As I was searching for information on Apple’s iPad and possible alternatives, I came across something very impressive about Apple, and a few other top electronics manufacturers. Since August 2006, Greenpeace has been periodically releasing updated versions of their Guide to Greener Electronics that “ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV’s Continue reading...
We are encouraged to switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in the name of the energy conservation and the environment. I have long had a problem though with the mercury, albeit a small amount, that is in CFLs. It just seems an odd thing to bring more of into our homes, rather than less, when we now know how bad mercury exposure is. Continue reading...
Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, was a pacifist who intended his creation to help people. Among other things, he wanted to make explosives safer to use, thereby making mining safer. And that, “My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions. As soon as men will find that in one instant, whole Continue reading...
So we have our stuff, and some of it requires power. How about some environmentally friendly power stuff to go with it? Thanks to supply and demand, and all that talking we can do to manufacturers with our wallets, more and more enviro options continue to emerge. I do believe that some alternative energy technologies Continue reading...
Happy Earth Hour! Lights out for an hour. But not me. Surprising to hear? Let me explain my thinking. On the surface it may seem an admirable energy saving idea, and a way to bring home the importance of energy conservation, of valuing the earth. But does it not also deliver a bad message? That Continue reading...
Years of toting a pedal harp around, I always wished it were easier to move. Smaller, more portable somehow. Why did I have to choose the largest instrument in the orchestra? Why not a flute or violin? Even a string bass would have been easier to cart around. So I couldn’t help but smile, and be a little envious there’s not a harp version…yet…when I came across the most portable ‘instrument’ around, short of the human voice that is. I’m sure the technology will only improve, but Continue reading...
While we still don’t have consumer versions of that Light Touch projector/computer that turns any surface a touchscreen, I have come across something that is available that turns any surface into a speaker. OrigAudio has come out with, “The Rock-It portable vibration speaker system takes music from your device and generates it into vibration sequences. Continue reading...
I’ve had a few people ask me recently about starting their own websites. Become their own dots on the internet map. When I created my first website about 12 years ago, Elizabeth Ely’s Harp Page, I was a complete novice, but enjoyed the new challenges. I even enjoyed learning a bit of HTML code to Continue reading...
In light of the futuristic nature of yesterday’s post, I thought it might be fun to look at a few crazy gadgets that while inspired by the future, are actually available today. More specifically, Star Trek coming to us now in a new way. Memorabilia attached to movies and television shows, and gratuitous product placement Continue reading...
In the late 1960’s who would have thought the communicators used by Captain Kirk and company would in essence become reality in the form of cell phones, and be completely commonplace today. What seemed like pure science fiction and imagination was willed into existence by inventive and creative minds who believed the impossible was possible. Continue reading...
