Funciona sin Internet

Este gadget de 169 dólares que su TV en un ordenador y funciona incluso cuando el internet se ha reducido

Diseñador Matt Dalio espera llevar ordenadores asequibles a las nuevas familias de clase media a través de América.Su proyecto, el equipo Endless, trabaja directamente con el televisor de pantalla plana de la familia, lo que para un sistema operativo de menor costo. Endless está lleno de 150 aplicaciones útiles, y en sólo $ 169, el equipo pronto puede estar apareciendo en cada hogar como Dalio imaginado.

Después de meses de investigación y de reunirse con nuevas familias de clase media de todo el país, Dalio descubierto que la mayoría de las familias tenían una televisión, pero no todos tenían ordenadores domésticos.Desde la pantalla ya estaba presente en estas casas, Dalio tuvo la idea de duplicar la televisión existente como un monitor, lo que ahorraría dinero para las familias, y ahorrar en la producción y los residuos. Endless da a todos el acceso al mundo virtual, nivelar el campo de juego y asegurarse de que nadie pierde. 

Relacionado: nuevo dongle Chromebit de Google va a transformar su TV en un PC 

Basado en la interfaz de los teléfonos inteligentes familiar, el software en Interminable es fácil de usar, simplificado para que los usuarios que nunca han tenido una computadora antes puede navegar con facilidad. A los usuarios incorporados App Center permite descargar nuevas aplicaciones fácilmente como si en sus teléfonos, pero muchas de las aplicaciones ya están pre-instalados como medida de seguridad para los usuarios con Internet irregular o limitada. De hecho, el sistema fue diseñado con la capacidad de trabajar sin conexión, para ahorrar trabajo de los usuarios en las zonas con internet fiable. El ordenador en sí fue diseñado para buscar cualquier cosa menos utilitaria, se asemeja a un módulo nube elegante que puede descansar en cualquier escritorio, mesa o consola de la televisión.

Endless acaba de terminar su campaña de Kickstarter, y con el tiempo, la compañía tiene previsto ampliar el equipo de bajo costo para las zonas en vías de desarrollo, que da acceso a prácticamente everyone.  

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045408/fund-this/this-169-computer-is-designed-for-the-worlds-emerging-middle-class#2
 

Energy-positive townhouses power Boston’s grid with renewable energy

Interface Studio Architects (ISA)’s LEED Platinum Roxbury E+ townhouses are paving the way toward more energy-efficient housing in Boston. Completed in collaboration with local developer Urbanica, the energy-positive townhouses were created as part of the city’s E+ Green Building program, an initiative to pilot net-zero energy housing prototypes. The energy-positive homes include many green technologies, such as solar panels, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and triple-glazed windows.

Roxbury E+ comprises four townhomes, each topped with 39 solar panels that can produce more energy—close to 10,000 kilowatts a year—than the homeowners are likely to need. The homes are also designed with passive solar principles to minimize energy consumption. High-efficiency windows, double insulation, and Energy Star-rated appliances also reduce the building’s reliance on electricity. Homeowners can sell surplus power back to the city grid.

The three-story townhouses’ smart and contemporary facade are clad in metal and timber panels. Each house includes three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, generous backyards, and third-level terraces. The development was completed in 2013; the market-rate units sold for $550,000, while the affordable housing unit sold for $215,000. The site surrounding the townhouse includes rain gardens and permeable paving.

This $169 gadget turns your TV into a computer and works even when your internet is down

Designer Matt Dalio hopes to bring affordable computers to emerging middle class families across America. His project, the Endless computer, works directly with the family flat screen television, making for a lower cost operating system. Endless is packed with 150 useful apps, and at just $169, the computer may soon be popping up in every home as Dalio imagined.

After months of researching and meeting with emerging middle class families across the country, Dalio discovered that most families had a television, but not all had home computers. Since the screen was already present in these homes, Dalio got the idea to double the existing television as a monitor, which would save money for the families, and save on production and waste. Endless gives everyone access to the virtual world, leveling the playing field and making sure no one misses out. 

Related: Google’s new Chromebit dongle will transform your TV into a PC 

Based on the interface of the familiar smart phone, the software on Endless is user-friendly, simplified so users who have never had a computer before can navigate with ease. A built-in App Center lets users download new apps easily as if on their phones, but many apps are already pre-installed as a safeguard for users with spotty or limited internet. In fact, the system was designed with the ability to work offline, to save work of users in areas with unreliable internet. The computer itself was designed to look anything but utilitarian, resembling a sleek cloud module that can rest on any desk, table, or television console.

Endless just wrapped up its Kickstarter campaign, and in time, the company plans to extend the inexpensive computer to developing areas, giving access to virtually everyone. 

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045408/fund-this/this-169-computer-is-designed-for-the-worlds-emerging-middle-class#2
 

Form follows function at Shanghai's new bioclimatic Natural History Museum

Perkins & Will took a biomimetic approach to the new Shanghai Natural History Museum, a sprawling 479,180 square-foot facility with three unique facades and topped with a swirling green roof. Overall the design mimics a nautilus shell found in nature, but it comprises several other components that support the museum's function as a showcase of 10,000 artifacts from 7 continents. Recently completed in an urban site at the heart of downtown Shanghai, the project wraps around a central oval pond that provides a visual anchor while guests traverse the spiraling exhibition route. 

Three facades represent three facets of nature: the interior wall represents the cellular network of plants and animals while also filtering natural light and minimizing summertime solar gain; the east wall is covered with a metal trellis and vines, representing the Earth and improving the microclimate, and the north wall, comprised of stone, mimics shifting tectonic plates and canyons sculpted by eons of erosion. A bioclimatic structure that responds to the variable elements, this space holds exhibition facilities, a 4D theater and a large glass-walled atrium. An outdoor exhibit garden extends the museum outdoors. 

 Related: The Nautilus – a giant snail-shaped home fit for a family 

 Pushing the boundaries of museum design in a way we’ve never really seen before, Perkins & Will brings the forces of nature to bear in a sustainable design that recycles grey water and collects rainwater, regulates the interior temperature with a geothermal system, uses evaporative cooling, and also showcases energy features as part of the museum’s numerous exhibits. Located in the Jing An Sculpture Park, the renovated museum boasts 20 times as much exhibition space as the former museum, a favorite among locals. No doubt they will be enthralled by the new space, which is a masterpiece.

Form follows function at Shanghai’s new bioclimatic Natural History Museum Shanghai-Natural-History-Museum-Perkins-and-Will

This entire house is built from loaves of bread!

No doubt you've heard of gingerbread houses, but have you ever seen a house made out of bread? La Triennale di Milano museum has just opened a new exhibition “Arts & Foods” curated by the Italian Architect Italo Rota that merges food, design and architecture into one single journey dedicated to the history of food and food rituals. No doubt, one of the most intriguing works on display is the Bread House, which was created in 2004 – 2006 by the Swiss-born, New York-based sculptor Urs Fischer.

The tiny house, which is just 500 x 400 x 500 cm, is literally cooked out of bread and bread crumbs, and supported and completed by wood, polyurethane foam, silicone, acrylic paint, tape, screws and rugs. The installation’s honest design leaves every single ingredient exposed, not hiding the fact that the home contains an underlying support structure.

As one observes the structure, the overall image of the decaying bread, the strong and pleasant yeasty smell and the attendant fear of destruction evokes a sensation of dread, comfort and amusement all at the same time. The installation is based around the theme of food, hospitality and consumption, a coincidentally perfect topic for the World Expo at Milan, the theme of which is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Read more: This entire house is built from loaves of bread! | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building.