there from third parties that this here unicorn was still making its way through the production line, but there’s nothing quite like a direct tweet from Cupertino’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing to really rekindle some interest. In response to a question on how to obtain a white iPhone, Philip Schiller fired back: “The white iPhone will be available this spring (and it is a beauty!).” That’s about as clear-cut as it gets for now, but we’ve still got a few inquiries we’d love answered. Is he talking about the iPhone 4, or the next one in the pipeline? And does he have any intention of building us up, only to let us down (let us down) once more? We shall see , won’t we? [Thanks, Stefan ] Apple’s Phil Schiller confirms: white iPhone to be available ‘this spring’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ladies and gentlemen, the days of unlimited internet may be numbered in the United States — AT&T will reportedly implement a 150GB monthly cap on DSL customers and a 250GB cap on subscribers to U-Verse high speed internet starting on May 2nd, and charge overage fees of $10 for every additional 50GB of data. DSLReports says it has confirmation from AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom that these rates are legitimate, and a statement spinning the move as a logical extension of the company’s tiered wireless data plans for smartphone use. Developing… AT&T will cap DSL and U-Verse internet, impose overage fees originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google Chrome may have come out of Pwn2Own unscathed , but you can rip through any website it (or another HTML5-compliant browser) displays — just pull out your handy Katamari Damacy ball and wreak havok on the page. Na NAaaa, na na na na na na na, na na na na na naaaa… Alternatively, paste the following Javascript into a bookmark, and then click it when you’re tiring of a page. javascript:var i,s,ss=['http://kathack.com/js/kh.js','http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.5.1/jquery.min.js'];for(i=0;i!=ss.length;i++){s=document.createElement(‘script’);s.src=ss[i];document.body.appendChild(s);}void(0); Katamari Hack rolls across your favorite websites, leaving swath of HTML5 destruction in its wake originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Already get your iPad 2 ? Then consider yourself lucky, as anyone trying to get one now will likely require quite a bit of patience. As you may have noticed, Apple’s shipping times for online orders have now slipped yet again from the previous two to three week estimate to a lengthy three to four weeks, although things may not be quite that straightforward. Some folks are reporting that they’re already receiving shipping notices even though their estimated delivery date was weeks away, so Apple might just be being overly cautious with its estimates. On the other hand, there’s also been some reports of Apple canceling orders for being “over the limit” — even from folks that have just ordered one iPad — although those seem to be few and far between at the moment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the situation is even more confusing at retail stores (Apple or otherwise). There are numerous reports of stores being sold out completely, and yet more of stores that have only received certain models (something we’ve also seen first hand). What’s more, it seems that retail stores have largely been unable to give folks a clear indication as to when new stock will arrive, which prompted some folks to line up each morning just to see if a new shipment has come in (as pictured above). Of course, as far as problems go, this is probably one that Apple doesn’t mind having, although it does certainly seem like there’s some room for improvement before the inevitable iPad 3 launch. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] iPad 2 shipping estimates now three to four weeks, retail availability hit and miss originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The very same gentleman that introduced us to Google’s Cr-48 laptop , Product Management VP Sundar Pichai, has disclosed the unfortunate news that Google has shipped the last of them, at least “for now.” The next opportunity to catch a ticket to ride the Chrome OS bandwagon will come in the middle of this year, as promised, with devices from Acer and Samsung coming to market. Rumor had it that Google received about 60,000 Cr-48s from ODM Inventec back in December, though whatever the number of manufactured units was, the fact is that it’s now been fully depleted. We’d urge Google’s partners not to stray too far away from the Cr-48 template in the summer — we’re huge fans of its minimalist good looks, even if the OS itself could do with a few more layers of spit, polish and features. Continue reading Google ships last Cr-48 laptop ‘for now,’ partner Chrome OS devices still on track for summer Google ships last Cr-48 laptop ‘for now,’ partner Chrome OS devices still on track for summer originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Surely you remember the Samsung GT-i9100 , colloquially known as the Galaxy S II ? Sammy’s been tight-lipped about which US cellular carriers might offer it, but the Federal Communications Commission might have an idea. You see, the Exynos 4210 -toting Super AMOLED Plus smartphone just made its way to the FCC authorization database, 850MHz and 1900MHz GSM frequencies in tow — which just so happen to be the ones required to get a gig at AT&T. Mind you, the handset could also be moonlighting in Canada with those particular bands, but the odds are decent we’ll see it stateside sooner than that. By the by, this particular Galaxy S II is also sporting 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, meaning it’ll almost certainly come with dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi. The Galaxy S II wasn’t the only Samsung to hit the FCC this week, though, as the SGH-i708 also dropped on by — it appears to be a worldphone with 850 / 1900MHz GSM frequencies alongside CDMA, EV-DO, and the standard Bluetooth and 2.4GHz WiFi. Samsung Galaxy S II hits the FCC, potentially ready for AT&T 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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