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Modern technology might sound better, hold more songs and be easier to use than the vintage stuff, but it sure doesn’t have the same visual impact as a classic phonograph. Fortunately with this iPhonograph you get the stunning classic style blended with the beauty of new technology. If you’ve got the skills, Instructables has the steps to make your own.
Link Via Geekosystem
You very well may recognize the voice, so stop reading if you want to watch and guess who did this little film. Okay, now? This film was produced in 1963 for a Bell Systems seminar in Chicago, by Jim Henson. It was recently retrieved from the AT&T Archives. -via Dangerous Minds
Photographer Toss McLellan has a great photo series called “Everyone Has A Piece of the Puzzle” wherein he dissects and lays out the parts of commonly used electronic items. The pictures look great and give us an all new look at items we use every day.
Link Via BoingBoing
Tired of staring at your food while it cooks in the microwave? That’s so 1980. Fortunately, students from the University of Pennsylvania have managed to hack a microwave oven to play YouTube videos while your food is cooking. If you don’t feel like waiting, you can also have the microwave text you when your food is done.
Now that’s impressive!
Link Via Geekosystem
Nokia apparently feels like the smart phones we have today aren’t rubbery or flexible enough to take us into the future, so they are introducing a design that will change the way we use, and touch, our phones.
Called the HumanForm, this rubbery surfboard shaped device is virtually unbreakable, has twist control functionality, and will supposedly allow us to feel textures via “electro tactile technology”. I don’t know about you, but this phone makes me want to teach a squirrel how to ride it like a surfboard!
Seeing a ballerina en pointe is impressive, but not as impressive as it was 200 years ago. Competition among dancers means that everyone trains for dancing on the toes, and the quality of the shoes means that all dancers en pointe look the same. Whitney Laemmli of the University of Pennsylvania says the standardization of slippers was a deliberate method of standardizing ballerinas.
George Balanchine, the charismatic director who ran the New York City Ballet and its School of American Ballet, rethought pointe shoes. He worked with Salvatore Capezio to develop and patent pointe shoes to produced the exact lines of the foot and leg he thought beautiful, and to be quieter and less clunky than earlier pointe shoes. He required all dancers (not just the principals) to go on pointe — and not for a few short moments, but for hours at a time.
Laemmli argues that the new shoes forced dancers’ bodies to move in new ways. Dancers on this pointe regimen developed characteristically long, lean leg muscles. Balanchine also encouraged dancers to let the shoes remake their bodies, including developing bunions that gave the foot just the right line. And as their bodies were remade, dancers became “like IBM machines,” modern and indistinguishable.
Link -via Boing Boing
(Image credit: Flickr user kirikiri)
File this device under unique and useless, perfect fodder for blog posts! The device is the one and only analog Twitter client, Tweephone, and you must use the rotary dial to enter the letters, one turn at a time just like the old days.
If you have money to burn and love to Tweet then your house needs this decorative device. The rest of us will be more than happy just reading about it, i’m quite sure of that.
This amazing new device does a lot more than project little duckies onto objects, it projects a truly 3d image onto whichever surface you choose. You can walk around your projection, view it from all sides, and would make for the greatest ghost prank ever. Scooby Doo-style crimes via ghostly projected images have never been easier!
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I don’t know about you guys, but I’m always misplacing all my USB drives and SD cards. Fortunately, someone has finally created a delightful city where they can all go to spend some time together when you’re not using them.
Link Via Geekosystem
I don’t know about you guys, but I am always having issues with my cable signal. While I always assumed it was the old wiring in my home, it turns out it might be caused by squirrels who apparently love the taste of fiber optic goodness.
A recent study has shown that around 17% of all damage done to fiber optic cables is done by the adorable little brats. So next time you see a squirrel climbing up a telephone wire, maybe you should coax him down with a few peanuts before he munches away at your precious TV signal.
