Ultrasound Can Create Virtual Objects in Mid-Air (2)
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2 days, 12 hours
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Virtual reality environments (and computer generated media in general) are becoming increasingly realistic. Audio and visuals are already frighteningly real, and now, the next one of the five senses to be fooled by simulation is touch. Japanese scientists have developed a way to use ultrasonic waves to simulate the feeling of touching objects that aren’t physically present. Virtual objects you see on screen can be rendered through waves of ultrasound, making your body think it’s ...
New Orleans 100: Interview With Idea Village (1)
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Dan Gould (17)
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4 days, 12 hours
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All Day Buffet has compiled the New Orleans 100, a list of innovative and world-changing ideas that have come out of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. Designed to encourage discussion about the rebirth of the city, the NOLA 100 highlights the good that has grown out of the tragedy. PSFK sent a few questions to 5 of the groups from the New Orleans 100 list who are making change for the better in New Orleans. ...
Banksy Helps Us Remember Katrina (2)
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Christine Huang (2)
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5 days, 21 hours
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We’re moved by this new work by Banksy spotted in New Orleans. The prolific street artist created these pieces to serve as bold reminders of the devastation Hurricane Katrina left in its wake, and to pay homage to the citizens of New Orleans who continue to endure it. SuperTouch reports: Said Banksy of the operation, “Three years after Katrina I wanted to make a statement about the state of the clean-up operation,” and attested that ...
Max Richter - The Ringtone Album (2)
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6 days, 11 hours
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These days, any music artist looking to make a dollar is licensing their songs for use as ringtones. As the ringtone industry becomes more mature, ringtones are being used in a variety of unique ways. But Max Richter, a German-born composer based in Edinburgh, is taking the ringtone to a new level. His most recent work, 24 Postcards In Full Colour, is a collection of original songs that have been recorded for use specifically as ...
Office Stats, Office Love (2)
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6 days, 15 hours
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It’s Friday post time, and the HR people are not going to be happy about this one. The Sun just published results of a survey of 1200 office workers. It seems people are getting a little naughty at the office, which makes sense, I suppose, because of the ungodly amounts of time the average person spends there. It’s reported that 600 hours of worker’s lives will be spent checking out attractive collegues, and two out ...
“Innovation is our lifeblood,” said Chris Lowe: Coca-Cola to Fill Your Big Gulp with 100 Flavors | PSFK - Trends, Ideas & Inspiration (3)
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Christine Huang (2)
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6 days, 16 hours
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Apparently, Coca-Cola is on an innovation binge! In addition to introducing new design to their bottles, the world’s largest beverage firm is planning on unveiling a proprietary fountain system capable of pouring 100+ different flavored beverages from a single unit. Though still in testing phase, these new dispensers are about the same size as the typical eight-valve ones, using higher concentrate ingredients to make it possible to cram several flavors cartridges into a small space. ...
Literary Maverick Putting Asia on the Publishing Map (1)
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6 days, 20 hours
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While New York and London are the current publishing powerhouses serving the US and Western Europe, there are millions of English speakers in developing countries who may be overlooked. The Telegraph has a profile of Philip Tatham, who is addressing this untapped market and tackling Asia from Singapore. Tatham established Monsoon Books in 2004 and currently publishes literary and commercial novels, as well as a wide range of non-fiction books. One of Monsoon’s star authors ...
Zen-Like Super Noticing Power (1)
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Dan Gould (17)
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The AIGA Journal has documented a thought provoking conversation between designers Steve Portigal and Dan Soltzberg. They discuss the importance of “noticing” when going through your day. It’s a form of gathering inspiration from everywhere to fuel creative work. The key is getting out of the everyday way of thinking and seeing things with new eyes. Zen is often referenced in the discussion - and appropriately so. They advocate a kind of “waking up”, where ...
The Discount Urban Dream Life (2)
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Over at New York Magazine, the number 1 most viewed, most commented and most emailed article at the moment is one that profiles Buffalo, New York as an ideal of urban living. A lot of people might be surprised at this declaration. Buffalo is seen by many as a post-industrial city, that’s cold and devoid of life. But he article goes a long way to disprove this view. Tantalizing stories of huge, beautiful $700 apartments, ...
