Add a headphone socket to your iPhone 7

iPhone 7 was famously released without a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Lightning headphones & Lightning-to-3.5mm adapters are available, but charging while using headphones requires Bluetooth, or a bulky adapter.

Fuze is a solution – an iPhone 7 case with a 3.5mm socket.


Credit: Fuze/Indiegogo

In common with virtually all smartphones, the iPhone 7 could benefit from better battery life. Fuze adds that too. Double the battery life is claimed.

Unlike other battery cases, Fuze doesn’t add a bulky, “chin”, at the bottom.


Left: iPhone 7 with bulky adapter allows simultneous headphone use & charging. Not shown, charging cable.
Right: iPhone 7 in Fuze case, with headphones & charging cables attached. Note that the Fuze case adds very little length.
Credit: Fuze/Indiegogo

And the 7 Plus hasn't been forgotten.

Fuze is an Indiegogo project. As of this writing, over $119,000 has been pledged, by more than 1600 backers, for over 15,500 cases. Only 6 days left if you want to back this project.

Indiegogo – “Fuze Cases: Bringing Back the Audio Jack”
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fuze-cases-bringing-back-the-audio-jack-iphone-headphones/x/9010251#/ / Fuze Case bringing back 3.5mm audio jack plug socket Fuze first iPhone 7 case integrated Lightning to 3.5mm audio jack adapter Fuze restores 3.5mm audio jack iPhone 7 and 7 Plus doubled battery life scratch and shock protection iPhone’s compact profile bring back the jack purchase freedom of choice Fuze is an innovative case for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus restores iPhone’s 3.5mm audio jack delivers doubled battery life scratch shock protection maintaining iPhone compact profile no dongles no adapters no problem buy Fuze case iPhone 7 or 7 Plus bring back the jack tangled mess adapters listen to music favorite headphones purchase Fuze purchasing freedom of choice iPhone 7 iPhone 7 Plus glossy surface brighter screen amazing cameras Apple decided kill standard 3.5mm headphone jack headphone socket headphones audio devices besides earbuds tech-experts recommend using case iPhone 7 restore restores iPhone 7 is missing Apple Bluetooth AirPod wireless earbuds Bluetooth earpiece expensive recharge after just five hours of use Apple packaging iPhone 7 with 3.5mm lightning adapter charge IPhone listen to music at the same time Fuze case standard audio jack Fuze industry standard 3.5mm audio out jack every previous iPhone your favorite earbuds battery case Fuze built-in battery double your iPhone 7’s battery life double battery endurance Fuze advanced Sync-Through technology sync and charge sync & charge /

Energy storage for renewable energy

Sample of the element silicon
Credit: Theodore W Gray/periodictable.com

Some time ago, I wrote about the ideas of Professor Donald Sadoway on why storage is necessary to facilitate widespread use of renewable electricity, & how to do it.¹

● “Storage is necessary to make renewables base load.”
● “The problem is the very low price point needed to penetrate this market.”
● “If price is the problem, you have to invent to the price-point.”

● “Usually, chemists pursue the interesting chemistry & leave it to manufacturers to bring the price down by volume.”

● “Confine our chemistry to Earth-abundant elements, that’s how to make it cheap.” — e.g. aluminium (3rd most abundant element on Earth) not platinum

● “To make it dirt cheap, make it out of dirt — preferably local dirt.”
● “Earth-abundant elements & simple manufacturing.”

A team of researchers from Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid has in development, a thermal energy storage system which ticks all of the boxes, with, perhaps the exception of, “simple manufacturing”.

Silicon thermal energy storage is claimed to store more than 1 MWh per cubic metre – 10 times the energy density of existing thermal storage technology using molten salts of elements including potassium, calcium & sodium.

