computers
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These biodegradable computer chips are made from wood
And they work just as well as their silicon-based counterparts.
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Ants basically invented the internet
Step aside, Al Gore. You, too, Tim Berners-Lee. Now we know who really invented the internet: ants. “Invented” is maybe not exactly right. It’s more like they independently discovered one of its fundamental principles. Sort of like Newton and Leibniz and calculus, except that it’s quite clear who discovered this particular algorithm first. (Hint: It […]
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Tablet apps teach apes to write emails
Sometimes, when sitting with an iPad and raptly poking Uzu with your finger, you probably feel a little like an ape, admit it. That’s because a) you are basically just a smart ape and b) of course smart apes like touch screen tablets (heck, even lizards like them). And just like humans, the apes are […]
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Power your laptop with your butt
Swedish designer Eddi Tornberg has turned the plight of modern workers — sitting like lazy larvae in front of computer screens all day — into a form of renewable energy. He uses the heat of our rear ends to create electricity. You’ll still die from sitting, but at least your energy bills will be lower!
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Scientists build energy-efficient computer out of crabs
Here is an amazing example of humans piggybacking on a natural phenomenon to create an incredibly clever system: crab-based computing. A crab-based computer starts with swarms of crabs. These swarms include hundreds of thousands of crabs that, individually, run every which way but that, as a group, progress in one direction. Even more incredible — […]
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Facebook is building a renewable-powered mini-town in the Arctic
Facebook is building a server farm in northern Sweden, on the edge of the Arctic circle. The average temperatures there are so cold that they won't need to use anything but the outside air to cool 600,000 square feet of servers. But even so, the server farm will use as much power as 16,000 homes. […]
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All of the internet uses less than 2 percent of the world’s energy
Humanity spends a lot of time on the internet. Too much, probably. And every little Google search, Facebook message, and tweet uses some energy. All that Hulu uses a lot more. It's been clear that energy going to internet use is growing, but how does it compare to total energy use? If we really want […]
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E-waste idea: Turn an iMac into an aquarium
The iMac was built to be pretty. So why not sidestep the difficulty of recycling e-waste by making discarded iMac carapaces into something attractive for the home? Jake Harms had the clever idea to make them into aquariums, for "Mac and fish enthusiasts worldwide." The cases for his pre-made iMacquariums are sourced from recyclers, so you're not […]
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How Gmail saves energy
There are a lot of benefits to cloud computing. For instance, if you believe the commercials, it lets you replace your family’s heads with better heads! Also, it saves you storage space and means you can access your data with multiple devices. But this might be the best argument so far: Switching from local email […]
