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Interactive music table

Article: Interactive music table

Posted February 23rd, 2010, 2:02 PM by

Noteput – Interactive music table from Jonas Heuer on Vimeo.

A very cool proof of concept by Jürgen Graef & Jonas Heuer that would’ve been useful to me when I was trying unsuccessfuly to learn basic and fundamental music theory in elementary school.

“Notput” is an interactive music table with tangible notes, that combines all three senses of hearing, sight and touch to make learning the classical notation of music for children and pupils more easy and interesting.

Green tech finds (2/18/10)

Article: Green tech finds (2/18/10)

Posted February 18th, 2010, 6:02 PM by

Wave power, robots, and solar roads… it’s time for this week’s green tech finds. Use your iPhone to argue climate science: Gotten into yet another argument with your conservative brother-in-law about the facts surrounding climate change, and need support fast? There’s an app for that… (via The Guardian) Wave power coming to the Pacific Northwest:…

Green tech finds (2/11/10)

Article: Green tech finds (2/11/10)

Posted February 11th, 2010, 6:02 PM by

New skins for old buildings, hybrid race cars, and solar chargers that work inside… your green tech finds for the week.

  • Reskinning old buildings: New green buildings are great, but what about older, existing structures? Australia-based Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has conceived of a building “skin” that “which could create a microclimate, cooling the building inside,” and could contain all sorts of sustainable goodies like solar panels and rainwater collection systems. (via Fast Company)

  • Poop to carbon capture: West Virginia chicked farmer Josh Frye is trying to do his part to curb climate change — and make a little extra money — by turning chicken manure into biochar.

Green tech finds (2/4/10)

Article: Green tech finds (2/4/10)

Posted February 04th, 2010, 6:02 PM by

Hummer horse carts, cheap(er) wind power, and make-you-own toilet paper machines… this week’s green tech finds.

  • Sony adds to its green cred: The VAIO W Series laptop and Aspen phone both feature power saving and recycled materials. (via Stuff.tv)

  • Trash to energy in Milwaukee: Developer Alliance Federated Energy announced Project Apollo, a trash-to-syngas project planned for the city’s North Side.

Green tech finds (1/29/10)

Article: Green tech finds (1/29/10)

Posted January 29th, 2010, 2:01 PM by

A bit of a weird, carnivorous motif running through this week’s green tech finds… check out the fly-eating clock, and nuclear wasted-eating material modeled on Venus fly traps…

How green is the iPad? Apple has the spotlight this week with the launch of its new tablet computer. MNN and The Daily Green take a look at its green features.
The Fly-Catching Clock: If common items like clocks and coffee tables could also catch pest (from flies to mice), and digest them into biofuel, would you find that revolutionary… or gross? British designers Jimmy Loizeau and James Auger created some designs along these lines to get people thinking about “using living things as fuel.”

Green tech finds (1/21/10)

Article: Green tech finds (1/21/10)

Posted January 21st, 2010, 8:01 PM by

Glitter-sized solar panels, green electronics, and cow fat… your green tech finds.

Lubing your engine with cow fat: Green Earth Technologies’ G-OIL, a “bio-oil” created from cow fat, has been named the official motor oil of green racing series American Le Mans.
Design your own electric vehicle: Trexa has created a concept platform for electric vehicles, which could allow specialty vehicle developers to create cars much like tech developers create iPhone apps (via Auto Blog Green)

Green tech finds (1/14/10)

Article: Green tech finds (1/14/10)

Posted January 14th, 2010, 5:01 PM by


We’ve still got a ways to go until Spring, but we do have baseball and beer for you at this week’s green tech finds:

The world's first sex robot

Article: The world's first sex robot

Posted January 11th, 2010, 4:01 PM by

The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo was held in Vegas this past weekend, overlapping (not accidentally, one imagines) with the geek-fest Consumer Electronics Show. There were some areas of overlap, with sex booths showcasing 3-D porn, and a sort of “Wii for men” (a box attached to the johnson creates sensations that sync up with dirty scenes on the screen), and what’s being touted as the world’s first interactive sex robot.

Green tech finds (1/07/10)

Article: Green tech finds (1/07/10)

Posted January 07th, 2010, 6:01 PM by

Will 2010 be a good year for green tech? Looks like it from the first finds of the new year…

Green tech at CES: It’s that time of year again… the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show opened today in Vegas, and CNET is keeping on top of green tech on display.
The sun doesn’t shine all the time: That’s one of the criticisms of solar power… but start-up Sun Catalytix thinks it might have a solution to storing energy produced when the sun is shining: mimic photosynthesis.

