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Wind energy mines digital cash to support climate research
Climate change is frequently described as a vicious cycle that depletes the very resources needed to fight it. In the case of Julian Oliver's latest project, however, it could almost be described as virtuous. His Harvest project uses a 700W wind turbine to power a PC mining cryptocurrency (specifically, Zcash) that directly funds climate change research. In other words: the more the symptoms of climate change manifest themselves, the more money goes toward fighting that change. It was commissioned as a piece of art, but it's a very practical design that could find plenty of uses in the real world.
The best tech and apps for your home office
By The Wirecutter Staff This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. You don't need the thinnest, lightest, or most elegantly designed items for your home office. You want reliable, comfortable, efficient tools—but it doesn't hurt if they look nice, too. That's why a team of three experienced remote workers spent more than 150 hours researching and testing new gear and apps, and picking the most office-friendly items from The Wirecutter's guides, to give you a selection of tools that we're sure will earn a place in your workspace.
Crowdfund Bookie, June 30 - July 6: Tobuscus Adventures, Void Destroyer
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the week and produces pretty charts for you to look at. This week in crowdfunding, the Kickstarter campaigns for Void Destroyer, GhostControl Inc, Harvest, Tesla Breaks the World, Dormant Sky and Endica VII: The Dream King as well as the Indiegogo campaign for Tobuscus Adventures: Wizards came to a close. Tobuscus Adventures: Wizards earned the most dough this week ($642,779) as well as the most backers of the funded projects (11,584) and highest average pledge per person, with each funder averaging $55.49. The game will be the first in a series of RPGs for iOS, Android and Steam based on the popular YouTube shows of the same name by Toby Turner. Check out the results and our dandy little charts after the break.
New Repopulation dev blog gets down and dirty with harvesting details
You may remember that earlier this month, the folks behind upcoming sci-fi sandbox The Repopulation released a dev-blog that detailed part of the game's resource-gathering system which involved the ever-so-charming extraction of precious resources from your enemies' still-warm corpses. Thanks to the game's newest dev blog, we're now able to get some insight on the other half of the resource-gathering experience: harvesting. While extraction involves pilfering goodies from dead baddies, harvesting is the more uh... humane method of gathering resources from nodes such as ore deposits, trees, and so forth. Harvesting resources from a single node works in the same way as extracting resources from a corpse does, but harvestable resources are also available from rarely occurring resource clusters. These clusters "contain a larger stash of a single resource and [have] a better chance of yielding higher quality results." Up to four players can place a harvester at any given cluster, which will run dry after 2-4 hours, at which point the players can return to the cluster and pick up their share of the goods. This system, the diary mentions, encourages players to gather in groups or share the wealth with their hired help. If you can't wait to get your hands dirty and rob nature of her delicious bounty, you can find out all the details over at the game's official site.
MIT researchers develop chip that can harvest energy from multiple sources
We've seen a number of different devices that can harvest energy from various sources, but none quite like this new chip developed by a team of MIT researchers. It's able to harvest energy from three different sources simultaneously: light, heat and vibrations. The key to that is a sophisticated control system that's able to rapidly switch between the three sources at all times to prevent any of that energy from going to waste (and not draw too much power itself), with energy from the secondary sources stored in capacitors to be picked up later -- as opposed to existing systems that simply switch between sources based on what's most plentiful. As doctoral student Saurav Bandyopadhyay explains, efficiently managing those disparate sources could be a "big advantage since many of these sources are intermittent and unpredictable," and it could in turn lead to the chip being used in a range of different applications where batteries or existing energy harvesting methods just aren't enough: everything from environmental sensors in remote locations to biomedical devices.
Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video)
Let's face it -- humans are lazy, yet incredibly industrious. We've seen everything from a self-making bed, to a channel-changer to even a touchless keyboard. And now, we're blessed with a robot that plants seeds for us. That's right, the image you see above is of a five-legged machine that has the ability to complete all of the necessary steps to grow a plant. Thanks to a Parallax Propeller chip that's mounted on a Schmart Board, Prospero is able to autonomously navigate in any direction and avoid obstructing objects. There's a sensor that lies under its body that senses where seeds have been deployed. If the robot detects that the ground is in need of a seed, it'll dig a hole, drop the seed, move the soil back over the hole and then spray paint the ground white to note that the process was successful. The belly of the bot is also equipped with fertilizers and herbicides, and Prospero can 'talk' (via infrared) to other robots in order to maintain crop-creating efficiency. You can check out a 48-second clip of the planting process after the break. Or, if you're a harvest-enthusiast, hit the more coverage link for 5 minutes of glorious green thumb action.
