Turn Tap for USB Power

The Charging Tap is a hub that charges your cellphones, digital cameras or others. You just hook up your gadget and turn the tap on. Designed by Qi Weijia.

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Organizational Charts of Major High Tech Companies

Lol! Manu Cornet drew these Org Charts of some of the biggest tech companies.

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The Typescreen: An iPad Typewriter

Lol! Who's loving the twist as much as I am???!!! Now that's one keyboard you never thought you'd associate with an iPad.

The Typescreen gives you the retro style of a typewriter fully compatible with the high-tech iPad and iPad 2. If you're wondering, it does type exactly the same way a typewriter does, only no papers needed this time, it will type directly on your iPad.

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Delicious Library

If you own a Mac (sorry PC users your out of luck as there is no PC version), you may want to check out this great little program called Delicious Library 2. Using your built in iSight camera as a bar reader, it can scan the UPC codes on any book and automatically enter it into your personal library. Besides the surprising fun of simply scanning and adding books, I find the program to be useful for several reasons:

1. You can in not only books but DVD's, music, toys, video games, tools, etc.
2. Want to borrow out a cool book to a friend? Easy, you can do it just like a real library. I wish I had stumbled on this years ago as I have so many outstanding books (with no way to track them) that it's not even funny!
3. You can make a back up of your library (great for insurance purposes) or post it to the internet for others to take a look at.
4. You can look at your library as a list, or in a bookshelf mode that is pleasing the eye.
5. For older or rare books you can input the book info manually and even take a picture of it.

I really love this program as scanning and looking at all of my books made me aware of (and interested in) some old books that I had forgotten I had. I'm thinking next year I'll make it a goal to read mostly books from my own collection (over 300 books). Anyway, thought I'd highlight this great little program (available for $39 on the Mac App Store) or from the Delicious Monster website.

ZAGGmate for iPad

The patent-pending ZAGGmate is made from durable aircraft-grade aluminum with anodized finish that will match the look and feel of your iPad. It features an embedded Bluetooth keyboard complete with function keys (music control, search, home, slideshow... etc.) and an innovative hinge at the back that will allow you to view and type on your iPad in ten different angles.

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3.5 Inch Poster Set

A homage to our old friends, the floppy disks.
These posters show how many floppies are enough for current softwares.

Result (Approximate)
46 disk for iTunes 8.02
358 disk for Adobe Photoshop CS4
1760 disk for the Sims 3
12 disk for Firefox 3, 36 disk for Firefox Add-ons

Available soon here.

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Folding Keyboard

This folding keyboard is a concept designed by Yoonsang Kim & Eunsung Park. It is portable and small enough to take with you everywhere. It is full-sized when unfolded, but then it folds like a Japanese fan when you want to hit the road.

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Fluid Vase

The fluid vase by Fung Kwok Pan from Singapore is a customizable vase that takes its form through an interactive digital design interface. The vase’s form simulates the moving fluid, something that is directly linked to the function of a vase. 

Users can specify various aspects of the design to create a unique one off edition for themselves. Adjustments like the speed and volume of water used can be altered and 

the final design is created through 3d printing technologies. 

The digital simulations are based on video of flowing water captured through high speed cameras.

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Waive Chaise

This was an entry for a competition for teenage furniture design.

Designed by Roberta Rammê from Brazil.

I soooo want one!

Designer's own words:

"Imagine a furniture to wear... then dress it with an innovator design, intense colors, ergonomics and technology appeal. Like in fashion, the point is to unify beauty, comfort, and functionality. Whether your desire is to watch TV or DVD, listen to your favorite CD, read, talk on the phone, or even study, take a nap or browse the internet, you got it close, in a multifunctional chaise-longue. This concept is inspired by the values and personality of a today's teenager and the standards generated by a global hi-tech culture of facilities, where the access to technology is cheap and easy."

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The Times, They Are A Changing

I would consider myself an avid reader. Today for instance, it felt like Christmas as I unpacked my latest order from Amazon. Ah, the look and smell of new and unopened books - tis a beautiful thing! Reading is not only about the words written but is tactile and sensuous experience to me. It is like going to the movies - sure I can rent the same movie for $1.50 at Shell and watch from my couch but it's not the same experience as going to the theater. The experience is the thing.

I read in July that for the first time ever at Amazon, digital downloads of books (books designed to be viewed on an e-reader like the Kindle or the iPad) surpassed hardcover sales. News that downloaded kindle books has overtaken its hardcover brethren hit me like a kick in the teeth. According to the press release, 143 Kindle books have been sold for every 100 hardcovers in the past three months. Wow, consider me shocked.

