Tourism and Beyond

Adobe Photoshop for iPhone

A new, free-of-charge Adobe Photoshop. com app for iPhone users has recently been made available by Abode Systems. Offering tools like cropping, color controls, image rotation, and one- touch filter effects, the new app helps theiPhone users in editing photos from their phone as well as their online library on Photoshop. com.

While the tools of the Friday-released Photoshop for the Apple iPhone allow theusers to instantly alter the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of the pictures, features like ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ help users to either correct a mistake or revert back to the original picture.

In addition, the Adobe app also boasts a limited number of effects that are applicable to both new pictures and those already stored on the smartphone. These effects include vibrant, pop, border, rainbow, warm vintage, white glow, soft black and white and vignette blur.

Most of the changes to the photos on the iPhone’s Adobe Photoshop. com appcan be done merely by applying the sketch filter to the photos, and then sliding a finger in left or right direction across the touch screen.

Available from the Apple App Store, the Photoshop. com app, which also allows photos to be uploaded directly from an iPhone to an Adobe account, comes with a 2 GB of storage space which is further expandable through an annual paid storage plan.

Tech

Smarter Travel

This post was intended to speak about navigation on your own city, but when we are travelling all those apps are quite more important than for your home-job-beer-home trip.

There’s no question that social media has brought us a lot closer by allowing anyone to communicate in virtual settings with people all over the world. But social media tools are also helping us to hack the way we interact with the real world. From figuring out the best route to get from point A to point B to helping people avoid speeding tickets, from simplifying public transportation to arranging carpools, social media tools are making it easier for people to get around the places they live.

We’ve collected a list of ten great social media tools to help you better navigate your city and connect with your neighbors. If you know of any others, please mention them in the comments.

1. Google Maps

Google Maps is the crème de la crème of online mapping applications, with satellite and terrain maps, embedded Wikipedia information, local business info, and turn-by-turn directions for car, walking, and public transit. Google doesn’t set the gold standard for mapping by being the prettiest mapping application (Microsoft’s mapping app is arguably easier on the eyes), but rather because of the pace at which the company innovates.

Their “Street View” technology, for example, offers impressive and highly useful 360 degree panoramic street-level photographs for an unmatched and growing number of cities around the world. And their live and predictive traffic maps can show users traffic congestion now or in the future (based on historical data) for at least 30 different cities. These types of innovative features are why Google Maps is one of the best tools any city navigator can have in his or her arsenal.

2. Waze

Like Google’s traffic maps, Waze collects real-time information from users using their mobile phone applications. If you’re stuck in traffic, the Waze app will send data about where you are and how fast you’re going to others in your area so they can reroute to a road with less traffic congestion. Where Waze one-ups Google is in the ability for people to report on the causes of traffic (such as an accident, downed tree, or construction) or to report speed traps.

If you’re just interested in avoiding speed traps, check out Trapster, a crowdsourced speed trap sharing system that alerts you to speed traps and red light cameras.

3. Wayfaring

Wayfaring is a great Google Maps mashup that helps users to easily create their own information maps. Whether mapping the route of your morning jog, keeping track of where you went on your road trip, or mapping out the best places for pizza in Chicago, Wayfaring lets users share their experiences with one another. It’s a great way to connect with other local travelers or find cool places or routes when in a new city.

4. Walk Score

Because not all transportation is done on wheels, Walk Score will tell you the most walkable places to live. What makes an area walkable? Public spaces, nearby amenities, a pedestrian centric design (with parking lots behind businesses and storefronts close to the sidewalk), slow traffic, count-down crosswalk timers, and accessibility features (like wheelchair ramps), among other things.

Enter your address into Walk Score to see how walkable your neighborhood is, and get details on nearby restaurants, grocery stores, libraries, public parks, schools, and other amenities. Any score above 80 means you live in an area where a car isn’t necessary to get by.

5. MapMyRide

For those of you who get around on two wheels, MapMyRide is for you. The site lets you plot your bike riding routes using Google Maps, and view other routes that fellow bikers have entered. You can view routes on a regular map, or add in elevation data to see how much uphill and downhill riding you’ll have to contend with. Where available, you can also preview what that route will look like at bike level by using Google’s Street View.

MapMyRide also offers a calculator to estimate how many calories your bike ride will burn, and premium memberships with workout tracking and printable maps. Also check out Bikely, a similar site where riders share their biking routes.

6. HopStop

Of course, sometimes the weather makes riding your bike or walking a less than desirable prospect — public transportation to the rescue! HopStop makes riding the subway or the bus in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Boston Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Philadelphia, London, and Paris a breeze. Unless you’re very familiar with a public transportation system, getting around in a new city can be tough. HopStop takes out the guesswork by telling you which trains and buses to take and how to get from station to station.
I use it to map out subway routes whenever I am traveling in a city where I don’t know the system very well. Also check out Google Transit, which gives transportation directions for more than 425 cities around the world.

