Solar Panel-In-a-Tube Generates Power and Hot Water At the Same Time

Solar photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors both capture the sun's rays. The first one turns the light into electricity, while the other turns it into hot water for heating. They usually battle for rooftop real estate, but Naked Energy has found a way to merge them both into a single solar solution.

The British company's Virtu tubes gain efficiency by operating in tandem—it's teamwork, just like you learned as a kid. Inside each vacuum-sealed tube is a power-producing photovoltaic wafer. Sunlight hitting the wafer generates extra heat, which then transfers to the tube's solar thermal collector using the company's patented thermosyphon technology.

The transfer keeps the photovoltaic cells close to their optimal operating temperature, with the shared benefit of a hot water supply that can be used to help heat a building on the cheap. In other words, the hybrid design makes a Virtu up to 46 percent more efficient at turning sunlight into energy than traditional solar panels.

At the moment, Naked Energy is still refining and improving the product's design. Developers are working with professors at the Imperial College in London to further increase their efficiency. The company intends to create a commercially available product once it's happy with the solar cell's performance. More here.

Don’t Forget To Pack This Highly-Detailed Moon Globe For Your Next Lunar Vacation

Space tourism is just getting under way, but before we know it spending a weekend on the moon will be commonplace. (If you have a kabillion dollars.) So in addition to warm socks, you'll want to make sure you pack Sky & Telescope's new detailed Moon Globe if you're planning to explore.

Previous moon globes have used airbrushed artistic renderings of the moon's surface, which aren't incredibly accurate. But Sky & Telescope used over 15,000 images snapped by Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter when creating the imagery for its new $100 globe.

Thanks to over 850 labels, you can also use the globe to easily find all the neat touristy locales, including craters, valleys, and even the Apollo landing sites. And remember, besides the globe you'll also want to pack your Visa card, because the moon doesn't take American Express. More here.

Lumia 900 Costs More to Build Than the iPhone 4S

The Lumia 900 is a hell of a phone. Plus, it's cheap: just $100 regularly, and temporarily FREE while Nokia works out some software issues. But it's not for lack of quality parts: iSuppli crunched the numbers and determined it costs $217 to build and manufacture. That's more than the iPhone.

For comparison's sake, the iPhone 4S's 16GB model costs an estimated $188 to build and retails for $200. The Lumia's component prices are about the same, but strangely, it shoots ahead with an expensive screen compared to the iPhone. The Lumia's screen is larger physically, but has a much lower pixel density than the iPhone's retina display.

Nokia—and its partner in crime Microsoft—desperately wants to get a foothold with the Lumia line of Windows Phones. That's why the Lumia 710 was just $50 on T-Mobile, and why the regular price for the 900 is just $100. Nokia's willing to subsidize hardware to gain market share. If this works, it'll be absolutely worth it. If not, well, that's a mighty big bill Nokia just stuck itself with. More here.

Google Chrome 19 Beta Brings Live Tab Synching to The Fold

You know the score. You've stepped away from your desktop, and then you think to yourself, "Damn. If only I could remember that website I'd just visited." Now, users of Google Chrome's latest beta will no longer have that worry. The latest incarnation of Google's web browser gives users immediate access to all of their tabs, across all devices, which can be found within the new tab window. 

Here, users will discover an "Other devices" menu that gives quick and easy access to all those sites you just visited -- yet for the life of you, can't seem to remember. According to Google, beta users will see this feature gradually roll out over the coming week. More here.

Ridiculous Sunglasses: Wear the U.S.A. on Your Face

In the shape of the contiguous United States, these shades by Jeremy Scott are perfect for the next haute couture stock car race you attend. And I mean, who needs two hundred bones for rent? Or food. Or utilities. Or just basic specs that sufficiently protect your eyes from the sun.

These frames, though? They cover a grand total of one and a half of your eyes, with the Great Lakes region really messing with UV protection on the left side. They also work well if you're trying to lose weight and/or are suffering from a cold, putting a guard over your entire nose and most of your mouth. More here.

A Coat Rack so Attractive, You Might Not Want to Hang a Coat on It at all

Having somewhere to hang a jacket when you walk in your front door is nice, but the problem with having a proper coat rack is that you end up with a critical mass of outerwear occupying your entryway. A very simple—but very nice-looking—piece like Florian Saul's Servus rack might just do the trick.

Consisting of a single loop of wood and a leather bag, the rack leans up against a wall, or as Minimalissimo explains, can be combined with a second Servus rack. A detachable leather bag, which can be used for scarves, gloves or anything else you so desire, adds a bit of substance, contrast and class to the frame. More here.

Why Woodpeckers Don’t Get Brain Damage From Pecking All Day

If a human tried chopping wood with his head, he'd lose at least one eye and sustain permanent brain damage. But woodpeckers do it all the live long day and sustain zero headular damage. How do they do it?

