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Jeff Bezos will have Rotterdam dismantle a bridge so his superyacht can pass through
Jeff Bezos' upcoming superyacht is so big the city of Rotterdam has agreed to temporarily dismantle part of a historic bridge to let it through.
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.
Volvo builds a self-docking yacht
There are plenty of things that can go wrong when you dock a boat, and if they do, the consequences can be expensive. It's a problem that Volvo Penta claims to have solved after building a "self-docking yacht" that can park itself in spaces no sailor would contemplate. The Volvo subsidiary, which makes engine and maritime gear, is designed to navigate a vessel while taking into account the environmental conditions.
Alien sex tapes, robot rape and the evolution of consent
A little over a week ago Engadget's EIC and I had dinner with a couple of friends at a Chinatown Thai restaurant in L.A. As I sipped on a Singha Slurpee, our dinner companions, Claire Evans and Jona Bechtolt of the band Yacht, gave us an off-the-record rundown of a bizarre and twisted plan for the release of their next single, I Wanna Fuck You Till I'm Dead. They'd created a One Night in Paris-style sex tape spoof with a twist: Instead of peeling off their clothes, the couple would peel back their flesh to reveal hypersexualized alien bodies.
You can only watch YACHT's music video when Uber surge pricing hits LA
The band YACHT has a new record coming out next month, and it's debuting a new music video to tease a new single. However, you won't be able to click over to YouTube to watch. The video for "LA Plays Itself" can only be viewed when Uber's surge pricing goes into effect in Los Angeles. Increased demand for the ride-sharing service unlocks the song so the city (kind of) plays itself. What's more, when surge rates hit two times the norm, the band will spin a remix version of the track. As the band states, it's certainly a new take on the traffic jam.
An electropop band used fax machines to promote its new album
Always looking for a reason to dust off your office's sad, unused fax machine? Here's one: The band YACHT used faxes to initially distribute its new album's artwork. No, really. It's part of a weird, multimedia promotion that defies all expectations: the album was announced as a set of coordinates that led to a billboard bearing its name, reading "I thought the future would be cooler." The track list was unveiled as a Buzzfeed listicle. Now the band held its cover art ransom until at least 300 people requested it via fax. With the 300 requests in, you can check out a high res version after the break (no landline phone required) or on Google Photos.
Steve Jobs' supervillain yacht is chilling in the British Virgin Islands (not New England)
The massive yacht Steve Jobs helped design -- and which launched a year after his passing -- was recently (?) spotted looking like an amphibious Apple Store off the coast of Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands. The new photos show the ship, named Venus, with its sides and rear deck open for the first time on camera. The latest snapshots of the ship were posted to the Woods Hole Inn Instagram account. Woods Hold Inn is located in Massachusetts, which has led many outlets -- including Time -- to declare that Venus is visiting New England. Of course, by the weather, mountainous shoreline, and abundant greenery it's pretty clear that the photos were not taken in January on the east coast of the United States. Oh, and the photos actually say that they were taken in the British Virgin Islands, so that helps too.
iPad-powered yacht wins design award
Well, I suppose if you're going for all out luxury in constructing a yacht, there's no harm in going the extra mile and making the iPad a centerpiece of importance. CNN on Monday reported on a US$15 million "space-age yacht" that sports a rather innovative design, and believe it or not, can be navigated with an iPad. The innovative design, along with high-tech features such as an iPad-controller, helped glossy "Adastra" win three prizes at last week's prestigious ShowBoats Design Awards in Monaco, including Best Naval Architecture. Impressively, the ability to control the yacht via an iPad can be done even at a distance of 50 meters, or about 164 feet. As you can tell from the photo above, the Adastra looks like no other yacht you've ever seen before, or at least no yacht I've ever seen before. With a look that would fit right at home in any number of sci-fi movies, the Adastra is almost 140 feet long and took nearly five years to build. As noted by CNN, the Adastara was recently the recipient of a few Showboats Design Awards, including the Naval Architecture Award and the Newcomer of the Year Award. The yacht is owned by Anto Marden who, according to brilliantboats, will be able to use his new $15 million toy to travel "between the two islands he already owns off the coast of Indonesia." I suppose it follows that if you can afford to commission $15 million to build a futuristic yacht, chances are also pretty high you probably own, oh I don't know, an island or two. You can read more about the Adastra and the efforts that went into its creation over here.
Designer has Steve Jobs' yacht impounded over unpaid bill
Philippe Starck, the man who designed Steve Jobs' yacht, had the boat impounded in Amsterdam due to unpaid bills, according to Starck's lawyer. The yacht, known as "Venus" cost almost US$130 million to build. It was started in 2007 by Jobs and Starck, who worked together in designing it. Since Jobs passed away in October 2011, he never got to see the finished boat, but after its completion it was delivered to his family. However, now Starck's lawyer says the Jobs family has only paid him a portion, $8 million, out of the $12 million he and Jobs agreed on. A lawyer representing Starck told Reuters, "The project has been going since 2007 and there had been a lot of detailed talk between Jobs and Starck. These guys trusted each other, so there wasn't a very detailed contract." The yacht was impounded on Wednesday and will remain in the Amsterdam port until Jobs' estate lawyers pay the outstanding balance.
