Technology

Technology

Dec23

Awesome vending machine with transparent touchscreen

Posted in: Technology

This vending machine prototype by Japanese manufacturer Sanden features a 65″ transparent HD touchscreen on the front of the machine (video via DigInfo TV). A customer can see through the display in order to look at the products within, while simultaneously using the touchscreen to interact with the machine. The vending machine also has a camera that can determine the customer’s age and gender in order to display ads targeted at their demographic. via DVICE photos via DigInfo TV

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec2

The Armed with Technology Tea Infuser

Posted in: Technology

Cute…

The Armed with Technology Tea Infuser is a long-armed retro-looking robot that clasps onto the inside of your tea cup and steeps your loose leaf tea. via Doobybrain.com

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec2

Urban Umbrella by Young-Hwan Choi and Agencie Group

Posted in: Technology

This is great a great idea and beautifully executed at the same time:

The Urban Umbrella is a replacement for the ubiquitous sidewalk shed, the ugly steel and wood scaffolding that covers sidewalks around construction zones. Designed by Young-Hwan Choi and New York-based Agencie Group, Urban Umbrella is constructed from recycled steel and translucent plastic and is designed to make covered sidewalks airier and generally more pleasant. The first public test of the new design will start in December at 100 Broadway in Manhattan. The Urban Umbrella was the winner of the 2009 UrbanSHED competition, a design competition for a sidewalk shed replacement, sponsored by the New York City Department of Buildings. City officials hope the new design will begin replacing some of the 6,000 sidewalk sheds that are deployed in New York City. via The New York Times photos by James Ransom

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec1

Web-enabled printer: Little Printer

Posted in: Technology

Little Printer, an adorable web-enabled device that prints dispatches from the Internet:

Little Printer is an adorable web-enabled printer that prints mini-newspapers containing content from the Internet (video). Users select the content—everything from news to puzzles to status updates from friends—using a smartphone app. Little Printer is by London-based design firm BERG and runs on BERG Cloud, a web-based system for controlling wireless products. Little Printer is scheduled for release in 2012. Connected to the Web, Little Printer has wide range of sources available to check on your behalf. We call them “publications”. Subscribe to your favourites and choose when you’d like them delivered. Right on time Little Printer gathers everything it needs to prepare a neat little personalised package, printed as soon as you press the button. You can get deliveries multiple times a day, but we find once or twice works best–like your very own morning or evening newspaper. via The Next Web

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Nov22

The L Train Notwork

Posted in: Technology

L Train Notwork, A pirate Wi-Fi for New York City Subway commuters:

The L Train Notwork is a pirate wi-fi network that is available on certain New York City Subway L Trains this week, thanks to creative agency WeMakeCoolSh.it (here’s a behind-the-scenes video). The service is provided by person-portable battery-powered web servers. Rather than connect commuters to the internet, the L Train Notwork serves content provided by local artists and hosts a web 1.0-inspired chat room. The L Train Notwork is available 8am to 10am on the L Train between the Morgan Ave. and 8th Ave. stops, until Friday, November 18. New York City-based WeMakeCoolSh.it was founded by Mark Krawczuk and Matt McGregor-Mento. via Fast Company image 1 by David Dax, image 2 by Yoshi Sodeoka

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Nov21

The Insanely Great History of Apple by Pop Chart Labs

Posted in: Technology

The Insanely Great History of Apple by Pop Chart Labs featuring every computer released by Apple. The world’s most comprehensive mapping of Apple products, this print shows every computer released by Apple in the last thirty years, from the original Mac through the MacBook Air. Products are sorted according to type, including the connections between various form factors which have arisen as Apple has invented–and reinvented–insanely great products.

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Nov18

The latest Freehands gloves are now available

Posted in: Technology

Keep your digits cozy and usable this winter with touchscreen-friendly gloves… I like the leather version which I looks really nice:

The latest Freehands gloves are now available just in time for winter to come blowing in. As the resident glove of choice here at CH, Freehands was born out of collaboration between our founder Josh Rubin and his father—expert glove manufacturer Stanley Rubin. New for 2011 are a handful of styles featuring new materials and upgraded tech with the same touch screen friendly design, including two new knits and a redesign of the top selling soft shell.

Particularly noteworthy is the new leather collection, with a style for men and women each. These supple leather gloves sport a sleek design lined with a soft knit blend of cashmere, wool and nylon. Like most Freehands gloves, the leather collection features a foldable tip on the thumb and forefinger to allow the wearer free use of touchscreen devices or simply find the right key in your pocket.

