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Honolulu is the first big US city to ban phone use at crosswalks
Cities have tried innumerable measures to keep pedestrians' eyes off their phones when they cross the street, and there have even been some state-level attempts at legislation to force a change in behavior. Honolulu, however, has officially drawn that line in the sand -- it's the first major US city to pass a law that fines you for crossing the street while using your phone. As of October 25th, the Hawaiian burg can ask you to pay between $15 to $99 if you're caught looking at a mobile device while you're strutting the crosswalk. How much you pay depends on whether or not you're a repeat offender. There is an exemption if you're calling emergency services, though, so don't feel guilty about dialing 911 while you rush to the scene of a crash.
Hawaii defies Trump with law upholding Paris climate accord
Nearly 1,500 US local governments and companies have vowed to uphold the Paris climate deal, but Hawaii is the first state to make its defiance legally binding. Governor David Ige signed Senate Bill 559, committing the state to keep up its end, despite US President Trump opting out of the 195-nation deal. "Hawaii and other Pacific Islands are already experiencing the impact of rising sea levels and natural disasters," said Ige. "That means we need to be first when it comes to creating solutions."
The future of a cleaner, cheaper power grid is batteries
On the southern edge of the island of Kauaʻi sits an unsightly diesel power plant. The rust-covered smokestacks (a by-product of being next to the ocean) that emit a mechanical engine drone are a stark contrast to the serene beauty of the rest of the Hawaiian island. For decades this smoke-belching eyesore was the main source of electricity for Kauaʻi. But now it's being overtaken by renewable sources -- one that's made possible by batteries like those being built by Tesla.
Photographer captures nature through surveillance webcams
Nature photography usually involves a lot of being outside and walking. That's fine for some, but photographer Marcus DeSieno captures our world's natural majesty from his computer, via online traffic and weather camera feeds.
ICYMI: Hawaiian crows are our new favorite animal
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists filmed young Hawaiian crows and discovered that they're so smart, they figured out how to use tools to get food without ever having been taught by adult crows. There are very few Alala in the world, but some are about to be released back into the wild so researchers are excited they'll bring their stick engineering ways with them.
6 buses transformed into incredible homes on wheels
By Cat DiStasio Converting a disused school bus into a groovy makeshift home on wheels is a pretty common occurrence in many places around the world -- and that trend continues to blossom in some incredibly cool ways. In some areas, housing is so desperately needed for the homeless and poor that city buses are being transformed into low-cost shelters. Elsewhere, a bus might get a new life as a cozy cabin or a chic recreational vehicle.
Hawaiian court nullifies Thirty Meter Telescope's building permit
The Thirty Meter Telescope's story has been so full of trials and tribulations, a producer might just find a way to turn it into a soap opera. On Wednesday, the Hawaii Supreme Court has canceled the TMT group's permit, which gives them the right to build the gargantuan telescope atop the Mauna Kea volcano. According to the court, the Board of Land and Natural Resources should not have given the project permission to go forward before it had the chance to hear the side of a group petitioning against its approval. If you recall, the various universities and institutions from the US, Canada, China, India and Japan that make up the team had to wait for over a decade and overcome numerous hurdles before construction began in 2014.
ICYMI: Mars life, bendy smartphone screens and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-427843").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: It's Space Week, and today's celestial story is an earth-bound look at what a colony of humans would have to endure on Mars. People from Hawaii's Space Exploration Analog and Simulation group just finished an eight month camp-out, cut away from society and only allowed outside when clad in space suits. Not so spacey but equally fascinating, MIT scientists figured out a bendable smartphone display's chemistry. And wearable product company Lumo announced new running shorts that aim to fix your body mechanics when pounding pavement.
NASA simulates Mars mission by locking up people in a tiny dome
A group of six people bade the rest of the world farewell on Friday to begin their year-long stay in a cramped dome on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano. The French astrobiologist, German physicist and American pilot, architect, doctor/journalist and soil scientist went on a voluntary isolation to simulate a manned mission to the red planet, which could last from one to three years. The team will have to endure living together in a 36-foot-wide, 20-foot-tall abode called HI-SEAS, short for Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation. They do have (tiny) rooms of their own with enough space for a sleeping cot and a desk, but they can only go outside if they're wearing a spacesuit. All six also won't have access to comfort food if they're feeling stressed from their living situation: they have to make do with basic food items like canned tuna and powdered cheese.