Details of designing the Jobs family yacht
Last month we saw images and a video of the Jobs family yacht Venus, which features a row of 27-inch iMacs on the bridge, floor-to-ceiling glass in many places, and a very unique design. SuperYacht Times recently interviewed famed French designer Philippe Starck, who collaborated with Jobs on the design of Venus. Starck noted that at the beginning of the design process, Jobs gave him "carte blanche" to do whatever he wanted -- the requirements were just the length of the yacht and the number of guests Jobs wished to entertain on board. After that point, Jobs and Starck spent one full day every six weeks between 2007 and Jobs' death in 2011 poring over design changes "millimetre by millimetre. Detail by detail." The result of the collaboration is a design that's very much the embodiment of Jobs, something useful, yet simple. Starck notes that there is not a "useless pillow" or other object without a purpose on the entire yacht. The SuperYacht times interview is a fascinating look into both the mind of designer Starck as well as the design philosophy of the late Jobs. [via CNET]
Daily Update for October 29, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Steve Jobs' yacht unveiled
An 80-meter yacht that Steve Jobs helped design has launched a year after his death, according to Dutch blog One More Thing. The uniquely styled craft, christened "Venus" after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, has floor-to-ceiling glass in many areas and other interior design elements reminiscent of Apple's retail stores. Far more interesting from our perspective are the seven 27-inch iMacs that seem to serve as the ship's main instrument monitors. They definitely appear to be the new super-thin iMacs, but speculation in the TUAW newsroom ran rampant over what software they're running. It's possible they're operating on entirely custom software, but they may also be running an off-the-shelf solution (likely virtualized in some fashion). Though we called it Jobs' yacht in the headline for the sake of brevity, it's obviously his family's yacht now. In gratitude, the family issued shipbuilders with iPod shuffles and notes thanking them for their "hard work and craftsmanship." A video of the yacht is embedded below. [via The Verge]
Philippe Starck reportedly working on Jobs family yacht
A few days ago famed French designer Philippe Starck told French radio station that he was working on a "quite revolutionary" product with Apple that will be unveiled in 8 months. For a few hours the Internet went crazy with speculation that Starck was referring to the rumored Apple television set or the next iPhone. However, in a rather uncustomary move, Apple quickly issued a statement denying that the company was working with Starck in any way. Now a spokesperson for Starck clarified the situation to The Wall Street Journal. The spokesperson confirmed what many had guessed after Apple's refutation of Starck's claims: that Starck was referring to a yacht he was designing for Steve Jobs. According to the spokesperson, "It's not a project with Apple. It's a private project that began with Steve Jobs and that has been taken over by his wife." Steve Jobs mentioned the importance of the yacht to him and his family quite a few times in his biography. Jobs told biographer Walter Issacson, ""I didn't think I would be alive when it got done. But that made me so sad, and I decided that working on the design was fun to do, and maybe I have a shot at being alive when it's done. I know that it's possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don't, it's an admission that I'm about to die."
Daily Update for April 13, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Super yacht controlled by an iPad
Looking more like a floating spaceship than a luxury boat, the Adastra is the result of five years of work by billionaire Anto Marden and yacht designer John Shuttleworth. Not only is the boat an object to behold, it's also crammed full of high-tech goodness like an iPad-powered remote control system that works within a 50-meter range, says a report in the Daily Mail. Other features include a glass and Kevlar hull, room for nine guests and six crewman and a top speed of 22.5 knots. It's efficient and can travel from the UK to New York without needing to refuel. If you wanted to build one of these super yachts for yourself, better start saving now as it'll cost you £15-million (US$23.9 million).
Inhabitat's Week in Green: transparent airplanes, photovoltaic subdivisions and a wind-powered yacht
Green transportation soared through the skies this week as Inhabitat reported on Airbus' plans for a transparent airplane, and we showcased a crazy working hover bike capable of flying up to 10,000 feet. We were also excited to see China begin to roll out high-speed rail across Asia and we spotted several out-of-this world Frankenstein vehicles -- a Mercedes-Benz bus train in Bolivia and a wind-powered yacht that doubles as an airplane. It was a momentous week for energy news as well, as Italians voted to end the use of nuclear power, and we took a look inside Germany's Wunderland Kalkar Amusement Park, which is built inside of a decommissioned nuclear plant. Solar power also had its moment in the sun as Enfinity unveiled two gorgeous photovoltaic-laden landscapes in Les Mées, France and Bangladesh announced that one million of the country's homes are powered by photovoltaic panels. We even spotted a new type of flexible generator that could be built into shoes to produce power as you walk. This week we were also excited to unveil the winners of our Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition -- the elegant geometric Tetra Pak Lamp, the gorgeous glowing Nourishment Lamp, and the cute cork Pinha Pendant Light. We also launched our new Ask a Tech Geek Series where gadget guru extraordinaire Peter Rojas answers your questions about green technology, and we reported on one Japanese researcher's dubious plan to create an artificial meat substitute from poop. Finally, we shared an awesome steampunk rotary smartphone and a set of fun foldable Paper Punk robots that are perfect for terrorizing your coworkers' cubicles.
