We purchased USB Batteries last year for the concept alone. They don’t work that great. They literally last only days in a mouse or wiimote. The upside is that are easily chargeable on the fly. So, I usually carry them in my laptop bag for emergencies. The ones we got are from Kikkerland Design (who do great product design btw).

I can’t find any info about the batteries on their site, so maybe it was discontinued. I would be interested to try other USB battery brands (for example USBCELL), if anyone is interested in mailing us some. But, I am not sure if we will purchase anymore without some better battery life.

When MTFY was at Greener Gadgets a while back we were given a sample pack of Fuji Eniviromax batteries. They are not USB or rechargeable. But, they can be thrown out with regular trash. Non-toxic batteries is a nice change for a bit. Fuji explains:

The materials that make up a Fuji EnviroMAX battery are derived from the basic elements of the Earth. There is nothing inside a Fuji EnviroMAX battery that will harm the environment if it is disposed of through normal waste systems. …Fuji EnviroMAX batteries contain no harmful mercury, cadmium – nor are they packaged with dangerous (and non-recyclable) PVC plastic.

Fuji goes on to talk about how the factory itself is environmentally friendly. They say the manufacturing process does not release any ozone depleting compounds- so that is a plus. The packaging is seen below.

Though we all would love to say that every battery in our entire home is rechargeable and environmentally friendly, that is not the way we live. There are numerous devices/gadgets throughout the MTFY space that need immediate  power. We have a recycle container of batteries that we take to IKEA every few months. But I know most work places just toss them. I do feel better knowing that at the very least, that if my batteries aren’t cradle to cradle, they are at least biodegradable.

Fuji says that are battery are more powerful then traditional batteries, do better in extreme climates, and have a long shelf life. They also state that they use “Reverse Current Protection”.

Reverse Current Protection- A device which senses when there is a reversal in the normal direction of current in an electric power system, indicating an abnormal condition of the system, and which initiates appropriate action to prevent damage to the system. — via Answers.com

We decided to test the sample pack we were given. Heidi has been using the Enviromax AAA batteries in her mouse for a while now, and they are working great. 4 weeks of 9-11 hour a day use- not bad. I am going to order some AA for my Xbox 360 controller- update soon. As far as the biodegradable factor, that will take a little more time to assess. I wonder if we should throw some in our worm composter. Thoughts anyone?

Fuji says they have no plans to develop rechargeable batteries in this range. Instead, you will have to make due with disposing of these batteries as you go.

The average person in North America throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about ten per person. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash created by the combustion process. Batteries produce many potential problems or hazards. They pollute lakes and the water supply and contribute to heavy metals that potentially may seep from landfills. They also contain strong corrosive acids, which are an environmental, and health hazard. —via nexplanrecycling.com

Cadmium also leaks into the air when burned, which in turn creates more toxic waste. So that said, using Fuji Enviromax batteries is a great start.

Take Away
The best option for a battery, would be a biodegradable rechargeable battery. The very best option would be to not need one at all. For example getting more products that use solar or kinetic energy.

I don’t infrequently tie my needs to any particular brand or product line. Although I love Apple products and require them to function on a daily basis, I  try to switch it up whenever possible by incorporating tools and technologies from a variety of sources.

And I thought nothing could top iTunes until I discovered what Songbird can do.

Songbird offers the basic functionality of iTunes  - unrestricted file capacity and unlimited playlists, navigational ease, import/export options; but tricks it out on many levels.

The open-source software offers total customization of your audio player. It offers plug-ins called “add-ons” that pull in bonuses while your music plays like concert info, data from last.fm, Shoutcast radio, and more. The MashTape add-on looks for related content like photos, video, and reviews from your bands by pulling in data from Flickr, YouTube, and Amazon. Online digital music store 7Digital recently partnered with Songbird to offer full integration. The store, currently in beta, will offer 320 kbps DRM-free MP3 downloads. They also promise to offer custom recommendations in the future based around what you’re playing from your library.

