TechCat

Even though the iPad was just announced, there are already plenty of concepts emerging that could take advantage of the device. This one is somewhat interesting, but dubious. It’s basically a huge display made from a bunch of refurbished/recycled iPads. (Once there are refurbished/recycled iPads to be had.)

This concept is by Clarke Hopkins Clarke from Melbourne Australia. They want to take a bunch of iPads, hook them up together into a giant matrix and use them to create massive touchscreen walls. The walls would then be used to produce multitouch interactive art and educational installations.

The fact that it’s modular is interesting, but the more you think about it, the less it makes sense. Standalone LCD screens are still much more cost-effective than iPads (even if they are refurbished). Of course, then you’d need some sort of computer system to power the displays themselves. And then touchscreen interfaces for them too. So maybe iPads would be the best way to pull this off. Or lots of iPhones.

[via Core77]

I think that we all know that the future is full of Microsoft Surface technology, and I look forward to the day when every table or desk is a touchscreen.

DISPLAX, made by a Portuguese company, is prepared for an age where every tabletop, wall, or any large flat (or even curved) surface could be a touchscreen. DISPLAX is a thinner-than-paper polymer film that can be applied to glass, plastic, or wood and can detect up to 16 touches at once.

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think of some good uses already. In fact, my dream house will have DISPLAX as wall-paper in every room.

That way, any wall I want can be a television, and recipes can appear on the wall in my kitchen. I would imagine that I could check my email or social media sites from any room, including the bathroom.

Okay, I am going out of my head (in a good way) thinking about all the applications for DISPLAX. So much so, I can’t even think of a bad use for it. However, there is one thing I am a bit unclear on: how does one program this screen? I mean, is there a USB port to connect to a computer, or something?

This technology feels like it is made for an era that I will never see in my lifetime. I have heard that DISPLAX will start shipping as early as July.

Source

If you’re tired of listening to your yappy dog, this collar will fix them.  Not in that shocking way that makes them twitch for a couple of hours.  No this one is nice enough it’ll give you a laugh and your pet loving significant other won’t scowl at you for being mean to the dog.  Instead of shocking them it sprays water right up their nose.  Well it’s nicer than the other way, no one said it was entirely nice.

It uses unscented water-based solution that’s hypoallergenic as well as ozone friendly.  I’m not entirely sure why they don’t just use water, but apparently they need to use a solution instead.  Probably so you’re forced to buy their unscented spray refills for $9.95 a piece.  That means if you have a particularly thick headed yappy dog you’re probably going to be shelling out that $10 on a regular basis.  The collar works with dogs 8lbs and up and is made of nylon.  In order to keep it powered it requires a 3V battery that’ll last up to 4 weeks.  You can purchase one for $49.95 through Hammacher Schlemmer.

Source: Crunchgear

Beginners Guide to Five Fingers –

The good lads over at BirthdayShoes.com put together an interesting presentation on VFFs and barefoot running. It’s fairly concise and nicely designed so I’ll excuse the fact that “free ebooks” are pretty dumb generally.

The [beginner's guide] is a twenty page e-book aimed at V5F “newbies” because let’s face it, foot gloves aren’t your typical footwear (1) and (2) any shoe that requires measuring the length of your foot from heel to longest-toe on your longest foot and then using that measurement to determine your shoe size by matching it on a grid by model and gender — well yeah, VFFs kinda need a guide!

You can grab a PDF here or just read it above.

My wife and I coach an Odyssey of the Mind team through our kids’ school. Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem solving program focused on teamwork and kid-only solutions of challenged they work on all through the school year. (I coached Destination Imagination back in Massachusetts for several years, and it is very similar).

Our team this year has a problem they are solving, and their solution has led them to events that happened in 1985, and as such they have been looking at the popular culture ‘way back then’. We have plenty of music from the 80’s in our record, tape and CD collections, but I came across a bargain ‘Billboard Top 100 of 1985′ collection when we were shopping, so I grabbed it and ripped it onto my iPod. Now each time the team meets we shuffle up some 80’s music … and they say things like ‘fer shure’ and ‘neo maxie-zoom dweebie …’. So what were the hits of 1985? Read on for a list and a few top videos for the year! … [visit site to read more]

Tags: Offbeat

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One of the advantages of owning a PS3 over an Xbox 360 is that Microsoft charges for its Xbox Live service and PSN is free. But maybe not for long. You may or may not have to pay for PSN in the future.

