Digital Technology for Digital Living.
March 13, 2010
We Like the Exhibitors at CeBit Technology Show in Germany
So we keep closely apprized of developments in technology and the newest and coolest gadgets. To do that, we review the highlights of the larger industry shows. Well, when reviewing some of the photos from CeBit in Germany, we came to realize that they have a real knack for utilizing creativity and some great looking exhibitors at that show. This is especially true if you like body paint. While perhaps a bit racey in the United States, it is all perfectly okay and everything that should be covered is, by paint.
In any case, we aren’t showing you any new gadgets in this post (we do love the flying alarm clock though) but we do indeed admire the CeBit way of showing off the newest high tech wares. Here are a few shots for you to consider for yourself.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General, Geek
We Like the Exhibitors at CeBit Technology Show in Germany
So we keep closely apprized of developments in technology and the newest and coolest gadgets. To do that, we review the highlights of the larger industry shows. Well, when reviewing some of the photos from CeBit in Germany, we came to realize that they have a real knack for utilizing creativity and some great looking exhibitors at that show. This is especially true if you like body paint. While perhaps a bit racey in the United States, it is all perfectly okay and everything that should be covered is, by paint.
In any case, we aren’t showing you any new gadgets in this post (we do love the flying alarm clock though) but we do indeed admire the CeBit way of showing off the newest high tech wares. Here are a few shots for you to consider for yourself.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
We Like the Exhibitors at CeBit Technology Show in Germany
So we keep closely apprized of developments in technology and the newest and coolest gadgets. To do that, we review the highlights of the larger industry shows. Well, when reviewing some of the photos from CeBit in Germany, we came to realize that they have a real knack for utilizing creativity and some great looking exhibitors at that show. This is especially true if you like body paint. While perhaps a bit racey in the United States, it is all perfectly okay and everything that should be covered is, by paint.
In any case, we aren’t showing you any new gadgets in this post (we do love the flying alarm clock though) but we do indeed admire the CeBit way of showing off the newest high tech wares. Here are a few shots for you to consider for yourself.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
We Like the Exhibitors at CeBit Technology Show in Germany
So we keep closely apprized of developments in technology and the newest and coolest gadgets. To do that, we review the highlights of the larger industry shows. Well, when reviewing some of the photos from CeBit in Germany, we came to realize that they have a real knack for utilizing creativity and some great looking exhibitors at that show. This is especially true if you like body paint. While perhaps a bit racy in the United States, it is all perfectly okay and everything that should be covered is, by paint.
In any case, we aren’t showing you any new gadgets in this post (we do love the flying alarm clock though) but we do indeed admire the CeBit way of showing off the newest high tech wares. Here are a few shots for you to consider for yourself.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
March 07, 2010
The Sleeping Giants Awakes . . . Sony to Apple: Competing Against You is Our New Top Priority
On many levels Sony intends to starting taking proverbial swings at Apple and we think Sony is trying to punch Apple in the mouth this time. The rumor is that Sony is going to package a kindle type reader with a touch sensitive smartphone with the PS3 technology platform. Oh and perhaps most important is that Sony is really going to pay attention to DESIGN. In other words, Sony wants it to be beautiful to the eyes and appealing to the senses, does that sound a little like Apple’s core competency?
It is the focus on design that should scare Apple. Sony has a history of great technology development and making good ideas fit in a smaller package. They’ve been hurt on the design front recently and have suffered as Apple has risen. People like design, they intuitively enjoy simplicity and Apple has delivered that consistently over the last ten years or so (no, even Apple did not always do this well. Think about your Apple //c in the basement).
Sony is planning to hook everything together ala the PS3 network that they are already running online. This is a swipe at iTunes, no?
And YES, we know the below image more clearly depicts the epic battle of Apple vs. Microsoft, but Sony develops on the PC platform and we really like the graphic . . . so we ask you to kindly go with the flow.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
March 06, 2010
Flying Alarms Clocks!
This is pretty cool. These types of gadgets make great gifts because no one expects them at all. We really had not considered a flying alarm clock before this, but hey, anything is possible — clearly.
When it is time to rise and shine, you can not procrastinate with this little baby in the room. As the alarm goes off, it starts it propeller and takes off around the room. You must get up and chase it or you might be dived bombed at some point by the swirling copter. This is an innovative job by the folks over at GetDigital. We look forward to seeing their next creation . . .