Link Via Consumerist Image Via ingridtaylar [Flickr]
The shuttle’s days are over, but its impact on daily life is by no means diminished. Since NASA began development of new tech for astronauts, we the people have gotten trickle-down innovations from the science implemented in shuttle missions. PopSci has rounded up ten inventions originally used on the shuttle that are implemented right now by non-astronauts. From baby formula to fishing nets, check out the gallery at Popular Science. Link
Image: Goodyear Tires
Comments Off South Koreans have some of the longest work hours in the world, which makes it difficult for them to go grocery shopping. To counter the problem (and to help their market share), Tesco installed virtual grocery stores in the subway stations where items can be ordered via QR code and later be delivered to the person’s home.
Bjork’s new album may sound good to her fans, but the real value is in its interactivity with the iPad. All of the songs on her album will have their own custom-designed app, that allow users to manipulate the songs on the device. The first song released revolves around the formation of crystals in the earth, as does its related app.
Link Image Via thetripwirenyc [Flickr]
In some cases, reliance on modern technology makes things more complicated and more expensive than a low-tech approach. The folks preparing for an election found that a short stack of paper worked as well as 30 laptop computers -and cost a lot less. That reminds us of the story of the toothpaste factory that had a problem detecting empty toothpaste boxes at the end of the assembly line.
Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort.
The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, third-parties selected, and six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution — on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time. They solved the problem by using some high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box weighing less than it should. The line would stop, and someone had to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done.
A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI of the project: amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. Very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. “That’s some money well spent!” – he says, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.
It turns out, the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0 after three weeks of production use. It should’ve been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report. He filed a bug against it, and after some investigation, the engineers come back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren’t picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.
Puzzled, the CEO travels down to the factory, and walks up to the part of the line where the precision scales were installed. A few feet before it, there was a $20 desk fan, blowing the empty boxes out of the belt and into a bin.
“Oh, that — one of the guys put it there ’cause he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang”, says one of the workers.
Some have pointed out that the simple solution would not have been found if the complicated scheme hadn’t been put into effect; others say a cash incentive to the line workers would have done the job. Whether the story is true or not, it illustrates the importance of thinking simple when possible. Link -via a comment at Hacker News/Metafilter
(Image credit: Flickr member Gustavo Durán)
During the Cold War, the US military developed top secret aircraft at the Air Force facilities at Groom Lake, also known as Area 51. Decades after the projects were finished, these designs remained classified. Although these planes were “technology demonstrators” and were never put into service, they were crucial for testing systems and technologies that are part of modern military and civilian aircraft alike. Read the stories and see photographs of three of these projects (one of which only exists in photographs, as the planes are still missing) at UrbanGhosts. Link
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From to Google Wave to the Microsoft KIN, we have seen lots of failed technology in recent years. However nothing seems as doomed to fail as “The Wearable Computer.” Check out this list of the 50 Worst Fails in Technology History Link
That should make it a whole lot easier! Link
Walt Disney Imagineering is updating the features of the Haunted Mansion. Here’s a look at how they are changing the beloved “hitchhiking ghosts.” -via Boing Boing
When I heard something on TV about getting an Phone for $50, I thought about the people I know who paid $600 for theirs. I am not an early adopter of new technology (unless it is free, of course), since I am old enough to remember Betamax. You might have to look that one up, since it is not on the list of the 15 Biggest Fails for Techies Who Bought the Wrong Gear Too Early. This is a slide show of things you may regret having bought when they first came on the market, because the price dropped, it became obsolete, or you can’t upgrade the early models. Shown is the Amazon Kindle.
The Kindle’s transformation from luxury gadget to impulse buy isn’t based on a single moment but rather on a series of price drops that broke the hearts of early adopters. If you bought a Kindle 2 in February 2009, it cost $359. Five months later, $299. Three months after that, $259. By June 2010, the Kindle 2 cost $189–and if you thought that was a good time to pull the trigger, July brought word of the Kindle 3, including a Wi-Fi model for $139. In less than a year and a half, the Kindle had become thinner, lighter, and $220 cheaper.
