Sundance Channel

Green tech finds: Wildlife goes virtual, Farmville gets real

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:09:28 +0000

Assembly lines rolling out the Focus Electric: Think Nissan's the only game in town for a true electric vehicle? Not anymore: Ford's started production of its 2012 Focus Electric in Michigan. (via @edbegleyjr) Ranger Rick comes to the iPhone: Your kids bug you to play games on your smartphone? The National Wildlife Federation has created a way to make sure they're learning something. The new Ranger Rick mobile apps provide games for kids as young as 2 (yes, 2!) to sharpen their knowledge about wild animals.

Best of the Web: Send emails with a vintage typewriter & shop from your favorite flicks

Blair Pfander — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:53:49 +0000

Type-o-Matic: Feeling frustrated by the aesthetic limitations of your email account? Drop a line to 'Type-o-Matic," a wacky new service that types up your emails on vintage typewriters and postmarks them for a small fee. They say it's terrific for "special correspondence," but I think it would be kind of funny to use it for more mundane messages, like "check out this YouTube video."

Get your doodle on with a scrapbooking iPad app

Blair Pfander — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:00:36 +0000

I have a thing for notebooks. But after years of notebook accumulation, no real pattern or trend has emerged. I collect them indiscriminately—a pink Moleskine here, a cool, cloth-wrapped volume there, some funky vintage find from a flea market. Sadly, most of them sit blank and dusty on a bookshelf in my office, silently pleading for a simple doodle or To-Do list. Alas, my fascination with notebooks doesn't seem to have come with any real dedication to journaling. But the creative minds behind new iPad app, Clibe, have come up with a space-saving digital solution for notebook nerds...

Green tech finds, 10/20/11

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:17:25 +0000

Underground skyscrapers, smart windows and more problems with natural gas drilling: Your green tech finds for the week. Charge your car with your phone: Well, not exactly, but a new app developed by IBM and Swiss utility EKZ allows for better management of when your electric vehicle is charged and what sources of energy are used to charge it. Find out more in the video above. (via @greeneconpost) The grain silo hotel: While not as green as it could be (because the structures used were built for the project), Silo Stay, a nine-unit New Zealand hotel built from grain silos...

Best of the web: Hear English as your second language and knit a sweater for a pigeon in need

Blair Pfander — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:51:13 +0000

Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses: Who knew that the tip of a human nose looked exactly like the head of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? Well, the author of this awesome new time-waster, Teenage Mutant Ninja Nose s, certainly did. Best of all, this game isn't limited to certain human noses...it works on all of them, meaning we can enjoy Raphael and Michaelangelo scribbled on shnozzes forever and ever. The one exception might be Michael Jackson's nose, which turned out kind of wonky...

Famous photographs with Instagram filters

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:48:04 +0000

In a fusion of the old and new, analog and digital, Mastergram is a relatively new Tumblr that takes iconic photographs and applies filters from the popular iPhone social app, Instagram. There's an irony in this exercise, which I find practically blasphemous, because many of the Instagram filters attempt to mimic a pre-digital quality and add a false sense of depth and artistry to often prosaic photos. I was pleased though to see on the site that my all-time favorite photographer Weegee is included. As I previously wrote here, I consider Weegee to be "the godfather of the 21st-century urban blogger."

Leafsnap: the electronic field guide that gets smarter with use

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:00:52 +0000

Ever been out on a hike, a camping trip or just a walk in the neighborhood and been faced with the question "What kind of tree is that?" More often than not, my own answer is "I don't know." Leafsnap, a new "electronic field guide" developed by Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institute (which I covered very briefly a few months ago) is designed, in part, to change that answer. Using your iPhone, you can take a picture of a leaf, flower, or fruit from a tree and identify it through comparison with images in the app's database. Think of it as facial recognition software for the nature lover.

Green tech finds (6/2/11)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:22:39 +0000

Mini electric Hummers, solar-powered prisons, and the climate risk posed by biodegradable products... this week's green tech finds.

Autodesk meets sustainability: Design/engineering software suite Autodesk has now added a tool that allows users to generate environmental impact assessments of their creations.
Biodegradable products may not be climate-friendly: Turns out that biodegradable disposable tableware and such may have a real downside -- the creation of methane in landfills (most of which aren't set up to capture the potent greenhouse gas). (via @conservationval)

Green tech finds (3/24/11)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:02:57 +0000

Lots of solar this week... plus an app for Earth Hour, and lighter footprints for U.S. embassies.

