• • •
: : DESIGNPLAN : :
01 - 09
t e c h / t o o l s
In an endless quest to simplify and slim laptop computers and other portable devices, sometimes functionality gets sacrificed in the name of sleek efficiency.
Instead of suggesting you add more USB ports to your ultra-thin device, Gonglue Jiang proposes you simple stack more USB devices into a single port.
A color-coding system helps keep track of which cord is running which extension, though beyond three of four this otherwise-brilliant solution could start to seem a tad awkward. A neat extension (no pun intended) of this idea would be to have the first in line be a storage device – something you might leave plugged in much or most of the time anyway, and that wouldn’t add another cord to the mix.
While 3D graphics have been filling our eyes in cinemas and video games way before Nemo ever got lost, we've typically had to settle for computer generated artwork. Live2D from Cybernoids is a drawing technology that hopes to change that. The software lets animators and game creators give hand drawn 2D images rudimentary 3D qualities. In the video above you can see the character turn her head, and the image -- based solely on the 2D version -- twists and adapts in real-time. There are two versions of the software, one based on polygons, and the other vectors, and there is support for consoles and smartphones -- but no details on specifics at this time. The developers admit it's only suitable for limited movement, such as in dialog-based games, for now, but hope to have the tools to handle full 360 degree motions over the next two years.
There has been no shortage of iPhone and iPad accessories that attempt to mix old school technologies with the new. Some pull it off pretty well, while others are just comical. The iTypewriter is probably the most preposterous thing we’ve seen all month, but hipsters everywhere are going to love it.
The iTypewriter is a concept created by Austin Yang that allows users to enjoy the old feeling of typing. Each time a user presses a key, a metal arm with a rubber pad on the end slams into the iPad’s virtual keyboard for that character – you know, just like a real typewriter would. You can see a video of it in action right here.
Yang’s site claims that even though elderly people have never used a computer or iPad before, they’re familiar with a typewriter, so the iTypewriter helps them connect with their device. The idea that elderly people can’t interact with a virtual keyboard and would need something like the iTypewriter is absolutely absurd, but I’m not 90 years-old, so what do I know.
There’s no word yet on whether or not Yang plans to turn iTypewriter into an actual product line, but we’re really hoping we never see our coffeeshops packed with hipster’s loudly pounding away on their iTypewriter as they produce beautiful Apple poetry.
These new Spy Camera Glasses, could point the way to the future, since they don’t look out of place on a ‘normal’ person at all. That marks a big change from the old chunky black models of a few years back which you could spot from a mile away (not hard since you ended up looking like a circus freak with those massive frames). This new model has the camera embedded in the sidebar of the frame, the connecting cable looks like a normal neck strap and you can even have the frames filled with proper prescription lenses to help you avoid hitting lamp-posts.
The device features a low light, high resolution camera, PAL or NTSC format, is suitable for ladies or gents and is compatible with standard type spy DVR recorders. They’re not cheap, but $295.00 says you could definitely have a lot of fun with these in the right circumstances.
Issue 02••
Apple files patent for interactive 3D interface, keeps rumor mills turning
Murmurs of an iPad 3 on the horizon not doing it for you? How about a new pseudo-3D interface? A patent filing has whet our appetites with the possibility (that's what it is; a possibility) of a future Apple device capable of gauging depth and displaying a 3D environment based on the user's eye movement. On-screen content would adjust to your eye movement, expanding items where ever your eyesight falls. It would also create a "virtual 3D operating system environment," where the user would feel like the UI projects beyond the two-dimensional screen.
Apple files patent for interactive 3D interface, keeps rumor mills turning
By Mat Smith posted Feb 13th 2012 4:41AM
The patent includes details on 'realistic' drop shadows for icons and other OS furniture based on the degree and angle of ambient light. The filing, from April 2010, says that the technology would use an accelerometer, GPS and 'gyrometer' to reference the placement of the device and report on its movements. Sound interesting? Those in need of more foggy details and line drawings can hit up the full patent request at the source below.
A very elegant formshape in a new phone by ACER : :
IBM: We're on the cusp of the Quantum Computing revolution
Technology's holy grail is the development of a "perfect" Quantum Computer. Traditional computers recognize information as bits: binary information representing "On" or "Off" states. A quantum computer uses qubits: operating in superposition, a qubit exists in all states simultaneously -- not just "On" or "Off," but every possible state in-between. It would theoretically be able to instantly access every piece of information at the same time, meaning that a 250 qubit computer would contain more data than there are particles in the universe. IBM thinks it's closer than ever to realizing this dream and if you want to know more, we have the full details after the break.