Also new is the youthful Hearts and Stripes glove for women. The playful knit is made with a cozy wool and acrylic blend and comes in black, purple and red color combinations. Dots on the palm help keep your phone from slipping and foldable finger tips hold back by magnets to allow for easy texting. Made of the same knitted blend and grippy palm detail, the new Solid Knit has conductive silver thread woven into the index and thumb—instead of the usual caps—for device usage without exposing any digits. Plus it’s available in bright pink and benefits the National Breast Cancer Foundation with each pair sold.

As an update on their top seller, the Soft Shell for men has been redesigned with a “swipe and flip” feature. This hybrid solution has conductive material on the forefinger tip that allows you to swipe to answer with the finger caps on, but still can be folded back for texting or other things that require a bit more accuracy. Prices range between $18 for the simple knit to $75 for the leather collection. For more details and to see the entire line head to Freehands online.

(Via Cool Hunting.)
Nov3

The PlugBug by Twelve South

Posted in: Technology

Consolidate chargers with this smart solution from Twelve South, perfect idea when you travel or simply have limited amount power plugs available to you:

Apple’s portable devices have become increasingly ubiquitous, with people stockpiling laptops, iPhones and iPods that seem to outnumber the world’s available power outlets. The PlugBug by Twelve South—essentially a splitter for the iPad/iPhone charger to attach to the Macbook plug for a streamlined, two-device charging operation—solves a common shortage conundrum.

A wall outlet provides a more powerful charge than the computer’s USB, so with the PlugBug your device battery will replenish faster, freeing you from the tether of plugging in and allowing for maximum mobility. PlugBug lets both gadgets charge at maximum capacity simultaneously and, because the design consolidates chargers, you’ll only ever need one plug. No need to charge your Mac? PlugBug can be used on its own as well. It’s a tidy solution to stay organized and powered-up on the go. Available for $35 at Twelve South online.

(Via Cool Hunting.)
Aug9

SENDtoREADER – Send web pages to your Kindle

Posted in: Technology

I am a big fan of Instapaper, which I use often between my computers, iPhone and iPad. This is a similar idea but for sending pages to your Kindle to read them later. I think I may use it from time to time:

SENDtoREADER is a simple web application that allows you to send any webpage to your Amazon Kindle Reader instantly.

This gives your Kindle the flexibility to be your work or leisure time companion with a simple click of the mouse.

Our web app is extremely easy to use. It’s just a bookmarklet (or favlet) which works well in all modern browsers including: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Opera. Version for Internet Explorer is coming soon. Once it’s added to your favorites, you can start sending web pages to your Kindle with a single click. By default, Kindle is a book reader, but with SENDtoREADER you can also make it your personal Magazine.

In order to protect your privacy, our system requires you to register first.

So, don’t wait, register now and start sending web content to your Kindle today.

(via SENDtoREADER)
Jul16

TextExpander for Mac

Posted in: Technology

TextExpander saves you countless keystrokes with customized abbreviations for your frequently-used text strings and images.

TextExpander replaces text you type with other text and/or images. Here are some of the things you can accomplish with it: insert standard greetings, text fragments, and signatures — including formatted text and pictures. Also insert the current date and time in any format you prefer. But that’s not all, use editor-independent code templates and have TextExpander position the cursor just where it needs to be. You can also type special characters without having to launch any special characters palette. TextExpander also corrects typos automatically. Import text snippets from other typing utilities and so much more… The company behind the software recently also launched iPhone and iPad Apps and to keep your TextExpander in sync between multiple computers (like between your desktop and laptop) now you can use Dropbox for syncing of your snippets!

You can try it for free by downloading fully functional demo. Once you get it set up and start using it you will love it. It makes my life so much easier, I speeded up my productivity so much that now I don’t even think how snappy I can get things done. Get $10 off TextExpander (reg. $34.95) use the coupon code MACWORLD711. The offer is valid through July 31, 2011
Jul7

Tips in case police search your computer or phone

Posted in: Technology

Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a tip sheet for talking to the police when they are searching your computer or phone as part of their Know Your Rights guide for protecting your computer or phone from illegal police searches.

