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7 Ways That Windows Mobile 7 Could Win
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 29, 2010 in Tech
We tend to forget just how quickly things can change in the tech world. For example once upon a time Palm was a dominant player in the space, and by all rights they should still be there. What happened? Well you can blame it on any number of things (poor engineering, marketing, cash flow, etc.) but the reality is that it comes down to good old fashioned hubris. Read more… Kawaii Critters for Your Fridge
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2010 in Tech
It’s the old classic problem: How do you keep your family from opening the fridge door all the time and wasting valuable electricity? Well Fridgezoo is here to help! These cute little characters which are shaped like mini milk cartons sense when you are opening the door of your refrigerator and then greet you in Japanese; and then if you leave the door open for too long they ask you to close it. The manufacturer claims that these critters are good for the environment, although I think the practical gag possibilities are much more entertaining: Read more… Meet Jean Bartik, a Computer Programmer from the 1940s!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2010 in Tech
This amazing video clip below features Jean Bartik who was one of the first generation of computer programmers from the 1940s. Her first job was working on the ENIAC computer in 1945: Read more… A Newtype of USB Memory Stick
It looks as though Japan’s getting another awesome anime-related memory stick. Similar to the Evangelion usb stick I talked about last month, these upcoming Gundam memory sticks will likely hit Japanese shelves some time next month. I’ve got more memory sticks laying around than I can count on two hands, but I think anyone would want to make an for these — I just wish wouldn’t have to import it, and that it’d come in a decent size. GeekStuff4U currently has them available for pre-order, but the only size they seem to have is 4 GB. That’s not very big by today’s standards, but then again, I’m sure most of you probably don’t store many documents — save for full-length feature films — over that limit, right? Could Hasbro’s My3D Let Apple Take a Bite Out of the 3DS?
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 10, 2010 in Tech, Videogames
Hasbro is reportedly developing an accessory that allows users to experience immersive 3D using Apple’s iDevices. The product, known as My3D, requires what the use of binoculars which attach to your iPhone or iPod, allowing you to simulate 3D. Under normal circumstances I’d post the image of the My3D accessory that’s been floating around the net, but seeing as it belongs to AP, who have been more litigious than normal as of late, you’ll have to settle for this lovely image of Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. Not Just for Muggles; Wizards Need Hard Drives too
Back in April, Paramount teamed up with Seagate to produce a special edition hard drive that came loaded with select movies, such as Abram’s Star Trek. Well, it sees Buffalo will be taking this cross promotional concept a step further with their upcoming Harry Potter hard drives. Buffalo has teamed up with Warner Home Video in order to load the drives with all six films to date. The films will come in a DRM-locked DivX format and require an Internet connection to be played. Chances are, if you’re reading this, that won’t be a problem. Aside from having the movies sitting on the drive, the only film-related reference seems to be the Harry Potter logo located on the external drive itself. Nifty, but is it worth the price? I guess we’ll have to see when it’s announced, along with the official release date later this month. Japan Invents a Printer That Let’s You Sniff Without Scratching
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 26, 2010 in Tech
Japan never ceases to amaze me. If they’re not busy inventing crazy new flavors of Pepsi, and Pocky, they spend each day trying to reinvent the wheel. This week, their item of choice is the printer. Scientists at Tokyo’s Keio University have managed to invent a new printer that not only prints ink, but — you guessed it — smells. I’m not exactly sure it’ll catch on, after all, Smell-o-Vision certainly didn’t. Of course, that doesn’t mean this won’t either. Imagine it, we could be reading a cook book that lets us smell the pie we’re about to bake, or looking at various floral arrangements and trying to decide which one would smell best. There’s plenty of applications, I’m sure, but there’s just one little problem. Nobody quite knows how to synthesize the scents yet. It may be some time until we finally see these printers hit the market, and even then, plenty of research will have to be done before we can even enjoy the sweet scents. Until then, we’ll just have to make due with those scratch-and-sniff stickers you find at thrift stores. With This Rei Ayanmi USB Memory Stick, You’ll Never be Alone
