Three designs that will transform the National Mallthe National Mall in Washington, D c.:it's the ultimate public space.
ever be able to properly order me a dozen ripe avocados, though I'll try again each time,
Transmedia goes transatlanticparis The University of Southern California s Annenberg Innovation Lab is working with French telecommunications giant Orange to explore new projects in transmedia.
French telecommunications giant Orange launched its own research institute across the Atlantic, the Transmedia Lab, in 2009,
Orange continues with its partnership begun in February. The company is hoping to benefit from the partnership with USC by developing a new ecosystem of media and entertainment according to head of gaming and transmedia at Orange, Jean-Fran ois Rodriguez.
Research at USC will help towards launching a new flagship transmedia project slated for 2012 that Orange has divulged not yet.
Both labs have much to learn from each other. Raitif hopes that the partnership will help advance understanding of European communications and service provider strategy among the American researchers.
Professor Jonathan Taplin, director at the Annenberg Innovation Lab, told Smartplanet that the partnership with Orange is a great fit.
Å Orange has been one of the first major telecoms interested in new forms of media and storytelling
The union allows researchers at the Lab to market test ideas while giving Orange access to topnotch thinkers in the transmedia field.
Å Students are already working on creating second screen prototypes that might be of interest to Orange.
Consumers will have to wait until October 2012 to see the fruits of the partnership between the two labs. Photo:
The Mexicans handed out suckling pig tacos while a special Canadian contingent cooked up seabuckthorn berry BBQ beef tongue.
A very different kind of planter, the Fruit Fence, converts the ubiquitous chain link fence into an urban plant nursery.
and used to grow, say, strawberry plants or lemon tree starters. Sensors in the bags alert passersby that the plant needs water or fertilizer
While there is a need for growing fresh fruit and vegetables in our urban areas, it s not enough.
I think there will be a further segmentation of the fresh fruit market that s not just organic
which integrates weather forecasts, via a computer or a free Apple iphone application. Cyber-Rain claims that the system investment might be covered in certain places by water utility rebate programs.
What would your city do for an Apple Store? The idea of a shiny new Apple Store right around the block is certainly appealing.
For many local authorities, the appeal is so great that they are willing to offer the tech company major incentives to set up shop in their neck of the woods.
City officials and shopping centers have been known to lure Apple in by waiving rents and cutting taxes for the company and while the breaks might seem unfair,
Apple will soon open up a second store in downtown Salt lake city Utah and local sources believe the company scored one very sweet deal.
This isn t the first time local officials have offered Apple what seems to be the better end of a bargain.
The Apple Store s lease in Grand Central Station is reportedly only a third of
Many authorities count on traffic from the Apple Store to flow into nearby shops and restaurants,
A staggering 71 million customers visited Apple s retail stores between January and March, an increase of 28 million from a year earlier.
Apple s impressive footfall is proving to be a catalyst for retail spending in the areas in
In just under two months, the arrival of the Apple Store boosted sales for a neighboring restaurant by seven percent.
credits its new neighbor for the increase in traffic as the other owner says the uptick occurred only after Apple s debut. via Ars Technica,
You can imagine that a rotten apple might biodegrade faster than a newspaper. We have a race between how fast the methane is being produced
Nike and Apple have their eyes on d. school graduates. The school's growing influence and popularity is due in no small part to the fact that IDEO founder
For example, berry picking and seal hunting are important not only for physical nourishment but also to shape cultural identity.
The strawberries that come out of the farm fields in California wouldn t be something we d typically ship because of the lack of refrigeration on the trains,
Will Madrid finally get an Apple Store? This building was famous for its Tio Pepe jerez (sherry) sign,
Apple fanatics: imagine a country bigger than California with only five Apple stores. Imagine the nearest to the largest city is over an hour away.
It is no secret that Spain lacks Macs. The myth of the Madrid Mac store has been mulling since at least May.
Technically, the Comunidad de Madrid (or province) has two Apple stores--one in the Xanadã Â entertainment center in Arroyomolinos
The Apple store in The british-frequented wealthy beach town of Marbella just opened last week.
Top Spanish newspaper El pais reported in May that the planned Apple store would not only be placed on the first floor of the Puerta del Sol's famous Tio Pepe building,
(and) we will provide whatever is necessary for this project between Apple and the owner of the building to come to fruition,
but the construction on the Apple store has begun not yet. It is still unknown if building contracts with the owners and zoning contracts with the city have been signed.
