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One Loud Table
9 Feb2010
From the creator of Pepper Knuckles and Music Blocks comes this wild and crazy table for your music collection. It’s called “Amusity” and it’s rather full of music and amusement, if I do say so myself. The designer Idan Arbel says that this is a tangible user interface coffee table for your entire music library. Toss it all on there and let the circus begin.
You can play music videos, access information on the artist, song, album, etcetera, and using such information control the flow of the songs. Meta data like popularity and genres control the way the music is displayed, with popular songs in the center, rarer songs emanating outward.
Activating one song or video will reveal a list of possible paths you might take toward other recommended songs, and then there’s the objects.
The objects are what control the music and video. The circle pieces are the speakers (really nice speakers it seems from the video) – wherever you place them on the board, that’s what song plays.
The Rectangle with antenna are the ones that activate the music videos. You can place them both, or just one at a time. There’s a plus object that shows textual information, and a dome that controls the view of the whole situation, allowing you to zoom in or out.
Fun!
Designer: Idan Arbel
- In: Tek Oh!
- Tags: audio, audio interface, Automatic, inside outside, Interface, Technology
For Want of a Lunch Tray
9 Feb2010
The cafeteria was lost! What do you consider when you think of a lunch tray? Flat. The plate sits on it, the cup of soda or beer sits wobbling on it too. Well what if it was a bit more minimized? How about if the only kind of food you were eating was noodles, rice, a meat, and some dipping sauce? I know that’s what I eat when i go to my favorite restaurant. Well check out this simple design called the “Palate” – made for cup safety!
It’s a strange game, the restaurant world. Each place has its own method, it’s own plate for its own food. I’m sure you’ve used the circle, the rectangle, and even the separated squares of the school commons tray. But how about this one? What say you? While you’re walking, there’s not much chance anything’s gonna fall off, the pop is safe, and the dipping sauce is right there in the middle when you wanna get in.
Designer: BANG ki ryoul
My Little Lockie USBee!
9 Feb2010
What’s the consensus, do you use external harddrives to keep your information safe, or do you trust the USB? Or GASP do you keep your important information on your computer itself?! This is blasphemy. This is madness! Your stuff can be totally accessed there! Don’t you know about the dreaded hacker gang Gonna Getchas? They’re harsh. Well! Designer Yun Hwan Sung has a handle for you. It’s called “Bill’s USB.”
What does Bill’s USB have to do with informations security? It’s a lock! Turn one knob, turn the other, and when the combination is hit, you may access the USB. Simple as that.
Oh and it’s a ring!
Quite clever, yes?
Designer: Yun Hwan Sung
- In: Tek Oh!
- Tags: lockable usb, lovely device, Product Design, Technology, usb, usb device, usb lock
Daily Crunch: Pac Directions Edition
9 Feb2010
Lian Li “spider” case seen creeping around Taiwan
Heat powered arcade mugs
The red TomTom EASE is probably meant to be a Valentine’s Day gift because it’s red
Quick release $14 camera belt clip
Canon keeps the PowerShot line alive with the SX210, SD3500, and SD1400 IS
- In: Tek Oh!
- Tags: daily crunch, hot
It’s crazy how the slightest little hint of something starts all the rampant speculation about Apple’s product development. This is the third clue that the next generation of iPad will have a camera, if not video capability. It certainly explains the stuff that was found in the SDK.
So add it up: first you have support for video conferencing in the SDK. Add the fact that the leaked picture of the bezel shows a socket for a camera. Add to that, a job posting that recently appeared, looking for “a software quality engineer with a strong technical background to test still, video and audio capture and playback frameworks.” This all looks to add up to the inevitable fact that the next gen of iPad will have video capabilities. Makes you want to run right out and buy a first gen version, doesn’t it? Oh well. Apple will still sell a ridiculous number of the things.
Saving Private Ryan to storm Blu-ray
9 Feb2010
You might want to sit down for this one. Are you ready? Saving Private Ryan is coming to Blu-ray. Yep, the 1998 Academy award-winning movie is finally coming to Blu-ray on May 4th. Expect the ad machine to fire up some time in April, since you’re going to want to buy another version of this movie as well, right?
So we know it’s coming May 4th, from the Blu-ray release schedule, but that’s about all the information we have. No word on what special features, extras, how much it will cost, box art. Nothing. It’s a whisper of a dream, and if you ask too many questions, that dream with burst like a soap bubble on a cacti.
Pandora open-source handheld is go
8 Feb2010
For quite a while now, I’ve been following the progress of the Pandora, an open-source handheld for music, movies, and games. It’s hard to stay excited, though, when there’s the constant threat of the thing ceasing to exist. That seemed to be a risk for a while, but now we’re being told that all the hurdles are jumped and the thing will start rolling off the assembly line any moment now. Just thought you should know.
What are you waiting for? Get your pre-order in before the whole first run gets snapped up!
- In: Tek Oh!
- Tags: CrunchArcade, Headline, pandora
Got a Kindle? Get thee to the British Library! Not only are they giving away a ton of old 19th-century literature in e-book form, but they’re a special “first edition” e-book with the original typeface and illustrations baked in. The 1800s encompass nearly all of my favorite literature, so this is actually making me want a Kindle pretty bad right now. Original typefaces! O lawd!
If Dickens and Austen aren’t your thing (pity) there are lots of other great works as well. None of the articles describing the project list more than a few titles, but I’m guessing you are likely to have some Dumas, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, and of course Melville. Whatever the case, they’re going to be beautiful copies that make good use of those high contrast e-ink screens.
The project is funded by Microsoft, which donated “a very generous amount” to the library to enable the giveaway. They’ll be made available in the spring, at which time I’ll probably post again because I love love love this.
The ISS gets its own HD video tour
8 Feb2010
Sit back, relax, and enjoy this extensive HD video tour of International Space Station. You better enjoy the ISS while you can. There’s a good chance it’s going to crash into Planet Earth within the next couple of years because of budget issues unless the ESA can save it.
Beware the coming of the spider! This strange creature was seen in a back alley, eating cats, small dogs, and any memory chips it happens to find. It has the capability to disguise itself as the Lian Li T1 Pitstop, which is a Mini-atx case with room for a full size power supply. Of course, no word on pricing, availability, or even if we’ll see this case in the US, but it’s a fun video to watch.