It seems that the technology has also come to your home garden, finally!. Vases Click & Grow allow you worry a little bit less about your plans, offering sensors that determine the amount of water and fertilizer needed to keep them alive and blooming.

According to the site Treehugger, the system of Click & Grow uses aeroponic technique, where the plants are kept suspended in the air and get water and nutrients by sprinkling. For the intelligent vase take care of your plan for you, simply place the special seeds (purchased separately) into the location, and connect it to a computer through a USB cable. A program of growth for the type of plant will be activated, and later water it and fertilizer will do the service (or maintenance) for you, as long you follow the instructions of the software.

Models that range from the basic version, where they must complete a water tank, to more advanced versions, which collect water from the air, according to the site Techling Earth.

The Click & Grow vessels should be available in the market in a few months, from about $ 20.

Via: Click & Grow.

The torch was designed by Winter Olympics design director Leo Obstbaum and built by jet-maker and high-speed train manufacturer Bombardier. The Canadian company was founded in 1942 and is the largest supplier of rail equipment, systems and services, and the third largest manufacturer of civil aircraft in the world. The design has incidentally been inspired by the contours of Canada’s winter landscape. It symbolizes the tracks created in snow and ice by winter sports.

Working with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), Bombardier engineers and industrial designers apparently spent more than two years designing and testing the 2010 Olympic Torch.  A vent in the side of the torch allows the Olympic Flame to unfurl like a flag.

Via: trendsnow, bombardier, wikipedia

Flatbed scanners gobble up desk space, besides the clumsiness of lifting the lid to place papers and scan them.
And that is where HoverCam X300 seems a boon, that fell into your lap.

It looks more like an elongated, chic and thinner version of a table lamp. But HoverCam X300 is more like a camera. It is USB powered. And what’s best about it, is that it is compact. And its resolution is 1,600 x 1,200 pixels.

Here is how it works. Hold the paper under the HoverCam, and it automatically rotates the scan over it. In effect, HoverCam takes a snapshot of the document placed under its lens in a split second. California based Pathway Innovations and Technologies has said that its abilities like scanning, faxing, emailing, archiving and organising files make the process easier, less fussy.

The documents get filed automatically in Rich Internet Application format based on Adobe Air 2.0 technology. Images can be dragged and dropped into folders, you can create PDFs instantly. HoverCam doubles up as an overhead projector too. You can stream its video output to a pico projector.

Its special price at the CES 2010 show was $ 140, while its cost outside of the show is $180.

Via: thehovercam

Albeit the name Sungale might not be as popular as that of Apple, Acer or Archos, it is showing up pretty well in portable media player market with Kula TV, its new product. The portable media player comes with a 4.3″ display, a pop-up Wi-Fi antenna and also the ability to stream Internet content. This undoubtedly is one of the most creatively designed interesting PMPs that you may have possibly come across in the market.

When it comes to gadgets, I prefer the small size as they are not cumbersome to carry around. This portable media player is a pocket size one, which you can easily put in your pocket and roam about anywhere you want to. It has a touch panel screen. It comes with an internal memory of 2GB. The product is expected to arrive by March this year.

It is likely to be sold with a price tag of $199.99. It may include a wide range of audio video formats as one of its features. In fact, it’s somewhat amazing that such a small product could have so many in-built features. Talk about the reasons to thank our civilization and the advanced technology, my praises will never end.

Via: HotHardware

Come 2015, and Hettich will redefine your cooking experience in your kitchen totally. The Kitchen Concept 2015, which interprets the kitchen as the hub of the home. If we look at it practically, it’s virtually true that we all live to eat. Kitchen Concept 2015 will focus on creating new and better designs, convenience, ergonomics, electrification and multimedia networking in the kitchen.

It’s so interesting that you can make your appliances, sinks and taps disappear behind when you do not need them. The flush-fitting fronts are electrically retracted. This frees up so much of kitchen space. There will also be drawers and pot-and-pan drawers which can be opened from both sides no matter which side the user is standing. Besides, as far as ergonomics is concerned, the Kitchen Concept 2015 will show height adjustable wall units. The most envious feature of this cool technology is that it will enable electrical appliances communicate with one another.

For instance, the touch screen in the large screen in the kitchen front can be used for displaying oven temperature and the remaining cooking time. Besides, your internet, television and other building services will be operated from and controlled from a central point. This is what I call the true technology. Life will be a lot simpler if these things come into reality for sure. Let’s hope for the best that they do.

Via: Hettich

It is no secret that Google has an interest in clean energy technologies. After all, the company has invested in enhanced geothermal technology, electric cars, wind energy and has an interest in Brazilian ethanol.