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 28, 2010
Greener Gadgets Conference — Pretty Cool Gadgets to Gander Upon
The Greener Gadgets conference just took place in NYC this past week and popular mechanics was there to talk about the cool gadgets on display there. There is a pretty nifty solar tent from the U.K. and a whole array of other nifty gadgets.
One of the more popular items however is a human powered cell phone charger in India for people that are off the grid, as most of the country is in fact. Ahh, the global attitudes towards the United States are sometimes amazing to the guys at gadgetlounge when, for example, in this instance, the United States invented cell phones. As far back as 1907 there was a U.S. patent involving radio transmissions on telephone calls, later better perfected by the venerable Bell Labs in the 1940’s. In fact the most powerful support for the growth in “emerging markets” or “third world countries” is cheap communications provided by cell phones.
What are some of the other ones? The internet, the personal computer . . . those are pretty big ones as well. Ahh yes, they were also originated by U.S. technology and know-how. Also, known as good ole Yankee Ingenuity. Bell Labs is a shell of its former self, given the break up of the Ma Bell and its monopoly, but wow did they create some amazing things. They’ve still got some funding, but it isn’t what it used to be. DARPA is a U.S. government entity that has pushed the envelope a lot as well. In any case, this is a total sidebar from the Greener Gadgets Conference, but sometimes we like to bring up the macro picture that people forget or never knew.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 27, 2010
Tsunami Warning for Hawaii and the Technology Behind It
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile today and therefore a tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga, with the first potential waves reaching Hawaii around 11:30 AM local time in Hawaii — 4:30PM eastern time.
Tsunamis are triggered by undersea earthquakes. A research team led by Geoffrey Blewitt of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory has demonstrated that a large quake’s true size can be determined within 15 minutes using Global Positioning System (GPS) data. This swift exchange of information is critical to determine if an earthquake might trigger a tsunami. Together with a seismometer and ocean buoy data, GPS is an important tool in improving tsunami danger assessments, Blewitt said. “The advantage of including GPS in warning systems is that it quickly tells how much the ocean floor moved, and that information can directly set tsunami models into motion.”
Let’s sincerely hope that Hawaii and other areas in harm’s way avoid the tsunami. The improved tsunami detection technology sure will help with getting people out of harm’s way though in the future. Thanks to the researchers at Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory to working on making our systems even better. Below is an illustrative view of how tsunamis work.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 25, 2010
Celebrities are Digging the Bloom Box . . . Ugh Oh!
The new highly touted bloom box is a very interesting device indeed. It lends the promise of going off the grid someday even in your home. The likes of Ebay have already used it successfully and evidently are saving about 15% in electrical costs at their HQ so far (a savings of around $100k USD). We will see how everything develops and we certainly wish them the best. However, the early sign of celebrity endorsers is never good news in the world of high technology. We hope the bloom box will represent something different however. It sure will be great if it does . . .
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 23, 2010
HTC Pulse Mini In Your Face (or is that your hand?)
HTC and T-Mobile UK have scaled down their android phone to make it a wee bit smaller and get it in everyone’s hot little hands.
The comparison between the larger HTC Pulse and the new HTC Pulse Mini is as follows:
A 2.8″ Screen - as opposed to of 3.5″
HSPDA 3.2 - as opposed to 7.2
Android 2.1 - as opposed to 1.5
Also includes a 3.15MP Camera, Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS
The smaller size also comes with everyone’s favorite, a lesser price. It sells for about 100 Pounds (that’s around $150 US Bones). Android is a very cool system. I think bringing down the price will further put it in competition with the iphone. Now, will the apple iphone be offered on other carriers with its next version? I know a lot of folks in the U.S. hope so — rumors of Verizon and T-mobile getting the iphone are popping up, but that is of course, just rumor. Apple has a way of surprising everyone with its changes. In the meantime, take a look at the new t-mobile HTC Pulse Mini. Pretty cool.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 21, 2010
Tokyo’s New “Eye” Phone is Nothing to Roll Your Eyes Over
This is some really interesting techonology from NTT Docomo that allows you to change your music on your ear buds by moving your eyes about. Here it is in video form. One of the most interesting aspects is learning that the cornea emits different electro-charges depending on how you move your eyes. The ear buds can measure those changes and will tell your mp3 player (okay fine, most likely your ipod or iphone . . . but maybe the new windows 7 phone?) to up the volume or flip the track ahead, etc. Evidently this is just a prototype though and NTT does not have any immediate plans to move them into production, but that can change . . .
