fit-pc slim – tiny and low power

I have been keeping an eye on the compact PC market for a while now, eying the pico and nano ITX form factors but they remain on the expensive side. The micro Fit PC has been slimmed down and will be released in September 2008 touted as worlds smallest green PC. A mere 6W and running at 12V allows for easy hook up to a car or solar collection system running from a self contained water resistant enclosure you can hold in your palm. It features on board components like soldered memory retaining a removable 2.5 inch disk.

Prices (USD):

fit-PC Slim Barebones (256MB, no WiFi, no HDD) – $220
fit-PC Slim Diskless (512MB, WiFi, no HDD) – $245
fit-PC Slim Linux (512MB, WiFi, 60GB hard disk with Ubuntu and Gentoo pre-installed) – $295
fit-PC Slim XP (512MB, WiFi, 60GB hard disk with Windows XP Home SP3 pre-installed) – $335

linkage: fit- pc slim

super cheap, eco friendly, wooden pallet and adobe construction

This is a wonderful idea. Wooden pallets are available in every corner of the world and correspondingly inexpensive. Often they are scrapped. Sure the wood isn’t usually top quality but as internal structure for adobe it need only be srong, not pretty.

linkage: via green upgrader

car free commercial drive, vancouver 06 2008 – great times

Car Free Commercial Drive was a huge hit yesterday with the streets literally packed with thousands of people enjoying the sun and the spectacle. I snapped some pics . Here is a sample. The rest are available via the linkage below.

linkage: car free commercial drive, vancouver 2008 photos

vegetarians taste better

linkage: via autoblog green

hobo carbon footprint cartoon

linkage: via joy of tech

sculptured cob stairway

Sustainable building techniques provide many opportunities for organic design. This stairwell is a great example of cob sculpture incorporated into the walls straw bale building.

linkage: via paint kettle black.com

how about light transmitting concrete?

linkage: via best pics around 

logic

linkage: via motherjones 

plant more trees – wwf posters

The WWF are known for some clever poster campaigns. Check out this current selection from the shade of your own tree

linkage: via funtasticus 

microwave that plastic back into oil!

No that isn’t a typo. Some engineers have worked out how to tweak a microwave so that it can return petroluem based products back into oil. Yup. Oil. Now I don’t know about you but I am blown away by the implications on recycling this is bound to have.

linkage: via new scientist

beer bottle solar hot water invention

A Chinese farmer who wanted to give his mom hot water has made a roof top solar hot water heater using beer bottles and some tubing. Funnily enough, the neighbors has followed suit.

linkage: read some more on solar beer bottle heater

new zealand sustains

Stumbled Across a blog story on the TreeHugger site about a couple trying to life an alternatively sustainable lifestyle on Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand. In 2004 they picked up 20 acres that accounted for everything on their wish list. The post is the first in a series on the authors stay there.

linkage: nz sustains (part one)

venturi’s solar and wind powered car

Here is a look at a new prototype car by Venturi that they tout as an ‘autonomous energy vehicle’. Autonomous in the sense that the batteries will allow it to cover 30 miles on a full charge, and the solar panels and wind gust chargers will recharge the batteries. If you happen to live in London and the greyness isn’t giving your batteries the loving they need you can always plug it into AC.

First production runs are limited to 200 so I would imagine the $30,000 price tag won’t be high enough to scare off those fast adopters whose carbon debt won’t let them sleep at night.

usb AA battery cell, built-in charger

Well done. Well done. Some smart cookies over at usbcells have created a USB rechargeable battery cell for all your mobile needs. When the battery becomes flat simply plug it into any free USB slot to charge it. No need to carry bulky chargers or cable, it is all built in. Fantastic. Now all I want to see is a solar one that you just leave in the sun and it charges itself.

vancouver’s footpath gardens, photoblog

I think I may have mentioned this recently. Now I have the photo to show you what I mean. Vancouver’s central city residents have a habit of digging up the council’s grass edging a turning it into a garden. So lovely to see. It sure beats all this wasted water to keep lawns immaculate.