Lily - Throw-and-Shoot Camera Drone

PetaPixel reports: [edited]

Lily lets anyone capture cinematic aerial photos and videos without needing to do any piloting.

Using the Lily involves putting a tracking device on the subject you’d like Lily to follow, throwing the Lily into the air, after which Lily flies and shoots using GPS and computer vision to follow the tracking device at up to 25mph.

The drone itself is waterproof and floats, allowing you to safely land it in water if needed. Size-wise, it easily fits in a backpack and weighs less than an average laptop.

Onboard is a camera that can shoot 12 megapixel stills, 1080p HD video at 60fps, and 720p/120fps slow motion footage. The internal battery allows for 20 minutes of flight per charge.

The Lily will start shipping in February 2016 for the price of $999, but the company is currently taking pre-orders through its website for $499.


------------

Vaptur

Vaptur reports: [edited]

An easy-to-use phone camera App that allows you to captiure the perfect shot or special moment.

You start and stop recording based on what you see in the delay screen – not the live screen. Wait to see the end of the action in the delay screen before hitting stop.

Post your perfectly timed and edited video to your favourite social media site immediately after filming. No more having to edit something before you post or superfluous video footage taking up valuable phone memory.
------------

Apple Watch helps blind people navigate

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: [edited]

Molly Watt - who is deaf and blind - says the Apple Watch has transformed her ability to navigate around town by giving her directions through a series of vibrations on the wrist.

"12 taps means turn right at the junction or three pairs of two taps means turn left," she wrote on her blog. "I'm still experimenting with this but so far very impressed".

The Apple Watch's new feature is called the "taptic engine", which produces what Apple calls "haptic feedback". Haptics, derived from the Greek haptikos, refers to any form of interaction or communication by touch. The watch's engine allows wearers to set vibrations for various alerts and at adjustable intensity - or to send messages by taps to other users.

Ms Watt says the integration of haptics with the watch's map function is "definitely awesome for me as a deafblind person". It allows her to be directed around London's complex web of streets and alleys without hearing or sight.

Her review after five days of using the device is not entirely glowing - the audio could be louder, she says, and the price point more accessible. But "the positives far outweigh the negatives" overall.
------------

Tesla Powerwall Home Battery

Wired reports: [edited]
Elon Musk unveiled his 'Tesla Energy' scheme to electrify the world on Thursday night. Tesla, which is in the middle of building a vast 'Gigafactory' battery production plant in the Nevada desert, plans to offer versions of the batteries it puts in its Model S car to residential, commercial, and utility customers.

The 220-pound Powerwall will, as its name suggests, be mounted on a wall, and is made for home use. It’s just six inches deep, comes in different colors, has a 10-year warranty, and is available in two versions: a 10-kWh setup for $3,500, and a 7-kWh unit for $3,000. It’s Internet-connected and has an integrated DC inverter. It’s available for order now and will be installed by distributors. Tesla expects deliveries to start late this summer.

There are plenty of advantages for consumers, Musk says. If the grid goes down, you can still have power. You can fill up the battery at night, when rate are lower. The typical household uses somewhere around 30kWH a day, says Stu Lipoff, an electronics industries consultant and IEEE fellow. So the Powerwall wouldn’t really be enough to keep your home going off-grid for long (depending on how much solar energy you’re putting in), but it’s a lot better than nothing.

In the US, Musk says, customers often have to sell energy back at wholesale prices, then pay for more at retail cost, so “it actually makes huge economic sense.” It should be even better overseas, where sell back prices are well below how much energy costs. “It’s gonna be huge in Germany.”
------------

3D Robotics Solo Drone

Wired reports: [edited]

The $1,000 Solo drone (or $1,400 with a GoPro-holding gimbal included) is full of clever tools to automate and simplify shooting. There’s even a one-click way to take an ultra-dramatic selfie video. But one of the most impressive features is that the drone will be sold as an open platform, allowing hackers to tinker with the hardware and software.

It has a simple controller, which looks like an old-school video game joystick, with a holder for your iPhone or iPad, which act as both the monitor for the drone and the remote control for the mounted GoPro camera. There are lots of helpful tools for newbie pilots, like a panic button on the controller that will stop the drone in its tracks wherever you are, and a flight simulator app so you can learn to fly a drone without risking crashing $1,000 into a wall.

The Solo’s best feature, though, is its camera automation. In addition to the standard 'follow me' mode, you can draw a line on your phone’s screen, and the Solo will fly back and forth along exactly that line while recording video. Pick an object and select 'Orbit', and the drone will fly a perfect circle, camera focused on your subject the whole time. And in selfie mode, the camera trains on you and flies away, epic-action-movie-style. You can control your GoPro settings in flight, too, which no other drone offers. The goal is for Solo to take great video without you doing much of anything, and then do even more as you get better.
------------

Unibody Tiko 3D Printer

Core 77 reports: [edited]

When we think of FDM 3D printers, we think Cartesian; the print head always rides along rails in the X- and Y-axes, and the machines are cubic in form. But the developers behind the low-cost Tiko have literally been thinking outside of the box, adopting a triangular form factor and opting to use a delta-style mechanism to drive the print head.

This solves a lot of problems at once. The key issue with a Cartesian system is that you need highly accurate, precision-machined parts to achieve the tolerances necessary for dead-on printing. By going with a delta mechanism, which drives the print head via three arms and essentially triangulates the position, they eliminate the need for expensive parts.

