YOU CAN TAKE the person out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the person.Here are the signs you grew up near a farm:1. Your washing always smelt slightly of slurry Source: chatirygirlIf your mam didn’t roar at you to bring it in the second the scent hit the air.2. This was the biggest cause of delay in your life Source: WikimediaThey sometimes moved over. Sometimes.3. Followed closely by this Source: Peter Cruickshank4. This counted as a source of entertainment Source: danxoneil5. You weren’t allowed to have a dog, because it might ‘worry’ the sheep Source: Orin Zebest6. Playing on the hay bales? SIGN ME UP. Source: danorth17. When the cows broke out, it was a local emergency Source: quinn.anyaGET THAT COW.8. Midges, midges, midges Source: Hello, I am BruceDid we mention the midges? There were midges.9. You spent a lot of time wondering where The Bull was Source: eamoncurry123Especially when taking a shortcut through the fields to your mate’s house, because it was quicker than using the road.10. You got paid to pick up stones Source: S John DaveyGOOD: Getting money. BAD: Having to pick up stones.What have we missed? Let us know in the comments…15 of the best things about living in a housing estate>Here’s why Aengus MacGrianna is now our favourite newsreader ever> read more
POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland will today begin a renewed search operation for Caroline Graham, who went missing from her home in Portadown in 1989 when she was 19 years old.The search operation will focus on waste ground in the Carleton Street area of Portadown, and is primarily designed to locate Caroline’s remains but also forms an integral part of the overall investigation into the teenager’s murder.Caroline was living with her boyfriend in Hanover Street at the time of her disappearance in April 1989 but was originally from Newry. She had been living in the Portadown area for around two years prior to her disappearance.Police have carried out a number of searches in the area surrounding her home over the years but Caroline’s body has not ever been found.Detective Chief Inspector Gary Crawford, the officer in charge of the investigation, said that this stage of the operation will involve clearing away shrubbery and undergrowth so investigators can insert probes into the ground to determine the possible existence of human remains.“We will have a range of assets on site to assist us in what could be a protracted operation. These will include a Body Recovery dog, earth moving machinery and specialist scanning equipment.“Our search advisors will be working with other specialists from a variety of disciplines to determine as definitively as possible whether Caroline’s remains are buried at this location. Police have searched this site previously but science and technology have advanced in recent years to such an extent that we believe it is important to deploy the latest technology and resources in this case.”Crawford said that Caroline’s parents, sister and brother are being kept informed of plans.He appealed to anyone who may have any information about Caroline’s disappearance to contact 0845 600 8000 or directly on 028 9070 0727 or the office mobile on 075 8522 8283. Alternatively, people can provide information without giving their details to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. read more
SHARES IN GOOGLE have fallen sharply after the internet giant mistakenly filed its latest financial results too early, showing worse-than-expected earnings.Google had been due to announced its third quarter financial results after the closing bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange at 4pm (New York time) today. However a draft of the announcement was instead published at around 12.30pm.The announcement included the words ‘PENDING LARRY QUOTE’ at the top of the announcement, where Google CEO Larry Page would have given a quote about the results.The shares fell due to the bad results, rather than the premature filing; company results are usually released when markets are closed precisely so they do not have an immediate knock-on effect on the share price of the company.Google is blaming financial printing company RR Donnelley for the mistake in releasing the incomplete statement Business Insider reports. Google shares ceased trading on the NASDAQ shortly after the mistake was realised in order to prevent a further drop in the share price.The premature results showed that Google’s revenue was almost half a billion lower than expected, coming in at $11.33 billion rather than the expected $11.83 billion (around €9.05 billion).Google’s core adjusted operating profit was $3.95 billion, slightly down on the expected $4.1 billion.Google has $45.7 billion cash on hand and employs 53,546 people around the world as of the end of September.Google’s share price dropping at around 12.30pm today. (Image: Google Finance)Read: Web summit hears: Sex please, you’re Irish > Video: Have you ever wondered what a Google data centre looks like > read more
EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know as you kick off your day.1. #MYSTERY: Gardaí continue to liaise with Australian police to resolve the mystery of the girl found on Dublin’s O’Connell Street last month. Initially believed to be a teenager from eastern Europe, it emerged last night that the woman is about 20 years old and from Australia.2. #HEALTHCARE: The chief executives of Ireland’s four major hospitals have warned the HSE that health cuts are beginning to seriously threaten patient safety.3. #TRANSPARENCY: Apple has criticised the US government for its gag order on information about security requests. Meanwhile, its transparency report showed that the firm received five requests for account information from Irish authorities.4. #FREEDOM: Citing sources in Brussels, the Irish Times reports that Ireland is now expected to exit the bailout programme unaided – that is, without the requirement of a financial backstop.5. #MARRIAGE EQUALITY: The Irish Catholic Bishops have said they will not support a referendum to introduce same-sex marriage in Ireland with the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty stating that at the heart of the debate are children and how they should be brought up.6. #ELECTIONS: A son of Galway-born parents, Irish American politician Martin Walsh has overcome his underdog status to win Boston’s mayoral race, becoming the city’s 48th mayor.While in New York, a Democrat – Bill de Blasio – has been installed in the mayoral position for the first time in over 20 years.7. #KIDS ONLINE: A new survey has revealed that one in 10 children aged between 13 and 17 have met up with someone they met online, while more than half of teenagers try to hide their internet use from their parents.8. #JOBSWATCH: Financial technology firm Sentenial is to create 110 new jobs at its Kildare office in Maynooth.9. #TELLY: Ireland is getting a new channel. UTV has just announced plans to launch a new Dublin-based service which will have exclusive broadcasting rights for ITV Studios programmes, including Coronation Street and Emmerdale, from early 2015. That could spell bad news for TV3 as it currently airs the shows. read more
BEING LEFT AT home alone for a weekend when you were a teenager felt like the best thing in the world.You were home, alone! With no parents! For the whole weekend! You could do whatever you wanted (within reason), and boy did you exercise that ability.We’re not talking Project X here, just your bog standard acts of tiny rebellion.Here are eight behaviours you definitely engaged in if your parents went away for a few days.Casually leaving all the lights on Source: WonderlaneWith no one around to shout ‘DO YOU THINK I’M MADE OF MONEY?’ you were free to experience light throughout the evening as you moved from room to room.Going out? Sure you might as well leave a light on to welcome you home! Going to sleep? Well you’ll need to leave a light on downstairs so people know there’s someone home. In the house? ALL the lights should be on!Not bothering to close the curtains Source: Matt GemmellEugh, why bother? You would only have to open them again in the morning!Leaving the immersion on for the whole weekend Source: Money Saving ExpertHow could you possibly be expected to know when you might want to shower?What if you suddenly decided to go out, or simply wanted to take a bath on a whim? Best to just leave it on.Leaving dirty dishes all over the place Source: eeemartIn your face mam and dad! I’m not doing my dishes straight away and there is nothing you can do about it!This, of course, really only punished yourself. You were forced to hang around a filthy house all weekend and then had a mountain of dishes to do ahead of their return. But still! You were taking a stand!Sleeping in their bed Source: Let’s Unwind holiday letsLooking back, it’s difficult to figure out exactly what this was about. Why would you sleep in someone else’s bed when you can sleep in your own?Presumably, yours was a single and theirs was a double. Greedy gits.Having mates over and acting like the big lad/lady Source: PA Archive/Press Association ImagesOUTWARDLY: Do whatever you want guys, I’m a cool person. I’m so cool I don’t care about my parents.INWARDLY: If those glasses leave rings on that table I am so dead.Drinking things you weren’t supposed to Source: MsSaraKellyI’ll just add a little water to the bottle, they’ll never notice…. ah, sure they won’t notice a little more… another drop won’t hurt… OHMYGOD THE WHOLE BOTTLE IS WATER.Missing them a bit Source: Kai HendryAh, come on. You were happy when they got home, weren’t you?8 eighties TV characters who felt like family>6 things you should no longer need to hide from your parents> read more
Source: TV3TV3 HAVE COMMISSIONED A series of At Home with the Healy Raes after more than a half a million people tuned in to watch a documentary on the political family last night.The network are in discussions with the Healy Raes already about expanding the documentary, which followed Jackie, Michael and the rest of the family as they went about their daily lives in Kerry.Some 570,000 people tuned in to see presenter Ciara Doherty chow down on the family’s preferred snack of easi-singles and mustard and watch Jackie discuss his beloved horse, Peig.TV3 said they are “absolutely delighted” with how the programme was received by the public, and that there is “so much more” of the Healy Raes to see.There have even been suggestions that At Home with the Healy Raes might be Ireland’s answer to Keeping Up With The Kardashians. We’ll see about that.7 important questions answered by At Home with the Healy Raes>TV3 is going to take on the Toy Show> read more
