Say goodbye to mug rings with the Floating Mug

Credit: Tigere Chiriga/ Kickstarter

!
?
(shrugs)
:)

Kickstarter project.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/21/say-goodbye-to-mug-rings-with-the-floating-mug/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiggs/the-floating-mug / tea coffee cup mug hot beverage wooden furniture marks mark circle ring damage damp condensation wet damp /

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars not viable, says Volkswagen CEO

Mercedes-Benz hydrogen fuel cell vehicle
Credit: Mercedes-Benz/ Green Car Reports

For some time, the idea of the "fuel cell miracles" has been circulating.  I.e. what would have to happen to make fuel cell cars viable:

• Reduce price — Nissan hopes to bring  a fuel cell vehicle to market in 2015 at a cost of $US50,000.  If achieved, this will be an enormous  reduction from the $US1 million indicated for the Honda Clarity fuel cell vehicle.  Auto manufacturers have shown with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that they are prepared to accept initial losses to establish a market.
• Storage — no way to store enough H2 for more than ~120 miles.  I.e. a range which can be equalled or exceeded by BEVs.
• H2 fuel is expensive — even using coal fired electricity, H2 is 3 times as expensive as petrol.
• Fueling infrastructure — doesn't exist.  Fueling infrastructure for BEVs is everywhere — including your home.
• Competing technologies must not improve.  In fact, alternatives such as BEVs, extended range BEVs (e.g. GM Volt) & even efficiency of fossil fuel vehicles, are improving, moving the bar for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles higher.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1083046_hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-not-viable-says-volkswagen-ceo / service station petrol gas gasoline diesel fuel fossil hydrocarbon efficiency LiIon lithium ion battery charge range car automobile charge recharge refuel charger Chevrolet Equinox fuel-cell vehicles Toyota Ford Nissan Hindenburg /

Apple patent describes a method to prevent your phone from falling display first

Credit: Apple/ übergizmo.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/03/apple-patent-describes-a-method-to-prevent-your-phone-from-falling-display-first/

While this would provide a degree of protection for the display, other parts of the phone would suffer anyway.  May be better to try something from Otterbox:

http://www.otterbox.com/ / phone mobile cell impact drop resistance centre center of gravity shift move drop land lands crunching cracking sound glass falling shift center of mass gravity sensor sensors gyroscopes accelerometers GPS imaging detect fall is taking place statistics falls height time to impact speed of the fall can be stored in the phone, allowing the system to compute the best solution in the event you drop your phone weighted mass lift foils extend from the device thrust mechanism /

Snapheal • Inexpensive alternative to Photoshop

It's not Photoshop, but it's not nearly as expensive either.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/02/snapheal-review/ / digital photograph photography image manipulation Photoshopped Adobe iconic photo editing software professional industry standard user-friendly image editing program a fraction of the price Mac Macintosh perform performs tasks erase eraser feature airbrush airbrushes unwanted objects out image application app include includes many standard editing features color light clarity adjustment erase clone stamp tools tool /

3D printing lunar habitats (podcast)

Credit: Foster + Partners/ ABC

If human beings are to explore the Solar System, first stop is the Moon.  Partly for its own sake, partly as a learning exercise for further exploration.  Long term exploration of the Moon requires some kind of dwelling.

Question: So how do we transport building material to the Moon?
Answer: We don't.

Launching 1 kg into low Earth orbit still costs thousands of dollars.  This is in large measure why the International Space Station was so expensive.  Transporting materials for a dwelling to the Moon would involve (literally) astronomical costs.

Question: So it can't be done?
Answer: Use local materials.
Question: What local materials?
Answer: We'll, there's lots of dust.
Question: Are we talking about building something humans can live in, or are we talking about playing in the Lunar dust?
Answer: A consortium set up by the European Space Agency is exploring the possibility of "printing" buildings using 3D printing techniques.  This would not use a printer in the usual sense.  Printers are large compared to the paper documents or 3D objects they produce.  Since the point of the exercise is to reduce the amount of material which has to be transported from the Earth to the Moon, a printer bigger than a house would be pointless.  What is envisaged is a small number of robotic devices, which could take lunar dust & turn it into a structure by applying a binding agent.  More at:

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bydesign/xavier-dekestelier---foster-26-ptrns/4581536

http://www.space.com/19602-moon-colony-3d-printing-lunar-dirt.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/02/06/esa-moon-base-3d-printing-_n_2624567.html

If you want to stream or download the podcast from the ABC (1st link above), do it soon, as they are normally only available for a relatively short time. / regolith simulated material paper Monolite ESA ink binding salt stone like solid structure structures habitat dome radiation gama foam magnesium oxide /

Music piracy study finds no link to decreased digital revenues

Interesting finding.

http://bgr.com/2013/03/20/music-piracy-study-digital-revenues-385611/ / MPAA Motion Picture Association of America  RIAA Recording Industry Association of America piracy sales revenue European Commission’s Joint Research Centre illegal downloading music industry browsing habits Europe Europeans research positive link online piracy visits legal music stores negative negatively impacting digital revenues researchers music sales benefit illegally  study find findings finding found music streaming websites Pandora Spotify cannibalize music purchases complementary effect trespassing private property rights harm digital music revenues /

Study: Hospitals with more Facebook "likes" have lower mortality rates

Now, this is important!

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/03/study-hospitals-with-more-facebook-likes-have-lower-mortality-rates/273697/ / health healthcare care facility social media  /