TrendBird: The Drake Landing Solar Community is the first solar powered community of North America. Located in the town of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, the project sets a wonderful example of how every household can lead a sustainable lifestyle. There are 800 solar panels located throughout the community on garage roofs, and they produce 1.5 mega-watts of thermal power during a summer day and supply heat to the district heating system. The whole system meets 90% of the annual heating and hot water needs of the homes.

The homes are moderately sized, ranging from 1,492 to 1,664 square feet, and have low energy demands, suitable to work with the system. The homes are located close to one another, which provides a walkable neighborhood, and reduces the lengths that the fluid for the solar heating system needs to travel. Water conservation has been made mandatory in the homes.

A Unique Solar Powered Community [TrendBird]

BrandChannel: Ask 10-year-old kids about their favorite movie or cartoon character—be it the Incredible Hulk or Bratz—and they can identify every brand extension leveraging the character’s likeness. However, as both the toy and branding industries expand into virtual worlds, new dimensions of entertainment and branding are emerging—realms that are full of both pitfalls and profits.

While the press has focused much of its attention on the adult versions of virtual worlds such as Second Life and There.com, a boom time has been quietly brewing for virtual worlds with a retail twist aimed at kids and tweens—and they are making money amid stagnant and, in many segments, declining toy sales.

Virtual worlds—colorful, 3-D interactive landscapes experienced via the eyes and ears of an avatar—offer a cross between gaming and social interaction with plenty of customization to suit the user’s/avatar’s tastes.

Toy Brands Don’t Play Around in Virtual Worlds [BrandChannel]

techshout.com: Thanko, a company known for its innovative products has rolled out a new keyboard. According to FarEastGizmos, the computer peripheral has a built-in fan to keep users’ hands cool.

Many times users’ hands sweat due to the prolonged usage of the keyboard, especially in the humid conditions. In such cases Thanko keyboard users can simply turn on the fan switch and continue working in comfortable environment.

The built-in fan blows strong cool air, so that it is convenient for users to work. The keyboard measures 51×22x3.5 cm.

As of now the Thanko keyboard with integrated fan is only available in Japan. The Thanko fan keyboard is available for 6,650 yen.

Thanko Keyboard with Built-in Fan Introduced [techshout.com]

TrendCentral: Even though going sockless is usually protocol during summer, we've been noticing plenty of fashionistas keeping their feet covered up, pairing decorative anklets, knee highs, and thigh highs with flats, pumps, wedges, and heeled sandals. A fun execution of the trend, these Minisocks are available in a rainbow of lace-up styles that not only let the wearers' feet breathe but also add a feminine touch with Grecian or bow details.

Cool Socks [TrendCentral]

Engadget: Directly rewarding efforts with results, now that's the way to get someone moving. As we've seen time and time again, providing a clear, undiluted motivator is a perfect way to make fitness a top priority in life, and that's exactly what Takara Tomy is hoping to achieve with its pocket-friendly Jinsei Game of Life pedometer. Essentially, this device is a portable version of the famed Game of Life board game, but users are purportedly not allowed to take a turn unless they take 300 steps first. Additionally, two players can take on one another via the "communication mode," but there's a good chance the most chiseled among you will take home the gold regardless of luck. Out this month in Japan for ¥3,675.

Jinsei Game of Life pedometer makes you exercise to play [Engadget]

CoolHunting: Forget toting dogs, iguanas or other pets, nothing will impress the in-crowd like bringing a bird to class or work. And now you can—on your back—in the PetPocket Bird Carrier. The PetPocket is a transportable birdcage, complete with a removable bottom tray and two toy hanging loops from the top. The backpack holds small to medium-sized birds (including but not limited to parakeets, conures, canaries, finches, budgies, and lovebirds). Keep your feathered friend close, safe, and with you always.

PetPocket Bird Carrier [CoolHunting]

Gadgetell.com: I cannot help but think there will be a specific type of individual that will purchase this, without offering up any stereotype’s I am sure you can think of at least one.

