Monday, May 20, 2013

'The Sims 4' for PC and Mac Arrives in 2014

The-sims-3Chelsea-stark By Chelsea Stark2013-05-06 16:01:32 UTC

Expect a new update in the blockbuster Sims franchise sometime next year.

The Sims 4 will come to PC and Mac in 2014, according to EA. The company promised more information would be released later Monday, and this story will be updated with more details.\]

The Sims 4 will be a single player game and not require an always-on internet connect, according to an EA spokesperson. Maxis and EA faced a tough launch of SimCity two months ago after an always-online requirement for the game cause crowded servers that couldn't support the demand.

The Sims has become one of the biggest life-simulator brands around, spawning 150 million games sold.

The Sims 3 has had almost a dozen expansions since its 2009 release, including ones mocking memes and featuring pop superstar Katy Perry. There was also a Sims Facebook game, but EA announced it would be shutting down The Sims Social on June 14.

What do you think of a new Sims game? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image courtesy EA/Maxis.

Topics: EA, Entertainment, Gaming, Maxis, the sims if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"entertainment","content_type":"article","top_channel":"entertainment","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Chelsea Stark","age":"0","pub_day":6,"pub_month":5,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"05/06/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/the-sims-4-announced/"],["image_src","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzlkL1RoZVNpbXMzLjA5Mzk2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/0a1239e6/57c/The-Sims-3.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/the-sims-4-announced/"],["og:title","'The Sims 4' for PC and Mac Arrives in 2014"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzlkL1RoZVNpbXMzLjA5Mzk2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/0a1239e6/57c/The-Sims-3.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-05-06T16:01:32Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-05-06T19:23:31Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","EA announced 'The Sims 4' would be coming to Mac and PC in 2014."],["keywords",["gaming","ea","the-sims","uncategorized","entertainment","maxis"]],["twitter:title","'The Sims 4' for PC and Mac Arrives in 2014"],["twitter:description","Expect a new update in the blockbuster Sims franchise sometime next year. The Sims 4 will come to PC and Mac in 2014, according to EA. The company promised more information would be released later Mon..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzlkL1RoZVNpbXMzLjA5Mzk2LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/628b8957/57c/The-Sims-3.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/the-sims-4-announced/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/13mvykK"]]};

View the original article here

Posted by Chris Holman at 10:33 PM 0 comments
Labels:

Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013 (update: video interview)

Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013 (update: video interview) data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20574936' !== '') ? 'bsd:20574936' : ''; var postID = '20574936'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"gaming",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"nicole-lee", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("10000057",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013 (update: video interview) Hands-onBypostedMay 18th, 2013 at 5:33 PM 0

Cast AR handson with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013

When Valve's first hardware hire, Jeri Ellsworth, tweeted back in February that she was fired from the company, we were disappointed but also intrigued by what she meant by "time for new exciting projects." Well we finally saw what she's been up to here at at Maker Faire 2013. It's called Cast AR, and it's a pair of 3D augmented-reality glasses that she and former Valve programmer Rick Johnson were working on at Valve before they left.

The model we saw is still in the early prototype stages, but the concepts are already in place. Perched atop a pair of active shutter glasses are a couple of miniature LCD projectors, which bounce images from a connected computer onto a special reflective surface at a 120Hz refresh rate. A camera module sits on the eyewear's bridge and monitors an array of infrared LEDs embedded in the reflective surface. This allows for quick and accurate head tracking. Join us after the break for our impressions and our video interview with Jeri Ellsworth. Cast AR hands-on at Maker Faire 2013 See all photos 31 Photos

when.eng("eng.galleries.init")

Unlike virtual reality goggles like the Oculus Rift, putting on the Cast AR doesn't cocoon you in another world. Even though we were immersed in a 3D environment, we could still see our surroundings and what was in front of us; the open-sided see-through glasses are purposefully designed not to close us off from reality. We interacted with a variety of environments, from a flying tour over a digital landscape to shooting up zombies with hooked up Xbox controllers, and was amazed at how intuitive and natural the controls felt. We also waved a LED-equipped wand around to throw a wrecking ball into a Jenga-style tower, which delighted us to no end. Not once did we feel nauseous or disoriented even as we bobbed and weaved.