New Atlas: Abundant silicon at the heart of cheaper renewable energy storage system
http://newatlas.com/cheap-solar-energy-molten-silicon/45833/?li_source=LI&li_medium=default-widget
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¹ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Innovation in stationary electricity storage (video)”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/01/innovation-in-stationary-electricity.html

² Fred Senese: “What is the most abundant element?”, http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/periodic/faq/what-element-is-most-abundant.shtml / energy storage abundant silicon cheaper renewable energy storage system Earth crust most abundant element silicon cheaper storage system renewable energy team of researchers Madrid developing thermal energy storage system molten silicon store up to 10 times more energy existing thermal storage options develop technology new generation low-cost solar thermal stations store solar energy urban centers storage current major challenge renewable energy sources wind solar viable alternatives drastic improvements store surplus energy draw energy night times sun isn't shining wind isn't blowing current battery technology develop development developed researchers industry exploring range new ideas improve energy storage commercialized solar thermal energy system stores concentrated heat Sun molten salts potassium calcium sodium nitrates converts heat electricity thermal generator salt-based systems work quite well require complex pumps pipelines heat transfer fluids generate electricity expensive vulnerable safety issues particularly abundant materials scale up plants elements researchers worldwide safer alternatives use cheaper more abundant materials silicon-based solution Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid UPM silicon world's cheapest most abundant elements proposed new thermal energy storage system heating silicon container concentrated sunlight surplus electricity generated renewable power molten silicon reach temperatures around 1,400° C 2,552° F isolated environment until energy is needed heat converted electricity silicon unique properties store more 1 MWh energy cubic meter ten times more energy density than salts key making new system work research leader Alejandro Datas thermophotovoltaic cells new technology solar panels generating electricity from heat light high temperatures silicon intensely shines same way that Sun does thermophotovoltaics convert incandescent radiation into electricity thermophotovoltaic cells conversion efficiencies over 50 percent can produce 100 times more electrical power per unit area than conventional solar cells key to the system can work at extreme temperatures ticks a lot of boxes abundant inexpensive materials store up to 10 times more energy existing solutions extremely compact quiet no moving parts researchers invention dramatically reduce cost storing producing energy thermal energy sector safe cost-effective answer renewable sector energy storage problems used for heating electricity UPM team commercialize commercialise system business project called SILSTORE started building a laboratory-scale prototype /

As of 19 October 2016, all Teslas produced will have the hardware necessary for fully autonomous driving (video)

Yes, you read that right: “All Tesla Cars Being Produced Now Have Full Self-Driving Hardware” – The Tesla Team, 19 October, 2016

and ...

“... at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.”

That’s the good news.

Bad news? – cars made after the 19th can do it, they’re just not going to. Adaptive cruise control & lane keeping, for example, will initially be disabled. And yes, you read that right too.

They’re going to watch the humans get it wrong for a few months.

Point of this is to gather statistics on how much better the fully autonomous system would have done it. To demonstrate how much more capable it is, the new system will be less capable, initially.

Can’t demonstrate how much better autonomous Autopilot is, if it never lets the humans make any mistakes.

One reason Autopilot is expected to be safer than a human, is that it is effectively able to see through the vehicle in front, by bouncing radar underneath. Samsung demonstrated some of the value of being able to see through the vehicle in front last year, with its impractical, “transparent safety truck”.

And if you ever thought you needed eyes in the back of your head, the new Teslas have them + the sides too – 8 cameras provide 360° vision.


Credit: Tesla

In addition to extra sensors, there has been a more than 40 times increase in computing power. This has been inevitable, ever since the comment about the effort required to, “shoehorn”, the last version of the software into the available computer hardware.

“Autonomous”? – Elon Musk has claimed that by the end of 2017 he will be able to demonstrate a vehicle capable of driving from LA to New York with no – that's none, nothing, zero, nada – input from the driver – apart from plugging in a charging cable as required.