Ocean Empire LSV is the self-sufficient superyacht for the super-rich
It looks like your luxury extra-national seafaring utopia just got one step closer to reality. The Ocean Empire Life Support Vessel is a 144-foot Catamaran Superyacht manufactured by Sauter Carbon Offset Design, and it features not only "all of the hotel amenities of a luxury global voyager" but two hydroponic farms and fishing facilities and three sustainable power sources: a 400 square meter 70kw solar array, an auxiliary 80 square meter (200kw) automated SkySail that drives the ship to 18+ knots and charges her battery systems, and a Motion Damping Regeneration (MDR) system developed with Maurer Sohnes Gmbh that can produce up to 50kw of electricity as it steadies the ship on rolling seas. How much will it cost you to take yourself, nine of your closest friends, and a crew of eight to the sea -- and remain there indefinitely? About $17 million. Hit the source link to order a couple for yourself. The vessel is built to order and you can have it ready to go in about eighteen months. At least it's cheaper than Saddam's yacht!
$600k a week iPad-controlled charter yacht
First land, then air, and now sea. This $600,000 per week charter superyacht, called "Solemates," is also controlled by Apple's iPad device. When you rent the boat and step onboard, the captain hands you an iPad with a custom-made app that allows you to control the lights and climate systems on the boat, control entertainment systems, and even summon crew members while onboard. Pretty snazzy, though of course it's far from cheap -- anyone with enough money to spare to rent this boat probably doesn't have any issue picking up an iPad anyway. Of course the iPad isn't the only amenity on the craft -- a wood interior fills up with natural light and has spaces for dining and partying, and there's a sun deck on top with a jacuzzi for relaxing in when you're not staying in one of the cabin spaces for 12 guests. Quite a boat to be on, indeed. [via 9to5Mac]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar surpasses nuclear, sewage-fueled rockets and the world's largest turbine
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It was an exciting week for renewable energy, as Inhabitat reported the news that solar energy has trumped nuclear power in terms of cost for the first time! We also looked at two innovative new wind turbine designs - the supermassive Aerogenerator, which at 10MW stands to be the world's largest, and the diminutive home-focused Honeywell turbine, which will be hitting store shelves next month. Green transportation also received a big boost this week as Stanford researchers revealed a way to transform raw sewage into rocket fuel. Meanwhile, Santiago Calatrava heralded a new era for efficient transportation as he unveiled his awe-inspiring new rail station for the Denver International Airport. And with the summer heat embroiling cities across the states, we're daydreaming of slipping away to sea aboard this sleek solar Delta yacht. In other news, wearable technology is changing the way we change our underwear -- odor-absorbing astronaut undies have finally hit the shelves. We were also impressed by a new breed of 3d-printed textiles that may one day make needles and threads obsolete. Finally, in the spirit of summer this week we showcased 6 innovative designs that harness the power of play - from energy generating soccer balls to water-pumping merry go-rounds.
Looking for a new yacht? Sunseeker app can help your search
Is that little 50' motor yacht of yours just not making your heart beat with joy any more? Do you need a new yacht on which to stretch your legs and get away from the paparazzi? Does it just bother you that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has a bigger yacht than you do (see photo above of his "boat" in Copenhagen)? No need to worry! Just pull out your iPhone or iPad and install the new free Sunseeker Brokerage app -- it's free! -- and you'll have access to details about the entire line of new Sunseeker Motor Yachts, as well as over 200 pre-owned luxury yachts. The new boats section includes vessels from 48 feet in length to 170 feet, along with plenty of interior and exterior images and specifications. You can find your nearest Sunseeker office from the app, then fly your Gulfstream G550 to that location to finalize your customizations and sign the paperwork. Of course, with the state of the economy being the way it is, you might have to tighten your belt and look at pre-owned vessels like that €18 million Leopard 46 Metre that is languishing at anchor off of Cannes. The Sunseeker Brokerage app lets you email questions about each yacht you're interested in, or email specs to your buddies. You can browse all of the vessels you're interested in while you're offline; the app can save info for any boats that meet your requirements. Me? I think I'm going to hold out for that ISA 133 series -- it's a steal at only €10,800,000.