Ellsworth's new company, Technical Illusions, plans to bring Cast AR from prototype to finished product with Kickstarter later this year to help fund the project. Together with her team, she's already created a mock-up of what she hopes the final item will look like. She wants to sell the whole kit -- glasses, wand accessory and required reflective surface -- for under $200.

As for her feelings on Valve, Ellsworth is appreciative of her time there, and she's certainly grateful that she was allowed to take her passion for AR beyond the company even though Valve's core product line doesn't quite allow for it. "Actually I didn't even think AR was very interesting at first," she said. "But as I started seeing the potential for all these brand new game experiences that you could have, I'm very passionate about AR, and am putting all my effort into AR."

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")
Posted by Chris Holman at 9:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

ProPublica Tool Lets Journalists Search Instagram by Location and Date

Istock_000022433199largeLauren-indvik By Lauren Indvik2013-05-06 15:47:41 UTC

Reporters covering events such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings or the Boston Marathon bombings turned immediately to Instagram to source photos from the scene — a difficult endeavor, given the limitations of Instagram's in-app search to hashtags and usernames.

Enter Al Shaw, news application developer at ProPublica, a non-profit news organization focused on investigative journalism. He created an open-source tool that allows users to search Instagram by place and by time. Specifically, you can search by start date and end date, address and distance from that address. There are some limitations: You can't, for example, combine those searches with text or hashtags — Instagram's API doesn't allow that, Shaw said — and results are confined to the last few months.

SEE ALSO: How The Boston Globe Covered Its Own City Under Siege

ProPublica staffers have already used the tool to surface a photo taken of Bolyston Street a few minutes after the Boston bombings, and a photo of Newt Gingrich outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Here's what they pulled up from a search at the New Orleans Fair Grounds last Thursday, where the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was taking place:

To use the tool, you'll need to download the Ruby web app from GitHub and run it on your desktop. Shaw says ProPublica may or may not release a more consumer-friendly (i.e., web-hosted) version of the app in the future.

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, AleksandarNakic and ProPublica

Topics: Apps and Software, Dev & Design, instagram, Media, propublica, Tech if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"tech","content_type":"article","top_channel":"tech","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Lauren Indvik","age":"0","pub_day":6,"pub_month":5,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"05/06/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/propublica-instagram-search-tool/"],["image_src","http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjg2ZmZjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/6a2b6bbb/47d/iStock_000022433199Large.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/propublica-instagram-search-tool/"],["og:title","ProPublica Tool Lets Journalists Search Instagram by Location and Date"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjg2ZmZjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/6a2b6bbb/47d/iStock_000022433199Large.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-05-06T15:47:41Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-05-06T15:48:11Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","ProPublica has built an open-source tool that allows users to search Instagram by location and date."],["keywords",["instagram","uncategorized","propublica","media","tech","apps-software","dev-design"]],["twitter:title","ProPublica Tool Lets Journalists Search Instagram by Location and Date"],["twitter:description","Reporters covering events such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings or the Boston Marathon bombings turned immediately to Instagram to source photos from the scene -- a difficult endeavor, gi..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA2LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjg2ZmZjLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/7f17918b/47d/iStock_000022433199Large.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/propublica-instagram-search-tool/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/13mtB7G"]]};

View the original article here

Posted by Chris Holman at 6:43 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Twitter partners with NBA to highlight in-game replays, Blake Griffin posterizations

Twitter partners with NBA to highlight in-game replays, Blake Griffin posterizations data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20574221' !== '') ? 'bsd:20574221' : ''; var postID = '20574221'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"internet",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"darren-murph", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("10000057",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Twitter partners with NBA to highlight in-game replays, Blake Griffin posterizationsBypostedMay 17th, 2013 at 9:49 PM 0

Twitter partners with NBA to highlight ingame replays, Blake Griffin posterizations

In all honesty, Blake Griffin himself could start a social network that served no purpose outside of featuring his dizzying (and disgusting, if you will) array of dunks, and it'd probably go over quite well. Instead, he -- along with other superstars in the National Basketball Association -- will soon see replays of in-game highlights making waves across Twitter in more official fashion. Hot on the heels of a deal between ESPN and Twitter comes this: a partnership between the NBA and the aforesaid social network that'll get video highlights to the world while the game is still ongoing.