Green tech finds (12/31/09)

Article: Green tech finds (12/31/09)

Posted December 31st, 2009, 3:12 PM by

Your last green tech finds of ’09… enjoy!

The obligatory New Year prediction: 2010 will be a banner year for clean technology, according to investment bank Jeffries, and Greentech Media. Places to watch include Finland and South Korea.
Tetris meets SimCity meets urban planning: That’s the basic idea between new strategy game City Rain (and that’s a screenshot above). (via sustainablog)

Green tech finds (12/24/09)

Article: Green tech finds (12/24/09)

Posted December 24th, 2009, 4:12 PM by

Because green technology never takes a holiday… here are this week’s finds. Salting away solar power: Nevada Power has announced a 25-year deal to buy solar power from the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, which will be “the nation’s first commercial solar power plant using salt storage to distribute energy after the sun sets…” Satellites…

Green tech finds (12/17/09)

Article: Green tech finds (12/17/09)

Posted December 17th, 2009, 3:12 PM by

Satellite deforestation tracking, a muscle hybrid, and DIY solar panels… this week’s green tech finds. Vampire-proof your home: Charger maker iGo has launched three new products designed to help you reduce the use of standby power (i.e. vampire power). An 800hp hybrid? That’s what start-up Kepler Motors claims about its concept the Motion (pictured above).…

The Copenhagen Wheel: smart hybrid biking

Article: The Copenhagen Wheel: smart hybrid biking

Posted December 16th, 2009, 3:12 PM by

While most of the news we’ve heard coming out of Copenhagen involves climate negotiations among world leaders, the Danish capital is also hosting business expos, technology demonstrations, and even artistic events during the UN Climate Summit. Yesterday, the team from MIT’s SENSEable City Lab joined in the festivities to unveil the Copenhagen Wheel, a simple enhancement for ordinary bicycles designed to make city cycling a little less taxing, and a little smarter.

Green tech finds (12/10/09)

Article: Green tech finds (12/10/09)

Posted December 10th, 2009, 5:12 PM by

Another week, another group of green tech finds. First, a few more from Finland:

Jen Boynton at TriplePundit discusses four game-changing technologies you’ve never heard of…
Ian Thomson at Cleantechies gives his opinion of Tekes, Finland’s government agency for funding R&D and start-ups… I had a different take on this organization at sustainablog.

Suntrica's solar charger: not just cool and wearable

Article: Suntrica's solar charger: not just cool and wearable

Posted December 07th, 2009, 3:12 PM by

If you follow green gadgets at all, you may have already heard of Finland-based Suntrica’s solar-powered charger for personal electronics. Numerous blogs wrote about the company and its products last May after the company won second place in the CTIA’s E-Tech Awards’ “Green – Consumer Hardware” category, and nearly all framed Suntrica’s solar chargers as cool, cutting-edge, green consumer technology.
After listening to a presentation today from company VP of Sales Kenneth J. Jönsson as part of the Finnfacts cleantech blogger tour, I realized the company was meeting one of its marketing goals — receiving recognition from consumers with green values. That’s great… and I’ll definitely enjoy using the charger Suntrica gave to me. But I was even more intrigued by some of the other markets for which the company wanted to create value.

Green tech finds (12/4/09)

Article: Green tech finds (12/4/09)

Posted December 04th, 2009, 4:12 PM by

Something a little different this time around: I’ve been in Helsinki, Finland this week checking out cleantech developments with a group of other bloggers ( and many thanks to FinnFacts for bringing us here!). While I’ve been a little slow to get posting on the stories I’ve heard (stay tuned here and at sustainablog for those posts), several of my colleagues fought off the jet lag well enough to get started. A few posts from Finland:

Karl Burkart at MNN and Ian Thomson at Cleantechies.com provide a bit of background on the Finnish cleantech sector.
Jen Boynton at Triple Pundit gives us five fast facts about Finland, and offers some advice to Metso Corporation about sustainability and biomass as a fuel source.
Hendrick Morkel at Arctic Start Up takes a look at Eniram’s efforts to cut shipping fuel use and emissions.