While this looks like nothing more than a severed cable, its actually a 2GB flash drive, and its certainly one that will not get stolen that quickly. My biggest concern would be leaving this laying around on the table and having my wife coming in the room and tossing it in the trash can thinking it was junk.

Severed cable that offers 2GB of built-in storage [Gadgetell.com]

TrendOriginal: The Lumus glasses virtually display all of your desired media and interface features directly in front of your eyes on a pair of normal glasses. The transparent projection provides instant access to the most needed applications but still allows the wearer to see through the lenses completely normally, and does not disrupt the field of view.

Seeing beyond: The Lumus Glasses [TrendOriginal]

TRENDBIRD: Edopter is a unique concept that attempts to combine crowd-sourcing with internet buzz to predict new trends. It’s called “social trendcasting.”

The way it works, is by allowing users to generate “trends” according to what they think will catch on. Some trends are “cewebrities” (pictured below), “Batman: The Dark Knight,” and “tap water.” The user who makes the trend writes a “pitch” - the reason they think it will catch on. Then the Edopter system scans the web to measure current internet “buzz.” Users can join a trend, and give their pitch, upload photos and videos related to the trend, and discuss the trend with the other users in that trend. The more discussion and content you add, the more likely more people will join, thus increasing the value of the trend.

Edopter Attempts “Social Trendcasting” [TRENDBIRD]

While there is no shortage of simulators for individual sports, the E Ball stands apart because it simulates a whole range. It comes in both outdoor and indoor varieties and comes in a range of sporting flavors including: golf, soccer and Australian Rules football.

An indoor version of the E Ball is available, but there is no substitute for the bouncy castle outdoor version. Presumably there is some setup involved in changing between the sports, as the ball sensors are all appropriately shaped, but that is a small price to pay for enjoying sports out of the sun.

E Ball’s Sports Simulator Brings All of Your Sporting Needs Indoors [Uber-Review]

Gadget Reviews: Nowadays, it is popular among car companies to announce one or two models that are fueled not with gas, but with electricity. It is unknown, why they mystically disappear after being announced, maybe because of low distance they can drive without battery recharging, maybe because of their ultra high cost. However, it is clear that this kind of engines will prevail above internal combustion ones in some time. It is a wise idea to combine these two engines, produce a hybrid that will be more versatile in nowadays conditions. This is exactly the idea behind this futuristic concept car that combines advantages of both engine types to obtain unique capabilities.

This car is named Antro Solo, and is engineered in Hungary. Apart from having a very futuristic design (it resembles a soapbox a little), it does have very futuristic parameters. While it requires gas to run, it uses only 0.01 liter of gas per kilometer! This was made possible by using electric engine, which accompanies combustion one. Power is gained through many solar batteries on the roof of this car, but even if you are driving in tunnel or rain, there is nothing to worry about - gas powered generator will charge car's batteries if there is no sunlight.

Antro Solo - car of the future? [Gadget Reviews]

Back in March, Argo Medical Technologies Inc., announced the development of their ReWalk Exoskeleton, a light-weight, brace-like suit for people whose legs have been paralyzed. The Exoskeleton fits the body snugly and detects various upper body movements, which allow the wearer to start or stop the walking process.

Featuring integrated DC motors at the joints, rechargeable batteries, and an extensive series of sensors linked to a computer control system, we are indeed looking at the future mobility for those who have been unable to recovery from serious injury.

A US trial for the ReWalk is scheduled to begin in November at the Moss Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia, after which Argo will apply for FDA regulatory approval.

Christopher Aceto currently heads Thottfield Inc., a small multimedia and communications consultancy based in Toronto, Canada. Always on the hunt for innovative and exciting ideas, his passion for the creation and production of ground-breaking technologies and services has granted him the opportunity to act as a creative consultant for various companies and industries throughout the world.

The personal eco-vehicle from Myers Motors was featured at the 'Milan 2008: Best of the well-tech awards' and is most definitely worthy of it. The odd looking one-seater called the 'NmG' (no more gas) runs on electricity and can reach a speed of 75mph. It can easily be parked anywhere, helps us breathe cleaner air, turns heads and does not need petrol. Indeed-This little car can transform our planet.