Tesla’s announcement: All Tesla Cars Being Produced Now Have Full Self-Driving Hardware
https://www.tesla.com/en_AU/blog/all-tesla-cars-being-produced-now-have-full-self-driving-hardware?redirect=no



Road & Track
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a31237/tesla-autopilot-hardware-standard/

Thanks to Bill for a heads up on material in this item. / Tesla cars produced now have full self driving hardware Tesla Team self-driving vehicles play crucial role improving transportation safety accelerating world’s world transition sustainable future full autonomy enable Tesla substantially safer human driver lower financial cost transportation own car provide low-cost on-demand mobility low cost on demand mobility excited announce all Tesla vehicles produced factory Model 3 hardware needed full self-driving capability safety level substantially greater human driver eight surround cameras 360 degree visibility around car up to 250 meters range twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement vision detection both hard soft objects nearly twice distance prior system forward-facing radar enhanced processing provides additional data about the world redundant wavelength seeing through heavy rain fog dust car ahead make sense data new onboard computer more than 40 times computing power previous generation new Tesla-developed Tesla developed neural net vision sonar radar processing software system view of the world driver alone cannot access seeing in every direction simultaneously wavelengths go far beyond the human senses eight surround cameras provide 360 degree visibility /

Arctic cities crumble as climate change thaws permafrost

Credit: Roger Bacon/Reuters

In the northern Russian city of Norilsk, almost 60% of buildings are impacted by foundations shifting as permafrost¹ melts. 10% of residential building have been vacated.

Most foundation movements happen slowly, & can be managed safely. In some instances more rapid movements place lives at risk, as when a roof collapsed at Norilsk blood bank, breaking both of a doctor’s legs.

Other problems include:

● craters in Siberia, which have been attributed to explosions of methane released by thawing permafrost

● a boy died after contracting anthrax from bacteria released by melting permafrost

● scientific outposts on the northern coastline are disappearing into the sea as permafrost thaws

https://www.wired.com/2016/10/thawing-permafrost-destroying-arctic-cities/
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¹ International Permafrost Association: “What is permafrost?”, http://ipa.arcticportal.org/publications/occasional-publications/what-is-permafrost / expensive dangerous Soviet era housing block Nurd Kamal mosque arctic Russian city Norilsk Yury Scherbakov cracks appearing wall installed two-room flat caused shoddy workmanship walls started cracking floor started incline could feel it tilt Nadezhda carry furniture out of the flat craftsman five-story building 59 Talnakhskaya Street northern Russian city Norilsk sinking permafrost thawed foundation slowly disintegrated March 2015 local authorities posted notices stairwells building was condemned cracking and collapsing structures growing problem cities like Norilsk nickel-producing centre people located 180 miles above Arctic Circle climate change thaws perennially frozen soil increases precipitation Valery Tereshkov deputy head emergencies ministry Krasnoyarsk region almost 60 percent buildings Norilsk deformed climate change shrinking permafrost zone local engineers 100 residential buildings one-tenth of the housing fund vacated damage thawing permafrost slow-motion wrecks patched prevented engineering solutions foundation shifts suddenly put lives at risk cement slabs broke doctor’s legs front steps overhanging roof Norilsk blood bank collapsed June 2015 building maintenance costs cities Russia’s resource-rich north engineers geologists technogenic factors sewer building heat chemical pollution warming permafrost Norilsk most polluted city Russia climate change deepening thaw speeding up destruction Russia establishing new military bases oil-drilling infrastructure across Arctic Greenpeace warned permafrost thawing caused thousands oil gas pipeline breaks were problems climate change Ali Kerimov engineer Foundation Research Production Norilsk study each case separately understand climate change global warming more frequent forest fires flooding across Russia impact permafrost covers two-thirds country’s territory at least seven giant craters discovered Siberia caused thawing permafrost methane explode ground 12-year-old boy Salekhard died from anthrax thawing released bacteria Arctic islands northern coastline scientific outposts disappearing permafrost thaws sea ice melts wave action increases Valery Grebenets Moscow State University department of cryolithology glaciology teaches students horror stories thawing permafrost buckling roads railways soil runoff killing fish release toxic radioactive pollutants contained frozen dams vegetation treeless tundra spots snow early storm warming built gulag prisoners city gets more than six weeks polar night 2 million tonnes snow each winter temperature drop below -51 degrees C -60F average annual temperatures Arctic rising faster anywhere else more than 2 degrees C since 1900 2015 study found increases soil temperatures Russia’s permafrost regions last 50 years soil temperatures Norilsk increased almost 1 degree C between 1999 and 2013 permafrost misnomer deeper soil remains frozen year-round active layer soil extending several feet below surface thaws summer thaws unevenly contorting warping buildings 1960s builders apartment blocks Norilsk drilling holes 100 feet deep pouring reinforced concrete piles stuck into permanently frozen soil below piles lifted building off the ground air circulation cool soil preventing further thawing engineers soil could start warming so much data Norilsk monitoring station showed active layer thawing earlier thickness increased from three feet to five feet climate change increased precipitation adding more moisture soi freezes expands crumbling concrete piles snow covers ground further warms permafrost effect climate change was not accounted for properly building falling thousands people living in buildings which have potential fall Dmitry Streletskiy professor geography George Washington University problem threatens Alaska Canada northern territories Russia has cities so far north buildings coal mining city Vorkuta damaged emergencies ministry’s Tereshkov Salekhard Nadym Dudinka port Yenisei River Norilsk Nickel ships products deformations 100,000 people living buildings critical condition across Russia’s far north Streletskiy fire protection engineer building condemned /