#NBARapidReplay will be the hashtag to watch for as the playoffs progress, and as you'd expect, short advertisements will appear alongside those clips. Twitter's foray into the television universe is hardly a new one, but it's becoming ever more obvious that the company is following the ad dollars into the homes of everyday viewers. Up next? A deal to tweet highlights from the 2014 Masters golf tournament... but only in extremely soft spoken, lowercase, predominantly pompous characters.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")
Posted by Chris Holman at 4:53 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Kinetic Floor Generates Energy From People Dancing

Energy-floorsPSFK Labs for PSFK 2013-05-05 22:42:26 UTC

Around the world, engineers and architects are rethinking the current design of architectural and environmental infrastructure, in favor of regenerative systems that are capable of harnessing wasted energy and resources and redistributing them where needed.

A company in Rotterdam in the Netherlands has created a modular dance floor system that collects kinetic energy from dancers' movements and converts it into electricity. Each individual tile from the Energy Floors has a small generator that collects and stores the energy, transforming it into electricity that can be used to power nearby systems or the LED lights located on the dance floor. The Sustainable Dance Floor tiles are available for rent or sale, and the Temple Night Club in San Francisco currently has had them permanently installed. According to the team at Energy Floors, dancing on the Sustainable Dance floor has generated a rough estimate of over 8 billion Joules.

Regenerative systems such as this floor design are capable of harnessing wasted energy and resources and redistributing them where they are needed. For the Sustainable Dance Floor tiles to create electricity, the floor will drop 10mm when being stepped on. This small compression is enough to activate the internal generator of that module that will produce up to 35 watts of sustained output per module.

club-floor-generates-energy-dancing-2

Ann Hand, CEO of project frog, a design firm dedicated to providing cost-effective, beautiful, and energy efficient buildings, offered her take on the impact of designs that utilize Recycled Resource Systems:

A few years ago most people didn't even realize that nearly 40% of the carbon emissions were from the building environment. Everyone focuses so much on transportation and cars they don't even look at our buildings as the biggest contributors. Now there's a real appetite for it, and there's so much inefficiency in the build environment. You don't have to give up anything to have a better building to occupy.

Winka Dubbeldam, celebrated architect and principal of Archi-Tectonics, has most recently lent her expertise to a crowdsourced plan to revitalize Bogota, Colombia called MyIdealCity. She believes that the future of urban planning is in recycled resource systems:

More and more we are realizing that bringing back the natural habitat where it belongs, will also balance our resources. This trend often starts with the resource itself, such as over-canalized rivers, which cause draught around the riverbanks, and hence flooding and loss of a valuable resource in the rainy season. A recent example is the LA river, currently encased in concrete, which will be soon returned to its natural state.

Whether converting the kinetic energy from foot traffic into electricity or recycling grey water for other residential uses, these closed-loop recycled resource systems help deliver greater efficiencies that lower resource consumption and cut back on costs.

Images courtesy Sustainable Dance Club, Energy Floors/Flickr

This article originally published at PSFK here

Topics: PSFK is a Mashable publishing partner that reports on ideas and trends in creative business, design, gadgets, and technology. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"social-media","content_type":"article","top_channel":"social-media","content_source_type":"MPP","content_source_name":"PSFK","author_name":"PSFK","age":"0","pub_day":5,"pub_month":5,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"05/05/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://www.psfk.com/2013/05/kinetic-energy-floor.html"],["image_src","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1Lzg3L2VuZXJneWZsb29yLmQ3YjA5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/6ff7b5a3/cbf/energy-floors.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/05/kinetic-floor/"],["og:title","Kinetic Floor Generates Energy From People Dancing"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1Lzg3L2VuZXJneWZsb29yLmQ3YjA5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/6ff7b5a3/cbf/energy-floors.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-05-05T22:42:26Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-05-05T22:42:35Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","Around the world, engineers and architects are rethinking the current design of architectural and environmental infrastructure, in favor of regenerative systems that are capable..."],["keywords",["uncategorized"]],["twitter:title","Kinetic Floor Generates Energy From People Dancing"],["twitter:description","Around the world, engineers and architects are rethinking the current design of architectural and environmental infrastructure, in favor of regenerative systems that are capable of harnessing wasted e..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1Lzg3L2VuZXJneWZsb29yLmQ3YjA5LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/5d6e36e1/cbf/energy-floors.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/05/kinetic-floor/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/10dRvnd"]]};

