Author: kenmay

California governor mandates 25 percent water use reduction

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order that is intended to spur water savings. The order comes as the state enters another year of extreme drought caused by lack of winter rain and snowfall. The state receives almost all of its precipitation in the winter and relies on that to fill reservoirs and deposit snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But this year, there was no precipitation for the entire month of January, leaving snowpack at many locations well below average —and completely absent in many areas. The new order focuses on conservation, with mandatory water reductions in cities and towns that will cut use by 25 percent. Many of the additional steps are obvious and probably should have been done before a crisis hit: remove 50 million square feet of lawns, have places like school campuses, golf courses, and cemeteries limit water use, and ban any installation of new irrigation systems that don’t use efficient drip irrigation. Standards for toilet and faucet water use will also be updated. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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California governor mandates 25 percent water use reduction

10% of Americans have a smartphone but no other Internet at home

One out of 10 Americans owns a smartphone but has no other Internet service at home, with the poor far more likely to find themselves in this situation than those who are well off, according to a  Pew Research Center report released today . “10 percent of Americans own a smartphone but do not have broadband at home, and 15 percent own a smartphone but say that they have a limited number of options for going online other than their cell phone,” Pew Senior Researcher Aaron Smith wrote. “Those with relatively low income and educational attainment levels, younger adults, and non-whites are especially likely to be ‘smartphone-dependent.’” Pew said that 7 percent of Americans are in both categories—a smartphone is their only option for using the Internet at home, and they have few easily available options for going online when away from home. Pew refers to these Americans as “smartphone-dependent.” Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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10% of Americans have a smartphone but no other Internet at home

​Selfie sticks are banned at Coachella and Lollapalooza

If you’re heading to either music festival this year, you can leave that selfie stick behind. Both April’s Coachella and Lollapalooza in July have added the rods to their prohibited item lists. At Lollapalooza, the rules stipulate no “GoPro attachments like sticks, selfie sticks & monopods.” Coachella said that “Selfie sticks / narsisstics” won’t allowed in, showing a healthy lack of self-awareness… and spelling skill. As NME notes , the telescopic sticks have already been banned at multiple music venues, which can now add to the no-selfie stick list of major museums and Premier League football stadiums . The ban should help the non-stick carrying public enjoy public events and spaces a little more. The blowback has started, but it’s probably not going to stop the selfie … or the sale of associated peripherals. Comments Source: NME , Coachella , Lollapalooza

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​Selfie sticks are banned at Coachella and Lollapalooza

This Calculator Helps Estimate How Much You Need to Live Off Dividends

Living off dividends is the dream for many investors. If you have enough saved and properly invested, you can take home a comfortable salary without working at all. This calculator will help estimate how much you’ll need to accomplish this goal. Read more…

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This Calculator Helps Estimate How Much You Need to Live Off Dividends

This is how you refuel Zero’s electric motorcycle

If there’s one problem to racing a super-cool electric motorcycle, it’s that pit stops tend to be a bit slow. After all, in the time it takes a regular hot rod to refuel, you’ve probably only gained one or two percent of charge. That’s why Zero Motorcycles has created a patent pending hot-swappable battery system for the Zero FX that enables you to “refuel” the e-bike in just over half a minute. The clip below shows you how quickly this can be done out on the track, which makes us want to buy one of these $10, 000 bikes even more than before. Filed under: Transportation Comments

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This is how you refuel Zero’s electric motorcycle

First look at Project Spartan, Microsoft’s take on the modern browser

When announcing that a Windows 10 Preview with the new Project Spartan browser was available , Microsoft made clear that the browser ain’t done yet. What we have now is an early iteration of the company’s take on a legacy-free forward-looking browser—a browser that’s going to ditch the venerable Internet Explorer name. Superficially, everything about the browser is new. Its interface takes cues from all the competition: tabs on top, in the title bar, the address bar inside each tab. The look is simple and unadorned; monochrome line-art for icons, rectangular tabs, and a flat look—the address bar, for example, doesn’t live in a recessed pit (as it does in Chrome) and is integral with the toolbar (unlike Internet Explorer). The design concept works well for me, though I doubt this will be universal. As is so often the case on Windows, it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the operating system. While parts of Windows 10 have a similar appearance—most notably the Settings app—Windows overall remains an inconsistent mish-mash of looks and feels, to its detriment. Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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First look at Project Spartan, Microsoft’s take on the modern browser

Amazon brings back the white Kindle e-reader in China and Japan

Have you missed white Kindle e-readers ever since they disappeared in 2012? So has Amazon. The internet retailer has quietly unveiled a white version of its basic Kindle reader that’s headed to at least China on April 8th, and Japan on April 20th. It’s virtually identical to the $79 black model, including the 800 x 600 e-paper touchscreen, WiFi and 4GB of storage — you’re really just getting a cosmetic change here. Still, it’s hard not to be curious about Amazon’s sudden nostalgia kick. We’ve reached out to Amazon to find out if and when the white Kindle will reach other parts of the globe, and we’ll let you know if there are any additional launches in the cards. Filed under: Amazon Comments Via: Ink, Bits & Pixels Source: Amazon.cn , Amazon.co.jp

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Amazon brings back the white Kindle e-reader in China and Japan

Sprint Is Officially Saving RadioShack

Back in February, RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, destroying the childhood memories of many a tech blogger , and putting 4, 000 brick-and-mortar stores in jeopardy at the same time . But as of today, a plan to co-brand remaining stores with the Sprint logo is officially approved. Read more…

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Sprint Is Officially Saving RadioShack