Gadgetman | Comments Off | General
February 17, 2010
Makedo Designs gives Kids the Creative Power
This is a pretty great idea. Your kids or nephews or nieces can make creative items from household items with these kits that try to keep things safe while inspiring creativity. This is a really important thing to do for young ones. The more they use their mind imaginatively at a young age, the more creative problem solvers they become later in life — a critical skill to success in the never linear real world. We like this idea a lot. Below is an example of what’s been done with the kit — but the options are truly endless.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
February 12, 2010
Twitter vs. Facebook for Business
A recent article at Bnet states that Twitter is somewhat less valuable for building lasting partnerships with customers than Facebook. However, the evidence provided is somewhat anecdotal. Both Twitter and Facebook are very good tools for business, but they may be best used as a complement to each other, rather than one or the other.
Certain businesses will do very well with Facebook and others with Twitter and many with no social networking strategy at all. The article appropriately points out that it is a significant time committment to manage these social resources, so taking a macro view and deciding where your finite time is most effectively spent is likely the best business decision you can make.
Gadgetman | Comments (0) | General
August 29, 2008
Solar Powered Bonsai Tree Can Charge Your iPod and Mobile Phone
Recharge your cellphone, iPod, iPhone and camera with this USB solar powered bonsai tree by French designer Vivien Muller.
Thanks to 54 tiny photovoltaic panels, the iBonsai (we just made that name up) will store energy in a hidden battery during the day, allowing you to recharge your gadgets even at night.
Hate wire clutter? Who doesn’t. The bonsai charging tree cleverly hides all wires and plugs under the tray.
Need to slim down the tree’s berth so you can fit it on your desk? No problem. You can rotate each part individually and produce an endless number of different shapes. It’s like metal adult LEGOS.
The iBonsai Tree is decorative, good for the environment and sexy. It’s also just still a concept, so sorry. You can’t buy this yet. Hopefully Vivien will sell his concept and get the tree mass produced soon.
[Via methodshop]
methodshop | Comments (1) | General
August 25, 2008
Kevin Rose says New iPods Coming Soon
Is Digg.com founder and Diggnation star Kevin Rose abusing his Apple contacts? This past weekend Kevin blogged about some new stuff being released by Apple next month including new iPods and an iTunes update.
According to Kevin, Apple will announce the following within the next few weeks:
- the iPod nano will take on a slimmer, more rounded look
- the iPod Touch will get an update with a new 2.1 operating system
- Prices of the iPod line will drop to differentiate the product from the iPhone
- iTunes 8.0 will be a major new release with several additional features
- Further out Apple is planning to add Blu-ray support to Mac OS X
Why would Rose risk exposing his Apple contacts by announcing this information? And why now? Rose mentions his Twitter account multiple times in his blog post and urges people to “follow” him on Twitter to get more information. Perhaps Rose is bitter that Barack Obama took the top slot away from him on Twitter earlier this month.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
August 19, 2008
Obama Out Twits McCain
While John McCain is still learning how to use email (we’re not kidding), his U.S. Presidential competition has completely mastered the micro-blogging service Twitter.
This month, American presidential candidate Barack Obama dethroned Kevin Rose from Digg.com and became the most popular person on Twitter. According to Twitterholic, a website that measures the “followers” of Twitter accounts, Barack Obama has over 58,000 followers.
Obama’s closest Twitter competitor is Kevin Rose with 56k followers. Robert Scoble, CNN Breaking News and Leo Laporte help round out the top 10.
Someone not in the Twitterholic top 10… John McCain. In fact McCain isn’t even in the top 100. The only serious McCain Twitter account we found has a little over 1,000 followers. A truly pitiful showing for someone who is running for president.
Here’s a 101 primer on Twitter and tips on how to explain it. If someone who personally knows John McCain is reading this, please print the article out for him (because you can’t email it to him yet).
