Datensklaven

John John:

“This is the best feeling in the world. I had that bad heat at Arpoador to start and we had a couple of lay days and I had to just sit and think about it. I can’t even believe this right now. I’m in shock. I was just sticking to my game plan and not thinking about the other guys. I’m so happy right now.

This helps my confidence so much. I have a lot of confidence going into events with barreling waves like Pipe. Obviously I have a lot of confidence in barrels from my experience at Pipe, but coming here, I wasn’t expecting a big result. I was just hoping to make a few heats.”

Parko tops the World Tour ratings with a runner-up result

Is it really too soon to call it John John’s year?

Saudi Arabia is making a major push make renewables, especially solar power, a bigger part of its energy mix. The oil-rich country is aiming to have 41 GW of solar power capacity installed by 2032 as well as a host of other renewable energy projects like wind, geothermal and waste-to-fuel plants.

The country is planning to install 16 GW of solar photovoltaic power and 25 GW of concentrated solar power. This breakdown makes sense with CSP being very well suited for hot desert environments.

The country hopes to cut down on its oil use and increase its presence in the solar power industry. Saudi Arabia is opening up bidding for the projects in two different rounds with project sizes ranging from 5 MW and up to determine who will build the installations.

via PV Magazine

When we first wrote about the Tres Amigas SuperStation back in 2009, it was a well thought-out concept that seemed far off from becoming a reality, but an influx of new investments has pushed it forward and the project is set to break ground this summer with the transmission hub being operational in 2015.

The SuperStation will connect the three major grids in the country: the east, west and Texas grids. It will cover 22 square miles near Clovis, New Mexico and open the door for transferring renewable energy from one part of the country to another. Now wind power generated in Texas and the Great Plains can be sold to markets on the East Coast and solar power generated in California can make it to Texas.

Getting that renewable energy from the remote areas where large projects are often located to population centers has been one of the main hurdles to really powering this country with renewables. Tres Amigas could create a nationwide market for the power generated by renewable energy projects, boosting demand and helping the industry to grow.

Beyond just helping fuel renewable energy, the hub could also make the nation’s power system more reliable if all the major grids are interconnected, though smart grid technologies will also be necessary to really modernize and secure our power system.

Tres Amigas will initially only be able to transfer 750 MW between the eastern and western grids, but that starting point is better than we what we have now.

via Huffington Post

A new, small-scale wind turbine suitable for rooftop use is under development in Australia. The Windpod looks more like a cylindrical, vertical-axis wind turbine, than a ‘pinwheel’ horizontal-axis turbine, but is deployed on its side.

The Windpod G1 has a diameter of 450mm and a length of 2200mm (about 18 inches by 86.5 inches) and can produce up to 1 kilowatt of power. However, the cut-in wind speed seems to be around 4 meters/second (about 9 mph), and full power is not reached until a wind speed of 12.5 meters/second (nearly 28 mph). Locations with strongly directional prevailing winds would be suitable for this system, but with the high wind speeds necessary, it’s unlikely this approach will replace other types of wind turbines.

We’ve seen other rooftop turbines that aim to use the slope of a residential roof as a wing to help drive more air through the turbine and increase its power output. The Windpod is also proposed for installation at the ridge of a sloped roof or at the roof or corner edge of a larger building, where increased wind effects are strongest. Unlike some other roof-edge turbines we’ve seen, the Windpod seems particularly well suited for this kind of application, although it’s a fairly limited and specialized use.

Installed cost for the Windpod in Australia is estimated to be AU$7,000-7,500/kW (At current rates, the US and Australian dollar are almost on par with one another).

via: Treehugger

After a brief beta, Steam has made the ability to remotely manage your library of games as well as initiate a download via the web or mobile app a reality for all. Steam users who download the latest client for their PC or Mac will be able to log into the Steam web site or mobile app to access and manage their downloading pre-loads, new releases, or latest purchases.

As long as you’re logged into the Steam client on a PC or Mac, starting a remote download is as simple as visiting your Games list on the Steam Community site via a web browser or the Steam mobile app on Android or iOS. Start a game download while out and about, and when you get home, it’ll be there waiting for you to get your game on.

This won’t help your storage capacity, or your wallet, but damn it if I’m not excited.

Source: Steam Via: The Verge

We here at Cult of Mac love Apple rumors as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded of the power rumors can wield. Samsung’s market value fell 6% on Wednesday to the tune of a $10 billion nosedive. Why? One silly Apple supply rumor.

Taiwanese news site DigiTimes published a rumor on Tuesday with the headline “Apple reportedly books up half of mobile DRAM capacity at Elpida Hiroshima plant.” The report said that Apple was ordering massive amounts of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips from Elpida Memory, a competitor to Samsung. You see, while Samsung and Apple may be bitter enemies in the consumer space, they are in bed with each other on the supply chain. Apple is actually Samsung’s most important component customer. Parts of your iPhone were made in a Samsung plant. As you can imagine, even the thought of Apple taking its business elsewhere would cause Samsung to quake at the knees.

Despite the fact that DigiTimes has a track record with more spots than a fully grown dalmatian, the rumor caused significant concern among Samsung’s shareholders. According to Reuters, stock dove 6.2% to a 9-week low. That devalued Samsung’s market cap by $10 billion.

10 billion dollars because of one lousy Apple rumor. That’s the world we live in.

Source: Reuters Via: Daring Fireball

PushManager focuses on simplifying device setup and management

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

PushManager provides a solid device management solution that also provides basic app deployment and management capabilities. PushManager puts a focus on being easy to set up and administer while also providing core security features. The company offers cloud service that is extremely easy to implement and can support a range of business types and sizes. For organizations with significant infrastructure, an on-premise package is available that can integrate with Active Directory. 