When you think Neon Genesis Evangelion more often than not, the first image that comes to mind is Rei Ayanami. Her bandage-clad stoicism garnered plenty of fanboys and girls, making her practically synonymous with that classic series. That popularity explains why I’ve seen her on everything from softdrinks to body pillows. Well, now you can add another item to that list — a USB memory stick. Apparently it had been produced and sold-out rather quickly a few years back, but this unique little USB stick has made a return to Japanese markets. So how do you get your hands on one? Don’t worry, GeekStuff4u.com has you covered. You can import one for just 5,900 yen — that’s about $72. I know, it’s a little pricy for a 4GB USB stick, but you’ll probably be the only person you know with a mini-Rei holding your documents for you. E-mail Etiquette With the Oatmeal
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 5, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
These days, it seems everyone thinks they can have a web comic. I’m sure that’s probably why I don’t often read them, at least, not the ones that lack art in favor of snark. I’m not sure why, but I suppose on some fundamental level, I just object to the idea of reading witty blocks of text that could have been blogged, or otherwise printed instead of uploaded as a JPEG. And then, to call it a comic on top of that just adds insult to injury — it’s not a comic, it’s lazy. Occasionally though, these “comics” hit the nail on the head. One such was The Oatmeal‘s recent rant about the various e-mails we deal with on a day to day basis. Read more… 50 Years of Japanese Concept Cars
Posted by Michael Sacco on Oct 3, 2010 in Tech
While I’m trying not to establish myself as the “concept art guy” around here, sometimes a gallery of images is so cool that I just have to link it. And, not to play semantics or anything, these are concept cars, which are totally different from concept art. Not really. Specifically, though, these are concept cars from Japanese auto companies from the last 50 years, ranging in design from “sporty” to “swanky” to “kind of looks like a mechanical caterpillar” (like the above). Some of them seem straight out of a sci-fi movie — and some of them actually are. Read more… A Twitter Themed Manga
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 26, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
The tech fanboy in me loves this: Tta me! is a four-frame comic that’s been published as a proper full volume. The manga isn’t so much a Twitter how-to book but rather focuses on the social media service as a comedic/romantic plot device. Tta me! is written by Kawamura Kazuhiro and illustrated by Ajiko Kozima — and it’s available at Amazon.jp here. Read more… Hacking a 1959 Basketball Game
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 25, 2010 in Tech
The above film titled The Electronic Coach was produced in 1959 by IBM to show off their IBM 650. My favorite part of the film is when the coach pulls out reams of paper in the middle of the game to figure out who to send out next on to the basketball court. Although while the technology looks awkward it’s important to keep in mind that the IBM 650 was one of the first mass computers ever made with over 2,000 shipping between 1954 and 1962. Read more… This Camera Lets You Point, Click And Build
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 22, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
Like so many of you, I spent a good portion of my youth collecting Lego sets. While the little blocks once allowed me fancy myself an amateur architect — though, I realize now that I was far from one — it wasn’t until recently that I discovered my love for photography. Of course, it wasn’t simply that I came across a lovely photo, I had to introduced to field it by a friend who shoots professionally. It was very much a case of “Where has this been my whole life?” and “Why couldn’t something bring it to my attention sooner?” Well, it would seem Pentax has a unique idea that might help solve that problem. A Portable iPod Speaker with Just a Bit of Character
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 20, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
If you like you sounds kawaii this Speagurumi Cute Carrying Pouch Speaker collection is for you! Each speaker retains it’s block look, thus giving a superdeformed blockhead version of Hello Kitty, Elmo from Sesame Street, Doraemon and a Mukku version of Gachapin: Read more… Retro-Awesome or Failure to Move On? The iPad Mac!
Posted by Gia Manry on Sep 18, 2010 in Tech
You know, I really dug the idea of taking a gutted old Mac classic and turning it into a fishbowl; it seems like a great way to recycle and make fun of those awful aquarium screen savers at the same time. Read more… A Tablet Solution for Non-iFanpersons?
