Skype Thrives Amid Tough Economy: Why is the Internet telephony provider one of the only technology companies experiencing a boom as the economy tanks? The Bear believes the trend away from live travel-and-meeting and towards virtual online face-to-face is here to stay. It's why the airlines are on the ropes, why the price of gas has made an abrupt retreat, and why the Big Three American car companies are begging for their own Federal bailout. [CNET News.com]
11:38:41 AM
Plug In to the World's Quietest Inaugural Parade: The clean-car advocacy group Plug In America is planning an inaugural parade of 55 all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, to take place in Santa Monica, California. The parade is likely to include Tesla Roadsters, Vectrix motor scooters, Zero Motorcycles, Phoenix SUTs, and some prototypes from the more visionary car companies Mitsubishi and Porsche. [Wired Top Stories]
11:31:56 AM
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Building Green Schools:This is SO inspiring -- the students of the Sidwell Friends K-12 Middleschool in Washington D.C. talk about their LEEDS Platinum-level green building, and how it is helping contribute to a healthier environment where they live and learn:
Are YOU inspired yet? Head on over to the U.S. Green Building Council's Build Green Schools web site to find out how you can make these kinds of schools a reality in your district and nationwide. [Rocky Mountain Instititute]
11:18:24 AM
This compelling 7-minute video suggests our search for life elsewhere in the universe should focus on microbes instead of on civilizations. Modern technological civilization on our own planet is a brief moment in time, a mere millenium. Meanwhile life has existed here on Earth for most of the planet's existance (3 out of the 4 billion years since our planet first formed). [European Space Agency/NASA via The Speculist]
11:06:40 AM
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Word Processing on iWork 08: The Bear has made the transition to the clean Blank Page of Apple's "Pages" word processor. It's purity and simplicity is enchanting, and yet it's a talented container for all other media, including spreadsheet tables, drawings, bitmap images, movies and audio. "Pages feels right." [Various and Sundry via MyAppleMenu]
8:31:25 AM
Friday, August 24, 2007
Is Everyone Buying A Mac?: Steve Borsch thinks so, and writes about what he's seeing, including this telling bit from his daughter: "My 18 year old daughter works at a local Apple Store and we talk often about how busy the place is all the time... She's indicated that this back-to-school season is 'awesome' with sales." Especially worth reading the comments (following the story) from switchers who agree their new Macs make their work more productive, fun and hassle-free. [Connect the Dots via MyAppleMenu]
12:10:10 PM
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Portable power from trash: There are reportedly 90 sites throughout the US where garbage is burned to produce heat and electricity. The heat is used to dry burnable biomass, and the process burns relatively cleanly (meeting California's emissions standards.) Now a "portable" system produced by AgriPower can be moved to the source of the biomass, and will burn anything from nuts to old tires. [CNET News.com]
5:10:24 PM
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Aluminum Alloy Extracts Hydrogen From Water On Demand: While cleaning some lab equipment, a Purdue University engineer inadvertently stumbles upon a new method for producing hydrogen from water. The hydrogen is generated on demand, so you only produce as much as you need, when you need it. It's possible the technique could be used to replace gasoline in cars. [What's Next In Science & Technology]
7:41:05 AM
