Cameramail

Cameramail is a ongoing project run by Kyle Van Horn where he attaches a disposable camera to a piece of card with the message "Attention Postal Workers - Please Take A Photo Before You Pass This Along". He gives credit for the idea to P22 saying "I saw Daniel Farrell and Richard Kegler of the website P22 document an impressive number of odd forms of correspondence between their two addresses in upstate New York". He's had quite a bit of success and you can see some photos on his website and also give some tips if you want to try it yourself.

- Camermail

[Via. memepool & Verba]

The Net is Vast and Infinite

Fancy the idea of extending the internet into the real world? John Geraci did. Grafedia is a way of creating hypertext links as graffiti on surfaces. The idea is you write a word in blue underlined text and then other people can send a email on certain phones or regular email to 'word@grafedia.net' to receive a image linked to that word. I really like this idea, so i went and created the word 'freeyourmind', now i just need to have the guts to write it places :P

- Grafedia

[Via. Wired]

Sita Sings the Blues

Sita Sings The Blues is a really nice set of short animations created by Nina Paley based on the Hindu story of the Ramayana. The style is great, and its all set to old scratchy record music from 1929. For those of you who don't know the Ramayana there is a synopsis on Nisa's website.

- Sitayana: Sita Sings the Blues
- Torrents to the 4 Parts

[Via. Boing Boing]

"The system goes on-line August 4th, 1997."

After being nurtured for 22 years, Cycorp is about to connect its AI named Cyc (pronnounced "psych") to the net. The key difference between this AI and its predesessors is that Cyc appears to have 'common sense'. It has been taught how to relate facts to other in its database, differentiate words with multiple definitions through the use of context and make deductions about things it has never learned about. Once online people will be able to contribute to its knowledge by asking it questions and correcting it if its wrong. Cycorp hopes that by opening up Cyc to the internet, it should be able to accellerate its learning to a stage of critical mass where most questions will be correctly handled by Cyc. There are also further plans to have it trawl the internet, and eventually connect it to web cams and other sensory equipments around the globe, beginning to learn for itself. Cycorp has pledged to make access to Cyc free, allowing other AI developers to tap into its stored knowledge.

It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

- Cycorp
- Whatever happened to machines that think?

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]

Uncle Rico's time machine

Someone is selling a replica of the Napoleon Dynamite time machine on ebay.

Your friends will TOTALLY TRIP when they walk in see this sitting on YOUR table!! And they can not go out and buy one. This is a SWEET ONE-OF-A-KIND nearly exact replica! Complete with T-Handle, Headpiece, and One LARGE Crystal INCLUDED for Maximum Time-Travelazation.* The analog year counter is even STUCK on 1982!

- EBAY: NAPOLEON DYNAMITE STYLE TIME MACHINE MODULUS UNCLE RICO

[Via. Boing Boing]

Adobe Macromedia Takeover Translated

Daring Fireball has a translation of the press release by Adobe about its recent aquisition of Macromeda from PR shpeil to regular english.

What are the benefits of the combined product lines?

"Many of our customer segments are complementary and in many cases customers in those segments are using products from both companies. The combined company will be able to offer increased productivity through streamlined workflow and tighter integration. However, until the close of the transaction, the companies will continue to operate their respective businesses as usual."

Once Freehand, Fireworks, and GoLive are killed, customers will have the benefit of not having any competing apps to choose from, and we benefit from not having any competitors.

- Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Adobe’s ‘FAQ’ Regarding Their Acquisition of Macromedia

[Via. Daring FireballK and wazza]

Inflatable Jet-Ski

The Aquaglider is a inflateable jet-ski for designed for kids that can carry up to 110lb's and has a rechargeable electric motor.

- Aquaglider

[Via. Gizmodo]

Avoiding the Format Wars

Sony and Toshiba are currently in disucssions over the next generation DVD media to aviod it becoming VHS/Beta redux. Sony, responsible for the Blu-Ray discs said:-

n order to offer users with a nicer environment, we are continuing talks with various companies concerning next-generation formats like. However, because of the influence next-generation formats have throughout the industry, we current cannot comment about company names, contents of the talks, or their circumstances.

While Toshiba who are responsible for HD-DVD said:-

We cannot clarify any details yet. There is the viewpoint that having a single format is better for users. Nothing concrete has been decided.

