“LINC is leased to the user as a service, not a product.”
It’s like netflix but for cell phones. You hold onto it for a year then it gets shipped back to the factory to be disassembled. They send you a newer phone with the latest hardware.
[Read More | via Kitsune Noir]
“Current State is a real-time energy use monitoring system and timer for powered devices combined into one. The Current State system is made up of two parts, a mobile application for you cell phone, which allows you to control and monitor electricity use from anywhere, and a series of Plug-Ends that give you control over the products around your house.”
[The Greener Grass | via Kitsune Noir]
photo by jurveston
What the heck is this?
Illustration by Bryan Christie Design
The following article was written by David Gelles
(original story on The New York Times)
“Traditional wind turbines can be unreliable sources of energy because, well, the wind blows where it will. Not the case 1,000 feet up. “At a thousand feet, there is steady wind anywhere in the world,” says Mac Brown, chief operating officer of Ottawa-based Magenn Power.
To take advantage of this constant breeze, Brown has developed a lighter-than-air wind turbine capable of powering a rural village. “Picture a spinning Goodyear blimp,” Brown says. Filled with helium, outfitted with electrical generators and tethered to the ground by a conductive copper cable, the 100-foot-wide Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) will produce 10 kilowatts of energy anywhere on earth. As the turbine spins around a horizontal axis, the generators convert the mechanical energy of the wind into electrical energy, then send it down for immediate use or battery storage.
Planning for the MARS has been under way for a few years, but this fall Magenn got the $5 million it needed to build prototypes from a California investor. In October, the MARS received its U.S. patent. Already, larger models — ones that might light a skyscraper — are in the works. Brown says he hopes his floating wind turbines will power off-the-grid villages in the developing world. He says the governments of India and Pakistan have expressed interest.
At least one argument against wind turbines — that they slice up birds and bats — isn’t valid, according to Brown. “This thing is bigger than a house,” he says. “A bird can see it and a bat can sense it.”
[via New York Times]
“obviously, construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionnaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile-high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.”
Designer: Delroy Dennisur
Designer: Delroy Dennisur
[via Yanko Design]
What will the UI of the future look like?
Dubai-tastic superlatives and apocalyptic fears aside, the buildings standing today—monumental though some of them are—pale in comparison to what’s coming. Apart from the supertall buildings and stylish designs by superstars, there are a significant number of projects by local and regional architects, along with innovative, social, and sustainable work like David Fisher’s twirling tower, which will have floors that rotate independently and use wind turbines to power itself. In September the United Arab Emirates launched a green ratings system, LEED Emirates, modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards and focused on water conservation, energy efficiency, and sustainable site development—an indication that the country’s massive investment in design and construction will produce more than just pretty buildings.
[Full Article | Slideshow | via Bruce Sterling]