Theories have included: super powerful muscles, a special injury-preventing drilling technique, or a protective placement of the brain inside the skull. But no one has systematically analyzed the mechanics of a woodpecker's skull in as much detail as Fan Yubo and his team at the Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology at Beihang University in China, who published their work today in Science China Press.

They spent three years studying the mechanical properties, microstructure and composition of the cranial bone and beak of the woodpecker, and compared it to that of the lark. They found that woodpeckers have developed their own amazing nanofabrication and self assembly capabilities in their cranial bone structure over millions of years of evolution.

The strength of the two types of birds' beaks is actually similar. But the woodpecker's cranial bone is much stronger than the lark's, the researchers found. That's thanks to having more "plate-like spongy bone" in its cranium, which makes it resistant to deformation. Specifically, it has a larger volume of structures called trabeculae, which are tiny spaces in the bone that form a mesh filled with bone marrow. The woodpecker's trabeculae are also spaced very close together, which helps diffuse impact. In the image, the woodpecker cranium bone is A; the lark's is B. C is the woodpecker's beak, D is the lark's.

The researchers hope their work might inspire new protective headgear for humans. More here.

How to Export Your Instagram Photos Before Facebook Ruins Everything

So Facebook's buying Instagram. That might not be such a bad thing, but if you're one of those who can't stand any Facebook in her Instagram Cheerios, there's a solution.Instaport.Me will let you export all your photos right now, to wherever you want.

The service is incredibly easy: All you do is go to the site, log into your Instagram account, and authorize the app. Then you can customize which photos to export: all, the last X-number, between two dates, photos others liked, and by #tag. That's it. Click export and your photos are downloaded in .zip format here it is.

War On Your Diet With a Chocolate Grenade

Easter is one of those magical days in the year when diets don't exist. So today, in addition to a mountain of other sweet confections, you can enjoy Raphael Volkmer's chocolate 'Calories Bomb' grenade that explodes with even more delicious shrapnel.

Just think of it as an uneasy truce with your diet, although when you step on the scale you might discover that one side's actually gained quite a bit of ground, more here.

Coffee Table With Built-In Saucers Means No More Stressing Over Coasters

With Brandon Gore's Orson Coffee Table you don't have to worry about guests not using a coaster for their drinks. That's because it's got a row of saucers built-in providing plenty of safe spots to place a beverage.

And even if a guest failed to use one of the saucers it's no big deal. Instead of being made of a beautifully-finished wood that's prone to rings and stains, the table's actually cast from a composite concrete covered with a reactive sealer that will shrug off any liquids. And worse comes to worse, a small stain is nothing a rented industrial grinder couldn't deal with. More here.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin Spotted Wearing Project Glass Prototype IRL

Wondering what it might be like to sport Google's Project Glass augmented reality HUD in your daily life? It would appear company co-founder Sergey Brin already knows, as he was spotted by tech pundits Robert Scoble and Thomas Hawk rocking a prototype at a Dining in the Dark charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Scoble has already posted a couple of pictures with Brin on Google+, mentioning more photos would be forthcoming from Hawk after the event concluded and that he'd heard other people, including Google exec Vic Gundotra, have the devices already.

For now he mentions the glasses appeared to be "self contained" and that he could see a blueish light flashing on Brin's eyes. More here.

For SCIENCE!

Oh say what I see by the darks light at night,
A crime of pure evil is at hand in my sight!
With a punch and a kick I patriotically fight,
As the star spangled banner doth wave in the night.
For in my heart I will always be true;
Always and forever for the red white and blue.

This Camping Spork Will Come To the Rescue In Chopstick-Only Restaurants

The only thing more embarrassing than not knowing how to use a set of chopsticks is your secret being found out in a restaurant that doesn't provide an alternative. Which is where this emergency Kung Foon spork will be worth its weight in titanium.

It's primarily designed for camping, serving as your typical fork/spoon combo for dining out of a pouch. But its specially-engineered handle includes slots allowing you to insert a set of chopsticks, turning it into an elongated utensil for dining emergencies in a hoity-toity establishment. It's definitely worth the $10 for the stainless steel version, but I'd opt for the lighter and stronger $17 titanium model instead, more here.

Finally, A Multitool Designed to Help You Blow Stuff Up

Gerber's newest pocket toolbox has everything you'd expect from a pocket full of do-it-all—plus a little extra firepower, you know, just in case you need to blow a pass through a mountain or go to war with a gopher.

Beyond the standard knife, screwdriver, ruler, and file assortment, this stealthy Multiplier packsa spike for punching holes in C4 explosives, and the pliers are outfitted with a blasting cap crimp. And it's swathed in a matte-black reflect light. How convenient!

Chances are if you're up to all of this explosives setting, you are in the military and you don't want anyone to know what you're up to so the stainless steel tool comes in a non-reflective black finish. The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 DET is "coming soon" for an unspecified price. More here.

