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January 29, 2008
Pollen Robots Are Secretly Plotting
Japanese scientists created these spherical robots to measure pollen content as an advance warning system for allergy sufferers. Their eye color changes to reflect what kind of pollen is in the air.
What the scientists don't tell you is these pollen bots are secretly plotting a worldwide takeover by giving us false information. I'm telling you, with all those cables hanging around, and the glowing eyes, this is just a precursor to the borg. Until that rueful day, check out their real-time pollen map.
via Pink Tentacle
Posted by tranism at 2:08 AM | Permalink
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January 27, 2008
Spotify is Awesome
Spotify's goal is to create one of the worlds largest collections of music streaming on demand, all free and available anytime from anywhere.
I got my invitation to try the Beta a few days ago (thanks Bjorn) and I totally love it. Not every category or song I've searched for is on there yet but there's already a ton of stuff and it works great.
All their files are carefully ordered and tagged with metadata that makes it easy to look up any particular song. If you're looking for a title from a certain year simply include the year with the artist in your search, you could even ad an array of things making your search real specific.
The application is like I said still Beta and I'm sure there are several features to be added in the near future.
Check out their site for more information, if you ask them real nicely perhaps they shoot you an invite : )
Posted by diverseawareness at 9:48 AM | Permalink
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January 25, 2008
Solar Water Distiller
This floating Hershy's Kiss is actually a solar distiller. It can create between 1-4 pints of clean drinking water out of the sea per day. That's not really enough for one person but hey, it's solar powered. That's a lot better than what 99.9% of us are using. However the $200 is a bit exorbitant.
Posted by tranism at 12:03 PM | Permalink
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Fly Spy
A tiny microbotic fly built by researchers at Harvard University is currently on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The life-sized 'Flybot' reportedly has a wingspan of 1.2 inches and weighs a mere 0.002 ounces. What's more sinister is the project is funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, who hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies.
I will never trust another fly again.
via Slashdot
Posted by tranism at 12:22 AM | Permalink
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Visual Grenade
The Remington Eye Ball is a wireless ball equipped with 360ยบ cameras. Roll it where surveillance is required. Reminds me of Aeon Flux. It's real and being tested with police departments around the country. And no you can not buy one.
Posted by tranism at 12:14 AM | Permalink
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January 24, 2008
Aerial Stick Cams
Taking photos is fun but aren't you getting tired of the same old angles grounded by gravity. With the Flying Stick Camera, aerial shots are easier than ever. Using kinetic energy created by rolling it between your palms, the camera snaps pictures at set intervals. Sure you won't know what kind of shots were taken until it comes down but that's just half the fun. That and jumping around like an idiot.
Whole lot more at Yanko Design
Posted by tranism at 3:04 PM | Permalink
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January 22, 2008
Humanizing ASIMO
Our children's future, possibly.
Posted by tranism at 12:55 AM | Permalink
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January 18, 2008
Flashback, Tribute To Sony Robots
About 5 years ago Sony had every intention of putting one of it's robots in every home but sometime after 2006, plans changed and by 2007 the company killed off both QRIO and Aibo. This is one of the first commercials for QRIO.
UPDATE: The song is called "Love to Love You" by Dreamlab.
Posted by tranism at 3:03 PM | Permalink
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January 15, 2008
MacBook Air, Breathe It
Apple's latest darling, MacBook Air; tear dropped shaped, 0.7 inches at its thickest, 13.3" LED screen, totally wireless, multi-touch trackpad, 3 lbs, wafer thin made of aerospace aluminum. $1,799. Hit the jump for live pictures thanks to Gizmodo.
Posted by tranism at 1:39 PM | Permalink
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January 14, 2008
MacBook Air is Actually Ultra Thin
Alright here's my prediction. The latest MacBook is so thin, it's newspaper thin. Papercuts; careful now.
Okay actually it's just a clever ad by the Advertising School in New York but clever nonetheless.
Posted by tranism at 5:44 PM | Permalink
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January 10, 2008
Smarter Clothing Labels
RFID is the name of the game and pretty soon we'll see it reach mainstream in some very unexpected applications. One in particular is the ClothTAG. Meant to replace current garment care labels, the ClothTAG uses RFID technology to tell your washer and dryer what settings to use. Of course, that requires you to have RFID enabled appliances. If you don't, no worries. The RFID circuitry cleverly mimics icons found in current garment care labels so you'll still know how best to wash your undies the old fashioned way.
via Yanko Design
Posted by tranism at 1:57 AM | Permalink
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Shaken, Not Stirred
The Bello PMP concept by designer Ryan Han looks to be just another touchscreen doodad currently flooding the market but upon closer inspection, it does a lot more.
First off the simplicity in the design is quite gorgeous in an understated way. The entire surface is a touchscreen framed in a glass bezel. Finger swipes and flicks ala iPod Touch navigate across menus but the Bello ups the ante by integrating hand gestures for deeper controls.
For example when you shake the Bello, all you personal files change into little icons that can be stacked and organized. It beats having to drill down thru 2-3 steps of menus. Perhaps the coolest feature is what I call "teapotting." Simply gesture as if you're pouring tea over another Bello to initiate a file transfer. Bravo!
via Yanko Design
Posted by tranism at 1:31 AM | Permalink
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January 8, 2008
Fujitsu Laptops Might Be Plushy
At least in concept they will be. Fujitsu unveiled a trio of concepts at CES. The plush laptop caught my eye because it's brilliant. I find myself falling asleep with my laptop all the time. Would be nice if I could just nuzzle it like a mini-pillow. Of course, Fujitsu didn't explain how they would make such a product but then again that's why they call it a concept.
Reminds me of the Soft Little TV from Sony. Could they be on to something? Maybe future electronics will be all about soft pliable materials instead of the super thin hard surfaces we see emerging today.
More pics after the jump.
Posted by tranism at 11:05 PM | Permalink
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iPod Projector
The big CES electronics show in Vegas is very alluring but I sat this one out because frankly, I'm still recovering from last year's event. Too much walking and people on their Blackberries trying to sound important. I digress.
One newbie electronic I'm particularly interested in is the OptiMax-i iPod dock/projector. It's not the brightest projector at just 14 lumens nor is it the biggest outputting below VGA resolution. But it's a portable way to show movies stored on that iPod of yours. Think of it as grandma's slideshow circa 2008. You should be able to pick one up this spring for $299.
via Gizmodo
Posted by tranism at 11:25 AM | Permalink
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January 3, 2008
Keep One's Nose To The Grindstone
The ultra minimalistic Freedom Mobile Phone by designer Vadim Kibardin is gorgeous by any standard but it's just a concept for now. Specifically designed for chronic travelers who need to stay in touch, instead of paying outrageous roaming charges you just buy one of these. They come charged with 200 minutes which you can recharge at any time. Each one also has it's own number that works internationally. No SIM card or mobile contracts needed. Sound idea but what about this design?
I'm all for minimalist designs but this is one that's a little too far in. First off there's no screen so how am I supposed to know if I've dialed the correct number? Second, the ultra thin form factor is just begging for chronic hand pains. Fix those two problems and BRING IT ON!
via Yanko Design
Posted by tranism at 5:11 PM | Permalink
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January 2, 2008
iPhone App iLyric Player Is Karaoke'tastic
My friends and I are Karaoke junkies. At almost every get together the preprogrammed mics filled with thousands of songs come out and with enough booze in our systems; we get to sangin'. This brilliant iPhone application called iLyric Player streams lyrics in sync with the song playing. It even lets you rearrange the timing for group sing-a-longs.
Posted by tranism at 11:40 AM | Permalink
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