Vertical axis wind turbine catches eyes in Kansas

Article: Vertical axis wind turbine catches eyes in Kansas

Posted December 03rd, 2009, 4:12 PM by

Wind power opponents often cite aesthetics, noise, and bird kills as reasons for not wanting wind farms or turbines nearby… call it renewable NIMBYism. General contractor (and past installer of Christo projects) A.L. Huber has installing a next-generation vertical axis wind turbine at its Overland Park, KS headquarters that designers claim addresses all of these complaints lodged against wind installations.

Let them sing it for you

Article: Let them sing it for you

Posted November 23rd, 2009, 11:11 AM by

“Let the famous voices express your innermost thoughts or your frivolous humour” with this award winning interactive online project, “Let them sing it for you” which repurposes various pop songs and unpredictably sings back any phrase or sentence a user enters. Of course, this program might also be another means for computers to collect data…

Green tech finds (11/19/09)

Article: Green tech finds (11/19/09)

Posted November 19th, 2009, 7:11 PM by

Want your phone to sound like a woodpecker? Got’cha covered… that and more at this week’s green tech finds.

Scots get paid to recycle: British supermarket chain Tesco has been testing out Tomra recycling machines (which “pays” recyclers with reward points) at one branch in Edinburgh, and is so happy with the results that its expanding its offerings to another store… with more planned.
Research product sustainability right in the store: GoodGuide has released an iPhone app that “…lets you scan bar codes for what the guide calls “impartial” health, environmental, and social responsibility ratings of not only the products you are scanning but their companies, too.” (via CNET Health Tech)

Green tech finds (11/5/09)

Article: Green tech finds (11/5/09)

Posted November 05th, 2009, 6:11 PM by

Bricks, robot fish, and eco-warriors… this week’s green tech finds!

Find a green business… and a coupon: GenGreen Digital Media has just added a new feature to its Find Green iPhone app: coupons. Find a business that has what you want (and shares your values), and save some money in the process.
Online carbon reduction for builders: the Rocky Mountain Institute has just released Green Footstep, an online tool that allows builders to assess (and reduce) that carbon emissions of building and retrofitting projects.

Green tech finds (10/29/09)

Article: Green tech finds (10/29/09)

Posted October 29th, 2009, 5:10 PM by

Wind-powered techies, energy-capturing pavement, and DIY hybrid electric sports cars… it’s time for your weekly green tech finds.

  • This light rocks: Literally… kinetic energy from rocking the Murakami chair powers an attached OLED lamp. (via Gizmodo)

  • Plug-ins aren’t so weird: CNET editor Martin LaMonica takes note of the strides automakers are taking to make electric vehicles perform in a similar manner to their gas-powered counterparts.

A post-coital Tweet is the new cigarette

Article: A post-coital Tweet is the new cigarette

Posted October 23rd, 2009, 12:10 PM by

photo by giant_mice_kill_rabbits

A new study has found that 36% of people under the age of 35 Tweet, text, or check Facebook right after sex. For the over-35 group, that figure drops to only 8%. Are we totally giving away which side of the 35 dividing line we are located on when we say, Seriously, people? That’s really what you want to waste your post-coital warm fuzzy glow on?

Green tech finds (10/22/09)

Article: Green tech finds (10/22/09)

Posted October 22nd, 2009, 5:10 PM by

From a green ride to a clean (hand-cranked) shave, it’s all here: this week’s green tech finds.

Solar that doesn’t stand out: Or, not as much, anyway… Iowa’s Powerfilm has developed “thin, flexible solar sheets that can be integrated with architectural building materials.” (via Springwise)
Eco wifi: Australia’s D-Link has announced its Green EthernetTM technology which “automatically detects link status and network cable length, then adjusts power accordingly.” It’s also allows a user to schedule wireless up time (like thermostats).

Green tech finds (10/15/09)

Article: Green tech finds (10/15/09)

Posted October 15th, 2009, 5:10 PM by

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s topic is climate change. As such, today’s finds will all relate to technology aimed at addressing this threat… enjoy!

A no-brainer: Engineers have found one simple approach to addressing the release of methane into the atmosphere: seal natural gas well leaks.
Sketching up energy management: Buildings are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The open-source tool Open Studio can now be plugged into Google’s SketchUp (a 3D modeling tool) to account for energy usage in the building design process. (via CNET Green Tech)