Digital Technology for Digital Living.
July 31, 2006
Apple Store Webcam Wedding Proposal
You’ve probably heard of people proposing at sporting events using the Jumbotrons, but this is ridiculous.
To help document the excitement surrounding the June 2006 grand opening of the 5th Avenue store in New York City, Apple setup a special time lapse webcam to capture the first 24 hours.
The store opened at 6pm. By midnight, the crowds were starting to die down. By 1am the crowd control barriers were removed. By 3am the crowds had vanished.
But if you keep watching the time lapse video, sometime after 5am, an unknown man stands in front of the webcam with 3 giant pieces of paper. The first piece of paper just has a name: Uschi Lang. The second piece got a little more personal: I love you. And the third piece got to the point. It said: Will you marry me? Obviously someone had decided to take advantage of the webcam and use it to do a time lapse wedding proposal.
Here’s the video if you want to check it out:
So after watching this video, your first question will probably be “Did she say yes?” According to Jason Kottke from kottke.org, Uschi Lang did indeed say yes. Apparently Uschi and her fiancé, James (that’s his name by the way), were both in line earlier that night for the Apple Store grand opening. While in line, James noticed the camera and got the webcam proposal idea. While Uschi was sound asleep, James snuck out of bed around 4:30 am, grabbed some giant pieces of paper and went back to the Apple Store. He then held up his 3 signs for 5 minutes each to make sure that they were captured on video. Those were probably some of the longest minutes in his life. If you watch the video carefully, you can see several people staring at him like he’s nuts.
So was Uschi watching the webcam at 5am when James was holding up the signs? If not, how did he present the video to her? After hundreds of blogs starting speculating on the rest of this story, Uschi decided to send another email to kottke.org with some more of the details:
“… a few days later, James set up a romantic trail of candles leading up to his G5, showed Uschi the video — which she had not seen despite some coverage on the web — and she of course said yes.”
And there you have it. The full story behind the Apple Store webcam wedding proposal. Was it nerdy? Yes, but it was also timeless, opportunistic and creative. Let’s just hope that James and Uschi have a long and happy marriage. Not everyone gets their wedding proposal forever preserved in a time lapse video on Apple.com. Not to mention that it was immortalized online by thousands of bloggers (including this one).
Good luck James and Uschi.
digg story | revver | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Broadband, Video
July 30, 2006
Custom Laptop Bags for Under $50
Laptop owners tend to take their precious computers everywhere. So a padded sleeve or bag that protects your laptop from bumps and scratches is always a good idea. The hard part is finding good design that you like. All to often laptop bags are made out of boring solid vinyl materials that fail to capture your personality.
The stitchin’ bitches over at M. Avery Designs have a couple custom products that can help protect your laptop and sense of style while not hurting your wallet.
The Beverly Laptop Sleeve
If you are just looking for a laptop sleeve, then the Beverly Sleeve is for you. For only $39, you get a custom made padded laptop sleeve with a tough velcro closure. You even get to pick the fabric, dimensions and closure orientation (vertical or horizontal) at no extra cost. With the right fabric, even the guys will like this one.
The Lindsay Laptop Tote
Need more than just a sleeve? The Lindsay Laptop Tote is a fully padded computer bag that will keep your precious computer clean and well protected. The Lindsay zips closed snugly around your computer and has two black sturdy nylon straps for a handle. For $45 you can customize your fabric and dimensions at no extra cost.
Both bags come in under the $50 mark and are a very small price to pay for a custom piece of stylish laptop protection.
For more info check out M. Avery Designs at: http://www.maverydesigns.com
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Portable, Toys
July 27, 2006
How To Make a Mentos Coke Rocket
Want to make your own carbonated gas rocket? You’ve probably already seen someone make a Mentos Coke Geyser. Just drop a few Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke and you’ll see a violent 16 foot fountain of Coke explode out of the bottle. Although that may sound somewhat exciting, the geyser is the boring “science teacher” version of this experiment. If you really want to unleash the carbon dioxide power in a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, try making a Mentos Coke Rocket. Here’s how:
- Buy a 2 litter bottle of Diet Coke and a roll of Mentos. You can use any soda but room temperature Diet Coke for some reason is the best performer.
- Find a big open area to launch your Mentos Coke Rocket. Don’t do it indoors. Trust me.
- Slide the paper cover off the Mentos (leave the foil wrapper on) and slip the roll into the bottle.
- Quickly cap the bottle and shake it.
- Gently unscrew the cap, just a little, until you start to hear fizzing.
- Throw it down and cover your face!
digg story | revver | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (20) | General, Video, Toys
YouTube Now Owns Your Content
The golden age of YouTube is over. The popular video sharing service just modified their terms and now many YouTube users are contemplating switching to competition sites like REVVER.