Last week's Apple-in-Madrid cotillea (or gossip) surrounded the city council possibly turning down a previous retail rezoning application from Mango clothing stores,
On November 25, the largest Apple store in Spain opened in the coastal town of Marbella.
calls to the Apple headquarters and searches of the Web site do not provide any insight.
there is no official word from Apple. Looks as if Madrileã Â o Apple enthusiasts will have to wait until next year, if not longer, for a nearby store.
Please post any whispers you hear below
Will science ever find the female G-spot? Ah the female G-Spot. That elusive, mythical area full of untold treasures.
and it, apparently, looks like a string of purple grapes within a bluish sac, near a white cord, according to Scientific American.
He's on track to dissect a series of cadavers next month in search of confirmation for his grape like G-spot.
But many scientists suspect that he won't find any more little grape strings, and even if he did,
-if it exists at all-it's probably not a small grape like thing buried in the vaginal wall.
Because even if Ostrazenki finds more little grapes, he will then have to prove that those structures cause pleasure,
Will YSL CEO's first project at Apple be bringing the iwatch to market? Apple has plucked Paul Deneve out of the luxury fashion world
and hired the former CEO of Yves saint laurent as vice president of special projects. Rumors of the hire, first reported by Appleinsider, were confirmed later by Bloomberg.
what Deneve will be working on over at Apple. The tech company could use an exec to head its retail operations,
Rumors that Apple was developing a smart watch-type device made with curved glass have been circulating for months.
Last month, Apple further fueled speculation of a smart watch device when it sought trademark protection in Japan for iwatch.
If Apple does indeed develop and sell a smart watch it could use the marketing prowess
Deneve joined Apple in 1990 where he held several sales and marketing positions in Europe.
and community gardens could provide residents with a majority of their fruits and vegetables. Michigan State university researchers say that a combination of urban farms, community gardens,
storage facilities and hoop houses could supply residents with more than 75 percent of their vegetables and more than 40 percent of their fruits.
Even with a limited growing season, significant quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables eaten by Detroiters could be grown locally,
Working for Apple: Innovation by burnout? What is it actually like to work for one of the world's most famous tech firms?
According to a number of Glassdoor reviews, putting Apple on your resume is certainly an attractive prospect,
a number of comments suggest Apple may not be getting the most out of their employees--as there are few opportunities to advance up the corporate ladder.
In addition, the greed of Apple sometimes gets in the way of other more noble values,
A former manager suggests that entry-level staff work at Apple for a short and sharp time
and use Apple on your CV as a door opener. However, it's not all doom and gloom for the ipad and iphone maker,
as 94 percent of Apple employees on the website approve of Steve jobs'replacement. Perhaps there's the hope that Tim cook will be able to turn the firm around.
and vanilla ice cream topped with caramelized worms and prickly pear syrup. Photos: Crickets by Flickr/William Neuheisel Ant larva by Lauren Villagran
'meet Australia's superfoodskangaroo Apple (solanum aviculare) MELBOURNE oe-In the 1980s there was a show called Bush tucker Man,
bush tucker has enjoyed something of a niche market, with lemon myrtle and warrigal greens the most well known of Indigenous foods.
Å They put a bit of lemon myrtle into something and call it Indigenous food. Some arent game enough to put it in their dishes,
prunes wastei finally had a revelation about the REAL difference between business intelligence and business analytics software this week.
that produces various fruits and vegetables on approximately 12,000 acres of farmland across the state of California.
which specializes in table grapes, peppers, stone fruits and citrus varieties, can now look at everything from unit costs
And how that differs depending on the type of fruit. This information has helped it balance labor resources on the farm,
grapes for wine and other products--Echternacht said the point is not to replace traditional agriculture,
as project sponsors were invited to enjoy the fruits --and fish--of their contributions at an EFC-hosted fish grill this past Friday.
