In Switzerland, a data center sits next to a local swimming pool. Keeping the equipment in the data center cool requires pushing cold air in and pushing hot air out. Instead of losing the hot air by pushing it outdoors, this data center is using it to heat the next door pool.
One of [...]
The US Postal Service is starting a new recycling program for small electronics. The “Mail Back” pilot program will include ten areas, but if positive, may be available across the country this fall.
Customers use free envelopes found in 1,500 Post Offices to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players [...]
A partnership between Nokia and the Cambridge Nanoscience Center has created the Morph. The Morph is one example of a cell phone that is transparent and can be molded into anything you’d like — even a bracelet.
These devices use nanotechnology, flexible materials, transparent electronics, and self-cleaning surfaces. Check out the video (46mb) to [...]
Autonet Mobile is currently working with Avis to start rolling out their wireless service. Basically, you plug their router into the AC power adapter and it uses existing 3-G and EVDO networks. Because it is not tied to a specific network, it can readily jump to the cell tower with the best signal. According to [...]
Smartex is currently marketing the result of one of their research projects. “Wealthy” (wearable health care system):
. . . is a wearable fully integrated system, able to acquire, simultaneously and in a natural environment, a set of physiological parameters like electrocardiogram, respiration, posture, temperature, movement index.
It’s a wearable unitard that has electrodes and [...]
This is now old news, but it definitely has had and will continue to have an effect on future computing. In January, Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air at MacWorld:
Although I haven’t yet had an opportunity to use a Mac, I love the look of it. Beautiful to look at, quick to boot, and light! [...]
Excellent article on the things to consider while traveling with your laptop:
If you don’t have time to read it, here are the high points:
Keep it with you at all times
Use a cable lock if you have to leave it out – lock it to something permanent, not a table leg [...]
With the advent of the MacBook Air, everyone is ooohing and aaahing about its thinness. According to CNET, it’s not the thinnest computer. The Air is .76 inch thick, but the Sharp Muramasas came out in 2003 and was .54 inch thick. Sorry — you can’t get the Muramasas anymore . . .
Alienware has brought together four monitors to create one, long curved monitor. Geared toward gamers, it is very fast and provides an immersive experience. It’s a prototype right now, but should be available later this year.
[from Gizmodo]
The Environmental Protection Agency will be starting a public education campaign — called “Recycle Your Cellphone. It’s An Easy Call” — asking us to recycle our old cell phones. Current partners include AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile.
Some of these companies already have recycling programs [...]