According to their new terms, anything you upload to YouTube becomes the property of YouTube. This means they can now do anything from sell your videos (Best of YouTube; DVD Vol. 1) to use them in commercials and advertising.
Here’s a scary excerpt from the new YouTube terms:
“…by submitting the User Submissions to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the User Submissions in connection with the YouTube Website and YouTube’s (and its successor’s) business… in any media formats and through any media channels.”
The little bit about “YouTube and its successor’s” means that anyone who buys YouTube will inherit the content as well. YouTube is currently estimated to be worth $1 Billion dollars. Our sister blog, e-Fuze, suggests you “think twice” before you upload something important to YouTube and always read the fine print.
If you want a website that is kind enough to actually let you own your own videos, check out Revver. They have the same video hosting features as YouTube and they will also give you 20% of any ad revenue made from your videos on their site. When people click and watch, you get paid.
Screw you YouTube. It’s time to download your videos from YouTube and upload them to Revver.
e-Fuze | digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Broadband, Video, Software
July 20, 2006
Slingbox for Mac Goes Beta
What if you were able to access your home television system wherever you went? The World Cup in your cubicle. Your local news station from overseas. Dirty Jobs in your backyard. Even Emeril Live in your kitchen. Now what if you could do all that without a television, cable box, satellite dish, or subscription fee (screw you TiVo)? If you want to start “placeshifting” your TV viewing habits, then all you need is a Slingbox.
The Slingbox is a fantastic product. Any computer with an Internet connection will allow you streaming video access to your home TV system. My boss has one in his office so he can watch the in-house cable TV feed at home. But as a Mac user, I have one major problem with the Slingbox… It’s not Mac compatible.
Well that limitation may soon be coming to an end. Sling Media VP Jeremy Toeman posted a request for Mac beta testers in the Sling Media forums. If you are interested, sign up now. The online application will only be online until 07/26/06.
“We are now taking applications to be part of the Mac private beta program. The application will be live for the next 2 weeks (14 days - it closes on 07/26/06)… due to the expected high number of applicants, you will only hear from us if you are selected. Finally, you must be able to sign an NDA/non-compete with the company in order to be part of the private beta pool. “
When could Apple users see a final version of the SlingPlayer for Mac OS X? Probably in Q3 2006 according to the Wikipedia Slingbox page.
Now we just need a high-definition version of the Slingbox…
methodshop | Comments (1) | General, PVR, Video, Software
July 18, 2006
Mac Mini RAM Upgrade Tutorial
Want to upgrade the RAM in your Mac Mini? You can definitely save a few bucks by buying a stripped down Mac Mini and upgrading the RAM yourself. But before you can install that extra RAM, you’ll need to take a walk down to your local hardware store and grab a couple putty knifes. Thanks to the Mac Mini, the putty knife is now becoming part of the standard set of essential computer hardware tools.
Traditionally, Apple computers have easily come apart with a few screws and levers. In fact, some Apple machines, like the PowerMac G5, almost come apart entirely without tools. However, brute force, patience and a putty knife are required to crack open the Mac Mini.
Many people speculate that Apple made opening the Mac Mini difficult on purpose. Apple would prefer that you let an authorized Apple service provider handle all hardware upgrades and part replacements with their consumer level products.
So grab a putty knife and don’t be alarmed if your Mac Mini starts to snap, crackle and pop like a bowl of Rice Crispies. This is the sound of the plastic clips and metal rim coming loose.
Tutorial: Mac Mini RAM Upgrade Tutorial
read more | digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Console, Toys
July 17, 2006
Sony PSP-290 GPS Receiver
In a March business briefing, Sony Computer president Ken Kutaragi announced several new accessories for the Sony PSP including a GPS receiver called the PSP-290. Someone at the briefing was able to secretly snap a quick photo of a slide detailing the PSP-290 (photo on left). According to this blurry photo, the tiny silver PSP-290 will attach to the top of the PSP. The unit will have a 1 second update rate and take about 40 seconds to get its first reading when you first turn it on (cold start). The PSP-290 is slated for release sometime in October 2006. No prices were mentioned in the briefing.
If you can’t wait until October, you can try to make your own PSP GPS unit like a PSP homebrew genius named Art. He created a PSP homebrew GPS system (photo on right), called GPSP, by hacking together a Garmin GPS unit with some PSP graphical navigation software. The GPSP software reads the GPS location data and then displays it on the PSP screen.
Art recently made some refinements to his PSP GPS creation and had this to say on QJ.net:
“There is a parts list in the new package, the position fix data is now extracted from an NMEA sentence common to the Garmin and the Sony unit from eBay, the new circuit has no need for the 4.7K resistor tied to +5 Volts because the MCLR is turned off in the pics software. The current limiting resistor is now 22K to better protect the PSP. this is the highest value I tried where it still worked reliably, There are small improvements and bug fixes to the software. The GPSP-V2.zip package is complete, and the original package should be discarded. Cheers, Art.”
