The Green Dance Floor
July 27, 2008
Innovation is going to be key to our fight against climate change and some individuals and companies have definitely got it while others are left watching in bemusement. Club4Climate is a one such innovative idea; founder Andrer Charalambous has had the unique idea of using the motion created on dance floors to generate electricity, which can then be used in part to provide power for the club.
The entire project is based around improving clubbers’ energy consumption and diminishing the negative effect on the environment. Organic beverages and waterless urinals (most clubs in my area are not only waterless but urineless too) will be combined with a wind turbine, solar power generator, and a piezoelectric dance floor.
The dance floor converts the motion of clubbers into a usable form of energy to power the pumps, lighting and other electrical devices. It does this through a combination of ceramics and quartz crystals. Any energy that is left over from the sustainable devices will then be fed back to the grid so that it can be used by houses and other buildings in the area.
Club4Climate even provides free entry to anybody that can prove they walked or cycled to the venue – sweaty armpits, windswept hair, and that kind of thing must presumably be the method of proving it.
It puts a whole new perspective on carbon footprints.
The New CherryPal C100 Cloud Desktop Computer
July 27, 2008
The CherryPal C100 isn’t just a darn cheap desktop costing just $250 (£125) it’s also being pushed as a cloud desktop computer because rather than having all the necessary software stored on the computer itself, it is stored (in the clouds) an an online server that is automatically accessed whenever the computer turns on. This unique online environment potentially offers a number of excellent benefits, although does require an Internet connection to even use the PC.
The cloud computer could offer increased security. There should never be any need to download and install software, and pretty much everything is stored online. This means that hackers and malware authors cannot easily gain access to your computer and, even if they can, there’s nothing for them to find.
Because all of the operating system and other software is stored online and not on the hard drive, this could do away with log on issues, installation problems, and general software problems.
The biggest potential drawback we can see is Internet connection reliability. A poor connection would mean poor performance of the software while any Internet downtime would basically make the computer inaccessible. Perhaps in countries where a reliable network is achievable it might work, but I think the technology would be a struggle here in the UK.
The Champagne Cork Parachute
July 27, 2008
What’s the perfect accompaniment to a nice, classy bottle of champagne? It’s a pink and grey, reusable champagne cork parachute obviously. Because, you know how annoying it is when you can’t find the cork. Fortunately, though, with the reusable cork parachute you never need worry about any nasty cork accidents apparently (if anybody has had a nasty cork accident, we’d really rather not hear details – and definitely no pictures).
To make it even classier, the parachute comes with its own rather fetching gold, plastic rocket container. As soon as the cork reaches adequate height and is ready to begin its apparently danger filled traverse back down to earth (or any object in the way of the earth), the parachute will deploy and the cork will flutter elegantly and, above all, safely back down to the ground.
Seriously, I don’t think you’re going to see these at the next wedding reception you visit and Lewis Hamilton is probably quite unlikely to crack open his winner’s bottle of bubbly having spent a minute attaching his parachute. But, if this is the kind of thing that floats your boat, or even if you do happen to have unmentionable (please) first hand experience of the nastiness of corks then you can pick one up for less than a fiver at IWOOT.
New Online Security Technique To Help Beat Internet Threats
July 26, 2008
Online security experts are, in part, using the Google PageRank technology to help produce a more intelligent and subsequently more effective spam fighting and Internet security system. The technique, known as “Highly Predictive Blacklisting” has been under research and development for over a year and more accurately predicts the type of attack and attacker that is likely to target a particular network. By using this prediction, security software can then more effectively deal with any potential incoming threat.
There are essentially two primary threats that are difficult for any size network to counteract – brand new threats only recently released into the wild and small threats that have attacked very few networks. HPB will create what is essentially a super black-list that combines the benefits of the Global Worst Offenders List (GWOL) and compares smaller networks to determine the likelihood of an attack being made on a network even by new threats.
Anything that can be done to improve online security and the ever increasing amount of spam that all email users regularly receive is good news. The problem, usually, is that as quickly as a new security technique is announced, hackers and other malware authors have found a method to bypass the security release essentially rendering it useless.
Samsung HT-BD2R Blu Ray 7.1 Home Cinema System
July 25, 2008
Samsung really is breaking down the barriers in creating short and catchy titles for their new products; it’s not even like there’s that many Blu-Ray players out there to compete. However, the high definition audio output 7.1 surround sound speakers, blu-ray player, and 1080p upscaling go some way to convince us that long and completely unmemorable names are actually a good thing.
Blu Ray is the format of the future, and the present, having knocked HD DVD firmly out of the competition. As such, it’s around to stay and with good reason. A 1080p resolution player like the Samsung HT-BD2R Blu Ray 7.1 Home Cinema System provides viewers with the greatest possible film format.
