Dress to Impress
Hand-me-downs are so last decade. Don’t give up your favorite shirt simply because it doesn’t fit, just recycle it into something you can still use, like a laptop case.
That’s the idea behind Hello Rewind. Hello Rewind sells personalized laptop cases for $50. In 13’’ 15’’ and 17’’ models you can send in your old T-shirt and they will send back a personalized case for your computer. People dress their pets, why not their computers? Hello Rewind also employs former sex trafficking victims from New York City to teach them business skills and help them on their way to a better life. Good deed and good product, what’s not to like?
Computer Engineer Barbie?
An unlikely pairing–female computer scientists and Mattel’s Barbie–but desperate times call for desperate measures. The rates of women getting computer science degrees is half what it was 20 years ago, and women in the field want to change that.
They blame many reasons for the decline, but one is the lack of visible female role models in the field. When Mattel recently held a contest to choose the next theme for Barbie, female computer scientists “stuffed the ballot box” to make it happen.
According to a Wall Street Journal article:
Barbie “I Can Be” Computer Engineer retails for $12.99
- Dressed in a funky tee with binary code design
- Comes with cell phone headset, laptop bag, and pink laptop
- Special code inside each package unlocks career-themed content online
- Perfect for gadget girls
Lost and Back
So tonight is the beginning of the end. The final season of Lost premieres this evening. In honor of the show I love I thought it appropriate, on this bittersweet day to post a link to a beautiful computer with a Lost theme.
This computer mod (created by some Spanish Lost fans) is in the octagonal shape of the dharma initiative logo with a green backlit “Lost” label. The mod also has a picture of the 1977 Dharma team inside as well as a video screen that displays Doctor Marvin Candle’s informational videos from the show.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about never fear, the first five seasons are out on DVD and I recommend them all. For those of you who do know what I’m talking about here’s to the last season, lets enjoy it while it lasts.
Visual Translation
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is translation it seems. Japan’s NEC has begun work on a Tele Scouter system, an eye piece with a camera and microphone set up to capture conversations (in foreign languages presumably) and send back the translation for your eye to read.
A small computer is also needed (worn about the waist) to transmit the microphone pic up to a larger computer that would send back the translation. Currently the system is still in the process of being fully functional, but NEC also hopes it can transmit other information, like tech specs to engineers on site verses in the office. It doesn’t look too attractive as a head set at the moment, but the concept is awesome.
Hand Signals
Multiplayer Games are about to get a lot cooler (if not a better rep in the general public). The Peregrine is set to change the way multiplayer keyboard focused games are played forever.
The Peregrine is an elastic glove set with wires and conductive patches. The idea is that, instead of punching in key commands, you can control character actions through the glove. Press a finger to a point on your palm and a character is healed. It’s almost like having the force (almost). Forget typing all you need is a mouse or a joystick plus the Peregrine. Supposedly it will be released this fall and connect by a USB. The price looks to be over $100, but the idea at least feels more than solid.
Building Additions
We all love USB drives, USB cords, USB anything, but most computers don’t come with quite enough USB ports for anyone’s taste. That’s why the Lego themed USB hub sounds like such an excellent idea.
Lego remains a popular design theme in the world of gadgetry (whether or not the devices are actually branded by Lego). This USB hub would look no less attractive than any of the other brick related gadgets on the market today. It doesn’t appear to be available in America just yet, but I’m sure it’s on its way. It’s popularity and necessity just doesn’t com into question, who doesn’t love Legos?
Happy Girl
I am a happy, happy girl. I just set up my brand-new 24″ Apple iMac.
It is barely out of the box. Only time to set up my email so far, but I look forward to the days ahead of exploring all the wonderful new Apple features. My original Mac was purchased in 2002 (yes, that long ago) and it has served me well. It has been on nearly 24 hrs a day since I unpacked it and it never gave me a day’s trouble other than just being slow and gradually incompatible with all manner of websites.
I also have a laptop Dell for my PC friends. It’s next up for a re-vamp as it has been running very slow recently.
I still remember the day I bought my very first computer–a Gateway back in 1994 when I graduated from high school. It was gargantuan compared to the sleek screen only iMac I just unpacked. I remember trekking back and forth on school holidays from college with it. Now with so many ways to compute on the go it seems like the dark ages.
If you have a Mac–what’s your favorite feature of the latest OS?
Computer Health
Computer keyboards are less than the cleanest surfaces in your home, or anywhere for that matter. Well, it looks like someone has finally started down the road to a solution.
Vioguard (though aimed at hospitals inparticular) is designed to douse a keyboard with UV rays to kill germs. The keyboard retracts, gets zapped, and is ready to go. Hospitals definitely seem like the best starting place but I would definitely also suggest colleges and public libraries as a great ground for change as well.
The Display Evolution
Gadgets continue to evolve and (for the most part) shrink. That particular trend has yet to slack and MIT is on the band wagon.
MIT is basically working on a wearable computer that can turn any surface into a display. Right now the display is hooked up to a mini projector, a mirror, and an internet enabled cell phone, but it’s a start. At least it helps where cell phone screen sizes are still concerned.
It’s definitely a step towards a Minority Report type computing system, which is pretty cool. Our minds project images of imagination why not project images onto any surface of reality? It makes sense to me.
A New Place to Watch
When it comes to college there are a lot of choices to be made (beyond what school). More specifically I’m talking about what to buy and bring. Of course you’ve got your basics where tech is concerned: computer, cell phone, alarm clock. But what about those little extras to keep you happy so far from home?
Some of the more popular extras I’ve seen include printers, refrigerators, and of course, TVs. But say you have a PC, maybe you don’t need a TV after all!
This is where Nero Liquid TV comes in. Basically watch TV on PC computer, with Tivo. That’s right, with Tivo, the best invention since the video cassette. Lets be honest, many computer monitors are bigger than televisions anyway, and think of the space you could save with only one screen to make space for.
The Nero also boasts features that include exporting recorded shows to ipods (ironic since it’s only compatible with PC’s right now) or burning them to DVD’s. If only I wasn’t a Mac owner. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to get an old fashioned TV style Tivo to help out with my hectic television interrupting work schedule.