MOS, for instance, worked to remake The Oranges, a trio of villages located in New jersey, only 20 miles outside of New york. The designers added mixed-use buildings among existing ones in these suburban towns,
A current street in the Oranges, New jersey The architects also propose connecting the new and old structures
and government in the same area, similar to MOS's suggestion for the Oranges, all connected by walking paths,
street view of residences in Orange, New jersey, photograph courtesy of MOS Architects; photo of Nature City model by WORKAC, Â 2011 James Ewing
In the old days--30 years ago they were the worlds second largest exporter of raisins.
so they send their apples to Pakistan for cold storage and then have to buy their apples back.
Same thing with potatoes. Afghans love chips but theyre imported. Sora Stoda 21 years old decided to start a potato chip factory using local potatoes and local oil.
Carl Icahn tweets about Apple, sends stock soaringat 2: 21pm ET on Tuesday afternoon, legendary investor Carl Icahn published the following tweet:
We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be undervalued extremely. Spoke to Tim cook today.
Carl Icahn(@Carl c icahn) August 13, 2013 Apple's stock value proceeded to skyrocket during the rest of the afternoon.
Following the 77-year-old's message, Apple's market capitalization added more than $17. 26 billion.
Icahn argued for an Apple buyback. Had a nice conversation with Tim cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now.
Carl Icahn(@Carl c icahn) August 13, 2013 With two simple tweets, Icahn inserted himself into the ongoing debate about Apple's future,
Apple's shares have lost about a quarter of their value in the last year, due largely to the absence of a groundbreaking new product to generate buzz.
Apple via Business Insider, Forbes
Changing elephant poo to green paperjaipur/DELHI--The elephant ride up the stone pathway of the medieval Amber fort outside Jaipur is designed to make tourists feel like Rajput warriors returning from battle-or something on those fantastical lines.
Citrus fruit, according to Pamela Andreatta of the University of Michigan Medical school. NPR reports. Laparoscopic surgery is performed with a camera
sturdy outer peel, fragile pith, and a white spongy layer under the skin. So she set up an opaque box with holes on the top where you can insert a camera, scissors,
Over 40 doctors and doctors-to-be had to dissect the fruit oe take off the peel in as few pieces as possible,
and suture the peel closed. They had 2 hours to do this. The minimally invasive surgery specialists scored the highest, by far.
which manages 80 acres of strawberry fields in southern California. But it also has been used commercially
Speaking from Sao Paolo, Brazil at the C40 meeting of mayors from the world's largest cities, Clinton said that methane--most prominently found in landfills--is low-hanging fruit that can make the biggest immediate impact
Cocoa sustainability: Mars, IBM, USDA publish cacao genomemars, the maker of M&ms, IBM and the U s. Department of agriculture said Wednesday that they are making the cacao genome sequence publicly available.
The game plan is to create a cacao plants that are more resistant to drought and disease while producing higher yields.
The joint research project is designed to improve on the cocoa growing process to create a sustainable supply
so you'll continue to have a chocolate fix going forward. Data from the cacao genome will be available at the Cacao Genome Database without a patent.
Mars has a vested interest in the cacao genome given that it needs it for chocolate.
Mars adds that the findings won't benefit the bottom line initially, but will allay supply worries in the future.
The cacao genome project was delivered three years early. In a statement, Mars said:(The project) marks a significant scientific milestone that is already starting to benefit millions of farmers,
particularly in West Africa where more than 70 percent of the world's cocoa crop is produced.
By making the results publicly available, scientists will have access to key learnings to advance plant science,
There were a lot of players in the cacao project. Mars provided most of the funding and IBM supplied the computing power with its Blue Gene supercomputer.
and characterize the cocoa genome for peer-reviewed publications
Coke vs. Pepsi: Beverage giants offer water footprint insightsin conjunction with last week's worldwide push to champion sustainable water consumption practices, Pepsico and the Coca-cola Company have published extensive
If you source the oranges from both Florida and Brazil, those numbers change: the greenwater footprint is 407 liters per liter of product,
Our initial efforts will focus on the sustainable sourcing of sugarcane, oranges and corn. More evidence that water conservation technology in the field is a smart corporate sustainability investment
when New jersey fed the Big Apple; produce was consumed locally before advances in refrigeration and transportation transformed agriculture into a global business.
