|
 |
Mittwoch, 17. November 2004 |
Smart Home Hacks: IMterview and Book Excerpt. 
Gordon Meyer's new book Smart Home Hacks was recently released and we've worked out a great deal with O'Reilly to run a chapter excerpt to let you see what you think. (O'Reilly has a few sample hacks from the book online, as well). I chatted Gordon on IM to talk about the book, home automation, and some of the reasons X10 is still a good choice for home hackers.
Read the interview and Hack 35, which explains how to automate Call Forwarding every time you leave the house, after the jump. [Gizmodo]
7:34:53 PM 
|
|
Japanese Product Design Database.  I meant to mention this earlier this week and forgot, but a post on Music Thing just reminded me of it. If you get off on Japanese product design as much as I do, you owe yourself a spin through the "Product Design Database," a showcase of different consumer products from the '70s, '80s and '90s, mostly, including everything from phones to tape recorders to scooters. I considered just trying to keep it a secret all to myself, slowly stealing a bit here and there to give you the impression that I was the constable of some great trove of retro gadgetry, but that pesky internet is keeping me honest once again.
Database Top [ResetJP via Music Thing]
Bonus Link: Scopitone Archives! [Scopitones] [Gizmodo]
7:34:19 PM
|
|
The wake up pillow.
Two Chilean engineering students have designed Buen Despertar (Good Awakening") a pillow for waking up deaf people (or those who simply don't want to hear the alarm clock).
You can programme the pillow to wake you up at any time. The pillow gently shakes your head by inflating and deflating, providing a feeling similar to hair massage.
Via Noticiasdot and Ananova.
And if this is not enough, you could also try Looph light sleeper duvet. The illuminating alarm integrated into the bedding wakes you up by slowly glowing brighter and brighter over a 15 to 20-minute period, mimicking the slow creep of ambient sunlight at dawn.
The system uses electroluminescent technology allowing textile surfaces to become a reactive light source.
P.s. Check also the " Wave Pillow" the surfers' best friends.
[Eyebeam reBlog]
7:33:53 PM
|
|
Internet for those who wouldn't approach a computer. NetObjects is a collection of everyday objects that give real time a information from the web. The collection has been conceived as an attempt to question the role of networked appliances in the domestic environment.
netObjects are designed for eight stereotypes of media consumers who are fascinated with different types of content and who seldom get online through the computer screen.
Each object has one very simple and specific function. For example, netGossip is a pot dedicated to the readers of Hello magazine and keeps them posted about the latest (mis)adventures of their favourite stars. netUmbrella, is un umbrella providing you with the weather forecasts, netFlirt is a box that stamps love messages for lonely hearts, netCuckoo is a cuckoo clock that displays news, with a switch to choose between left wing or right wing news, etc.
The project was developed by Hector Serrano (the designer of the swimmingpool lamp) and Victor Vi?a and launched last October 2003 at e-culture fair 2 in Amsterdam. The exhibition consists of eight interactive prototypes, eight photographs, and a video with testimonials of the eight characters of this story.
Via Elastico.
[Eyebeam reBlog]
7:33:27 PM
|
|
The environment. I had an epiphany on Sunday, on returning to Seattle, in my car, listening to the radio, in the environment. I don't know exactly how I came to it, or if I can explain it, but I'll try.
It's my car, I think of it that way, but it really belongs to the RIAA. I'm sure they see it that way. They've been willing to compromise to give me some of the features I want, but they still have a chain of ownership maintained all the way back to their contracts with the artists who wrote and perform the music they let radio stations play in my car.
I'm pretty sure you can't be heard in my car over radio unless you have a deal with the RIAA.
Once you think in terms of the environment, you can see that the times you step outside the environment are few and far between. I stopped in Sam Goody's yesterday and bought a CD of 27 Beatles hits for $12.99. The environment. I was coming home from a movie at a downtown shopping mall, Pacific Place, every store part of the environment, and of course the movie, The Incredibles -- totally environmental.