I admit that I had watched the emergence of e-readers with bemused snobbery. I can understand that for a few people, reading a book from a screen might be appealing, but certainly not for the mainstream. How could the majority of people prefer digital to real books? Impossible!

Well, the impossible has come true. Within a year or two many expect that digital book sales in the U.S. will eclipse softcover and hardcover sales combined. Thus, the most popular medium for the printed word for over 500 years (the printed page) is about to become . . . a relic. Libraries will change as we know them. How we read will change. Everything will change. People such as myself with our book collections will be looked on as quaint and hopefully interesting. Alas! I usually embrace new technology but the eventual supplanting of printed books by digital books saddens me deeply. Yet already I feel my resolve weakening! After all, it would be kind of nice to carry my whole book collection with me all the time. And it would save them from cutting down trees. Maybe I wouldn't miss the feel of turning pages too much. Sigh. I can actually forsee myself getting a Kindle (or an iPad). It's only a matter of time . . .

Segway meets Tank

You just knew someone had to think of trying this, but the actual result is quite impressive:



With a 200 cc engine and a top speed of 30mph I hope someone somewhere buys some of these and starts renting them out to wannabe daredevils such as myself to play around on . . .

Watch This!

In one of my counselling sessions recently a clients mentioned that they went camping and because they didn't have their phone they didn't know what time it was. This made me think; how many people use their cell phones as their watches? It also made me wonder; how many people actually wear watches anymore? Perhaps most people have stopped using them and I just didn't notice. I used to wear one all the time but after my last one broke I didn't fix it or replace it. Now I look at wall clocks and occasionally at my phone. I wonder if maybe watches as a technology are obsolete -fading into the history of clothing items that have outlived their usefullness (or have been replaced by new technology)

So here's my question: Do you wear a watch or do you use your phone to find out what time it is? Or perhaps somethings else?

Furniture Genius

Very innovative!

Flying Hovercraft

Rudy Heeman is an inventive museum mechanic who threw this flying hovercraft together in his free time. I have always loved hovercraft, I so much want one of these!

Bloom Box

Bloom Energy is working on fuel cells, the kind that might end up in your home. Think it will work? Check out this 60 minutes feature on this up and coming technology:


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Thoughts On The Apple iPad

Yesterday my friend Keith asked me for my thoughts on the recently announced Apple iPad. If you haven't heard about it yet, here is a promo video for it:



Essentially it is a portable internet tablet that Apple is releasing in two months, starting at $499 USD. Apple is of course saying it is magic and is very excited about it. Yet most of the reviewers I have heard are disappointed at the least and think it's not impressive at the worst. My thoughts?

I too was disappointed. And it's not just the, ahem, unfortunate name. The rumor mill was going wild and I think that I was expecting more. Built in phone, camera, GPS, etc. Essentially it is just a bigger iPod touch with a slick new operating system. I have seen Apple make a few blunders before and although rare, it's possible that this is also one. But I think it will be at least modestly successful. What makes me think that? It's because there is room to grow.

Once this tablet has:
-a camera or video camera
-built in phone capabilities
-a lower price

then I think Apple will sell a lot of them. Right now everyone is complaining but once the price lowers it will be much more compelling. It's not for everyone but it will be right for some. And so I think it will do at least OK commercially and possibly (in an updated and more price aggressive form) do very well. It may also evolve into something else, something with a more tasteful name. So there you go, there's my predictions. What yours?

Why I'm Not On Facebook

Ikea Tech Secret

Ever wonder how IKEA makes their furniture sturdy yet so light? National Geographic went inside an IKEA factory in Poland to find out. The secret is the honeycomb skeleton inside their tabletops:

The Art of Eating . . . In Space

Sometimes when I watch my daughter Trinity eat stuff, I can't stand it. She drops things, smears them on herself, puts her fingers in her food. I can feel my blood pressure rising the longer I watch! But compared to what astronauts have to go through, I guess I can learn to handle it. At least she's not eating in zero gravity. Check out this video about what it's like to eat in space. If you want more info about the evolution of eating in space, check out this article from Neatorama. Interesting stuff! I'm scared to ask what going to the bathroom in space looks like . . .

The Power of Pee

According to this story, urine may be an ideal power source for hydrogen powered cars. Yay science! Also, in case that idea does not totally gross you out/inspire you, how about pee powered batteries?