New Products

The startup Dovie, Inc., has come into existence to give you one thing: dovie.tv—an enterprise-grade on-line video platform with built-in HTML5-ready players, Flash-free playlist embeds, analytics and advertising. The SaaS platform, says Dovie, offers a video control cloud with enough power to launch an on-line TV show, channel or network from a desktop computer, and it is simple and affordable enough for almost anyone to use. That power is complemented by the platform's tools that focus on making on-line video management and monetization accessible to everyone from mom-and-pop shops, to mid-market entrepreneurs, to enterprise-level professionals. Dovie also comes plugged in to major ad networks and ready-to-run CPM-optimized pre-roll video spots. Commercial content is welcome and doesn't require video producers to relinquish any rights to use the system.

dovie.tv

The new PC maker, Recompute, is now offering Linux-based, OS-free and Windows-based desktop computers that offer a fresh approach to sustainability during the entire product life cycle. The company's approach is based on an intensive study exploring the most sustainable way to produce, use and dispose of PCs. Surprisingly, Recompute cases are manufactured of (recyclable and renewable) corrugated cardboard and treated only with nontoxic glues and flame retardant. To avoid the waste of electronic components that the user doesn't need, only memory, power supply and a hard drive come standard, while the eight USB ports allow the user to accessorize as needed. The design philosophy further allows for easy dismantling and sustainable local recycling, avoiding the typical fate of hard-to-handle e-waste from PCs: exporting it to poor countries where its processing does tremendous damage to people and the environment. Recompute states that its goal is to change how we deal with our dead computers and hopes that others will follow their lead. The effort makes you wonder why more Linux gurus aren't in charge.

www.recomputepc.com

Raising the next generation of creative geeks is serious business, and since Dr Spock never wrote the definitive guide to geek parenting, we're on our own. If Spock were alive, he might hand you David Erik Nelson's new book Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids. Snip is a book of geeky, do-it-yourself crafts and toys that one can make for $10 or less. It includes illustrated, step-by-step instructions for 24 projects, such as water-powered bottle rockets, an oversized joy buzzer that (safely) administers a 100-volt jolt, booming thunderdrums made from salvaged x-ray film, a cigar-box synthesizer, a powerful muzzleloader that shoots marshmallows, homemade board games and more. As the readers build, they learn the basics of carpentry, sewing, circuitry and soldering. No technical experience is required, and the projects won't break the bank.

www.nostarch.com