TrendsSpotting.com is a trends agency focused on developing exciting tools for Trend Spotting. We follow current trends and are constantly looking for new ones. We specialize in trends research and the social media. Dr. Taly Weiss, TrendsSpotting CEO, is a Social Psychologist, with extensive experience in branding strategy and marketing research. Feel free to explore our trend spotting tools on www.trendoScope.com.

Latest Buy: Sleep is a very individual thing. Some like to sleep on their side or their back or their front. Some like a soft mattress whilst others prefer a bed of nails. And when it comes to waking up, some of us spring out of bed, whilst others need, well, how shall we put this, others need a rocket up them.

Problem solved. The Rocket Alarm Clock is here to ensure that if you have to take off in the morning, it will do just that.

Rocket Alarm ClockThe launch pad doubles as mission control, where you can set the time and the alarm from the LCD display. When it's time to get up, the red LED lights begin to flash and the countdown begins. 10 – 9 – if you wake up now you can abort the launch – 8 – 7 – 6 – you can still stop it – 5 – 4 – come on you space cadet get up – 3 – 2 – 1 – LIFT OFF! If you've failed to abort the mission by now, your soft-headed rocket has launched itself across the room – and the only way you're going to stop the alarm from sounding is by getting up and retrieving it!

Rocket Alarm Clock [Latest Buy]

Gadgets Weblog: I have kids now, and I'm already dreading the day when I have to let them go out on their own for the night for a date or with their friends. If I'm not willing to totally trust them by then, I could use the Keruve to keep track of them.

All I would need to do is attach the watch-like device to my child's wrist. Assuming my kid would let me do that, I would let my kid know that it won't come off without the use of some special tools. This device is a GPS transmitter that uses cell-phone towers to give the correct location, and I can track my offspring with the GPS receiver, which has an LCD screen.

I'm not sure where you can get this particular device, as the company is in Spain, and I cannot read the official website. I have a hunch we will be seeing a surge of products like these as our youth continually finds more ways to get into trouble.

Keruve lets you know where your children are [Gadgets Weblog]

To Never Forget

The MEMENTO Memory LifeBook is a well designed and effective scientific mobile gadget that serves as a solution to people who suffer from dementia. The wearable device aids communication and memory as well as.....

Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 71 >>>

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Sick of wearing a pair of earrings as part of an accessories? Well, a new eye jewellery project is up for those seeking unique decorations and stand out from the crowd. Tongue piercing may look as dangerous as wearing the eye jewellery!

LikeCool: The Eye Jewellery contact lens project by ericklarenbee. It looks dangerous when you wearing it. The Eye Jewellery likes your tears.

The Eye Jewellery Project [LikeCool]

Born Rich: No longer can we say that automated poker tables are the future for live poker. In fact they are the present of the poker gaming. Though in the past, poker has required several physical elements to play: chips or money, a table, some chairs, and a deck of cards, it was only a matter of time before poker got automated too. Since we have managed to focus on the best automated poker tables in the (recent) past with X10 automated poker table, Amaya automated poker table and the Axtra electronic poker table, today its time to shift our focus on to the Lightning Poker Table. Big enough to accommodate 10 players with ease, it sports a 45” LCD high definition screen in the center. And of course 10 12.1” XVGA touch screens for players too.

Lightning Poker Table – The automated table of the present [Born Rich]

Springwise: With gas prices a topic of urgent concern, it's no wonder bicycle-related innovations are coming fast and furious. One of the latest we've spotted is the Zigo Leader, a bicycle that's easily convertible into several different forms.

Much like the Danish trioBike, which we covered a while back, the Zigo Leader can be easily converted into any of four different modes: stand-alone bicycle; bicycle with front-attached kid trailer; jogging stroller; and traditional stroller. Converting from one mode to another is simply a matter of swivelling casters and attaching or detaching the "child pod" trailer, and can be done in 30 seconds or less, Zigo says. The vehicle also folds easily for storage. Priced at USD 1,349, the Zigo Leader will be available in August direct from the New Jersey-based company or through a network of dealers including bicycle shops and baby stores.