Posted by Gia Manry on Sep 17, 2010 in Tech
When you think of technology companies that manage to turn a gimmick into gold, you usually would think Apple. Granted, those gimmicks are matched by a mostly smooth user interface so easy even your great-great-grandparents could use it, and they’re dead…but gimmicks they are. Touchscreens? Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. Tablets? Apple’s iPad. There are more examples, but I don’t like to think about them: I, after all, am a non-iFanperson. Read more… This Kawaii Kitty has a Sub-Woofer
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 13, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
Hello Kitty has no mouth yet these kitty speakers can amp up your iPod: Available in white and pink each Hello Kitty Dock Speaker for iPod features two speakers and a remote control. Although the cool thing about this neko gizmo is that you can also control the sound caressing kitty’s ears to turn the volume up and down. Atari Concept Art from a Future Past
Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 6, 2010 in Tech
The world of personal electronics is currently in an arms race to see who can come up with the smallest, coolest-looking entertainment devices, but there was a time when the mere concept of a “home computer” was almost unbelievable. Atari may not have had decades of staying power in the PC market, but the Atari name will always be synonymous with early efforts in home computing and video gaming, and these amazing technical drawings and pieces of concept art drawn up by Atari industrial designer Regan Cheng in 1981 show why. Read more… How Digg Became Unsocial: A Potential History of How It Happened
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 26, 2010 in Tech
After many years of joy today was a sad day for me: My ranking as a power user on the website Digg has killed. I didn’t do too badly as I was in the top 300 — although since the elimination of shouts on the site I found my interest in Digg going down hill. And today the nail in my coffin was the launch of version 4 of the formaly social news website. Many power users have now been given a online version of a fatal dose of Kryptonite, so for my own sake I’ve attempted to reverse engineer why Digg ditched their community once and for all: Read more… Japanese Emoticons: A Stamp of Success
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 22, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
I love the illustrational complexity of Japanese emoticons — and now you can share these silly symbols in the real world with this Ginghami Kaoiro Emoticon Stamper. To me there’s something very appealing about taking digital iconography and coming up with such a primitive analog implementation: Read more… Ch-Ch-Ch-Chip’n’Gadget! Creepy Cults! Ch-ch-ch–
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 20, 2010 in Tech
Okay, okay, I’ll stop singing, but every time I see these photos of a Russian cult(/prank?) that supposedly worships Chip’n’Dale’s Rescue Rangers character Gadget Hackwrench, who is admittedly the cutest female cartoon mouse ever (suck it, Minnie). Read more… Apple’s Japanese iPhone Ads Seem Familiar
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 17, 2010 in Japanese TV, Tech
Generally, Japanese commercials tend to be a bit more outlandish than our own TV spots, so I was a bit surprised to learn that Apple hasn’t really done much to change the format of their recent iPhone 4 ads for an international market, aside from hiring Japanese actors of course. It would seem that Apple has focused almost entirely on their Face Time feature, hoping that live video chat would be enough to sell anyone on their reception-impaired smart phone. To be fair, a simple case can fix that, but why should there be a problem in the first place — right? Any ways, the commercials are still pretty cute. I just wonder if it’s enough to steal NTT Docomo’s loyal fan base. Is Android the Next Amiga?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 17, 2010 in Tech
In the 80s the Amiga was eons ahead of everyone else in the PC market: They had everything from the ability to play full color animations to multitasking. However this amazing platform just never took off. Why? Because the user base took advantage of the first generation of floppy disks and BBSs to pirate pretty much every last bit of software that was written for the platform. Because of this Microsoft never created a version of Word for the Amiga and WordPerfect lost a great deal of money thanks to cheap users. In fact the only winner that came away from the Amiga was the NewTek Video Toaster which was pretty much dongle protected due to the hardware aspect of the product. Read more… Bing Badly Needs a Misspelling Checker
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 16, 2010 in Tech
I believe very strongly that Google has an unhealthy monopoly on the internet, so for the past week or so I’ve switched all of my browsers to use Bing as the default search engine. For the most part Microsoft has done an amazing job of going from nothing to something to create a great search engine in a short amount of time, however there are still a few things that they need to beat Google. Having been born with dyslexia one of the things I love about Google is that their spell checker is amazing — in fact often when using Microsoft Word I’ll pop out of the program when I can’t get the spelling of a more obscure word. And this is the very sort of feature that not only does Bing need badly, but something that should also be incorporated into the online version of Microsoft Office. Read more… |
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