Still on the broad subject of energy, I came across this interesting design that claims to produce hydrogen at 15% efficiency using sunlight!

'Scientists at KU Leuven in Belgium have developed a device that combines incoming solar energy and water vapor from the surrounding air to produce a record-breaking daily average of 250 liters (66 gal) of hydrogen throughout the year. According to the researchers' estimations, an array of 20 such panels paired with an underground pressurized tank could provide the totality of a household's entire electricity and heating needs for a modest price.'

If this pans out it could be a very practical way to run small scale energy production, as small scale as running one's house and car!

The link for the full article is here, https://newatlas.com/hydrogen-panel-record-efficiency/58645/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2019-03-06%20093057%20Other%20Daily%20Basic%202019-03-06%20093529%20Record-breaking%20device%20uses%20sunlight%20to%20produce%20hydrogen%20at%2015%20efficiency&utm_content=2019-03-06%20093057%20Other%20Daily%20Basic%202019-03-06%20093529%20Record-breaking%20device%20uses%20sunlight%20to%20produce%20hydrogen%20at%2015%20efficiency+CID_19964860ab52ae9418685454c91e25e8&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Read%20more

Mike

Thanks for the comment guys. I will bring these points up with the campaign folks and see what they have to say.

FURTHER!

Just back from the site and it seems Kickstarter has suspended the campaign. They were pledged €361,242, not a small amount! It looks like another scam campaign but this one looks to have been caught in time.

YOU GUYS WERE RIGHT, WELL DONE.

Hi Guys,

I came across a very unique radiator called Solus. Its a Kickstarter campaign by a Swiss company that manufacturers in Lithuania.

What drew my attention was that I have been on the lookout for an alternative to electric storage heaters for an apartment that I'm refurbishing. While storage heaters work okay for offices they don't really meet the needs of apartments and dwellings because when you need the heat is not there i.e from 6pm to 12am.

Here are some images which show the very modern design which IMO will blend in nicely with trendy decoration and furnishings.

The company advises,

'SOLUS is the world’s most efficient radiator, straight out of the box. Built with our patent pending nanotech coating and graphene based heating element

SOLUS will save you approximately 80% off the cost of your heating (compared with conventional water based radiators) and over 95% off the cost of your heating (if you heat your home with other electric radiators). Built to simply plug and play, SOLUS can be integrated into any home in a matter of seconds'.

If they hit their targets they will also be producing a white glass finish Solus and a unit that will be able to heat 1 30Sq.M. area.

Another useful feature/option is that renters can unplug and bring their Solus heaters with them when the move. Also it will be useful to fit-out on a room by room basis as required.

You can check out details here, https://ba3cf75d.kckb.st

Mike

You Don't Know Nicotine - Documentary Film

Just a moment...

(www.kickstarter.com)

Just made a small pledge to this guy in the hope that it will help him make his documentary. His last documentary, A Billion Lives, was excellent.

Mike

It took long enough but the 2018 MBP is here! https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

The spec and price are as expected. The Blackmagic eGPU is a welcome optional extra.

Clever planning serrot. This should be ideal for comfortable single occupancy, particularly students.

@pbacot said:

might be good. I've tried a few iPAD apps that don't have an add-on and found them lacking. It's got to be dependable or it's a waste of time. One such app required zeroing in on all the corners of the room. First you had to find an empty room!

Hi pbacot,

I’ve also tried out a few iPad apps where one has to zero in on the corners. It was a bit clunky and the results were not that great.

I take you point about taking pics with furniture in place. I have asked the campaigner about this and will report back with anything I learn.

Mike

Hi Guys,

I think the iPin Pro will be attractive to anyone that completes building surveys. I don't complete as many as I used to which involved two persons a lot of the time. This device eliminates the need for a second person as the user simply takes photos and extrapolates the height, width and length dimensions back at base.

Click image to view animated gif.

Click image to view animated gif.

The iPin Pro attaches to a smartphone magnetically and the better the smartphone's camera resolution the better the results. It can be used as a standalone device also.

The specs are quite impressive,

The iPin Pro is a current Kickstarter campaign and pitched at around €68. Anyone interested can check it out here.

