This week on TreeHugger, bike sharing goes geeky, we question standing in line for an iPad, Google creates “Translate for Animals” app, awesome ways to hack your moleskine, and more!
Massive Lines for iPad Begs Question: Do You ReallyWant One At All?
Everyone is talking about how the device is the next big thing in digital reading, essentially blending netbooks and e-readers, and will utterly change the market. But are those standing in line at the apple store “only lemmings with no self-control and excessive disposable income” as Fast Company states?
Satellite to Hunt Mosquitoes from Space
The Cryosat-2 is a satellite launched by the European Space Agency to study the state of polar ice with cutting edge tech. But what’s to be done with such a satellite’s advanced radar altimeter and data collection capabilities when it’s not over the poles? You use it to hunt mosquitoes from space, of course.
For anyone who has a secret (or not so secret) obsession with moleskines, you’ll know that while the famous notebooks are darn near perfect, sometimes they need a little customization. Here are a few custom hacks for moleskine notebooks that we love.
Google Launches “Translate for Animals” Android App, Endangered Animals Can Now Talk to Us
Protected endangered species just got a lot easier thanks to the geniuses at Google. They just released a new app for Android-based smartphones (like the Nexus One, Motorola Droid, HTC G1 Phone, etc) that finally brings the rapidly-improving field of animal cognitive linguistics to the general public.
Humdinger Wind Energy’s Tiny Turbine Is Ten Times More Efficient
Humdinger Wind Energy LLC has a new device – the microBelt. It’s a piezoelectric turbine-based system that is purportedly 10 times more effective at gathering energy than other systems of the same size.
Piksol, Solar Pixels to Decorate Buildings with Art (video)
After flexible solar panels and spray-on solar cells, Drzach & Suchy, an architect who works in Basel and a cryptographer and software engineer who works in Zurich, have designed Piksol; a solar pixel to harvest the sun and create decorative images on facades.
Transformer Furniture: Tatamis to Tables
In Japan, room sizes are not measured in feet or meters, but in mats, based on multiples of the standardized tatami mats that were traditionally used to cover floors. They have fallen out of favour, but designer Shin Yamashita has reinvented them in a modern version that might just bring them back. Think Tatami meets Dror Benshetritmeets IKEA flatpack.
Plant Room: Clip-On Shed For Apartment Buildings
Need a little extra storage space in your apartment? How about just clipping on a prefab shed to the side of your apartment building?
Urban Biking’s Next Generation: 5 Snazzy Innovations
Check out the future of bike sharing – it’s all electric and uber geeky.
The First Pre-Production Chevy Volt Rolls Off the Assembly Line
On March 31st, the first pre-production Chevy Volt rolled off the assembly line at the Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant. It’s a pretty big milestone in the life of any vehicle, but it’s especially important for a vehicle that contains so much new technology.
TreeHugger’s EcoModo column appears every week on Gizmodo.