For the delta mechanism to be accurate, it has to be connected to three precisely-spaced rails. The development team has got around this by opting for an extruded unibody design. Hundreds of feet worth of body can be extruded at once and sliced into individual units; the stiffness of the triangular shape ensures rigidity; and this completely eliminates the need to assemble and connect rails, with the tolerance woes that can bring.

The end result is that the Tiko is priced at just $179. Interested parties are numerous and have responded positively: The team was seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter, and, at the time of the blog being published, has racked up nearly $2 million in pledges.
------------

Specialized S-Works McLaren Tarmac

Wired reports: [edited]

I’ve ridden plenty of bikes from Specialized. I know the feel of the standard Tarmac, its refined carbon road racer, which costs between two and ten grand. But this bike is something quite different.

The $20,000 McLaren Tarmac is the latest result of a years-long partnership between Specialized and McLaren, the world renowned maker of F1 race cars and supercars for the wealthy.

So what does McLaren, master of four wheels, bring to the bicycle game, apart from some sweet orange paint and a fancy name?

It’s data, says Sam Pickman, Specialized’s lead engineer. It’s the intent and the experience: what a bike is designed to do, how it handles, and the way it connects to the ground for a distinctive Tarmac feel. With McLaren’s help, the Tarmac’s ride quality was computer modelled and fed by stiffness, weight, and geometry.

That makes for a new kind of development process. With McLaren consulting, Specialized gained a new understanding of the complex 'bike-rider system', a specific number to codify what you experience in the saddle when going all out on race day or at a relaxed pace around town. That 'code' is the stiffness and damping of all the components in various directions that add up to the desired ride. It considers everything, from the rubber to what’s in between the wheels.

The good news is that the vehicle dynamics know-how from McLaren gave Specialized a template for their next generation of bikes, so the next (more reasonably priced) Tarmac you ride should have a lot more data behind it.
------------

Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera is a lightweight professional-grade action camera with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

The Black Magic Cinema Camera borrows bits of technology from many different manufacturers to make for an incredibly versatile unit. At its core is a Super 16 sensor, about a third smaller than a conventional Micro Four Thirds sensor, but larger than the sensors found in action cams like the GoPro. It can output Raw video with 13-stops of dynamic range.

The MCC offers both a rolling and a global shutter, the latter of which exposes the sensor all at once, eliminating the jello effect commonly found when using a rolling shutter for fast action shots.

The camera weighs 300 grams, three times the weight of GoPro Hero4 Black, however it is still light enough to affix to a DJI Phantom 2 drone.

Price: $995.
------------

Samsung NX1

Digital Photography Review has published a full review of Samsung's 'enthusiast' mirrorless camera.

Snippets from the conclusion follow:

"One can almost imagine a group of Samsung engineers sitting in a conference room and having the spec sheets of every leading APS-C and four thirds camera dropped in front of them, along with a directive to outperform the whole lot."

"And to a certain extent they seem to have pulled it off. Canon 7D II for autofocus and frame rate? Check. Panasonic GH4 for video? Check. Sony sensors for dynamic range and ISO sensitivity? Check. The result is a camera loaded with features for both still photography and video, and which excels at both."

The company seems to have listened to users when designing the camera. Not only is it a well designed tool from a usability standpoint, but Samsung managed to pack it full of technical improvements that are hard to ignore, such as best in class image quality and best in class video quality.

We could probably justify giving the NX1 an award simply based on technological advancements and raising the bar for both image quality and video performance in its class. But those achievements are wrapped inside a well designed camera with a great user experience. Congratulations to the Samsung NX1 for winning our Gold Award.
------------

Microsoft Office Lens for iOS and Android

c|net reports: [edited]

Office Lens, a scanning app that's been a hit on Windows Phone, is coming to iOS and Android. The free App allows users to take pictures of receipts, business cards, whiteboards, sticky notes and export them to OneNote, Microsoft's note-taking app, as well as Word, Powerpoint, PDF, Mail & Photo Library.

Office Lens automatically crops, enhances and cleans up images. It also enables users to search for key words in the images via optical character recognition.
------------

Combat snack cravings by walking

PsyBlog reports: [edited]

People often find it difficult to cut down on their daily treats but a recent study indicates that by taking a short walk, they are able to reduce their intake by half.

The study involved 47 overweight people with an average age of 28. All regularly ate chocolate or high calories snacks. In the three days before the study, the participants were asked not to snack on any of their usual comfort foods.

In the lab, half the participants spent 15 minutes on a treadmill, while the other half had sat quietly. They then were given a difficult psychological test. They were then given sugary snacks to unwrap, but only ‘handle’.

The results showed that those who’d been on the treadmill had much lower food cravings than those who sat quietly. Exercisers also showed lower physiological arousal to handling the sugary snacks.
------------

Amazon launches Dash buttons

The Verge reports: [edited]

It’s 2am and you’re changing your baby when you realise you’ve just used up your last nappy. Or you go to reach under your sink to grab another roll of toilet paper only to discover you've forgotten to order more...

The Dash button is a WiFi-enabled button that will instantly order a product within seconds of pressing it. An LED on the front blinks after you press it, then turns green to let you know Amazon has received the order. You will have provided Amazon with your payment information, along with the size and quantity you require. The product will be shipped to your pre-determined delivery address.

