The Google World Wonders Project Shows You the World from Street Level [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5920461/the-google-world-wonders-project-shows-you-the-world-from-street-level

Some of the world's most beautiful and historic places are in some of the most difficult to visit locations. If globetrekking isn't in your budget, take a desktop vacation instead with the Google World Wonders Project and view beautiful places like the Toshodai-ji Temple in Japan, the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew in the UK, or the old town of Ouro Preto in Brazil.

The World Wonders Project uses Google's Street View technology to take you on virtual tours of some of the world's most historically significant places. With destinations in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, you can browse areas of interest by selecting a continent or a theme from the menus at the top of the page, by clicking through the photo carousel in the center, or even by clicking and dragging the globe at the bottom until you see something you like. Then, just click "explore this site now" to take a Street View-powered walking tour.

The links on the right side of the page will give you more information about the location, related videos and other walkthroughs, and even photos and 3D models of the location so you can see more detail. It's definitely not as good as going and experiencing some of these beautiful places on your own, but if you're stuck at your desk, it may be the next best thing. Best of all, if you have a Panoramio account, you can even contribute some of your own photos, if you ever do visit.

Hit the link below to give it a try, and check out this related video for a fun behind the scenes look at how all of these images were captured. Have you been to any of these places yourself, or did we inspire you to pack your bags? Let us know where you've been in the comments below.

Google World Wonders Project | via Tekzilla Daily

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The Corsair Hydro Series Keeps Your PC Cool and Silent with Maintenance-Free Water Cooling [Video]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5920525/the-corsair-hydro-series-keeps-your-pc-cool-and-silent-with-maintenance+free-water-cooling

Water cooling is a great way to keep your computer super cool and super quiet, but it can cost a lot of money. Corsair's Hydro series makes water cooling easy with inexpensive, maintenance-free units that take just a few minutes to install.

Water cooling is great, but it takes a ton of upkeep, costs hundreds of dollars, and comes with a risk of drowning your computer if you make a mistake (yeesh!). Corsair's Hydro series—made up of the H100, H80, H70, H60, and H40—makes water cooling simple. Just install the water block like you would any other cooler, and install the radiator on the top of your case (if you have the 120x240mm H100) or the back exhaust fan (if you have the 120x120mm smaller models). The fans will keep the radiator cool as the water pumps through it, giving you a quieter computer with lower CPU temperatures.

You'll still have to compromise a bit on noise, since you are still using fans, and Corsair's stock fans are quite loud. You can swap them out for something quieter, but the H100 and H80 also come with a handy feature that lets you run the fans on "low", "medium", or "high" speeds, which you can adjust depending on your needs. If you're looking for a silent system, go with the lower, quieter setting; if you're overclocking and gaming, go with the higher, louder setting. Alternatively, you can do what I do and get an external fan controller and use that to control the cooler's fans instead. That way, you can have it quiet when you're just browsing the web, and louder when you need the performance boost.

I've been using the H100 for about a week now, and my experience has been very good. My temperatures are a bit lower, though probably not enough to overclock my system any further (obviously, your mileage may vary depending on the CPU you're using, your case, and the cooling system you're currently using). The main benefit I'm seeing is in the realm of noise—coupled with the H100's fan controller (or an external one), you can decrease the noise in your system quite a bit. If you're sick of your computer sounding like a wind tunnel, or if you just want some extra overclocking headroom, check out the H100 or one of its smaller cousins. See the video above for a look at the hardware, or hit the link below to check out the specs on Corsair's web site. The H100 runs for about $100 on Amazon, while the other models cost less as you go down the chain.

Corsair Hydro Series CPU Coolers

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Phase change memory breakthrough could lead to gigahertz-plus data transfers, make SSDs seem pokey

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/23/phase-change-memory-breakthrough-could-lead-to-gigahertz-plus-data/

Often considered the eventual successor to flash, phase change memory has had a tough time getting to the point where it would truly take over; when it takes longer to write data than conventional RAM, there's clearly a roadblock. The University of Cambridge has the potential cure through a constant-power trick that primes the needed hybrid of germanium, antimony and tellurium so that it crystalizes much faster, committing data to memory at an equally speedy rate. Sending a steady, weak electric field through the substance lets a write operation go through in just 500 picoseconds; that's 10 times faster than an earlier development without the antimony or continuous power. Researchers think it could lead to permanent storage that runs at refresh rates of a gigahertz or more. In other words, the kinds of responsiveness that would make solid-state drives break out in a sweat. Any practical use is still some distance off, although avid phase change memory producers like Micron are no doubt champing at the bit for any upgrade they can get.

Phase change memory breakthrough could lead to gigahertz-plus data transfers, make SSDs seem pokey originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Marc Jacobs Laptop Case Will Keep You From Looking Like Such a Slob, You Slob [Daily Desired]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5920677/this-marc-jacobs-laptop-case-will-keep-you-from-looking-like-such-a-slob-you-slob

You've got your new retina display MacBook Pro? Great. Time to grow up and get a laptop bag that's worthy of it.

I'm crushing on this tropical orange 15-inch nylon case from Marc by Marc Jacobs. I carry a Jansport backpack to work every day and I think it actually makes me look about four years younger than I really am. Oh you know, just headed to the quad to study for my bio final. And by the way do you think your older sister could help get me a fake ID? NO. Hey, I don't want to accelerate the aging process but I've come to the conclusion that I need a more tailored-looking tote. This one has a delicious Fanta-like color, it's not going to kill my back, and at $128, it won't put a serious dent in my wallet. All in the name of professionalism. [Geek Sugar]

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Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/fujitsu-scansnap-s1300i-delivers-scans-to-android-or-ios-devices/

Fujitsu's original ScanSnap S1300 earned a soft spot in our hearts -- no mean feat for a scanner -- so it's with piqued interest that we catch word of a direct upgrade. The S1300i is all about serving those of us who might never send scan results to a printer. Android and iOS aficionados now only have to send the results to a relevant mobile app, skipping the usual computer-to-phone shuffle. That stack of receipts can also go skip devices entirely and go straight to the cloud, whether it's Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, Salesforce Chatter or SugarSync. However that paper gets converted to digital, it'll be accomplished about 50 percent faster, or 12 double-sided, color pages every minute. All the extras lift the price price even higher, though: $295 is a lot to ask for a scanner. Even so, if that stack of bills is high enough to trigger an avalanche, it might be worth the premium to avoid being snowed in.

Continue reading Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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