Posted: 24 Oct 2013 07:00 AM PDT
The Ene-Farm fuel cell is the first ever commercial fuel cell system in the world. So far, the cell units have only available to people who dwell in a detached property. However, it seems that the creators of the fuel cell unit, Panasonic and Tokyo Gas, have been working hard to get the Ene Farm in to apartment blocks.
The action of the cell unit remains the same as its predecessors. Hydrogen is taken from the city gas supply and used to react with the oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere. This reaction gives off heat which in turn generates electricity while heating water. The one cell unit has the triple benefit of providing an energy source, backup power source and hot water unit all in the same place. However, the latest version of the Ene-Farm fuel cell unit has been tweaked so that the cell units can be placed in the pipe shaft of an apartment block.
Firstly, the Ene-Farm cell unit exterior panels are thicker on the latest model. In addition to this, the exhaust structure has been altered to make the unit sturdier in strong winds and stronger legs mean that the unit can withstand earthquakes a little easier. The result is an airtight unit that can be stored in an open pipe shaft on any floor of an apartment building that will still work in strong winds.
Following their success in Japan, Panasonic is planning on expanding its Fuel Cell Systems to Europe under the Ene-Farm project.
The new Ene-Farm should be introduced to the public April 1, 2014. Tokyo Gas is hoping that the reduction (approximately 37%) of primary energy consumption and (approximately 49%) reduction of CO2 emissions will encourage condo owners to help them achieve their goal of selling 500 units in one year. The total annual savings that could benefit people using the units is somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 Yen (305 – 420 USD). So far, certain real estate developers have already shown interest in the Ene-Farm fuel cell unit saying that they would be happy to use the cell units in their future development which will contain 456 units over two properties.
[Image via Fuel Cell Insider & handelsblatt]
The post Ene-Farm Fuel Cell Moves into Apartments appeared first on TechBeat.
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Posted: 24 Oct 2013 06:00 AM PDT
Smart watches have been extremely popular with developers lately it seems. According to a Bloomberg report, there is now another entrant for the race towards producing the best wrist wearable technology with a HTC smart watch.
Readers of the Bloomberg article were led to believe that somebody with inside knowledge of HTC’s business had said that HTC were definitely working on a smart watch and planned to release it during the second half of 2014. Pricing, marketing and exact release dates are unknown, but it’s thought that the HTC smart watch will feature GOOG Android operating system and have a camera.
Coincidentally (or not) the rumor came to light on the back of an article in the Financial Times where the CEO of HTC, Peter Chou was quoted as saying that the company thought of wearable technology as “a critical segment for us”. The president of HTC believes that there is a huge potential for growth in the technology of products such as smart watches and many other items. He is obviously not alone in the opinion that wearable technology will take off during the next few years. Several other tech giants have been seen or at least rumored to be dipping their toes into the wearable technology market:
One thing is for sure, HTC definitely need something to inject some interest and revenue into their business. Although the company was once the smartphone favorites in the US, it has seen a slump in the share prices of 54 percent and actually suffered its first ever quarterly loss. HTC are working to combat the problem with redesigns of the favored HTC One handset along with new marketing techniques involving high profile celebrities like Robert Downie Jr. But it looks like the Taiwanese company could be branching out into the seemingly young but fast-growing wearable technology market as a way to put their company back in the game.
[Image via Coroflot]
The post Rumors Of HTC Smart Watch With Camera appeared first on TechBeat.
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Posted: 24 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT
Apple have done it again with a new line up of innovative tech. They have unveiled a new iPad model; the iPad Air, updated the iPad mini and Retina display MacBook Pro’s. Also the Mac Pro will be available from December. But I think the best news was on the software front, as there are updated iLife and iWork suites for the Mac, iOS, and iCloud.com and the latest version of OS X Mavericks would be made available immediately with no charge!
iPad Air
Apple has produced a completely new iPad model: the iPad Air. The new model is significantly thinner than its predecessor and faster. The new model is 20 percent thinner than the fourth-generation model, and 0.4 pounds lighter, (it weighs exactly one pound). Additionally, while the iPad Air has the same 9.7-inch Retina display as its full-sized predecessor, the bezel around that screen is much smaller; 43 percent thinner than previous model. Inside sits a new 64-bit A7 chip and M7 co-processor. Apple says the new processors provide twice the CPU and graphics performance as the previous model, while retaining a 10-hour battery life. There are also improved FaceTime and iSight cameras; and dual microphones for improved audio capture and Siri. Both Wi-Fi and LTE models of iPad Air will ship November 1 and are availablein silver/white and space gray/black and they cost the same as the previous models.