The system has serious ramifications in the fields of science, technology, medicine and security -- the latter because it can try every conceivable password to access a system within a second. However, for now, this computer remains science fiction rather than science fact. In the same way that you understand the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Physics, qubits are negatively affected by both observation and interaction -- the vulnerability of these materials to interference from heat, radiation and defective materials means you can't trust the answers it provides, called quantum decoherence. Being able to produce a qubit of sufficient "integrity" that you can trust the results is what has eluded scientists for decades.
In a few short hours, however, IBM is going to present three brand-new records to the American Physical Society that could change all of that. Using its R&D know-how, and some of the world's most powerful freezers, it's developed methods of easily building, maintaining and even increasing the integrity of a qubit to the point that it's now very close to the minimum standard required by the research community. David DiVincenzo, professor at the Institute of Quantum Information thinks that the company is "nearly at the tipping point."
Taking technology developed at Yale, its three dimensional superconducting qubit was able to extend the duration of each qubit's quantum state to up to 100 microseconds: a short time for you and me, but a lifetime for a computer that theoretically knows everything. The papers, entitled "Superconducting qubit in waveguide cavity with coherence time approaching 0.1ms" and "Complete universal quantum gate set approaching fault-tolerant thresholds with superconducting qubits" will be made available after the presentation later this morning and it's hoped that scientists can now concentrate upon error correction schemes to further enhance the technology. Part of the revelation is that IBM built the qubits using traditional commercial chip fabrication technology: meaning that if the final ceiling is breached, it would be possible to mass-produce the technology very rapidly at scale.
by Daniel Cooper
Contributing Editor, Engadget UK
Issue 02••••
Human Hands + Machine Brains = Beautiful People Portraits
Art is typically thought of as a very human pursuit; machines are incapable of the type of soul needed to create memorable pieces of creative work. But is it possible for humans and machines to cooperate in the creation of art? The Self Portrait Machine makes hybrid art that uses the precision of a machines to guide human hands in drawing human portraits.
The machine takes a picture of a human and then guides that human’s hands to create a precision self-portrait. The human’s hands and wrists are tied to the machine as the forearms rest on small platforms. The machine’s moving parts glide around, guiding the person’s pen-holding hands in exactly the right way.
The success and level of detail in the portraits, according to creator Jen Hui Liao, depend on how much the subject cooperates and how much time the subject is willing to spend being guided around by the drawing hand. Just as in human-created art, these portraits vary greatly in appearance and content.
When the portrait is done, it looks like a very stylized – yet still usually very recognizable – version of the model. The question is whether to give credit for that portrait to the machine or the human. Neither could create the works of art without the other, yet neither can exactly be considered an artist. At best, we can say that this unique effort could not exist without the very unusual cooperation between human and machine.
From : : doornob.com
Mac Tablet manufacturer Axiotron has announced a new promotion for the company's award-winning Modbook solution, still the one and only Mac tablet computer. Under the promotion, every Modbook ships with an additional (second) digitizer pen set (a $50 value) that includes a programmable digitizer pen and replacement felt, pencil and studio pen tips. This promotion is valid while supplies last.
Embraced by creative professionals as an all-in-one portable production studio, the Modbook integrates Axiotron's tablet hardware and software technology, a Wacom Penabled digitizer and an Apple MacBook base system. Unlike Apple's iPad mobile digital device, the Modbook is a full-fledged tablet computer running the Mac OS X operating system. It is not a one-app-at-a-time media pad. Instead, the Modbook is a pen-enabled tablet computer system with 512 levels of pen pressure sensitivity on which creative applications like Adobe Photoshop or Toon Boom Storyboard Pro can be used to produce high-resolution, professional-quality creative deliverables.
With its fast processing speeds (2.13Ghz for Modbooks with new base systems), superior graphics (including an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor on many models), large 13.3-inch AnyView LCD display and durable ForceGlass screen, the Modbook is the most powerful and affordable slate-style tablet computer system on the market. A comprehensive side-by-side analysis of the leading tablet PCs is available at http://www.axiotron.com/compare.
New Pogo Connect stylus feels the pressure
For years Wacom has ruled the digital stylus market for artists, photo retouchers, and others who want to marry the worlds of pens and computers. But touch-screen tablets are rewriting the rules for digital input, and Ten One Design hopes its new Pogo Connect stylus will prosper as a result.