With all of these features, Songbird is a serious contender in becoming a viable alternative to iTunes. The only major downside is that Songbird doesn’t seamlessly connect to AirTunes allowing wireless playback from Songbird to a home stereo.  A quick fix is a tool called Airfoil from Rogue Amoeba (the same company that created Audio Hijack). Although it will set you back $25 it seems to do the trick.

Songbird is an open-source, fully customizable music player built on the open-source media framework Gstreamer. You can participate by hacking on the software and trying out new builds before they’re released.  A developer Recipe Book offers code snippets for “Featherers” to tinker with.They sell some pretty kick-ass t-shirts too!

Contribute: http://getsongbird.com/contribute/

Get Songbird v 1.1.1 now: http://getsongbird.com/

Cue Miro.

While trolling my Google reader late one night (as nerds like us are wont to do), I discovered the free, open source HD video player that quickly and easily serves up video streams. You can stream videos from sites like YouTube, Comedy Central, CBS, or Hulu (for now); and Miro will upscale to HD wherever it’s offered. The app offers full playback of content from within my media library too; making it a great one-stop for video playback. Very cool. Miro’s real strength though, appears to lie in the ability to host and organize multiple video feeds from a variety of sources.

The simple layout and navigation process resembles iTunes. A sidebar located on the left allows easy navigation of your content whether it be online or local. You can subscribe to RSS feeds and set them to automatically download new episodes as they become available- just like subscribing to a podcast in iTunes. You can even subscribe to a torrent, allowing you to keep all of your vids in one place (I chose a “Miro” directory under “Movies” to keep it clean).  After Miro grabs your new episodes, you can easily port them to your device of choice.

The open-source nature of the program means that you can participate in the continual build to improve it. The website offers information for those who would like to write code, become a bug tester, or simply help others get started.

Miro 2.0 is currently free for Mac OSX and created by the non-profit Participatory Culture Foundation. It’s open source and licensed under the GPL (general public license), with the goal to decentralize online video by making it free and open.

Get it: http://www.getmiro.com

Read the blog: http://www.getmiro.com/blog

The Arduino is an open source microcontroller board. What is that you ask? Basically, it is the heart of any technical product you can think of (e.g. evil robot, solar light box, or bluetooth motion sensored video mp3 player ). You don’t have to deal with messy soder, or go to engineering school to build these projects anymore. And there are plenty of websites that share any code or tutorials that you might need during your project. There is one catch though- you have to share all your secrets back to the community. That is the open-source part. The article Build It. Share It. Profit. Can Open Source Hardware Work? on wired.com explains:

Arduino’s business model: The team has created a company based on giving everything away. On its Web site, it posts all its trade secrets for anyone to take-all the schematics, design files, and software for the Arduino board. Download them and you can manufacture an Arduino yourself; there are no patents. You can send the plans off to a Chinese factory, mass-produce the circuit boards, and sell them yourself – pocketing the profit without paying Banzi a penny in royalties. He won’t sue you. Actually, he’s sort of hoping you’ll do it. That’s because the Arduino board is a piece of open source hardware, free for anyone to use, modify, or sell.

You can read a more detailed review of the company in that article. I am writing this article to show what we were able to create with an Arduino on our first try. The Hello World for Arduino is called Blink. It tells a single LED to blink on and off; and it does what is says. We took it a step further:
1.Use a push button to turn the project on
2.Blink 3 LEDs in sequential order
3.Turn off those LEDs in order when the button is depressed.

First we ordered a basic Arduino Duemilanove Starter Kit. Before we got the kit, we did some basic research on circuits, resistors, and breadboards on the various arduino sites (google it).

After receiving the package, we methodically separated all the parts into their appropriate container- kidding. We scattered everything on the table, and began putting the wires, LEDs, and button on the breadboard and Arduino.

We used a video on Make to get a basic idea of what to do- Watch Here.

Then we downloaded the Arduino software at ardunio.cc. The software put many examples in the applications folder, but Blink is the one we opened. Next we just edited a little code (we know Java), and then sent it to to the board through the USB. Finally, we danced the victory dance.

Here are some pics.

And HERE is the code.

