Phonebloks — it just might happen (video)

Credit: Hack A Day

You may remember a previous post about Phonebloks, the modular smartphone platform. At the time it seemed like a good idea, not really likely to become a commercial product. Now Motorola is adding a bit of real development & marketing muscle.

http://hackaday.com/2013/10/30/ask-hackaday-does-project-ara-solve-the-phonebloks-problems/ / tips line blowing Motorola’s Project Ara smart phone modularity modular components plug into base endoskeleton skeleton news coverage strewn across Web Project Ara similar vaporware Phonebloks concept Ask Hackaday article conspiracy theory circulating Motorola released concept viral marketing scheme generate hype official product line Hacker News Israeli startup, Modu similar modular mobile cell phone Google bought patents Project Ara is revised Modu partner partners partnered Phonebloks’ creator Dave Hakkens vaporware unavoidable hardware limitations hardware Android platform software vibrant third party third-party developer ecosystem lower barriers entry increase pace innovation substantially compress development timelines time times open source open-source hardware advances 3D printing evolving open hardware ecosystem next era phone development hack hacking hacker small startup company relationship PC peripherals peripheral slot slots attach attaching additional components website partnership /

MIT attempts to make its own dark matter

Credit: MIT/DVICE

http://www.dvice.com/2013-10-28/mit-attempts-make-its-own-dark-matter / dark matter scientist scientists exist exists gravity gravitation universal gravitational evidence invisible science dark matter certain features observe observation observed discovery discover MIT’s DarkLight lab project theoretical theory dark matter account accounts huge portion total mass Universe scientists studying discover discovering discrepancies mass masses mass massive galaxy galaxies mass account unaccounted mass dark matter proof researcher researcher research large photon team developed develop developing particle accelerator project machine beam electron electrons energy high power detector detect decays decay decaying exotic particles particle Higgs boson /

Why are Apple’s iPads so damn expensive?

Credit: Boy Genius Report

http://bgr.com/2013/10/24/ipad-mini-price-analysis-ipad-air/ / Apple debut debuted iPad 2010 bargain no basis for comparison $500 large portable Apple device expensive company company’s notebook computers computer lap top laptop fast forward 2013 Android vendors price tablet capable tablets big vendors around $200 7-inch size range Apple’s iPad lineup look pretty pricey expensive new iPad mini Retina display $399 nearly twice price Google Google’s Nexus 7 Amazon Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX iPad mini starts at $299 displays expensive Apple recent analysis mobile analyst Benedict Evans global tablet shipments Apple losing market share Apple losing tablet market share numbers chart Amazon tablet shipments Android tablet shipments growing rapidly iPad’s share global market declining Nexus tablet shipments insignificant affordable well equipped well-equipped sales non-existent non existent nonexistent share of tablet web traffic subset Android tablets growing most rapidly no name no-name tablet segment sold around China white box vendors dirt cheap compete competition competing used for emerging markets lower income groups west what that they’re being used for little bit of Web free gaming book reading video consumption for many buyers compete with TVs iPads Nexus Nexuses Tabs not being used the way iPads are used feature phone phones featurephones of tablets perspective $300 entry point competitive problem iPad doesn’t yet face a strong competitive threat two very different markets post PC post-PC ultra low ultra-low margin product totally different product /

Charge your smartphone while you party — or sleep

Credit: Vodafone/Ecouterre

http://www.ecouterre.com/vodafones-power-shorts-use-body-heat-to-charge-your-cellphone/ / running down cell phone mobile cellphone battery smartphone smart Vodafone Vodafone’s Power Pocket peripherals pumping body heat movement prototypes prototype prototyping denim shorts sleeping bag charge your gear walk dance sleep rest move breath live nap Isle of Wright Festival Thursday Power Pocket collaboration between British telecommunications company Department of Electronics and Computer Science University of Southampton smart material contains thermoelectric modules convert temperature differences between body heat energy temperature surrounding air volt amp current electric voltage concept physics Seebeck effect develop development developing developer research researcher researchers researching working printed smart material Stephen Beeby professor electronic systems University of Southampton low high temperature high-temperature ceramics energy harvesting energy-harvesting smart materials harvest harvesting energy Power Pocket shorts charge smartphone trial trials technology summer talk time hours standby time inside sleeping bag 37 degrees Celcius Celsius 98.6 Fahrenheit human body temperature details device commercial release sal research technology hard wearing hard-wearing sleeping bags bag example fold folded up compressed small package material materials flexible improve improvement improvements thermoelectric thermo-electric thermo electric effect /

Why a hydrogen economy doesn't make sense

Hydrogen fuel cell car — fabulous idea! It's even supported by such luminaries as George W. Bush & the brilliant minds at Top Gear (before the assault & the dismissal etc.) ...

... then the laws of physics & economics raise their ugly heads:


Credit: Ulf Bossel/Phys Org

In the image above, we see 100 kWh of energy being used to drive a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (on the left) or a battery electric car (on the right). Depending on how the hydrogen is managed, 19 or 23% of the energy at the beginning is actually available to drive the vehicle. For a battery electric car, 69% of the original energy is available to drive the vehicle.

I think we have a winner.