It came from the Blog: Join us for Pilgrim's Bounty
Even though our world has been shattered, we still gotta eat, right? So it's time for the annual Pilgrim's Bounty party with the <It came from the Blog> family of guilds. When: Saturday, Nov. 27, at 12:30 p.m. EST (9:30 a.m. PST, 10:30 a.m. realm time) for the pre-event mixer and 1 p.m. EST for the actual event Where: The entrance to Silvermoon City on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) Who: Any level Horde character is welcome. You may want to have some cash on your character for the purpose of purchasing souvenirs, cooking training or other event-related items. How: Ask any member of <Blogling> for an invite if you are not already in one of our guilds What: Food fight! ... among other things. As usual, I will be streaming the event. We'll have a separate event chat just for the occasion, and all except funsuckers are welcome to join us. Please join us on Zangarmarsh (US-PvE-H) in <It came from the Blog>. Guild ranks of Blog Lurker or above can invite, so /whisper Robiness or any online member. You are all welcome as long as you play by our simple rules -- basically, don't be a funsucker! Visit the guild FAQ for more details.
Windows Phone 7 Series gaming, all up in the club (video!)
So... look. Sometimes you find yourself in a Vegas club at 3AM, holding a Windows Phone 7 Series testing device loaded up with a working copy of The Harvest, and you shoot what might be world's shakiest video of the gameplay using a nearby Nexus One. It's practically a rite of passage in this town, right? Video after the break. Update: Also, sometimes you find yourself in a Vegas hotel the day after the Vegas club, nursing your brutal headache and desperately seeking a second opportunity to film that hot unreleased game with a better camera. Video of that is after the break, too.
GDC Impressions: Gaming on Windows Phone 7
We already broke out the news you're looking for: Each of the Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live-infused games will offer its players 200 Gamerscore points. You'll be able to boost your Xbox rep in significant chunks without having to hunker down in front of a big screen for long stretches. You'll never again have to go so long without hearing that satisfying "Achievement unlocked" sound. The world, as you know it, has changed. Fortunately, the channel through which you'll access these on-the-go 'cheevos looks like it has loads of promise. The handful of work-in-progress Windows Phone 7 games we were shown today at GDC didn't leave much of an impression -- however, the effortless portability of games between the platforms supported by the recently announced XNA Game Studio 4.0 opens up a lot of possibilities for development on Microsoft's new mobile device.
Happy Harvest Festival!
Can you believe how fast this year is flying by? Yes, it's Harvest Festival time once again in Azeroth, which means it's time to celebrate the coming end of the summer (from now until Saturday) with some tasty eats and sweet drinky treats, and honor the Fallen Heroes of the Horde and Alliance. Outside Orgrimmar and Ironforge, you'll find Harvest tables loaded with food (that give you back 2% of your health or mana per second for 30 seconds each), and there's also quests in each place that will send you off to honor a hero of your faction (Uther or Grom Hellscream).You won't get anything from the quests right away (except a book, which doesn't appear to be on the list of "Well Read" achievements, probably because it's faction-specific), but in a few days, you should get a nice, foodie surprise in the mail that I still use on my Warrior. It's Harvest Festival time again! For the Fallen!And of course, you know what this means. Brewfest is just around the corner!
App roundup: Timekeeping and billing (Part II: The Quickening)
I got a lot of feedback from commenters yesterday about the app roundup of timekeeping and billing software. Turns out that little part about not having a comprehensive list didn't satisfy anyone! So let's add to our list, and include five more apps and services to make you a billing maestro and timekeeping maven: iBiz Billings TimeLog OfficeTime Harvest
Harvest clocks in on the iPhone
I've tried a lot of online time-tracking solutions and have personally come to love Harvest for its simplicity, good looks and -- more than anything -- the great tools they provide to make punching in and out simple enough that people might actually do it. They've had a Dashboard widget (also available for Yahoo! Widgets) for some time which allows for insanely fast job tracking, whether entering it in post or starting and stopping a timer. You can even use Twitter from your phone to stop a running job timer if you forget. As of last Thursday, though, you can handle all of your time tracking and expense logging through a spiffy iPhone interface. I have high hopes for the opening of the App Store and the veritable bounty that the Mac developer community will be able to offer. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the number of highly-useful sites that are offering iPhone portals, and the companies and developers that are stepping up to provide services for a device which they must agree is not a passing fad. Thanks, Danny!
EQ2 Rise of Kunark tradeskilling: harvested resources
There's not long left now before EverQuest II's world will be expanded once again, and Rise of Kunark is released. Leading up to the November 13th launch, the tradeskill fanatics at EQ2 Traders Corner have put up a ton of great information for crafters in the new expansion. One of their most useful pages details the tier 8 harvested resources found on the continent of Kunark.The names of all the new resource types can be found here, including the rare harvests, as well as a list of transmuting items. Apart from this, the page informs that meats will no longer come from animal dens as they used to. Dens are solely for hides now, and meat will be obtained by killing mobs. We are assured, however, that for those tradeskillers that prefer not to bloody their blades, there is a level-up path for Provisioners that does not involve meats at all. Check out the resource lists at the link below, and we'll feature some more excellent RoK crafting coverage from EQ2 Traders Corner, later in the day.