Jim Cochran of the Swanton Berry Farm near Santa cruz, Calif.,gets props as 2011 Food Producer  for being one of the first farms in the nation to adopt organic farming methods for strawberries.
and fruits) depending on the type of farming. It could also produce 25%of poultry and shell eggs,
cities would still continue to ship in citrus to Cleveland (and other desired foods that can't grow in certain climates) to meet demand,
Crack Apple iphone Touchid feature, win $2500 and a bottle of bourbonif you're a hacker up for a challenge,
taking on Apple's iphone 5s Touchid feature could net you interesting prizes. Independent security researcher Nick Depetrillo has launched istouchidhackedyet. com,
a website dedicated to crowdfunding rewards for the first person who can break into Apple's biometric fingerprint scanning technology.
and use the print to unlock the Apple iphone 5s. The current bounty has reached over $2500
and I was part of a vocal minority of security researchers who argued Apple did a good job.
U k. trade union rebels against biometric employee scanning Could Silentsense rival Apple s iphone 5s fingerprint scanner?
Apple seeks trademark of the word startup in Australia Apple seeks to protect iwatch name Image credit:
A threat to corporate innovationas Apple moves forward without Steve jobs one of the bigger challenges it will face is how to manage the creative process.
---which is found at every large company---Apple has Apple University, an internal training program designed to teach employees how to be creative
Apple is trying to teach the rank-and-file to think a bit like Jobs. If you have a charismatic leader creativity matches the CEO stereotypes,
Can Apple recreate Jobs'intangibles? Mueller also added that corporate culture is designed to squash creativity.
and rows of various vegetable and herb plants including tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, zucchinis, radishes, peppers, peas, cresses, lettuces, tulips and orchids.
Dissolving fruit stickerstraditional fruit stickers seem destined to go the way of the mouse pad.
In 2009 researchers suggested labeling fruit with laser-etched tattoos. This February scientists announced the development of spoilage-detecting silk stickers.
And now, designers are getting ready to debutâ dissolvable fruit stickers that turn into soap. The all-soapâ Fruitwash Labels can be printed with produce names and barcodes,
They dissolve into a with the addition of water they help clean the fruit. Their parent company Amron Experimental is currently seeking investors to help bring the new stickers to market. via PSFK Image:
 They found that healthier diet patterns--for example, diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts--cost significantly more than unhealthy diets (for example, those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains).
like a banana peel, it does perfect job of just protecting something for a short time.
a service that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to a dozen such food deserts in the Indianapolis area.
as Apple and Pacific gas & electric and a bunch of other companies did last year. Dell, for one, is sticking, at least according to a recent blog on its corporate social responsibility page.
there were 109 trials at 81 different farms, with monitoring of both woody and fruit and vegetable plants,
Many of the tests were focused on artichokes and apricots, which are seen as less traditionally-Spanish crops,
For the apricots, many of the farms are applying different styles of pruning, which are used mainly in apple and pear trees.
Artichokes are good because they need less water. In Murcia, research was conducted to see if organic fertilizers and biofertilizers could enhance the growth of the Santa rosa plum.
In nearby Guadalentin, researchers and farmers are collaborating to develop new types of cut flowers--gerbers
they are testing different types of cherries, in order to determine which varieties that flourish can be commercially appealing.
where the two most important crops are olives and grapes. In Andalusia, they predict that they could lose 35 percent in the 2012 olive harvest.
One focus is to create better seedless grapes. Of course, the seed-free type exists here,
as the Spanish swear that the seeds provide much richer flavor for both table and wine grapes.
Even when they must cram 12 grapes in their mouth as the clock strikes 12 on nochevieja (New year's eve
while experimenting with different varieties of grapes. I'm diversifying by buying in organic grapes from growers who
I know and trust, and who either have too many grapes to process themselves or who just grow
and don't make wine at all. In the future I may take on more vineyards and grow the grapes myself, Bartomolei continued.
I can expand and diversify the variety of grapes is by buying in. Beyond it's effect on the already struggling farming industry
and the dried up rivers, there are other economic implications of the dryness. Stocks continue to plummet in the hydropower industry.
The cost of CCD on almonds, one of the most important crops from a honeybee pollinating perspective,
The implied increase in the shelf price of a pound of Smokehouse Almonds is 2. 8 cents.
productivity with IBM analyticsanalytics technology that has enabled a Michigan agricultural cooperative better account for the source of fruits
-based Cherry Central's supply chain business partners as the food makes its way to grocery or market shelves.