When you view things this way, you see how totally extrordinary the plain old PC is. It broke the environment. Hollywood didn't get it. Even the Internet was allowed to blossom, outside the environment. And what we've been struggling with, ever since, is Hollywood wanting to get their hooks into this space too, so we can be in the environment, safe, warm, etc. [Scripting News]
5:41:29 PM
|
|
Novatel Ovation: VoIP Over 3G.  Novatel Wireless is releasing a new set of products called "Ovation" that act as Voice-over-IP systems for home and small offices—but don't use broadband connections. Instead, they route traffic onto European 3G networks, which may not be fast compared to cable, DSL, or fiber, but offers enough throughput to run voice traffic over the network, allowing customers who can't get a faster solution to still use a VoIP solution. It's not the sort of products that are going to excite many of you—especially if you don't live in Europe—but it provokes a wistful sigh to think about nationwide wireless data networks that are cheap enough to use as data pipes for voice. We'll get there soon enough, I guess, but I'm getting antsy.
Novatel's Desktop 3G Marvel [GigaOm] [Gizmodo]
5:39:39 PM
|
|
Scott eVest Hidden Cargo Pants Reviewed.  $110 teflon pants better be pretty amazing, especially if they're khakis. The Scott eVest Hidden Cargo Pants aren't quite perfect, but according to Pocket Now's review, they almost justify the price. 12 hidden pockets make carrying around lots of gear pretty easy—especially since each pocket is sewn to keep bulges to a minimum (sort of an anti-Cheney technology).
I'll pass for now—I'm not real big on khaki, even if it's extra geeky—but there is a black version coming out in the near future, they say.
SCOTTeVEST's Hidden Cargo Pants [PocketNow] [Gizmodo]
4:21:14 PM
|
|
PSP Under Glass.  In preparation of their December launch, Sony has placed four working PSPs inside Shinjuku station—the busiest train stop in Tokyo. Each of the four units are behind plexiglass and are guarded by three men who encourage passers-by to keep a respectable 20-centimeter distance.
Two million commuters pass through the station each day, they say. It should encourage them that Sony has at least four working PSPs so far.
Sony PSP in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo [3Yen] [Gizmodo]
4:20:47 PM
|
|
Moon Buggy For Sale.  Remember Diamonds Are Forever? The 1971 Sean Connery comeback as 007 after we were collectively tortured by George Lazenby's ineffectual performance in On Her Majesty's Secret Service? The film made into an object of ire in Wichita by the line, "Well, if we blow up Kansas the world may not hear about it for years?" (Although we didn't hear about the furor until 1976). If you do, you probably also remember the moon buggy—the scene itself may not be all that memorable, but the buggy appeared in all the promotional material and is widely recognizable. Built by the infamous custom car guy Dean Jeffries in his California workshop, the buggy is expected to go for some $50,000 to $75,000.
James Bond Moon Buggy to Be Auctioned [Jalopnik] [Gizmodo]
4:20:05 PM
|
|
Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmet Roundup.  Over the past several months, motorcycle helmet manufacturers have begun introducing Bluetooth equipped helmets, allowing for improved communication while straddling your hog on the open road. Whether you intend to talk on your Bluetooth-equipped phone or just chat with your passenger (or, presumably, other nearby bikers) a Bluetooth mic + speakers in your helmet is bound to make the process a whole lot easier. Bikes in the Fast Lane brings us this roundup of the five helmets announced so far, including the popular Momo Fighter (pictured) with Bluetooth addon. Looks like they're mostly hitting the market in the first quarter of 2005, with price tags up to $1,000 or more.
Blutooth Motorcycle Helmet Roundup [via Blueserker] [Gizmodo]
4:19:06 PM
|
|
What Mozilla Means. Mozilla - Wikipedia: After uncovering the truth about ping, I was determined to unearth the mystery of another engimatic Internet name: Mozilla. Wikipedia took all the fun out of it.
The name Mozilla had been used internally for the Netscape Navigator web browser from its beginning. It was a contraction of Mosaic-killer, referring to the hope that the project would unseat Mosaic as the web's most popular browser, along with the name of the fictional monster Godzilla. [Gadgetopia]
4:17:05 PM
|
|
© Copyright 2005 Joerg Rheinboldt.
|
|
|
