Love the ocean, but hate holding your for breath for extended periods? Good news: a team of software engineers, composers, Oscar-winning animators and more have come together to recreate Davy Jones’ locker in the cloud. Wemo Media is looking for a few thousand good artists for the project, to help create a massive simulation of life under the seas built on its Maker Platform. The project has been around for a bit, but is still in closed beta, making it a private development beach of sorts. You can watch an introductory video and request an invite at the source link below.

Oscar winners crowd-sourcing the ocean with The Blu originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just can’t wait to get your Epic 4G Touch order in? You’re in luck, as the Sprint version of Samsung’s powerhouse Galaxy S II is finally available on its website. It’ll cost you a cool $199 with a new two-year contract (and after $300 instant savings), but we’re sure the long wait for this dual core beauty to cross the ocean has left plenty of time to get one’s financials in order. If you’re somehow still not sure if this is for you there’s always our review for an extra bit of convincing. Otherwise, just punch the source link, sit back, and wait for all the 4G WiMAX goodness Sprint can stuff into that 4.5-inch plastic shell.

Samsung Epic 4G Touch now available to all on Sprint.com originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnLive’s done pretty well here in the States, and we knew it would eventually venture across the ocean to merry old England. But, we didn’t know exactly when it would bring its streaming services, MicroConsole and catalog of over 100 titles to the UK. Well, turns out it’ll make the transatlantic trip on September 22nd, just in time for the 2011 Eurogamer Expo in London — so there’s just over a month to ready yourself for gaming-anywhere awesomeness. If you’re among those interested in being the first of the Queen’s subjects using the service that day, hit the source link below to sign up.

Continue reading OnLive crosses the pond, lands in the UK September 22nd

OnLive crosses the pond, lands in the UK September 22nd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google raised a few eyebrows when it purchased a Finnish paper mill back in 2009 — what, the world, wondered, would the king of cloud services want with reams of tree guts? Space for a data center, of course — and a seawater-cooled one at that. Google’s Joe Kava told GigaOm that, when it launches in the fall, the center’s temperature will be regulated by a quarter-mile of seawater tunnels inherited from the building’s past tenants. One of the hardest parts of getting the system up and running has apparently been figuring out a way to clean corrosion from salt water without taking the system offline. Google’s also working to limit the center’s impact on the surrounding ecosystem, making sure that the water itself is cooled down before being pumped back out. Between this and those wind-powered data centers, it looks like Captain Planet’s always got a cushy IT gig at Google to fall back on, should he ever fall on hard times.

Google opening seawater-cooled data center, finally glad it applied for that Wave trademark originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

What will the high-tech city of the future look like? This week Inhabitat brought you a sneak peek as we took an exclusive look inside Abu Dhabi’s carbon-neutral Masdar City, which just opened for business. We also brought you brand new photos of the world’s largest wooden structure, and we spotted several innovative solar-powered buildings – Sweden’s rotating photovoltaic cog building and a self-sustaining pod home that can be perched on any roof.

Green transportation also took off with a blast this week as the Linde E1 Electric Go-Kart set a Guinness World Record by traveling from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds and Synergy’s folded-wing glider plane announced plans to compete in the CAFE Green Flight Challenge. We also saw greener vehicles gear up around the world as France announced plans to deploy a fleet of all-electric garbage trucks next week and Nissan unveiled the NV200 — New York City’s taxi of tomorrow. And for those looking for an underwater escape this summer, don’t miss out on the Aqua Star – a submersible electric scooter capable of charting the ocean depths.

In other news, this week we showcased several high-tech concept gadgets made from paper – an origami cell phone that folds into a flat piece of cardboard and the world’s first interactive paper computer. We also brought you a sensor glove that could help stroke patients recover through gaming, and we covered a clutch of wired home furnishings that bring new meaning to the term geek chic — from an interweb chaise made from 1,100 feet of coaxial cable to an analog cassette tape chair, to a modern computer mouse made from fine wool felt.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Cities of the future, the Aqua Star, and 0-60 in 3.4 seconds… with a go-kart originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 May 2011 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Triton 36,000 submarine to plumb ocean’s deepest depths, comes in yellow (video)

Triton 36,000 submarine to plumb ocean’s deepest depths, comes in yellow (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sir Richard Branson may have already branded his Necker Nymph aero submarine with the “Virgin Oceanic” moniker, but he’s now finally taken things to the next logical (and ambitious) step. He’s just announced a new, full-fledged venture of the same name, which promises to do to nothing short of dive to the deepest part of each of the Earth’s five oceans — all within the next two years, no less. That will be done with the one-manned sub pictured above, which was designed by Graham Hawkes and will be piloted by Chris Welsh on its first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench later this year — those two are Branson’s partners in the venture, and Branson himself is set to pilot the sub on its second mission to the Puerto Rico Trench. Not surprisingly, one of the team’s goals is to set a few world records, but they’re also planning to conduct some scientific research along the way, and are already musing about future vehicles that could collect samples and allow for more extensive research. Head on past the break for a teaser video, although we’re told it should not be assumed to reflect an actual mission.

Continue reading Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean’s depths

Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean’s depths originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An unmanned cargo ship built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to go up in flames tomorrow in the name of interplanetary research. Along with a load of space station junk, the Kounotori 2 spacecraft is packing something akin to a black box, also known as a Re-entry Breakup Recorder (REBR), that will collect and transmit data about the ship’s final moments. The space station’s crew will activate the REBR before Kounotori 2 begins its final assignment. As soon as it starts showing signs of re-entry, the sensor will begin to collect data including temperature, acceleration, and rotation rate, and will then break away from the craft for a final free fall to Earth, at which point the REBR will dump its findings. Scientist hope the device will help answer questions about exactly what happens when things fall apart during re-entry. If all goes according to plan, the REBR will plunk down in the ocean sometime later, but its host will never be seen again… farewell, Kounotori 2.

Japan sends Kounotori 2 spacecraft on suicide mission to study re-entry process originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See the rest here:
Zero carbon yacht Ocean Empire set to sail

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!

Ocean Empire LSV is the self-sufficient superyacht for the super-rich originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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