Robotic brain 'learns' skills from the internet

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28936436

Transparent solar cells for windows and other see-through surfaces

http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/solar-energy-that-doesnt-block-the-view/

NASA creates 3D printer capable of using different alloys on the same item

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/08/23/nasa-just-blasted-through-one-huge-3d-printing-tec.aspx

Soon Europe Might Not Need Any New Power Plants

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/24/3474972/ubs-europe-solar-batteries-evs/#

Lawmakers, Homeowners Fight Rules Saying Solar is Too Ugly to Install

http://www.nationofchange.org/lawmakers-homeowners-fight-rules-saying-solar-too-ugly-install-1408715620

Stanford scientists develop inexpensive water splitter that runs on ordinary AAA battery

Potential!

http://webmaster.stanford.edu/report_stage/news/2014/august/splitter-clean-fuel-082014.html

Major Court Ruling Clears the Way to Let Renewables Into the Grid

http://www.nationofchange.org/major-court-ruling-clears-way-let-renewables-grid-1408550263

Nicholas Negroponte: A 30-year history of the future

http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_negroponte_a_30_year_history_of_the_future

Nanotechnology-based next generation memory nears mass production

http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=6188

A self-organizing thousand-robot swarm

http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2014/08/self-organizing-thousand-robot-swarm

Could hemp nanosheets topple graphene for making the ideal supercapacitor?

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/acs-chn071614.php

Eco-friendly 'pre-fab' self-assembling nanoparticles could revolutionize nano manufacturing

http://www.kurzweilai.net/eco-friendly-pre-fab-self-assembling-nanoparticles-could-revolutionize-nano-manufacturing?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b2fe40865d-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-b2fe40865d-281903081

Your Services Are No Longer Required - The Coming "Great Idleness"

Robots and A.I. will likely eliminate most jobs over the next two decades. Marshall Brain wrote about it in 2003, I think, suggesting a universal basic income based on advertising to ensure everyone can survive joblessness:

http://marshallbrain.com/robotic-nation.htm

Here are more ideas:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/12/1321054/-Your-Services-Are-No-Longer-Required-The-Coming-Great-Idleness?detail=email

Siri’s Inventors Are Building a Radical New AI That Does Anything You Ask

http://www.wired.com/2014/08/viv/

Aquion Energy’s battery factory & the future of solar storage

http://gigaom.com/2014/07/20/behind-the-scenes-of-aquion-energys-battery-factory-the-future-of-solar-storage/

IBM Develops a New Chip That Functions Like a Brain

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/science/new-computer-chip-is-designed-to-work-like-the-brain.html

Will You Lose Your Job to a Robot?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/07/upshot/will-you-lose-your-job-to-a-robot-silicon-valley-is-split.html?_r=0

IBM launches functioning brain-inspired chip

http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-launches-functioning-brain-inspired-chip?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7650af8d8d-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-7650af8d8d-281903081

New Technology at MIT Turns Solar Heat into 85% Energy Efficient Steam

http://www.nationofchange.org/new-technology-mit-turns-solar-heat-85-energy-efficient-steam-1407417576

This Chinese company can 3D print 10 houses in a day

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20141604-25394.html

The result looks clunky and plain right now...but imagine where the technology will be in five, ten years. It may become common practice when buying a new home to tear down the old house and build exactly what you want, rather than live with someone else's custom home.

Declining intelligence in old age linked to visual processing

This is probably why playing computer games helps keep your brain young:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/cp-dii073014.php

No-power Wi-Fi connectivity could fuel Internet of Things reality

http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/08/04/no-power-wi-fi-connectivity-could-fuel-internet-of-things-reality/

Suing Obama in Federal Court is Likely to Fail Miserably

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/31/1318130/-Turns-out-that-lawsuits-have-rules?detail=email

Elon Musk's Idea for a 14K mph Pneumatic Railroad Completely Open Source

http://www.nationofchange.org/wunderkind-elon-musk-pneumatic-railroad-14000-mile-hour-travel-completely-open-source-1406900207