7. Zimride

If you do plan to take a car, why not share a ride with someone else? Carpooling is better for the environment, it saves money, and it can save time if it makes you eligible for a high speed HOV lane during your commute. Zimride connects carpoolers together for one-time rides, regular commutes, and cab shares in the US and Canada. Because of Zimride’s clever integration with Facebook Connect, you can query your Facebook friends or your work or school network for rides to help ensure that you’re not getting into the car with an axe murderer (and increase the likelihood of finding someone in your area heading in the same direction as you). Also check out Avego.

8. RideCharge

If you neither own a car nor want to get into one with a complete stranger, then RideCharge might be for you. RideCharge lets you book taxis in 27 metro areas via your mobile device so that you never need to be caught out in the rain trying to hail a cab. The site is especially helpful for corporate travelers or those who need to be in a specific place at a specific time. If you pre-book your taxi, sedan, or shuttle, you can be sure you’ll get to your appointment on time.

9. GasBuddy

For those who need to travel by car, GasBuddy is a must-visit site. Relying on crowd submitted information, GasBuddy delivers up-to-date gas prices for cities across the US and Canada, so that you can always find the lowest gas prices in your area. Once you locate the cheapest gas station, use GasEdge to calculate if the extra driving for an out-of-the-way bargain will actually be worth it, or if going to your regular, but more expensive, station will actually save you money in the end.

10. FuelFrog

FuelFrog lets you log mileage between fill ups, how much gas cost, and how many gallons or liters you added to your tank simply by tweeting your daily fuel data. The site then creates handy graphs that can be helpful in charting your fuel usage, identifying trends in your local gas prices, and learning how your car uses fuel (which could help alert you to issues like the need for a tune-up or that your tires are low on air). The information could also help you adjust your transportation habits so that you burn less fuel and save money.

Also check out MyMileMarker, which lets you enter fuel data via its web site, right from the pump through a special mobile site, or on Twitter.

VIA: Smarter Planet

Gadgets, Tech, Travel media, smart, social, Travel

If you have a large number of gadgets around the home, you probably have the same number of battery chargers as well as it seems technology vendors like to create proprietary adapters to increase their revenues. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a standard or universal charger?

Bluelounge Sanctuary Universal Charger

Until then we have the blue Lounge Sanctuary, Apple, Kyicera, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, …, and also hundreds of gadgets to be recharged also with its USB charger.

Gadgets, Tech bluelounge, charger, sanctuary, universal

Biocase with fingerprint lock

Perhaps you’ve got plans for a trip abroad that include a ’seedy’ location with the potential for criminal threat lurking at every corner.  Sure, locking your luggage would be a great solution, but generally speaking fumbling for a key to access its contents is, well, just not cool or practical.  There to excel you into tech wowness is Heys USA, Inc., who will launch a 19-inch and 20-inch suitcase with built-in fingerprint reader.  The Biocase consists of a ‘indestructible’ hard shell and can be accessed by up to 8 stored fingerprints.  If your travels are longer than 90 days then you’ll want to tote along the included USB charger.

Full release below

Miami – March 1, 2009 – Heys USA, Inc., the inventor of the “The World’s Lightest Carry-on Luggage” and leader in innovative, hard side luggage, announces the BioCase, a line of both a 19” business case and a 20” carry-on luggage piece which both requires the owner’s fingerprint for accessibility when locked. Retailer availability will begin in April 2009.

The BioCase features exclusive biometric (fingerprint) technology that unlocks when memorized fingerprints access the case. The cases are nearly indestructible with their hard side design, adding even more security and protection during your travels.  The 19” business case converts to an overnighter, removing the need for two luggage items.  The 20” carry-on fits easily into airline overhead compartments.  Each case will “memorize” up to eight fingerprints with a memory that remains charged for 90 days.  Each case can be fully charged using a power adapter or USB plug. Both cases are lightweight and created with ease of transport in mind with ergonomic, non-slip TRP comfort grips.  Each comes with a full lined interior and is made with the highest quality materials.

“Heys has established a standard of excellence by providing function, quality, and durability without compromising style, “ commented Heys USA President and CEO, Harry Sheikh. “And now it is time for us to leverage technology to rewrite the rules of luggage.  It is what our customers have come to expect from Heys USA.”

VIA

Gadgets, Tech, Travel biocase, case, fingerprint, Travel

Lunar eclipses are well-documented throughout human history. The rare and breathtaking phenomena, which occur when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow and seemingly changes shape, color, or disappears from the night sky completely, caught the attention of poets, farmers, leaders, and scientists alike.

