Much like the Eternal Moonwalk MJ tribute online, Lifeline to Haiti encourages you to upload your picture and donate $3 to help raise $2M to support the Clinton Bush Haiti fund. (via Stella)
Touchscreen Guitar
No strings attached. Misa Digital out of Sydney have developed this Touchscreen guitar that uses touch screen technology and open source software to push the physical limitations of the traditional guitar. Rock on!
(via Stella)
Some info from it’s creator:
My design aim was for a minimalistic interface, with configurability at the sound module end, leaving the instrument itself simple and effective.
That being said, the Misa digital guitar software is open source, and powered by the Linux operating system. This means programmers have the flexibility to modify how it works, and even change the interface to provide specific functionality. This is important because collaboration from the users themselves, experimenting and innovating in their own ways, will further improve the instrument.
The Misa digital guitar is a MIDI controller. It must be plugged into a MIDI capable sound module. The sound of this instrument is limited only by what you connect to it.
Digital Universe Atlas : Cosmic Cartography
The Digital Universe Atlas is billed as the most complete fourth-dimensional map of our universe. It was developed by the American Museum of Natural History in cooperation with NASA and contains everything from the Himalayas to the edge of the observable universe. While that might sound like a lot, watching the video reveals it isn’t.
Apart from being a nice example of information visualization, one commenter sums up its usefulness nicely with “…several hours of heated discussion versus 6:31min infovis.”
INSTANTLY TURN ANY SURFACE INTO A TOUCHSCREEN
What’s cooler than touchscreen monitors? Touchscreen without a monitor.
Light Touch is a small portable projector that turns any surface into a touch screen.
via scottjanousek
TURN YOUR VIRTUAL FARM INTO A REAL ONE
Le Verdure Del Mio Orto: The vegetables from my Garden
I love the idea behind this start-up! FarmVille has become the most popular game app on Facebook, with 73.8 Million active users in January 2010 (Wikipedia).
Hoping to extend this addictive online habit into the real world, is the service ‘Le Verdure Del Mio Orto (’The Vegetables from my Garden’). The company lets you build an organic farm online and once you start ‘growing’ your own produce, it is harvested and delivered to your door within 24 hours. Springwise is calling this trend ‘community supported agriculture’.
How it works? Users first select a garden size based on the number of people they’d like to feed;for e.g 30m2 is enough to feed 1–2 people and costs EUR 850 per year. The virtual gardener can then choose from 40 different types of vegetables, and is given information on expected yields and harvest times. Optional extras include a photo album of the garden’s progress (EUR 49), herb and fruit beds (EUR 50/75), and even a scarecrow with a picture of the customer’s own face (EUR 39). Once the garden has been designed and fees paid, planting begins on the farm, which is located between Milan and Turin in northern Italy. (via Stella)
Adidas Turns the Sneaker Into an AR Device
Adidas has created a virtual 3-D world that can be accessed using an upcoming line of five men’s sneakers in an idea that ties into one of the technology trends of the year: augmented reality.
“The foundation of augmented reality lies in adding a layer to the real world,” says Chris Barbour, head of digital marketing for Adidas Originals. “That’s what we have done. We have taken a real world item and added a fantastic virtual world on top of that”
All users have to do is go to the Adidas site and hold up their sneaker, which has a code embedded in its tongue, in front of their computer webcam. A virtual world then pops out in front of them and they can navigate it using their sneaker as a controller.
“We are not trying to mimic a real-world look, we have a more stylized, pop-up book creative approach,” says Barbour. “The neighborhood is displayed on a two dimensional computer screen, but you can use your shoe to control the angle and depth of view and zoom in and out, giving a 3-D sense of perspective.”
Over the next few months, Adidas plans to introduce three augmented reality games developed by game developer xForm into the virtual neighborhood. The sneakers will then serve not only as the key to get in, but also act as the controller for the games. Among those available will be a skateboard game, where the sneaker acts as the controller to navigate the virtual city’s alleys, a Star Wars-like game with the sneaker and a music-based game.
The shoes with the augmented reality codes will cost between $65 and $95 and will be available starting February. (via GadgetLab)
Digital magazines in the near future
This conceptual video is a corporate collaborative research project
initiated by Bonnier R&D into the experience of reading magazines on
handheld digital devices. It illustrates one possible vision for
digital magazines in the near future, presented by our design partners
at BERG.
The concept aims to capture the essence of magazine reading, which
people have been enjoying for decades: an engaging and unique reading
experience in which high-quality writing and stunning imagery build up
immersive stories.
The concept uses the power of digital media to create a rich and
meaningful experience, while maintaining the relaxed and curated
features of printed magazines. It has been designed for a world in
which interactivity, abundant information and unlimited options could
be perceived as intrusive and overwhelming.
(via Bonnier R&D Beta Lab)