AROUND 400 new jobs are to be created at Centra this year, as the convenience store confirms an expansion of its network.The company is to add around 20 stores around the country this year — bringing the total to 485.The news was announced by Managing Director Martin Kelleher at the brand’s National Retailer Conference in Killarney yesterday.Retail sales at Centra were up 3.5 per cent last year, totalling €1.48 billion. Kelleher said the increase had been driven by their own brand range “in addition to new store openings and refurbishments”.Read: Good sign for 2014? Car sales zoom ahead by 33 per cent
Whoops! We couldn’t find this Tweet Whoops! We couldn’t find this Tweet THE NEXT GENERATION won’t know a time when relationships were built without the help of mobile phones and social media.Love in the time of technology is a swirl of online profiles, Facebook and Twitter updates, relationship statuses and Netflix marathons.1. 2. Source: Shutterstock.com3. Source: @isabellmaria884.5. 6. Source: Imgur7. Source: Tumblr8.9. Source: Tumblr10.11. Source: Imgur12. Source: Imgur13. Source: bsimonsthe3rd/Tumblr14. Source: tusfails/Tumblr7 ways the internet has changed how we flirt>What to watch on TV tonight: Monday>
Look: Check out this amazing picture of Dublin from space >Watch: This is the first Vine ever to be sent from Space > Whoops! We couldn’t find this Tweet Hello Ireland, been waiting to see you pic.twitter.com/MVI1SczDqn— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) June 16, 2014 ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD spoiled us mere earthlings with images taken from the International Space Station of countries across the world.You might remember his stunning shot of Dublin at night, and another in daylight.Now a new kid on the block, Reid Wiseman, is following in Hadfield’s footsteps.Earlier this month he posted the first Vine to be sent from space, and he hasn’t left us disappointed on the twitpics front, with two pictures of Ireland tweeted this evening. Source: Reid Wiseman/Twitter read more
HARLEY-DAVISON WILL unveil its first electric motorcycle next week, and President Matt Levatich said he expects the company known for its big touring bikes and iconic brand to become a leader in developing technology and standards for electric vehicles.Harley will show handmade demonstration models on Monday at an invitation-only event in New York.The company will then take several dozen riders on a 30-city tour to test drive the bikes and provide feedback. Harley will use the information it gathers to continue refining the bike, which might not hit the market for several more years.What’s the market like?The venture is a risk for Harley because there’s currently almost no market for full-size electric motorcycles.The millions of two-wheeled electric vehicles sold each year are almost exclusively scooters and low-powered bikes that appeal to Chinese commuters.But one analyst said investment by a major manufacturer could help create demand, and Levatich emphasised in an interview with The Associated Press that Harley is interested in the long-term potential, regardless of immediate demand.“We think that the trends in both EV technology and customer openness to EV products, both automotive and motorcycles, is only going to increase, and when you think about sustainability and environmental trends, we just see that being an increasing part of the lifestyle and the requirements of riders,” Levatich said.So, nobody can predict right now how big that industry will be or how significant it will be.At the same time, Levatich and others involved in creating the sleek, futuristic LiveWire predicted it would sell based on performance, not environmental awareness.With no need to shift gears, the slim, sporty bike can go from 0 to 60 mph in about 4 seconds. The engine is silent, but the meshing of gears emits a hum like a jet airplane taking off.“Some people may get on it thinking, ‘golf cart,’” lead engineer Jeff Richlen said. “And they get off thinking, ‘rocket ship.’”A hurdle to jumpOne hurdle the company has yet to address is the limited range offered by electric motorcycles. The batteries must be recharged after about 130 miles, and that can take 30 minutes to an hour.San Jose State University police Capt. Alan Cavallo helped his department buy two bikes from Zero Motorcycles, the current top-selling brand, and said officers have been “super happy” with the quiet, environmentally friendly bikes made nearby in Scotts Valley, California.But he said American riders who like to hit the highway would likely lose patience with the technology.“That’s the deal with the cars; you can’t jump in a Tesla and drive to LA, it won’t make it,” Cavallo said, adding later, “People want the convenience of ‘I pull into a gas station, I pour some gas in my tank and I go.’”Zero Motorcycles introduced its first full-size motorcycle in 2010 and expects to sell about 2,400 bikes this year, said Scott Harden, the company’s vice president of global marketing. That would give it about half of the global market for full-size, high-powered electric motorcycles.In comparison, Harley-Davidson alone sold more than 260,000 conventional motorcycles last year.But John Gartner, a research director for the consulting firm Navigant, said having large, well-funded companies get into the electric motorcycle market could give it a significant boost. The major automakers helped drive sales for hybrid and electric cars, he noted.Investing in technologyLevatich said true growth will require common standards for rapid charging and other features, as well as places for people to plug in.Harley expects to play a key role in developing electric vehicle standards, and its dealership network could provide charging stations to serve all drivers, he said.