“In fact, for those who would rather be driving an interesting car or truck than fussing over the originality of its headlamp bulbs, there are many vehicles in the lower price brackets — less than the average new family sedan — worth considering”….<More>

Technorati Tags: Prefab House

Though Alpha’s interface evokes Google ― whose co-founder Sergey Brin once spent a summer interning for Wolfram ― it’s more like the anti-Google.Type in a query for a statistic, a profile of a country or company, the average airspeed of a sparrow ― and instead of a series of results that may or may not provide the answer you’re looking for, you get a mini dossier on the subject compiled in real time that, ideally, nails the exact thing you want to know. It’s like having a squad of Cambridge mathematicians and CIA analysts inside your browser”….<More>

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Most of the energy system of this modern modular house is located at the end of the garden, called an “eco-hub”. Rather than relying on bolting on a mass of solar panels or wind turbines to the house itself, which depending on the orientation of the house may not be most efficiently positioned, the architects have centralized them within a shared community space….<More>

“WebEcoist:Egg cartons, Legos, ballpoint pens, blenders and plastic spoons: these are just a few of the items that have been transformed into awesome light fixtures by creative DIYers. Why buy new when you could have a stunning chandelier or lamp that puts junk to good use? These 15 examples of brilliant eco-illumination show just how stylish and fun recycled materials can be”….<More>

“Toradex have begun sampling their latest COM Express module, just 84 x 55mm in size,

which uses Intel’s Z5xx Atom processor range. The Toradex Robin (shown here on the right, to scale – but not actual size – with its Toradex Woodpecker sibling, announced last year) has seven USB 2.0, gigabit ethernet, a microSD slot and a SATA connection, and is suitable for highly-compact embedded applications.

Toradex Woodpecker Robin Atom Module

The Robin will be available with either the Atom 1.1GHz Z510 processor or the 1.6GHz Z530 processor, the former having a 400MHz FSB and 1GB of onboard storage and the latter with a 533MHz FSB, 2GB of storage and hyper-threading support. While the Z530 is the obvious choice for speed, the Z510 Robin fights back with its super-frugal power demands: just 3.5 to 5 Watts. Saying that, the Z530 Robin isn’t exactly a hog, using from 5.1 to 7.6 Watts.

Each comes with 512MB of soldered-on RAM and can support up to a 1366 x 768 external display over VGA. Other connections include one PCIe, ExpressCard, a TV output and HD audio. These look like incredible boards offering plenty of DIY scope; they’re priced at €129 ($163) for the Z510 Robin and €179 ($227) for the Z530 Robin”…. <More>

The interface is clunky but it is priced right and you do not need a computer. It will be interesting to see the evolution of this product….”VuNow takes just minutes to connect, just plug in the power cord, A/V or HDMI cable, and connect to the network (via Ethernet or the optional wireless adapter). VuNow PoD is as small as a pack of cards measuring just 3.5″ x 4″ x 0.8″. The small size allows you to take it anywhere with you”….<Site>

“Locating the house on a remote island posed another set of constraints. Using traditional construction processes would have been prohibitively expensive; the majority of costs would have been applied toward transporting building materials to the remote island. Instead, we worked with the contractor to devise a prefabrication and construction process that maximized the use of thee unique character of the site:Lake Huron as a waterway”…. <More>

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Apartment Therapy has an excellent post rounding up their year’s best on Prefabs and RVs Check it out at Aparment Therapy Best of 2008

“# 6 Created for a owner who was paralyzed in a car accident, this home inverts the notion of “accessible” architecture by making the center of the house into a platform that moves up and down. Each floor of the house is only complete when the elevator/platform room is present. So the wheelchair-bound resident is the center of the home and an integral part of it”…. <More>

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” Palm insiders are optimistic. “I’m fundamentally convinced we’re onto something huge,” says Mike Bell, a 16-year Apple engineering star who joined Palm last year. “Some of the stuff we’re working on here is mind-blowing—better than anything I’ve seen before”…. <More>

Technical Details

Best of gaming – Nyko Wireless Nunchuk: It’s not easy to rescue Hyrule with your hands tied. That’s why Nyko has developed a wireless nunchuk for the Wii. The new nunchuk cuts the cord that attaches the Wiimote to the Wii Nunchuk, freeing the hero of games such as “Zelda” from cord waggle.

Best of car tech – Azentek Atlas CPC-1200 and Calypso CPC-1100: Online is hitting the road with Azentek’s two new in-dash computers. Forget about juggling GPS, CDs and cell phones in a car when they’re rolled together in the dash and powered by an Intel Core Duo with a 120GB hard drive”….<More>

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