Water, water everywhere: It's World Water Week, and this cool new interactive map and tool allows you to explore water supplies and consumption by country, and to see the embodied water in a wide range of products. (via @togethergreen)
The Earth Hour app: Earth Hour 2011 is this Saturday... and this year, while the lights are off, you can check in on activities around the world with the Earth Hour iPhone app. (via The Alternative Consumer)

Green tech finds (3/17/11)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:43:43 +0000

Raise a glass of Guinness to St. Paddy... and to a couple of Irish green tech finds this week.

Social gaming app for saving energy: JouleBug, a social gaming iPhone app for saving energy, was released this week at SXSW.
ENERGY STAR certified buildings increase by nearly 60%: That's just one finding from this week's release of its third annual report on the top 25 cities for ENERGY STAR certified buildings.

Green tech finds (3/10/11)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:10:42 +0000

Lots of apps this week... for Freecycling, sharing your juice with electric vehicles drivers, and teaching the kids about rainforest ecosystems.

Organize your Freecycling: Like to search for used treasures on service like Freecycle and Freegle? The Trash Nothing online app allows you to organize your activities at various recycling groups.
i-Tree 4.0 is out: OK, this won't garner the attention of the iPad 2, but the latest update of the US Forest Service's i-Tree online tool for urban and community forest analysis features new applications for tree placement planning for individual land parcels, and "modeling the watershed-scale effects that vegetation has on local hydrology and water quality."

Green tech finds (12/9/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:44:43 +0000

Fuel cells, iPhone apps, and chicken coops... this week's green tech finds.

The fuel cell that does... everything: Think fuel cells are just for energy? Think again... researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver, are working on a microbial fuel cell that desalinates and cleans wastewater... in addition to producing electricity. (via Cleantechnica)
Border checkpoint to feature Living Machine: The US General Services Administration has approved a Living Machine wastewater treatment system for the border crossing point at Otay Mesa, California. That's an artist's rendering above... (via Water and Waste Water)

Green gifts from Skymall? Really?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:39:51 +0000

'Tis the season and all that... the holiday shopping insanity is about to begin in earnest. If you're looking for gifts with a lighter environmental footprint, Skymall may be at the bottom of your list of vendors -- it's hard to see how a business designed for shopping on planes could be any less green. And then there are the products... how many items do you really need designed only for cooking hot dogs?

Green tech finds (11/4/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:29:47 +0000

Lots of electric vehicle news this week, plus mushroom plastics and watching watersheds with your iPhone... this week's green tech finds.

Sun-powered transportation... in the Sunshine State: Sarasota-area beachside community Pelican Bay will be using solar-powered trams to move people around the development. (via Cleantechnica)
GE making massive EV purchase: General Electric will not only make components for electric vehicles, but plans to become the largest single purchaser of them.

Green tech finds (7/15/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:00:43 +0000

Fishy iPhone apps, soy car parts, and another solar Air Force base... this week's green tech finds.

Sustainable seafood and wine? There's an app for that... The Blue Ocean Institute and Brancott have launched the free Fishphone iPhone app, which not only provides sustainable seafood information on the go, but also suggest wine pairings.
The eco-travel planner: The Rainforest Alliance has beta launched its new sustainable travel guide and planner, SustainableTrip.org. Currently focused on south of the border destinations, the site features tour operators, hotels, restaurants and other amenities that have been certified by reputable NGOs.

Green tech finds (7/8/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:04:42 +0000

Industrial hemp... you can't smoke it, but, apparently, you can run your car on it. That and more at this week's green tech finds.

Recycle your iPod, buy an iPhone 4: Apparently, that's what a lot of people are thinking. UK recyclables buyer MoPay has seen a 70% surge in iPod recycling since the release of the new iPhone. (via IT Pro Portal)
The solar smart phone: Puma's new smart phone can run on solar power, and displays how much energy a user is saving when in sun power mode. Unfortunately, it's only available in Europe right now... (via Springwise)

Green tech finds (7/2/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Summer's here, it's hot, and so, naturally, we've got lots of solar news in this week's green tech finds...

