Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Lawrence to become first city in Kansas to get smart electricity meters

Never thought I'd see the day. Maybe I can get some of that Google PowerMeter action now.



Lawrence to become first city in Kansas to get smart electricity meters: "Thanks to a $19 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence will be the first city in Kansas hooked into the smart grid."

Packing Gigs with Corsair

More Corsair USB Magic!

Flash-Voyager-Mini.jpg

What is it about having a whole lot of storage in your pocket that just makes a geek feel good? It's like our version of carrying a handgun: even if you don't ever plan on using it, it's nice knowing that you could. High up on this week's wish list is Corsair's Flash Voyager Mini, a USB 2.0 flash drive that now comes in a 32GB capacity. That's a lot of power, pilgrim.

This is a cap-less, retractable USB, which opens with the flick of a thumb. Sweet. It has a durable rubber casing, so you don't need to worry about it getting scuffed or damaged. Corsair's site currently lists only one seller: Amazon has the 32GB drive for $100.99 (with free shipping). That's a lot of power, but I bet you can handle it.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

More Solar Chargers Out There

SolarFold and SolarFan Use Thousands of Tiny Spheres to Charge Your Gadgets:
solar charger folding image
Image via Engadget

Two new foldable solar chargers from AmbienTech have hit the market. But...They look a little odd, right? That's because they're the first mobile chargers to use spherical solar cells. Each cell has around 1,900 spheres collecting solar energy. They're strong, bendable, and just look cool.

...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Best USB Stick Ever Made

Best USB stick, EVAR!

If you've ever tried to transfer large files to a Flash drive, you know that not all drives are created equal. Copying massive amounts of data can take massive amounts of time if your drive is pokey. For a faster transfer, check out the new Corsair GTR line. The quad-channel architecture used in this series delivers read speeds up to 34MB per second and write speeds up to 28MB per second, which is close to the maximum transfer rates supported by the USB 2.0 interface.

'The Flash Voyager GTR combines the best features of a USB Flash drive and the performance of an external hard drive to provide the ultimate data portability tool,' says John Beekly, Corsair's vice president of technical marketing.

The Flash Voyager GTR drives will be available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. They offer durable, water-resistant rubber housing to protect against accidental damage. So far, only the smaller two versions are listed on the Web site.