The company already sells the more ordinary Pogo and Pogo Sketch tablet stylus products, which are held like a pen but which a tablet or smartphone sees as a finger. The new $80 Pogo Connect, though, adds a higher-end feature from the Wacom world: pressure sensitivity.
That means the harder you press down with the tip of the stylus, the darker or wider the line your brush stroke will appear -- at least when using compatible software that knows how to interpret the extra information the pen sends over Bluetooth 4.0. In contrast, Wacom's approach doesn't require a battery, but it does need a special screen to monitor the stylus.
To power the radio transmission (and a programmable LED on the stylus, too), the Pogo Connect uses a single AAA battery that should last for months, Ten One said.
Compatible software available now includes Brushes, Zen Brush, PDFpen for iPad, Procreate, FlipBook HD, and Sketch Club, Ten One said. Apps under development and "coming soon" include GoodNotes, Noteshelf, Colors, Paper, SketchBook Pro, and NotePad Pro.
Prepared by : :
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and has also covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux, other open-source software, and science.
Upgraded Measuring Tape Features Pencil Trapping Gap for Straight Lines
We know you architects and designers out there are constantly looking for new ways to simplify your work. Seen on Yanko Design, the Hole Measuring Tape from designer Sunghoon Jung is a 2012 iF Design Talents Award entry and a practical instrument, soon to be implemented. The product allows its user to draw straight lines easier and with precision, while in the same time assessing their length. Unlike most rulers or common measuring tapes, this idea comes with a functional gap, which the user can use to “trap” a pencil and sketch more accurately. The design has more than one measuring systems, which is definitely a useful feature. You should know the item is still in the concept phase, but it will probably be on the market soon.
Startup Nest only launched its learning thermostat last October but the company tells the New York Time’s Bits Blog that it has sold in the “mid-hundreds of thousands,” of units range. The company — which is the brainchild of Tony Fadell, who helped design the iPhone and iPod for Apple — immediately sold out of the thermostat shortly after launch, leading to long wait times for the product well into 2012.
But now, the company seems to have ramped up production, and at this point, the Nest thermostat is selling through a variety of places including Nest’s online site, the Apple store, big box retailers like Best Buys and Lowe’s and Amazon, among others. Fadell will be discussing what’s next for Nest at our annual RoadMap event, which will focus on design in the age of connectivity and will take place on November 5 in San Francisco (tickets went on sale today here).
Because the Nest device is connected and has smart algorithms, the company can push different software and services to it and see how Nest customers respond, points out the Bits writer. So called A/B testing is pretty common on the Internet, but not really widely used in the thermostat and utility worlds. Nest’s algorithms have also changed slightly as Nest has learned more about its customers.
On one hand, this is totally awesome. On the other hand, making something look like a gun is probably not the best idea. On the other other hand, it’s awesome. So it’s decided, the Drill Gun Power Screwdriver is the ultimate manly tool. I do like the extra bit storage where the bullets would normally go, that’s actually pretty clever.
Gun Grip Drill is a Weapon of Mass Construction
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
When you walk out to your garden at night, everything looks a bit ominous. Shadows hang on everything, and if you’re tired, a bush can look like a wild cat waiting to pounce on you (this definitely isn’t speaking from experience). While you could always put out solar lamps, they’re usually just a tad too much light.
If you want something that will help you see without being too obtrusive, then the Glow In The Dark Pebbles might be of some use. This set of 100 pebbles will soak up the sun all day, and will provide two to three hours of glow once it’s dark out. This can illuminate a path, define specific flower beds, or be used as decoration in a fountain. They only cost about $10, and would give your garden a bit of a magical feel. Just make sure you don’t have any pets that might think these are treats for some reason.
Glow in the Dark Pebbles to Light up your Life
Tesla reveals Supercharger network it says will cover the US in two years; Model S fills up for free, always
At Tesla's event, CEO Elon Musk has finally taken the wraps off of its Superchargers which it has already set up at six locations in California, pictured in the map after the break. The company plans installations on "high traffic corridors across the US" over the next year, with units heading to Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013. According to Musk, the solar powered systems will put more power back into the grid than the cars use while driving. Oh, and for you Model S owners? You will always be able to charge at any of the stations for free. According to Musk, the economies of scale developed while building the Model S have helped it get costs down on the chargers, although he did not offer specifics.
During the event we also saw video of drivers charging their vehicles at stations today that Tesla apparently constructed in secret. They're using solar technology from (also owned by Musk) SolarCity, and can charge a Model S with 100 kilowatts good for three hours of driving at 60mph in about 30 minutes. Currently pushing 90kW, they could go as high as 120 in the future for even faster charging. Check the press release embedded after the break or Tesla's website for more details.