In November, a presentation slide revealed that Sony had a paid subscription plan in the works for PSN. And now Peter Dille in an interview with IGN says that “it’s something we’re thinking about”.

If they do decide to charge for it, how much are we talking? I would say that free PSN adds to the value of the system, getting them more buyers, but it’s not like I’m in charge. Well, at least you are getting a Blu-Ray player and Netflix streaming.

[Gizmodo]

If you’ve grown bored of using any number of your human senses to tell when someone’s within ten feet of you, then it’s probably time to start trying to convince everyone around you to buy one of these $20 proximity sensing shirts.

Powered by three AAA batteries stuffed into a hidden pocket inside the shirt, the large decal will emit radar-like waves when nobody’s nearby and then lock on and start flashing when someone else wearing the same shirt gets to within about ten feet.

You may ask yourself why someone would buy something like this. And maybe I’d ask that too. And then people would probably buy it anyway. Close-quarters hide and seek? Wow factor? Extra $20 that needs to be spent? Proximity-based frequency detection enthusiasts? The possibilities are endless.

Locked ON – Proximity Sensing Shirt [ThinkGeek.com]

Angry Internet Man here with a chip on his shoulder and a shoot promo to cut. This pre-order “bonus” video game content bullshit has to stop. Lives are at stake.

The latest example of this chicanery is BioShock 2. If you pre-order the game from GameStop, den of sin and other bad stuff, you get two exclusive multi-player characters. Well, pardon me for being a jerk and buying the game from Steam (where the pre-order bonus is a free copy of the orignial BioShock, as if I didn’t already have that—twice). Now I have to envy all the other neighborhood kids who get said characters? You know, I always hated those kids.

Granted, the odds of me playing BioShock 2’s multi-player mode are right around zero, so it’s not a huge deal, but there is a certain principle at stake here: why the heck should I have to buy—and pre-order, no less!—the game from GameStop to get access to the entire game? Why punish people who choose to shop at a different location?

And this is a benign pre-order bonus, extra multi-player skins. Who cares? Let’s look at something far more malignant: EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Did you know that unless you pre-order the game from, yes, GameStop, you won’t be able to play a certain multi-player mode for an entire month? Let’s say Wal-Mart is the only store in town; you couldn’t shop at GameStop if you wanted to. So you go over there, ask the nice cashier for a copy, come home, plop it into your PS3, and find out, oh, hey, I can’t play a mode that I paid for for four weeks. Awesome! Thanks, EA and GameStop!

(I don’t even understand how that’s legal, buying ostensibly the same product from one store but getting a hell of a lot more with your purchase than the guy who bought the same thing next door. Imagine buying a car from one dealership that included working high beams, but buying it from another store you get jack-shit for lights.)

Dragon Age: Origins had some pre-order nonsense, too. Basically, you had to buy the game 18 different times to unlock every single piece of “extra” content. What?

Mass Effect 2 rewarded armor and weapons—not superfluous multi-player skins, then—to people who pre-ordered the game from GameStop. Again, tough cookies, kid who bought the game from Target. You should have done the decent thing and driven an hour and a half out of your way to pre-order the game from almighty GameStop.

Let’s be fair: sometimes all this “extra” stuff is made available to everyone via Xbox Live or PSN after a certain amount of time. In SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, which came out last October, for example, Stone Cold Steve Austin was a GameStop pre-order exclusive (notice a pattern?) for a while, but now he can be purchased for 80 Microsoft Points. The stupidity of having to pay for something that’s already on the disc (or that could just as easily be included on the disc) aside, I do applaud THQ for at least making him available. Well, “applaud,” more like kick up dirt and say, “Gee, you guys shouldn’t have, really.”

What’s the purpose of this exclusive content stuff anyway? So GameStop can send a press release to Kotaku and JoyStiq and Techland a few days after a game’s release touting how many copies it sold? See, investors, people still buy their games from us! Yeah, of course, because you’re strong-arming publishers to incorporate extra content deals lest you devote precious shelf space to some other game whose publisher played ball with us. (I have zero information to that effect, it’s just what it feels like.)

When I buy a game, I want to know that I’ve bought the game. I don’t want to find out on CrunchGear of all places that I screwed up because I didn’t buy it at Store A, and thus lose out on armor or weapons or whatever the hell else. Why is this so hard to understand?

