Monday, September 2, 2013

I Love Papercrete

Papercrete??  What’s that?? 

That’s the response I always get when I’m describing my favorite building material.  Not surprising since it occupies a spot in that backwater known as ‘alternative building materials’.  Papercrete is just what it sounds like actually.  It’s concrete made with paper.  I tell people to think of it as industrial paper mache.  It’s inexpensive to make, amazingly sturdy, lightweight and insulating.  

I didn't invent it but I have played with it quite a bit over the past several years. In this Instructable I'm going to go over a little of the history behind it, exactly what it is and how to make and use it.  By the time we're done you'll love it too!  


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Apple Is Making Badass New Mac Pros

Today during the WWDC keynote, we got our first look at what Apple is thinking in terms of the future of Mac Pros. Everyone who said the Mac Pro is dead can just shut up. Here comes a new freaking generation of high-performance computing from Apple, and we couldn't be more excited.

The new Mac Pro will support up to 12-core configurations. They've got the fastest ECC memory the company has ever put into its computers, which is clocked at 1866MHz DDR 3.

For I/O, the new Mac Pros will support (of course) FireWire, and the brand new Thunderbolt 2 standard.

There will also be AMD FirePro graphics capable of running up 4K out of all of its ports—up to three UltraHD displays simultaneously. These are full-on professional machines for current pro users. Apple's demoing Pixar animation this week, running on these machines. Doesn't get more taxing than Pixar.

Apple Is Making Badass New Mac ProsS

And of course if you're looking at this thing, you can tell it looks different than the old aluminum boxes we're used to looking at. It kinda looks like a giant trashcan! But the new circular design means the new beasts are 1/8 the volume of the last iterations, while still allowing easy access to the guts for breezy-fast hardware upgrades.

Further details are scarse, but we do know two things: They're made in America, and available later this year.

Hell yes. [Apple]


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All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Today, Apple announced iOS 7 with a ton of new features, a complete overhaul to the interface, and plenty more. Here are all the new features.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7S

New User Interface
The biggest difference with iOS 7 is a brand new interface. From the lock screen to each of the apps, the entire system is overhauled. Apple has moved away from the ridiculed skeuomorphic design in favor of a simpler look. Calendar, messages, weather, mail, the notification center, and more have been overhauled with the new look.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Control Center
Control Center adds a quick-toggles bar to iOS so you can change brightness, add a flashlight, do not disturb, turn on airplane mode, and plenty more.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Multitasking
Multitasking now works for all apps. iOS tracks your app usage and decides when and how to give an app background cycles. So, if you're opening something like Facebook all the time, then Facebook is updated more often. Push notifications also trigger a background state in apps so that when you open the app it'll be updated. Switching between apps is also done with a new gesture and a swipe that shows the full app instead of just an icon.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Safari
Safari gets a new full-screen mode, as well as a new quick search feature. With a tap at the top of the screen you get instant access to a search field that looks both online and in page. The iCloud Keychain announced for Mavericks is also added into Safari. Tabs also get a new look with vertical scrolling, and the eight tab limit is removed.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

AirDrop
Airdrop allows you to instantly share any file in an app that supports it. This can be done with any other iPhone user near you, or over messages, mail, or social networks. It's peer-to-peer WiFi, and works on the most recent devices.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Camera and Photos
The camera is overhauled to include video, a new square camera, panorama, widescreen camera, and also has new photo filters. The Photos app is also redone, and automatically organizes your photos into "Moments" based on where and when they were taken. Sharing is also expanded to include Mail, AirDrop, iCloud, Twitter, and Facebook. The iCloud photo sharing gets a new shared photos setting where you can create shared photo streams with friends where anyone can upload pictures and comment on pictures.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Siri
Siri now has a new voice, including both male and female voices in several languages. Siri also gets a little smarter and can now recognize commands like, "increase brightness," or "play last voicemail." Services like Wikipedia, Bing, and Twitter are integrated right into Siri.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

iOS in the Car
iOS 7 adds support for various car models and their in-car displays. In supported devices, iOS will be able to display Maps, messages, and more.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

The App Store
The App Store now has a few new discovery methods. You can search for apps based on age range, or by apps that popular based on your location. The App Store also now updates your apps automatically.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Music
The Music app also gets a visual overhaul. All your music from iCloud and your local library are integrated in one library. A new sideways interface is also added to flip through your albums.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

iTunes Radio
iTunes Radio is integrated directly into the Music app. Like Pandora or Spotify Radio, iTunes Radio is essentially a streaming radio station that exists within the Music app. Everything you play is synced across your devices so you can easily track down songs you've heard. On top of iOS, it's built into iTunes and the AppleTV. The service is free with ads, or ad-free if you're an iTunes Match subscriber. You can find more info here.

All the New Stuff in iOS 7

Activation Lock
New to the Find My iPhone function is the ability to lock out thieves from your iOS device. If your phone is stolen you can set it so it can't be activated again without your iTunes password.

The iOS 7 beta is available to developers today, and will be launching publicly this fall for the iPhone 4 and above, iPad mini, and iPad 2 and above. You can check out interactive versions of all the new features on Apple's site right now.

Having 21st Century Technology Doesn't Automatically Make You Too Busy

Having 21st Century Technology Doesn't Automatically Make You Too Busy

It's easy to think that we're all so busy these days because of technology and the internet. As it turns out, people had too much to do before the internet sucked all their productivity away.

Psychology Today highlights a quote from a newspaper piece written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (author of the renowned Little House on the Prairie series), speaking in 1924 about how busy we all are:

“We are so overwhelmed with things these days that our lives are all, more or less, cluttered. I believe it is this, rather than a shortness of time, that gives us that feeling of hurry and almost of helplessness. Everyone is hurrying and usually just a little late. Notice the faces of the people who rush past on the streets or on our country roads! They nearly all have a strained, harassed look, and anyone you meet will tell you there is no time for anything anymore.”

If that sounds familiar, it's because we've all felt it at some point or another. Except she felt it in the 1920s, at a time when radio was still new. While it's possible for our current world of information overload and 50-60 hour workweeks to take its toll on our health, it's worth remembering that people were tired and busy long before we got here. It's just another reason to assess whether you're really as busy as you think you are.

Don’t Assume That Everything Is so Different These Days | Psychology Today

Photo by Benson Kua.

Ask an Expert: All About Renting vs. Buying

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