The Morpholio Project launches Trace for the iPad
: : DESIGNPLAN : :
10 : 01
: : DESIGNPLAN : :
09 : 02
Digital Device to Draw & Measure Ever-Elusive Straight Lines
But this concept goes beyond simple enabling linear effects – from drafting to simply underlining more neatly in books – it is envisioned by product designer Giha Woo as a way to measure while you draw as well, and display the results in realtime on a digital readout.
These days there may not seem much need since computers can draft for you, but any creative person knows there is something about putting pen to paper (or stylus to pad, at the very least) that gives you a more visceral connection to your creation.
Having a home theater setup is a rather costly endeavor. Especially if you’re decking the whole thing out with a popcorn machine and those fancy chairs that actually lean back. Should you want to have the big screen without all the fuss (and for a heck of a lot less money), you’ll be glad to know there are other options available.
It looks like 3M is going to launch a Streaming Projector that will provide a 120-inch viewing area. In junction with the Roku Streaming Stick, you’ll have access to over 600 channels(through other services like Netflix, Hulu, etc). It has a battery life of two hours and forty-five minutes, and can stream movies from the internet if you can’t find what you’re looking for on your other video services. This is currently on pre-order for $299, and won’t start shipping until October 22nd.
GS-Calc: A low-cost spreadsheet with a unique interface
GS-Calc 10 ($20, 30-day free trial) is an inexpensive spreadsheet program that isn't an Excel clone. It also has some imperfections that are at least partially mitigated by the low price.
Developer Citadel 5 packs GS-Calc full of interesting features, including a large work area (4094 columns by 12 million rows), pivot tables, robust charting, and a nice interface for dealing with multiple worksheets in a single project.
GS-Calc has an unusual, and welcome, take on multipage spreadsheets.
Rather than a row of tabs along the bottom to handle multiple sheets, which becomes problematic when a workbook grows beyond four or five pages, GS-Calc offers a hierarchical, folder-based view supporting multiple levels of folders. This makes it easier to create a workbook consisting of many smaller, more-focused sheets, a boon to navigation and debugging.
A single formula can fill several cells with calculated values. These "array formulas" work with most of GS-Calc's functions. For example, entering "=SQRT(4)+{1;2;3;4;5}" will produce the numbers 3 through 7, in five cells, beginning with the one in which the formula was entered. If the data in one of the "generated" cells is overwritten or changed, it is refreshed as soon as the worksheet recalculates itself.
By using references to worksheet ranges as part of the array, an array formula in a single cell can fill many cells with data. It's much easier to correct errors in that single formula than to do so in many cells, even with features like Excel's auto-copy to make the job easier.
GS-Calc is loaded with functionality, but hides the full list and all descriptions in the dialog box you can use to enter a function. The description and examples contained for each function in this dialog is thorough, but this is the kind of information that should be in the Help file. Having it in the dialog is a very helpful addition to having it in the Help, but it isn't a replacement for it.
Version 10 of GS-Calc corrects one of the flaws of Version 9: The screen redraw and interface responsiveness is much better, without the flicker effect sometimes seen before. It still retains some of the interface oddities, such as numerical overflow going to the left by default, rather than the right, or the workable, though non-standard, use of the Ctrl key to select cell addresses while entering a formula.
Other improvements to GS-Calc 10 include a compressed, proprietary save format, in addition to the ODF (Open Document) format, and the ability to add a note file to each document, which can be displayed in the bottom or left panes. The notes are linked to the entire document, not to any individual sheet or cell. Cell deletion has been made more flexible, as well. These are "quality of life" improvements, small changes that enhance the application without massively changing the user experience or basic functionality.
GS-Calc also features support for pivot tables, allowing for the easy creation of summary reports and breaking down data into various categories. Charting, both 2-D and 3-D, is also supported. While it doesn't contain any revolutionary breakthroughs, the charting function has options for user control and styling of the information presented, and the interface is generally clear despite there being many possible values to adjust.
GS-Calc offers a great deal of functionality for a very low price, and version 10 is an incremental upgrade. Nothing in version 10 makes GS-Calc radically different from version 9, but it shows a commitment to frequent improvements and fixes.
GS-Calc is especially useful for working with data best broken into multiple pieces, but it does have the capacity to handle large quantities of information as well, making it a good tool to grow with. The 30-day trial should be sufficient to evaluate its performance on whatever tasks you might need it for.
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inventiveculture/impress-coffee-brewer/widget/video.html" frameborder="0"> </iframe>
