Dang!! Well dream no more. The JetLev was created by Raymond Li a Chinese-Canadian living in St. John's Newfoundland. I could explain to you how this thing works but I think the video will speak for itself. In a nutshell, the jetpack is tethered to a seperate vessel with a propulsion engine that uses water to power it. This according to the company greatly improves the thrust-to-weight ratio. Believe it or not, this awesomeness will be available for order this April. Although, owning a ride like this is gonna cost you. The 155hp will sell for 99,000 euros and the 215hp model will run you 119,000 euros. [via Engadget]
Recently in Shop Category
I wanted to know more details about this sofa, but unfortunately they don't have an english version of their site. So, I don't really know much about this sofa or what kind of hardware is included. What I do know is that it's priced in the $15,000 range and it's beautifully designed with a his and her LCD (hopefully touch) screen built into either arm. That's pretty sweet! [via Gizmodo]
The i24R3 wireless multi-room speaker system, despite it's name, looks anything but something related to r2d2. This audio system is pure designer goodness created by renowned industrial designer Michael Young.
Some of the features of this system is a motion sensor that read hand movements to operate functions, multiple inputs/outputs, two step wireless connection, wireless remote, and get this...wireless USB audio transmitter so that you can stream iTunes from your PC or laptop.
The website states an early 2009 launch date. [via Design Milk]
I was sitting around reminiscing about the infant days of the web. Remember the days before Google came and changed the game forever. Does Excite ring a bell? Maybe you were all about Alta Vista, InfoSeek, WebCrawler, or Lycos....ah yah, Lycos...I was a Lycos guy myself! So I decided to check out Lycos.com and was pleasantly surprised that it was still up and running. Not only was it up and running but I noticed a section called Lycos Cinema, a movie sharing experience, or as their tagline reads "Bringing people together...One flick at a time."
It's an interesting concept. The idea is that you can invite up to 10 of your friends to join you as you watch a movie online. It allows you to chat along side the movie in a clean and intuitive interface. If you feel like meeting new folks you can always join an existing party in the "Social Scene" section and share the experience with others on the network.
There are plenty of pay and free movies, although many of the titles are either older classics, or aren't very recognizable at all...have you heard of Brainiac, Baron Blood, Elephants Dream, or Affair in T'Sien Cha? They do however some obscure documentaries such as Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, A Tribute to Sam Kinison, and an absurdly large collection of National Lampoon titles.
The Kindle 2 was released today by Amazon. The Kindle is a wireless reading device that has 3G speed, 2Gig storage that holds up to 1,500 books and is said to be thinner than an iPhone. This device is sure to clean up the old book shelves. Check out the full hands on review at Gizmodo.
Barack Obama's memoirs called "Dreams from My Father" was published in 1995 and then re-released in 2004. Turns out there is an audio version of the book read by the President himself. Nothing too interesting there, however there is a part of the reading where he quotes from his former classmate Ray. Ray apparently liked to swear alot...so if you want to hear the President say things like "This shit's getting way too complicated for me", or "That guy ain't shit. Sorry ass motherf*#ker", then click here. This should sell some copies of the audio book, no doubt.
Note: NSFW
"The customer is always right." This may always have been true but you wouldn't know it from the experience most have had before the days of social networking. Rest assure, that in this connected age we as consumers are much more empowered.
The trend of social shopping has been growing now for several years but the timing for this community is perfect. With smart phones gaining popularity, the masses are arming themselves with portable knowledge, equipped with several means of communication, high quality cameras, and social networking apps, retailers need to be aware that the consumer has evolved. Beware the multi-tasking consumer.
