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I used Google Glass: the future, with monthly updates

I used Google Glass: the future, with monthly updates
The frosted-glass doors on the 11th floor of Google’s NYC headquarters part and a woman steps forward to greet me. This is an otherwise normal specimen of humanity. Normal height, slender build; her eyes are bright, inquisitive. She leans in to shake my hand and at that moment I become acutely aware of the device she’s wearing in the place you would expect eyeglasses: a thin strip of aluminum and plastic with a strange, prismatic lens just below her brow. Google Glass. What was a total oddity a year ago, and little more than an experiment just 18 months ago is now starting to look like a real product. But as I release from that handshake and study the bizarre device resting on my greeter’s brow, my mind begins to fixate on a single question: who would want to wear this thing in public? Sticky TOC engaged! Finding Glass Finding Glass I was about to beta test Glass myself. "Why are we even working on Glass? Steve goes on. I get it. Google-level design Google-level design But seriously. Related:  Products

Shino Takeda in Inventory Magazine 02.15.13 — By Monica Khemsurov We first spotted Shino Takeda’s awkwardly lovable, one-of-a-kind ceramic spoons and desert-style dishes at Caitlin Mociun’s store in Brooklyn, but the ceramicist’s work is a testament to the fact that you can still find amazing things on Etsy if you know where to look: Takeda keeps a store there called “Shino’s World,” and browsing its vases and bowls, you really get the sense that she lives inside her own storybook, where tea sets are named after bluebirds and sake cups appear poised to kiss. But we didn’t know much more about the real Shino until last week, when Inventory Magazine took a more literal look inside her world — with editor Ryan Willms photographing her at work in her Brooklyn studio — and so we couldn’t resist the chance to feature the story here in an attempt to put all the pieces together. “The handmade, uneven and organic feel of Shino’s work has become part of her signature.

LapTouch: a conceptual laptop for creative minds The LapTouch concept is targeted at the creative community (Image: Amir Labidi) Image Gallery (8 images) Einstein famously maintained that a cluttered desk is a sign of a brilliant mind. However, for many modern designers the desk is not just messy but is also jammed with a mandatory array of PCs, laptops, screens, tablets, and more. View all As a daily user of a graphics tablet and computer, Labidi says the concept was derived from the difficulty he found positioning a tablet and PC together to be able to press keys while using the pen. Though hybrid touchpad laptop models are already available, Labidi’s concept for the LapTouch is aimed at a specific market. Labidi hopes that if the new Panasonic tablet or Wacom Cintiq prove to be beyond your price range, then his idea may meet tactile drawing requirements in a cost-effective manner should the concept be realized. Source: Amir Labidi via Iam Architect About the Author Post a CommentRelated Articles

Le Telephone Du Futur // TheStandART On se demande tous de quoi sera fait notre futur. Nous n’avons pas la réponse à toutes vos questions mais on peut déjà vous montrer un bref aperçu du téléphone du futur. Un téléphone qui serait transparent, léger, pratique, et incassable voila le projet de Polytron Technologies qui espèrent plus qu’un prototype d’ici fin 2013. About the Author Making Fun of Snowboarding Since 1997 » Every Third Thursday: The Glass Snowboard By admin • Feb 21st, 2013 • Category: Featured, News, Videos For this month’s episode, Signal Snowboards’ Founder Dave Lee leaves the factory to travel across the sea to an Italian glass factory to create a handmade glass snowboard-the most delicate build to date! The glass snowboard is cut, pressed, tempered, and ever so carefully transported to the slopes. Check back every third Thursday of the month for another custom snowboard build from Signal Snowboards.

Monkey Light Pro turns bicycle wheels into colorful, animated displays There are plenty of interesting ways to deck out your bicycle, but MonkeyLectric may have come up with the ultimate way to make it stand out on the road. The company's new Monkey Light Pro is a set of LED bars that attach to a bicycle wheel and can be programmed to play colorful animations. This isn't the first light-up bicycle wheel system we've seen, and MonkeyLectric itself has produced other models in the past, but none have been as elaborate as this. Over the last two years, the company has been hand-making prototypes of the newer system for special events and projects. During that time, the developers practiced their manufacturing processes with smaller products until they felt ready to launch a more complex system. The Monkey Light Pro features four bars sporting a total of 256 full-color LEDs, which fit together inside the spokes and display bright images over the entire wheel when it's in motion. Sources: MonkeyLectric, Kickstarter

Experimental Airline Seat Plan Designed With "Dignity" In Mind More than the fetid air, the $9 cookie boxes, and the Electronic Device Lie, airline seats strip coach passengers of their humanity (or whatever was left of it after their shoes came off and their belt hit the floor). An undergraduate at the University of Malaya is aiming to improve the situation with his design for a new seat that would allow everyone on the plane to recline at a 45 degree angle without invading the space of their brethren. The idea is so good, it's a shame it wasn't proposed before the Airline Monopoly was created last week. Alireza Yaghoubi's AirGo design, which he submitted for a Dyson Award, features foot rests and trays (adjustable by touch-screen) that aren't connected to the seat in front of the passenger, and a drop-down computer screen that would allow passengers to while away the hours from a fully reclined position. Or maybe just read a book and fall asleep? You can see more renderings of the design here.

