solar

Japan's nuclear spring didn't last long. Though the country's nuclear power plants were taken offline following the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, the government restarted a reactor earlier this month.

But that hasn't stopped a small village some 50 miles from the Oi plant from ditching conventional electricity from the grid and going solar.

Sanno in Hyogo Prefecture, population 42, has become the first municipality to rely on solar power.

Residents of the 11 households have an average age over 60, and the village, like many in rural Japan, is suffering depopulation. Costs for maintaining shared … Read more

Convincing a nation so steeped in its car culture to think differently about the way we drive is a test of both patience and persistence. But the 2012 Vehicle Concept Showcase at Stanford University's Center for Automotive Research yesterday offered some interesting arguments about how our future personal transportation will better suit our needs.

One feature that may take some adjustment for many drivers is wheel configuration. Only two of the eight vehicle concepts rolled out at the showcase had the tried and true four-wheel configuration -- most were three-wheelers. As the makers of Switch Vehicles pointed out, dropping … Read more

Grill gadgets come in all shapes and sizes. Considering the amount of goods that get on the grill, this is a good thing. But all this variety complicates things. Gone are the days when burgers and dogs were the only ones that fought for space on the grill. Today's modern cookout requires a little more planning. But one thing that hasn't changed is that all these goodies equate to fun in the sun.

With the sun shining brightly down on so many grill sessions, it only makes sense to capture some of that energy. While we may still … Read more

One of the rarest celestial events viewable from Earth will occur Tuesday -- the planet Venus will make a trek across the face of the sun. Such an event has only been observed six times in recorded history, and the next occurrence won't come until 2117, so space buffs are gearing up for the big show.

One way to stay tuned -- and also help scientists record Venus' voyage -- is by using an app called VenusTransit. With this app, which is available on Android and iOS, amateur astronomers can join the ranks of historic explorers like Capt. James … Read more

In today's show, we're stretching our thumbs, looking to Venus and pondering iPhone popularity:

It's time to gear up for the year's big video game conference, E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The coverage begins around 9 a.m. Pacific, noon Eastern when Microsoft holds its press event. Expect talk of Halo 4 and new entertainment features tied to Xbox Live.

Sony will be holding a press event late Monday evening, and Nintendo will be having one Tuesday to reveal more on the Wii U, right as the show floor opens.

Google will be holding an event … Read more

On June 5 in the Americas and June 6 in the rest of the world, people will be able to see one of the rarest predictable events in astronomy: a solar transit of the planet Venus.

Over a six-hour period the disc of Venus will be silhouetted against the sun. Seeing it safely requires a special eye-protection filter, available for a dollar or so -- alternately, a telescope or binoculars can safely project an image onto a wall or sheet of paper. But if you miss it, your next chance won't come until the year 2117.

Every century or … Read more

The sun is busy powering all sort of devices these days. There's a solar plane, a solar keyboard, and a solar Apple data center. Solar iPad and iPhone cases have been around, but they often require a fair amount of sunshine to make them work well.

The KudoCase from Kudo is taking a slightly different approach. As far as the KudoCase is concerned, sunlight is nice, but indoor light will do just fine.

Kudo claims that your iPad can go 10 days, with 2 hours of iPad use per day with average light. That's all a little vague, but it's also plenty intriguing. I usually plug my iPad in for a recharge every two days. It would be nice to extend that time a bit.… Read more

Meet the new Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760, the successor to Logitech's first solar keyboard, the K750, which earned a CNET Editors' Choice.

From a design standpoint, the K760 is more compact than the K750 and more closely resembles Apple's own Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard with the addition of the strip of solar cells at the top of the unit.

The key feature upgrade here is something that Logitech calls "Bluetooth connectivity with easy-switching capability." What that means is you can pair multiple devices -- such as a Mac, iPad, or iPhone -- and quickly switch among … Read more

Solar Impulse, a Swiss sun-powered aircraft, on Friday finished the first leg of its attempt at an intercontinental flight without using a single drop of fuel.

The solar plane took off Thursday from Payerne, Switzerland, bound for Morocco. It landed safely Friday on a planned three-day technical stopover in Madrid, where it will get a new pilot.

If successful, the 1,550-mile journey will be the longest to date for the craft, which last year completed its first international flight from its home in Switzerland to Brussels.

Pilot Andre Borschberg handled the first leg of the trip for the Solar … Read more