Dienstag, 30. November 2004

Hands-free Umbrella Perhaps there are some people who will think that holding an umbrella is not a difficult enough task to require a special hands-free model, but it makes sense if you have to carry a baby (or two , Phinnaeus? Hazel? Seriously, Julia?) in your arms in the pouring rain. It's also a lot less unsightly than one of those umbrella hats . Or the umbrella can be attached directly to your little one. The hands-free umbrella appears only to be available in Japan right now. Thanks Dennis ! - Mia [Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women] 1:23:42 PM    comment []

Soundmatters MAINstage Reviewed. Let's do some quick math together. According to the folks at soundmatters, one box + one wire = six channels of audio for right around $200. How can this be? It's even less fuss than the 5.1-into-3.1 solutions like Altec Lansing's GT5051 or the Niro 600[~]but how does this "simulated Dolby 5.1" sound? Pretty damn good, at least for watching movies, according to Noah at PBC. It's not going to compete with six true channels, but I bet for the price you're going to have a tough time beating it. Product Review: soundmatters MAINstage Surround Sound System [PowerBookCentral] [Gizmodo] 1:22:24 PM    comment []

Unison TMS600 Launched. Looks like the TMS600 flash MP3/WMA/ASF player launched recently (and quietly) in the typical 128, 256, and 512MB capacities. Rumored larger capacities (up to 2GB) have not materialized[~]yet, anyway. They're currently on Amazon for between $100 and $200. Excluding the flip design, the unit seems pretty vanilla, although it does come with a built-in digital FM transmitter if that's your thing. UnisonTech Intros Soriya TMS600 MP3 Player on Amazon [ChaitGear] Related Unison TMS600 Flip-Screen Flash Player [Gizmodo] [Gizmodo] 1:21:54 PM    comment []

"Weightless" Headset Phone. When I first saw this I was hoping the miniature revers-o-grav antigravity field generator had finally been perfected by Dr. Wiggles in his secret underground laboratory, but unfortunately they're just using "weightless" as a marketing term. Still, at just over 1 ounce it's probably the lightest cordless "landline" headset in existence, even with its onboard keypad. And at $130 it's not terribly pricey, either, considering the size. There are cheaper 2.4Ghz headset cordless phones, like the ~$100 Plantronics CT12, but most require a bulky, belt-clipped transmitter/receiver, with the headset attached by wire. Not much of a price jump to be free of such pants-sagging burdens. Fairy phone [via RedFerret] [Gizmodo] 1:21:12 PM    comment []

Ginormous PSP. We may have gotten back from Japan, but that doesn't mean the country is now in ruins (I tried, though)[~]in fact, marketing powerhouse Sony Computer Entertainment continues with pushing the PSP as planned. The latest gimmick in train stations is the installation of an 8 meter (26 foot) PSP, the same one that at the Tokyo Game Show, inside of Tokyo Station. In other news, Sony's insurance premium has quadrupled; a 26 foot PSP would easily crush anything under it, including a Nintendo DS. Impress Watch has a few more pics. Sony displays "Enormous PSP," 8 meters in length, at Tokyo Station [Game Watch] [Gizmodo] 1:19:48 PM    comment []

Video on Demand on 3G Launch. MX Telecom announced last week that they have launched a neat concept for the UK's 3G phone networks (Vodafone, 3 and Orange). Users can call a Premium Rate or non-premium short code number and access streaming video at the pre-determined charge, that can be pre-recorded or live. Streaming allegedly gets round DRM issues (I'm sure it's not that hard to hack a way of recording it). The presser release is here. Now all they need is some content people actually want to view. The "adult" industry is the obvious one - or steaming video. Viewing existing porn or chat partners. I was musing the other day that the phone chat industry might have to have a significant shake up. The great thing about phones is that the person you're paying to talk to can be ....err shall I say, not necessarily to your taste in the looks department. But in the punter's mind, they're gorgeous hunks/babes. But with video, all is revealed. It's the reverse of the old silent movie issue when it transferred to talkies. Many silent stars had awful voices and never made the cross over. With telephone porn, it'll be many of the phone stars have great voices, but but won't make the crossover. [The Mobile Technology Weblog] 1:18:51 PM    comment []