“We’ve been very silent up to this point about our investment in EV technology,” Levatich said. “… but now that we’re public, and we’re in this space, we expect to be involved and a part of leading the development of the standards, and the technology and the infrastructure necessary to further the acceptance and the utility of electric vehicles.”Read: HSE buys three Harley-Davidson motorcycles for €66k> read more
A FEDERAL APPEALS court has delivered a serious setback to President Barack Obama’s health care law.The ruling could derail subsidies for many low and middle-income people who have bought policies.If upheld, the decision could mean premium increases for more than half of the 8 million Americans who purchased taxpayer-subsidized insurance under the law.It affects consumers who purchased their coverage through the federal insurance marketplace – or exchange- that serves 36 states.A three-judge panel in Washington ruled 2-1 that the law, as written, only allows insurance subsidies in states that have set up their own exchanges. That invalidated an Internal Revenue Service regulation that allowed subsidies in all 50 states.The majority opinion concluded that the law, as written, “unambiguously” restricts subsides to consumers in exchanges established by a state.The issue is crucial to the success of the health law because most states have been unable or unwilling to set up their own exchanges. The inaction stems in many instances from opposition by Republican governors to Obamacare.The health care law is Obama’s signature domestic political achievement and the most sweeping social reform in decades in the United States.The law met with some of the most voracious opposition of the Obama presidency and in part led to the US Government shut down last year.The administration is expected to appeal today’s ruling.Read: US companies who object to contraception on religious grounds won’t have to pay for it >Read: US Supreme Court upholds most parts of Obama’s landmark healthcare law > read more
With admirable alacrity, Mozilla has just released the latest beta version of Firefox 4, their next-gen browser, and while it’s primarily a bug fix release, it notably adds a couple of neat new features.What’s new? On the Windows platform, beta 9 ships with a new feature that allows Firefox’s tabs to reside in the Windows title bar, maximizing the browser’s horizontal space. Pretty neat.Additionally, Firefox 4 beta 9 comes with support for IndexedDB, which allows sites that you have approved to store data on your computer for offline use.AdChoices广告Other improvements in Firefox 4 beta 9 include an overhaul of the bookmarks and history code, which should enable both faster bookmarking and Firefox’s startup performance.In addition to the new features, beta 9 fixes over 660 bugs, and in our experience is the fastest and stablest beta yet. That’s not to say we aren’t likely to see a beta 10, though: there’s still some wonkiness in the new Pandora tab-sorting interface.If you’d like to grab the latest beta, it can be grabbed directly from Mozilla’s site. It should prove stable enough to use right now, although if you’d prefer to wait, it seems likely that Firefox 4 final will land sometime in February.Read more at Mozilla read more
Who would of guessed that old French men that drive tractors were so strong in the force. Looks are apparently deceiving as a elderly man driving his tractor gets into an argument with a group of men in a car.The two sides become increasingly agitated in the following video, and before you can say, “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the argument turns epic as the old man in blue ignites his lightsaber and takes a swipe at the car.AdChoices广告The following lightsaber duel is far from stellar, as let’s face it, Yoda would be appalled. It does, however, make one ponder what a world would be like if everyone carried lightsabers around. And even if it doesn’t, at least you can have a small chuckle at the film called, “Return of the Geriatric.”via YouTube
At the very least, this certainly causes one to rethink the whole concept of “fanboyism.” According to a survey of more than 5,000 people conducted by Star Trek blog, Subspace Communique, female fans of the sci-fi franchise outnumber their male counterparts–57 to 43 percent.Sure it’s not exactly a scientific survey, but it’s certainly a good reason to rethink the age old perceptions of male-dominated fandom (though one has to wonder aloud what the gender breakdown would be, were a similar survey conducted amongst Star Wars fans).Other revelations: 43 percent identify as “Trekkies,” 79 percent are into Star Trek for its philosophical leanings, and most of those who responded were single and over 40–oh well, I suppose we can only hope to shatter one stereotype at a time here. AdChoices广告 read more