iPad mini
The new iPad mini increases its screen resolution from 1024 by 768 pixels to 2048 by 1536 pixels while keeping the same 7.9-inch (diagonal) screen size. It also receives a 64-bit A7 processor, which Apple claim makes the Retina iPad mini up to four times faster for processor-intensive tasks and up to eight times faster for graphics tasks. The new iPad mini also features Apple’s M7 motion coprocessor. It also gets an upgrade to the camera. The iPad mini with Retina Display will be available in silver/white or space gray/black “later in November,” according to Apple. The Wi-Fi versions will cost $399 for 16GB, $499 for 32GB, $599 for 64GB, or $699 for 128GB. Cellular versions add $130 to each: $529, $629, $749, or $829, respectively. Apple is also keeping the original iPad mini at a lower price. The 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini is now priced at $299 (down from $329), while the Wi-Fi + Cellular version will retail for $429.
Mac Pro
Power Mac users are also happy as Apple announced the new Mac Pro will ship in December. The base $2999 configuration includes an Intel 3.7GHz Xeon E5 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of flash storage, and two AMD FirePro D300 GPUs, capable of supporting up to three 4K displays. There is an upgraded $3999 model, which has a 6-core 3.5GHz Xeon E5 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage, and two AMD FirePro D500 GPUs.
Retina MacBook Pro
Apple also revealed an updated versions of the Retina MacBook Pro. The new entry-level $1299 13-inch Retina MacBook has a 2.4GHz dual-core Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, integrated Intel Iris Graphics, and 128GB of flash storage. The model is also lighter, thinner and cheaper than the previous entry level model. There are also two upgrade models: A $1499 model has the same CPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage. The $1799 model has a 2.6GHz dual-core Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of flash storage. The new $1999 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro ($200 cheaper) has a 2.0GHz quad-core Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, Iris Pro integrated graphics, and a 256GB SSD. For an extra $600, you can upgrade to a 2.3GHz quad-core Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of flash storage.
Mavericks
Mavericks is now available from the Mac App Store, and even more significantly, it’s free! The new OS will bring key under the hood features to OS X, new versions of popular Apple iOS apps, and full support for multiple displays. Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi spoke of some of the new features first demonstrated back in June, including Safari shared links, enhanced notifications, Finder tags, multiple display improvements, and new Maps and iBooks apps. OS X Mavericks will be available as a free download from the Mac App Store on OS X Snow Leopard or later. It’ll run on a 2007 iMac and MacBook Pro or later; 2008 MacBook, Macbook Air, or Mac Pro or later; and the 2009 Mac mini or later.
Finally, Apple unveiled a selection of new Mac and iOS apps, with updates to the iWork suite and iLife suite. The iWork apps; Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, now offer full file compatibility between OS X, iOS, and PCs via the iWork for iCloud service. The products have also been overhauled with new features. The new iWork apps are available now from the iOS and Mac App Store. Regarding the iLife suite; iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand for both the Mac and iOS, there are plenty of new features and updates including faster Photo browsing in iPhoto, easier browsing and speed controls in iMovie; and more tracks and a new Drummer feature in Garageband.
Overall, a fantastic line up packed with loads of new tech, new software and new innovations. Well done Apple, well done indeed.
[Image via: ocanada]
The post Apple Unveils New Lineup, Some Of It Is Free! appeared first on TechBeat.
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Posted: 24 Oct 2013 04:00 AM PDT
Sending and receiving money online is not always as easy as we would like it to be. Purchasing items online is easy enough, with merchants offering a variety of payment methods, but when it comes to transferring cash, it’s a different matter. Not only can it be a slow process, but you might also end up having to go the old-fashioned way at the end of the day.
That’s where Square Cash comes into the picture.
Square Cash comes from the already well known group Square Inc., which made its name in the smartphone-swiping device niche. Many a small merchant has had their business much improved by solutions from Square Inc., and this time, the private individual can take advantage of this new way to send money online.
The solution may not be elegant, but it’s so simple. All you need to do is to use your email to send money.
How exactly does Square Cash work?
There are three steps:
Here’s a visual representation.
As you may have reasoned out by now, Square Cash needs a debit card, which Square uses to deposit the money into the bank account that you specify.
Any US debit card with a Visa or Mastercard logo will work, but it is important to note that this works in the US only – only for now, hopefully. There is also a limit of $2,500 per week; whether you send this all at once or you spread it out over several transactions does not matter.