View the original article here

Posted by Chris Holman at 2:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , ,

Inhabitat's Week in Green: Sky City One, sub-zero cafe and the world's longest Lego train track

Inhabitat's Week in Green: Sky City One, sub-zero cafe and the world's longest Lego train track data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20575015' !== '') ? 'bsd:20575015' : ''; var postID = '20575015'; var modalMNo = '93372903', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"misc",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"inhabitat", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-152",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93372903", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93372906", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Inhabitat's Week in Green: Sky City One, sub-zero cafe and the world's longest Lego train trackBypostedMay 19th, 2013 at 10:00 AM 0

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Inhabitat's Week in Green

Eyes in the design world turned to New York City this week as New York Design Week officially launched. We hit the floors of International Contemporary Furniture Fair today to bring you the best new green designs from one of the largest contemporary design shows in the US -- including Blackbody's gorgeous OLED light trees and Tat Chao's ethereal LED lamps made from recycled wine glasses. We also checked out the locally focused BKLYN Designs show, where design duo Bower unveiled an awesome magnetic LED lamp, made from discarded pieces of scrap wood. Lighting designer Adam Frank unveiled three inspiring new designs at BKLYN Designs: the LED Lumen lamp, which casts tree-shaped shadows from a little candle holder; the incredible Reveal Projector, which projects an image of outdoor foliage and sky through a window on a blank wall (good for those in tiny NYC apartments); and the 3D hologram-ish LUCID Mirror, which displays a 3D image of illuminated clouds over your head!

Sky City One, a 220-story, entirely prefabricated skyscraper, is set to break ground next month in China. The entire building will be built in just seven months, and when it's finished it will supplant Dubai's Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building. Speaking of Dubai, the latest bizarre attraction in the desert metropolis is the Chillout Cafe, a sub-zero cafe that's completely decked out with furniture and accessories that are made from carved ice. In other desert architecture news, Tangram Gulf unveiled plans for a Qatar World Cup Stadium that "sculpts the desert wind" to provide passive cooling. Beijing-based Decode Urbanism Office designed a conceptual skyscraper that's covered with thousands of small wind turbines and LED lights. And MOKO Architects unveiled plans to develop a crazy skydiving center in Warsaw that would be made from silos and shipping containers.

Wind energy company SheerWind caught the attention of the clean energy world when it unveiled an amazing new funnel-shaped turbine that can produce up to 600 percent more power than traditional wind turbines. In Japan, offshore technology company Mitsui is planning to install the world's first hybrid wind / current power-generating system, which combines a floating vertical-axis wind turbine with an underwater turbine that generates power from ocean currents. Scientists at SUNY Buffalo are developing a new generation of liquid solar cells that could one day be as cheap as paint. And this week, Hyundai announced plans to install South Korea's largest solar power plant.

In green transportation news, the Global Vehicle Trust developed a prototype for the world's first flat-pack truck, which can be assembled in just 12 hours. Amtrak announced that it would replace 70 older trains in the Northeast Corridor with new high-efficiency electric trains. A team from the US Naval Research Laboratory broke its own record by flying a hydrogen fuel cell-powered unmanned airplane for 48 hours and one minute. And in another bit of record-breaking news, a group of Lego superfans in Denmark pieced together the world's longest Lego train track, which stretches more than 2.5 miles. In other Lego news, a newly launched company called Pleygo allows kids to rent and trade Lego sets. They're aiming to be the "Netflix of Legos!"

In science and design news this week, a 16-year-old high school student has been using fruit flies to investigate the benefits of organic over conventional produce. Scientist Mark Post has developed a lab-grown hamburger made up of 20,000 strips of cultured muscle, and he plans to serve it up for $325,000 in London next month. In gadgets-for-good news, a team of midwives developed an incredible "Solar Suitcase" which is pretty-much what it sounds like: a photovoltaic, fold-up suitcase lamp that allows midwives to see what they are doing at night or in dark houses, saving the lives of mothers and babies during childbirth in developing countries where access to electricity and hospitals is limited. Researchers in Potsdam-Golm have figured out a way to use an inkjet printer to create electrically conductive paper. Engineer Amanda Ghassaei developed a technique for creating beautiful and functional records out of wood using a laser cutter, and a technology firm in Japan has developed an interactive clothes hanger that helps shoppers make purchasing decisions.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")
Posted by Chris Holman at 12:41 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , ,

Meteor Shower Spawned by Halley's Comet Is Peaking Now

Halleys-comet-giotto-photoTariq Malik for Space.com 2013-05-05 18:25:29 UTC

A meteor shower created by bits of Halley's Comet is at its peak now, and NASA has a few handy tips for stargazers eager to see the display of "shooting stars."

