Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has selected BMW design arm DesignworksUSA to create its “Fleet of the Future” new generation of train cars.

“Potential changes include easy-to-clean plastic seats, wider aisles for faster boarding times, and bike corrals. BART is asking for public input on everything from seat style and handicap accommodations to the types of information included in on-board displays. Of the thousand surveys already received, riders have indicated their willingness to give up a couple inches of leg room and seat width to ensure a more pleasant transportation … Read More → "BMW DesignworksUSA to upgrade San Francisco’s BART trains"

Twitter user David Wiggs tweeted “This WH correspondence briefing isn’t nearly as entertaining as yesterday’s.” The White House, with a newfound sense of humor, sent this as the reply:

… Read More → "The White House just Rickrolled some guy on Twitter"

“The findings, which were published in the journal Cognition, reveal how 4- and 5-year-olds approach games methodically.

They were given a specially designed toy “that lit up and played music when the child placed certain beads on it,” says Nature. The cognitive scientists found that, when the children didn’t know which beads would activate the toy — namely they had been given what the team defined as “ambiguous evidence” — they tested each variable in turn.” via Read More → "Young children play like scientists work"

“Autodesk, a multinational software company based in San Rafael, California, makes 3-D design software used by everyone from automotive manufacturing giants to Hollywood studios. Now it is betting that those digital tools will have an increasingly powerful role in what happens on factory floors, enabling manufacturers to embrace more flexible strategies that deliver more customized products.” via Technology Review

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“CircuitBee provides a platform for you to share live versions of your circuit schematics on your websites, blogs or forums. Features include full zooming capability, panning, and even mouse over tips about symbols in the schematic.” via CircuitBee

The service is free and requires registration, but not much else. Once registered you are free to upload your circuit diagrams which are then run through CircuitBee’s servers. CircuitBee converts your drawings into embeddable objects, allowing others to view your project easily. via Read More → "CircuitBee makes sharing schematics and circuit diagrams easy"

Check out Bill Beatty’s video and instructions on how you could use old catalogs to grow mushrooms:

… Read More → "Use old Digi-Key catalogs to grow gourmet mushrooms at home"

“Any personal project produced as a one-off that involves do-it-yourself know-how, whether it’s the modification of an existing system or artifact or the creation of something new. DIY implies that you came up with the idea and saw it to fruition. We also accept projects that are plans or instructions showing others how to make the object by themselves.” from Core77

See the winning projects here via < … Read More → "Core77 Design Awards DIY/hack/mod winners"

The $20 PowerUp by Tailor Toys consists of a tiny propeller on a tiny motor attached to a tiny battery by a carbon fiber twig, and can power a plane for 1.5 minutes off of a 20 second charge. via gizmodo

Available here at Think Geek ($19.99)

“Researchers at Stanford University have created the transparent battery, a component that would be required to power, for example, a fully-transparent display.” via geekosystem

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Image via Extreme Tech

Game developer Kevin Slavin describes how algorithms increasingly play a role in our lives, from financial markets to movie scripts. via Laughing Squid

… Read More → "How algorithms shape our world, fascinating TED talk by Kevin Slavin"