Dash buttons come with an adhesive strip on the back, and a small bumper case that allows it to be hung up on hooks or on strings.
------------

Fujifilm X100T

Digital Photography Review has published a review of Fujifilm's large sensor prime compact.

Snippets from the conclusion follow:

"The X100 was a breakthrough camera when it first appeared: making good on the large sensor, small camera idea first pursued by Sigma. It was a potentially great camera, riddled with quirks and inconsistencies. However, Fujifilm continued to develop the camera and the X100 today is much closer to being the classic that its looks imply."

"Whether it's the addition of Wi-Fi, the provision of 1/3rd stop increments on the aperture dial or the move to dedicated directional buttons, rather than the cheap-compact style wheel on the back of the camera, there are plenty of changes that make the camera better. Equally, the addition of an electronic shutter option and a greater degree of camera customisation make a big difference.

We've been really impressed with the image quality from the X100 series, the JPEG color is excellent and the F2 maximum aperture is wide enough to give a little bit of background blur at reasonable working distances, meaning you can get images that look distinct from most other small cameras.

There's nothing else on the market that offers the same combination of image quality and shooting experience, thanks to its direct controls and clever viewfinder.

Overall, it's a small but significant step forward for the series. It's a lovely camera, and well worth considering if you've never owned one of the series before, but it's not the 'rush out and buy one now' product that we keep hoping the X100 series will be.
------------

1,000-year-old remedy kills MRSA

BBC reports: [edited]

Scientists recreated a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon remedy using onion, garlic and part of a cow's stomach. They were 'astonished' to find it almost completely wiped out methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.

They found the remedy killed up to 90% of MRSA bacteria and believe it is the effect of the recipe rather than one single ingredient.

The remedy was found in Bald's Leechbook - an old English manuscript containing instructions on various treatments held in the British Library. It is one of the earliest examples of a medical textbook.
------------

Neo smartpen N2

9to5Toys reports: [edited]

NeoLAB hAS launched smartpen following a wildly successful Kickstart campaign that raised more than over $350,000. After selling some 2,500 pens during the initial round of crowdfunding, those that missed out are able to purchase one.

The aluminum N2 writes with ink on paper like a traditional pen but the magic happens when it is connected to an iOS or Android device. Your writing, sketches and scribbles are transcribed just as the ink dries on paper.

Even when not paired with a device, the N2 can store up to 1,000 pages of writing.

Additionally, the N2 will be able to record and sync audio notes with your devices. Within the app, users will be able to organize and sort notes by title, tags or date created. Content will also automatically sync with Evernote or sent to applications like Adobe Illustrator or Dropbox. The app is even able to convert digital text into 15 languages.

NeoLAB’s N2 is available from Amazon for $169 in black or white and includes a holder with purchase.
------------

United Nations orders 10,000 IKEA Flatpack Refugee Shelters

Gizmodo reports: [edited]

A few years ago, Ikea announced it had designed a better refugee shelter, using its flatpack furniture as a basis for engineering. Working with UN, the Foundation spent years prototyping shelters that could replace the fragile tents that are usually used to house refugees.

The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees has placed an order for 10,000 units of Better Shelter, which it will use to house refugees around the world. The units were tested by displaced families in Iraq and Ethiopia, and according to Irin News, the first of the UN's 10,000 units will be sent to house some of the 2.5 million people in Iraq who have been displaced over the past year.

Better Shelter arrives in two cardboard boxes with all the tools needed to assemble it. Each box can be lifted by four people, and assembled by the same team in no more than eight hours. The package contains an image-based user manual.

Inside, there are details that make these shelters livable for long periods of time: A lockable door. Windows and ventilation. A photovoltaic system to supply electricity. They're built to last as long as three years, which is another major step forward —s ince refugee housing tends to wear out before the displaced have permanent housing.
------------

Using video games in job interviews

New Scientist reports: [edited]

Last week a company called Starfighter was launched. Its aim is to create games you can only master if you have a talent for programming, although those with a natural aptitude can learn as they play. If you do well in a game, the firm knows you are ripe for hiring.

Starfighter's games will have a story. "You'll pretend you're a spy for the day, for example," says Patrick McKenzie, Starfighter's CEO and co-founder. "The story might be to break into tech that's securing state secrets, but it's the same tech you'd use to secure a bank in the real world."

The assumption is that the players who are best at breaking into the software in the game will also be the best at securing it in the real world. Starfighter works with top players to place them in jobs fitting the skills they have demonstrated, if they want them.

Starfighter's games will be totally free, and while they won't have fancy graphics, they will be engaging to play just for fun. Starfighter isn't ready to talk about exactly which skills their games will test, but its founders have already built a game called Microcorruption. It imagines a scenario in which players must break into locked warehouses all over the world, each one stuffed with cash. A smartphone app controls each warehouse lock, and the players have to break in without knowing the code. Of 12224 players, just 182 passed the hardest level. The firm will get in touch with these elite players and help place them with one of their clients, who pay Starfighter a fee.
------------

Tesla cars to get super-cruise-control update

The Register reports: [edited]

Tesla Motors supremo Elon Musk is used to promising a lot – but the latest update to the software in his all-electric cars seems to promise the impossible: the ability to magically turn them into self-driving vehicles.