Do you like to vacuum? Neither does anyone else – best robot vacuums compared – update

Update 17 October 2018

PC Mag takes a look at,“The Best Robot Vacuums of 2018”
https://au.pcmag.com/vacuums/41460/guide/the-best-robot-vacuums-of-2018

Wired review of, “iRobot’s Roomba 690”
https://www.wired.com/review/review-irobot-roomba-690/
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DailyTekk takes a look at the top contenders – Roomba, Neato & Dyson – is impressed with all of them, (“I sincerely believe you’d be thrilled to own any of them.”) – but manages to declare winners in the areas of:

● cleaning performance
● cleaning time
● ability to get into tight spaces
● & others



http://dailytekk.com/2016/10/06/roomba-vs-neato-vs-dyson-the-best-robot-vacuums-compared/?reading=continue


More

Choice
https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/vacuum-cleaners/buying-guides/robot-vacuum-cleaners

Top Ten Reviews
http://www.toptenreviews.com/home/vacuum-carpet-cleaning/best-robot-vacuums/

Tom’s Guide
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-robot-vacuums,review-2000.html / durability reliability Roomba Neato Dyson best robot vacuums vacuum cleaner compared robot vacuums incredible extremely disappointing cheap tested three robot vacuums Roomba 980 Neato BotVac Connected new Dyson 360 Eye best of the best robot vacuum cleaners on the market utter joy watching them clean my house comparing these robot vacuums all amazing different strengths I sincerely believe you’d be thrilled to own any of them each of these vacuums perform equally all situations scenarios clear winner they’re all gems rating which bot performed best several different real-world tests results could easily vary from house to house my observations hope you find them useful right robot vacuum cleaner for you preferring recommending different bot robot different rooms furniture types requirements cleaning performance Roomba Neato Dyson tests various amounts types dust dirt carpeted floor Roomba clearly cleaned the best Neato very close second Dyson came in last video test conditions pile of dirt sitting on my carpet normal cleaning conditions I’m confident that each of these vacuums would do a great job cleaning time Dyson Neato Roomba speed test finish cleaning the test area better faster Neato and Roomba were much more thorough edges nooks furniture legs rank vacuums cover clean more of your floor places simply unreachable by any robot vacuum behind potted plants baskets bookshelves other don’t leave enough room robot robots suited different tasks types of furniture Neato Roomba slimmer profiles fit under the test couch test chairs living room Dyson too tall barely fit under chairs Dyson’s smaller width few places traverse wider bots couldn’t behind plant pots inside legs certain stools performed especially well kitchen bar stools table chairs height of the Dyson side brushes great job getting edges full width brush means it doesn’t need one Dyson’s brush doesn’t quite come in contact with the wall very small gap Neato square front fit into corners better than the other bots apps all app connected start them cleaning while you’re out of the house easily set up cleaning schedules all three apps simple attractive easy to use eco turbo mode clean the house clean a specific area remotely control it remote control Dyson app reporting feature shows you map where robot cleaned visual cleaning history several times Dyson app wouldn’t connect start cleaning pressing physical button on the bot itself Roomba app options toggling carpet boost turned on automatically edge clean Roomba make multiple cleaning passes lose Roomba hit locate button play a sound Looks Dyson Neato Roomba looks sleek modern scuffs and scratches Neato Roomba pretty deep scratches top sides while Dyson got scuffed up on it’s side price lowest priced vacuum What’s best robot vacuum cleaner? Roomba 980 definitely most intelligent capable vacuum most cleaning power Roomba is your best option costs $200 less major life upgrade for you or your family /