Cherry Central reported that its database was growing at a rate of 1. 6 million records per month.
Its ability to pull up that information more quickly differentiates Cherry Central from other organization that have weed to through paperwork
The technology that Cherry Central is using includes IBM DB2 Web Query running on the Power system platform.
Is someone in New york never supposed to eat an orange because they grow in Florida?
Supermarkets throw out $15 billion in fruits and vegetables each year, according to U s. Department of agriculture estimates. Whether it's last week's home-cooked leftovers,
forgotten fruit turning brown in a refrigerator or those end-of-shift fast food burgers and fries,
In the dim speakeasy style space, a barback slices limes and a waiter wipes down glasses.
Tons of fruit he tells her. Lots of orange. Lots of fruit in there. It's interesting.
Patel begins to suggest the addition of orange zest, but Johnson interrupts. You get lots of vanilla, caramel in there too...
it's definitely different, he says, drawing his eyebrows together. There's a lot of heat though, a lot of burn on the tongue.
but with organic barley instead of grapes. I said,'Look, I think it's beautiful, this is exactly what I've been looking for.
he brings out an orange peel, adds it to the glass, and tastes again. Interesting, he remarks.
Former NASA, Apple engineers unveil $11, 000 coffee makerah...what great lengths we wouldn't go through for the perfect cup of joe.
Born out of a collaborative effort of former NASA, Apple and BMW engineers the $11, 000 Blossom One Limited features the kind of high-tech precision that's sure to appease the taste buds of even the most discriminate of coffee snobs.
as if they enjoy making lemonade out of lemons, giving the hiccups a positive spin. But Jack Wadsworth, vice president of the Asia Society headquarters in New york city who oversaw the project
and grafts fruit branches onto non fruit-bearing public trees, hiding farm-fresh produce in an urban environment.
and avoid messy situations as a result of fallen fruit. Butã Â Tara Hui and Miriam Goldberg have found a way around that law.
nutritious fruit is made available to urban residents through the creation of inner-city orchards. Using electrical tape to color code their work
which yield the berries that give gin its flavor. No juniper, no gin. Juniper is in serious trouble,
Not so merry berries. The juniper berry from coniferous juniper plants and trees, faces a fungal enemy.
The low-hanging fruit is, let's reduce the amount of consumption. The higher fruit is changing the ways you run your plant.
Smartplanet: When we talk about the smart grid, we talk about the point where green starts to make business sense.
Israel has been very proactive in this area--in the areas of olives and dates, they can irrigate them with brackish or partial saltwater.
What's the low-hanging fruit? Then there's the technology to do it. Then it's repairing stuff in place--companies like Insituform--how do you repair that pipe without digging it up?
The super HQ follows along the new trends in office buildings, especially for the more progressive tech companies like Apple, Google Facebook and Twitter.
One of the latest examples to capture my attention involves Indianapolis Fruit, a midsize produce delivery company that uses about 65 trucks to deliver fruits and vegetables to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Michael Gilbert, director of logistics for Indianapolis Fruit engaged with Navman Wireless for services that help track
and optimize routes. The company tested the GPS SYSTEMS and application in 20 trucks before deploying them to the entire 65-vehicle fleet a few months later.
Indianapolis Fruit was able to reduce fuel costs by an average of 8 percent to 9 percent per vehicle,
Indianapolis Fruit was able to study each of its routes more closely and reorganize some of them,
I mentioned before that Indianapolis Fruit could tell within 45 days that it had made the right investment.
Indianapolis Fruit pays for the systems through a leasing arrangement. The systems can be upgraded wirelessly,
Image courtesy of Indianapolis Fruit
Green algae used to make plastics that don't contain petroleumyou've heard of silverware and plasticware,
Grow bananas in Paris? This vertical farm mightparis could one day get a taste of the tropics.
The french architecture firm SOA has come up with a greenhouse project that would make fresh, local tropical fruit--bananas in particular--more accessible in the cooler climate of Paris. The design,
Its operation is based on the economic development of the sector rather than the single sale of the fruit,
Growing popular tropical fruits in these types of greenhouse structures makes sense. While it would use space efficiently,
it would also be a way to reduce energy use for transporting the fruits long distances from the tropics to cities with cooler climates.
fresh bananas taste so much better. Images courtesy of SOA (h/t GOOD
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