Google moves into the real world with its first Google-branded handset. It seems to be a logical extension of its ever-growing cloud software suite... but I was hoping it would offer a little more original innovation. Nexus One Google moves into the real world with its first Google-branded... View full entry
nBots are tiny autonomous devices that can latch onto each other, to self-assemble into objects and environments. Decker Yeadon's third iteration of the nBots is a lot more biomimetic than previous versions; they are soft, sticky, and wet, and their development builds on recent research into the... View full entry
Google unleashes Goggles, a new mobile app for the Android platform. Goggles can recognize and retrieve information about objects (buildings?) using the phone's camera. Google unleashes Goggles, a new mobile app for the Android platform. Goggles can recognize and retrieve information about objects... View full entry
BL02 iGreen: How the Web Empowers Designers to Build Sustainably BL02 iGreen: How the Web Empowers Designers to Build Sustainably Panelists: Jill Fehrenbacher www.Inhabitat.com Emily Kemper LEED-AP www.GreenDesignCollective.com Quilian Riano www.Archinect.com Cameron Sinclair... View full entry
The “Walled Garden” is an oft-used metaphor to describe an area of the web that is somehow closed off. Elizabeth Goodman, a PhD student at the UC Berkeley School of Information and a design researcher with Intel, has taken the metaphor of the Garden back to its roots (so-to-speak), to... View full entry
Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending primary school. Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending primary school. bbc | beforeUruguay is part of the One Laptop Per Child scheme, an organisation set up by internet... View full entry
Aaaand here's yet another Berlin-related post: Berlin Block Tetris from Sergej Hein on Vimeo. Sergej Hein: "It´s kind of a parody about the former socialist building style. They use to build whole cities, without any change in House design or room layout to create cheep housing for workers (we... View full entry
Google is launching their version of Sim City today, Google Building Maker. The tool lets you create buildings for Google Earth. Building Maker lets you pick any building and construct a 3D version of it using photos and building blocks provided by Google. Google says that buildings are relatively... View full entry
From the Google SketchUp Blog: The team's been working long hours through the summer on projects large and small. I'm proud to announce that Google SketchUp 7.1 is available today for you to download and install. Don't you just love the smell of fresh new software? From the Google SketchUp Blog... View full entry
The Dispute Finder Firefox Extension highlights disputed claims on web pages you browse and shows you evidence for alternative points of view. Watch the Videos to learn more. The Dispute Finder Firefox Extension highlights disputed claims on web pages you browse and shows you evidence for... View full entry
Decker Yeadon LLC, in New York City, has demonstrated their first working prototype of an automatic shading system that uses smart materials to permit/deny solar heat gain through windows. Their “SmartScreen” system does not use any sensors, motors, processors, or power... View full entry
The "Blue Brain" has been put in a virtual body, and observing it gives the first indications of the molecular and neural basis of thought and memory. bbc View full entry
Perkins + Will have created a website that will, ideally, allow architects and builders to bake energy savings goals into construction. 2030 Forecaster | Greentech Media View full entry
"Today's events make file-sharing a hot political issue and we're going to take this to the European Parliament." - Rickard Falkvinge, leader of The Pirate Party | bbc View full entry
"Google's big surprise: each server has its own 12-volt battery to supply power if there's a problem with the main source of electricity. The company also revealed for the first time that since 2005, its data centers have been composed of standard shipping containers--each with 1,160 servers and... View full entry