- Sony and Toshiba, first step towards “next-generation format integration”?

[Via. Gizmodo]

A Upgrade to classic Aussie Attire

In a idea that definetly goes into the 'why wasnt this done before', Reef have made a pair of thongs with a bottle opener on the bottom of them.

- Reef

[Via. Gizmodo]

BattleBoard 3D

This is another concept along similar lines to the 3D Magic Story Cube. BattleBoard 3D is a augmented reality game by Kaj Grønbæk, Sune Kristensen, Bjørn W. Nielsen and Troels Lange at Interactive spaces. Inspired by the holographic chess in Star Wars Ep IV, and using LEGO knights as characters, the gameplay is based loosely on Stratego, but with the battles being fought by virtual characters seen on the playing table through augmented reality goggles.

- BattleBoard 3D

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]

The Line House Project

More stuff from Milan, this time its the 'Line House Project' by Stone Designs. Its a human habitat created from one continuous line of orange pipe 60m long.

- Stone Designs

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]

Pizza cutters to go to war with

Pizza cutters to go to war with
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2005/04/pizza_cutters.html

Pizza cutters are pretty handy things to have, but these things look like they should have been in se7en or a Trent Reznor video. Created by Frankie Flood using industrial processes such as stamping, machining and powdercoating, these pizza cutters "seek to demolish the sterile conformity of mass produced objects and represent the stylistic and flamboyant embellishment of groups who live on the fringe of popular culture." I hope they cut pizza too.

- Frankie Flood

[Via. Shiny Shiny]

Whisk

Whisk is a modified bicycle that is apparently as stable as a bike, and won a finalist position at the 7th annual Taiwan R&D bicycle design competition in 2003.

Combining the agility of a unicycle with the stability of a bicycle, Whisk is the ultimate inter-city commuting vehicle…Maneuverable enough to ride on crowded city sidewalks and small enough to carry on to mass transit or store in the trunk of a car.

- Lift

[Via. The Red Ferret]

More features than I can be bothered counting

This is kinda nifty, especially for people (like me) constantly needing to fiddle with stuff at the back of their PC. The Sunbeam 20-in-1 Superior Panel is packed with features (20 I guess, although I didn't bother to count them). Nifty.

The high speed card reader/writer features support for CF Type I/II, Micro Drive, MS, MS Pro, MS Duo Pro, MS Duo, SD, MMC, & SM all at up to a 480Mbits/sec transfer speed. Fully active card slots allow the transfer of data between different types of card media.

An array of I/O ports adds even more convenience to the Superior Panel. High speed USB2.0, IEEE 1394 Firewire, Audio, Video, and even SATA connectivity offer endless interface possibilities.

- LINK

[Via. The Red Ferret]

Attack of the Tetris People

Wazza posted this a while back, its a group of people singing video game music, pretty cool.

- nintendo themes, a cappella (redefined)

[Via. Wonderland]

Berkely Laptop Theif Smackdown 2005

This is a rather sacarey video where a laptop theif at Berkeley Uni is having the serious consequences of his actions described to him.
- Video (.torrent)

[Via. Boing Boing]

Dance Like No One Is Watching

If you thought DDR skill had been taken as far is it could go, think again. This is a video of a kid playing DDR on hardest, and juggling three pins at the same time.

- Video
- Mirror

[Via. Boing Boing]

Homestar with no Strongbad

I have to admit, this thing looks pretty cool before the thing is even turned on. The Homestar created by Takayuki Ohira projects a galaxy of over 10,000 points onto your ceiling at about 0.01% of the cost of a planetarium projector.

- Homestar (Japanese)

[Via. Engadget]

Sony to sanction MMOG auctions

Sony is planning to set up a sanctioned game artefact auction site to allow players of its MMOG's (Massively Multilayer Online Game) such as 'Everquest' a 'Star Wars Galaxies' to legally trade items. They will gurantee payment and transfer and in return will take a cut of the sale price.
- Sony Gets Real on Virtual Goods

[Via. Boing Boing]

More Turn-Table-Tables

This table was on show at the Milan Furniture Fair and was created by Luciano.


[Via. Gizmodo]

8-Bit Controller Music

Jeff Hoefs has modified a Nintendo PowerPad and PowerGlove to create two unique MIDI controllers to make electronic music. This is pretty cool, pity theres no video/audio links.