The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower is peaking today (May 5) as the Earth passes through a dusty debris field of cosmic leftovers from Halley's Comet. The shower should be at its best at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT) Sunday night, offering stargazers with the best viewing conditions and locations a chance to see between 30 and 40 meteors an hour, according to an update from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center will provide a live webcast and chat during the Eta Aquarids from 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT) to 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT).

Scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center will provide a live webcast and chat during the Eta Aquarids from 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT) to 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT). You can watch the meteor shower webcast on SPACE.com, courtesy of NASA.

To participate in the NASA chat, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/aquarids_2013.html

Here are some tips from NASA for viewing the meteor shower:

Find a dark spot: City lights and street lights can ruin any stargazing attempt because they can outshine objects like meteors in the night sky. To make the most of your meteor gazing night, find a place well away from those interfering lights.

Look up: The Eta Aquarids get their name because they appear to originate from the constellation Aquarius, which currently rises over the eastern horizon at about 3 a.m. your local time. But staring directly at the constellation can be a mistake, since the meteors can also be visible as they streak across the rest of the night sky. "Lie flat on your back on a blanket, lawn chair or sleeping bag and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible," NASA officials advised.

Adapt to the night: It is best to give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the night's darkness in order to see more meteors.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is known for spawning bright fireballs during their peak period. It is one of two celestial displays created by the dusty remains of Halley's Comet. The dust trail from the comet nears Earth at two points in the planet's orbit.

When the Earth passes through the first region in early May, it creates the Eta Aquarids. The other Halley's Comet meteor display occurs in mid-October, creating the annual Orionid meteor shower.

Halley's Comet is a periodic comet that orbits the sun about once every 76 years. It is named after the 18th century English astronomer Edmond Halley, who accurately predicted the return of the comet in 1758 after realizing that accounts of a dazzling comet throughout history were in fact the same object. Halley's Comet was last visible from Earth in 1986 and will return to our night skies in 2061.

Image courtesy ESA, MPAe, Lindau

This article originally published at Space.com here

Topics: meteor shower, NASA, space Space.com is a Mashable publishing partner that is the world's No. 1 source for news of astronomy, skywatching, space exploration, commercial spaceflight and related technologies. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"social-media","content_type":"article","top_channel":"social-media","content_source_type":"MPP","content_source_name":"Space.com","author_name":"Space.com","age":"0","pub_day":5,"pub_month":5,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"05/05/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://www.space.com/20975-meteor-shower-halleys-comet-peaking.html?"],["image_src","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1LzM2L2hhbGxleXNjb21lLjA0YTI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/754f6c83/84d/halleys-comet-giotto-photo.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/05/meteor-shower-peaking/"],["og:title","Meteor Shower Spawned by Halley's Comet Is Peaking Now"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1LzM2L2hhbGxleXNjb21lLjA0YTI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/754f6c83/84d/halleys-comet-giotto-photo.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-05-05T18:25:29Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-05-05T18:25:45Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","A meteor shower created by bits of Halley's Comet is at its peak, and NASA has a few handy tips for stargazers eager to see the display of \"shooting stars.\""],["keywords",["space","nasa","meteor-shower","uncategorized"]],["twitter:title","Meteor Shower Spawned by Halley's Comet Is Peaking Now"],["twitter:description","A meteor shower created by bits of Halley's Comet is at its peak now, and NASA has a few handy tips for stargazers eager to see the display of \"shooting stars.\" The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower is..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzA1LzM2L2hhbGxleXNjb21lLjA0YTI4LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/3090ab2c/84d/halleys-comet-giotto-photo.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/05/05/meteor-shower-peaking/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/13WHadP"]]};

View the original article here

Posted by Chris Holman at 11:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)