Maybe one day I will get around to buying one. Link -via Interesting Pile
In the art installation called Just in Time, or A Short History of Production, French artist Xavier Antin printed a book using a chain of four desktop printers of varying technologies from 1880 to 1976, using the output of one as input of another: Link – via The Ministry of Type
As we lead up to the QR Code Hunt next week in New York City where you will have a chance to win a brand new Ford Fiesta, I wanted to write some more about how the contest will work and how QR codes work in general. Yesterday, we learned that QR codes can be programmed to deliver an SMS, to take you to a Web page, to place a phone call, etc. Because they’re so versatile, they’ve been used in a variety of cool ways already.
For instance, during the Lost finale, some fans noticed the flash of a red QR code during a True Blood commercial. If you stopped your DVR and shifted back to the code, you could pause the frame and scan the code. From there, you would have been taken to an exclusive clip from season 3. (In fact, if you try the red QR code here, with the blood, it should still work!) Clothing companies have also been using them in innovative ways. For instance, window shoppers at some stores have wondered what the little square 8-bit-looking thingamajig is doing there next to, say, a certain jacket or a pair of shoes. Well, if you scan the code, you get a coupon for a discount on the item if you bring it inside the store on your phone. Pretty neat, eh?
For our QR Hunt, we’re asking everyone to download a few different QR code readers and to practice scanning some codes to get the hang of it before heading off to find the car on Tuesday the 21st at 11am. Some readers respond faster than others. Some are just plain cooler than others. So here’s a test. Scan the code below and see where your phone takes you (it’s free, don’t worry, there’s no catch!). If you wind up at my community engagement Web site where the contest is mentioned on the homepage, well then you’ve done it correctly.
Stay tuned for more on QR codes here on the blog and remember to follow one of the following on Twitter for those starting locations next Tue: @neatorama or @mental_floss or @resila. If you don’t use Twitter, no worries, just check our blogs at exactly 10:30 am for the starting location nearest you. Oh, and you don’t have to be from NYC to participate, though you do have to be IN the city that day.
Last week we announced that we’re giving away a BRAND NEW FORD FIESTA in NYC through a special QR code hunt a week from today. But what on earth is a QR code? Well, if you’ve ever been to Japan, you probably already know, because they’re very popular over there already in billboard ads and magazines. This should come as no surprise seeing as QR codes are used in conjunction with mobile phones and the Japanese have had cameras on their cell phones since like 1928 (!)
Also, QR codes were invented by the Japanese to track car vehicle parts way back in 1994, so it’s no wonder they’re ubiquitous there already. Here in the States, however, they’re just beginning to catch on a little bit. QR stands for quick response—as in, you scan the code with your phone’s camera and you’re immediately taken to whatever the code has be programmed to do. The code might send you an SMS, it might take you to a Web page, it might trigger a video or even have your phone call a phone number.
Recently, we got a Target catalog in the mail with a bunch of QR codes next to some of the toys. When you scan one, you get a video commercial showing you what the toy could do. Likewise, New York Times tech writer Nick Bilton’s new book, I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works. uses QR codes in conjunction with video. Each chapter has a QR code at the top of it and when you scan them, some take you to YouTube videos of Nick talking about the chapter. You get to meet the author through the video and even interact with him through the YouTube vid comments.
Many Nokia phones are now coming with scanners and code readers built into them. Then there are all the wonderful free apps available for download to iPhones and Androids and the like. My favorites include ScanLife, RedLaser and Mobiletag. If you get a little high off of scanning groceries at those automated check-out lanes, you’ll really love using QR codes. For more, check out the Rocketboom video below.
That’s right, you read the headline correctly! We’re teaming up with mentalfloss.com and resila.com and giving you a chance to win a brand new Ford Fiesta on December 21st in NYC.
We can’t give away the details just yet, but if you live in the New York area, you’re going to want to make yourself available between 11am and 1pm for the coolest interactive event of the year. For more details as we make them available, follow @resila on Twitter or just keep checking back here as the date nears.
