Reaction!

Apple's new video-rich control panels

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:53:46 +0000

Love this: In addition to the standard checkboxes, buttons and sliders you'll find in any settings panel, Apple's Magic Mouse control panel also includes a collection of snappy video tutorials that explain the effect of adjusting each setting.

All you need to do is mouseover the setting you're interested in and the relevant clip automatically plays on the right.

(Not sure that this is enough to convince us to buy a Magic Mouse though - our scars from using the Mighty Mouse have still yet to heal!)

[via Functioning Form]

Cheer up, emergency phone...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:42:16 +0000

Nice of them to put Braille on it. Shame you have to be able to see which light is flashing to be able to use it though...

[via reddit]

8-bit wedding invitation

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:14:10 +0000

[via BuzzFeed]

The HTC HD2 stops ringing when picked up

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:19:41 +0000

Nice usability tweak: HTC's new HD2 smartphone stops ringing when you pick it up - which is a great feature for those who routinely leave their phone in their purse/bag with its ringer turned on...and then have to fumble around blindly to find it and switch it off when someone calls during an important meeting.

[via User Centered/Opera]

Symbiosis: A font grown from E. coli

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:07:24 +0000

Dezeen reports that Dutch designer Jelte van Abbema won the €10,000 Rado Prize at the Dutch Design Awards last week for a body of work including Symbiosis - a font printed in bacteria.

Van Abbema printed this font on paper (see above) and billboards, creating "simple typographic forms that changed colour and form as the bacteria multiplied and then died".

[via Fast Company]

The Mindflex brainwave game

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:18:49 +0000

Mind control games are likely to become the big seller this Christmas. The video clip above shows Sean from Gizmodo demonstrating Mattel's Mindflex - a game in which you must manipulate the vertical movement of the ball using only the power of your thoughts.

(In case you're wondering, the headband detects the intensity of your brainwaves: the harder you concentrate, the higher the fan will elevate the ball. Clearing your mind makes the ball descend.)

RevolveR notebook turns inside out

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:47:11 +0000

The RevolveR notebook employs a mechanism similar to a Jacob's Ladder toy to enable you to turn it inside out.

[via Boing Boing]

Papercraft self portrait

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:51 +0000

Inspired by the oversized heads of videogame characters like Mario, Sonic and co, 3D artist Eric Testroete decided to fashion his own head out of paper. The result: An awesome Halloween costume!

[via today and tomorrow]

The visual language of Herbert Matter

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:19:38 +0000

When influential swiss designer Herbert Matter was asked to create a new logo for the New Haven Railroad he went through hundreds of sketches before arriving at the final design.

[via swissmiss]

Google Maps Navigation

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:33:33 +0000

Looks like Google will soon own the SatNav market then...Google Maps Navigation is a GPS/SatNav app that runs on your phone. Unlike the current market leaders in this space - that is, Navigon, TomTom, CoPilot, MapQuest, GoKivo and Sygic Mobile - it's completely free and it's internet-connected. It also boasts more impressive features, like easy search (no need to input an address, the name of the business/building you're heading to, or a broad category like "thai restaurant", will do), voice search, traffic information (from traffic data sources and crowdsourced from the app), and Street View close-up pictures when you get near your destination. The only downside: it only runs on Android at present.

100,000 Paper Planes and Melodies Over Monroe

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:21:08 +0000

On 27th September, over 20,000 people flooded downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan to play, whistle, sing and hum the main melody of Sigur Rós' "Olsen Olsen"...while exactly 100,000 paper airplanes in the seven colours of the rainbow were released from the rooftops of several buildings along Monroe Avenue!

The mastermind behind the project was the notorious Rob Bliss.

[via iGNANT]

Pandora's Box

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:07:24 +0000

Awesome work from Michael Flückiger (made with Processing and Arduino).

See also: Laika.

[via NOTCOT]

Philips Emotions Jacket

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:05 +0000

From Philips Research:

"The Emotions Jacket is a research platform that uses the sense of touch to take the cinematic experience to new levels, allowing viewers to experience the intense emotions felt by characters on-screen. While other viewing enhancement techniques focus primarily on audio and visual aspects, the Emotions Jacket instead stimulates the biggest, our heaviest and most sensitive sense; the human skin."

Halloween maths

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:43:08 +0000

A math professor at Biola University delivers a special Halloween lecture that mixes pre-edited video with live action.

[via BuzzFeed]

Banner ads on flies generate buzz

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:21:27 +0000

A company at a German trade show tied tiny banner ads to flies as a promotional stunt. As you'll see when you watch the clip above, the weight of these banners meant that the flies could barely get above eye-level (and needed to rest more often than they otherwise would). Which was great for the advertisers - as the banners remained clearly visible most of the time - but probably wasn't so good for the flies.

[via kottke.org]