Clean water for the world

Care for a drink?
Credit: Emaze

Although water covers ~70% of the Earth's surface, 97.2% of it is saline.¹ Much of what remains is unsuitable for drinking because of the presence of chemical or biological contaminants.²

WaterSeer produces clean, safe water by condensing it from the humidity in the air – up to 37 litres (8.1 UK gal, 9.8 US gal) of pure water per day, with no electric or fossil fuel energy, or emissions.



More on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/waterseer-water-women/x/9010251#/
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¹ National Ground Water Association: “Information on Earth's water”, http://www.ngwa.org/About/Pages/about.aspx

² Wikepedia: “Fresh water”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_water / every 90 seconds child dies lack clean water 2.2 billion people don't have access safe water WaterSeer alleviate chronic tragic burden access clean drinking water extracting water from the air WaterSeer purchased one sent family developing country build thriving communities start businesses improve lives save lives save lives women and girls WaterSeer create water self-sufficiency transformative force for good throughout the world abundance clean safe water drink shower bathe daily water lawns wash clothes dishes clean safe water unquestioned condition of our lives one in three people daily minimum 7.1 cups water needed to survive women children spend up to 6 hours daily collecting carrying polluted disease carrying water themselves families drinking bathing cooking worldwide child dies every 90 seconds lack of clean drinking water nearly 1000 per day daily nearly 10,000 people die dehydration waterborne disease condensation distillation condense distil condensed distillation condensation distillation condense distil condensed distillation condensation distillation condense distil condensed distillation humid humidity humid humidity humid humidity WaterSeer working clean water WaterSeer condenses pure water from the air without power chemicals green sustainable simple low-maintenance easily deployed scalable community UC Berkeley National Peace Corps Association develop device 37 liters pure water a day WaterSeer field tests ten-fold improvement all other water collection designs WaterSeer Orchard clean water entire community buy one give one engagement model send WaterSeer family developing country purchased partnership National Peace Corps Association non-profits WaterSeer deploys where it is needed most micro-finance micro-consignment families start businesses children go to school instead spending days collecting water not-for-profit initiative 100% funds improve WaterSeer communities make the most impact improve WaterSeer expand field tests multiple regions climates conduct pilots communities worldwide worldwide online community tell WaterSeer story Manufacture distribute WaterSeer change lives women children raise funding accelerate state-of-the-art water collection from the air community help raise funds awareness original WaterSeer model tested prototype UC Berkeley Gill Tract Community Farm results were excellent tested exceeded water production goals generate up to 11 gallons per day /

Coal CEO calls Tesla a “fraud" – Elon Musk fires back a challenge

Robert Murray, President of coal giant Murray Energy Corporation, claimed in a TV interview, “Tesla is a fraud ... he’s gotten $2 billion from the taxpayer ... not made a penny yet in cashflow ...”

