eBay has launched a new program that lets people trade in their old cell phones and other electronics for instant cash. If the devices aren't worth a dime, it will send you pre-paid postage to responsibly recycle the device.
With the company's new InstantSale website, you'll be offering up your old device to various companies in the business of buying them for valuable metals, components and refurbishing. You plug in details about your device and you get an instant cash offer, deposited to your PayPal account. If the thing is a brick phone from the 1980's and worth nothing, then eBay will send you a shipping label to send it to a responsible recycler.
Wait, if it really is a brick phone, you might want to list it as an auction item. Brick phones these days have become collector's items. I found one "very rare" Nokia P-30 Brick Cell Phone listed for $449. That would get you two-thirds of the way towards the shamefully overpriced Samsung Galaxy Tab Android tablet.
This "collectable" cell phone can be yours for $449
But let's say the device is just oldish or broken, or you tried selling it on the auction and no one bites and you don't want to store it for a couple of decades until it reaches collectable status. The InstantSale site will pay for your shipping to the buyer (or the recycler). And eBay promises it will wipe the device of all personal data. The program covers a pretty wide variety of electronics including laptops, phones, tablets, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, camcorders and GPS systems.
Responsible recycling is a big, and growing, problem. According to the EPA, 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are generated worldwide every year, and have become 5% of all municipal solid waste. They leave behind lead, cadmium, mercury and other hazardous wastes. Yuck. Not good for the earth, the groundwater or nearby water sources affected by runoff. And unscrupulous recyclers have been found to be scamming people into donating their items and then illegally shipping the ones not fit for refurbishing to third-world countries to poison the earth there. Earlier this month, the UK environmental agency arrested nine people on such a scheme.
Sure, there are plenty of retailers that will accept your old electronics for recycling, Target, for instance, or Dell. But eBay's approach is nice in that there's a chance you can still re-coop a few bucks on a device that probably cost you hundreds.
Sometimes it boggles the mind to think about the lengths people will go to for something they love. Take the bowl haircut sporting weirdo in this video, for example. Over the course of eight arduous minutes, he goes into loving detail about the highlights of his VCR collection. Keep in mind, this isn’t a collection of VHS movies, it’s an actual collection of VCRs. This begs an obvious question…fucking why?
Feel the force:The new e-skin will help robots to measure their own strength - just like Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator
Scientists have developed a pressure-sensitive electronic skin which could one day be used to restore touch to patients who have prosthetic limbs.
The material, dubbed e-skin, is made from semiconductor nanowires made from silicon.
More sinister, however, is the prospect of the invention lending robots the ability to adapt the amount of roce needed to hold and manipulate objects.
The nanowires are incredibly thin structures, more than 10,000 times thinner than a single human hair.
They open up the possibility for a robot to be able to hold an egg by judging how delicate it is.
But in true Terminator style, robots would for once know their own strength - which the hero of those movies, John Connor, would presumably see as bad news.
The researchers' stated long-term goal is to use e-skin to restore the sense of touch to patients with artificial limbs.
At the same time scientists from Stanford University have developed an electronic sensor that it is so sensitive that can it can feel a touch as light as a butterfly.
Manufactured in large sheets, the sensors could be used in artificial electronic skin for prosthetic limbs, robots, touch-screen displays, automobile safety and a range of medical applications.
A section of the completed e-skin with nanowire circuits. Each dark square represents a single pixel
That degree of sensitivity could make the sensors useful in a broad range of medical applications, including robotic surgery, according to the research team.
Bandages equipped with the sensors could aid in healing of wounds and incisions. Doctors could use data from the sensors to be sure the bandages were not too tight.
Car safety could also be improved with sensitive, 'intelligent' material applied to the steering wheel.
'If a driver is tired, or drunk, or falls asleep at the wheel, their hands might loosen or fall off the wheel,' said Benjamin Tee, graduate student in electrical engineering and a coauthor.
'If there are pressure sensors that can sense that no hands are holding the steering wheel, the car could be equipped with some automatic safety device that could sound an alarm or kick in to slow the car down.