Moon Eclipse

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method for using computer graphics to simulate and render an accurate visualization of a lunar eclipse. The model uses celestial geometry of the sun, Earth, and moon, along with data for the Earth’s atmosphere and the moon’s peculiar optical properties to create picture-perfect images of lunar eclipses.

The computer-generated images, which are virtually indistinguishable from actual photos of eclipses, offer a chance to look back into history at famous eclipses, or peek at future eclipses scheduled to occur in the coming years and decades. The model can also be configured to show how the eclipse would appear from any geographical perspective on Earth — the same eclipse would look different depending if the viewer was in New York, Seattle, or Rome.

“Other researchers have rendered the night sky, the moon, and sunsets, but this is the first time anyone has rendered lunar eclipses,” said Barbara Cutler, assistant professor of computer science at Rensselaer, who supervised the study. “Our models may help with investigations into historical atmospheric phenomena, and they could also be of interest to artists looking to add this special effect to their toolbox.”

Graduate student Theodore C. Yapo presented the study, titled “Rendering Lunar Eclipses,” in late May at the Graphics Interface 2009 conference.

The appearance of lunar eclipses can vary considerably, ranging from nearly invisible jet black to deep red, rust, to bright copper-red or orange. The appearance depends on several different factors, including how sunlight is refracted and scattered in the Earth’s atmosphere. Yapo and Cutler combined and configured models for sunlight, the solar system, as well as the different layers and different effects of the Earth’s atmosphere, to develop their lunar eclipse models.

For the study, Yapo and Cutler compared digital photos of the Feb. 21, 2008, total lunar eclipse with computer-rendered models of the same eclipse. The rendered images were nearly indistinguishable from the photos.

Another model they created was a rendering of the expected 2010 lunar eclipse. Yapo said he looks forward to taking photographs of the event and comparing them to the renderings. One potential hiccup, he said, is the April eruption of Mt. Redoubt in Alaska – volcanic dust in the Earth’s stratosphere can make a lunar eclipse noticeably darker and more brown. Yapo and Cutler’s models can account for this dust, but they performed their simulation prior to the eruption, and assumed a low-dust atmosphere.

VIA: http://news.rpi.edu/

Tech Add new tag, eclipse, lunar, moon

Arican pilot Gale Halvorson airdropped candies in the name of hope, for the Berlin children. War equals devastation, so dropping candies instead of bombs was probably personal retribution. Inspired by this incident, designer Hwang Jin wook and pals have come up with a plan to combat deforestation and desertification of land in a similar fashion. Their mission is called “Seedbomb.”

Mission Seedbomb involves a bomber aircraft and charges full of the Seed Capsules. Essentially the project involves artificial dispersal of seeds over arid areas where natural vegetation has lapsed due to man-made follies like deforestation leading to desertification. Each capsule contains artificial soil and seeds, and are air-dropped over the selected regions.

Housed in biodegradable plastic, the artificial soil provides nourishment and moisture to the seed; till it grows out to be a strong enough plant to sustain itself. As the sapling matures, the plastic capsule melts away, leaving behind a brand new generation.

Sounds like Mission (im)Possible to me, however the logistics of desert environment and the kind of seeds to be dispersed will require a lot research and expertise from the botanists. Because once the capsule melts away and the artificial soil’s nourishment and moisture used up, it’ll take a lot of effort on the plant’s part to survive the harsh environment.

Designers: Hwang Jin wook, Jeon You ho, Han Kuk il & Kim Ji myung

SeedBomb

Seed Bomb

SeedBomb

VIA: YANKODESIGN

Science, Tech, real ecology bomb, cluster, green, seedbomb

Bill Gates’ vision is part of most home PCs, laptops, netbooks, and even cell phones with the Windows operating system. Now he wants to redesign how cars work.

Earlier today, a patent filed with the US Patent & Trademark Office was made available for public viewing, detailing an electromagnetic engine that could very well replace the traditional combustible engine, paving the way to energy efficient automobiles of the future. Among the ten inventors listed in the patent–as Searete LLC, part of Intellectual Ventures–is none other than Mr. Windows himself, William H. Gates, III, and Microsoft’s former chief technology officer, Nathan Myhrvold. The group originally filed the patent back in October 2007.

Bill Gates patented engine

As the patent states, the electromagnetic engine “converts mechanical energy of a piston to and from electrical energy during each piston cycle.” However, the group also applied for two additional variants of the concept: free-piston and opposed-piston. While the free piston patent uses the same definition, the opposed piston electromagnetic engine is defined as an “engine [that] includes a cylinder having a two pistons slidably disposed therein, a port arranged to admit a reactant into the cylinder between the two pistons, and a converter operable with at least one piston to convert mechanical energy of the piston to electrical energy.”

