Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

What seems more futuristic: flying cars or self-driving cars? They both sound a bit like science fiction, but they're both getting closer to becoming a reality. In the latest chapter of Google's efforts to develop a car that uses video cameras, radar sensors and lasers to navigate through traffic, the state of Nevada just granted Google the world's first license for a computer-controlled, driverless Toyota Prius. Meanwhile, this week we also checked in on the PAL-V (which stands for "Personal Air and Land Vehicle"), a two-seat hybrid car and gyroplane that runs on gas, biodiesel or bio-ethanol. In other transportation news, the Texas Central Railroad floated a plan to build a $10-billion bullet train that would run between Houston and Fort Worth, and Toyota officially unveiled its second-generation 2012 RAV4 EV, which features a Tesla powertrain.

We also saw green technology cropping up in unexpected places this week, like the $1-billion ghost town that will be built on virgin desert land in Lea County, New Mexico to test emerging green technologies. Construction on the ghost town is set to begin in late June. Milwaukee native Bryan Cera invented Glove One, a 3D-printed glove that doubles as a cell phone. And in Tokyo, participants heaved 100,000 LED lights into the Sumida River as part of the 2012 Tokyo Hotaru Festival. Although it certainly looked cool, that's a lot of LED bulbs to literally dump in the river, and it raises some questions about e-waste. GE found a more practical use for LEDs, unveiling a new LED light bulb to replace the 100-watt incandescent.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit

Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 21:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video)

It's been a while since we've seen a Kyocera smartphone for the US market, and if you'll recall, its previous two attempts -- the Milano and Echo -- didn't manage to sway many consumers. Today, the company is adding two new Android handsets to the deck: the Hydro and Rise. True to its name, the Hydro plays off of Kyocera's experience in the waterproof segment, and while it's not mil-spec, the phone's able to withstand submersion at depths of up to one meter for a half-hour. The Hydro is a CDMA handset, although Kyocera is keeping the carrier close to its chest.

The Hydro will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich, and we're pleased to report that the interface is largely unmolested, save for Kyocera's app to conserve battery life -- whether the carrier dictates future changes remains to be seen. Beyond the OS and the waterproof aspect, however, it's rather humdrum in the spec department. It features a Qualcomm MSM8655 SoC with a 1GHz CPU, a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 display, a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash and a 1,500 mAh battery. Because the screen is an IPS LCD, the quality is definitely a step-above your run-of-the-mill TFT-LCD mainstays, although it's hard to ignore the low-res image quality. The Hydro also offers 512MB of RAM, 2GB of built-in storage and a 2GB microSD card. In terms of connectivity, you'll find 802.11n (WiFi), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and EV-DO Rev. A. The handset itself is comfortable to hold, though its plasticky build materials reinforce the fact that it's a low-end handset. While the Hydro doesn't blaze any new trails, it may very well be suitable for those on a budget who'd like a phone that can handle life's accidents. Follow the break for our hands-on video.

Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report

Gallery: Kyocera Hydro hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video)

Hands-on with Kyocera Hydro, a waterproof Android 4.0 smartphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can make a beautiful, perfectly shaped flower arrangement without floral tape or foam. Designer Rebecca Cole shows how to make a grid using just the greens and flowers themselves to create a gorgeous natural arrangement.

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Russian VC Firm NGI Will Invest Heavily in French Startups

Russia was once known for its undying adoration for all things French back in the day, and a century and a half later you could argue that some of that spark is still hanging around. New Generation Investment, the Russian VC firm part-owned by Leonid Reiman, former Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, has announced that it would like to start investing into the startup scene in France. It's starting with a fund of ?20 million ($26.4 million) -- relatively modest by American standards but decent in France considering how little is invested in startups in the country. During the first quarter of 2012, French companies raised ?168 million ($222 million) from venture capitalists while American companies raised $5.8 billion. That works out to VC investment being 26 times lower in France than it is in the U.S.

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Alleged Galaxy S III pops up again, with rounded glass and GT-I9300 branding

Well, the leaks and rumors just won't stop coming and, while we were initially pretty dismissive of the rounded glass design it just keeps cropping back up. We're still note entirely convinced this is, in fact, the Galaxy S III (or the Next Galaxy) but the consistency of the leaks is making us slightly (but only slightly) less skeptical. SamMobile scored a pair of shots from Mr. Blurrycam's cousin, Sir Softfocus, that look quite similar to the photos we've seen circulating for the past few weeks. What's more, the site has an image of the settings page which labels this rather interesting looking handset as the GT-I9300. We've still got some concerns, though, that lead us to believe this is, most likely, a prototype device. Chief among those issues is the physical home button, flanked by a capacitive menu and back key. We'd say it's a pretty safe bet that we're looking at three entirely software-based buttons in the final product, just like the version spotted in the Vietnamese video. One more image after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Alleged Galaxy S III pops up again, with rounded glass and GT-I9300 branding

