Montag, 6. Dezember 2004

Jet On Demand--The Vector JetCard. CitationShares offers a way to prepay for private flight time on CitationShares-operated jets. The company already had a program of fractional ownership in place which allows you to buy a share of a Citation CJ1, Citation Bravo or Citation Excel, which includes a specified number of flight hours. With its promise to guarantee availability with at least eight hours advance notice, the program is an option for people who don[base ']t want the upkeep of owning a private jet. Now CitationShares has the Vector JetCard program, which lets card owners have 25 hours of private flight time on any CitationShares jet. Instead of ownership, this program is [OE]usership[base '] [^] a two-page contract; payment by credit card, check or wire transfer; and one all-inclusive fee which starts at $84,995 entitles you to access the full fleet and enjoy the same availability promise as fractional owners. The card is an alternative for those who don[base ']t feel quite ready to commit to ownership but still want the convenience and fun of tooling around in a private jet. [Luxist] 9:21:44 PM    comment []

Julian Chilchester Furniture. Julian Chilchester does classic Regency furniture with modern twists. This Regency TV cabinet, hand-finished in aluminum leaf can be made to any size. In my opinion, it is a great piece except for the rounded bun feet on the bottom. Chilchester also does tables, bookcases, lighting and accessories. [via Apartment Therapy] [Luxist] 8:23:57 PM    comment []

Old Town, California. This Western themed town sits not too far from Yosemite National Park in California. Old Town sits on 11.68 wooded acres and is comprised of 11 Old West style buildings, including a saloon/restaurant which seats 150 and full sized riding arena. There is also a three bedroom home on the property for the owner. Old Town has served as the backdrop for several Western movies, including [base "]The Giant of Thunder Mountain[per thou] and [base "]The Legend of Jake McCain[per thou]. [Luxist] 8:23:25 PM    comment []

Yahoo! Launches Consumer Electronics Brand. Why?. Yahoo! has licensed their name to a company called Diamond Electronics to produce these rather ghastly bits of co-branded consumer electronics[~]two home theater systems and three DVD players. On the upside, most of the products are very cheap[~]on the downside, most of the products look like they were designed by someone who spent their entire life watching a black-and-white version of Yellow Submarine. It's high-falootin' brand dilution! My money says that Google will not be answering Yahoo!'s foray into consumer electronics with products of their own. Lots of pictures and descriptions from the press release follow. Bulbous plastic bits of varying chromeness ahead[~]be warned. [Gizmodo] 8:22:45 PM    comment []

Mobius 2004 Seattle. Part of the Engadget gang trekked out (on our own dime) to Seattle, WA last week for the annual Microsoft Mobius event focusing on the present and future of Windows Mobile. Not as many sneak peeks at all the new Pocket PCs and Smartphones as last time around, but Jason Gordon, Product Manager for Microsoft[base ']s Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, did put together a couple of really good days of presentations by people from Microsoft, Motorola, Orange and others about what they[base ']re working on and where all this stuff is headed (and they all had to put up with an earful of complaints and suggestions from the attendees about what they[base ']re doing wrong and should be doing right). We took some snapshots of a couple interesting items that were passed around, like some early Pocket PC Phone and Smartphone prototypes, and in this week[base ']s podcast we have interviews and more with a bunch of Mobius participants. Click here to listen. [Engadget] 7:35:30 PM    comment []

The Heretic. The Heretic is one man[base ']s vision of the ideal street bike. Donald Atchison, a mechanical engineer and road racer, was obsessed with creating a high-performance street bike and after months of prototypes and testings, he and a team of engineers developed The Heretic. Why the name [OE]heretic?[base '] The engineering team chose the name because it is a bike that fights conformity. Ecosse Moto works will only make 100 custom Heretics. Each one is stamped with its unique production number and custom paint is available. A limited number of the Heretics will be available with a titanium chassis. [Luxist] 7:29:59 PM    comment []

Ghost in the cave. Ghost in the Cave (created by KTH, Stockholm; Octaga/ Telenor, Oslo; DIST InfoMus Lab, University of Genoa; DEI, University of Padua) is an interactive collaborative game using non-verbal communication. Two teams of players can only use vocal sounds or body gestures to guide their avatar in a 3D world and to find three caves. Within each cave the players do an "emotional" task. Each team controls its avatar either by singing into a microphone or by moving in front of a video camera. Players not directly involved in controlling the avatars can participate too by influencing the music through movements. By the look of the Video, it seems silly enough for me. Via Pasta & Vinegar. [we make money not art] 7:26:57 PM    comment []

