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Bill Gates is reportedly the first to buy a hydrogen-powered 'superyacht' (updated)
Bill Gates' investments in eco-friendly tech might include one of the more conspicuous symbols of his wealth. The Telegraph claims former Microsoft chief has tasked Feadship with building a vessel inspired by Sinot's Aqua, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-based "superyacht." The roughly $644 million, 370-foot boat would have all the trappings of wealth, including five decks, space for 14 guests and 31 crew members and even a gym, but it would run on two 1MW motors fuelled by supercooled hydrogen tanks.
Google's minty Home Mini arrives after month-long delay
Now that the Home Hub is widely available, Google is releasing its other smart speaker update this year: namely, that Aqua Home Mini it was supposed to ship in late October (yes, roughly a month ago). The minty-colored puck costs the same $49 as other Minis and doesn't offer any functional advantages, but it might be just the ticket if Coral clashes with your living room or you want to coordinate with an Aqua-tinted Home Hub.
Google Home Mini gets a new minty-fresh color option
When the Google Home Mini debuted last year, it was available in a dark "Charcoal" grey, a lighter "Chalk" grey and a pinkish orange "Coral." Today, a week before Google's annual Pixel event, the company is unveiling a brand new hue of the Home Mini -- a minty blue "Aqua."
Sony's launching a waterproof version of its mid-range Xperia M2
Sony's mobile division still lags behind Samsung, LG and HTC in all but one area: waterproofing. That's why it's no surprise to see the company's mid-range Xperia M2 getting an element-resistant remake as the M2 Aqua. The device comes with IP65/68 waterproofing -- making it better than the IP58 Xperia Z2 -- and will sit in depths of 1.5 meters for up to half an hour without complaint. The rest of the spec list is unchanged from the original that debuted five months ago, with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, LTE, a 2,300mAh battery and 8-megapixel camera. There's no word on pricing, but we'd expect it to come in above the €220 ($300) that the vanilla M2 was marked up at, and it'll launch in the fall, destined for Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe. Yup, Sony still don't got no love for North America.
Toyota to unveil Prius C, hydrogen and electric hybrid concepts at 2012 Tokyo Motor Show
If there's one absolute truth to cars, it's this: next year's models will generally make you regret the one you just bought. Over at the Tokyo Motor Show, this standard will probably hold true, with Toyota set to launch a smaller-than-current-Prius in the form of the Prius C, or "Aqua". The C, which takes some interesting technological steps forward, packs a hybrid drivetrain, coupling an as-yet undisclosed "high-output" electric motor with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. According to Toyota, this combination will yield over 50 miles per gallon in the city, the highest city fuel economy for any non-plug-in vehicle. Getting into more experimental territory, Toyota is also expected to unveil the FCV-R concept, this model previewing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle with room for four passengers and luggage space currently being targeted for a 2015 market launch. This, along with the FT-EV III (which will preview an upcoming electric version of the company's iQ model with a short-range battery-powered drivetrain) round out Toyota's morsels for the new model year. Stay tuned for additional pricing and release dates as they become available, and head down past the break to see what to expect from the new Prius. %Gallery-139441%
Aqua: Digital paintings made up of OS X elements
Here's more proof that beauty can often lie hidden, even though it's right before your eyes. Digital artist Johannes P Osterhoff found an artistic quality to Apple's Aqua user interface and decided to base a series of digital "paintings" using several of its elements. With a few simple and subtle alterations, Osterhoff was able to make what looks like actual water droplets or ice, only using elements of Aqua (hence the series' name), at least at first glance. So far Osterhoff is making use of very few elements of the Aqua UI, so I'd like to see what can be done with something else. There's only so much that can be done with bubbles and bars. [via today and tomorrow]
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Metal Slug XX, Aqua