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Jun22

EDWARD, an Electric Dicycle by University of Adelaide

Posted in: Technology

EDWARD is an electric dicycle–a vehicle consisting of two giant side-by-side wheels–designed and built by students at the University of Adelaide. The students developed a remarkably sophisticated stability control system (see their video demo) to tame the dicycle’s less civilized behavior, such as instability when traveling forward and something called “gerbiling.” The tamed dicycle can transport a single passenger at up to 40 km/h. EDWARD is an acronym for Electric Diwheel With Active Rotation Damping. via Hack A Day

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Jun21

Expansion of generic top-level domains

Posted in: Technology

The ICCAN board has just approved an expansion that will allow a wide range of new generic top-level domains. 300 to 1,000 new top-level domains are anticipated under this new program, including many brand-specific TLDs.

ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN. via CircleID

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Jun19

Rotary Dial Smartphone

Posted in: Technology

Pretty neat idea, looks cool!

For the steam-powered rocketship captain who has it all, designer Richard Clarkson has created the Rotary Mechanical Smartphone design concept. via Yanko Design photos by Richard Clarkson

(Via Laughing Squid.)

Jun7

MobileMe: You are eligible for a refund

Posted in: Technology

Yay… I got the e-mail this morning (see it below). I wondering if I could get the money back for recently purchased MobileMe re-newal after yesterday announcement of iCloud. My MobileMe was due to expire on July 12, 2011 and since I bought AppleTV I got another MobileMe activation code at a discount at the same time and entered the code on MobileMe. This morning I got the e-mail from Apple with instructions on how to claim a refund for my unused MobileMe activation code:

Dear MobileMe member,

Our records indicate that you have entered an activation code in your MobileMe account to renew your subscription. We have extended all MobileMe subscriptions through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge, so you are eligible for a full refund for this activation code.

To claim your refund:
1. Sign in to me.com.
2. Click your name in the top right and choose Account.
3. Then click Request Refund.
4. Complete the online form.

After completing the online form, you will receive your refund in four to six weeks via check or electronic funds transfer.

Claiming a refund will not affect your paid service in any way.

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team

Jun2

Switching ISP from Rogers to TekSavvy

Posted in: Technology

I am in a process of finally switching from Rogers Hi-Speed Internet (aka small bandwidth caps) to a third party Internet cable provider here in Ontario called TekSavvy. The service is much cheaper and gives you unlimited bandwidth. I used to have unlimited bandwidth with Rogers a decade ago, but they have implemented ridiculously low bandwidth caps over the years which actually forced me to limit myself each month on how much I use the Internet so I am not charged by gigabyte for any overages. TekSavvy has Extreme Cable Pro account for $54.95 a month which gives unlimited bandwidth, a very important thing in today’s world.

Limiting bandwidth is like limiting how much TV you can watch, imagine paying for cable TV and being limited how many hours you can watch per month because they will charge you more for it at the end of the month… The whole idea is simply just cash grab, just the same like monthly amount minutes on your cellphone. I have unlimited talk time and text now on my iPhone after renegotiating my contract with Rogers, but they were not willing to do the same for my internet so I left them for TekSavvy and got my unlimited bandwidth. Anyway, the first step when you switch from Rogers to TekSavvy, you need to purchase your own modem which is a great idea. Modems used to be free with Rogers, but again they started charging rental fee for them in recent years. It is much cheaper to own your modem in a long run and today I have received mine which I ordered from TekSavvy. It is a Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem…

Now I am just waiting for TekSavvy to flip the switch next week to get me over to their side… Mind you TekSavvy buys the Internet access from Rogers in my case so technically I am still using their lines and access, but at least my money goes to support a smaller independent ISP which gives me unlimited bandwidth for less.
Jun1

Tech: HubDog – Dog like USB Hub

Posted in: Technology

This is cute accessory for your computer: HubDog – a USB Hub in the shape of a dog:

USB HubDog, a cute USB hub in the shape of a dog, available at Fred Flare.

Outside of a dog, a computer is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog… there are four USB ports! (Sorry, Groucho. We coudn’t help it!) Super cute and hi-tech and ready to connect up all your peripherals, this USB HubDog is totally prepared to be your new buddy. Sleek white color with a green light to let you know it’s connected. Measures 4″x4.25″x.25 for super portability! via Technobob

(Via Laughing Squid.)
May27

Luna – A Personal Robot by RoboDynamics

Posted in: Technology

The price seems pretty reasonable… I am still not sure how I would use.