It’s a cool feature, certainly–we advise you to go over to Yahoo to take it for a spin. The feature alone, however, likely won’t bring too many back to Yahoo’s side. Yahoo’s search for meaning in a post-Google world continues this week with the introduction of Search Direct, a new feature aimed at speeding up search results and “giving you the answers you’re looking for right there in the search box as you type.” It’s certainly similar to Google Instant–a fact we’re not the first to point out.Begin typing a query into the search box over at search.yahoo.com (where the feature is currently live), and a dialog box will drop down. The left-hand side offers up search suggestions as you type, and right-hand side offers links and related content–begin typing “weather,” for example, and the local forecast will pop up.The company is banking on the new feature to help give it a leg up in a field dominated by Google–and, increasingly, Microsoft’s Bing, which has actually been providing back end search results for Yahoo for the past two years. read more
It’s getting more difficult to keep up with the interesting Google Doodles that are appearing on the search engine’s homepage, but at the same time we don’t mind as we always seem to learn something new from investigating them.Today is no different, and Google has made live a great little dance animation in order to celebrate Martha Graham. Graham was a renowned dancer and choreographer of modern dance, although she preferred the term contemporary dance.Her dance company in New York lives on today and is the oldest in America. She was the first woman to dance at the White House, and managed to invent a “new language of movement” which earned her the title of “The Mother of Modern Dance.” The five movement portrayed in the doodle animation were created by Graham and helped form the basis of this new language she had created.She lived to the age of 96, and while that’s an impressive age for anyone to reach, what’s more impressive is she continued to dance on the stage until she was 76. Today she would have been 117 and probably still involved in dance in some way if it were possible.Additional information via Wikipedia read more
Ever since Google’s Larry Page took the helm back in April, his message has been quite clear. He saw Google stretched out over far too many projects. With so many hands in so many pots, it was difficult to create a single, solid product. So, Page called for a consolidation of efforts, to strengthen the core products and offer truly competitive services.Without a doubt, they have done exactly that. Google+ quite literally improves daily, Google Docs is the only thing I have seen in years that I would be comfortable calling a Microsoft Office replacement, and GMail remains the most stable email client I have ever used. Let’s not forget the most important of Google’s products: search. Instant search on Google.com, and the instant search and instant load features in Chrome are unparalleled.So, with this alignment of core competencies internally, it stands to reason that there would be a similar alignment of features and functions for the users as well. That is exactly what Google has announced it is doing effecting March 1, but for some reason the announcement was not met with the fanfare I expected. In fact, many see these changes as being quite negative.What exactly has changed?Google is in the business of using your personal data to sell ad space to companies, by showing them that they can drive more clicks by delivering the most relevant ad to the correct person. Google gathers this personal information by providing you with really great free services that you are in no way forced to use. For each service you use, the information you store within that product is used both to benefit you, and to create targeted ads. In Gmail, when you open an email, the contents of that email help Google choose which ads to show in the right hand column of the website. In Google Search, the things you search for help determine what ads you are shown. Each of Google’s separate services do this wherever possible.Now, imagine that the information you have entered across any Google service being used to deliver you more relevant content. Lets say, for example, you were sent a link to a music video on YouTube. You watch it, decide you like it, but never added it to your favorites. Several days later, you decide you want to show someone else this music video. The way things work right now, you would have to dig though your Google Talk or email logs to find the link. If all of the Google services are interconnected, however, you would only need to use the search box. You could mistype the band name, or take a guess at the song title, and because Google remembers that you saw that music video, the correct information is displayed. This happened because Google has pulled all of your information from all of their services together, and they are using that information to display personalized, relevant information to you.Now, the benefit to Google for doing this is that they can now show you ads based on all of that combined activity as well. What does this mean? Well, on top of being able to deliver