So you have a choice, gamers: participate in this charade by genuflecting at the shrine of GameStop (and others), thus perpetuating the garbage of “exclusive” content, or take your money elsewhere. That’s the only way it’s going to stop, too: refusing to shop at these stores that offer “exclusive” content, which only serves to harm your fellow gamers.

To arms and so forth!

Don’t expect Elon Musk to cash out after Tesla Motors goes public. The Department of Energy has him chained to his desk until well after the Model S rolls off the assembly line.

The feds have loaned Tesla $465 million to build the Model S sedan, and they want to ensure Musk sticks around long enough to get the job done. That’s just one of several interesting nuggets we’ve found digging into the Form S-1 the Silicon Valley firm filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of an initial public offering it hopes will raise $100 million.

This is what the paperwork says about when Musk can take the money and run:

Our DOE Loan Facility provides that we will be in default under the facility in the event Mr. Musk and certain of his affiliates fail to own, at any time prior to one year after we complete the project relating to the Model S, at least 65% of the capital stock held by Mr. Musk and such affiliates as of the date of the DOE Loan Facility.

According to the S-1, Musk (shown above at the unveiling of the Model S) owns 81 million shares. That will almost certainly change as his pre-IPO holdings are converted to public shares. It’s not as if Musk is hurting for cash, and even if he were he’ll still be able to unload a lot of shares of stock that surely will be worth some serious coin.

This amounts to a performance contract. The feds are telling Musk he’s gotta deliver if he wants to see a big payday. Tesla says the Model S will hit the road in 2012, but it has a lot of work to do if it is to hit that goal. The company hasn’t even picked a site for the factory that will build the car.

Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes could not be reached for comment, but that’s not surprising — the company in the past has declined to discuss its finances or the pending IPO.

Clearly there’s a lot of work to be done if the S is to hit the road, and the feds aren’t the only ones who want Musk to keep his hand on the tiller.

Daimler, which invested $50 million in Tesla, stipulated “certain covenants relating to Mr. Musk’s employment as our Chief Executive Officer,” Tesla said in its SEC filing. In a nutshell, the Germans told Musk he has to stay until Dec. 31, 2012 or until the Model S is built, whichever comes later. If Musk bails out, Dr. Herbert Kohler, Damiler’s VP of electric drive systems, must sign off on Musk’s replacement.

The Daimler deal also makes it difficult for anyone besides Daimler to buy Tesla. According to the SEC filing:

Our financing agreements with Blackstar, an affiliate of Daimler, include certain restrictions that decrease the likelihood that potential acquirers would make a bid to acquire us, including giving Blackstar a right of notice on any acquisition proposal we receive for which we determine to engage in further discussions with a potential acquiror or otherwise pursue. Blackstar then has a right, within a specified time period, to submit a competing acquisition proposal.

In other words, Tesla all but sold its soul to the Germans, making it unlikely anyone else will try to acquire them. That could lower Tesla’s potential market value.

And then there’s the matter of the name “Tesla Motors.” It seems Tesla doesn’t actually own the rights to the Tesla name in Europe. Although it has two trademark applications pending in the European Union, they “are subject to outstanding opposition proceedings brought by two prior owners of trademarks consisting of the word Tesla.” According to the filing:

In addition, there is a risk that these prior rights owners could in the future take action to challenge our use of the Tesla mark in the European Union. This would have a severe impact on our position in the European Union and may inhibit our ability to use the Tesla mark in the European Union. If we were prevented from using the Tesla trademark in the European Union, we would need to expend significant additional financial and marketing resources on establishing an alternative brand identity in these markets.

Rebranding the company, if it comes to that, will take a lot of time and a lot of money, neither of which Tesla has. Even if it reaches the goal of raising $100 million with the IPO, it’s going to need all that money, plus the money it’s getting from the feds, to build the Model S.

Further complicating things, Tesla is going to have little, if any revenue beginning next year. It is ending production of the Roadster next year because Lotus, which builds much of the car at its factory in Hethel, England, is retooling the assembly line to build another model. Tesla won’t have anyone to build the car, and it’s focusing all of its efforts on the Model S. The next-generation Roadster isn’t planned until at least one year after the S rolls into showrooms.

Photo: Jim Merithew / Wired.com

Mushrooms have managed to becomes slightly famous.  In part due to..well..the drug version of course.  Then the type that you run into to make Mario grow.  Actually, they are both pretty similar.  This mushroom doesn’t look like a cheap plastic mushroom though, with this you can pretend to be chic and modern.  When in reality you just love it because of the hours you’ve spent chasing mushrooms just to make you a little taller.  Hopefully in virtual form only.  People look at you strange when you start chasing after mushrooms in the woods, because you think they’ll make you grow.