Convertible bicycle serves multiple needs [Springwise]

Adverlab: The obvious future of in-store experience: you find something you like, reach into your pocket for a small device, scan the barcode, and the device tells you whether and were the same product is available for a lower price. Brick-and-mortar stores become little more than showrooms for merchandise bought elsewhere.

This future just got one step closer today with the release of an iPhone app Checkout SmartShop, "a shopping assistant meant to help you fine online and local prices when you’re out and about shopping." For now, you still need to type in the UPS code; they are working on converting the iPhone camera into a barcode scanner.

How much time do you give for this app to hit the market: you go into a Blockbuster, scan a box, and the movie is cued up for download on your BitTorrent client?

The Future of Retail: Instant Price Match [Adverlab]

ProductDose.com: It might make my apartment look like an illustration-convention exploded but I'd definitely take these wall stickers from Domestic gracing my walls over the fleur-de-lis pattern I grew up with. These stickers are the decorations you'd expect the gaming generation to have. We're all a little addled by virtual-immersion so it makes sense our reality should look more like our media-created environments than the other way around.

Wall Stickers from Domestic [ProductDose.com]

The MEMENTO Memory LifeBook is a well designed and effective scientific mobile gadget that serves as a solution to people who suffer from dementia. The wearable device aids communication and memory as well as help keep track of objects and day-to-day agendas.

As quoted by the inventor, Peter Sin Guili: "The care of dementia patients is one of the society's largest medical and social responsibilities… The rapidly aging population and the extrapolation of increase number of dementia patients in the future sees a prominent growing market and demand for product solutions (Assistive Technology) to enable elderly individuals diagnosed with the condition to carry on their everyday activities independently for as long as possible."

The product facilitates the memorizing of events and helps those who suffer from dementia live their lives as efficiently and regularly as possible by maximizing their cognitive abilities and enhancing their self-reliability. It assists with contact maintenance, upkeep of daily tasks, keeps track of agendas, medication dosages, an 'intelligent camera' and more. Due to the increasing numbers of dementia patients and the costs of medical aid, this break-through device poses as a wise answer.

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TrendsSpotting.com is a trends agency focused on developing exciting tools for Trend Spotting. We follow current trends and are constantly looking for new ones. We specialize in trends research and the social media. Dr. Taly Weiss, TrendsSpotting CEO, is a Social Psychologist, with extensive experience in branding strategy and marketing research. Feel free to explore our trend spotting tools on www.trendoScope.com.

CoolHunting: Nothing livens up a cocktail party like talk of tragedy and there may never be a classier catastrophe than the Titanic. With that in mind, the clever folk at Fred & Friends designed the perfect conversation piece with Gin & Titonic. It's an ice cube mold that is shaped to depict miniature Titanics and icebergs that form a dramatic diorama when sunk into your drink.

Gin and Titonic Ice Cube Molds [CoolHunting]

pnj.com: Chick-fil-A is giving you a good reason to eat chicken, but there's a catch.

On Friday, all Chick-fil-A chain restaurants will be celebrating the fourth annual Cow Appreciation Day. The restaurant will be offering a free Chick-fil-A meal to any customer that comes to the eatery fully dressed as a cow. This means the customer needs to be dressed from head to toe as a cow.

If you're partially dressed as a cow, such as a cow-printed T-shirt, hat, vest or purse, Chick-fil-A will give you a free entrée.

Last year, thousands of customers throughout the county visited Chick-fil-A dressed in cow-themed costumes, ranging from simple cow-spotted T-shirts to full cow suits complete with furry ears, cow bells and homemade sandwich boards with personalized renditions of Chick-fil-A's "Eat Mor Chikin" cow messages.

What theme can you think of for your restaurant to hit the crowd?