Now, the Internet giant is creating its own subsidiary of energy, called Google Energy. Google asked the U.S. authorities the permission to become supplier of electricity to supply directly and negotiate on a long-term energy, as other giant companies already as Alcoa and Walmart.

The group, through its subsidiary Energy Google urged to take advantage of a commercial status and a general authorization to buy and sell in the energy markets. Earlier this week, Google expressed interest in buying and selling electricity in the wholesale market. However, when it comes to Google, things can go beyond what you see.

Company officials admit that there is still no concrete plans for Google Energy, meaning that Google has not achieved the possibility of becoming a public service in the future. Google hopes that one day, many of the vehicles in the world is electricity and use energy.

And if so, why not be the distributor of energy?

Via: Energy Matters.

Here is good news for the ladies! Some researchers at the Footwear & Recreation Technology Research Institute have come up with an interesting pair of leather shoes exclusively for women that can change their color when exposed to sunlight for 30 seconds. To make the color change possible, the researchers sprayed micro capsules on the leather that contains luminous particles and resin.

The base color of the shoes is white. The color changes when the wearer steps out of the sun within 30 seconds and lasts for 60 hours. The shoes change their color into pink, orange or purple depending on the ingredients that have been sprayed on the leather. So, the ladies can flash the snazzy shoes into different colors. All you have to do is to make sure that you expose the shoes to sunlight for just 30 seconds.

However, the wearer does not have any control over the change of color, and there are only three colors available. Apparently, the Institute is planning to launch color changing handbags and bicycle saddles. They also plan to transfer their technology to other shoe factories. There is no news available regarding the price tag yet.

Via: EarthTimes

With a stylish name like Pen de touch, this pen-shaped device is here to win all you gadget freaks over. Well, for starters this one lets you interact with virtual environments just as if they were real. The pen is actually a haptic display that makes use of several kinesthetic sensations on the user’s fingers that provide a signal to different virtual environments.

In other words, if the was placed inside a virtual box, then the user can feel the kinestic sensation when they strike the sides of the box by moving the pen. Voila, this little baby of modern technology promises a superior haptic display which will not stop the user through mechanical linkages and takes the aid of kinesthetic sensations instead of vibrations. This gives a more accurate representation of tactile sensation.

Pen de touch as a concept has been devised, developed and executed by a very promising team in Japan that comprises of Sho Kamuro, Kouta Minamizawa and Naoki Kawakami from the Univeristy of Tokyo and another talented mind who is known as Susumu Tachi and belongs to the Keio University.

Via designboom

USB flash drives are now coming in various sizes, shapes, forms and are here to serve more than just the basic purpose of storing data. They are now pendants, key chains and stylish accessories that have evolved a long way in the past decade or so. Now it is the time for the world’s smallest USB-flash active Wink to make its appearance on the stage. Coming in the dimensions of 30,5 x12, 7×2, 5 mm and weighing no more than a breezy 1.5 grams in weight, the USB drive can fit in almost anywhere and is perfect in case you wish to hide your data from prying eyes.

The ultra-mini USB drive has a storage capacity that ranges from 2 GB to what is a staggering 16 GB for its miniscule size, depending on the model you chose and the amount of cash that you are willing to part with. The range of these tiny wonders starts from $ 7.95 and in case you are wondering how durable these tiny little ones can be, then think again. Coming with a waterproof module and wrapped in high-strength polymer that prevents damage, the smallest USB drives on the planet can hold their own even under the roughest circumstances.

techno-internet

Illegal whaling ships have been roaming the oceans of the world literally scotch-free for the last couple of decades and most often the only little hindrance they get is from those tiny little ships that have brave volunteers from ‘eco-friendly’ groups trying hard to stop the fast paced giants. Well, finally the huge ships and their sharp harpoons have finally met their match and its is the Ady Gill (formerly known as Earthrace) that will teach them a lesson or two about sneaking up and spoiling the party. Out to nab the bad guys of the world’s oceans, this ultra-sleek and Hollywood-esque mean machine on waves will be used by conservation group Sea Shepherd in their effort to combat whaling.

Sea Shepherd is currently preparing for it’s 6th Whale Defense Campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda. About to be launched in Australia the campaign will man the Southern Ocean and Ady Gill along with another mean machine ‘Steve Irwin’ will try to sneak up and ruin as many whale hunts as possible. Silent, efficient and with a top speed of over 50 knots this amazing piece of engineering and design is sure to finally give the conservation groups a much needed edge over the poachers.

So, come this Christmas time expect the Southern seas to and its mighty giants to receive a dark and dazzling visit from this avenger of those who wish to slaughter the innocent. (You, that was dramatic!) Let’s just hope that at least now that the endangered species is protected from the illegal meat market.

Boingboing/ Life