Heidi and I do have an advanced knowledge of circuits and coding already, so that obviously was a little help . But, you can see how easy this really was. And if you are good at copying and pasting, then coding should be pretty easy with all the free stuff out there on the interwebs.

Lastly, we purchased Making Things Talk, by Tom Igoe. This is essential to helping anyone who is interested in creating objects that communicate with one another (e.g. bluetooth, ethernet, radio, wifi).

We have a few products in the works right now based on the Arduino board. We will keep everyone posted on the details.

TAKE AWAY
We have been messing with the Arduino for about a week now, and find it very easy to work with. There are alot of creative projects already online for us to pull ideas from. The communities for this are huge. And, people are actually profiting from this. Open-source does work for things other then software; and the guys at Arduino are proving that.

Incase recently introduced the Power Slider case for the iPhone 3G. The Power Slider is the latest addition to the growing market of third party devices out there trying to compensate for the iPhone’s lack of adequate battery life.

I myself am an admitted iPhone-a-holic. I have all 9 possible screens filled with applications; and use my iPhone for everything under the sun. I am consistently stranded without power, to the point where I’ve missed many calls and messages. At one point I even considered changing my voicemail to say, “Hey, my phone’s probably dead, try back later.” Needless to say, I welcomed this product with open arms.

From the front the Power Slider looks great. It’s designed after Incase’s highly popular original Slider case. The case leaves the screen fully accessible, and doesn’t hinder the appearance of the phone- from the front. Take it on it’s side however, and you’ll notice the phone looks like it’s sitting in a fat suit. The phone is no longer the slim sleek techno gadget to lust after, but just a big bulky rounded box. The case comes with a pouch to cover it up; I’m assuming because you wouldn’t want to look at it otherwise.

Being a girl, I have a ton of stuff in my purse or handbag (especially being a girl who loves gadgets). I usually keep my iPhone in a pocket within my purse to give it a little added protection (from my keys scratching it, or some gum accident happening).  But with the new case, it doesn’t fit anymore.  Layne keeps his phone in his pocket and the extra bulge just doesn’t work at all.

Besides just the form, there are other downsides to this device. The first of which is the fact that the design covers up the original iPhone sync port, and replaces it with their own usb implementation. I was open to this at first, the phone still syncs and still charges; but this became an issue relatively quickly for me. I can no longer hook my iPhone up with my car, or any other standard third party device, without removing the phone completely from the case. That means no car charging without toting along their cord (or for some people buying a new car charger).  Or hooking up my phone in my bedroom to listen to tunes while reading.

When the original Slider case came out, it was useful because you could just pull the bottom of the case off to easily hook it into third party devices or in the iPhone dock. As you can see pictured below, the case is now designed so that the battery is connected to the bottom portion of the Slider.  Thus making quick removal and accessibility impossible.

The case also creates a new process for syncing with your computer. No longer can I just plugin and forget about it. With Incase’s implementation, I now have to remember to hit the sync button on my phone to sync it with iTunes. Not that big of a deal, but still an added step which reminds me of my old Palm Pilot.

Overall, I think this case will possibly work for some people who are willing to make sacrifices in form and function- but for me it’s a no go. I’m just hoping Incase will consider this write-up, and that they’ll be a gen 2 out soon. In the mean time, I’ll be looking at other options, and setting my voicemail message to say, “Sorry, my phone’s still dead.”

The plus for me, is that I actually need and use my Mimobot on a daily basis.  I didn’t think it would be that way at first. I mean I knew I would use it here or there for file sharing. But, I always just either emailed small files or FTPd big ones. A flash drive gives you instant file sharing; instant being the key word.

A short example:
I was running late for a meeting with a big pitch (for real). I had no time for posting a 2 GB file to FTP, emailing the FTP info to the end user, and sitting there waiting for that to upload and download. I just popped it on my mimobot in 15 seconds- done. This kind of speed adds valuable time to my work flow.

Anyway, this isn’t a write-up about usb flash drives, it’s about Mimoco and their Mimobots. I have been watching Mimoco grow since their first designer series a few years ago. They had various featured illustratrators design graphics over the basic mimobot shape.