Harvest Moon trailer tackles troublesome towns [update 1]
A fresh trailer for Harvest Moon Heroes has blossomed, bearing several juicy pieces of fruit that which we may pluck and savor for almost two minutes. The latest trailer, or delicious fruit that is ripe for the plucking, focuses on the town aspect of the game as we see the protagonist navigating the streets and speaking with the inhabitants. You can see the trailer past the post break.%Gallery-3745%Update: Found that pesky missing letter a.
Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, bee killing edition
Apparently, we should all feel incredibly guilty for simply using our cellphones, as not only are we encouraging the growth of ear tumors within our bodies, but now we're hearing that radiation flying out from our mobiles are demolishing the world's supply of crops. All jesting aside, a controversial report is now claiming that "radiation from mobile phones are interfering with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving (and pollinating) species from finding their way back to their hives." The comically-named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is reportedly being seen on a much larger scale in the US and Europe, and elusive "evidence" is purportedly backing these dodgy claims up. Backers of the shocking data are even going so far as to suggest that in the future, our refusal to set aside the cellphone could cause "massive food shortages as the world's harvests fail." Man, this sounds worse than Y2K, for sure.[Via Slashdot]
Harvest Moon: Attack of the Cows
Tired of being explolited as mascots for Marvelous Interactive's always-adorable farming sim series, the Harvest Moon cows have revolted, surrounding their cruel master to put her out to pasture once and for all. They finally secured the goats' loyalty, the final component of their master plan.That's the only possible explanation for the events transpiring in the above screenshot. Anything else, like that maybe she's feeding them or just talking to the cows, is so farfetched as to be unbelievable. Harvest Moon may be cute, but it's totally edgy.
Aqua Sciences extracts water from thin air
It's no secret that there's water galore in our atmosphere, but prior attempts to harvest that moisture in any sort of efficient manner have been rather unsuccessful. Well, now a Florida based company, cleverly titled Aqua Sciences, has busted out a 20 foot machine that can harvest 500 gallons of water per day, and is currently showing it off to the US government for the use by military types in Iraq, for disaster relief and for other humanitarian purposes. The machine can operate on a minimum 15 percent humidity, and brings the cost of getting water to Iraq down from $30 per gallon to 30 cents per gallon. They're reluctant to reveal their "secret sauce," which they liken to the KFC recipe, suddenly making us rather hungry, but they do mention that their process uses salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination method, similar to how nothing grows near the Dead Sea because the salt dehydrates everything. While taking a brief respite from their out-of-control metaphor usage, Aqua Science also mentioned a 40 foot version of their machine which can produce up to 1,200 gallons per day of water, depending on conditions, and can purify an additional 8,000 gallons per day of existing contaminated water using an "integrated reverse osmosis module." We kind of wish they had a nifty metaphor for that one, because the Wiki article on the subject is little help, but we suppose we'll live. No word on when exactly this thing will be put into action, but it doesn't sound like they've entered into any sort of mass production of their machine yet.[Via Wired News]
Farming fun without the cow patties
Harvest Moon Heroes producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto posits that a farming sim is far more entertaining than actual farming, and we're forced to agree -- unless you're one of those freaks who actually enjoys yard work and such. However, if you want to get close to the real thing without breaking a sweat or sliding around in the byproducts of pork futures, then the Wii version of the long-running Harvest Moon franchise is just what you need. In designing the latest installment in the series, Hashimoto says they worked to walk a fine line between work and play. After all, if the game is too much like work, then why play? Why not trundle into the backyard, shovel in one hand and spade in the other, and make your own garden? Harvest Moon Heroes works to get as close to that as possible, albeit without the added bonus of fresh tomatoes or peppers. But it sounds like the game will be a perfect illustration of the Wii's ability to translate the gaming experience into reality, or at least a semblance thereof. Sounds like a sign a great things to come.
Harvest Moon DS gets pushed back
Turns out those of you with a green thumb and constant itch to tend land will have to wait just a bit longer as the DS installment in the popular farming franchise Harvest Moon has been pushed back from a release of late in August to 12 September 2006. Pretty big deal, no? During the interim, why don't you watch the trailer a couple more times and think happy thoughts of bathing sheep and planting crops. Also, should we expect Natsume to give Harvest Moon DS the big push again, maybe even further into the future than a few weeks?
Harvest Moon trailer available
The videos just keep on rolling today. Next course up in our delectable entree of tender cuts of game footage for the day is a trailer for the farming sim Harvest Moon DS. Should you be the type of person who is thrown into bouts of rage when viewing farming duties such as tending to soil, cleaning livestock, and playing simple card games (the bane of every good farmer's existence), you might want to avert your gaze, instead opting to close your browser window and enjoy a nice bubble bath. May we suggest you go with the Pina Colada scented variety? We like the way it makes you smell.[Note: Video opens and plays in Windows Media Player after the link.]
