Cave Hotel Project Wadi Rum Resort in Jordan

The new cave hotel project by architects from Oppenheim Architecture + Design is to be built in 2014. The 80,000-square-foot hotel will be cut out the rock in Wadi Rum, Jordan. As you can see in the pictures below the rooms are cut out right inside the big rock formation that is a common landscape for Valley of the Moon or Wadi Rum in a Jordan desert where there’s only sand and rock.

Using natural materials like stone and wood the project promises durability and, of course, the unity of man and nature. The original form of the rock in the exterior will slightly change as the angular windows will provide the natural lighting and beautiful views of Wadi Rum. The interior as well as exterior is planned to be minimalist blurring the boundaries between natural and man-made.
The lodges and villas will divide into rock lodge, tent lodge, spa lodge and reserve villa. The spacious rooms and lodges are meant to open the views on the surroundings rather than creating a completely different domain within an exotic region. It is the place and time to ponder on the bigger questions and simply unite with the nature.

Indoor Courtyard Design Ideas

Indoor courtyard can be a a great addition to the house in an urban setting. While outdoor gardens often require much space the indoor courtyard can be small with a single tree or a mini lawn. indoor courtyard can be constructed in the center of the house with open or transparent ceiling. Thus it can divide the house by areas and as well as provide some private outdoor space with a bit of greenery and plenty daylight.

The house is commonly separated from the courtyard with glazed walls that allow the daylight in as well as allow in the view of courtyard. This creates a nice indoor/outdoor dynamic in the rooms adjacent to the courtyard.
There are plenty of ways to design an indoor courtyard. It can come in a form of a rock garden, Japanese garden, or simply a lawn and pebbles. Adding a bench to the courtyard will give you place to rest outdoors

VDL-11X

Key Features:

• Most affordable large size director's finder on the market
• Relatively compact and lightweight
• Includes most standard film and TV formats
• Includes most standard aspect ratios including 16:9
• Aspect ratio adjustment ring features convenient click stops
• Coated optics
•  Front lens cap has quick release function

Specifications:

• Materials: Aluminum, 4 element coated optics
• Action: friction adjustment on rotating ring for focal length adjustment; click stops for aspect ratio adjustment
• Formats: Anamorphic, 35, S16 & 16mm film; 2/3", 1/2", 1/3" SD/HD Video
• Aspect ratios: 4:3 (1.33), 1.66, 16:9 (1.78), 1.85, 2.2, 2.4, 2.55
• Rear eyepiece: Adjustable (internal)
• Weight: 0.55 lbs / 250g
• Dimensions: 4" / 102mm long, 2.05" / 52mm front diameter
• Front thread: 49mm
  Finish: Black
• Neck strap: Nylon fabric
• Included: Front lens cap, soft vinyl carrying pouch, rubber eye cup

Holden introduces the next generation of in-car entertainment

The new MyLink infotainment system will let you stream Internet radio and GPS navigation to your car through your smartphone.

Automobiles with factory-fitted smartphone integration are nothing new, but they’ve previously been limited to hands-free calling and music streaming only. Holden is taking this integration to the next level with its new MyLink infotainment system, which launches next month on the Holden Barina CDX, and on the Holden Malibu next year.
With MyLink, you’ll be able to connect your smartphone to the car’s entertainment system using Bluetooth, USB, or a plug-in outlet; from there, you’ll be able to control certain smartphone functions using the car’s 7” colour touchscreen.
The director of energy, environment and technology at GM Holden, Richard Marshall, said the company’s new infotainment system was bound to be a hit with younger and tech-savvy buyers.
“As consumers become more attached to their smartphones, there’s an expectation that cars will function with their device,” he said. “So we need to provide a solution that is safe, enabling drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.”
On top of the usual hands-free and music streaming functionality, MyLink can stream digital content from selected applications on your smartphone. At launch, it will support Stitcher Smart Radio, an app that streams radio channels and podcasts over the Internet. More apps will be available next year, including Pandora (a personalised radio service) and TuneIn Radio.
Rather than pay extra money to have a GPS system installed into the car, MyLink also lets you take advantage of your smartphone’s built-in GPS chip to power the BringGo navigation application, which is controlled and viewed from the car’s touchscreen.
Toyota is also expected to launch an infotainment system early next year called Entune. Toyota Australia’s product planning chief Greg Gardner told motoring.com.au that select cars in 2013 would come with the new system.
Entune uses your smartphone’s Internet connection to power apps that are built into the car. In the United States, where Entune has already launched, it enables users to navigate to local businesses, stream music, book movie tickets and make dinner reservations.
These new in-car infotainment systems couldn’t come at a better time for Australian drivers. New laws in NSW come into effect on 1 November that will make touching a mobile phone while you’re driving illegal unless it is mounted. The penalty if you’re caught is three demerit points and a $298 fine, or four points and a $397 fine if you’re in a school zone.

Acer Iconia W700P and W510P tablets offer full-fat Windows 8 Pro

Acer delivers the full Windows 8 shebang to tablet users with the W700P and W510P slates.

If you're looking for a Windows 8 tablet with some serious grunt, Acer's two new Iconia slates – the W700P and W510P – might be just the thing you need.
The W700P comes packing a 11.6in IPS HD touchscreen display, Dolby Home Theatre sound and what Acer claims is a 178-degree viewing angle, making it handy for presentations. You also get a keyboard dock that doubles up as a stand, and adds three high-speed USB 3.0 ports plus a 'sound tunnel' for amplifying the audio. Finally, there's a pen stylus for taking notes, digital style.
Up next is the W510P. The 10in tablet comes with a keyboard dock that doubles up as a keyboard, battery-prolonger and stand for when you just want to kick back and watch a movie or watch YouTube videos of cats with friends. Acer claims a battery life of 18 hours.
Both new Iconias focus on playing nice with IT equipment and security – so the IT department has no excuse for turning down your request for a Windows 8 tablet. You need it. For work.
There's no word on pricing or availability just yet – you'll just have to wait until after October 26th, when the dust has settled on Microsoft's Windows 8 launch event.

Sharp prepping 7-inch Aquos Pad tablet

The Android 4.0 tablet will launch in Japan this year, sporting energy-saving IGZO screen.

Sharp will release a new tablet in Japan this December, according to Engadget. The Sharp Aquos Pad SHT21 will be a 7-inch model running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as well as Sharp’s low-energy IGZO display tech, which reduces power consumption by as much as 40 percent.
Apparently, the IGZO screen, rumoured to have a 1280 x 800 resolution, will give the Aquos Pad SHT21 over twice the battery life of Sharp’s last tablet. Also on board is a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD slot, 8MP rear camera, VGA front camera, NFC and 4G LTE capabilities.
Sadly, as with all Sharp mobile products we feel we’re unlikely to see this here any any time soon. But we’re sure to see more products (probably not Sharp-branded) using the company’s IGZO tech emerge in the not-too-distant future.

New Samsung Chromebook debuted

Cheap new thin and light laptop from Google comes with 100GB of cloud storage and low price tag.

Looking for a cheap PC for basic tasks like email, browsing, video playback and poking about on social media? You might want to consider Google’s latest Chromebook, an 11.6-inch laptop manufactured by Samsung.
The Chromebook rocks an 1366 x 768 resolution, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board flash storage, plus 100GB of cloud space via Google Drive. There’s USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, Bluetooth 3.0, an SD card slot and a battery that Google claims delivers 6.5 hours of use per charge. And all in a package just 2cm think and 1.1kg in weight.
You can order one today through Currys or PC World, where it costs $US249, and we're tracking down Australian details. Pretty affordable, by the sounds of it.