The Samsung HT-BD2R also integrates incredible 7.1 surround sound providing equally high definition sound. 1080P upscaling enables you to watch standard DVDs in high definition format, or at least a lot closer to high definition format.
Support for Blu Ray, DVD, CD, CD/DVD -R and -RW, as well as Jpeg and DivX mean that you can watch pretty much any recorded media through what is a good looking and well designed home Blu Ray cinema system.
- Blu Ray Player - Ultimate high def quality
- 7.1 Surround Sound - High def audio output
- 1080p Upscaling
- 1080p Upscaling - From standard DVDs
- Multi Format - CD/DVD -R & -RW, Jpeg & DivX
- FM Tuner - For radio channels
- Dolby DTS Sound Out - High quality sound
- HDMI Out - For high definition connections
- Colour - BLACK
- Weight - 49.8kg
- Remote Control - Included
Buy now from pc world
The Gyroxus Gaming Chair
July 25, 2008
Game chairs have never really been my thing, which is quite peculiar really, because gaming most definitely has. They never look quite as comfortable as the old fashioned armchair with arm rests, and coffee table for drinks. And, to be honest, the sub woofers on the TV will generally do the trick for most games.
Then, there’s the seeming lack of comfort; they just don’t look very comfortable. Perhaps sitting with your knees tucked under your chin as though you’re assuming the crash position is the best gaming position available but I can’t see it. As such, the new Gyroxus looks even less appealing than other chairs – it looks decidedly like it’s made out of an old Volvo boot lining.
However, the Gyroxus full motion gaming chair will move seamlessly through every duck, twist, and bend that you make and work in perfect tandem with the movements of your body… apparently.
None of us would like to admit it but I fear we all duck and sway when we’re playing and as long as you don’t suffer from an acute form of motion sickness, the Gyroxus could be your thing. Until I get given one for the scientific purposes of reviewing, though, I shall continue to dislike the very concept of a gaming chair and dream of owning a Lazy Boy gaming chair.
If I’m completely missing the point do tell me.
Humax Unveils New PVR 9300
July 25, 2008
Sky+ is an awesome service, even if they do have those really annoying adverts at the moment. You can record most episodes of Star Trek and CSI without having to keep taking the tape out and write over the label and you can even stop and rewind live television. But we don’t all have a Sky subscription, and for those of us without, freeview and a digital PVR is perfect.
Humax is a consist producer of great quality PVRs and their latest release, the PVR 9300 doesn’t look like it will let us down either. With 320GB of internal storage you’ll be able to record at least 200 Star Trek episodes (that’s 200 hours) and twin tuners mean you can watch one channel and record two others, or record one channel and watch another with full time dilating capabilities (except fast forward).
Two versions will be available, apparently from the beginning of next month – the 320GB model we mentioned will fetch £200 while one with marginally less than half the memory (that’s 150GB in case you’re wondering) will set you back around £150.
The Humax 9300 looks pretty impressive too with a honking great big display on the front so you’ll never be stuck when you need to know the time.
Samsung LE32A556P 32″ HD Ready LCD TV Review
July 25, 2008
The 32” HD Ready Samsung LE32A556P may not have the snappiest of names, but it does provide an extremely rich colour, dark blacks, and superb features as well as offering full HD ready capability with 1080p resolution. Because sound is as important to the viewing experience as picture quality is, the Samsung LE32 uses SRS Trusurround to provide equally excellent sound quality.
Read more about the Samsung LE32A556P
Acer Aspire 5920g Review Specification and Offers
July 25, 2008
The Acer Aspire 5920g is a feature packed laptop with a unique design. Unique design and powerful Blu-Ray combo drive offer something a little different from earlier Acer devices and with impressive memory and RAM to boot, the Acer Aspire 5920g is the ideal laptop for any purpose.
Read more about the acer 5920g
Electric Lightning Electric Car Charges In Under 15 Minutes
July 24, 2008
Another day, another prototype car featuring some new fangled form of environment saving trickery up its exhaust pipe. Except, in the case of the Electric Lightning sports car, there is no exhaust pipe. It’s not a hybrid and it’s not even an electric car that requires the usual 5 working days recharge time with a 6.2 mile range on full charge. In fact, a cursory glance at the picture will tell you it’s nothing like the electric cars that we’re used to seeing.
A whole bank of rechargable lithium-titanate batteries give it a hoomphing 700bhp and extremely impressive speed figures. Because it doesn’t use the standard li-ion technology that is usually used in the process of recharging batteries, this means that it can actually be recharged in less than quarter of an hour and enjoy more than a 200 mile range.
To achieve this, however, special recharging stations (like giant iPod docks I guess) would need to be erected because our puny home electrics can’t cope with passing the necessary level of electric juice through to the car. Nothing has been planned yet, although the company responsible for the car have the idea of having Electric Lightning docks placed in supermarket stations.
It looks something, I think, like a TVR.