PYRO Fireshooter by Adam Wilber This is not a toy. This is a "badass" professional device that allows you to launch fireballs from your open palm. Fire. The first of its kind, PYRO is a high-tech, wrist-worn, James Bond style device that allows you to shoot magnificent balls of fire from your open hand. Featuring four separate chambers for multiple shots, an easy to use remote device, soft touch finish and adjustable wrist strap, PYRO is about to turn up the heat on your performances. Please Note: You must be 18 or over to purchase and/or use the Pyro Device At Ellusionist, we’re continually striving to make you look like a SuperHero. Now - we’re giving you the power to shoot fireballs on demand. 'Pyro goes way beyond magic and puts an unexplainable, supernatural power in your hands. Comprehensive Instructional It is a condition of purchase that you watch the PYRO instructional in its entirety, prior to operating your unit. Fully Guaranteed PYRO comes with an end to end, 60 day full replacement warranty.

A High-Tech Makeover For The Payphone In the age of cell phones, the idea of a payphone has gotten a bit absurd. Why invest in such an infrastructure when that money could be better spent subsidizing wireless plans for low-income individuals. Well, there may still be a benefit to some physical infrastructure--not phones per se--but public information spaces. At least that’s the vision of Control Group and Titan, who’ve partnered up to develop a project they call NYC I/O--a submission to NYC’s contest to remake their 11,412 payphones once the current vendor agreements expire in 2014. The team imagines a network of touchable information booths, transparent-screened kiosks connected by fiber optics. Even still, a skeptic might ask, why do these need to exist? “On the whole, our long-term interest is in the infrastructure and real estate that the payphones currently occupy,” Control Group partner Colin O’Donnell tells Co.Design. See more here.

Montblanc E-Strap: A Smartwatch That Hides Behind a Real Watch January 4th, 2015 by Stirling Matheson If you like watches, you probably have strong feelings about smartwatches. On one hand, you’re probably in favor of watches that do as much as possible, even if it’s not something you’d use (what lunar phase is it?), but on the other hand, an electronic device is so far divorced from most of the elements of horology that you love. As a result, you may have briefly considered one of the sexier examples, like the Asus ZenWatch, but then decided to just stick with your existing watch. Montblanc clearly feels similarly, and has announced the E-Strap, which attaches to your existing watch and has a small device that sits under your wrist that performs some basic smartwatch functions. [via A Blog To Watch] LEGO Arm Exoskeleton: Cyberpunk is Awesome SOG Key Knife: A Knife That Looks Like a Key

Keepod Stores Your Computer On A Card Linux boot drives have been around for a long time. Geeks keep a USB stick loaded with their own operating system in their pocket all the time. And when they show up at a computer lab, all it takes is a quick plugging to load their own operating system on top of whatever is there. With smartphone and laptop ubiquity, I wouldn’t be surprised if this trend were on the way out--but there was always something neat about the idea of an OS in your pocket. Keepod is a pocketable version of Linux for those of us without a computer science degree. Yet the Keepod is almost the creation from another timeline--one where consumers stayed fiscally conservative. “Everyone is designing their products to look so perfect, and users are going crazy to keep them so perfect by spending money on covers,” CEO Nissan Bahar explains. Don’t let appearances fool you. The Keepod is currently in beta testing. Sign up here. [Hat tip: designboom]

MultiPass by ReactionDesigns November wooden chair by Veryday Product news: Swedish design consultancy Veryday picked up a Gold Award at the iF Design Awards last week for this wooden chair created for an art and design centre in Stockholm. Veryday designed the November chair to reflect the surroundings of the Artipelag centre, which opened last June and is situated on an island in the Stockholm Archipelago, enveloped by woodland. The ash version of the chair is available to buy at Artipelag, while a walnut version is set to be put in production soon. The designers picked up their prize at the iF Design Awards in Munich on 22 February. Other wooden chairs we've featured lately include a bent wood design that looks like it's wearing a cape and a plywood design inspired by beams used in the construction industry – see all stories about chair design. Here's some more information from the designers: Most of the design work was done using scale models, carefully sculpturing each part of the chair by hand.

Leatherman announces its Tread multi-tool bracelet Leatherman multi-tools can certainly come in handy, but they are one more thing that has to be stuffed in a pocket or hung on a belt. That's where the Leatherman Tread comes in. It's a stainless steel bracelet that incorporates 25 tools within its links. Additionally, because none of those tools are knives, it shouldn't cause problems going through airport security. Each of the Tread's 11 links incorporate two to three tools. Some of the tools on offer include various types of screwdrivers, a cutting hook, hex drives, box wrenches, and a carbide glass breaker. Leatherman plans to release the basic version of the Tread this summer (Northern Hemisphere) in silver or black, with a version that includes a Swiss-made waterproof watch coming in the fall. You can see it in use, in the video below. Should you be admiring it as much as a macho fashion statement as anything else, you might also be interested in the Titanium Utility Ring, the Titanium Escape Ring, or even the Leatherdos hair clip.

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