Video: Solar-powered night garden fills Jerusalem with tranquility, world peace soon to follow

Juxtaposing the manmade and the natural in artistic expression oftentimes leads to creepy results. It is no mean feat, then, that the Jerusalem night garden — built out of steel wires, laser-cut panels and 1W to 3W Power LEDs — feels like a warm and welcoming place to visit. Whether it is the clean energy source, producing 720W of electricity per hour, or the ethereal light and movement of the flowers, something about the exhibition awakens the wistful child we’ve got locked away in the Engadget dungeons. He cries out for more of this aesthetically pleasing eco-friendly design, which in this case even comes with a specially composed soundtrack. To see if you agree with such juvenile enthusiasm, check out the video after the break.

[Via inhabitat]

Continue reading Video: Solar-powered night garden fills Jerusalem with tranquility, world peace soon to follow

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Video: Solar-powered night garden fills Jerusalem with tranquility, world peace soon to follow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OLED Digital Clock is Nothing But Numbers

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You know those analog clocks which are nothing but a pair of hands on a spindle, distilling the function of the timekeeper down to its bare, concentrated essentials? The Black & White Clock is like that, only it’s digital.

The clock consists of numbers only: no case, no background, no nothing. Four OLED shapes mimic the classic seven-bar design of the digital readout and internal light detectors tell the numbers whether it is light or dark. The digits then become either black or white depending on the ambience.

The clock is beyond prototype stage and the clockmaker, Vadim Kibardin, is looking for a manufacturer. Even though it is technically still a concept design, though, there is one problem we see: It runs on Li-ion batteries, which means recharging, although the mention of “accumulators” on the spec sheet gives hope that stray photons might be pressed into charging service. We guess there’s a reason clocks have cases after all. Still, good luck to Kibardin on finding a fabricator.

Product page [Kibardin Design via Core77]


Acer’s dual-boot Android and XP netbook launching in August?

You remember Android right, Google’s other OS that actually exists? Well, Acer’s set to launch what could be the world’s first Android-based netbook in August. At least that’s what DigiTimes is reporting second-hand via Chinese-language Apple Daily. While two suspect sources won’t turn a rumor into fact, Acer’s already on record with plans for an Android netbook in Q3 in dual-boot XP configurations. So hearing that Quanta and Compal will have these out smack in the middle of the quarter isn’t much of a stretch.

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Acer’s dual-boot Android and XP netbook launching in August? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Core77 Dutch Master: Hot Wheels in NYC

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If you were in the SoHo district of NYC on Saturday, you may have wandered into the Apple Store. If you did, you would have been greeted with this beautiful bike, the Dutch Master, a limited edition of cruisers hand built in in Bushwick, Brooklyn, which was enjoying its launch event.

This project was put together by the design lovers at the Core77 blog. Parts from around the US were sourced and sent over to the Bushwick Bike Shop. These were then bolted on to the classic Worksman Newsboy frame, a bike made in Queens, New York for over 110 years. A Worksman bike is the bike Jimmy Olsen would have ridden before he landed his job at the Daily Planet.

As if the gallery of close-up pop-shots weren’t exciting enough, the design details and specs are enough to send you into a frothing frenzy. There’s a Brooks Saddle (a Lady Approved® brand, incidentally), Sturmey Archer hubs, Schwalbe Fat Frank balloon tires, and pedals and stem by Brooklyn Machine Works.

The whole thing is a curious mix of BMX parts, classic components and modern tech. Somehow, this odd combo seems very appropriated for a New York bike. The price is similarly New Yorkian, at $1560.00 plus shipping, but considering the parts and work that have gone into the making of the bike (check the site for a video of the wheels being built) the cost seems pretty reasonable. Especially as the only way you’ll ever need to replace this machine is if you forget to lock it properly. Only 25 are being made, so if you want one, hurry up.

Product page [Core77]


Quest for the Last Cup Holder You’ll Ever Need

OH 4 Industries had a simple slogan, “We make cup holders.” A family friend begged one of the founders to create a viable wheelchair cup holder. When presented to the design team, everyone thought it was a fool’s errand. Thinking of the number of different designs it would take to accommodate the wide variety of wheelchairs and scooters, they decided to try, despite the projected costs.

Slowly everyone gathered data, starting with the current options. One cup holder was made of cheap plastic and broke easily. Another attached from the side, causing it to crash into a doorway when someone went through. The last model attached easily, but once a cup of coffee was placed in it the cup holder fell to the floor (along with the coffee). OH 4 Industries realized there was definitely a market, and people deserved a better product.

One of the key designers began collecting measurements from armrests of scooters and wheelchairs. He noticed that although they all appeared different, the width only varied about an inch, and the height of the different armrests only had a variance of about one and a half inches. The window was small enough that a single design might work.

During design, the position was easily agreed to be in the most natural of places, mounted on the armrest. Using flexible plastic for the cup holder, would make it better, not rigid like the current models. A superior grip became the next issue, and everything from heavy duty rubber bands to plastic zap strap mechanisms were explored. After consulting physical therapists, Velcro straps became the obvious, simple answer. The final question was how to account for the variance in armrest height. Some sort of insert was needed. In the same building was a custom gasket manufacturer, who advised the team to include adhesive foam pads at low costs.

