Top contenders: Apple TV ($100), Roku HD ($60), Roku LT ($50)

Once a fringe activity for the geeky set, online video streaming is now officially mainstream, thanks in large part to the omnipresence of Netflix on nearly all Internet-connected entertainment devices. But with so many options now available, what's the best solution -- be it for Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, Amazon, or any of the myriad other online video sources?

As with anything in real life, there isn't one simple, straightforward answer that works for everyone. But we've created a set of different recommendations that should work for nearly anybody, based upon your individual priorities.

The best news for anyone shopping in 2012? Prices for excellent media-streaming devices now start at just $50, with plenty of other great options (including brand-new Blu-ray players) at less than $120.

Roku: Best solution for less than $60

Forget $100 -- $50 is the new entry-level price point for streaming video. The Roku LT is the only product at this price point, but it's an enthusiastic Editors' Choice. With built-in Wi-Fi and free control apps available on iOS and Android (and, if you're old-fashioned, a regular old remote), the Roku LT delivers Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, and hundreds of other st... [Read more]

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The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that the total global footprint of commercial projects certified under its LEED Green Building program has now surpassed a staggering two billion square feet. What is even more impressive is that an additional seven billion square feet of LEED certified properties are currently in the pipeline.

Read the rest of LEED-Certified Buildings Now Cover Two Billion Square Feet Worldwide

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Post tags: global footprint, green buildings, leed certification, LEED green building program, LEED platinum, U.S. Green Building Council, usgbc

If you want to wind up a building scientist, you might mention the topic of insulation.  Better yet, mention the advent of expanded cork insulation in the United States from Portugal-based Amorim Isolamentos.  The insulation is made from leftover material from cork bottle stopper production which is heated and sliced into boards, according to Alex Wilson of BuildingGreen.  Thus, the insulation is rapidly renewable and entirely natural.

Cork insulation is typically installed by wrapping exterior walls with several inches of the material.

Amorim Isolamentos is setting up business in North America, but Wilson estimates that the price for R19 of material could be roughly $5.50 per square foot.  Wilson also indicates that the material has good sound-control properties, insulates to R3.6 per inch, and could be “one of the greenest building materials anywhere.“  Sounds fascinating!

[+] The Greenest Insulation Material — Expanded Cork? by BuildingGreen.

Credits: Amorim Isolamentos.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. EnGuard Recycled PET Batt Insulation
2. Suberra: Durable Recycled Cork Slabs
3. Natural Wool Insulation from Oregon

I love the idea behind the GO Recycle bin. Most countries follow a color-coded system for sorting the trash. However sometimes you can get confused, despite pictures and explanations on the bin. So what better way than explicitly fashioning the bin lid to let you know what goes where. As the designers put it, “intending to revolutionize the recycling industry and make it consumer-friendly, the idea of the GO bin is make recycling fun and convenience.”

Designer: GOODSSPASSION

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(Iconic Rubbish Bin was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Related posts:

1. Iconic 70′s Desk Makes a Comeback
2. Rubbish Table!
3. Concrete Rubbish Bin

Dezeen archive: this week we featured a skyscraper with an algae skin, so we thought we’d bring you all the projects involving algae we’ve published on Dezeen. See all the stories »

See all our archive stories »

New York residents are generally pretty savvy about waste management companies' rules for putting out recycling—glass and plastics in transparent bags, newspaper and cardboard bundled—and I remember seeing (somewhat baffling) rows of recycling bins in Tokyo, but it requires diligence on a broad scale. Hence, statistics such as: "The average Dane generates about 624 kg of waste per year [but only] 12% of the daily waste is recycled."

Cause for concern though this may be, the situation also presents an opportunity. Denmark's largest waste mangement company Vestforbrænding is partnering with Join.dk to hold an international design competition to motivate Danes to "Sort Your Trash Can."

The brief? To create a "version of a user-friendly sorting-can that fits the private Danish household." Entries will be judged on five criteria: behavior change, design communication, flexibility, context and functionality.

...citizens are not just citizens. They are a collection of very diverse people with different needs. There are large families and small families, single people, older people and some with special needs. Some people need big bins, others need small bins. Some citizens would like to have their garbage cans out of sight, while others want to flash their environmental awareness. Some want their trash out by the garage, others want it right outside the kitchen window.

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year's Core77 Design Awards 2012! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

The NuBone Supplements Packaging is designed with the user experience in mind to improve the visual and data communication between the consumer, product and its users. The new fitted packaging is plastic free, recyclable, and enriches the product selection process.

How did you learn that you had been recognized by the jury?
We learn that we had been awarded the prize by the jury while we were watching the live-broadcast on the announcement day.

What's the latest news or development with your project?
Our project, NuBone, in addition to the Core77 Design Award it has also been recognized by the Dieline Packaging Competition as a Best Packaging Award under Pet category. We are currently looking for partners to incorporate the winning package design for dog nutrition products in the market.

What is one quick anecdote about your project?
We had done numerous consumer validation tests as part of the design process. During the tests, we had noticed that consumers tend to gravitate toward our package first among the many product on the shelves. The result of these observations strongly convinced us of NuBone's potential to improve user-product interaction.

What was an "a-ha" moment from this project?
We were both surprised by the low value that the packaging of dog nutritional bones were perceived among other pet products. We realized that there would be a huge potential to improve, and increase its value through the design of its packaging.We wanted the bone to speak for itself of its ingredients and flavors. Intrigued by the bone's relationship with its source, we have put together visually the bone alongside of the raw ingredients (i.e. in meats, poultry, and fish), and then everything just clicked for us. The meat and the drumstick were extremely communicated our message seamlessly. We then applied the same concept to rest of the flavors.

Ben Rattray's lifelong plan was to be an investment banker. That is until 2007, when his brother came out of the closet and he decided to change the world.

"The idea was to build every possible tool for nonprofits, social fundraising, skills based volunteerism, a blog network…really big, unobtainable objectives," said Rattray who, at 22-years-old, founded Change.org. "We failed."

About This Series

Companies that have gone on to great success made destiny-altering decisions along the way. Read more about their course corrections--and alternate endings--in The Pivot.

Rather than giving up, he pivoted. Instead of attempting to provide every technological service to anyone trying to make an impact, the business narrowed its focus, developing on online platform for concerned citizens to start petitions. And he started to see real changes.

The company’s staff ballooned from 2 to 140. It opened eight worldwide offices, with staff that would work with users to help them run social movements. Membership climbed by about 2 million a month to 15 million.

More importantly, the 15,000 petitions initiated monthly started creating social changes. Bank of America dropped its $5 debit card fee after more than 300,000 people signed a petition started by a 22-year-old Molly Katchpole. The Sanford neighborhood watchman who allegedly shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was arrested and charged after his parents gathered more than 2 million signatures. South Africa convened a task force to address rapes meant to turn lesbians straight after citizens organized to protest and collected 171,000 signatures.

Every week, dozens of petitions lead to these types of victories. And none of them would have been created without the pivot that changed the world.

[Thumbnail: Flickr user Enrique Dans]

with a single architectural component, the project reinterprets the notion of accommodation as it can be totally independent technically; installation can be non-permanent and several hypercubus' can be grouped into clusters.