In a conference call with journalists on Thursday, Musk said that in about three months, Tesla will push out version 7.0 of the cars' operating system, and that it would allow each car to drive from San Francisco to Seattle with little or no need for the human driver to touch a pedal or wheel.

For the moment this will only be enabled on freeways, suggesting the sensors in the front can identify white lines on the road, and keep the car between them, and also sense other vehicles around.

Looking even further ahead, Musk said future updates would include a system to call your car to your location using a smartphone app, and a way to send it automatically into a garage or parking space.
------------

Olympus OM-D E-M5 II

Digital Photography Review has published a full review of the update to Olympus' OM-D E-M5.

Snippets from the conclusion follow:

"The Olympus E-M5 II is a more significant reworking of its predecessor than its looks or choice of sensor seem to suggest. The camera boasts a wealth of additional features and refinements to many of the existing ones have been upgraded."

The image quality isn't radically changed, compared with the original E-M5. This means it's still very good, with Raw files as clean and malleable as you'd expect for a Micro Four Thirds camera. The JPEG engine remains one of our favorites, producing bright, pleasant images at all but the highest ISO settings.

Raw performance is strong, in that it offers a similar performance (proportionate to sensor size) to its other Sony-sensored rivals (such as the Nikon D5500 and Sony a6000). However, while this means it offers more flexible Raws than the current batch of Canon APS-C cameras, the advances Samsung has made in its NX1 and NX500 mean the M5 II's performance is no longer standout excellent.

The high-res mode is only useful in a narrow range of situations, requires a good lens and requires absolute stability, but the results it yields can be impressive.

The camera feels great and fits well in the hand, and offers an impressive amount of direct control for a body that's so small. This compact form factor is aided by separating the flash out as a separate clip-on unit.

The E-M5 II is probably the stand-out Micro Four Thirds camera in a market with some very good rivals. This shifts more of the emphasis of its appeal and appropriateness to the strength of the Micro Four Thirds system as a whole: if it offers the lenses and size/price/image quality balance that's right for you, then the E-M5 II should be top of your list. But in these competitive times, the E-M5 is no longer the mirrorless king: it's merely the heir-apparent to one of the great mirrorless families.
------------

Nintendo developing games for smartphones/tablets/PCs

Nintendo has announced that it has partnered with Japanese mobile game maker DeNA to jointly develop games for smartphones, tablets and PCs, meaning that new titles based on iconic franchises such as Mario, Pokemon and Zelda could be available on devices such as iPhone, iPad and Mac. Nintendo will purchase a 10% stake in DeNA for $182 million as part of a cross-shareholding deal, according to The Wall Street Journal.
------------

The Motorman

Wired reports: [edited]

Dutch designer Ronald Meijs has created the Motorman, an electric “moped” that’s become the fashionable green machine for daily commuters throughout Europe. Motormans have been spotted on the cobbled streets of Amsterdam, Ibiza, Düsseldorf, Maastricht, Zurich, and Brussels.

The drivetrain is fully electric. There’s no iPhone charger, blind spot detection sensor, or autonomous driving mode. Not even a cup holder for your macchiato.

What you will get is brilliant industrial design. Mr. Meijs has gone full retro. With its balloon tires, low-slung gas tank, oversized headlight, and spring-mounted leather seat it looks like a cross between a Schwinn cruiser and a 1915 Harley-Davidson.


Weight: 99 pounds. Range: 43 miles. Top speed: 28 mph. Charging time: 6 hours. Price: €5,750 for the base model (available in Jet Black or Ruby Red).
------------

Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod

ePhotozine reports: [edited]

The tripod is made of plastic and stainless steel, with rubber feet on the legs. A push-button mechanism releases and locks the ball head, which has a universal 1/4inch screw thread. Maximum recommended load is:

• Body: 650g
• Focal length: 85mm
• Total equipment: 1kg

Price: £18.00
------------

Twin Differences

The New York Times reports: [edited]

Identical twins in Finland who shared the same sports and other physical activities as youngsters but different exercise habits as adults soon developed quite different bodies and brains, according to a fascinating new study that highlights the extent to which exercise shapes our health, even in people who have identical genes and nurturing.

The researchers homed in on 10 pairs of male identical twins, one of whom regularly exercised, while the other did not, usually because of work or family pressures. The dissimilarities in their exercise routines had mostly begun within the past three years.

The scientists invited these twins into the lab and measured each young man’s endurance capacity, body composition and insulin sensitivity, to determine their fitness and metabolic health. The scientists also scanned each twin’s brain.

It turned out that these genetically identical twins looked surprisingly different beneath the skin and skull. The sedentary twins had lower endurance capacities, higher body fat percentages, and signs of insulin resistance, signalling the onset of metabolic problems. (Interestingly, the twins tended to have very similar diets, whatever their workout routines, so food choices were unlikely to have contributed to health differences.)

Image: Getty Images
------------

Macbook 12" First Impressions

Wall Street Journal reports: [edited]

At some point, I will stop being surprised at how thin and light gadgets continue to get. But not today. Picking it up the MacBook feels like lifting an iPad rather than a laptop. And when you look at the 13.1mm-thick machine from the side, it looks like a screen propped up by a metal stand.

Of course, it’s thin because all the ports you know and love are in the trash. No more SD card slot, no more full-sized USB ports or Thunderbolt. All that’s left is a headphone jack and one — and only one — USB Type C port. The latter charges the laptop, but also can be used to send video to monitors and connect and charge other devices.