AT&T to Begin Unlocking off-Contract iPhones This Sunday, April 8th

On Easter,  customers with iPhones -- those off-contract with accounts in good standing -- will be able to request a carrier unlock for their device. Once freed, any micro-SIM can be used -- provided its carrier's frequencies are supported -- by the smartphone. An AT&T spokesperson was able to confirm that "a policy change concerning iPhones" would indeed be rolled-out on Sunday, but declined to elaborate further. That sound you hear? International Love, being quietly spun from the corner office of Ralph de la Vega.

Here's AT&T's official statement on the matter:

Beginning Sunday, April 8, we will offer qualifying customers the ability to unlock their AT&T iPhones. The only requirements are that a customer's account must be in good standing, their device cannot be associated with a current and active term commitment on an AT&T customer account, and they need to have fulfilled their contract term, upgraded under one of our upgrade policies or paid an early termination fee.

Now You Can Turn Yourself Into a Batman Action Figure

Most of our childhoods were spent alternatingly dressing up like superheroes and playing with action figures in their likeness. Now you can combine the two by actually getting your own head on the body of your favorite superhero, like Batman or Superman, on one of these custom action figures.

All you've got to do is send Personalised Superhero Action Figures two photos of yourself—one portrait and one profile—and the company will use them to make your noggin into an action figure. The head is shipped to you along with an actual action figure of your superhero of choice and tools to attach it, either permanently, or temporarily if you want to switch it out onto other bodies more here.

Wooden Floppy Disk Coasters Are Nostalgic Coffee Table Savers

Floppy disks might not be good for storing your data anymore, but they're still good for protecting your coffee table from pesky rings left by a sweaty can of beer.

These wooden floppy disk coasters are the perfect way to honor the memory of this now-obsolete piece of tech while you enjoy a cold beverage. And your living room furniture will remain unscathed!

Formed from birch wood, laser-engraved with all the vintage details, and covered with a matte finish, a set of four coasters will set you back $37, plus shipping. That price also includes you personalizing them with whatever message you choose.

You probably haven't laid eyes on a floppy disk in ages, and you definitely haven't used one for a long, long time. Now you've either moved all your data to the cloud or you're transporting documents on a thumb drive. But these cool coasters are a fun reminder of the way things used to be. And they're functional, too! More here.

New Apple Patent Hints at Wireless Charging for the iPhone and iPad

A new Apple patent discovered by AppleInsider shows plans for new product packaging and that's... pretty boring. What isinteresting about the new packaging though is that it may hint at future where iPhones and iPads would charge wirelessly.

The new packaging patent for the iPhone and iPad shows "unobtrusive packaging" which means the package would just show the actual product itself, not a picture. This sort of "unobtrusive packaging" isn't new of course (heck Apple uses it for the Magic Mouse) but they typically don't allow for charging to take place. In the patent, Apple shows an option of using an RF power transmitter where there's a base station that transmit power to the receivers (which would be the packaging itself) and charges everything back up. That means these iPhones and iPads could potentially have a home where they could be charged wirelessly.

Of course with patents being patents and iPhones and iPads selling as they do, who knows how useful this method of wireless charging inside the packaging will be. One thing for sure: it sure would be nice to charge your iPhone without any wires. More here.

These Nanostars Kill Cancer Without Ever Penetrating a Cell

Everyone can't stop talking about how nanotechnology is the future of healthcare, but so far we've not seen many useful applications. Finally, here's one: these nano-scale gold stars can kill cancer cells deadwithout ever entering them.

Well, these little bad boys have between five and ten points, and come coated in drug molecules which are attracted to a protein that all cancer cells produce in unusual quantities. That means that the points attach to the wall of cancerous cells. When blasted with light, those tiny points of contact offer up a massive concentration of the drug which pours into the cell and kills it, explain the researchers in ACS Nano. As Teri W. Odom, one of the scientists, explains to PhysOrg:

"Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers. They are attracted to a protein on the cancer cell's surface that conveniently shuttles the nanostars to the cell's nucleus. Then, on the nucleus' doorstep, the nanostars release the drug, which continues into the nucleus to do its work."

Because the star never has to pass through the surface of a cell, it means that their size is unimportant—making their manufacture simpler and keeping costs down. The only snag is that, because they need to be triggered by light, the researchers envision them only being used in tumors close to the surface of the human body. Still, it's proof that nanotech can help save lives. More here.

Ultra Tiny Earbuds Let You Hear More Than Just Your Music

Earbud style headphones let you enjoy your music without the distraction of what's going on around you. But for safety's sake sometimes hearing distractions, like a honking horn, isn't a bad thing. So the ear Heros use a compact design that doesn't completely block your ears.

Each tiny speaker sits inside your ear canal, using a small wire extending into your outer ear to keep them in place. And because they're not crammed in there like a cork, other sounds can still be heard. The earHeros supposedly sound as good as a regular pair of earbuds, but also allow you to still hear conversations when they're being worn, or even talk on a phone.

They're particularly ideal for those who like to ride a bike and enjoy their music without being hit by a car. But the $150 earHero's subtle design means you can probably also get away with wearing them during boring college lectures, or long meetings with your boss about how you're always distracted. More here.