Got a cow suit? [pnj.com]

Daily Mail: Britain's first eco-nightclub is opening tonight in London.

Cyclists and walkers get free admission and the dance floor is so high-tech it generates its own electricity when people move on it.

The brainchild of 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr Earth, Surya has its own wind turbine and solar energy system. They plan to donate any surplus electricity to local residents.

The venue has the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets and sells drinks in polycarbon cups.

Entrance is £10 but customers will only be allowed in if they sign a pledge promising to work towards curbing climate change.

The club is based at Bar Surya in Pentonville Road. Jade Jagger will be supporting Dr Earth as a DJ tonight.

Mr Charalambous, Tory donor and head of the climate change organisation called Club4Climate, said he hoped to use clubbing to inspire young people to tackle global warming.

'This is a new way to draw in the young generation,' he said.

'Unless we stop preaching to people and use an inclusive philosophy we're never going to create the revolution to combat climate change.

'There is no greater platform than clubbing to reach out to young people.'

Britain's first eco-nightclub powered by pounding feet opens its doors [Daily Mail]

Gadgets-Reviews: While humanity goes up on the technological ladder, it is necessary to keep an eye on our surroundings. 20 age's technological boom increased our need in energy, and it greatly increased our negative influence on ecology of Earth. Now it is the time when we must learn on our mistakes, and find a new, clean source of energy for our needs. There already are several methods to make ecologically clean energy: solar batteries, windmills… Even the energy of ocean waves can be used! This interesting prototype that looks like a very long snake is meant especially for these purposes.

This snake is called "Anaconda", and it is designed especially for capturing wave energy, which is an infinite (well, almost infinite) source of energy. Huge percentage of our planet's surface is covered by oceans, so it is a shame that we waste such powerful and huge source of energy while burning Earth's resources. The power of ocean waves bends Anaconda's body and pushes the generator, located in its tail, converting kinetic energy of wave into an electrical energy. This snake now exists only as a working prototype, and it is approximately 2 meters long. When it will be fully tested, it will be much longer. 200-meters long "Anaconda" will be capable of producing 1 megawatt of ecologically clean and cheap energy. It will be enough to power up 1000 homes, so dozen of this snake-robots can supply with power a small town. It is built from materials that are highly resistant to salt-water corrosion, so its lifetime will be longer than that of any existing wave-generators.

Robotic Snake that Generates Power from Wave Energy [Gadgets-Reviews]

Crave: In the hypercompetitive business of game chairs, it's easy to get carried away. But at least one manufacturer is sticking to the basics.

Rather than adding more external bells and whistles, Capcom's "Reactor Video Game Chair" has concentrated on the chair itself with "eight high-impact vibrating motors" positioned in the upper and lower back as well as the seat "so that every bump or blow is felt by the gamer."

It also comes with head-mounted 3D speakers, according to Slippery Brick, but the best feature in our view is its "variable massage mode" to unwind from a particularly stressful session.

Capcom game chair tingles the spine [Crave]

Springwise: For dieters working to lose weight, maintaining a decent wardrobe of clothes that fit can be an ongoing—and expensive—challenge on the way to a target size. With just that situation in mind, Transitional Sizes rents out name-brand clothing for temporary use while the pounds come off.

Maryland-based Transitional Sizes, which just recently launched, offers women's and maternity clothing in a range of sizes for monthly rental fees ranging from about USD 3 to USD 25. (Men's clothes are coming soon, the site says.) Customers order items in the sizes they need and keep them for as long as they want; once they're done, they clean them per the instructions provided by Transitional Sizes and send them back in the original box. Customers needn't be members to order from the site, but membership packages ranging from USD 10 to USD 40 per year are designed to give dieters a range of extra perks, including coupons, discounts, email alerts and weight-loss incentives.

Clothing rental for size-changing dieters [Springwise]

TrendBlog: Softbank has announced that a long-distance romance role-playing game for mobile phones, called, amusingly, the “Marginal Prince” from Serendipity will be available this month for users of the latest phone models. The game has become immensely popular since it was released exclusively on Docomo a few years ago.