The edge-to-edge, 2304×1440-pixel Retina 12-inch display is crisp and bright — a huge improvement over the current MacBook Air.

The trackpad has a smoother coating and new touch capabilities. Called Force Touch, the pad is now a single piece of flat glass that can respond to different pressure. You’ll still feel a 'click' when you press down on it, but that is actually all done with software. In a demo, Apple showed me how to press gently on the pad and then more firmly to speed up a video. I’m not sure how useful that feature will be, but the good news is that for regular navigating, the trackpad feels better than ever.

To accommodate the thinner bottom, the keyboard also had to be slimmed down. A new mechanism under the keys still gives them a slight spring—functional. It is harder to tell where the keys start and end. So I was shocked at how fast and accurate I was able to type.

It weighs 920 grammes (less than my iPad 3 with its case, Ed.) Apple claims the new MacBook will get nine hours of battery life.

Available in Silver, Gold and Space Grey. Prices start at £1049. Available 'soon'.
------------

Nikon Coolpix P900

Digital Photography Review reports: [edited]

Nikon has extended its superzoom range to include the Coolpix P900, offering a 16MP sensor and a F2.8-6.5 24-2000mm equivalent zoom. It features built-in Wi-Fi with NFC, 7 fps burst shooting, built-in EVF and a fully articulated 3" 921k-dot LCD. The P900 is capable of 1080/60p video recording and uses a new Dual Detect optical image stabilization system, claiming up to 5 stops of shake compensation.

The Nikon Coolpix P900 will be available in April for $599.95.
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Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge

The Verge reports: [edited]

The Galaxy S6 has a flat display, metal frame, and glass front and back panels. Its counterpart, the S6 Edge, has all of the above, but throws in a curve to the sides of its front and rear glass. The front and rear panels are Gorilla Glass 4 with metal frames.

- Octacore Samsung Exynos processor
- 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display
- 3GB of RAM; 32, 64, or 128GB of internal storage
- 16-megapixel cameras with optical image stabilisation
- Fingerprint sensor in the home button
- Infrared heart-rate monitor
- Integrated support for both Qi and PMA wireless charging
- Faster USB charging (1.5 times the Galaxy S5)
- Integrated support for Samsung Pay.
------------

Sandisk announces 200GB microSD card

Gizmodo reports: [edited]

Look at the fingernail on your little finger. That's roughly the size of a microSD card, which can now hold a whopping 200GB of data thanks to SanDisk.

Available sometime in the second quarter of 2015, the new microSDXC card uses the same technology that SanDisk developed for the 128GB microSDXC card it introduced last year, but with an improved design allowing the company to increase storage capacity by 56 percent.

The new card also boasts transfer speeds of up to 90MB/sec.

Price: $400.
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Pebble Time

The Register reports: [edited]

Pebble put its first colour screen smartwatch on sale on Kickstarter – and raised $5.4m from 26,000 backers in just a few hours.

The wrist-puter will eventually go on sale in shops at $199, and is due to ship in May.

The 9.5mm-thick Pebble Time has a back-lit colour e-paper Gorilla Glass screen that's apparently readable in daylight, has up to seven days of battery life, comes in one of three casing colours (black, white and red), and has full compatibility with all previous Pebble apps.

It can use any standard 22mm wristband, is water resistant, has three control buttons, a microphone, and silent vibrating alarms. It needs to talk to an iOS 8 iPhone 4s or newer, or an Android 4.0+ phone, to get messages, email and other information from the internet over Bluetooth.
------------

Free Font - Blenda

Behance reports: [edited]

Blenda Script is a free experimental font inspired by Lobster Font with a number of alternative letters and swashes.

License: Free for personal and commercial use.
------------

House that prouduces more energy than it consumes

inhabitat reports: [edited]

Fronted by a floor-to-ceiling double-glazed facade, the 'Carbon Positive House' was designed to maximise solar gain and passive design strategies. The naturally ventilated home uses in-ground tubes to pull in cool air from the south side. The building is topped by a green roof for added insulation as well as a set of sliding vertical garden walls that shade and cool the building in the summer.

The north-facing home is divided into two main areas: the double-glazed sunroom that serves as a buffer zone and spans the width of the structure; and the living quarters tucked behind the sunroom on the southern side.

The compact living space comprises an open-plan dining area and kitchen on one end, and a bathroom and bedroom on the other; the private area is separated from the common space by a modular cabinetry wall.

The bright and airy wood-paneled interior is made up of sustainably sourced and non-toxic materials, and the home’s energy-efficient appliances make use of rainwater recycling.
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London-Somerset-London 21 & 22-02-15