Alleged Galaxy S III pops up again, with rounded glass and GT-I9300 branding originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei partners with Intel to test TD-LTE interoperability in China

In a classic case of east meets west, Huawei and Intel have joined forces to create an interoperability test lab that will focus on China's homegrown time-division LTE (TD-LTE) network. While the technology runs contrary to the more common frequency-division LTE (FD-LTE), the Chinese brand of 4G is situated to take root in the US under Clearwire's banner. Through its partnership with Huawei, Chipzilla -- a newbie in the smartphone arena -- will be able to engage in end-to-end testing of its mobile equipment and verify its readiness for TD-LTE. For Huawei's part, it plans to use the test lab as a means to court other handset and chipset manufacturers, and hence drive the adoption of TD-LTE. Naturally, we're left wondering the obvious: whether this unique collaboration will bring about Huawei smartphones with Intel Inside. Mum's the word on that one... for now.

Huawei partners with Intel to test TD-LTE interoperability in China originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HBT: Morneau leaves game with wrist injury

As if falling to 6-16 with a loss to the Angels wasn?t bad enough for the Twins tonight, Justin Morneau exited the game with soreness in his surgically repaired left wrist.

Even worse, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports that Morneau is flying back to Minnesota to be examined by a team doctor, which isn?t a good sign considering the Twins are just beginning a six-game West Coast road trip that goes through Sunday.

Morneau has played 20 of 22 games after entering the season as a huge question mark following his concussion-related health problems and multiple surgeries. His production has been very inconsistent, including a .239 batting average and .313 on-base percentage, but he has shown good power with four homers and five doubles in 74 at-bats.

And now the Twins will wait to see if the former MVP has a third straight season ruined by injuries.

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How to Get a School Grant: Check It Out: New Grant Opportunity!

Grant Name:? Humana Foundation Grants

Funded by:? The Humana Foundation, Inc
Description:? Education support with no geographical limitations. Program provides financial assistance to the children of employees of Humana Inc., who plan to pursue a college degree. The foundation also supports the arts and library sciences. No support for political, non-school, or religious organizations. No grants for start up needs.
Program Areas:? Arts, Early Childhood, Family Services, General Education, Health/PE, Library?
Recipients:? Public School, Private School, Higher Education
Proposal Deadline: ?6/15/2012
Average Amount:? $5,000.00 - $75,000.00
Contact Person:? Barbara Wright
Telephone:? 502-580-3613

Website:? http://www.humanafoundation.org

Availability:? All States

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REVIEW - Mashable

Product: The Mu Folding USB Adapter

Price: ?25 (approx. $40)

What It?s Good For: Slimline smartphone charging.

Who It?s Good For: Anyone who wants a compact charging solution on the go.

Bottom Line: The Mu improves the traditional British plug with its innovative folding design.

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A Look at The Mu

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After its clever concept product design went viral, UK firm Made in Mind brought an altered version of the product to the British market.

In 2009, designer Min-Kyu Choi?s YouTube video (embedded above) showed a cunning concept that dramatically reduced the size and bulk of the British plug. Choi?s vision hit a chord with consumers, and was quickly shared online, covered by tech blogs around the world, and went on to win design awards.

Choi explains how the design came about. ?I was frustrated by the dimensions of the traditional plug, and felt that the existing unit, which dates back to 1947, was out of touch and incongruous with modern design. My idea was very simple ? redesign the plug to bring it in line with the clean look and feel of today?s technology, without compromising functionality.?

While a laptop charger is still in the works, the Mu, a folding USB adapter for smartphones, is now available for purchase in the British Isles.

A small, white device, the Mu folds out to reveal three prongs, two of which swivel to take the traditional plug shape, ready to charge your USB-powered smartphone. When folded down, the Mu is compact and (crucially) safe to chuck in your bag, without fear of the prongs damaging your kit.

At ?25, the Mu is a pricey alternative to an iPhone USB plug (OEM versions can be picked up for a couple of pounds), but it is a price many design aficionados and digital nomads will be happy to pay. And if its fold-down design prevents the pain of stepping on an upended plug even once, it?s priceless.

View As Slideshow ?

1. The Packaging

The Mu's sleek, white packaging and simple, curvy logo complements the slimline design of the device.

The name was crowdsourced from the original folding plug concept's fan community.

Robin Freeman came up with "mu." It's Greek for "micro."

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2. The Mu

The small device is made of white plastic. Although small, it feels sturdy.

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3. Dimensions

The Mu measures 14mm x 55mm x 60mm.

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4. Compared to an Apple USB Plug

In this image you can see the Mu compared to a British Apple iPhone USB plug. The Mu's design is not only space-saving, but reduces the chance of scratches from the traditional plug's prongs.

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5. Opened Up

Once you open the Mu, you see the three prongs.

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6. With the Prongs Turned

You rotate the two bottom prongs to ready it for use.

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7. Ready for Use

Then, it's just a matter of inserting your smartphone's USB cable into the port at the back and plugging it in.

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