An artist's illustration of an artificial e-skin covering a hand. The finished product would give incredible touch and sensitivity
'This could be simpler and cost less than other methods of detecting driver fatigue.'
At the University of California, Berkeley , research scientists printed nanowires onto an 18-by-19 pixel square matrix measuring 7 centimetres on each side. Each pixel contained a transistor made up of hundreds of semiconductor nanowires.
Nanowire transistors were then integrated with a pressure sensitive rubber so that it would be able to detect touch.
The matrix required less than 5 volts of power to operate and maintained its robustness after being bent more than 2,000 times in tests.
In tests, the e-skin was able to detect pressure from 0 to 15 kilopascals, a range comparable to the force used for such daily activities as typing on a keyboard or holding an object.
‘The idea is to have a material that functions like the human skin, which means incorporating the ability to feel and touch objects,’ said Ali Javey, head of the UC Berkeley research team developing the artificial skin.
The artificial skin is described in a September 12th paper in the advanced online publication of the journal Nature Materials. It is the first such material made out of inorganic single crystalline semiconductors.
‘Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it,’ said Javey.
‘If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we'd want to make sure it doesn't break the wine glasses in the process. But we'd also want the robot to be able to grip a stock pot without dropping it.’
The UC Berkeley engineers used an innovative fabrication technique that deposits nanowire ‘hairs’.
The researchers started by growing the germanium/silicon nanowires on a cylindrical drum, which was then rolled onto a sticky substrate.
As the drum rolled, the nanowires were deposited, or ‘printed,’ onto the substrate in an orderly fashion, forming the basis from which thin, flexible sheets of electronic materials could be built.
Previous attempts to develop an artificial skin relied upon organic materials because they are flexible and easier to process.
‘The problem is that organic materials are poor semiconductors, which means electronic devices made out of them would often require high voltages to operate the circuitry,’ said Javey.
‘Inorganic materials, such as crystalline silicon, on the other hand, have excellent electrical properties and can operate on low power. They are also more chemically stable. But historically, they have been inflexible and easy to crack.
‘In this regard, works by various groups, including ours, have recently shown that miniaturised strips or wires of inorganics can be made highly flexible – ideal for high performance, mechanically bendable electronics and sensors.’
‘This is the first truly macroscale integration of ordered nanowire materials for a functional system – in this case, an electronic skin,’ said study lead author Kuniharu Takei.
‘It's a technique that can be potentially scaled up. The limit now to the size of the e-skin we developed is the size of the processing tools we are using.’
From jagged, snow-capped mountain peaks to peaceful villages adorned with colorful prayer flags, there are perhaps no more breathtaking views on earth than from high above the Himalayas. Five paragliders are right now flying and hiking the length of the Himalayas all the way through Nepal, and they’re sharing the once-in-a-lifetime experience with anyone who has a computer.
While paragliding in the Himalayas is a fairly common trip for experienced fliers, no team has gone all the way through Nepal. These guys are seasoned fliers and between them they have experience flying all over the world. But they’ve never tried anything like this before: hiking and flying more than 800 miles from Dharamsala to Sikkim, India.
“This journey has never been done by a team,” said Nick Greece of the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. “People have flown from Northern India to the Nepal border but never further. This team will fly across Nepal as well. For a team to do this live tracking is imperative, and it is only in the last year or two that it has become realistic and relatively reliable.”
The Himalayan Odyssey Team is carrying some impressive tech. It has the obligatory iPhones and three solar chargers to keep them going, variometers to track their rate of ascent and descent, two-way radios for staying in touch and GPS for staying on course. When they’ve got cellphone coverage, the team will upload track logs to their website, allowing those of us who prefer our feet on the ground to follow their adventure from our cubicles. SPOT GPS trackers also will update their route every 10 minutes.
“These will allow visitors to reply our flights on Google Maps, or Google Earth and visualize every circle, every zig, and every zag we make, and even what the terrain underneath us looks like while we’re zigging and zagging,” team member Eric Reed said. “It’s beautiful, but it will depend on GSM service.”
