Music: April 2012

Saturday 28 April 2012

GOP Blasts Obama for Travel Costs (WSJ)

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Thursday 19 April 2012

Greenpeace Takes Apple, Amazon, Microsoft to Task Over Coal-Powered Cloud Data Centers

Targeting major tech companies including Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft for use of coal derived power, Greenpeace has issued a new report entitled How Clean is Your Cloud?

Given the energy-intensive nature of maintaining the cloud, access to significant amounts of electricity is a key factor in decisions about where to build these data centers.

Since electricity plays a critical role in the cost structure of companies that use the cloud, there have been dramatic strides made in improving the energy efficiency.

However, despite significant improvements in efficiency, the growth in cloud computing far outstrips these energy savings, and coal is still the cheapest power source.

Not to mention the dirtiest.

greenpeace

The study covers 14 Internet giants, but singles out Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft as the biggest offenders. Apple derives the most data center power (55%) from coal.

Apple is building a 20-megawatt solar farm and 5-megawatt fuel cell facility at its new data center in Maiden, N.C., but Greenpeace downplays their significance.

Greenpeace takes Apple to task for its decision to locate its data center in North Carolina, which reportedly maintains one of the dirtiest power grids in the U.S.

While Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft take the brunt of Greenpeace's criticism, Yahoo and Google receive high marks for their policies prioritizing renewable energy.

Facebook also receives high marks for its recent commitment to renewable energy, including its latest data center in Sweden that is 100% renewable powered.

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Tuesday 17 April 2012

DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on (video)

Well that's a mouthful. Shenzhen-based DJI Innovations was on hand at NAB today to demonstrate its new hex-rotor aircraft, designed to provide photographers (and videographers) with a low-cost tool for capturing aerial images. The vehicle we saw today, coined Spreading Wings S800 (its rotors retract for storage) is a fairly straightforward multi-rotor aircraft, save for a couple pretty slick enhancements. Even more impressive, however, was DJI's Ruling, a "ground control terminal" that enables you to adjust not only aircraft direction and elevation, but also the camera position, complete with a live video feed as captured by a Sony NEX-5N mounted on a multi-axis camera gimbal. The camera mount is designed to maintain a stable image regardless of the craft's position -- once it's fixed on a subject, it will adjust to retain the pre-selected angle.

The Ruling controller is very much still a prototype, with a yet-unpolished military green plastic housing and a built-in LCD. There's also dual joysticks -- one on the left to adjust the camera platform, and a second on the right to control the aircraft itself, letting you climb, descend and turn in every which way with a flick. The duo was very responsive during a brief demonstration, making calculated movements with what looked to be precise accuracy. The video feed was interrupted slightly by the multitude of wireless connections littering the Las Vegas Convention Center airwaves, but reps were still able to verify framing and adjust position -- the aircraft itself never faltered, with a maximum range of 10 kilometers (5km for the video feed, in ideal conditions). The Spreading Wings S800 is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship next month for roughly $8,500. That clever live video controller will cost you another pretty penny, however, with an estimated $5,000 price tag and a TBD ship date. You'll want to take a closer look in the video after the break.

Gallery: DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on