Wave generator supplies US electrical grid for the first time
A prototype wave generator called Azura is supplying grid power to Hawaii, the first time such a feat has been officially verified, according to the US Department of Energy (DoE). Though it can only produce 20 kilowatts, the DoE said that similar devices could eventually provide large amounts of clean power to coastal cities. The project is co-sponsored by the US Navy and was developed by an Oregon-based company called Northwest Energy Innovations (NWEI). It's located at the Navy's Wave Energy Test Site in Kaneohe Bay in Oahu, at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet).
Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could force others to close
For one to rise, others must fall. Hawaii's governor David Ige has given his blessing to the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) that scientists want to build on the Mauna Kea mountain. But there's a catch -- in return, he wants "at least 25 percent" of the existing telescopes to be torn down. At the moment, there are 13 telescopes on the mountainside and only one is scheduled to be dismantled. Under Ige's new proposals, one facility would need to enter the decommissioning process this year, and the remainder in his 25 percent quota would need to be gone before the TMT is operational in the mid-2020s.
The Big Picture: Preparing for the Moon
During the Apollo program, NASA sent many of its astronauts to Hawaii's Big Island for field training in the run up to missions. The surface of the Moon isn't an environment that's easy to replicate, and the volcanic island chain's barren, rocky terrain is as close as it gets on earth. The picture above shows astronauts from Apollo 17 -- the last manned mission to the lunar surface -- test driving the Moon buggy in 1971. It's one of a series of recently rediscovered images documenting these training exercises, which can be viewed in its entirety here.
Google's Trekker project brings beautiful Hawaii imagery to Street View
After launching Street View Trekker last year, Google is now starting to show us what we can expect from its loaner program. What you see above are some pictures from the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, which were taken by Google's first Trekker partner, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, and added to Street View as part of the company's imagery project. The search giant says there's a lot more where that came from too, including beaches, historical sites, hiking trails and parks. And with the summer right around the corner, this is a perfect opportunity to virtually explore The Islands of Aloha before booking your next vacation.
AMD's flagship Radeon R9 290X graphics card now available for $549
AMD's range-topping Radeon R9 290X has been (officially) shrouded in mystery since its unveiling last month, but the company is at last revealing full details and releasing the graphics card to stores. As you'd expect given its $549 price, the flagship is a big leap in performance over the $299 R9 280X: it carries 2,816 stream processors, a wider 512-bit memory bus and a larger 4GB of video RAM. The board can muster 5.6TFLOPs of general computing power, AMD says, and is built with 4K graphics in mind. More importantly, it's also delivering a lot of bang for the buck. Early reviews at sites like AnandTech and Tom's Hardware show the R9 290X outperforming the more expensive GeForce GTX 780; as long as you can tolerate the noisier cooling, it may be a good fit for your gaming PC.
AMD unveils Radeon R9 and R7 series video cards, unifying graphics code for PCs and consoles
Graphics cards aren't normally our go-to choices for audio processing, but we may have to make exceptions for AMD's just-unveiled Radeon R9 and R7 lines. The R9 290X (shown above), R9 290 and R7 260X (after the break) will support TrueAudio, a new programmable pipeline that enables advanced audio effects without burdening a PC's main processor or a dedicated sound card. Not that the range will be lacking in visual prowess, of course. While the company isn't revealing full specifications, it claims that the R9 290X flagship will have five teraflops of total computing power versus the four teraflops of the previous generation. The boards will ship sometime in the "near future," with prices ranging from $89 for an entry R7 250 to $299 for the mid-tier R9 280X. AMD isn't divulging the R9 290X's price, but pre-orders for the card will start on October 3rd. The firm has also revealed a new programming interface, Mantle, that makes the most of the Graphics Core Next architecture found in many of its recent processors and video chipsets. Developers who build the low-level code into their games should get better performance from GCN-based devices without having to re-optimize for each platform -- a title meant for Radeon-equipped PCs should still behave well on a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, for instance. Mantle will debut on Windows through a December update to Battlefield 4, and should spread to other platforms in the months ahead.
Hawaii clears land use for the Thirty Meter Telescope, construction to start in 2014
The Thirty Meter Telescope has been under development for more than a decade, but the sheer amount of land needed on Hawaii's Mauna Kea for its namesake main mirror has proved problematic: locals have formally challenged the multi-university effort over concerns that it might damage both the environment and natives' heritage. Regardless of which stance you take on the issue, the project is going forward now that the state's Board of Land and Natural Resources has granted an official land permit. The move clears an optical and near-infrared telescope with nine times the coverage area of its peers, and three times the sharpness. That's enough to observe light from 13 billion years ago as well as put a heavy focus on tracking extrasolar planets, including planets in the making. Any impact on science or Mauna Kea will have to wait when construction doesn't even start until April 2014, although we're hoping that environmental care requirements attached to the permit will let us appreciate both the early universe and modern-day Earth in equal measure.