Elon Musk tweeted Robert Murray's, “fraud”, charge:

Coal-mining CEO: 'Tesla is a fraud' https://t.co/IpQJAlAo3f via @YahooFinance

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 10, 2016

And then issued a challenge:

Real fraud going on is denial of climate science. As for "subsidies", Tesla gets pennies on dollar vs coal. How about we both go to zero?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 10, 2016

“How about we both go to zero?” – With fossil fuel subsidies running at $10 million per minute world wide,¹ that would be a huge leap forward for the world economy, for the environment, & for humanity.

Renew Economy – Coal CEO calls Tesla a “fraud,” doesn’t mention subsidies for failing coal
https://reneweconomy.com.au/coal-ceo-calls-tesla-fraud-doesnt-mention-subsidies-failing-coal-91514

The Huffington Post – Elon Musk Burns Coal-Mining CEO Who Called Tesla A Fraud
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elon-musk-robert-murray-fraud_us_57fbf510e4b068ecb5e0f5b2
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¹ Hithchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech, “Fossil fuel subsidies — $US10 million per minute”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/05/fossil-fuel-subsidies.html

/ Robert Murray President CEO coal giant Murray Energy Corporation called Tesla Motors fraud CNBC profit subsidies Tesla is a fraud gotten $2 billion taxpayer has not made a penny yet in cash flow subsidies Tesla founder Elon Musk Twitter Tesla pennies subsidies compared with coal industry climate science denial real fraud distortion coal subsidies Tesla $465 million guaranteed loan Department of Energy Tesla paid off in full nine years ahead of schedule earning government American taxpayers millions indirect subsidies Tesla $7,500 tax credits purchaser electric vehicles not Tesla receiving $2 billion American car buyers buy Tesla any other electric vehicle increased demand consumer-facing subsidies subsidies coal industry receives coal tax breaks coal industry benefits billions dollars tax policy loopholes ThinkProgress reported 2012 Treasury Department tax preferences coal save taxpayers $2.6 billion expensing exploration development costs coal companies expense costs locating coal deposits percentage depletion Hard Mineral Fossil Fuels tax code coal companies claim tax deduction cover costs investments mines capital gains treatment coal royalties private owners treated long-term capital gains taxed lower rate coal’s cheap ride rails coal companies benefit directly subsidized transportation America’s railways Association of American Railroads coal 47 percent of tonnage 25 percent of revenue U.S. railroads loans loan guarantees government agencies Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration received numerous tax incentives investments new infrastructure below market leases America’s public lands Murray’s mining operations Northern Appalachia Illinois Basin mines private lands Lila Canyon mine Utah publicly-owned lands takes advantage federal coal leasing process federal coal leasing program tantamount massive subsidy to coal companies buying coal owned American taxpayers well below market value coal-supporting subsidy figures costs borne by taxpayers climate damage local environmental health impacts mining transportation combustion disposal of coal Dr. Paul Epstein Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health Global Environment quantify how harmful coal local impacts alone total economically quantifiable costs $345.3 billion adding 17.8¢/kWh electricity generated from coal quantify externalities borne general public distortion not earning a profit coal industry is going bankrupt enormous subsidies coal companies are failing currently 52 bankrupt coal companies McKinsey and Company study United States coal industry bankrupt $45 billion funds debt employee-related reclamation liabilities billions in subsidies 52 coal companies have gone bankrupt industry as a whole worse than bankrupt owing $45 billion it doesn’t have current debts and liabilities fraud financial situation Murray Energy’s nces, Moody’s finances downgraded investment rating Murray Energy Corporation investment service wrote that the downgrade expectation company’s leverage metrics cash flow generation under stress due problems facing the coal industry government support Murray Energy Corporation receives subsidies special tax treatments company’s cash flow under stress America’s coal plants cause global warming /