- Nintendo controllers as musical instruments

[Via. Gizmodo]

The Keboard Car

Someone has a lot of spare time and broken keyboards

- The Keyboard Car

[Via. Engadget]

Sketchel

Sketchel is a concept created by 'design is kinky' and 'jeremyville' where artists and designers create a one off design to be placed on a series of over 200 satchels that will then be put on display.

- Sketchel

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]

Cell Phone Kandy

The Cellular Bracelet is covered in small light up beads that flash to alert you when you have a incoming call. Pretty handy I think.

- Cellular Bracelet

[Via. Shiny Siny]

Friggin Lasers

Another amazing advance in dental technology. Introducing the IGIA LazerWhite Tooth Whitening System, the "World's First and only laser toothbrush". It uses a special gel which when a laser on the toothbrush head hits it creates oxygen bubbles that whiten and clean your teeth.

- IGIA LazerWhite Tooth Whitening System

[Via. The Red Ferret]

Just pull the string and... er.

To quote the Red Ferret:-

"The Muji Wall Mounted CD player. Yanking the string will either play a CD or rip the unit from the wall with a strangely ritualistic Japanese sound."

- Muji Wall Mounted CD Player

[Via. The Red Ferret]

If you build it they will come

Behrokh Khoshnevis, and engineering professor, has created a machine that could eventually lead to automated house building. The device extrudes a ribbon of concrete at 5" per second, at which speed a larger planned machine could make a 2,000 square house in just 24 hours. While this machine would only build the walls, Khoshnevis feels that automating electrical and plumbing components would be easy. "Modern robotics can achieve tight tolerances and very high speeds. So having segments of tubing robotically inserted, put atop one another, and welded together as the wall goes up is really a no-brainer."

- The Whole House Machine

[Via. The Red Ferret]

The Brick

Ok, this seems to be a product with limitless fun applications. Its a fake foam house brick. To quote a customer

Nearly gave my mate a heart attack when I threw this at him, best party trick in years. Great for stress relief - just launch it at the nearest window.
- Ben Thatcher, York

- The Brick

[Via. The Red Ferret]

Android 8 Toy Design Contest

Android 8, online purveyors of designer toys is running a competition to create a mascot for them. The winning submission will be produced and distributed by them. More info at JoshSpear.com

1) One design entry per person.
2) Accepted file formats: jpg, ai, and psd.
3) We will contact the winning submission. However, other submissions may receive feedback based on potential for possible production in the future.
4) Winners will be chosen by Android 8's curator, and Josh Spear.
5) We will not accept any submissions later than June 1st, and the winners will be chosen that day.
* Send All Submissions to glen@android8.com

- Android 8

[Via. Josh Spear]

Interview with Ray Kurzweil

Theres a interview up from Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine with Ray Kurzweil, the author of 'The Age of Spiritual Machines'. The man invented optical character recognition, cured his own diabetes and is now planning to live forever. Someone make it into an audiobook for me :)
- Thought Experiments
- KurzweilAI

[Via. Boing Boing]

Explicit Content Only

Evan Roth has created a remix (of sorts) of N.W.A's 'Straight outta compton'. He's called it the Explicit Content Only version and basically its the album edited down to just the explicit lyrics. Pretty Damn Funny

- N.W.A. Explicit Content Only

[Via. Boing Boing]

Electronic Cities

Electronic Cities is designed to be a electronic learning environment covering the topics of 'Augmented Reality', 'Hybrid Architecture', 'Public/Private Space', 'Playing in the Streets' and 'Patterns of Sustainability'. There are some very good articles on these emerging technologies.

- Electronic Cities

[Via. Future Feeder]

Katamari Damacy 2

Katamary Damacy 2 screenshots are starting to emerge, displaying features such as cooperative play and split screen. Soooo can wait!! Also found some really cool fan art of a realistic Katamari, and a strange image of a chick running away from a katamari:)

- More Screenshots from Worthplaying
- Scribble Works Gallery

[Via. Kotaku]

Holgraphic Media

Move over HD and BlueRay DVD, here comes holographic media. InPhase has just announced that it will release a holographic disc drive with 300GB discs based on a prototype that it displayed earlier this year. The company also says that it should have 1TB discs available by 2009.

- InPhase Press Release

[Via. Engadget]

Sick of QWERTY?

