Category Archives: Images

Steel pipe factory receives an extension…made of giant pipes.

Architecture, Design, Images, ,

Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects will be constructing an extended office for a steel pipe factory with giant pipes.  These giant pipes are usually made to create wind turbines; as architectural elements, they will serve a dual purpose of housing and controlling air flow.  I’m really digging the mock up images of this “pipe dream” (ha! get it?) office.  This is definitely an architectural detour from the norm and hopefully it can inspire others to think outside the box and create buildings and structures with such unique design.

[Via Gizmodo; Dezeen]

Retro PC design is elegantly rad

Design, Images, Technology, Video, ,

Philco PC.  Designed by Dave Schultze.

Stealing looks from the Philco Predicta (the iconic 1954 television set), this concept PC  features a typewriter keyboard, an edgy mouse, and a minimalist design that I am totally craving right now.  Check out more images below and after the break for a video tour of this retro masterpiece.

[Via Gizmodo; YankoDesign]

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Face Recognition Door Lock makes checking into work a snap

Images, Technology, , ,

Face recognition versus punch cards.  I wonder which one I would choose.  The former, duh!  The Face Recognition Door Lock was designed with purpose to keep track of company employees coming and leaving the job place.

It “features dual cameras (creating a 3D image that prevents false matches using a simple 2D photograph) , night vision, a 3.5 inch TFT display screen, touch keypad, USB and Ethernet port for TCP/IP connections, the ability to register up to 500 faces, and a verification process that supposedly takes less than a second.”  With the ability to store up to 150,000 attendance records of employees, I better start seeing this implemented in companies across the country.  Those damn punch cards never work right.  Here’s hoping facial recognition does.

[Via Gizmodo]

Audiophile, this is your chair

Design, Images,

The Ballerina Sweetspot.  Designed by Michael Hollesen, Klutz Design.

If you really, really love listening to music and want to hear all the sounds with absolute perfection you might want to invest in this $8,000 armchair.  It features a specially designed headrest that prevents the reflection of sound, memory foam that conforms to your body, open armrests for remote storage, and aluminum leg and frame that reduces sonic vibration.  I must as I would enjoy such a treat this Sweetspot will forever remain on my wishlist indefinitely.

[Via Gizmodo; Unplggd]

Plaza del Torico sprinkled in LED lights

Architecture, Images, Technology,

The Plaza del Torico, located in Teruel, Spain, has undergone a recent change in looks.  Over 1,230 LED lamps have been embedded in the pavement of the plaza.  The large scale system has been configured so that colors and patterns can sequentially change.  And that’s that; Teruel, Spain is now on my list of places to visit in the near future.

[Via Gizmodo]

Killer carriage

Design, Images

“Na zha,” designed by Shi Jinsong.

This stainless steel baby stroller looks like it came straight from a post-apocalyptic future out of a Terminator movie.  With such sharp edges and dangerous Edward Scissorhands looks, no one will think twice about messing with a baby being transported in this contraption.  The attached machine gun might do the trick, too.

Through his razor-sharp sculptures and related works, Shi Jinsong initiates a dialogue, at once menacing and ironic, between the forms of mythic Chinese culture and modern day globalization.

In the work ‘ne zha’ it appears in the disguise of being protective, consoling and decorative, but its details betray its true function of weapon.  It indicates the highest degree of ambiguity in one’s temperament.  It presents and represents.  It invites and refuses.

[Via Gizmodo; DesignBoom]

From Crunchpad to Joojoo, Internet tablet finally finds a home

Images, News, Technology, , , , , ,

To make a short story even shorter… Michael Arrington, the head of the blog TechCrunch, back in 2008 promised to develop an Internet tablet for the masses that would carry a very light price tag of $200.  On November 30 of this year, Arrington shared a post on his blog titled “The End of the Crunchpad” where he stated that the “entire project self destructed over nothing more than greed, jealousy and miscommunication” with Chandra Rathakrishnan, the CEO of Fusion Garage, the company who was helping form the device.

Flash forward to today and what we have is news that Crunchpad Joojoo Internet tablet will be releasing this month under the Fusion Garage brand with Rathakrishnan at the helm of the project.  In fact, at a recent press event where he demoed the device, Rathakrishnan stated that “TechCrunch didn’t contribute a single line of code.”  Interesting, huh?  He went on to say “There was never any agreement of any kind between the two companies.  This was nothing more than a potential acquisition that didn’t occur.  Michael sat back while we took all the risk.  The suggestion that Michael or TechCrunch owns anything is simply ludicrous.”  And with that, Rathakrishnan revealed details of Joojoo (which he explains is an African term for “magical device”).