that music video, Google will also be able to show you an ad for the concert that band is playing. Since the ad system knows your location from Google Maps, it can even show you ticket prices for venues in your area.Obviously this music video picture is idealized, but the potential for this situation to play out for anything you search for is only strengthened by Google’s decision to combine the data from their services and provide you with more relevant information to you. Oh, and the greatest thing about this whole personalization effort? It can be disabled from the search box with one click.Don’t be evil?For some reason, this decision is being met with a measure of outrage. The notion that the information that Google was already collecting being shared across Google’s other services was apparently unnerving. I suppose there are people out there that don’t feel like their search feature should be aware that they spend all day watching cat videos on YouTube, or maybe they don’t want the fact that they have recently bought all of the Spice Girls albums to be used in their search results. Either way, it has upset a number of people. Some have gone as far as to say that Google has gone back on their “Don’t be evil” philosophy. I feel like this requires some clarification.“Don’t be evil” gets used against Google fairly often, which I find interesting. The context in which this was originally offered was to explain the company’s stance that the shareholder should never come before the customer. If you put the shareholders needs in front of the customers needs, you were being evil. So, “Don’t be evil” is a philosophy that is only broken when Google decides to start putting the shareholders in front of their customers.Google technically has two different kinds of customers. The customers that make them money, meaning the companies that pay them for ad space, and the people who use their free services to accomplish tasks on the internet. In unifying the data from their core services and providing more personalized results, how is it exactly that Google has done evil? In fact, all they have truly done in coordinated a series of features that offer better search results for their users, and more targeted ad placement for their customers.Now, the big problem here is Google+. As people flock to this social network, the information from that social network is now being plugged in to search results. From an uneducated perspective, the idea that Google is able to assemble a massive grouping of data from all across the internet on Google + and then share that information in their search might seem anti-competitive. After all, they aren’t showing results from Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network, so it locks users into an all-Google-all-the-time setup. That would be true, if Google hadn’t already tried to share information with Facebook and Twitter.For a little while there, Twitter had a deal with Google where tweets would show up in Google search results. I remember that time, because I used Twitter more in those few months then ever before or again. Facebook? Remember when Facebook refused to share information with Google via their Android app? If you synced contacts with your Facebook account, Google was able to read the information, but users weren’t able to edit it. After a long fight, Facebook pulled their support from Gmail and Android, and Google disabled Facebook support for everything but YouTube. These aren’t companies that were denied the ability to share data with Google, these are companies that refused to share data with Google. In what way does that make Google evil?Final ThoughtsIf Google wanted to , they could do a whole lot worse than this. With Android 4.0 being able to use your face to unlock your Google account, and webcams being built into almost everything right now, Google could really give us all a reason to tighten our tinfoil hats. This is not a move to seize your data and lock everyone else out. This is a series of events that are colliding together to create a more complete service.Let’s not forget that Google is still the only service that allows you to delete your personal information from their service and completely remove everything, even take it with you. Not only are they the only company to offer this, but so far no one has been able to prove that when you remove your information from Google it doesn’t stay gone. At the end of the day Google is providing a better service by connecting all the dots, and so far they don’t seem to be abusing that power. read more