Company: PushManager
Product(s): PushManager
Type of solution(s): device and app management

Platforms supported beyond iOS: Android, Blackberry, Symbian, webOS, Windows Phone

Licensing Model: recurring and perpetual licensing options
Includes/Offers Maintenance Updates?: Required
Technical support options: 24/7

Deployment options: cloud service, on-premise software

Failover and load balancing options: Supports failover

Scalability: supports multiple locations and location-specific administration

Directory system integration: Microsoft Active Directory

Administrative tool options: web/cloud

Data export capabilities: device hardware, installed apps,

Expense management features: track carrier, alert when roaming

Device enrollment mechanism(s): website
Support for secure/authenticated enrollment?: Yes
Security certificate features: Exchange, IMAP/POP, Wi-Fi, VPN

Remote/On Demand administrative actions: remove passcode, lock, wipe, selective wipe of corporate data, push text message

App management options: push apps to device, enterprise app store with custom and public apps, app whitelist/blacklist options, admin alert on unapproved apps

The iPhone 4S launched on Sprint on October 14, 2011.

Sprint took a huge hit when it brought on the iPhone. While Apple’s smartphone has undoubtedly been a godsend for the smaller carrier, Sprint signed on to pay over $15 billion in iPhone subsidies over the next four years. Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse even took a $3.25 million pay cut to appease shareholders after his company agreed to the pricey iPhone deal with Apple. You’d think that Hesse would be a little peeved.

He’s not. On the contrary, Hesse reiterated today that he believes Sprint’s iPhone customers will become its most profitable subscribers. The only catch is that Sprint won’t make money on the iPhone until at least 2015.

“We’re very happy with it,” Hesse said of Sprint’s deal with Apple, during the company’s annual shareholders meeting Tuesday. “Carrying the iPhone will be quite profitable.”

“We believe in the long term,” Hesse said. “And over time we will make more money on iPhone customers than we will on other customers.”

Finally, a carrier that makes sense.

Hesse said back in March that Sprint subscribers who own iPhones are likely to be the most loyal. Unlike AT&T and Verizon, Sprint plans to offer unlimited data even when the iPhone gets LTE data speeds. Sprint is actively working on deploying its LTE network by 2013, and Apple is expected to introduce a 4G iPhone later this year.

Source: AllThingsD

There's a new Mountain Lion on the prowl.

Apple today issued an update to its third OS X Mountain Lion developer preview. The update (Build 12A206j) can be downloaded now by registered Mac developers.

The second update to the latest Mountain Lion developer preview doesn’t seem to contain anything substantial, but Apple is obviously gearing up for the public release of its next-gen desktop OS this summer.

Apple released the third Mountain Lion developer preview on May 1st, and you must be running that preview to install the second update in Software Update. The update notes that “MacBook Pro 3,1″ models are not compatible with this build, meaning Macs released in the second half of 2007. Apple will fix this issue before Mountain Lion goes public.

Rumors are saying that Apple will unveil new MacBook Pros at its WWDC conference next month, and the company is expected to also address Mountain Lion and hopefully give a more specific release date than “late summer.” Based on the past, the summer’s new Macs should ship with Mountain Lion pre-installed.

Jaspreet Kaur Walia:

When it comes to creating smart gadgets, the visually impaired section of the society is almost always ignored. Blind don’t really feel comfortable using phones designed for people with normal sight and have to struggle real hard to get the hang of such products. Mark DiLella has come up with a phone design, christened Clarity, which will cater to all the calling and messaging needs of this part of the society.

Clarity mobile phone

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Asmita Prasad:

Wrist watches and other timepieces worn on one’s person have become somewhat obsolete since cellphone with clocks on the home screen became commonplace. But that didn’t stop fashionistas and premium watchmakers of the world from promoting the good old wristwatch as a fashion accessory and this Steampunk wrist cuff with working watch and date function is one such novel product. Created by Cardiff-based designer Nicholas Robatto, the Steampunk wrist cuff with working watch and date function features a funky Steampunk watch that cuffs your wrist in bold style with a fully working LED interface that tells you the time and date.

Steampunk wrist cuff with watch

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Radhicka S Saxena:

Luxury and extravagance know no limits. Products in the consumer market today tender a whole range of offerings with which you can pamper and mollycoddle yourself. If indulgence is on your mind, then a swell way to treat yourself is to book a flight on the statesque Brabus Private Aviation carrier. Just image what it would be like to have an exclusive cabin or a private jet all to yourself. The company has liveries as well as aircraft management services on their list. Moreover, these can be custom made on orders from clients. Offerings from the company include jets like Challenger Aircraft Families, Dassault Falcon Series and also Bombardier Global Express.

Brabus to Tune Private Jets

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Radhicka S Saxena:

Vertically tall high rises are a feasible way out of the space crunch people are tackling with currently. London is also planning frantically to combat its share of challenges and the upcoming Loft London farm Tower proposed by Architect Peter Stasek might help to alleviate the distress to some extent. The structure that looks like a gigantic cylinder resting on the buttress is definitely something to look forward to. It will hold nests within that will serve like a terrain for habitation and settlement. Here is a snapshot of what the structure will look like and what it will do for the capital city of UK.

Floating Nests

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Asmita Prasad:

If the iPad, Microsoft Surface and the whole range of touch enabled devices isn’t enough for you, then perhaps this invention called MaKey MaKey by designers Eric Rosenbaum and Jay Silver of the Minty Geek Electronics Lab would interest you. The open source hardware project can basically turn any surface into a touchpad which means you can type out short messages, play software-based instruments, control onscreen gaming action by turning objects like Play-Doh, coins and even bananas into objects that can produce the same functions as mouse clicks and computer keyboard keys. Human Interface Device (HID) protocol then sends input commands to the computer.

MaKey MaKey

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