What exactly is a long distance romance role-playing game, you ask? Here is the premise: Your little brother Youta is studying abroad at a mysterious all-boys academy, St. Alphonso, on the remote and secluded foreign island of the same name. Youta happens to be the only boy at school with a mobile phone (the most high-tech Japanese mobile equipped with one-seg TV capability no less) which makes him very popular with his classmates who are eager to talk to people from the outside world, especially you, most likely a teenage or 20-something girl.

As you, the user, navigate the game, Youta introduces you to these “Marginal Princes,” and if you find one to your liking you can engage in a more romantic conversation, with the goal of acquiring love points in the form of letters or love songs.

Romance Games for Mobiles [TrendBlog]

If you have read your classics with diligence, you would remember the little boy who saved Holland from the sea. Sticking his tiny little finger into a hole in the dyke, he saved his countrymen from the cold ocean waters. Being flat, Netherlands offers some of the best golf courses in the world. An initiative of Indoor Golf Project, the Indoor Golf Arena, in the Netherlands, aims to be a golf-training center par excellence. Indoor Golf Arena is to be the world's largest, most unique and diverse indoor golf training centre, open 365 days a year and offering high quality indoor golf training facilities. It aims to instill an interest and passion among customers about golfing. Synthetic grass, 20 state-of-the-art ProTee Golf Simulators and 28 hitting bays will be employed to provide you with the best indoor golf training. The center is equipped with a kid's training area, bar, lounge and an up market restaurant as well.

World’s largest Indoor Golf Arena is a golfer’s delight [BornRich.org]

TrendHunter: Attention male golfers! The game of golf is full of gadgets: gadgets that increase your distance; gadgets that straighten your drives; gadgets that hide your beer. The list goes on… Now, you can add a club that doubles as a toilet to the list. The Uroclub is a golf club with a hollow shaft that holds your pee.

Every aspect of this piece of equipment has been meticulously worked out to make it simple and trouble free to use. To start with, the UroClub is designed from a light weight resin with a molded grip. The cap opens and closes easily and is designed with a triple sealing system to ensure that it is leak proof.

The privacy shield hooks to the sides of the pants or belt and adds stability. This allows freedom of the hands to manipulate the club and zipper. The UroClub is intended to eliminate anxiety and any feeling of uneasiness on the course. It can be emptied at the nearest restroom or later on, when the golfer returns home.

Urinal Golf Clubs - The Uroclub [TrendHunter]

The Cool Hunter: Over the last few years we’ve seen an influx of creative new minds enter the field who are redefining the concept and making their own rules. The latest inspiring example of innovative interior commercial design is the new Maedaya Grill & Sake bar in Melbourne, created by local design studio Architects Eat. The sushi restaurant’s interior, mostly “bound” by ropes, demonstrates the possibility of using ordinary recyclable material for hospitality projects without compromising sophistication.

The rope idea originated from the classic design of sake bottles, which are traditionally secured with ropes. The principal materials for this project are Manila ropes, timber and concrete, all reflecting natural elements such as vegetation and earth.

Sake Bar Made From Rope - Melbourne [The Cool Hunter]

The Red Ferret: This Klimatec Base 1 AirWater Machine is a self-filling water cooler which extracts water from the air, purifies it and serves it up in nice refreshing dollops of goodness. Or something. We’re talking 20 litres every 24 hours, it can be solar powered and you can attach an optional fridge unit for super coldness. Sounds like a pretty neat plan, eh?

Klimatic Base 1 AirWater Machine - self filling water cooler extracts drinking water from the air [The Red Ferret]

This dominancy detector table is a well designed, sound-sensitive tool which can be implemented into businesses, organizations, sales departments and work environments that require strong communication skills and interactions. The tool, called the 'Reflect Table', is used to detect which employee talks the most and dominates company meetings by monitoring the conversation and visually displaying the input on the table's color LEDs. The microphones in the table 'listen' to the conversation, display which member is currently speaking and of course, which member speaks