If you live in or travel through a desert region, having access to clean water is always going to be an issue. If you can’t carry enough for your journey, you have to ensure your route allows for a few water bottle refills. But the lack of water in deserts and other arid locations may soon be a thing of the past if a new wind turbine system is implemented on a large scale.Marc Parent, founder of Eole Water, realized that he could extract water from the air after noticing how much water an air conditioner unit collected. He decided to combine a green energy source with the necessary components for condensing water directly from the air. The end result after 10 years of R&D is the WMS1000 wind turbine, capable of condensing and storing up to 1,000 liters of water every day.The 34 meter tall turbine requires 15mph winds for its 13 meter diameter rotor to turn and generate sufficient energy. It then produces 30kW of power for the system to function. Air is drawn in through vents in the nose of the turbine and a generator heats it producing steam. That steam is then fed through a cooling compressor to form moisture that gets condensed into water. The resulting liquid is piped into a storage tank at the base of the turbine after being purified.As long as an area meets the wind speed requirements this is a completely self contained system. It effectively allows mass water storage in some of the most arid places on earth.The Eole Water wind turbine isn’t just an idea. A prototype unit was constructed and erected in Abu Dhabi 6 months ago and has consistently produced up to 800 liters of water a day. With that test proving the system works, Eole is now working with a number of manufacturers to produce the turbinesAlthough the desert example shows off the potential of the system, the turbines can be deployed anywhere. Eole believes they can be erected anywhere that is isolated, does not have a reliable water source, in disaster areas, and as a source of wtare for organic farming where a low impact on the environment is highly desirable.Read more at Treehugger and Eole Water read more
Whenever a new line of PCs is introduced, usually coinciding with a technology refresh from Intel, they are typically staggered. Every type of PC in a manufacturer’s lineup will have to be refreshed, whether designs and features are updated or not, and it is a logistical nightmare for everything to be announced and shipped at the same time.Smaller companies with tighter logistical control and more integrated internal teams don’t have as much trouble, like we have seen with Apple. But the leading PC manufacturers like Lenovo and HP face far more difficulty in launching dozens of new products at once.That’s why even though we are 3+ months past the official release of Intel’s 3rd generation Core platform and still seeing new products launching from the big three PC manufacturers. The newest is this slick little number from HP — a 23-inch all-in-one desktop that is the first such to grace their premium Envy product line.The design is the first clue that this is an Envy product: clean lines, aluminum frame, and edge-to-edge glass display. Rather than being a slim Apple-esque laptop, the HP Envy 23 is built around an expansive 23-inch 1080p screen with a total thickness of just under 9 inches.Your choice of Ivy Bridge processors power this new PC, along with a lot of standard features. You get a slot-loading Blu-ray player, quad-core Core i5 CPU, USB 3.0, media card reader, Wireless-N, and 8GB of RAM on every model. For those wanting a little more horsepower, you can step up to a number of faster Core i5 and Core i7 processors, up to 16GB DDR3 RAM, four different NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, and more. HP even includes a 2 year warranty standard.One of the neater option for the Envy 23 is a “game console” feature, which for an additional $50 gives you an HDMI input that lets you hook up your device of choice and use the Envy 23’s screen. The ideal choice would be something like an Xbox or Playstation, making this truly an all-in-one device that can handle your computing AND entertainment needs.This new model normally starts at $1,099.99, but for a limited time HP is offering $150 instant savings. That combined with our exclusive $50 coupon brings the starting price of this slick new AIO PC down to just $899.99 with free shipping.Visit LogicBuy for the HP ENVY 23-1050t all-in-one PC read more
The download links for Firefox 16 and accompanying automatic update push only just went live on Monday, but Mozilla has already stepped in and taken them down. Why? Over concerns that a vulnerability in the browser that carries some rather serious privacy and security risks.If successfully exploited by a malicious website, the flaw could allow an attacker to access browsing history data. On the surface, that might not seem like a very grave danger — after all, it’s just a list of the sites you’ve visited. While it’s not a huge deal if you only use your browser for light reading, playing the odd Flash game, and window shopping, it’s much more troublesome if you use any services like Gmail or Facebook.Since the Firefox 16 vulnerability makes it possible for an attacker to view URLs and URL parameters, that means he or she could also harvest private information that’s passed in a querystring. That could include things like your private email address, physical address, and other sensitive data. And the risk is compounded if you happen to visit sites that aren’t very selective about what information they pass via a URL.Mozilla stated that there haven’t been any reports of this flaw being exploited in the wild and that’s obviously a good thing. The Foundation has also promised to deliver a fix by tomorrow, which means the automatic update process will resume and download links will once again deliver Firefox 16 (the patched version this time around). In the meantime, however, it’s best to play it safe and surf with a different Firefox build or another browser for the time being.More at Mozilla read more