We've got two Xbox Live Arcade staples this week. First is Metal Slug XX, which has the advantage of Xbox Live online play over its XBLA cousin, Metal Slug 3. Next, we've got yet another twin-stick shooter in Aqua. As its title suggests, Aqua flavors its twin-stick shooting antics with an extra dose of H20 (and torpedoes). Metal Slug XX will run you 1200 ($15), while Aqua is 800 ($10). Watch this week's XBLA in Brief and decide if either tickles your fancy for destruction. [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly. Xbox.com: Add Metal Slug XX trial version to your Xbox 360 download queue Xbox.com: Add Aqua trial version to your Xbox 360 download queue
This Wednesday: Metal Slug XX and Aqua launch (missiles) on XBLA
Whether it's by land or by sea, you'll have ample opportunity to make things go kaboom this week on Xbox Live Arcade. SNK is offering another side-scrolling actionfest in Metal Slug XX (1200), while Games Distillery launches a steampunk naval warfare title, Aqua (800). Not since the end of Commando has there been such a long line of dudes ready to buy their own farms. Xbox.com: Add Metal Slug XX to your Xbox 360 download queue (1200) Xbox.com: Add Aqua to your Xbox 360 download queue (800)
Aqua: Naval Warfare sets sail on XBLA next week
In the sea of action-shooters available on Xbox Live Arcade, it's fitting that the latest actually takes place on the sea. Hitting XBLA on May 19 is Aqua: Naval Warfare, a top-down dual-stick shooter drenched in a stylish steampunk setting. In the game, players take on the role of Captain Grey who must fend off the Gothean Empire from the invading Emperean Empire. In gameplay terms, that basically means "point the right stick at things you want to destroy until that happens." The world of Aqua: Naval Warfare is unique, flooded by a cataclysmic event with the majority of its landmass underwater. Like that awesome movie Waterworld! Did we say "awesome?" We mispronounced "We're still waiting for our refund, Mr. Costner."
New Aqua: Naval Warfare details and screens surface
Games Distillery has released some new details about its upcoming XBLA game, Aqua: Naval Warfare. Players will take control of one of three different basic ships: the speedboat, the cruiser or the gunship. Each vessel offers its own strengths and weaknesses. The speedboat is agile but low on firepower, while the gunship is slow but powerful. Meanwhile, the cruiser is an "all-rounder" with no outstanding weaknesses or strengths. Each craft can also be upgraded in the game's "Warshops" and via upgrades hidden in the game's levels. Aqua also allows players to issue commands to a squadron of four support ships. These ships provide a variety of support abilities including healing, extra firepower and sonar. Check out screens of each vessel and the support ships in the gallery below. %Gallery-92470%
Aqua: Naval Warfare splashes XBLA this summer
click for more screens Slovakian developer Games Distillery has announced that its Aqua: Naval Warfare will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade this summer. The game, to be published by Microsoft Game Studios, features -- unsurprisingly -- a lot of naval warfare. Aqua takes place in a "fantastic Victorian industrial scenario," which gives way to its steam-powered watercraft. Players will take control of these craft, which can be unlocked, upgraded and enhanced as the game progresses. The press release doesn't offer any further gameplay details, though the screens certainly feature plenty of open water destruction. Check 'em out in the gallery below. %Gallery-91470%
Aqua scrollbar art
I love these bits of art by Anders Clauson featuring iconography from the old Aqua OS X interface -- obviously it's not a straight representation of the actual interface, but instead, it's kind of a weird deconstruction of the scrollbars. There's one that's just a random desktop screenshot, and another that shows the interface actually opened up in a Photoshop document. The overall effect is that the artist isn't just showing off the parts of the UI, he's also deconstructing the actual process of creating and using a UI as well. Good stuff. It's also interesting to me to think that with the coming of the iPad, we may be seeing the end of interface widgets like this. When all you have is a touchscreen and gestures, you don't really need to deal with buttons and widgets -- if you want to close a window, just swipe it to the side, or to expand it, just pull two fingers apart. Of course, it'll probably be a little while before the iPad and its interface fully replaces the more traditional UI, but I think it'll happen at some point in the future.
'Marble' to be the next look-and-feel for Mac OS X?