Mobile Marketing Poised to Take Off (Again). There's an interesting article on Mobile Marketing by David Fuller at Commpiled.com. Despite the problems of the industry, he claims, 2005 is poised to be the year that Mobile Marketing finally takes off. This is backed by Gartner - but don't forget they want to sell reports and saying it won't take off, won't sell any. I agree with his analysis of why that it's been slow to get traction within the marketing community; that suppliers focus on technology not marketing, that things always take longer than you think, and that it tends to be seen as a stand alone discipline. I'd add a few more; that marketers, contrary to popular opinion tend to be risk averse and conservative. And that no bona fide discipline in the agency world (advertising, Interactive, Direct Marketing, Promotional Marketing) has claimed it as its own and given it that credibility. And that the advertising world especially is scared shitless about its accountability. Mobile Marketing can only come into its own when a client can brief his agency and have mobile included as part of the response. Having specialist mobile marketing companies approach clients direct is simply confusing and muddying the water. The disciple that should be taking this on is either Promotional Marketing, Direct Marketing or both. They have the understanding of how to create customer dialogue that is still lacking in so many ad agencies, who are wedded to one way lectures via dying media. And they live with accountability as a fact of life. I certainly share David's hope that 2005 will be the year. But I've been trying to believe that every year for the last 5 and I fear we're far from mainstream yet. Apart from a competition fulfilment channel for sales promotion - a commodity driven, price sensitive and ultimately rather boring sector to be involved with - Mobile Marketing has some time in the waiting room yet. [The Mobile Technology Weblog] 1:18:18 PM    comment []

Shiny & expensive gear for your Mac Jonathan Ive must cringe every time he sees Mac accessories. Latest in the long line are: GarageKey, a mini USB keyboard. It seems to be pretty much the same as the E-Keys, but with a slightly fancier plastic finish. E-Keys=$49, GarageKey=$119. MicFlex, a USB microphone. Seems like a slightly better idea (the plastc dome thing is just a stand, it will plug straight into a laptop USB port without it). Obviously you could spend £2.25 on a PC microphone, but this does look nice, and you'd look suave singing into your laptop at the airport. It's $49.99. - Tom [Music thing] 1:17:38 PM    comment []

$391 fine for an unwanted text message. Maybe he should just be happy he didn[base ']t get sentenced to three weeks in jail like that girl in Long Island, but some would-be Smoove B in Italy managed to score a $391 fine after sending an unsolicited text message to a woman that read, [base "]Since you appeared before my eyes I can[base ']t do anything but think of you.[per thou] The woman immediately went to the police, and last week a judge found him guilty of harrassment. Damn. [Engadget] 1:17:11 PM    comment []

The MagiCook Kitchen: RFID for kids!. There[base ']s probably no better way to indoctrinate your kids into the ways of RFID than with the MagiCook Kitchen from Little Tikes, a toy kitchen where all the fake food comes embedded with RIFD tags. Swipe a plastic waffle over the built-in sensor in the fake stovetop and you[base ']ll hear a variety food and cooking-related phrases. See, RFID really is for more than just the government spying on you! [Engadget] 1:16:28 PM    comment []

Motorola's MusicMOTO MS350 MP3 phone. It[base ']s not going to replace your iPod, but apart maybe from concerns over battery life there isn[base ']t much reason to buy a standalone 128MB flash-based MP3 player when you could pick up the MusicMOTO MS350, Motorola[base ']s new 1.3 megapixel cameraphone that[base ']s designed specifically for listening to MP3s and that has 128MB of internal memory and dedicated buttons on the front so you can pause or skip tracks without having to actually flip open the phone. If you life in South Korea, that is. The MS350 was jointly developed with SK Telecom, which means it[base ']s unlikely it[base ']ll ever be sold over here, but Motorola will probably eventually make something similar for domestic consumption. [Engadget] 1:14:38 PM    comment []

Zipit Wireless Instant Messenger review. Apparently no teenagers have yet to post up their impressions, but Nigel Ballard has a review over at Wi-Fi Networking News of the Zipit Wireless Instant Messenger, a little handheld device with a full QWERTY keyboard and built-in 802.11b that does only one thing[~]lets you chat online using AIM, MSN Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. A hundred bucks seems like a lot to spend on a single-function device, but it[base ']s really meant to keep your kids from fighting over who gets to use the computer and/or keep them off of the pornonet. [Engadget] 1:13:58 PM    comment []