This pretty designer lamp comes in white as well as black.  Sorry no brightly colored ones with white polka dots.  This color makes it blend in with grown up décor, which eventually it’s probably best to make the switch towards.  You can purchase the lamp for $1,750 AUD or about $1,543 USD.  So you’re going to have to be a very well off Mario addict.

Source: Bookofjoe

One of the major points the iPad, nook, and other e-book readers have on the Kindle is their touchability. Sure, you don’t need it to read books, but it’s nice if you like interacting with things. Well, Amazon seems to have figured this out, and has purchased a touchscreen company called Touchco (Touchco, really?) that owns a nice, transparent, resistive touchscreen tech that could easily be implemented into a Kindle — even a color one.

The technical details aren’t really that interesting — I mean, it’s pretty much just a touchscreen. But it’s a little troubling that Amazon is just buying them up now. Even if Amazon were to release a new device today, they’d still be behind the times. Let’s hope they get a move on.

[via Gizmodo]

If the Lifebook UH900 isn’t that appealing to you, then you might wanna grab the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 Notebook Tablet PC instead. It features a 13.3-inch swivel LED-backlight display with either Electro-magnetic digitizer or dual digitizer plus multitouch. It is powered by an Intel either Core i5-520M or Core i5-540M or Core i7-620M processor, it has a Intel QM57 Mobile chipset, up to 500GB hard drive or 128GB SSD, Intel HD graphics chipset and up to 8GB of RAM.

With those specs listed above I have to say it is a remarkable tablet PC, there are other notable specs such as a DVD burner, 2 Megapixel webcam, spill-resistant keyboard, an ExpressCard slot, a MS/SD slot and dedicated Smart Card slot. Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity is also supported, it runs the Windows XP OS and has a starting price of $1889.

If you are in search of a girly looking notebook, you need to look no further because here is the Sony VAIO E Series Notebook. This new Sony Notebooks comes in some really bright colors which includes Iridescent Blue, Hibiscus Pink, Caribbean Green, Lava Black and Coconut White.

When it comes to specs it doesn’t fall short nonetheless, it features a Intel Core i3 or Core i5-520M processor, 512MB ATI Radeon HD5470 graphics card and up to 8GB of RAM. There is a 15.5-inch widescreen display with a 1366×768 pixel resolution, there is a built-in MOTION EYE webcam, electro-Static touch pad, an ExpressCard slot, a SD slot, a Memory Stick slot and that’s not all, it also supports Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and WiFi 802.11b/g/n connectivity.

The colorful Sony VAIO E Series of Notebooks comes with a starting price of $799.99.

This image is proof that opening up space travel to private industry will speed up colonization and tourism. Apparently there’s already flights on the moon. That or a plane just so happened to get in the frame of a 500mm telephoto lens. [via reddit]

Toshiba is planning to release, later this month, its new Portege M780 Multitouch Tablet PC. It features a 12.1-inch multitouch display with a 1280×800 resolution and LED-backlight. It packs the power of a Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processor, up to 8GB of RAM and a 2.5-inch hard drive or SSD.

Some notable specs includes a DVD SuperMulti burner, multi-in-one card reader and built-in webcam plus support for Bluetooth, WiFi and offers eSATA ports.

I have a serious reputation for being constantly frozen, which usually means the second anyone enters my house they’re burning alive.  That is unless I have thought ahead and turned down the thermostat to a normal person type of temperature.  For those of you that either live with someone who’s always warm or freezing this mattress will make sleeping a lot easier.  It’ll allow for one side to be heated all the while the other side is keeping the other person cool.

The mattress itself can be purchased in different sizes.  You can also choose dual or single zone pads.  The single zones come in Twin, Twin XL, Full and Queen.  The dual comes in Queen, King and California King.  The difference between the two types is one allows for two different temperatures on either side of the bed and then the single only allows for one.  The prices range from $399 to $499 for the single zones and $599 to $649 for the dual zones.

Source: NerdApproved

Fujitsu just announced the availability of its new Lifebook UH900, so if the pass models are too big for you then you might consider grabbing one of these. It features a 5.6-inch WXGA multitouch display and is powered by an Atom Z530 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and integrated GMA 500 graphics card, 30GB or 62GB SSD for storage.

