all german (.. well, most of the time

Now researchers at Samsung and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea have come up with a way to capture power when a touch screen flexes under a user’s touch. The researchers have integrated flexible, transparent electrodes with an energy-scavenging material to make a film that could provide supplementary power for portable electronics. The film can be printed over large areas using roll-to-roll processes, but are at least five years from the market.

Technology Review: Self-Powered Flexible Electronics

Second Life Shared Media, a new Viewer 2 capability, makes sharing standard Web-based media in Second Life easy and seamless. It enables content creators to make more compelling, interactive experiences. Basically, Shared Media brings the Internet inworld.For the more technically inclined, what this means is that you can now put media textures on any prim in Second Life. More specifically, the viewer uses WebKit to create a fully interactive, dynamic texture from a Web URL. This even includes support for Web-browser plug-ins, like the Adobe Flash Player. And, you can place dozens of them on the same region. (We still don’t know what the upper limits are. I’m sure that you’ll let us know.)

Second Life Blogs: Features: Shared Media: Bringing the Web Inworld with Viewer 2

finncube2.jpgBerlin-based Studio Aisslinger has devised and prototyped the FinCube, “a vision of temporary living.” Provisions for “nomadic living” combine with a “natural high-tech” aesthetic in this house, which is modular, sustainable, tranportable and low-energy. The prototype was built near Bozen in Northern Italy, with a killer view of the Dolomite mountains, and has since been moved (!) to nearby Ritten, where it is now on view.According to the studio, the house is made entirely of locally supplied, long-lasting and recyclable materials, provides 47 square meters of living space, and manufactured by Tyrolese craftsmen. 360 degrees of glazing is surrounded by a skin of wooden slats—the space between serves as an exterior walkway.It appears that the FinCube is designed less for living and more for low-impact luxury vacationing. According to the studio, it’s easily dismantled and requires a minimum of soil sealing (two square meters), allowing the site to be easily “renatured” after moving.

FinCube: a portable vacation home? – Core77

Cittàslow (langsame Stadt; ital. città = Stadt, engl. slow = langsam) ist eine Bewegung, die 1999 in Italien gegründet wurde. Sie wurde inspiriert von der Philosophie der Slow-Food-Bewegung. Hauptziele sind die Verbesserung der Lebensqualität in Städten und das Verhindern der Vereinheitlichung und Amerikanisierung von Städten, in denen Franchise-Unternehmen dominieren. Die Unterstützung und Betonung von kultureller Diversität und den eigenen und speziellen Werten der Stadt und ihres Umlandes sind ebenfalls zentrale Cittàslow-Ziele. Im weiteren Sinne kann Cittàslow dem Trend der sogenannten Slow-Bewegung (vgl. Entschleunigung) zugerechnet werden.

Cittàslow – Wikipedia

Der Bonner Stadtforscher Boris Sieverts führt seit einigen Jahren Gruppen von mutigen Bürgern an Orte, die nie ein Planer betrat. Dabei gilt es das Leben hinter dem Lärmschutzwall oder die “meditative Stimmung” inmitten eine Autobahnkreuzes zu entdecken. Vielfach zeigen sich die verdutzten “Spaziergangsforscher” nach einer solchen Erkundungstour überrascht über die erstaunliche Vielfalt und Originalität der besuchten vermeintlichen Unorte. (Quelle: Stadtland Schweiz, Avenir Suisse)

vermeintliche Unorte gibt es bei uns auch ,,
unter der Autobahnbrücke ,,
bei der Laderampe des Einkaufszentrums ,,
auf dem grossen leeren Parkplatz am Wochenende ,,
aufspüren und dokumentieren?
bleiben dann Unorte noch Unorte?

From now on, this site will not only collect facts about urbanism, society, ethics and evolution, but tell you about the projects that urbanetix runs.

enjoy reading!

Recognizr works when the user points the camera at another person. Inbuilt face recognition software maps a 3D model of the subject and transmits the information to a remote server where it is matched with an identity already present in the database. This information is then sent back to the handset along with any relevant social networking information associated to that person, conveniently displayed above the persons head using little social icons.

Stalk a Stranger. Point Your Phone At Their Face.

Die Lebenszyklus-Analyse von Apple berücksichtigt alle Schadstoffemissionen unserer Produkte. Dazu gehört die Gewinnung von Rohmaterialien, die Fertigung, die Verpackung, der Transport, eine drei- bis vierjährige Nutzungsdauer1 und das Recycling. Im Laufe dieser Analyse hat sich herausgestellt, dass über 95 Prozent der Treibhausgasemissionen, die Apple insgesamt verursacht, von unseren Produkten verursacht werden.

Apple – Mac mini – Unser energieeffizientester Desktopcomputer.

I just recently re-connected with a friend form high school, I am fifty-one years old, as a gentleman I cannot divulge her age. We sat in a booth at a local pub with a mutual friend. After an hour or so of catching up, I noticed that she would check her phone, for what appeared every five minutes or so. It was amazing, sort Pavlovian in response. At one point I sensed she was seemingly unaware of her actions. That evening at home I logged onto my Facebook account and noticed that she had posted a couple of comments while sitting there in the company of two real life, air breathing people; friends, and she was posting to social network, engaged in an alternate discussion.

Forumblog.org – The World Economic Forum Blog: The Growing Influence of Social Networks