Nintendo is full of Nazis. Did you know that? In fact, the ratio of Nazis to gaming developers at Nintendo is 47:1. That’s huge. It’s also why Nintendo doesn’t put out a solar-powered DS Lite. The console is popular; a smash hit if you will. Why not power it with rays from the sun? At least some dude who’s good with tools was able to make the dream happen. Add a little solar panel, load up those pirated titles and get in the game!
Jonah over at MAKE points out that you can actually make your Arduino a lot greener. How? Use a Solio with an external USB cable to provide your favorite microcontroller with power. If you don’t know what a Solio is, it’s essentially a small solar powered gadget charger. While this isn’t exactly a breathtaking hack or anything like that, it’s a new way of using a Solio and an alternative way to power your Arduino come this Halloween!
Sometimes you stumble across a piece of gadgetry that can really help brighten up your home (both figuratively and literally). Essentially, the Smoon Ombrella is a device that acts as a light source and vaguely resembles a glowing moon in the sky when placed on your Manhattan rooftop or sun room or dungeon, etc. The product of furniture designers Beau & Bien, this LED lamp runs off solar energy and can go a whopping 6 days on just 10 hours of charge.
This Plexiglas beast won’t come cheap. At $2200, it’s most certainly catered to the rich. Something tells me you could design a similar non-solar version for much cheaper.
This 52 home community is taking the next step in solar power communion in Alberta, Canada. Yea, Canada is a cold place but for these houses, which can provide over 90% of the annual heating and hot water needs, the cold is the last of their worries. However, the slaying of baby seals is another story for another day.
It’s called the Drake Landing Solar Community and as the name implies, it collects solar energy through an array of solar panels on the roof of each home. The heat is stored in the earth as a heated fluid which is transferred from a neighborhood energy center. By storing heat in the summer time, the community is provided with warmer winters with the help of simple solar panels. Beats living in that freezing house you traded for a paper clip all year round.
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While some of us don’t care for saving energy due to the need for our iPod docks and Plasma TV sets (all of which require a lot of power), others may actually want to live past 2025. So if you’re looking to cut energy bills, may I suggest you check out the Bulb Solar Lamp?
It’s actually not a bulb made from glass but rather a solar panel that glows in the dark that’s shaped like a bulb. Rather than to explain to you how solar energy works and why it’s better for your home, I’m just going to go ahead and assume you’re not retarded. For $48 and a small form-factor, you might as well pick up one or two and use ‘em in the bedroom. Beats having a bright lamp on while you have sex with your wife of 27 years. Damn that prenup.