London to Somerset
Dancehall Domine - The New Pornographers
Live It Up - Mental As Anything
The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
Jake Summers - Fight Like Apes
I'm in the mood for dancing - The Nolans
Whiteboy (Radio Edit) - James
Blood Sugar - Pendulum
You're Not Alone - Olive
Dominos - The Big Pink
I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend
Get Your Feet Out Of My Shoes - The Boothill Foot-Tappers
Islands In The Stream - Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers
I Saw The Sign - Ace of Base
Poison - Alice Cooper
Tragedy - Bee Gees
The Lone Ranger - Quantum Jump
Cinnamon - The Long Winters
Twistin’ The Night Away - Sam Cooke
Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3) - Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Rockin' The Suburbs - Ben Folds
Get Ready for This - 2 Unlimited
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix) - deadmau5
If You Can't Give Me Love - Suzi Quatro
This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us (Fnm Remix) - Sparks
Don't You Want Me - Human League
Goldyloppers And The Three Bearloaders - Stanley Unwin
Polk Salad Annie - Tony Joe White
Time To Pretend - MGMT
To Be Or Not To Be - B.A. Robertson
Wouldn't It Be Good? - Cascada
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
You Spin Me Round (like a record) - Dead Or Alive
You're My Best Friend [2011 Remaster] - Queen
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club
Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From
Tattva - Kula Shaker
Every Day Should Be a Holiday - The Dandy Warhols
Regulate - Warren G
Forever Lost - The Magic Numbers
If You're Happy and You Know It - Disney
Clocks (PsyClone remix) - Coldplay
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk
Strange Magic - Electric Light Orchestra
Don't Stop Me Now [2011 Remaster] - Queen
The Beginning Stages, Part 9 (Reach For The Sun) - The Polyphonic Spree
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
Girl All the Bad Guys Want - Bowling for Soup
Should I Stay Or Should I Go - The Clash
January - Pilot
Every Other Time (Radio Edit) - LFO
Last Night - Vitamin C
Build Me Up Buttercup - Foundations

Somerset to London
Some Kind Of Wonderful - Paul Young & The Q Tips
I Ain't Mad At Cha - Tupac (2pac)
If I Had You - The Korgis
How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers
Baggy Trousers - Madness
Fader - The Temper Trap
Girls Aint Nothing But Trouble - Fresh Prince (Will Smith)
Hey Ya (mightyjust remix) - Outkast feat. Sean Paul
Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson
Tequila (Mint Royale Shot) - Terrorvision
A Bar In Amsterdam - Katzenjammer
Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That - Dolly Parton
Wild West Hero - Electric Light Orchestra
Theres a ghost in my house - R Dean Taylor
Torn - Ednaswap
Baby Loves Me - Eels
Little Secrets - Passion Pit
Hippychick - SoHo
Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las
Disco Inferno - Trammps
Creep - Radiohead
Sweet Freedom - Michael McDonald
Let your love flow - Bellamy Brothers
Way Down Now - World Party
In The Key Of C - Jim Noir
Smile (Radio Edit) - Lily Allen
All The Things She Said (DJ Gollum feat. Scarlet) - Nightcore
There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis - Kirsty MacColl
The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
Windy - The Association
I'm Shakin' - Jack White
Seasons (Waiting On You) - Future Islands
River Deep, Mountain High - Tina Turner
Galaxies - Owl City
Out Of Space - The Prodigy
Animaniacs theme - Animaniacs
Doctorin' The Tardis (Dr. Who) - KLF (The Timelords)
I Know What Boys Like - The Waitresses
Untouched - The Veronicas
My Keys, Your Boyfriend - Everything Everything
The Father Of A Boy Named Sue - Tom 2.0
ABC - Jackson 5
Charlton Heston - stump
New Dorp. New York (feat. Ezra Koenig) - SBTRKT
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SXSW 2015 Bittorrent

The (unofficial) SXSW Torrents reports: [edited]

These torrents include tracks that can be previewed on the SXSW website for SXSW 2015. The first torrent includes 844 files totalling 5.41GB. Note that the filenames and ID3 tags were updated to properly reflect the artist names and song titles.

[Cover art image available here, Ed.]
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Free Font - Cabin

Impallari reports: [edited]

The Cabin Font is a humanist sans inspired by Edward Johnston's and Eric Gill's typefaces, with a touch of modernism.

It incorporates modern proportions, optical adjustments, and some elements of the geometric sans.

Cabin comes in 8 styles: Regular, Medium, Semibold & Bold, with their corresponding italics.
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Scrooser

Uncrate reports: [edited]

An unusual cross between a lowrider bike and a Vespa, this scooter amplifies the force you generate by pushing off with a small, rechargeable electronic motor in its wheel hub. The fat tires let you carve the streets and sidewalks, cruising at speeds of up to 15 mph. Thanks to an aluminum body, it only weights 61 pounds, so it's also easy to move and store.

Price: $3,950
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Ampersand Table

Behance reports: [edited]

In homage to the fabulous curves & dynamic line weights of the great American type designer, Herb Lubalin (and his unsung genius letterer Tom Carnase), this table for two is modelled on one of his voluptuous 1970s ampersands for U&lc Magazine.

Construction was inspired by the simplicity of surfboard fins – the legs are attached with a precision-fit slot and tab technique. No nails or screws.

Designed by Matt Innes & Saori Kajiwara. CNC router cut, hand glued & finished in Danish oil & beeswax. 1100 x 1000 x 350mm, hardwood ply, food-safe glue. 45mm 3-ply surface.
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Cellulon PicoPro

9to5Mac reports: [edited]

PicoPro ($349-$399) packs a high-definition video projector, a battery pack, and wireless capabilities into a 0.55″ thick enclosure with the same footprint as an iPhone 6 Plus. Overall, it’s the best small projector I’ve tested: much easier to use, quiet, and capable of delivering a better complete viewing experience.