New major study of whether or not cellphone base stations are dangerous. Kind of scary if this really is the first major study of this as the BBC says it is, but the University of Essex is about to start doing some serious first of its kind research into the the health effects of electromagentic radiation from cellphone base stations, towers, and masts. The FCC says that ground-level exposure levels from cellphone base stations are [base "]thousands of times less than the exposure levels recommended as safe by expert organizations[per thou], but that doesn[base ']t mean you[base ']d necessarily want one mounted on the roof of your house or apartment building or anything like that since from a few feet away they definitely can be dangerous. [Via textually.org] [Engadget] 1:12:52 PM    comment []

ZappTek's presentation-to-iPod photo software. We[base ']d already shown you how to transfer presentation slides to an iPod photo, but ZappTek have helpfully come up with a piece of Mac OSX software that makes the process a good deal less manual. iPresent It converts your PowerPoint, PDF and Keynote files into images and ships them into your iPod as albums via iTunes. That[base ']s it, we[base ']re definitely getting an iPod photo and putting it in as a business expense. [Engadget] 1:11:37 PM    comment []

MERGE cellphone service in your home. For $99, MERGE can let you hook up any regular old wireline phone to make and receive calls via your cellular service. It looks like it[base ']s only compatible with some Motorola cellphones, but with MERGE, you can take advantage of all those free nighttime and weekend minutes, all while avoiding cellphone radiation, which may or may not be dangerous, depending on what the latest study says. [Engadget] 1:09:28 PM    comment []

Iraq uncensored (an exhibit). For months on end, these seven independent photographers and filmmakers have worked exclusively in Iraq documenting US troops and Iraqi civilians, resistance fighters and child laborers, imprisoned women and incarcerated youths. Using varied media and narrative styles ranging from photojournalism to first person narratives, cinema verite and found photography, Iraq Uncensored photographers present insights and subtleties beyond what daily news reporting can provide. [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:08:42 PM    comment []

Julian Lwin. Julian Lwin is a product designer who decided to do something with all those refuse bottles found curbside on recycling day. His lighting pieces creatively repurpose laundry bottles making both a social and an aesthetic impact. Posted in: Art [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:08:10 PM    comment []

Da Vinci's Ornithopter Prepares For a Test Flight. Dirak writes "Over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci conceptualized a self-powered flying machine that would achieve both lift and thrust with flapping wings alone and named it the [base "]ornithopter[per thou]. Hot on the heels of the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight, and the recent X prize, a team of scientists from University of Toronto[base ']s Institute for Aerospace have taken on this challenge to make Leonardo[base ']s dream a reality." [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:07:47 PM    comment []

I feel witty, and pretty, and capitalist. Rebel Prince posted a photo: 28 Nov 2004: "Capitalism is so gay." I found this spray-painted stenciled message on the sidewalk in the MIssion district, somewhere between Guerrero and Dolores, San Francisco. ha ha ha ha ha...... -- AP [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:07:18 PM    comment []

Genetically engineered plants detect land mines by changing color. Mark Frauenfelder: When the roots of these GMO flowers hit nitrogen dioxide (which leaches into the soil from buried land mines), the plant changes color. Link [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:06:58 PM    comment []

New York Changing. then & now photos comparing 1930s to present day [via] [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:06:37 PM    comment []

Researchers Invent Clear, Flexible Transistors. The Japan Science and Technology Agency have invented a clear, flexible transistor that can be used to make clear, flexible electronic gadgets. Has anyone seen my cell phone? [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:06:15 PM    comment []

Wireless Cities. If cities evolve, what will shape their evolution over the next few decades? Salon has an interesting article today about the use of wireless technologies as the drivers for urban change. "Urban Renewal, the Wireless Way" (subscription or brief advertisement required) looks at the realization that embedding networked technologies in urban spaces isn't dehumanizing, doesn't "eliminate geography," but can be enriching both socially and economically. Cities have long been home to dense social and information networks -- in the ethnic and artistic subcultures, in the patterns of business and commerce, in the every day communication of millions of people -- and digital tools make these networks both more accessible and more powerful. [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:04:05 PM    comment []

portable firefox, browser on a usb device. a few of ya ll sent this in, and it s handy enough that it deserves a post! portable firefox is a fully functional package of firefox optimized for use on a usb key drive. it has some specially-selected optimizations to make it perform faster and extend the life of your usb key as well as a specialized launcher that will allow most of your favorite extensions to work as you switch computers. [Eyebeam reBlog] 12:58:13 PM    comment []