The device also comes equipped with a built-in GPS receiver with Garmin Mobile PC, Bluetooth and Atheros XSPAN Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n. Other specs includes a SD card slot, a 0.78 Megapixel webcam and one speaker. The original price is $999, but it’s currently selling at $840, after $100 mail-in rebate and $50 off.

Hyundai is now offering the new Hyundai V236Wa Full HD LCD Monitor. The new Hyundai V236Wa Full HD LCD Monitor is a 23-inch HD Monitor which features a 1920×1080 Full HD resolution, 300cd/m2 brightness, 20,000:1 contrast ratio and 5ms response time.

There is also connectivity for D-sub input plus there are built-in 2W speakers. It comes in a glossy black finish and retails for a starting price of 159 euros.

Boeing has offered the first glance inside the passenger cabin of a real 787. The partial interior is installed on the third flight test airplane, ZA003, and will be used for flight testing purposes. The interior of ZA003 also includes work stations for engineers, flight-test equipment and racks of instruments that monitor the aircraft and systems during tests.

“This airplane is specifically configured to test the passenger experience elements of the airplane,” said Boeing’s Tom Galantowicz, in a statement from the company. “Our engineers and flight-test team use a disciplined process to certify the various elements of the interior and conduct airplane-level verifications.”

No surprise that the interior looks nothing like the mock up interiors Boeing has been showing to the public for past looks inside the new Dreamliner. The spartan interior in the test aircraft is designed or certification purposes. The new curved celings and lighting is visible, but the seats are pure coach. No spacious first class leather for the flight test engineers at this point.

While much of the early flight testing is focused on aircraft flying qualities and system testing related to flight, the interior must also pass certification right down to the stowage bins. ZA003’s interior includes 135 seats, lavatories and crew rest stations. The interior will be tested as part of the certification process. Many of the features Boeing has been touting, such as window transparency that can be controlled by the passenger, are on the test cards for this airplane.

Boeing hopes to get ZA003 in the air by the end of the month, and expects to have all six flight test aircraft flying soon. Boeing still expects to make the first 787 Dreamliner customer delivery to All Nippon Airways by the end of the year.

Photo: Boeing

Short Version: A $40 digital ID card that fits in your wallet and holds all of your emergency medical information on a 1GB flip-out USB stick.

Review:

Aside from the implied use for the 911 Medical ID Card — namely as something for medical professionals to reference in the case of an emergency — having all of your medical information digitized and saved in one place isn’t a bad idea overall. And this $40 wallet-friendly card isn’t a bad way to keep everything together.

You plug the flip-out USB connector into your computer (Windows only, unfortunately) and up pops the 911 Medical ID software. It’s basically a series of forms with the following tabbed headings: Personal, Conditions, Medications, Allergies, Doctors/Dentists, Surgeries/Treatments, Insurance, and Family History/Social History.

The forms are easy to use and all the information can be saved online in case you misplace the card. You can also print the information out as well.

The card itself is pretty thin, although it’s still a bit thicker than the cards you’re normally used to keeping in your wallet so you’ll likely have to give it its own pouch.

As for the interface, it’s nothing spectacular but, hey, this is medical software we’re talking about. As we all know, the medical industry has never once employed a UI specialist.

Aside from holding your medical information, you can also use the extra storage on the card to hold images of your EKGs, MRIs, and X-Rays if your doctor’s made those available to you in digital form. You can store the files protected or unprotected under the “My Files” section. And if you’re the head of your household, you can put all your family members’ information (up to 10 people) on the same card, too, under the “My Family Profiles” section.

Conclusion:

The 911 Medical ID Card represents an affordable way to collect all of your medical information in once place. The online backup function is a huge plus and the ability to add extra family members and files are added bonuses as well. The interface is a bit dated and the lack of Mac compatibility is unfortunate but the whole idea is a step in the right direction.

The bigger issue will be whether or not emergency medical professionals will be able to easily access the information. Without having a computer handy at the site of an accident, for instance, your information’s locked up until you get to the hospital. And even then, you’re relying on someone to plug a strange USB device into one of the hospital’s computers. Aside from that, though, this is a pretty easy way to carry all of your vital health information around with you.

The 911 Medical ID card is available for $40. There’s also a new 911 Medical ID Medallion that can be worn around the neck and has 2GB of built-in storage for the same price.

Product Page: 911 Medical ID