Here are a list of some social shopping sites:
Stylehive http://www.stylehive.com/
Jelly Fish http://www.jellyfish.com/
Crowdstorm http://www.crowdstorm.com/
This Next http://www.thisnext.com/
Wist http://wists.com/
Shop Wiki http://www.shopwiki.com/
Kaboodle http://www.kaboodle.com/
If you're looking for visuals for your next fungi inspired party, forget about Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi, order this DVD available in Blu-Ray from Itallian designer Piero Fornasetti. You will trip out to the hi-def visuals of what he calls ambient wall art animations. It's not a small purchase at $175, but if you remember this is original art with over 500 images, it's actually quite a steal. [via Design-Milk]
A beer glass with an upside down beer bottle inside it. This is surely bound to cause some incidents after you've had a few. [via Gizmodo]
In terms of personal tech devices I have to say the 16GB wireless flash drive by Leyio definitely has potential. I can definitely see the need for this, especially amongst students but also for general personal and professional use. One thing to keep in mind is that this device is wireless, not to be confused or compatible with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled devices. This product uses ultrawide-band radio which means it needs it's own dongle. That said, it can freely connect and transfer files to nearby Leyio flash drives. The real selling feature for me is that this product offers a USB port so you can connect other flash drives giving this product scaleability.
Definitely a great purchase if you like sharing photos, music, and videos with your friends.
I finally purchased a new alarm clock this weekend to replace an
old $10 Radio Shack no-named brand I've tolerated for the past 20 yrs.
Now an alarm clock isn't necessarily something people think about all
the time but I've actually put quite a bit of time and effort looking
out for the perfect one. When you've put up with an AM/FM alarm clock
that played neither AM or FM but rather a static ridden high pitched
steady tone, well, you want the next one to be something really
special.
So I picked up a Moshi - IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Alarm
Clock. It's a talking command-driven alarm clock that has a clean
Apple-esque design (minus the ipod dock). Though an ipod dock would've
been nice, it's actually refreshing that it doesn't offer one. Rather,
there are some other unique features that will entertain you such as a
night light which cycles mood colours and soothing sleep sounds like
birds chirping and water falls. One feature I'd like to see in the next
generation of this product is a wifi an the ability to pull in feeds
such as my Last.fm playlist, local news, and weather...now that would be great!
With
this technology greatly improving over the last couple of years and
continuing to improve in our hands-free culture, I'm hoping to see alot
more IVR and web enabled tech being integrated into household
appliances and lifestyle devices in the near future.
i.TV
is one of my favourite iPhone applications. You might think, well
what's the big deal it's just a TV guide right? Wrong. If you're like
me and currently use Rogers you know exactly how painful it can be to
scan the guide on that VCR sized cable box. I'm not sure how it's
possible that a company that has a virtual monopoly on the
cable/vod/broadband business, making billions of dollars can be content
with the service it's providing it's customers. The guide interfaces
for most cable/satellite dealers have horrible usability and sluggish
response times at best. There are no visual cues, poorly written
synopsis, and the longer titles are truncated so you have to guess at
the title.
So along comes i.TV, a great solution...even their ads are well integrated.
When
you first launch this app it will synch up your iPhone via postal code
and service provider to bring you the relevant programming information.
This can take a minute but it's a one time process. The guide is
displayed by title and thumbnail images so you can immediately
recognize what you are looking for, as well as the channel, rating,
reviews and a well written detailed synopsis. If available you can also
view a sample clip or trailer.
i.TV also allow
you to search movies and theatres based on your location using the
iPhone's GPS feature. It also offers tons of great sorting features,
email alerts, reviews, search, share and customizable features (you
need to sign up for a free account). Using TiVo DVR? Then you can set
to record it instantly. Got a Netflix account? Instantly add your
selection to your queue. Now if it can only replace my outdated cable
box...if anyone from Rogers is reading this please please contact i.TV
for help!
Samsung's is kicking it up a notch with their latest line of TV and devices.
1. The 50" Plasma FP-T5094 wireless TV. With the exception of the power cord, all your home entertainment devices plug into a seperate box which delivers wireless communication to your television.
3. The latest must have for the new media crowd is Samsung's Pico
projector phone...that's right folks a phone with a 5mp camera that
also has a DLP projector. Check this...
Move over Apple, I think Samsung's gunning for top spot over the next few years.
The latest new gadget on the market is the pocket projector, although there are a few models out there the Optoma Pico Projector claims to be the smallest in the world...at least for the time being. I must admit when I first read about this "From the desk of David Pogue" I was very excited about how this gadget could make a significant cultural impact. The ability to capture stills and video on your mobile/portable devices and have the freedom to display them just as quickly in the privacy of your home or in public spaces is exciting. Yet another technology that allows Next Gen'ers to fill their insatiable need for immediacy. I can't wait to get one!
