Kobo has a new e-reader out that actually could shake up the market, since it offers waterproofing as a standard factory feature on a $179.99 e-reader, with a high-res, 265 DPI 6.8-inch e-ink display. The Kobo Aura H20 basically takes the already-impressive Aura HD, makes the design thinner and lighter, and adds IP67 environmental resistance, which is a tough package to beat.
via Kobo’s Aura H20 Makes The High-Res E-Reader Waterproof – Your Move, Amazon | TechCrunch.
If you have old vintage books, you may have some book scorpions in your bookcase. Actually, you really should want to have them, even if they look scary and gross. Book scorpions protect your old books—they love to munch on the book lice that eat the glue which holds old books together.
A book scorpion or pseudoscorpion is not a true scorpion, hence its name. Theyre often mistaken for bedbugs, in fact, causing many people to kill them, which is obviously a big mistake for your collection of vintage encyclopedias. A book scorpion is also very tiny—too tiny to hurt you, so dont worry about being pinched when you pull out your original signed copy of The Metamorphosis.
READ MORE: These scorpions are probably hiding in your bookcase | SPLOID
Sometimes a device comes so close to being perfect that you’d be forgiven for not realizing that with just a single tweak, it can become, in actual fact, perfect. The Kindle Paperwhite is such a device, as an e-reader that Amazon has crafted so well that you pretty much never need look beyond for anything better. But while a regular book ends up with wrinkly pages after being caught in a surprise downpour on the beach, the Paperwhite fizzles – unless you get the Waterfi-treated Kindle Paperwhite.
The Waterfi version is shipped in the original Kindle packaging without any outward appearance of having been modified. It looks and feels like a Kindle, albeit a slightly heavier version, and interacting with its touchscreen is the same as you’d find with an unmodified version. But because of Waterfi’s special treatment process, its Kindle Paperwhite is completely waterproof – submersible to above 200 feet in either fresh or salt water, for any length of time.
READ MORE: This Waterproof Kindle Paperwhite Is Humanity’s Greatest Achievement | TechCrunch
With spring in the air, students typically clamor to get outside—and teachers would often like to follow. April is an ideal time of year to explore outdoor learning opportunities, and these apps and sites can lead the way. READ MORE: Apps for Outdoor Learning | Cool Tools | The Digital Shift.
I would also recommend the Encyclopedia of Life’s Tools & Resources page for more tools to enhance outdoor educational activities.
The Google Maps team visited Banff National Park and about 70 other Parks Canada sites this past spring and summer, collecting imagery using its Street View cars and on foot using its Trekker backpack technology. (Google/Parks Canada)
Hikes through spectacular national parks such as Banff and tours of historic sites such as the Viking settlement at L’anse au Meadows in Newfoundland are now available on Google Street View.
Google and Parks Canada announced today that more than 70 Parks Canada locations across the country can now be explored online.
“From planning a summer vacation to augmenting classroom lesson plans, the partnership between Parks Canada and Google will better connect Canadians to the amazing places and geography that defines this country,” wrote Parks Canada’s Michael White on the Google Canada blog.
Read: Canada’s parks and historic sites now on Google Street View | Technology & Science | CBC News.
There comes a moment in most of our lives when we realize that some secrets of the universe will remain hidden from us–not because mankind hasn’t discovered them, but because those secrets are encoded in complex math and physics problems that few of us have the talent or patience to understand.
But Beauty of Mathematics, a new video by Yann Pineill & Nicolas Lefaucheux, gives the mathematically challenged a peek into living equations. The animated triptych shows an equation on the left, its quantified schematics in the center, and its real world manifestation on the right. The video is like academic X-ray vision, but in reality, its inspiration was never math or science. It was beauty.
Read more: See The Beauty Of Math, Even If You Don’t Understand Math | Co.Design | business + design.
via ▶ Drone’s eye view of Burning Man 2013 – YouTube.
You may also like: What is Burning Man? | Burning Man
With Modern Makeovers, America’s Libraries Are Branching Out | NPR.
Quotable: When you say the words “libraries” and “future” together, the first question a lot of people have is: Will there still be books? According to most librarians interviewed for this story, the answer is a firm “yes.” But they also say that housing books will be less of a priority.
Libraries are moving toward a green and sustainable model for their library architecture, interior design, and energy consumption. They are keeping the future in mind and taking action to protect the environment through the greening of their buildings.
See the full post: A Quick Guide to Green Libraries | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org.
15 of the most inspirational, tear-jerking and downright beautiful TED talks out there.
via 15 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life | Mashable.
A great list of TED talks. My favourites on the list are talks 3. Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius and 13. Andrew Solomon: Love, No Matter What.
infophile 