I would describe the initial Mimobot shape as bear-ish. When I decided to take the plunge and purchase one, uh-oh; it was sold out. These little guys have been selling like crazy ever since.

Heidi and I ended up with 2 of the Friends With You series bots.  These came packed with little extras like: sound files, videos, sound effects for when you plug it in, and icons. Plus the protoHoodies are super useful for transport.

Mimoco does a great job of viral advertising. They are on all the standard social network sites; but their contests and e-newsletters are what catch me. When I see a new mimobot design appear in my inbox, I start reaching for my credit card. Which leads me to today’s email from Mimoco, regarding the Treeson MIMOBOT by Bubi AuYeung- I WANT! I WANT!

The graphics are sweet, and fit the form factor nicely. As I was forwarding the email to Heidi (she is my yay or nay factor), I noticed more info about a program called GURP seen here:

The Greenbot USB Recycling Program (GURP) does what is says in the name- nice. Mimoco then gives you a discount towards a new Mimobot. I have over a dozen useless usb jump drives that I got as shwag at various events. I know where those are going now .

Mimoco, you had me at Bobafett Mimobot.

The Good Guide is an application for web and mobile devices, that gives ratings on how “good” a product is. We are not talking about “good”, as in how satisfied the customers are or the quality of the product. We’re talking about how good the product is moralistically.

The Good Guide website and mobile app measure a product’s moral good on “Health Performance”, “Environmental Performance”, and “Social Performance”. By my account these are all valid rating systems for a product.

The site provides links to Amazon for the products that they list, and gives users the ability to create a personal shopping list.

In theory, the site is a win. In practice it leaves a lot to be desired. The usability of the site, quality of content, and amount of content are all lacking; and could use some major attention. Things like this take time to develop though, and so I’m hoping in the coming months it will mature into something more useful.

My first request from the Good Guide, would be to have it integrate data from a more user friendly and content heavy site. How I search, sort, and see data should follow a more organized format. For example, I would like to be able to search the Amazon site through a “Good Guide” search bar, and have it bring up Amazon results with Good Guide ratings.

The site should also take more advantage of crowd sourcing. If I find a product that doesn’t have a Good Guide rating, it should allow me to rate it. The Good Guide should also provide guidelines on how to rate a product. The process of rating should be easy from a user perspective. Overall, I shouldn’t feel frustrated at the fact that a product I’m interested in isn’t rated, and there is nothing I can do about it.

I would even go so far as to suggest, that the company change their business model so that they are not reinventing the wheel and providing a product listing site.  But rather add value to other sites, by providing a database and api for serving “Good Guide” ratings.

Who am I to judge though. The Good Guide has a very impressive staff of educational professionals from very prestigious universities.  Maybe I am someone though, because the Good Guide welcomes the community responses on their Idea Board.

All that being said, I still do appreciate the effort and find value in the ratings. Their iPhone app is useful when I need to search for something on the fly. I think their site and app is only something I would hit once in a blue moon when I remembered about it. The “Good Guide” isn’t quite “Good” enough yet to be integrated into my day-to-day lifestyle.

Earth911 just asks you what you want to recycle and where you are located; and it does the rest.

Recently I was organizing my medications and realized that a lot of them had expired. People used to recommend flushing expired meds down the toilet to prevent children, pets, and others who might abuse them from getting access. It’s recently been discovered that water supplies have trace amounts of medications in them because of this; so flushing is no longer the recommended form of disposal. I wasn’t sure what to do with my meds, so I looked up online about how to properly dispose of them.  Within two clicks on Earth911,  I found some great resources on what to do.

Click here to see their section on medication waste disposal.

Of note, Earth 911 also has a business arm as well. Their business site includes information on waste assessment, recycling, green purchasing, energy conservation, etc.

Earth 911 is a simple and effective resource for finding information on all sorts of ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. They are now the first place I check before throwing something in the trash; and if I question whether or not an item can be recycled.

The font is available for free at ecofont.eu. If you plan on using this on a regular basis, there is a donation link on the site. SPRANQ plans on using donations to help develop version 3.0 of the Ecofont.

Click here to download Ecofont