While the patent mentions a “reactant,” that doesn’t necessarily indicate fuel used today. The patent talks about a liquid reactant injector and a carburetor that would deliver the reactant mixture to the first port of the engine. Another interesting note was the patent’s use of a “plasma injector,” a terminology widely used in the Star Trek universe. This device–whether its in the form of a spark plug, catalyst, particle beam igniter (that’s in there too), or the plasma injector– is referred to as a reaction trigger, an electrical igniter configured to initiate a chemical reaction in a reactant disposed between the first piston and the closed end of the first cylinder; the reaction trigger is located at the top of the cylinder.

Bill Gates patented engine

But how does this engine actually work? The electromagnetic engine apparently doesn’t need alternating pistons, but rather a set of pistons fitted with electromagnets to speed up the recovery process. With magnets on both ends, the piston is pulled up and down the cylinder. Once the piston reaches the top and fires, it is immediately pulled back down into the cylinder by magnetic force, and then repeats the cycle. According to the patent, the pistons can use either electromagnets, permanent magnets, or a magnetically susceptible material such as an iron core. The energy generated from the reaction trigger could be stored in a battery, capacitor, or some other energy management system.

With that said, there’s a good chance an automobile using this type of engine will run on electricity and utilize a rechargeable battery. If the engine is capable of storing energy as the patent suggests, the automobile may not even need an alternator. That may be incorrect of course, however, there’s no mistaking that Bill Gates is once again trying to change how things work in everyday things: first with DOS, then Windows, and now with the electromagnetic combustion engine.

VIA: Tom’s Hardware

Cars, Tech, Uncategorized bill, car, gates, injector, plasma

Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

Many longtime sailors have been mesmerized by the dazzling displays of green light often seen below the ocean surface in tropical seas. Now researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have uncovered key clues about the bioluminescent worms that produce the green glow and the biological mechanisms behind their light production. 

Marine fireworms use bioluminescence to attract suitors in an undersea mating ritual. Research conducted by Scripps marine biologists Dimitri Deheyn and Michael Latz reveals that the worms also may use the light as a defensive measure. The report, published as the cover story of the current issue of the journal Invertebrate Biology, provides insights into the function of fireworm bioluminescence and moves scientists closer to identifying the molecular basis of the light. 

“This is another step toward understanding the biology of the bioluminescence in fireworms, and it also brings us closer to isolating the protein that produces the light,” said Deheyn, a scientist in the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps. “If we understand how it is possible to keep light so stable for such a long time, it would provide opportunities to use that protein or reaction in biomedical, bioengineering and other fields—the same way other proteins have been used.”

Read the rest of the article at LAB SPACES

Science, Tech, Uncategorized bioluminiscence, glow, green, ocean, sea

WikiPock is a mobile phone software that allows you to search and read Wikipedia articles without internet connection. All the articles are stored in your mobile phone’s memory so there is no need to download anything from the network. Wikipedia® is the world’s biggest encyclopedia with over 2.7 million articles in English — In your phone, on the go!

WikiPock

 
WikiPock, a Paris-based startup, has compressed the entire English language version of Wikipedia to under 4 gigabytes (not including images), and is selling it for mobile phones. The other language versions are smaller (it also comes in German, French, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish).

Gadgets, Tech Add new tag, mobile, phones, wikipedia, wikipock

The joke about hydrogen-powered cars is that they’re about 10 years away–and always will be. The technology has been held up largely by the high cost of hydrogen fuel cells, but now researchers say they’ve found a way to bring down the cost dramatically by making a key component out of carbon nanotubes instead of platinum. More than half the cost of fuel-cell stacks comes from platinum, according to the Department of Energy. “Fuel cells haven’t been commercialized for larger-scale applications because platinum is too expensive,” says Liming Dai [Technology Review], the lead author of the new study.

Carbon nanotubes

Researcher found that tightly packed, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes doped with nitrogen were more effective as catalysts than platinum, which is usually used to help oxygen react within the fuel cell. That is a vital stage of the fuel cell cycle. Rather than burning fuel to create heat to power a turbine, fuel cells turn chemical energy directly into a flow of electricity. Hydrogen gas, for example, is pumped past one electrode (the anode), where it is split into its constituent electrons and protons. The electrons then flow out of the anode, providing electrical power, while the protons diffuse through the cell. Electrons and protons both end up at a second electrode (the cathode), where they combine with oxygen to form water [New Scientist].

That second reaction is very slow, so engineers have developed cathodes made out of materials that act as chemical catalysts and speed up the reaction. Until now, platinum was considered the best catalyst, but now carbon nanotubes with a trace of nitrogen (the critical ingredient) have left the precious metal in the dust.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE IN DISCOVER MAGAZINE

Cars, Science, Tech carbon, Cars, hydrogen, nanotubes