PicoPro’s performance is impressive given its size. PicoPro projects a true widescreen image with an actual detail level that’s several times greater than both smaller and larger but similarly-priced projectors I’ve used. Even high-definition iTunes-protected videos played through connected iPads and iPhones without complaint.

An even more intriguing component of PicoPro’s performance is its utter lack of configuration. There is no focus dial nor the need for a focus dial: the laser-projected image starts and remains impressively sharp, unlike typical projectors. For better or worse, there also aren’t contrast, colour balance, or keystone configurations to figure out. There are volume up and down buttons on the top, a battery life indicator button on the back, a power button, and a mode button. That’s it.

PicoPro isn’t a perfect little video projector, but given its size and the realities of pico projection, it does a lot better than I would have expected. Nearly three hours of run time with the battery, cool and quiet operation, and 720p HD video support are all welcome steps forward over prior units I’ve tested.
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Dell XPS 13 (2015)

Engadget has published a review of what is currently the world's smallest 13-inch laptop.

Summary & 'Pros & Cons' follow:

"With Intel's new fifth-generation Core processor, the redesigned, 1.2kg XPS is notable for its nearly bezel-less display -a design feat that allows it to have the footprint of an 11-inch machine. And a starting price of $800 (or, if you are in the UK, £1,099! Ed.)."

Other than an update to the touchpad, there's very little we would change about Dell's redesigned XPS 13: It's compact and well-built, with a gorgeous screen, fast performance and surprisingly good audio quality. You'll pay dearly to get it with a touchscreen, but even then, it's priced in line with other flagship Ultrabooks.

Pros:

- Nearly bezel-less display
- Vibrant screen
- Excellent audio
- Attractive & well-built
- Comfortable keyboard
- Powerful

Cons:

- Average battery life
- Touchpad not great
- Expensive with touchscreen
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Bionic Bird

BBC reports: [edited]

This 9g device looks like a bird and flies like a bird - flapping wings included - and is controlled using a smartphone.

A big part of the Bionic Bird is the related Flying App. There's a 100 meter range, a 'cruise control' mode, as well as easy and expert modes, and sensitivity settings to help ensure you don't lose control while getting the hang of things.

Charging is accomplished via an 'egg'. The bird is perched on top of it, with charging taking place in 12 minutes. The bird, then, is able to fly for a total of ten 8-minute sessions. As for the bird itself, the device is made from 'indestructible foam' and carbon fibre.

For more information, click here.
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Leatherman Tread

Wired reports: [edited]

The Leatherman Tread is an interesting departure for the company, and an industry first: a serious multi-tool that can be worn on the wrist. Each link on the band includes two to three functional tools, for a total of 25 usable features.

The bracelet is fully customisable and can be re-built with slotted fasteners. The user can rearrange links, add or remove tools, or just adjust the bracelet’s size for comfort down to one quarter of an inch. Even the clasp is functional, with a bottle opener and #2 square drive. Other tools include hex drives, screwdrivers, box wrenches, a carbide glass breaker, and a hook-style box cutter that doubles as a SIM card pick.

The wristband is constructed of metal-injected molded 17-4 stainless steel. The tools may be tiny, but they’re not going to snap or bend under stress. There’s an optional Swiss quartz movement watch available in the fall of 2015.

It is TSA- and security-friendly. In fact, that was the original inspiration for the Tread: being able to travel and pass security checkpoints with a full complement of Leatherman tools.

The Tread bracelets will be available in May 2015. The stainless steel finish will cost $150, and the black diamond-like carbon finish will cost $200. The tread watches will cost $500 for stainless steel and $600 for black DLC.
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96W 10-Port Desktop USB Rapid Charger Cradle

Because you can never have enough charging ports :-)

Allputer reports: [edited]

Charge up to 10 USB devices simultaneously from one wall outlet. Simply connect any USB mobile device, such as an iPhone, iPad, iPod, Tablet PC, Smartphone, camera, a Wireless Hotspot etc. and quickly charge all your devices from one place. This giant USB Charger is durable and lightweight and works great at home or at the office. This is a must-have travel companion to charge all your USB-power devices.

Price: $119.95
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Laser etching makes metal hydrophobic

Sploid reports: [edited]

Scientists at the University of Rochester have created a metal that is so extremely hydrophobic that the water bounces on it as if it were repelled by a magic force field. Instead of using chemical coatings they used lasers to etch a nanostructure on the metal itself.

From the construction of airplane surfaces — which will avoid water freezing of the fuselage — to non-stick pans to phones to computers to TVs to cars to whatever you can imagine made of metal.

They are also thinking of applying the technique to create 100-percent efficient water recollection systems in underdeveloped countries and the creation of latrines in areas where water is not abundant enough to allow for effective cleaning.

The lead scientist says that 'the structures created by their laser on the metals are part of the material surface' so they will not disappear over time, like current chemical coatings do.
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Quantum Dots

Wired reports: [edited]

Quantum dot is gonna be the next big thing in TVs‎, bringing better image quality to cheaper sets. Quantum-dot televisions are a new type of LED-backlit LCD TV. The image is created just like it is on an LCD screen, but quantum-dot technology enhances the colour.

On an LCD TV, you have a backlight system, which is a bank of LEDs mounted at the edge of the screen or immediately behind it. That light is diffused, directed by a light-guide plate and beamed through a polarised filter. The photons then hit a layer of liquid crystals that either block the light or allow it to pass through a second polarised filter.

