Typography by Alex Trochut
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On a normal weeknight, Netflix accounts for almost a third of all Internet traffic entering North American homes. That’s more than YouTube, Hulu, Amazon.com, HBO Go, iTunes, and BitTorrent combined.
(via Businessweek)
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Technoccult: Eco-Friendly Burials: Human Composting →
Klint Finley
About 2.5 million people die every year in the U.S. alone. Disposing of human remains creates a serious ecological challenge. Traditional burials involve treating a body with formaldehyde and other chemicals then burying it in a wooden casket where it takes years to decompose….
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Planet Money T-shirt
Paul Higgins: I just backed this on Kickstarter because I think it is an interesting experiment in the future of journalism and documentary making
Planet Money is a joint project of NPR and This American Life, which focuses on coverage of the global economy. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, “Meet me at the bar and tell me what’s going on with the economy.” Now imagine that’s actually a fun evening. That’s what we’re going for at Planet Money.
So wait, what does this have to do with t-shirts?
Almost every single t-shirt out there — from the cheesiest vacation tank top to the fanciest boutique designer tee — is the result of a complicated global odyssey. We will take you on that odyssey and document the route our t-shirt took to your back. We’ll meet the people who grow the cotton, spin the yarn, and cut and sew the fabric. We’ll ride on the cargo ships that bring our t-shirt from factories in Bangladesh and Colombia to ports in the US. And we’ll examine the crazy tangle of international regulations which govern the t-shirt trade the whole way.
Full Story: KickStarter
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Forbes Magazine ad offers free WiFi via mini usb and the claim ‘You’re three steps away from an out of office experience” - That’s just wicked!
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Men’s suit that turns transparent when wearer is lying
Hot on the heels of our recent coverage of the MJ v1.0, a jacket that enables wearers to make music solely by gesturing, we’ve come across another example of wearable tech. Netherlands-based design group Studio Roosegaarde is set to expand its Intimacy 2.0 range of smart clothing to include a men’s business suit which turns transparent when the wearer is being untruthful. READ MORE…
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Un baby me.
Via http://wordsilikeandothershinythings.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/unbaby-me/
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Behind the Scenes at Thalmic Labs - Creator of the Wearable Gesture Control Device “Myo”
The Myo is one of the most anticipated gesture control wearable devices expected to be released to early adopters later this year (my order is already in!).
Based in my hometown of Waterloo, Canada - this video gives a great behind the scenes look at the team, the Thalmic Labs office and some great shots of Myo in action and also provides some more information on the product and their development process which hasn’t been previously released before.
Myo uses the electrical activity from your muscles as your move your hand to detect what you are doing with your fingers as well as the motion of your hand. These gestures control connected devices via bluetooth.
The Myo stretchable cuff has been designed to be one-size fits all (they even considered making sure that arm hair doesn’t get in the way).
The team has confirmed that their developer program in the next few months giving out exclusive access to early versions of the software of the devices.
Thalmic Labs believes that the Myo device could revolutionalize the way we interact with technology - and I agree.
(Source: youtube.com)
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A team of IBM researchers is working on a solar concentrating dish that will be able to collect 80% of incoming sunlight and convert it to useful energy. The High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal system will be able to concentrate the power of 2,000 suns while delivering fresh water and cool air wherever it is built. As an added bonus, IBM states that the system would be just one third the cost third of current comparable technologies.
Based on information by Greenpeace International and the European Electricity Association, IBM claims that it would require only two percent of the Sahara’s total area to supply the world’s energy needs. The HCPVT system is designed around a huge parabolic dish covered in mirror facets. The dish is supported and controlled by a tracking system that moves along with the sun. Sun rays reflect off of the mirror into receivers containing triple junction photovoltaic chips, each able to convert 200-250 watts over eight hours. Combined hundred of the chips provide 25 kilowatts of electricity.The entire dish is cooled with liquids that are 10 times more effective than passive air methods, keeping the HCPVT safe to operate at a concentration of 2,000 times on average, and up to 5,000 times the power of the sun. The direct cooling technique is inspired by the branched blood supply system of the human body and has already been used to cool high performance computers like the Aquasar. The system will also be able to create fresh water by passing 90 degree Celsius liquid through a distillation system that vaporizes and desalinates up to 40 liters each day while still generating electricity. It will also be able to amazingly offer air conditioning by a thermal drive absorption chiller that converts heat through silica gel.
Replacing expensive steel and glass with concrete and pressurized foils, the HCPVT is less costly than many other similar installations. Its high tech coolers and molds can be manufactured in Switzerland, and construction provided by individual companies on-site. Through their design, IBM believes they can maintain a cost of less than 10cents per kilowatt hour.
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Twoodo is a collaboration tool that turns conversations into actions. Current users reduce internal emails by 100%. Why? Because you can share ideas, discuss and give out tasks using Twitter-like tags (website + mobile app). We’ve been called “Twitter for business” or “Google Wave done right”. We fit between your personal task management tool and industry specific tools.
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Bamboo spectacles by Takemoto
Handmade and can be engraved with words of your choice on the inside of the arm.
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Twitter Happiness Levels Soar As People Travel Further From Home
Happiness levels caputred by Tweets rise logarithmically with distance from our average location, say computer scientists studying Twitter sentiment
Full Story: MIT