T-Mobile Sidekick II Accessories Feature NYC Peach. T-Mobile's new Sidekick II accessories catalog has a link directly to NYC Peach's website[~]they're the people who add all the Swarovski crystals to flash people's gadgets. So I had to click on the link and it looks like NYC Peach has a whole new website, so they must be selling quite a few $300 iPod conversions for people. I understand quite a few of you think that the whole crystals thing is played out (although what American could really hate rhinestones? They should be our national faux-gem), but you've got to admit, they're pretty unique. It makes me wonder, is anyone else doing customizations like that? Not more people gluing crystals or making leather cases[~]I mean something really different, like carving out custom cases from wood or something. Speaking of Hiptops, MobileWhack also mentions that AT&T has cut the price of their Sidekick clone, the 'ogo,' which can now be had for $50 after instant rebate. T-Mobile Sidekick II accessories [T-Mobile via MobileWhack] ogo page [ATTWireless] [Gizmodo] 7:24:40 PM    comment []

Yamada Beatbox / M-Bird XT-21 Reviewed. This Yamada Beatbox (previously discussed here as the M-Bird XT-21) is undoubtedly one of the more interesting looking portable audio devices released of late, and PC Review squeezed out a critique of the unit on Friday. Looks like it's even smaller than I'd imagined previously, about 1.25-inches wide, 3.4-inches tall, and a mere 0.73-inches deep[~]or 38.6 x 86.7 x 18.7 mm for those of the metric persuasion. Definitely pocket material, and this small size includes the onboard stereo speakers (one of which, when detached, reveals a USB plug.) The reviewer notes that the speakers actually sound pretty good, which is pretty cool considering they're less than half inch in diameter. Perhaps the biggest downside is the price tag: around $330 USD(!) or, in different terms, a 20GB iPod plus some accessories. We like this one, though[~]a lot. We've never used one, mind you, but it's such a raunchy design that it just works. Yamada Beatbox MP3 Player [via DAPreview] Related Future Fabulous Maycom M-Bird XT-21 Flash Player [Gizmodo] [Gizmodo] 7:24:05 PM    comment []

HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 Reviewed. HP's new Media Center PC, the Digital Entertainment Center z545, gets a glowing review from PC Mag's Bill Howard, who says it's perfectly ready to replace almost every other piece of A/V equipment in your rack[~]not just because its plethora of functions, but because of its component looks, as well. In fact, if it had a stereo amp built-in, it could be be a true home theater all-in-one box (with all the good and bad that entails). A couple of wonky interface bits linger here and there (the need to use the remote or keyboard to play a DVD, not just the front panel controls), but all-in-all it looks like a winner. HP Digital Entertainment Center z545 [PCMag] [Gizmodo] 7:22:48 PM    comment []

Gran Patron Platinum Tequila. With claims of being the smoothest sipping tequila ever produced, the Patron Spirits Company[base ']s Gran Patron Platinum Tequila is created using hand selected Waeber blue agave grown in the hills of Jalisco, Mexico. The agave is pruned, steam baked, triple distilled and aged to provide a superior taste. Each 750 ml bottle is a piece of art in itself, handmade from crystal and polished, hand signed and numbered with an etched label. The bottle is held in a handmade, collectible level quality curly maple wood box. [Luxist] 3:52:57 PM    comment []

RealFleet Amadana VP-110. It takes a certain something to be able to pull off brown, but dapper Toshiba spin-off RealFleet continues to fuze the wood-paneled elegance of the '70s with the glowing TRON interfaces of the '80s to create something that is wholly, well, probably still the '80s, actually. But nice looking, for sure, and who had portable DVD players in the '80s? Besides those Space Nazis in the time-traveling van with the sweet airbrushed Surfin' Hitler on the side? Pretty much nobody. The bamboo-topped VP-110 will be available in Japan in late January for around $1,300[~]heesh. It does have an SD slot and MPEG-4 support, but you might have to dip into the Swiss accounts for this one. amadana AC34DC (Japanese) [ImpressWatch] Related RealFleet's Amadana Office Suite [Gizmodo] [Gizmodo] 3:49:18 PM    comment []

Paint Drip Risks in Cape Town. The works above are by a terrific crew out of Cape Town, South Africa called Paint Drip Risks. You can check out more of their stuff here [Eyebeam reBlog] 1:25:19 PM    comment []

Expandable summer cabin. When Maartje Lammers and Boris Zeisser, principals of the Rotterdam-based practice 24H Architecture, bought an 18th-century fisherman's cottage in Sweden, they were told that, because of local bylaws, they could only extend the cabin by 30 square metres, to prevent over-development in a sensitive area. So they built an "accordion" house that grows in summer and retreats into its shell in winter. They designed a 320-square-foot addition to house the dining area, kitchen, and living area. One end of the addition's shell is constructed like a matchbox, with a drawer that slides in and out. The original cabin is the bedroom, and the turtle-like extension can be expanded using pulleys and a retracting steel frame mounted on roller-bearings, so that the living room is projected over the stream without breaking building laws because this part of the house has no foundations and stands clear of the ground. When the family returns south in the winter, they pull the head back in. Via The Guardian. [we make money not art] 1:16:21 PM    comment []