Walt Mossberg himself has tested Square Cash, and his review just might seal Square Cash’s reputation. One thing that stands out to me in his review:
Fair warning, but it is also worth noting that with any transaction we make online, we have to trust the entity behind.
For now, US consumers have an easier (and seemingly secure) way of transferring money without much hassle. Is this goodbye PayPal?
[Images via Best Techie and Square Cash]
The post Square Cash Allows You To Send Money Via Email appeared first on TechBeat.
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Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:00 AM PDT
There have been many studies around why sleep is so important to our functions, although we don’t need to read a report to know that without enough sleep each night, us humans don’t function at full throttle. Many people are interested in all aspects of sleep and sleep deprivation and even what our dreams mean. For the first time ever though, scientists have evidence of one of the specific reasons that our brains need sleep.
Scientists from the University of Rochester discovered that during sleep, our brains are able to clear the toxic waste byproduct that our brain cells produce during the waking hours. It is this process that contributes to our well-rested, clear headedness feeling that we achieve after a good night’s sleep.
While our brain cells are active, they produce a byproduct called amyloid beta. A buildup of this metabolic waste can eventually destroy neurons. Fortunately, metabolic waste is generated throughout the body and the body disposes of it through the lymphatic system. But the brain is not connected to this system so it has to use its own waste disposal system. This system uses the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to carry the waste material down the body to the liver where it is disposed of.
The scientists injected different colored dyes into mice’s CSF and studied how the dye travelled when the mice were awake and when they were asleep. They found that the dye moved far quicker when the mice were asleep. Further study showed that this was in direct relation to the fact that the gap between the brain cells was wider when the mice were asleep than when they were awake, widening the path for the CSF to run more quickly.
The study is a significant find for the world of neurodegenerative disorders. Patients who possess conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia have higher levels of amyloid beta. It’s vital that people get enough sleep each night to let our brain garbage men do their job and help to keep our neurons firing.
[Image via mmcneuro]
The post Scientists Discover Exactly Why Our Brains Need Sleep appeared first on TechBeat.
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Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:00 AM PDT
Rio de Janeiro will be the first city in Brazil to launch a pilot program that enables NFC ticketing for public transport using mobile phones. Partnerships with mobile operators and smartphone suppliers have allowed mobile phones to act as a RioCard Transit Card. This initiative is a partnership between RioCard, Motorola Mobility, Tecnologia da Informação, Gemalto and the country’s four leading mobile operators: Claro, Oi, Telefónica and TIM.
NFC allows safe contactless data exchange when two compatible devices are placed within a few inches of each other. Contactless technology was first adopted in Rio de Janeiro with RioCard transit card back in 2003 and is now in everyday use for millions of users. For the first time in Brazil, smartphones will be used as mobile wallets with embedded NFC technology enabling a secure payment for tickets to use on public transport.
Two hundred users of trains, buses and ferries have been selected to work together with these companies in this pilot, which is to last for a three month period and is expected to conclude in December 2013. To pay for the transportation, the user needs to place the smartphone Motorola RAZR D3, which, as the first popular device offering NFC technology, has been exclusively selected for the pilot, near to the the RioCard reader terminal. There is an app that allows users to easily check balances on the screen anytime. Soon, RioCard will also offer prepaid charges on the device itself. Director of RioCard TI Homero Quintaes said, “It is a practical and fast system that brings freedom to the customer.”
Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, is providing its UpTeq multi tenant NFC SIM cards with embedded Mifare4Mobile technology. The card protects the users’ credentials enabling them to securely pay for their journey with a simple tap of their phone. As technology continues to evolve in the future, with the addition of Gemalto’s Trusted Service Manager (TSM) platform the solution will be able to support the introduction of an extensive range of value-added services.
Telecom Director for Gemalto in Brazil, Damien Bullot explains, “Transportation is emerging as one of the major applications for NFC technology, and our UpTeq multi-tenant NFC SIM card is fully scalable to host an extensive range of services now and in the future…As more and more banks, merchants and service providers introduce leading edge mobile payment technology, Gemalto’s scalable solution can seamlessly accommodate the addition of new service providers as the marketplace evolves.”
“This innovative pilot in Latin America shows mobile NFC digitizing ticketing, but this is just a starting point, as mobile commerce will drive demand for new services such as payment, vouchers, loyalty programs and access, among others. It’s an exciting time in the region…The momentum we’ve seen in mobile NFC services continues to grow at a rapid pace,” said Pierre Combelles, Head of Mobile Commerce, GSMA.
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Friday, 25 October 2013
Ene-Farm Fuel Cell Moves into Apartments
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