Snow Leopard, the next major version of Mac OS X, will include minor tweaks to the user interface, according to MacRumors' Arnold Kim. "The new theme will likely involve tweaks to the existing design and perhaps a 'flattening' of Aqua in-line with Apple's iTunes and iPhoto interface elements," Kim writes. AppleInsider's Kate Marsal posted a screenshot of some controls purported to be part of the new interface, dubbed "Marble." It's unclear where the screenshot came from, as Kim writes that development builds have so far used Leopard's version of the Aqua theme. They could easily be Photoshopped screenshots of iPhoto or iTunes, so take that with a grain of salt. Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote that Marble was the codename for the new interface scheme in his Macworld predictions roundup, but said later he was wrong when it was not announced during the keynote. He wagered that the look would feature "iTunes-style scrollbars everywhere, darker window chrome, and a light-text-on-dark-background menu bar." Snow Leopard is rumored to be released before the end of March.
Snow Leopard might not be the best code name
The great Mental Floss blog actually did the research on something that occurred to me as soon as Steve said "Snow Leopard" during the keynote -- naming an OS after a cat "sometimes known as the ounce" might not be the best idea.File this stuff in the "didja know" column: snow leopards aren't actually leopards -- they're actually closer in family to cheetahs, which means that the new OS might be a little closer to Aqua than we're all comfortable with. Also, they're pretty timid -- not only can they not roar (so new audio features in the OS are out), they're known to hide behind their fuzzy tails. We'll put it this way: you wouldn't exactly want to call your football team The Snow Leopards, so we're not quite sure why Steve decided to use the moniker.Finally, the weirdest tie here is that the snow leopard as a symbol is already taken -- by the Girl Scouts of Kyrgyzstan. Of course, Steve's naming capabilities haven't really been up to snuff lately, and maybe he just didn't want to go with Cougar -- even though Apple owns it, they may not have been ready to take on all the connotations associated with that particular nomenclature. Then again, maybe this will be good for the snow leopard's image -- after seeing all these pictures of cool cats, if you feel you'd like to help them out, we're sure the Snow Leopard Trust would be happy to hear from you.
Japanese hardware sales, May 28 - Jun. 3: Explanatory Aqua Teen edition
We know, you were disappointed. Last night, as you happily refreshed DS Fanboy every nine seconds or so looking for this week's Japanese hardware sales, the vim slowly faded from your eyes as the hours ticked into oblivion. We would never willingly deprive our readers so; we were unavoidably delayed! You see ....Thousands of years ago, before the dawn of man as we knew him ... there were the moon men, reigning over the Earth. But this was not the Earth you knew! It was covered in jelly and high-density motor oil, making the planet very slippery. The moon men blamed the corporations, and there was a war and many were killed. The battle raged for millennia until 8000 A.D., when the moon men realized they were not actually from the moon, but from rural Pennsylvania. They then built a monument to the moon but then the Quakers stole it and filled it with oatmeal, and no one knew what flavor. Californians were highly displeased and turned all the Quakers invisible, which is why you never see them anymore. And that ... is where babies come from.- DS Lite: 123,140 4,321 (3.39%) - Wii: 69,748 11,104 (18.93%) - PSP: 26,358 261 (1.00%) - PS2: 11,814 503 (4.45%) - PS3: 8,998 629 (6.53%) - Xbox 360: 2,219 175 (8.56%) - Game Boy Micro: 310 97 (23.83%) - GBA SP: 247 41 (14.24%) - Gamecube: 226 30 (11.72%) - DS Phat: 71 10 (12.35%) - GBA: 16 1 (5.88%)[Source: Media Create]
Sanyo AQUA washing machine recycles water, dry cleans clothes
We've seen washing machines that tell you whose turn it is, offer remote monitoring, sterilize garb, require no water, and tackle more stains than we knew were possible to pick up, but Sanyo's forthcoming machine lives life on the greener side, and cuts down your trips to the dry cleaners to boot. The aptly-named AQUA was spotted as CES, and aside from the thoughtfully designed entry door that's high enough for folks to reach while standing up, this gizmo rocks a unique "Aqualoop" feature that allows it to recycle water for use in future washes. Moreover, the Air Wash function enables owners to clean clothes at home that are typically reserved for the dry cleaners, as it "infuses" your swag with odor / bacteria-killing chemicals without the use of water, leaving your wearables fresh and your body at home. Although there's no word on price or future availability just yet, we've still got more than a few reservations when it comes to reusing soiled liquid to, um, clean dirty clothing.[Via The Raw Feed]