Some could say it looks like an “over-sized iPhone” because on the surface it’s just one big screen, no buttons.  Here’s a rundown of the specs (thanks Gizmodo): “A screen-only tablet that measures 12-inches [1366 x 768], has a [all glass] capacitive touchscreen, runs its own operating system (that’s basically just a browser) and boots in 9 seconds. It will also have a 5 hour battery life, run Wi-Fi only (no 3G) and come in only one color, with 4GB internal storage.”  It runs its own operating system that’s basically just a browser, huh?  Seems very Google Chrome OS-y to me.  In fact, like Chrome OS (and since it only runs a browser-like interface), Joojoo can only run web-based applications.  Ports: one USB 2.0, one power input, and audio/headset jacks.  External peripherals like a keyboard, mouse, or headset will be supported via USB port or Bluetooth.  And it sports a one megapixel webcam on the front for video-conferencing.

The home screen of Joojoo is a series of large icons for the web apps.  For example, there’s large icons representing Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, YouTube, and Gmail.  After giving it a test-run, Engadget reports that has smooth 1080p playback and the Webkit-based browser includes Silverlight and Flash support.  The multitouch screen supports scrolling and pinching, though the latter does not zoom, it brings you back to the homepage.  Though the home screen of the demo device lacked notifications, Rathakrishnan promises it will be included in the final unit.

With all kinds of legal action hanging in the balance between Fusion Garage and Arrington, Rathakrishnan stills plans on taking preorders of the Joojoo on December 11 (that’s tomorrow!).  It will go on sale for a dream-shattering $500.  Rathakrishnan on Arrington’s dream of a $200 device of this nature: “There are dreams, and then there are hallucinations.”

All in all, the saga of the Crunchpad-turned-Joojoo has been an interesting ride and I’m glad that some sort of device is making its way out of the rubble.  If/when you arrive, Joojoo, enjoy your place in the Internet tablet realm because we all know that Apple has something up their sleeves.

Check out Engadget and Gizmodo’s hands-on pictures of the Joojoo in the galleries below.  Also, after the break is a video of Giz’s hands-on.

[Via Engadget, here & here; Gizmodo, here & here]

 

 

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Experiment: Public urination bin

Design, Images, Video, ,

The Wheelie Bin Urinal, designed by Stephan Bischof (from England, obviously).

This “Wheelie Bin Urinal” is a provides a place to go potty in the street, and it’s ingeniously disguised as a trash can.

For now, it’s just an experiment to see if (and when) people would use these trash can-turned-urinal stations when they’re out and about.  In fact, “early prototypes of the bin were installed on busy roads in the Lewisham borough of London, in which people’s frequent interactions with the bins were documented.”  You gotta see this to believe it after the break.

[Via Gizmodo; DesignBoom]

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PS3 Slim dipped in 24K gold (you know you want one)

Design, Images, Technology, , , , ,

The customization pros at Computer Choppers have completed their latest creation with the 24-karat gold Playstation 3 Slim.  Only 5 models have been made.  Though pricing details have not been shared yet, expect this baby to be a fortune; 24-karat gold iPhones start at $1,399!

[Via Gizmodo; HotBloodedGaming]

Concept: Microwave with built-in YouTube player

Design, Images, Technology, Video, , ,

The Castoven is designed by researchers at Japan’s Keio University.  Besides being a conventional microwave, the Castoven sports a 10.4 inch LCD screen on the door and internal speakers.  Crunchgear breaks it down for us:

The main idea is to display a YouTube video whose length depends on the time you need to heat up what’s inside the Castoven. Say, you want to prepare a lunch box that takes 3.30 minutes to be ready. The Castoven would then automatically pull a video from YouTube with that length and display it on the screen until the meal is finished.

So the future of microwaving a Poptart is watching YouTube videos, huh?  I’ll take it.  Additional images below and a video of this in action after the break.

[Via Gizmodo; Crunchgear]

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World’s largest LED project (yup, it’s a phallus)

Architecture, Design, Images, Technology, , ,

Designed by Asymptote Architecture with lighting by Arup.  Located in Abu Dhabi.

The Yas Hotel has been wrapped in a sheeth “of more than 5,300 diamond-shaped panels bristling with over 5,000 LED fixtures.”  The LEDs can support color change and even display low resolution 3D video.  Underneath the penis-shaped LED coating is the Yas Hotel that includes two 12-story buildings and a Formula-1 racetrack.

[Via Gizmodo; Inhabitat]

24 Day 8 stills leak with premiere right around the corner

Images, Television, , , ,

The new season of 24 is almost upon us and what better way to get ready then check out the latest stills and character shots.  Of course you’ll find Kiefer Sutherland (Bauer), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe), Annie Wersching (Renee), and Cherry Jones (President Taylor) there.  You’ll also discover some new players including Katee Sackhoff, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Anil Kapoor.  Catch my favorite shot of the bunch after the break.

24 Season 8 premieres Sunday January 17 in a 4-hour, 2-night event on FOX.

[Via IGN]

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