Fuel-efficient driving on your iPhone: Consumer Reports' new listing of smart phone apps for drivers includes Greenmeter, an iPhone app that "...monitors your driving and displays your car's mpg, fuel cost, and carbon emissions."
Is that a secret for more efficient solar cells in your pants...? No, not a really bad, geeky joke: researchers at Cornell have discovered a specific molecule "in blue jeans and some ink dyes" that could be used to build frameworks for cheaper solar cells. (via Treehugger)

Jane Lynch’s Apple spoof

Bradford Shellhammer — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:31:55 +0000

Jane Lynch is funnier than pretty much everyone on TV. Actually, she is far and away funnier than just about every working actor today. This is a fact in the gay world, where Ms. Lynch, a married lesbian, is becoming a camp icon. Move over Gaga, Sue Sylvester is in town. She’s perfectly terrifying on [...]

Neat iPhone music video

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:00:46 +0000

Israeli band Izabo incorporates multiple iPhones in their fun music video for their single “On My Way.” It can also be viewed like the next iPhone ad campaign concept. This is also the perfect segue to share an impressive video of a one-girl band using four iPhones to recreate Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” This YouTube [...]

New Yorker covers via iPhone art

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:57:43 +0000

Artist Jorge Colombo now has four New Yorker covers under his belt, which may or may not be his preferred method of carrying his iPhone, which also happens to be the tool that he uses to create and paint the art for these covers. As the iPhone and the apps have built quite a active [...]

Green tech finds (3/19/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:18:08 +0000

Lots of solar and phone news this week in our green tech finds...

Solar for renters: Landlord won't put up solar panels? No problem... the "solar garden" concept is catching on from Sacramento to St. George, Utah (as well as points East). (via HuffPo Green)
Green wireless systems: Feel kind of silly when your sprinkler system starts running during a rain storm? That just one wasteful scenario People Power believes its new wireless application development platform could be harnessed to address. (via Green Technology at TMCNet)

Green tech finds (3/4/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:42:55 +0000

Robots, biogas, and a green 7-11… it’s green tech finds time! Solar power from pea plants: Many researchers are looking to the plant world for inspiration for harvesting solar energy more efficiently. Prof. Nathan Nelson of Tel Aviv University is looking at pea plants as a potential source of nano materials that could “…form the [...]

Green tech finds (2/18/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:10:18 +0000

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 (12/24/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:37:25 +0000

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 (12/10/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:57:14 +0000

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.

David Hockney paints with iPhone

Bradford Shellhammer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:11:17 +0000

Andrew Hearst previously talked about David Hockey’s iPhone paintings here. His Daily Mail link appears to be dead now, but I came across another article about the prolific artist and his new painting medium. Using the Brushes application he’s created gorgeous iPhone paintings that look like watercolors. The New York Review of Books’ Lawrence Weschler documents [...]

Green tech finds (11/27/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:09:50 +0000

Thankful for green technology? So are we... here are this week's finds.

Fresh water + salt water = energy: Norwegian power company Statkraft opened the world's first osmotic energy plant on Tuesday.
Storage start-ups get federal funding: Big announcement of federal smart grid funding on Tuesday... and energy storage start-ups shared in the largess.

Green tech finds (11/19/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:05:33 +0000

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)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:51:34 +0000

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 (10/22/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:17:03 +0000

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 Ethernet^TM 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 (10/1/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:46:26 +0000

Where do climate change and Sudoku come together? At your weekly green tech finds, of course… What’s the best computer out there for a student in Cambodia? One that sips energy… and the Open Institute has installed 400 such computers for Cambodian students and teachers. Water heats and cools new classroom building: Michigan’s Saginaw Valley [...]

Green tech finds (7/23/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:09:38 +0000

Beer and gas? Sound like a National Lampoon movie... but it's your green tech finds for the week.

Fart-powered fuel cells? Sort of... Danbury, Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy recently installed two fuel cell power plants at food processor Gills Onions that "...create electricity using old onions and a process that mimics how the human body expels gas"
Solar-powered parking: Austin, Texas is replacing traditional parking meters with "pay stations [that] are solar-powered, take credit cards, debit cards and coins, and will replace the 3,800 outdated single-space parking meters around the city."

iPhone photography

Matthew Rodriguez — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:48:07 +0000

The St. Petersburg Times sent photographer Melissa Lyttle on an assignment to capture the “kitschy culture and places along the gulf beaches of Pinellas” using just her iPhone’s built-in camera for a very pleasing result. And as the paper’s editors pointed out, the New York Times recently published on their website a gallery of cell [...]