Luna is a programmable personal robot built by RoboDynamics and designed by SchultzeWORKS. Neither company has released much information (other than this grainy iPhone video), but IEEE Spectrum has details on the software and hardware underpinning the robot. It will available later this year for around $3000. via Yanko Design

(Via Laughing Squid.)
May21

Photos: Felt Mouse by designer Joey Roth

Posted in: Technology

Interesting concept, I love how felt feels…

The ‘Felt Mouse’ by designer Joey Roth is a computer mouse concept made from wool felt, teak wood, and aluminum. The felt will slowly conform to the user’s hand over time.

The Felt Mouse is designed to be broke in over time. Its dense wool felt slowly conforms to the hand’s individual shape and motion. Over the course of a few months, it transitions from a mass produced product to a unique tool that specifically fits its user. via TreeHugger photos by Joey Roth

(Via Laughing Squid.)
May13

Pit In, A Desk That Functions as a Bicycle Rack

Posted in: Technology

Pit In is a design concept by STORE MUU design studio is a desk that also functions as a bicycle rack.

Pit In is a table for a bicycle whose saddle functions as a chair. Sitting on the saddle of bicycle, for example, you can take a coffee break, check e-mails by lap-top, and so on.

via Brittany Bohnet and Chris McNicholl

(Via Laughing Squid.)
May7

Technology: USB Film Roll

Posted in: Technology

Cool USB keys but a bit bulky for my taste… nevertheless still cool.

Our friends at Photojojo have created a nifty USB Film Roll that hides a 4GB USB drive inside of a recycled film canister. It’s available through the Photojojo store.

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Apr10

What’s new on my life(stream) web site

Posted in: Technology

Thanks to my own genius but mostly thanks to the online community I was able to implement a new module on my life(stream) web site at www.tysonwilliams.com, which now shows at the bottom of the page the latest Kindle books I am currently reading. The new section is appropriately called “Latest Kindle Reading” and it showcases the last five books that I have read, including one I am most like still reading. Unlike the rest of the web site which is fully automatic and pulling information from different sources, this section is being updated manually because simply there is no way yet to implement automatic updates. Hopefully one day there will be a way of simply syncing my latest Amazon book purchases with the web site but we are not there yet. Needless to say, I don’t mind adding them manually since I will only have to do it 2-3 times a months or as I am start reading a new book, which is not a big deal.

Here is screenshot of how the site looks with new Kindle module at the bottom of the page:
Mar29

Netflix Canada streaming will use 2/3 less data

Posted in: Technology

Last night I got an e-mail from Netflix Canada with some great news…

Dear Tyson,
Starting today, watching movies & TV shows in Canada will use 2/3 less data on average with minimal impact to video quality. For example, watching 30 hours of Netflix movies & TV shows will only use 9 GB of data, well below most Canadian ISP data caps. Previously, 30 hours from Netflix typically used 31 GB.
Why the change? We know that many of our Canadian members have monthly Internet data caps. This new default account setting will significantly reduce the amount of data Netflix delivers to you each month.
You now also have the ability to manage how much data Netflix delivers to you. Visit Your Account to adjust your settings anytime you want. Regardless of which setting you choose –– Netflix is still only $7.99 a month.
As always, we will continue to innovate and try new things to ensure Netflix is a great experience without high data use. If you have any questions, please call us at 1-866-923-1277.
–Your friends at Netflix

As everyone knows, most people in Canada have 60GB bandwidth cap on their home ISP through major providers like Rogers or Bell, some even less – around 25GB per month – so using Netflix is often extremely limited among Canadians. It looks like Netflix realize the importance of this issue and came out with a technology which will lower bandwidth consumption when using Netflix , therefore allowing the consumer to enjoy more programming worry-free. Surely nobody wants to be paying overage charges for the bandwidth.
Mar27

Sunday reading: Wired Magazine

Posted in: Technology

Sunday morning, coffee in one hand and the latest issue of the Wired magazine on iPad in the other… reading about Kickstarter:

From Wired:

More than 14,000 people have posted projects on Kickstarter, and more than 400,000 people have supported them, contributing a total of more than $35 million. Eighty new projects are launched every day, and $1 million is pledged every week. The site has tapped a source of patronage that was all but nonexistent before. The result, says cofounder and CEO Perry Chen, has been the realization of thousands of passion projects—a lone sailor who wanted to travel the world and send Polaroids and origami boats to backers, a designer who created a free online library of symbols, a vegan food truck in Louisville—that might never have found funding otherwise. “Kickstarter has the potential to jump-start—I guess the word would be kick-start—an explosion of creation and invention,” says Caterina Fake, cofounder of Flickr and an investor in the site. “There was a compelling need for something like this.”
Mar10

