water

While many of the iPhone 4 cases fit the 4S, case manufacturers are seeing the arrival of the 4S as a good opportunity to introduce new designs.

WaterField Designs, which is known for its high-quality sleeves for laptops and iPads, has just released a leather wallet that also does double-duty as an iPhone case. It's simply called the iPhone Wallet ($39) and it has a window (and sound port) that allows you to "see and hear your iPhone."

If you want something a little trimmer, WaterField's also serving up the iPhone Hint ($25), which the company … Read more

The lowly drinking fountain has been largely neglected as we fill up our wireless hydration-advice-giving water bottles and wear coats that catch and purify rain.

British design group Poietic Studio has given the drinking fountain a new lease on life with the Tropism Well. It senses when you're nearby, sucks water up a tube, fills up a carafe, and elegantly offers it to you.

You'll need to provide your own cup. Otherwise you'll have to kneel down and try to catch the water in your mouth, and nobody wants to see you do that.

The bowing motion is achieved simply by sending the water up the tube. The weight of the water does the rest. Isn't physics fun?… Read more

Google and Microsoft continue their highly public patent-related catfight, which is either raising awareness of the issue of overbroad software patents or just turning into an embarrassing public battle that's making us all uncomfortable. Also, facial recognition is a trap, and security researchers are rushing to unveil the real Shady Rat. Plus: Computer Love!

KlearKase bills its new Kindle 3 case as the "only splash-proof Kindle case you'll want to use all the time."

We weren't quite ready to drop our Kindle in the pool, but as you can see from the video below, the transparent case can take some heavy spritzing, and what's nice about it is that it's thinner and lighter than some of the truly waterproof models out there (M-Edge Guardian, which we tried with the Kindle 2, comes to mind).

You can also buy heavy-duty versions of Ziploc bags (TrendyDigital's WaterGuard case, for … Read more

This is probably one of the most innovative and useful ads we've seen in a long time. A Vitamin Water promotional display at select bus stops can power phones and other mobile devices.

Currently decorating selected bus stops in Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, Glaceau's Vitamin Water Energy Bus Shelter by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky integrates a three-port battery-powered USB hub in an image of the bottled water. This allows waiting commuters to charge their device for free, clearly with the hope that they will juice up their bodies with Vitamin Water later on in gratitude.

The charging station is part of the brand's "You're Up" campaign, which emphasizes that the drink is formulated to provide a quick boost on the go.

(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget)… Read more

WaterField Designs makes all kinds of cases, bags, and gear pouches for all kinds of portable products. Now, with more people allegedly taking their Apple TVs on the road with them, it's offering up some protection with its $45 Apple TV Pouch.

As you can see from the picture, the case, which comes in tangerine and a carbonlike "flash" color, is significantly large than the Apple TV itself. But that's because it has four interior pockets to accommodate the unit, an HDMI cable, the power cord, and the remote.

We've tested several WaterField cases and … Read more

BOSTON--It's a business with extremely risk-averse customers that have little money spend. On the plus side, it's vital to life and a strained natural resource.

Water purification and treatment techniques continue to attract bright ideas from researchers and entrepreneurs, but getting beyond a nifty prototype is challenge they all face, said a panel here at the TechConnect World conference on clean tech and nanotechnology.

Many of the municipal water treatment and distribution systems in the U.S. are in desperate need of repair. Other large potential customers for more energy-efficient or effective water treatment facilities are corporations, such … Read more

Animated Water Drop Desktop Wallpaper is a free app from Artdocks that creates a realistic effect of water droplets slowly moving down your screen. While it does vary your screen's pixels somewhat, it's not a screensaver; it's a wallpaper enhancement that you can use with your usual background images. The effect is attractive and subtly soothing.

We activated Animated Water Drop by clicking its desktop icon, though there's also a Start Menu entry as well as icons in the Artdocks folder, which also contained an uninstaller for the wallpaper. You can't access the program from … Read more

The U.S. has enough land in the right climate to produce homegrown algae oil that would replace a significant amount of foreign oil imported for transportation use--without endangering its water supply.

The Gulf Coast region, the Southeastern seaboard, and the Great Lakes areas are ideally suited to grow algae in outdoor freshwater ponds with minimal water usage.

That's according to a study released today by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in the journal Water Resources Research.

Biofuel made from refined algae oils, while showing promise, is still in the early stages of development. … Read more