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GE, Urban Green Energy set up first integrated, wind-powered EV charging station (video)
GE and Urban Green Energy might not be the first to install a wind-powered EV charging station, but the two may be the best prepared to take the concept to a grander scale. The partnership just installed the first Sanya Skypump just outside of Barcelona to serve corporate and government drivers with truly clean energy at levels that meet their typically heftier demands. It's billed as one of the first properly integrated wind-powered EV chargers, and it's undoubtedly one of the more elegant: one of UGE's 4K wind turbine towers catches energy from the breeze above, while a GE Durastation tucked neatly at the bottom provides high-voltage charging for EV drivers undoubtedly eager to get moving once again. Don't worry if you don't speak enough Catalan to charge up at the initial location, either, as plans are underway to bring Skypumps to malls and universities across Australia and the US before 2012 is over. The only catch is the frown you'll likely get if you try to plug in a personal car for a top-up -- let's hope the attention swings towards completely green power sources for commuters in the near future.
iPad prevents seafood restaurant from overcharging
Thanks to the iPad, travelers in Sanya, a seaside resort town in Southern China, won't have to worry about paying too much for their seafood, says a report in China Daily. After an increasing number of complaints about excessive charges at local restaurants, government officials tried to curb the pricing practices by requiring restaurants with more than 15 tables to use the iPad to process food orders. Orders are processed by custom software on the iPad and sent to the kitchen via WiFi. Pricing will be determined by the government and restaurants will not be allowed to raise prices. If they try to overcharge the customer, an alarm will go off and the customer's bill will not print. All sales data will be stored and monitored by city officials. According to M.I.C. Gadget, about 20 of the 200 restaurants in Sanya have adopted the system, which costs 6,000 yuan (US$950) to implement. The local government is offering up to 9,000 yuan per restaurant to help with the cost of the iPad ordering system. [Via M.I.C. Gadget and nddaily]
World of Warcraft's Horde and Alliance fight it out in data sets
Sanya Weathers (who you may recognize from Massively Speaking Episode #25), continues the march to data-fueled enlightenment with her Market Trends column over at GamerDNA. She's been using the site's great player database to draw some conclusions about the overall World of Warcraft gaming populace. You may recall last week's discussion of WoW avatars based on their Bartle Type? Or perhaps (prior to that) how your Bartle choice influences your pick of a Warhammer class? Or their data-driven examination of the Warhammer Online launch?This lastest article tackles World of Warcraft players with gusto, specifically looking at Horde vs. Alliance choices based on classes and real-world gender differentiation. The results are interesting if not earth-shattering. Fun facts: There are still slightly more Shamans on the Horde-side than Alliance. Warlocks are significantly more popular on the Horde side than the Alliance side. Women are preferentially drawn to Druids and Hunters. Women prefer Alliance characters to Horde, even over the general statisical preference for Alliance over Horde. And of most import to the single male player out there, straight from Sanya Weathers: "The moral of this story, gentlemen, is that if you want to talk to a woman in game, find yourself an Alliance Druid. Half of them are actual females." Well worth a look.
