Some school kids have built an auto-balancing unicycle(ish) electric bike. You turn and accelerate/brake by leaning forwards and backwards. I can’t quite visualize how this would actually feel, but it sounds pretty cool, and I want one:
http://technology.canoe.ca/Innovations/2007/05/22/4199470-ca.html
“A West Australian inventor believes he has developed a way to generate electricity for homes using wind power.
Graeme Attey of Fremantle designed the concept which uses a modular wind turbine that is small enough to sit on a the roof of house.”
Graeme Attey is the inventor of the Dirtsurfer boards. He has just received a state government grant to commercialise this wind turbine. I have yet to find any hard facts on how much energy it is capable of producing yet.
Does this mean the MPAA is in violation of the DMCA? Can you copyright and legally prevent the publication of a number? What about publishing the offset in Pi where this sequence exists? What about the content of a web page who’s hash is the AACS key? What about this two dimensional representation? Or this fantastic t-shirt?
Presumably, its not the key itself that is contestable, but rather the provision of information that informs one on how to use the key to bypass DRM, such as HOWTOs and software. However, these are just a sequence of numbers to, and they can be represented in a multitude of ways to. So how many layers of abstraction must there be before the actual information or tool is non-obvious, and can be published or linked to without fear? What if a DRM-breaking tool’s documentation and purpose is obfuscated using DRM, would that render the establishment of its purpose ‘illegal’?
In my, rather obvious, opinion, AACS, like all DRM, is a waste of time and money. Ultimately, it increases the cost of the product and decreases its usefulness.
The fact is, it is often faster and easier to download a DVD rip of a movie than it is to rip it from your own DVD. When competing in the market, you must assume your competitors are always trying to out-do you, and ‘internet piracy’ (for want of a better phrase) is just another competitor; the terms were set by economy, not by teenage file-sharers.
I am currently in the gate lounge for flight SQ235 to Brisbane. They have a work terminal here with public ethernet ports for free all-you-can-eat net access, which is nice. Its not super fast, but it is low latency.
I only wish I didn’t have to spend the next 7 hours cramped into chairs that seem to have developed for the specific purpose of preventing comfort.
MAKE Magazine have a nice primer on open source hardware. The idea is that scematics, designs, parts list, firmware source, APIs and whatever else makes a final product can be open and free, not just the higher level application code.
CIS, who own the Cooperative Bank, are well known for their ethical and green policies. Now they are cladding their entire building with solar panels, and installing wind turbines on the roof. I bank with these guys and have always been impressed by their service and their values.
“An unmanned hydrogen fuel cell powered jet made history this week as it took to the skies over the hills of Bern, Switzerland. The Hyfish astonished its creators as it flawlessly performed vertical climbs, loops and other aerial acrobatics at speeds reaching 200 km/h.”
A 747 produces about 65MW or power, which at an energy density of 1.5W/g, would require a fuel cell of about 43 metric tonnes. Given inevitable optimisation of this technology, they could perhaps, one day, be used in commercial airliners.
“Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have demonstrated the feasibility of exploiting sunlight to transform a greenhouse gas into a useful product.”
Device Uses Solar Energy to Convert Carbon Dioxide into Fuel
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Homes to get free energy monitors
This is very cool. A ‘free’ device that monitors and displays your power usage (and production) at any given moment. I want one.
This article describes a breakthrough in using dyes in solar cells rather than silicon, mimicking the natural process of photosynthesis much more closely. This results in cheaper, more environmentally friendly and efficient solar cells, which work in low light conditions as well (so great for Blighty!).
Solar power breakthrough at Massey - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
Hydrogen Solar also have some interesting tech. Direct solar electrolysis. Basically, their solar cells convert water directly to hydrogen and oxygen without the niggly middle step. The upshot is efficiency in energy conversion as well as efficiency in power storage (i.e. as hydrogen which can be converted into electricity via fuel cells). One would still need to implement hydrogen storage as well as a fuel cell stack, but its one step closer to an integrated solution for residential or mobile use.
Date: 02/22/09
Fact x Importance
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