More:
http://phys.org/news85074285.html / study research researcher researching fuel cell expert Ulf Bossel explains hydrogen economy inefficient wasteful large amount energy required isolate hydrogen natural compounds water natural gas biomass package light gas compression compress compressor pressure liquefaction transfer energy carrier user energy lost when converted useful electricity fuel cells cell around 25% practical use unacceptable value run economy sustainable future niche applications applicarion like submarines spacecraft use hydrogen more energy needed isolate hydrogen from natural compounds compound recovered from use Bossel explains PhysOrg.com making new chemical energy carrier form natural gas would not make sense increase gas consumption emission CO2 dwindling fossil fuel reserves reserve replaced replace energy from renewable sources source scientists scientist around world technology Bossel reality realistic use hydrogen carrying energy overall energy analysis hydrogen economy demonstrates high energy losses inevitably result resulting laws physics hydrogen economy advantages hydrogen praised praise journalists non-toxic burns burn water abundance hydrogen Universe misleading production hydrogen depends depend availability energy water rare political issues issue oil and natural gas money thorough analysis scientists research money laboratory laboratories laws of physics research capital technology never make economic sense source energy green electricity grid new energy carrier solve energy problem wasteful process analyze analysis analyzes method methods synthesize synthesizing store storing deliver delivery transport transportation delivering hydrogen method naturally occurring synthesized renewable electricity electrolysis of water energy content converted back electricity fuel cells recombined oxygen water separating separate hydrogen water electrolysis massive amounts of electrical energy substantial amounts water source energy carrier of energy electron economy existing electricity infrastructure storage battery /

"Money doesn't grow on trees" — another myth busted (podcast)

Synchrotron images of leaf discs reveal traces of gold.
Credit: Dr. Melvyn Lintern/The Australian

http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2013/10/23/3874913.htm?site=melbourne

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2471826/Australian-scientists-traces-gold-eucalyptus-leaves.html /cold hard cash gold researchers CSIRO CSIRO's Earth Science and Resource Engineering division found visible gold particles biological material study published online scientific journal Nature Communications discovered dry conditions Eucalyptus trees search moisture 35m below ground gold deposit precious mineral absorbed root system into the canopy leaves provide new way to locate gold deposits researcher research researched researching Melvyn Lintern collected field samples Australia Western Australia's gold mining town of Kalgoorlie from South Australia conducted greenhouse experiments experimentation experiment moisture in the ground interact with gold deposits dissolve small amounts Dr Lintern roots picking gold up absorbing gold ions ion into charged particles particle roots root moving water flow within the tree through continuum water going up through tree into the foliage replace water lost through transpiration breakthrough able actually see particulate gold particle particles magic equipment called Australian Synchrotron leaves leaf first gold occurs leaves visible particle biological material Melbourne based Australian Synchrotron accelerates electrons speed of light size of microns much smaller than a human hair study research team state confirmation biological biology geology geological biogeochemical absorption gold promotes confidence emerging technique may lead future exploration success maintain continuity of supply better able explore hidden gold deposits because hidden beneath sediments lower exploration costs reduce damage environment drill Australian companies company sponsored project sampled leaves obtained confidential results /

Google buys Flexycore, creator of a “10x speed boost” app for Android (video)

Credit: Flexycore/Ars Technica

This is looking likely to be the means to provide the performance improvements promised for Android 4.4 (KitKat).

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/google-buys-flexycore-creator-of-a-10x-speed-boost-app-for-android/

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/22/google-buys-flexycore-to-make-android-more-buttery/

http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/22/google-flexycore/

Video:

http://youtu.be/Bduk--UTcf4

http://youtu.be/tEAz9fRoDmA / compile compiler compiling byte code interpreter interpret French site L'Expansion report reported reporting Google complete completed year-long acquisition company Flexycore Flexycore's most prominent product droidbooster app claims claimed claim claiming Android device run ten times faster claim company reputable reputation profile ARM partner site founder former head of R&D research and & development Texas Instruments 10 x 10x speed boost generate generated generation generating heavily optimized ARM binaries Android's normal Dalvik code Droidbooster claimed to increase battery life because sped-up device spend less time processing more time low power low-power state Flexycore's website down YouTube account still works watch a demo video extremely old droidbooster tech running on a Froyo-equipped Nexus One. Indeed, FlexyCore doesn't seem to have done anything on the Internet for the last two years actively promoted its product release releasing released releasing 11 videos one-year span then just stopped Dalvik Virtual Machine Android applications application applications run VM execute executes Dalvik bytecode byte code byte-code compiled programme programmes program programs written Java language syntax Dalvik VM Java VM JVM lack of recent activity unclear Flexycore continued develop developing developed development most pressing question speed boost worked 2010 Android 2.2 function today FlexyCore working work worked works significant Google company worth purchasing purchase purchased $23.1 million Gigaom reports report reported receive received confirmation purchase Google company's company companies statement FlexyCore team strong expertise building software optimize Android device performance great fit our team FlexyCore's employees absorbed into Android team Google significant strides smoothing out Android performance Project Butter L'Express Mountain View €16.9 million $23.1 million software increasing battery drain Android teams optimize performance Android mobile devices device release released Android 4.4 KitKat operating system OS compete competitive competitiveness modern modern-day smartphone smart phone platform /