Mike

Yes JuJu, appears to be the only current option is TB3. Here is the spec,

Box Content
eX Core NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 w/4GB
Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Cable
HDMI High-Speed Cable
Compact 90W USB-C power adapter
exklim Welcome Manual
exklim Carrying Case

Specifications
eX Core Size (5.9’’x4.1’’x0.8’’) | Weight 1.57 lbs. / 0.71 kg.
2x Intel Thunderbolt 3 Ports
1x HDMI 2.0b audio and video output Port
USB-C DC-IN Port
Compact 90W USB-C power adapter w/Power Share Charge-Laptop up to 60w

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
GPU Clock 1680MHz
NVIDIA CUDA Cores 640
VRAM 4GB GDDR5 128-bit | 7000 MHz
Memory Bandwidth (112GB/s)
NVIDIA GPU Boost 3.0
VR READY
NVIDIA Ansel
NVIDIA GameStream -Ready
Microsoft DirectX 12.1
Vulkan API
OpenGL 4.5

$388 and 4GB Dave

Hi Guys,

As always I'm on the lookout for ways to beef up the graphics capabilities of my laptop. In the past, I have mentioned a number of Kickstarter projects that looked promising at first but didn't come to fruition.

Today I came across eX Core, a very compact, upgradeable and portable GPU solution that is being pitched at a reasonable price.

I'd like to hear your comments on whether you feel the eX Core might be the way to go?

Hi Guys,

I posted about Afloat some time ago. At the time I found it to be an extremely useful utility, especially when working on a single monitor as it 'floated' apps that you need on top.

Recent Mac OS upgrades made Afloat installation impossible but with High Sierra its possible again.

I discovered great step by step instructions by Damian, here, https://www.maketecheasier.com/mac-keeping-your-application-window-always-on-top/

If you install Afloat don't forget to re-enable System Integrity Protection.

Mike

Guys,

@boofredlay said:

Looks nice. I wonder what kind of fatigue it will cause the user, less or more than normal. I currently use a Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 and a SpaceNavigator for my day to day cad. I tried the 3DConnection CadMouse but it was ultimately not very comfortable.

Eric, I imagine there will be less fatigue as the Lexip acts as a mouse and navigator. In my case,
@solo said:

Looks like a great tool, but I cannot imagine myself ever using it as it seems to require a lot of wrist movement, I'd hate doing that for 10 hours.
I will be free to hold a cig while I work.

@solo said:

Looks like a great tool, but I cannot imagine myself ever using it as it seems to require a lot of wrist movement, I'd hate doing that for 10 hours.

Pete, spending 10 hours a day is too much. Joking aside, I hope to be trying out a proto/demo version shortly. I will then know how good it is.

@liam887 said:

If I hadn't already spent hundreds of pounds on the things sitting on my desk right now then I would probably give it a go. Looks like a good option for freeing up space on the USB ports. If I upgrade my PC this year from full tower to Mini ITX then it could be a good solution

Liam, I know the feeling of having too many bits and pieces not used. We should sell off or give away what we don't use.

Mike

Hi Guys,

I have just come across the LEXIP 3D gaming mouse and immediately backed the Kickstarter project. While the LEXIP is primarily for gamers it also ticks all the boxes for CAD users. It looks like it will, for me at any rate, eliminate the need for a Space Mouse as the device acts as a mouse and navigator!

'Lexip for Pro Users
Lexip isn’t just a gaming mouse, its a mouse for designers, engineers and home/office power users too. The speed and precision of the mouse, along with its intuitive joysticks, will boost productivity no matter the application. Additionally, the ergonomic design will promote wrist and hand health as well as all-day comfort.
With Lexip, you can map the buttons and joystick to functions for each of your programs, quickly changing to that program’s macro to do things like copy and paste, navigate tabs/pages, and navigate 3D scenes/design spaces.'

And all those 'lefties' out there, LEXIP advise they will be producing a left-hand version.

The KS link with all the details and vids can be located here.

Mike

Bob, I did a quick search before hitting the sack (its 2.45am here). Have a read hear, http://www.3dconnexion.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33341

Bob, are you running on High Sierra? I had some issues with this version of the MAC OS while using SU. My Space Mouse and Cad Mouse are working okay after I dumped the drivers and did a clean reload. It happened a few months ago so my memory is a bit hazy. I do however remember locating a good site online that advised a remedial course of action.

I try and relocate the site tomorrow and post here.

Mike

Knowing you Dave, it's busier you will become

On the boat idea! I was intrigued with this CNC (Maslow) boat.

Building a Bolger Bobcat (Payson Tiny Cat) catboat from CAD on up

Got my Maslow in about a month ago and set 'er up, went through calibration(s), and started in on a few small ‘starter’ projects. Quickly, however, I decided to start in on a Bolger Bobcat sailboat: [IMG_20171213_112448…

Maslow CNC Forums (forums.maslowcnc.com)

Enjoy,

Mike

There's something appealing about Art Deco

The Uniti looks that it could well open up the electric car option for the masses. Starting at €14.5K for the basic model and running up to €20K for the flagship version.

I think the design is superb! It ticks all the boxes for today's driving requirements.

https://www.uniti.earth/invest/

He is back on his feet ..... with no shoes! You can follow his progress on his Facbook page, here, https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=kristoff%20rand