America’s most sustainable city: A green dream deferred

America's most sustainable city

It sounds like the future. Whirring electric skateboards, the joyous chatter of children in a distant playground and an unusual absence of petrol-powered machinery. It looks like the future, too. Glistening lakes dotting the background, lawns so lush they're mistaken for artwork and an unmistakable reflection from a vast solar farm that doubles as a beacon of unending hope.

The reality, however, is starkly different. The depictions here are mere conceptualizations, and the chore of concocting the most Jetsonized habitat this side of Orbit City is daunting in every sense of the word.

America's most sustainable city A green dream deferred

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IRL: Canon Powershot D20, FX Photo Studio and Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8G lens

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

It's photo week here at IRL. Turns out, quite a few Engadget editors are in the mood to talk up their shooting gear lately. On the camera side, Edgar recently took the PowerShot D20 on his honeymoon in Jamaica, while Darren's been giving FX Photo Studio a whirl (spoiler: he still prefers Snapseed). And say hello to our new copy editor Philip Palermo, who says if he had to live with just one lens for his Nikon D90, it would be the 35mm f/1.8G.

Continue reading IRL: Canon Powershot D20, FX Photo Studio and Nikon's 35mm f/1.8G lens

IRL: Canon Powershot D20, FX Photo Studio and Nikon's 35mm f/1.8G lens originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL: gfxCardStatus, Nyko Charge Base 3 for PS3 and the OG iPad

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Different strokes for different folks. While Darren may have long since sworn off tablets as productivity machines, our very own Billy Steele (a designer by trade, don'tcha know) has been using one to workshop projects with clients. For Darren, anyway, productivity means having a laptop with a discrete GPU at the ready -- except for when the GPU drains his battery life, which is where an app called gfxCardStatus comes in. Rounding things out, we've got Jason Hidalgo talking up the different ways he's attempted to charge his needy PS3 controllers. All that and more after the break.

Continue reading IRL: gfxCardStatus, Nyko Charge Base 3 for PS3 and the OG iPad

IRL: gfxCardStatus, Nyko Charge Base 3 for PS3 and the OG iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Welcome back to IRL, and if we do say so ourselves, this week's edition is a doozy. On one end of the gadget-loving spectrum, Jason is still happily using his Canon Rebel XT, while Darren remains thoroughly unsatisfied with his $400 AirPlay speaker (it was easy to set up, at least -- he'll give it that). And, just for good measure, we threw in an Arduino fail. So, which piece of audio gear is on our "do not buy" list? Who needs to take a course in wiring-based coding? And does Jason have anything negative to say about his DSLR? Head past the break to find out.

Continue reading IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter

IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL: oStylus Dot, Sansa Clip+ and SanDisk’s Extreme Pro 128GB CompactFlash Card

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

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This week's IRL is a quirky mix of vintage and modern, with Billy getting comfy with a new iPad stylus and Jason clinging to the Sansa Clip+ player he's owned since 2009. Rounding things out, Darren's decided to put all his digital media in one proverbial basket: a 128GB CompactFlash card.

Continue reading IRL: oStylus Dot, Sansa Clip+ and SanDisk's Extreme Pro 128GB CompactFlash Card

IRL: oStylus Dot, Sansa Clip+ and SanDisk's Extreme Pro 128GB CompactFlash Card originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buy this book: Darren Murph’s ‘iPad Secrets’

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We have something of a history of Engadget editors writing books on tech-related topics, and our esteemed Managing Editor (and Guinness World Record-holder) Darren Murph is the latest to join the club. He's written a book in which he'll enlighten you on some of the inner workings of Apple's favorite tablet -- and he won't call you a Dummy in the process. Heck, the publisher was thoughtful enough to put the man's signature right there on the cover, so if you're not satisfied it'll make forging checks and cleaning out Darren's checking account that much easier.

Buy this book: Darren Murph's 'iPad Secrets' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL: Blue Mics Yeti, Western Digital My Passport and Razer’s Naga Hex gaming mouse

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

It's been a busy week for tech writers. Capping out a week populated by not one, not two, but three smartphone reviews, we're happy to take a breather and return our attention to life's littler pleasures. Like USB mics and portable 2TB hard drives. And also, gaming mice.

Continue reading IRL: Blue Mics Yeti, Western Digital My Passport and Razer's Naga Hex gaming mouse

IRL: Blue Mics Yeti, Western Digital My Passport and Razer's Naga Hex gaming mouse originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL: Evernote, Netgear N900 and FiiO’s E17 headphone amplifier

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Best of the best, best of the worst and best thing we didn't need. Those are some ringing endorsements we've got for you in this week's IRL. On the more enthusiastic end of the spectrum there's Darren, who finally found a dual-band router with strong enough range to service all three floors of his new home. Terrence is closing in on his fourth year using Evernote, the "least bad" note-taking app of the bunch. As for James, well, has he ever met a piece of audio equipment he didn't like?

Continue reading IRL: Evernote, Netgear N900 and FiiO's E17 headphone amplifier

IRL: Evernote, Netgear N900 and FiiO's E17 headphone amplifier originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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