Sorry rest of the country, this is a NYC-based event only. However, if you live in San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Seattle, Miami, Chicago, or Los Angeles, you could win a Ford Fiesta, as well. Check out their Facebook page for details. (n.b. we are not associated with these other contests)
Coming soon, a cell phone or special eyeglasses that will change the way you look and interact with the world around you. Augmented reality will give us more information about the places we go, things we see, and even translate the local language into one you understand. National Geographic has a taste of what augmented reality can do, and how close we are getting to this brave new world. Link
How has Britain changed in the past 10 years? Prospect Magazine has an interesting infographic detailing the transformation of Great Britain from 1997 to 2009:
Richer, fatter, living longer, more indebted, drunker, better connected, politically disillusioned: there’s no metric that can describe whether we are happier or living better lives after 13 years of Labour. But there are plenty to show how we have changed during a period of fulsome spending, borrowing and technological transformation;
The snipped above is from the Media and Technology section and shows that cell phone ownership has gone from 17% to 93% of household, Internet access has grown from 4% to 73% whereas music sales have declined from nearly 10 million singles to just 4 million. Similiarly, newspaper circulation has contracted by 25%.
Link | The infographic in PDF format – via metafilter
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Considering how much we use technology in our lives, it’s scary just how easily our gadgets can be turned to spy on their owners. Consider the amount of information that passes through your computer or cell phone – the ability to log every keystroke or read every single text message gives someone the knowledge of your ongoings. Of course, these are only the most basic ways of spying, on you, through your technology.
Japanese company KDDI has developed technology for cell phones that uses something called accelerometers to track precise movements, then beams all that info back to a central location. And we’re not throwing the word “precise” around willy-nilly here. These guys can tell if whoever wearing the phone is sweeping versus scrubbing, walking versus running, doing number two in the bathroom versus doing number two in the secretary’s filing cabinet. It’s that sophisticated.
Link – via mentalfloss
From the Upcoming 
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Scientists have developed a way to make T-shirt fabric reinforced with boron carbide, which is the same material used to strengthen military tanks. Boron carbide has a hardness just short of diamonds. Imagine that strength in a regular lightweight shirt!
To turn cotton bulletproof, researchers from the University of South Carolina and their collaborators from China and Switzerland dipped sections of regular T-shirts (Fig 1a) in a special mix of nickel and borate. After allowing the cotton to absorb the mix for 2 hours (Fig 1b), the textile was dried quickly in an oven and cured at a high temperature for 3 hours. Once ready, the pieces of cotton were placed in a furnace and headed at 1160°C for 4 hours while continuously aerated with argon. Finally, the resulting fabric pieces (Fig 1c) were cooled and analyzed using electron microscopes and a barrage of strength tests.
So far, the performance of the material is not up to Kevlar standards, but with some tweaking, body armor may soon be as easy to wear as any other clothing. Link
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by 
Wired takes a look at new technologies for delivering nutrients to our bodies, from meat grown in laboratories instead of farms to ocean-grown crops. And there’s a possibility we won’t even need food in the future! Scientist Robert Freitas imagines humans ingesting nanorobots that could supply each cell with energy as it is needed.
This would only replace food’s caloric aspect, so we’d still need to take vitamin and nutritional supplements in order to provide the body with new matter as cells die off, according to Patrick Tucker, director of communications for the World Future Society. Still, there’s a certain cold comfort in knowing that if worse comes to worst, nanotechnology might give us a food pill that, taken every 10 years or so, would power our bodies if the planet loses the ability to do so — or if we’re forced to leave the planet, as Stephen Hawking suggests.
(image credit: Flickr user GE Healthcare)
A joker named Matt posted his own Youtube tutorial [above] revealing some very practical applications for this new tool, and demonstrating its awsome progressive learning capability.
Have you recently met someone you like through an online dating site? Now you can date in virtual worlds before dating in person! (And it’s free!) Check out weopia.com.