Before it gets to that second polariser, light passes through a layer of red, blue, and green (and sometimes yellow) colour filters. These are the subpixels. Electrical charges applied to the subpixels moderate the blend of coloured light visible on the other side. This light cocktail creates the colour value of each pixel on the screen.

In a quantum-dot set, the changes start with the colour of the backlight. The LEDs in most LCD TVs emit white light, but those in quantum-dot televisions emit blue light. Both types actually use blue LEDs, but they’re coated with yellow phosphor in normal LCD televisions and therefore emit white light.

Quantum dots have one job, and that is to emit one colour. They excel at this. When a quantum dot is struck by light, it glows with a very specific colour that can be finely tuned. When those blue LEDs shine on the quantum dots, the dots glow with the intensity of angry fireflies.

Quantum dots are tiny, and their size determines their colour. There are two sizes of dots in these TVs. The “big” ones glow red, and they have a diameter of about 50 atoms. The smaller ones, which glow green, have a diameter of about 30 atoms. There are billions of them in a quantum-dot TV.

Because that coloured light is the good stuff, quantum dots have an advantage over traditional LCD TVs when it comes to vivid hues and color gamut. In a normal LCD, white light produced by the LEDs has a wider spectrum. It’s kind of dirty, with a lot of light falling in a color range unusable by the set’s colour filters.

So with a quantum-dot set, there is very little wasted light. You can get brighter, more-saturated, and more-accurate colours. The sets I saw in person at CES 2015 certainly looked punchier than your average LCD.
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ZX Spectrum Vega

BBC reports: [edited]

Production is set to start on a remodelled version of the ZX Spectrum, which will come pre-installed with 1,000 classic game titles.

The machine, which has been developed by Luton-based Retro Computers, is due to go on sale in April.

Although emulators exist to allow smartphones and computers to play Spectrum games, the Vega has the advantage of being easy to plug into a TV.

Expose iPhone Flash

Cult of Mac reports: [edited]

Expose's iPhone app lets users blast light in photo and video modes, with flash, strobe or continuous settings. You can adjust the white balance and brightness, and the device weighs so little you’ll barely notice it’s in your pocket.

Expose is six-times as bright as your iPhone’s built-in dual-LED flash, up to 130 lumens.

Its body packs a USB rechargeable battery with one hour of run time. You can use it with or without an iPhone case thanks to the four included attachments that pop into your Lightning or 30-pin connector port, and the lanyard will make sure your light never leaves your side.

Price: $60.
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Mercedes F 015 autonomous automobile

gizmag reports: [edited]

The F 015 is a collage of futuristic technological concepts. The smooth, pod-like car is driven by a fuel cell hybrid powertrain.

The swivelling front seats can face forward as in a normal car, but given the lack of any human driving responsibilities, they can also swing around to face the rear passengers, creating a roomy interior space. The seats automatically swivel 30 degrees outward when the doors open, making it easier to get in and out.

The "digital arena" of the F 015 keeps occupants connected by way of six high-resolution displays integrated into the instrument and side panels. The displays can be operated via touch, gesture control and eye tracking.


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Teixobactin

The Independent reports: [edited]

A new antibiotic – the first in nearly 30 years – has been discovered by scientists who claim it appears to be as good, or even better, than many existing drugs with the potential to work against a broad range of fatal infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Laboratory tests have shown the new antibiotic, called teixobactin, can kill some bacteria as quickly as established antibiotics and can cure laboratory mice suffering from bacterial infections with no toxic side-effects.

Studies have also revealed the prototype drug works against harmful bacteria in a unique way that is highly unlikely to lead to drug-resistance – one of the biggest stumbling blocks in developing new antibiotics.

Such a development would represent a huge boost for medicine because of growing fears that the world is running out of effective antibiotics given the rapid rise of drug-resistant strains of superbugs and the spread of these diseases around the globe.
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Omniprocessor

core77 reports: [edited]

The Gates Foundation is backing a machine that can solve two pressing problems at once. It transforms faeces into clean water.

Developed by Seattle-based engineering firm Janicki Bioenergy, the machine burns faeces at a temperature so hot that there's no nasty smell. It meets all the emissions standards set by the U.S. government.

The machine also generates electricity - more than enough to power itself.
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Seagate Seven Portable External Drive

The Register reports: [edited]

The Seagate Seven is a 7mm thick, 500GB portable external drive. It has a bare drive look with its steel enclosure punched into shape via a deep draw manufacturing process.

Seagate claims its low profile motor technologies include "extreme Gyro handling capabilities with tablets and thin computing in mind".

It hooks up to host computers with a braided USB 3.0 cable.

Price: $99
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Ants Are Cleaning Up the Streets of NYC

Scientific American reports: [edited]

Over a period of six days, a team from North Carolina State University dropped hot dogs, cookies and potato chips around a 150-block section of New York City to study how much food-waste scavengers could eat in 24 hours.

They found that arthropods — invertebrates with an exoskeleton, including insects and spiders — act as a rapid trash-clearance service. Pavement ants in particular are voracious consumers of food waste and together with other arthropods are capable of eating up to 6.5 kilograms (about 14 pounds) of waste per block per year. This chomping adds up to 60,000 hotdogs, 200,000 cookies or 600,000 potato chips across Broadway and West Street. The study was published December 2 in Global Change Biology.
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