Reed, a member of the U.S. Paragliding Team who was laid off last year from a management position at Microsoft, says he’s already received e-mails of support and can’t wait to start offering live updates on his progress. He’s been through the Himalayas before with team leader Brad Sander, and at the end of last year’s trip they decided that this time they’d “take the line as far as we could.”
“All of the communication is great fun — both for the readers and the writers — and I think it does actually improve our safety level, but it also inevitably make the wilds just a little less wild,” he said. “That’s the way with technology. But I’m not complaining. There’s still plenty of wild in the world.”
In addition to letting the rest of the world come along for the journey, Reed says all that technology is essential for safety, helping keep the team connected even when they land in different locations. The Himalayas can be just as inhospitable as they are inspiring, and as they began their journey Wednesday, according to their blog, conditions were already far from ideal.
“We plan to fly and land together as a team, as much as possible, but inevitably there will be days when we get separated,” he said. “Once we’re all on the ground if we’re not all together, communication gets hard via cell or radio. The SPOTs will help us here as well — we’ll use them to send our position via SMS to everyone on our team once we’ve landed.”
In the mad dash to go green, grow green and glow green, some energetic gadget makers are marketing devices that are so darn friendly, we might as well ask them to move into our homes. Plug into these and see:
Philips Eco TV
A 42-inch, flat-panel LCD, this TV broadcasts power-saving features, such as a backlight dimmer the viewer controls for darker scenes. It also has a power-saving mode for capping peak light output. It retails for around $1,400 at Amazon and other electronics suppliers. (Shown above.)
Bamboo Laptop
How chic can a computer get? The green batteries in the Asus boast a 35 to 70% longer life. The bamboo exterior houses all the usual extras of a notebook. Check it out at Ecomoves.
The Studio Hybrid Eco-Friendly Small Desktop
Ideal for the little green home office that could, this engine has optional upgrades to include built-in Wi-Fi Blue Ray™ and a wireless keyboard and mouse. This PC is Dell's greenest and most powerful desktop to date, using 70 percent less energy while arriving 80 percent smaller than a typical desktop minitower. Beginning at $499, it's available in cool color options. It gets a 4.0 Energy Star rating with packing material made from 95 percent recyclable material.
Jonta LED Flashlight
Described as one of the best "human powered" flashlights, you can recharge this wind-up toy by cranking it to your heart's content. Keep one handy in your nightstand drawer, the kitchen cabinet, in your kid's room. Let it shine the new fashioned way. $49.99 at Green and More.
Solar Christmas Lights
If you are inclined to deck the halls and the roof, opt for these solar lights from Eco Geek Living, $39.97 for a set.
Spin-X Spindryer
This will cut down on drying time so much, it will make you dizzy. It costs $599.95 (plus shipping) but saves an estimaed $1,104 in three years. I believe it. The Spin-X can remove one quart of water from clothes taken out of your machine. The extracted water goes into a storage container. It also removes soap, detergents, perfumes and chemicals into the container. You can order one at Spin-X.
Helios Solar Grill
Invented by Sean McGreevy, this energy-efficient outdoor grill (great for that Thanksgiving turkey in Miami) has a coil inside that heats up like the hottest coal. The dish looks like it should be receiving your favorite show, Top Chef, but instead it collects the solar power while you cook away. Fire up your curiosity at Coolest Gadgets.
Eco Fan 800
No batteries, cords or chargers required for these blades of glory. The Eco Fan generates its own electricity using the heat of your wood burning stove. The thermo-electric module inside acts as the generator, letting you cut down on those insane power bills. $119 at Northline Express.
Barbar Ceramic ECO 8000 Blow Dryer
A hair greener than other styilng tools, the ceramic ECO Dryer is equipped with a low EMF heating output, negating radiation while keeping your locks soft and shiny. $109 at Beauty Choice.
Kill-A-Watt
It's the favorite gismo of Alter Eco's Darren Moore. This tool lets you test how much energy is being sucked out by your appliances, helping you to calculate and cut costs. $23.89 at Smart home.
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All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings. His work is amazing.
Philips Eco TV
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