The DX-1 Input System by Ergodex is a keyboard with a fully customizable layout. It comes with 25 stick on keys (with more keys available) which you can configure to perform any function you want. Not so good for typing, but would be great for gaming and shortcut keys. And at $150 its not too expensive. Game On!

- Ergodex

[Via. Engadget]

Tetris Shelves

In a novel interpretation of modular design, Brave Space Design have made 'Tetris Shelves'. I would totally be up for owning a set of these, but unfortunatly the company wants $7k for them. Time for some cheap knockoffs (im sure they never paid Nintendo for the shape rights :)

- Brave Space Design

[Via. Gizmodo]

Turn-table-table

Create Digital Music has done a short article on two custom made tables for DJ's. The first is DUAL Furniture's 'Floating Coffin', designed to hang from the ceiling to avoid rumble. The second is the DJ Kreemy Table from Plushpod. Both are stupidly expensive :P

- DUAL Furniture
- DJ Kreemy Table

[Via. Gizmodo]

Run Rabbit Run

Collaborators from the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and some French scientists have created the first bipedal robot that can balance itself without the use of big clunky feet. The robot can walk and run, and catches its balance if you nudge it forward just like a real human.

- Robot walks, balances like a human

[Via. Gizmodo]

She's a Rainbow

Color Combos is a site designed to test various colour combinations for web development. They also include a few saved combinations for the colour impaired.

- Color Combos

[Via. Life Hacker]

Potty Mouth

Potty Mouth is kind of a T-Shirt Hell for babies, self described as "Punk Rock Clothing for Punk Rock Babies.".

- Potty Mouth

[Via. Cool Hunting]

Ellen Feiss

Not sure how many of you have heard of Ellen Feiss. She was one of the many people that appeared in Apple's 'Switch' campaign a few years ago. Anyway as soon as the advertisement aired there were heaps of comments popping up that she was stoned. The official line from Ellen was that she was on "allergy medicine". Anyway another add of hers has surfaced for the powerbook G4.

- EllenFeiss.net
- The new video
- The original add
- All the 'Switch' adds, including some by Will Ferrel

[Via. Geek Technique]

Mentat Wiki

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains. The stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion." - Pider De Vries, Dune.

The Mentat Wiki is a collection of techniques to become a better thinker. Some of the topics covered include smart drugs, memory techniques, mental math, critial thinking and other relevant topics. I think ill have to come back and check out this page in more detail, if I remember :)
- Mentat Wiki

[Via. 43 Folders]

Pimp My Cart

In yet another addition to the 'Lets rice up everything' campaign that seems to be running, radio show Lex & Terry have pimped up a shopping cart and given it to a homeless person. The lucky winner of the $3000 shopping cart was "Ja".

The Pimped up cart consists of:

AM/FM/Cassette Radio and speakers

Video screen w/ TV tuner

GPS Tracking

Refridgerator/warmer

10" Rubber wheels

Can crusher

Slide out seat

Alarm w/strobe lights

81 Neon and L.E.D. Lights

Tent

Solar Powered battery charging system

Deep cycle battery- Optima Yellow top

- Pimp My Cart

[Via. The Red Ferret]

Pumpabike

Well.. this is definitely an unusual transportation device. The Pumpabike is a device that allows you to travel at up to 16 knots over water at least half a meter by jumping up and down on it. There is a video on the site that shows it working.

- Pumpabike
- Video

[Via. The Red Ferret]

Posting Comments

Some of you have commented on the way the new site handles comments. If you don't want to sign up for a blogger account (understandable), you can either post comments anonymously, or you can select 'Other'. 'Other' allows you to put in any name you'd like and a URL (if desired).

Hope this makes life easier.

More from Japan

Security company SECOM has released "SECOM School Security" a system which monitors kids using RFID tags and uses robots to patrol school properties. If the robots spot someone suspiscious they can "'scare' suspicious people by fast movements, light and smoke."

- SECOM

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]

Afterwords

Afterwords is a collaboration between Randy Moss, Michael Evan, Steven Berardelli, Game Kean and Chad Urso McDaniel. As people walk into the installation a display presents a stylized image of them and then displays a single line of text floating above their head. People can move around and their image will move around with them, the text trailing along as well. Interaction with the text is possible by touching it, standing still or running away from it. There are various images and movies available on the site.

- Afterwords

[Via. We Make Money Not Art]