What’s new in iOS 4.3 Software Update

Posted in: Technology
iOS 4.3 Software Update has been released yesterday, here is what this update contains:
- Personal Hotspot* (If you still got the older iPhone 3G like me, you are out of luck here)
- Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 devices (The same as above)
- iTunes Home Sharing
- Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC
- New AirPlay features** (Awesome!)
- Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
- Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV
- Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine (Thank you!)
- HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter***
- View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display
- Ping features
- Push notifications for comments and follow requests
- Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
- Parental controls
- New Settings
- Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
- iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects (Something I am really happy about!)
- Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode
- Bug fixes
- *Requires iPhone 4 with tethering data plan
- **Requires Apple TV (2nd generation) running software version 4.2 or later
- ***iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation)
For information on the security content of this update, visit Apple Support here.

AppleTV has a new version of iOS 4.2 as well, you will need to run Software Update on it to download it and install it.
Jan27

Introducing the new Skype 5 for Mac

Posted in: Technology

I am a big fan of Skype, which has actually replaced my home phone a few years ago. I used it as paid monthly subscriber for all my local and long distance calls now on my Mac and iPhone. The new version 5 of Skype for Mac was released today; check out what new in it:

I like the new version, except the User Interface is really too big to keep it always open on the screen. I hope they will shrink a little in the future updates. The full screen in video calls are awesome!
Jan17

Good-bye Facebook, hello my own server

Posted in: Technology

Facebook had a huge year, it was also a year when I started to delete all my content off the Facebook; removing all the information one by one, including deleting all photos, status updates etc. Facebook had gotten too big, too complicated, too time consuming, there were too many privacy issues with it… I came to the conclusion that I must have a much better control over my own information, so I moved everything into my own, one central server. I took over the control of my information.

Now, I own my information and I have a full control over it now. I decide what is private, what is public without worrying that information will be misused. I still maintain – a pretty much empty – Facebook account, but I no longer use Facebook like I did before. My current Facebook account is an empty place holder so nobody is squatting on my name, that’s about it. After I saw the movie ‘The Social Network’, I am glad I did removed myself from it. After all Facebook, just like any other corporation, is there to make money. I do not want them to make money off my own content and my information now or in the future and trust me they do and will make money off everyone involved with them.

Here are some more scary stats on the website that is taking over the world:
Jan10

Arcade Style Joystick For the iPad

Posted in: Technology

Playing games on the iPad is a lot of fun, this just makes it more addictive:

ThinkGeek presents JOYSTICK-IT, an arcade style joystick that you can add to an iPad or tablet computer.

Bring your tablet-based gaming to the next level with the JOYSTICK-IT Tablet Arcade Stick. The JOYSTICK-IT gives you a real physical joystick for increased precision with touchscreen based games. Simply press down to attach the JOYSTICK-IT to your tablet based computer’s screen for improved gaming. No wires or batteries needed.

(Via Laughing Squid.)
Dec29

Evernote: Remember everything

Posted in: iPad Apps, iPhone Apps, Technology

AppStorm recently did a nice write up about the Evernote – one of my favourite applications I use across all my devices – called Evernote: Remember Everything on Your Mac. The basic Evernote account and the App itself is free and for most people it is sufficient (if you are a heavy user, a premium account is very affordable option as well):

“Do you ever wish there was a single place you could keep all your notes, web clippings, voice memos, and incredible ideas for screenplays? Somewhere that synchronised your notes across all your various devices and made them fully searchable by their content or tags?

Introducing the uninitiated to Evernote – a single place for all the things you need to remember! Is it worth the money you ask? Well it’s free so we should probably have a look…”

(Via AppStorm.)
Dec28

BendDesk: Multi-Touch Workspace

Posted in: Technology

The future of multi-touch surfaces is here… pretty amazing stuff!

BendDesk is an innovative design concept for a curved, multi-touch workspace being developed by the Media Computing Group at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany.

BendDesk is a multi-touch desk environment that seamlessly combines a vertical and a horizontal surface with a curve into one large interactive workspace. This workspace can be used to display any digital content like documents, photos, or videos. Multi-touch technology allows the user to interact with the entire surface using direct manipulation and multi-touch gestures. We took special care for ergonomics. Users can comfortably sit at the desk and place everyday objects on it. (Via Engadget)

(Via Laughing Squid.)