Lifeboat Foundation

Living on a houseboat may seem very romantic, but the day-to-day misery of hauling water from shore and listening to the thump of the generator can soon take the icing off the cupcake. As a glimpse into what could be the future of aquatic living, two Fraunhofer Institutes and their partners are working on a self-sufficient floating home that creates its own water, electricity, and heat without looking like a works barge.

Housing shortages are a recurring problem in many parts of Europe and the canals of Amsterdam and London show that floating homes are hardly a new idea. But such residences must either be situated in the few places where power and water hook-ups are practical or find tenants who don’t mind living off the grid.

To make it feasible to live comfortably without being tied up to a pier, Fraunhofer and its associates have initiated the Lusation autartec project, which is aimed at a Germany that is looking more toward floating homes for both recreation and residency.

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The jury may still be out on the usefulness of the Internet of Things, but payments giant Visa is 100 percent sure that it doesn’t want to miss out. Today, it announced plans to push Visa payments into numerous fields. We’re talking “wearables, automobiles, appliances, public transportation services, clothing, and almost any other connected device” — basically anything that can or will soon connect to the internet.

Visa imagines a future where you’ll be able to pay for parking from your car dashboard or order a grocery delivery from your fridge. It makes sense, then, that Samsung is one of the first companies to sign up to the Visa Ready Program, alongside Accenture, universal payment card company Coin and Fit Pay. Chronos and Pebble are also working to integrate secure payments inside their devices.

To show off the technology, which works with any credit card, Visa or otherwise, the company has teamed up with Honda to develop an in-car app that helps automate payments. Right now they have two demos, the first of which concerns refueling. It warns the driver when their fuel level is low and directs them to the nearest gas station. Once the car arrives at the pump, the app calculates the expected cost and allows the driver to pay for the fuel without having to leave the vehicle.

Our first look at Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 with a bigger battery, better camera — and waterproofing.

LG has released the latest iteration of its flagship smartphone called the G5, and it’s got some interesting features that make it stand out from the rest of the pack. You can remove to bottom to change the battery or attach a number of other compatible devices.

Produced by Chris Snyder

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The cost of renewable energy is plummeting while fossil fuel companies are in distress.

Now is the time to keep on pushing.

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Electric Hybrid Train Powers Up

HYPSTAIR Project Reaches Significant Milestone.

A major step towards electric powered air travel was achieved on 9th February 2016 with the power-up of the world’s most powerful hybrid electric powertrain for aviation in a project led by Pipistrel. Hybrid-electric powertrains are a new breed of aviation propulsion, which extend the range of all-electric aircraft while being environmentally friendly and quiet. The 200 kW propulsor developed during the project HYPSTAIR delivers the power equivalent to a typical general aviation piston engine and can run in three modalities: electric-only mode using batteries, generator-only mode or hybrid mode combining both power sources.

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Wireless Power Transmission Market reach $13.11 Billion by 2020. This is an area that I plan to keep a closer eye on especially since IEEE’s recent approved standards on sensors. I have a feeling that we could start seeing some major progress in this space.

DUBLIN, Jan. 27, 2016 /PR Newswire UK/ — Wireless Power Transmission Market (2015−2020) — Valued at $0.72 Billion in 2014 & Is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 51.5%.

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Interesting read on 2 stage power management systems; especially the research done at GA Tech.

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This is a good baseline around common known issues — the real problem is cyber terrorists (as I call them) learns from each attack they instigate and like an artist, they constantly are fine tuning their own skill. So, the attacker’s approach and execution may be done one way, and by the next attack they can easily have changed their whole attack model completely which makes it very cumbersome for experts to trace at times. If we believe this is bad now; wait until AI is more widely available and adopted. Or, Quantum ends up in the hands of these guys.

Cybercrimes in today’s technologically advanced society have become much more sophisticated and progressive. We can thank mobility for the ease of extended access to our personal data, as with every use of our mobile phones, laptops or tablets in public areas we further increase our risk and vulnerability. As business owners, online shoppers, students, employees and even house wives, we remain at high risk for intrusion of our virtual systems. In this digital day in age, our personal data is used everywhere from when we make an online banking transaction to buying a new shirt at the mall, and even working on a project at the local coffee shop. It is hardly responsible to think that your information is safe anywhere.

Continue reading “Tactics to Protect Against Most Common Cyber Attacks” »