AguaT brings the Aqua back to iTunes 7
If you aren't hip on the un-Aquaness of the new iTunes 7, AquaT might just be the remedy for adding some of Apple's more standard UI elements back into their straying media software. As you can see, it brings the candy-blue scrollbars, light blue sidebar background and other various UI elements back in line with the rest of Mac OS X. It even goes so far as to make tweaks to some of the file type column names, like slimming down 'MPEG Audio File' to 'MP3' - great for those to whom screen space is a premium.Now AguaT is free, and it works by replacing a few files inside of iTunes itself, so if you're at all worried about fubaring iTunes, or if you want to revert back to the regular iTunes 7, the author recommends (and I echo) backing up iTunes.app before applying this hack (clicking on iTunes and pressing cmd-d to duplicate it should suffice).This looks like a well-done hack, but I agree with Dan: even though iTunes 7 is laughing at Apple's HIG docs, I'm diggin' it. Still, in the interest of 'to each their own,' I though I'd bring this to the table for y'all Mac OS X users keepin' it old school out there. Peace.
Aqua is dead, long live Aqua!
Apple seems to use iTunes as a test-bed for new user interface design styles, and iTunes 7 brings with it an almost complete overhaul the Aqua look we have all grown to love/hate/tolerate. While on the surface, the iTunes 7 interface may seem very similar to that of previous versions, there are a few very distinct differences that I think forebode greater system wide changes to come in 10.5 Leopard. Since the initial version 10.0, OS X has gone through a variety of system-wide interface changes while still keeping some very important aspects of the original Aqua UI. First we lost the pinstripes, then we got brushed metal, and most recently, we see the move with most applications to a "unified" interface. With iTunes 7, Aqua is gone for good. Glossy radio buttons, scroll bars, control buttons and track information windows are all gone; replaced by sleek utilitarian sand-blasted metal. I think this is the first significant peek we've had into the rumored complete redesign of the OS X UI for Leopard. I, for one, welcome this change. While the glossy days of old were an exciting way to draw new users–indeed, it was part of way I switched– it quickly became an eyesore for many; designers in particular. The introduction of the Graphite visual style fixed a lot of issues graphics professionals had with the bright colors of the interface clashing with their work, but everything was still not dandy. For pro and power users their Mac is not only a computer, it is the tool of their trade, and something they use day in and day out to get things done, and while no one wants to work in a badly designed, ugly UI, minimalist utilitarianism is sometimes the key to reducing distraction. Of course, much of this is personal opinion, but it is an opinion I know is shared by at least a small core group of Mac die hards. What's your take on the new interface? Is it just a fluke, or a hint at things to come?
Microsoft survey asks about Aqua
It seems like even Microsoft's marketing department knows a thing or two about nerdy UI stuff, as a recent survey that offers copies of Vista Beta on CD asks what the fancy new 'let's make everything 50% transparent because transparency is teh r0x0r' effects in Vista are called. Wouldn't you know - Aqua is one of the multiple answers! Right up there along with 'Aero' (the correct choice) and 'Zero' (funny how they rhyme). I would honestly love to see the stats on these test results.Fortunately, Microsoft also allows Vista beta hopefuls to share how the four-years-late OS truly makes them feel with another question: "Windows Vista brings _____ to your world" has three options: Confusion, Creativity and Clarity (nevermind the large Vista banner at the top of the survey page - pictured). Be careful how you answer kids; you do want that copy of the clarifying (hint hint) Windows Vista beta, right?Right?Thanks Ety