Mobile Miscellany: week of June 11th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Cricket found a new retail channel at Kmart and we received news that the HTC One S will soon arrive at Cincinnati Bell. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of June 11th, 2012.
Nokia hints at June 18th news, may be PureView related instead of Microsoft (Update)
Amidst the upheaval in Espoo Nokia continues to push forward, and tonight its Facebook page has already posted a couple of teaser images, including the one seen above, suggesting there's big news due on June 18th. Astute observers will note that's also the day its good buddy Microsoft has already planned its own high profile and highly secretive event, although you may not want to connect the two just yet. One of the images is a map of Hawaii, which AllThingsD notes is home to area code 808, a possible reference to Nokia's PureView 808 41MP cameraphone technology, which was followed up by the above image, with tempo cranked all the way up (ready to go boom...like an 808?). Draw your own conclusions -- of course we'll be hanging around Monday to see what happens. Update: If the Roland TR-808 image wasn't explicit enough, Nokia US has dropped another hint on its Facebook page, featuring what appears to be artwork cropped from the 808 State album ex:el.
Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic brings a slice of tilt-shift to your life (sample photos)
C'mon, admit it -- if you won one of many lotteries, you'd be purchasing a legitimate tilt-shift lens right after picking up a new Ferrari and buying a chocolate factory. Given that said scenario is highly unlikely to pan out, Lensbaby is stepping in to make the letdown a bit easier to stomach. The Edge 80 Optic is the latest in the outfit's growing Optic Swap system, which is compatible with the Composer Pro, Composer, Muse, Scout and Control Freak, and it's capable of transforming those bodies into "a tilt lens that delivers a slice of sharp focus through an image that falls off to a soft blur." There's a 12-blade adjustable aperture (f/2.8 through f/22), and when not shifted, it's fully capable of taking flat (read: standard) photographs. As the name implies, there's an 80mm focal length, but macro lovers should be aware that you'll need at least 17-inches to focus on your subject(s).We've been toying with one on our D3S over the past few days, and it certainly does what it says; moreover, it's far easier to justify at just $300. (For those unaware, dedicated T-S lenses can easily top $1,500.) And if you're already invested in the Optic Swap system, it makes even more sense. Granted, it takes some work to compose a shot. You'll need to rely on manual mode, and you'll need to tweak your ISO to match your desired aperture and available light. Leaving the ISO too high while using f/2.8 in broad daylight will result in white captures, while not boosting the ISO enough after dark will leave your shot murdered out. Once you've got your settings right, though, the lens couldn't be easier to operate, and the shift + lock mechanism is as smooth as butter. We threw together a gallery of our favorites taken recently in Hawaii and French Polynesia, so dive in below to see if this piece of kit is deserving of your attention.
Hawaii's online tracking law is all but dead, lead sponsor confirms
The Hawaii state legislature has apparently pulled an about face on a proposed internet tracking bill, amid swelling concerns from civil libertarians and internet service providers alike. First introduced last week, the controversial measure calls for all ISPs to track and record a user's online activity and identity within individual digital dossiers. The law's supporters trumpeted it as a vital step in protecting "victims of crime," but its momentum has all but come to a halt, now that its lead champion has proclaimed its death. In a recent interview with CNET, Democratic Representative John Mizuno (pictured left) confirmed that his bill has been shelved, attributing the decision to the avalanche of critical feedback he's received (see the coverage links, below). "It's generated a lot of national attention," Mizuno explained. "I've taken into consideration the thousands of e-mails (which were often) colorful and passionate, which is absolutely fine... This bill just isn't ready. It needs a lot of work." Unfortunately, this doesn't mean spell an outright death for the law, as Mizuno still believes that keeping a record of browsing history could help authorities hunt down pedophiles and other evil doers. "I think both would be very strong pieces of evidence if there's going to be a criminal proceeding," he argued. Despite our own fundamental misgivings with Mizuno's approach, it's still encouraging to see politicians respond to public outcry so swiftly and, as with the SOPA debacle, appropriately.
