kerkko.fi

A new way of creating surface textures on glass, developed at MIT, eliminates reflections, producing "multifunctional" glass that is almost unrecognizable because of its absence of glare — and whose surface causes water droplets to bounce right off, like tiny rubber balls. The manufacturing process could be applied to optical devices, smartphone and television screens, solar panels, car windshields, and even windows in buildings.

http://vitaminsdesign.com/projects/out-of-the-box-for-samsung/

Redditor TophatMcMonocle has a useful suggestion for ensuring that you learn your new tech products inside and out: keep those manuals in the bathroom, where you are desperate for something to read. If you have been known to ignore the cardinal rule of technology -- Read the Fucking Manual, -- you can use this trick to form better habits: "Put new product manuals in the [bathroom]. Then read them little by little. Within a day, or several days, you will understand the new item's functions without having to have dedicated an afternoon for study." Sure, it is a bit silly, but 90% of tech problems can be solved by reading the manual to begin with -- and as we enter the holiday season, where you are sure to accumulate lots of new gadgets, this bit of strategic placement could come in handy.

Consider what a fax machine actually is: a little device with a sheet feeder, a terrible scanning element, and an ancient modem. Most faxes run at 14,400bps. That is just over 1KB per second -- and people are still using faxes to send 52 poorly scanned pages of some contract to one another. Over analog phone lines. Sometimes while paying long-distance charges! The mind boggles. If something as appallingly stupid as the fax machine can live on, it makes you wonder how we make progress at all. It just goes to show you: Bad technology generally is not the problem; it is the people who persist in using that technology rather than embracing far superior alternatives.

Revolights consist of two thin LED rings that mount directly to each wheel rim. Power comes via a wire to the hub where a USB rechargable lithium-ion battery is held in a special bracket. A small magnet is secured to the fork to provide speed and orientation information to the rings.

Revolights detect how fast your tires spin and only activate the appropriate LEDs so that you are always only blowing out light behind and in front of you (and not in your own eyes). When you are slowing to a stop, the light pattern changes to a safety-cycle, going around in a circle.

PumpTire is commercializing the first self-pressurizing bicycle tire. Imagine taking your bicycle out of the garage and never having to fill up the tires or even check the pressure. Or imagine yourself being able to change your tire pressure on-the-fly with a simple adjustment from the handlebars. PumpTire is developing both of these systems. The self-inflating, self-adjusting technology is incorporated directly into the tire and is compatible with current rims, making it a simple addition to any bicycle. PumpTire is promoting the project on Kickstarter.

A new report from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned that the "independent watchdog function that the founding fathers envisioned for journalism" was at risk in local communities across the US. The report said there was a "shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting" that could lead to "more government waste, more local corruption," "less effective schools," and other problems. The 475-page report is the product of an 18-month effort to explore the turmoil sweeping the traditional media business in the US.

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You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology.

A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed. The reactors began to melt down. The disaster exposed poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, no one has yet died of radiation.

Some greens have exaggerated the dangers of radioactive pollution. For a clearer view, look at this graphic. I am not proposing complacency, but perspective. Atomic energy has just been subjected to the harshest possible test, and the impact on people has been small.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima/print

The Never-Betters believe that we are on the brink of a new utopia, where information will be free and democratic, news will be made from the bottom up, love will reign, and cookies will bake themselves.

The Better-Nevers think that we would have been better off if the whole thing had never happened, that the world that is coming to an end is superior to the one that is taking its place, and that books create private space for minds.

The Ever-Wasers insist that at any moment in modernity something like this is going on, and that a new way of organizing data and connecting users is always thrilling to some and chilling to others; that this is what makes it a modern moment.

http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/news/article.asp?qEmpID=164