After months of research and planning the team finally had its finished product. Testing was so successful it was rumored to be a universal cup holder. It worked on wheelchair, scooter, stadium, office chair, and even airline armrests. The ”Nearly” Universal OH was born. Keeping an eye on costs, but also wanting to use recycled materials, a regrind tolerance of 15% was found to be suitable, and partially recycled packaging would be used.

Impossible gave birth to the “nearly” universal, and OH 4 Industries was able to condense their product line into one easy to use product, allowing for a change of slogans, “OH 4 Industries – We Make a Great Cup Holder.”

Try it now with a 60 day 110% money back guarantee. For a limited time only use coupon code $5off to save money.

OH 4 Industries

We Make a Great Cup Holder

http://www.oh-4.com

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IPod Nano vs. Washing Machine Update: iPod Wins!

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Laydeez and gennelmen! What you are about to see is something you have never known the likes of before, a challenge so extraordinary, nay, so spectacular, that you will go home tonight astonished. Yes, and this is a story of biblical proportions, of heroism, of nothing less, laydeez and gennelmen, than the fight for life itself.

Tonight, here on Gadget Lab, we present the David and Goliath of gadget battles, a rumble that makes Krakatoa sound like a Leica’s whispering shutter. Gather round, laydeez and gennelmen, for you are about to witness the iPod Nano (in the pink corner) against the all reigning, all spinning champion, Washing Masheeeeeeeeeen!

Dear reader. Last week we told you the tale of the poor pink Nano, which took a cycle through my washing machine and came out dead, like a kitten flopping lifeless from a sodden burlap sack. Non-urgent action was required to save it. My prescription, informed by our sympathetic Gadget Lab readers, was rest, and lots of it, preferably in a warm place. The iPod sat for almost a week on a warm and breezy window sill until the last remains of water had disappeared from behind its single gleaming eye. Yesterday, after a final few hours sat on my MacBook’s power brick (the only substance in my home as hot as the surface of the Sun) the patient was hooked up to the EEG (Mac) via USB.

A few tense seconds later and the Apple logo appeared. A cough, a splutter and then iTunes announced that the iPod was alive. Alive I tell you! Finally, the bright backlight blinked into glowing existence. Result? A success. The only oddity? All the curse-words seem to have disappeared from songs and podcasts alike, as if washed away by some divine censor.

Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Wired.com
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Sony’s 32GB Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX proves that product naming is hard

What’s not to love here? Just look at that handsome blister pack, ready to mince flesh in your enthusiasm to get at Sony’s largest and most convolutedly named Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX. The 32GB stick is rated at 20MBps reads or 15MBps writes when using the bundled USB adapter. Imagine, had you purchased pretty much any device other than that Cyber-shot, Handycam, or Alpha shooter from Sony you could have been enjoying 30MBps read/writes from 32GB SDHC class 10 cards. Nope, no availability date or pricing announced, how could that information possibly be useful in a press release?

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Sony’s 32GB Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX proves that product naming is hard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PocketSmith: Smart Cashflow Budgeting

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Discover and define your financial future with PocketSmith. This web-based budgeting app is an online calendar that forecasts your future cash position and allows you to plot your income/expense as events in the year ahead. You can repeat your income and expense events weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and PocketSmith will take these events to generate for you a 6 or 12 month cash forecast, with a daily predicted balance.

You can even upload your electronic bank statements into PocketSmith’s clean and smart user-driven interface to keep a tight control over your finances. This Web 2.0 budgeting app is pretty useful in forecasting and managing your finances – a great business idea in today’s tight economic conditions.

Note: PocketSmith, in partnership with CoolBusinessIdeas.com, is giving away 5 Premium accounts (one year’s subscription) to our CBI readers. First five to write to contact@coolbusinessideas.com will get a premium PocketSmith account (worth US$60) for free. If you’re interested, do write in to us now. Click here to see more features of PocketSmith’s premium accounts. Winners will be notified via email.

Windows 7 build 7600 arrives in a torrent of RTM speculation

In a powerful wave of anticipatory man-drool, Windows 7 build 7600 has made its way to the file sharing services. What’s interesting here is that the major jump in build revisions from the current 72xx builds suggests, but does not guarantee, that 7600 is the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) build rumored for a July 13th release (yes today) — the same Windows 7 build that will be handed out by Microsoft to it partners in the run-up to Microsoft’s October 22nd consumer launch. If it is the RTM build then we’d expect to hear some kind of announcement with the kickoff of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner conference in New Orleans later today.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Windows 7 build 7600 arrives in a torrent of RTM speculation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo IdeaPad S12 not-a-netbook sized up

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 just started shipping last week, and it looks like units have begun to arrive — the folks at GottaBeMobile just posted up some quick impressions of their review unit. Sadly, it’s sporting Intel GMA 950 graphics instead of the NVIDIA Ion chipset that’s available for $50 extra, so it runs pretty much like every other 1.6GHz Atom machine with 1GB of RAM in the world. Hopefully those Ion units will arrive soon — in the meantime, hit the read link to see how the S12 stacks up against the S10. (Hint: it’s way bigger.)

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Lenovo IdeaPad S12 not-a-netbook sized up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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