Touch Card Idea Offers Visual Assistance (1)
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Dave Pinter (4)
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Designer Kyle Lechtenberg noticed that most debit/credit card readers in stores have digital touch screens these days. While these interfaces offer privacy for customers making purchases he saw a big problem. What if you can’t see the screen? Lechtenberg devised an elegant low tech solution to address usability in the form of a molded paper card containing braille that could could be placed over the screen allow for private entering of information. Called the Visual ...
lifeviNe: Automatic, Geo-tagged Lifetracking | PSFK - Trends, Ideas &Inspiration (6)
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LifeviNe, which will be making its beta debut in the next few weeks via Nokia’s Beta Labs, is a mobile lifetracking application that lets users geotag every step they make - and the photos, music, and audio clips that go along with the journey. Similar to their Sports Tracker app, LifeviNe offers users a way to map, timestamp, share and tag their day-to-day activities on their phones and the web. As explained in Nokia Conversations: ...
Planned Obsolescence Becoming Obsolete (1)
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Dan Gould (17)
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1 week, 1 day
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For a long time, planned obsolescence has been a sad fact of technological life. Most machines are only designed to have a limited life span, then scrapped and replaced with a newer model. However, signs are showing up that signal a reversal of this trend. What if you didn’t have to continually update all of your gadgets and devices? Wouldn’t it be great if instead of buying a new piece of hardware every year, new ...
“Minority Report” Tech: Our Custom Ad Filled Future (2)
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The Wall Street Journal reports that YCD Multimedia is going to be releasing digital signs that use facial recognition to custom tailor advertising on the fly. The camera equipped signage will scan shopper’s faces and determine their age, sex and ethnicity, based on facial features such as the size and shape of the nose, eyes, cheekbones and jaw line. Once the system figures out who you are, it will serve up an ad for something ...
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Patrick said:
I think it would be a very good idea to have a digital concierge inside every store. It would connect to the inventory system of that particular store (because any degree of irrelevance will result incomplete customer non-use) and it will allow me to search for say jeans in my size and see immediately what's on offer. Indeed once you have digitized this information and turned it into an attractive multimedia presentation there is no reason why people could not access it on say their iPhones as they walk through the mall. Alternatively you could start the other way around and have customers enter their size and preference details and then connect them to products that are relevant to them. The more relevant an add is, the less annoying it is and the more likely it is going to lead to a sale.
Wallace and Gromit as Style Icons (2)
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Back in the Spring an Urban Outfitters opened on Atlantic Avenue in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. The ad that the company used to promote the store included on it the L Train icon, Domino Sugar, Coney Island, Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, the Cosby Show cast… Basically throwing a wide net over what is an incredibly diverse borough, and attempting to claim, through cliched pop culture icons, that Urban Outfitters represents it all. The ...
The Scout: New York, Through More Discerning Eyes (2)
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With many nearly identical citylife webzines already on the market, we wondered how the recently launched NYC guide, The Scout, would set itself apart. After spending some time perusing its listings, tours, and articles, it became clear that this was a genuinely unique guide - one that is as chic as it is useful. The Scout is dedicated to uncovering some of the city’s many gems, from culture to nightlife to neighborhoods, from a fresh, ...
Car Sharing On Campus (2)
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It’s back to school time, and if you’re a freshmen heading to college at University of Miami, make sure to leave the car at home. The school has implemented a no-car rule for first year students. Besides encouraging biking, walking and public transportation, the school has partnered with Zipcar to offer fuel efficient cars to incoming freshmen. Bowdoin College in Maine is planning to follow suit in fall of 2009, joining a growing number of ...
Goodbye, News Ticker. Hello TV Widgets! (1)
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Yahoo and Intel have teamed up to change the future of television by creating a software platform called the “Widget Channel.” The software allows consumers to use “TV Widgets”, which Yahoo describes as the following: “TV Widgets are small Web applications that make it easy to surf your favorites sites with your remote control. Watch Web videos, track your favorite teams or stocks, interact with friends and family, and stay current on news and information ...
A Truly ‘Good’ Dessert in Van Leeuwen’s Ice Cream Trucks (1)
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1 week, 3 days
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Gothamist features a great interview with Benjamin Van Leeuwen, the man behind the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Trucks currently spreading their wholesome, creamy goodness throughout New York City. The company, as Gothamist points out, focuses on good practice as much as good ice cream; serving cups are made of a chemical-free fiber derived form sugar cane, spoons are made from cornhusks, and all their ingredients are sourced with sustainability and quality in mind. Their commitment ...
Illegal Raves Making a Comeback? (5)
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Vice magazine reports that this past weekend, a renegade party happened on the Williamsburg Bridge. Ninjasonik and Japanther performed for 100 plus people on one of the bridge’s bike lanes. The illegal event went on for a surprising 2 hours before police showed up. Vice reporters on the scene thought it couldn’t possibly go on for more than 20 minutes - amplified music and a hundred people crowded onto the side of a bridge isn’t ...