Tutorial: How to Explain Twitter to Your Grandma
And if you are feeling wild, you can follow @methodshop on Twitter here.
methodshop | Comments (1) | General, Social Networking
July 16, 2008
ROCKETON MMOG Interview
Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi are certainly well-rounded interactive entertainment executives. Their bios are full of so many impressive entertainment and gaming companies that it will make your head spin. Combined, Steve and Eric have worked at Vivendi Universal Games, Virgin Interactive, Infospace, Hasbro Interactive, Sega and Atari.
So what did Steve and Eric do with all that experience? What was the culmination of this vast interactive knowledge? In 2007, Steve and Eric joined forces with Naomi Kokubo and co-founded ROCKETON, a new type of multiplayer social experience that spans the entire web.
Instead of having to go to a separate site or use a specific application like Second Life, ROCKETON turns the entire Internet into a virtual world for browser based avatars. Think of ROCKETON like Second Life + PMOG with a twist of Facebook and a dash of StumbleUpon. It’s a Web 2.0 evolutional twist on virtual reality.
MethodShop was lucky enough to get some time with Steve and Eric and grilled them pretty hard about ROCKETON. A link to the full interview is below. Enjoy.
Interview: ROCKETON’s Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
July 14, 2008
iPhone 3G Launch Problems
The long awaited iPhone 3G was released on Friday, July 11th. But what should have been a happy and joyous day for iPhone fans, ended up being an exercise in frustration for many.
AT&T’s insistence on trying to activate the phones in store taxed Apple’s authentication server (more info) and caused lines to move at a snail’s pace or sent buyers home with a phone only good for making emergency calls. During last year’s iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.
Worse yet, AT&T outlets were allowed to sell far fewer phones that Apple Stores, forcing them to turn away customers who waited hours to get their hands on one.
The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM. Estimated wait time was ~4 hours. (Photo credit: MethodShop.com)
Earlier this week, Apple also had problems with the relaunch of their data service now called MobileMe (it was previously called iTools and .Mac). The MobileMe service is designed to synchronize a user’s personal data across devices, including the iPhone, but many users were denied access to their accounts this week, including Frank Accarrino.
“I’ve been trying to upload pictures from iPhoto to my .Mac website for the past few days but it’s offline. I can’t even get to my Mac mail. I bet Steve Jobs is pissed right now,” Frank told MethodShop.com.
Apple is usually known for flawless product launch events. Let’s hope Apple solves these network issues for next time. It’s estimated that 1 million iPhone 3G models were sold in the U.S. this weekend.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
July 01, 2008
Digg.com Launches New “Recommendation Engine” Feature
Digg is rolling out a new recommendation engine this week. The new feature’s goal is to help users discover content from like-minded individuals amid the clutter of the 16k+ stories submitted to Digg.com each day.
You know how when you are browsing Amazon.com and the site suggests related products based on what you are viewing and what you’ve already purchased? This new Digg feature works kind of the same way. It analyzes your previous “diggs,” or stories you’ve voted for, then lets you know what other users with similar tastes have recommended.
If you want to know more, Digg execs Kevin Rose and Anton Kast go into detail about how it works on the Digg blog.
Rose will also probably explain the new feature during his next Diggnation podcast.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General
June 17, 2008
Loopt Coming Soon to the iPhone 3G
Wish you knew where your friends and family were at all times? Have you heard of Loopt yet?
Loopt is a mobile phone application that enables users to spy on see the location of their friends on an interactive map (see image below). The application also allows you to message friends in your general area and setup automatic alerts to notify you when friends are nearby.
In the last few months, Loopt has published several BlackBerry versions of its software for all major American cellphone carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, Alltel and Sprint. Loopt also demonstrated an Alpha version of their software for the 3G iPhone at the 2008 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). You can sign up to be notified when the full iPhone version of Loopt is released here.
If you have a Jailbroken iPhone, then the function and features of Loopt might sound similar to Twinkle. Twinkle is a native Twitter client for the iPhone that pairs your GPS location with your Twitter posts. Twinkle also gives you the ability to add images to your Twitter Tweets.
But whether or not you use Loopt, Twinkle or Twitter.. it’s not any fun unless all your friends are also using the service.
methodshop | Comments (2) | General