GPSP runs on the PSP homebrew code loader software called LUAplayer 0.11 (PSP 1.5 firmware or higher). Once you have LUAplayer installed on your PSP you can download Art’s GPSP homebrew software here: GPSP (GPS front end program for PSP).
Happy hacking!
read more | digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, PDA, Toys, Software
July 13, 2006
National Semiconductor Wants iPods Back
National Semiconductor received a lot of press last month for announcing plans to give every employee a 30-gig video iPod. About 8,500 people currently work at National Semiconductor. The iPods were a nice way to say thank you to their employees for helping give the company their “best fiscal year” of all time.
Well, I hope National Semiconductor enjoyed all that positive press while it lasted. It just went sour.
After giving all 8,500 employees iPods, the company then laid off 35 people from their Arlington plant and demanded they give their iPods back. National Semiconductor claims that the iPods were just loaners.
First you get fired. Then you have to give back the iPod. How’s that for a bad day? Kind of reminds me of the movie Office Space when Milton got moved to the basement and Bill wouldn’t let him take his red stapler.
Bill Lumbergh: Milt, we’re gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?
Milton Waddams: Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler…
Anyway, National Semiconductor didn’t give a reason for firing the 35 employees at their Arlington plant. Maybe they needed a way to pay for those 8,500 iPods? The 30GB video iPod normally retails for about $300.
So 8,500 x $300 = $2,550,000… Oops. I forgot to subtract 35 from 8,500 first. Let’s hope someone (like Milton) doesn’t set the Arlington plant on fire.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portable, Video
July 12, 2006
Teen’s iPod Struck by Lightning
It was just two weeks ago that the British Medical Journal warned of the dangers of using a cell phone during a thunderstorm. The doctors said having such devices near your head when hit by lightning can result in even more severe injuries… Maybe they should add iPods to that list.
On July 6th, a Colorado (USA) teenager named Jason Bunch was mowing the lawn and listening to his iPod. The next thing he knew he was lying in bed bleeding from his ears and vomiting. Believe it or not, Jason’s iPod was struck by lightning.
As you can see from this Denver Post photo below, the lightning seriously burned the inside of his ears. Unfortunately, he’s also lost some of his hearing.
To make things worse, Jason had a big date that night. According to the Denver Post, he called the girl the next day from his hospital bed and told the girl “I did not stand you up. I was struck by lightning.”
In case you are curious, the Denver Post also details what happened to Jason’s iPod:
“The wounds follow the line of his iPod, from his ears down his right side to his hip, where he was carrying the device. The iPod has a hole in the back, and the earbuds dissolved into green threads.”
One weird thing about the Denver Post article is that they mention Jason was listening to Metallica when he was struck by lightning. It seems like an irrelevant fact unless he was listening to the Metallica album called Ride the Lightning. It just seemed kind of weird.
If Jason was listening to Engelbert Humperdinck would the Denver Post still have reported what he was listening to?
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portable
July 11, 2006
Party with the Denon AVR-1906
The proliferation of the iPod is changing the way people enjoy music - not only on the go, but also at home. If an iPod is the centerpiece of your home-audio system, you might want to consider a fully-loaded and versatile receiver that will help you get the most out of your iPod’s compressed digital audio files.
The Denon SVR-1906 not only delivers great home theater sound, but also offers plenty of convenient features that can make your entertainment system easy to use and enjoy.
Denon’s acclaimed high-current amplification drives up to 7 home theater speakers with power and precision. Pair up that power with a Harman Kardon HKTS 14 and you’ll have system that can wake the neighbors and keep any party hopping. Just try not to play your David Hasselhoff CDs to loud (or at all).
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music
July 10, 2006
Worst Scratched iPod Contest
Does your iPod look more like the photo on the right or the left? Chances are the average iPod owner will collect a few scratches here and there over time. That’s especially true for iPod Nano owners. But if your iPod looks like it got into a fight with a gang of alley cats, then you might want to check out a company called ColorEnvy.
ColorEnvy provides scratch repair and custom paint jobs for your iPod. To help promote their services, they they are currently running a contest to find the world’s “worst scratched iPod.” The winner will receive a full refurbishing and custom coloring of their choice, as well as a free iPod scratch removal kit for any future accidents.
To enter, just email them a picture of your scratched iPod. If you want to see who you are up against, check out the other contestants on display in the ColorEnvy gallery. The contest ends August 1st. Good luck and next time get yourself a good protective iPod case.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portable, Video