Movie created using only iPhone

Matthew Rodriguez — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:00:29 +0000

THE FIFTY FOUR is a short little film created by Richard Hernandez entirely on his iPhone. He gave himself fifty four days to shoot fifty four images with his iPhone during his daily commute on the 54 bus in Oakland for this project. The Fifty Four from richard hernandez on Vimeo.

Green tech finds (7/10/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:53:47 +0000

Techies rejoice! Here's your weekly run-down of some of the cooler green tech stories out there...

Free energy? There's a ton of it out there -- 7 quadrillion BTUs -- in the form of wasted heat. The Department of Energy has announced funding opportunities for R&D on how to tap this massive source of energy. (via Cleantechnica)
NYC -- the wind energy capital? It seems counterintuitive, but the Carnegie Institution and California State University have found that high-altitude winds, which are concentrated over the Big Apple (among other places), "contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times over." (via Green Living Ideas)

Green tech finds (7/6/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:01:36 +0000

If fireworks and gas grills didn't feed your techie jones last weekend, here are some of the latest stories in the green tech world.

Drive time: Danielle Brigada, social media guru at the National Wildlife Federation, just loves the '10 Ford Fusion hybrid.
Wearable lighting?: That's one potential use envisioned by art students for GE's planned "flexible, paper-thin lighting panels" featuring organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). (via OLED-info.com)

Green tech finds (6/25/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:44:36 +0000

Elephant poop, chicken feathers, and iPhone apps... that's the stuff of good green tech stories!

Smart water: You've heard all about smart electrical grids... now Rotterdam, in partnership with IBM, is working on a smart water management system. (via Fast Company)
Transformers 3 -- The Solar Edition? No greenlights on the movie yet, but these cool 6-toys-in-1 solar-powered robots can introduce your kids to the wonders of solar power (via The Fun Times Guide to Living Green and Inhabitots).

A 24″ touch-screen iPhone?

Sundance Channel — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:29:01 +0000

In honor of today’s launch of the iPhone 3G S… this video, which purports to show a demo of a hacked Mac running the iPhone operating system using a giant touch screen, is a hoax, but it’s still fun to watch: The Unofficial Apple Weblog writes, “How’d they do it? It’s most likely just a [...]

Green tech finds (6/18/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:03:48 +0000

Deutsche Bank's online carbon counter Phones, flashlights, and sweet solar-powered rides... all that and more in this week's green tech finds.

Funding priorities: Is a national smart grid the best investment right now? Or would local micro-grids fed by renewable power serve us better?
More proof that teenagers do know it all: Fourteen-year-old David S. Dixon built "a street-legal quadricycle with a solar-powered electric motor" for a middle school project. (via Gas 2.0)

The amazing app wall at Apple’s WWDC

Andrew Hearst — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:00:03 +0000

At this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where Apple announced the new iPhone models, among other things, a big array of monitors displayed an “app wall”–a giant matrix of iPhone app icons that pulse when they’re downloaded from the App Store. The effect is monumental and hypnotic. Visit AppleInsider for video of what the app wall [...]

Green tech finds (5/7/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:55:47 +0000

In the spirit of Em and Lo's "Naked News," here's a run-down of some of the latest green technology stories to come across the wires... not as hot, but definitely safe for work!

Green on the go: 3rdWhale and Creative Citizen have developed a new iPhone app: the "Creative Solution" for sustainable living. Track your eco-friendly efforts, as well as the tangible benefits (savings of energy, water, and even money). Download the app for free. (via MNN)

David Hockney’s iPhone paintings

Andrew Hearst — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:07:08 +0000

The Daily Mail tells of how the celebrated artist David Hockney has been creating mini-paintings on his iPhone and emailing them to friends. Pretty tech-savvy for a 71-year-old: [via TUAW]

Five Tools for Tracking (and Lowering) Your Energy Use

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:29:25 +0000

Trying to keep the Carbon Cops at bay? Or, just want a lower electric bill? These five tools will help you identify the energy hogs in your life… and put them on a diet! ENERGY STAR@Home: This interactive web tool takes you on a tour of a typical American home, points out the energy guzzlers, [...]

Sign Up For Festival Updates

Sundance Channel — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:56:35 +0000

So you’re a fan of the Sundance Film Festival, but life’s just too hectic to open a web site every day. Have no fear – we’ve got the solution for the Blackberry and iPhone crowd (or anyone else who likes to keep up to date). Every day during the festival, we’ll be sending an email [...]