Kronan’s American Online Store is Open
May 22, 2008 | Categories: Design / Technology / Transportation

I can’t remember where I saw my first Kronan, I want to say it was a catalog that was photographed really well by someone, but since then I’ve wanted one. The biggest problem was that they had no stores in the US and you couldn’t order them online… until today. Kronan is a Swedish company who’s been making bikes since the 1940’s, so they know what they’re doing. But these have been updated will all the bells and whistles of modern day bikes, so you get that old fashioned style mixed with modern technology.

I just think they look damn sexy. I haven’t ridden a bike in years, but these make me want one sooo bad. I’d even face Los Angeles traffic if I had one of these (I’m lying, I would ride it on the sidewalk). I also really like the colors they have, including the ultra sexy creme in the photo above, but also black, red, green and blue. They also come in different styles as well, depending upon you and what you like. They have a men’s and women’s 3-Speed, a men’s and women’s single speed, and an aluminum, unisex 5-speed. So whatever style you like, they’ve got it. But of course, something so awesome doesn’t come cheap, so you’re looking at $500 to $700 depending upon the model you want.

I think these bikes would be worth every penny, they’ve got a beautiful classic style and they look as sturdy as can be. Just go visit the site and fall in love like I did.

Bobby

One Laptop Per Child’s XOXO
May 21, 2008 | Categories: Design / Technology

One Laptop Per Child, or OLPC, is an organization that makes cheap, but not poor quality, computers to benefit children in less fortunate situations. They’ve been committed to making these laptops $100 (though they’re currently priced at $188) to help schools be able to afford these computers, dubbed XO. Well now OLPC has announced the second incarnation of the XO, now called the XOXO, seems like quite an ambitious leap.

The new XO 2.0 would feature a dual touch screen, only consume one watt of power and retail for $75 when it comes out in 2010. This sounds like a lovely idea, but really? How in the hell would this possible? An iPhone has one touch screen a quarter the size of the one of those screens and it goes for $400. The keyboard would be on the touch screen, but wouldn’t you need some sort of haptic response to know that you’re typing? I think it would be obnoxious to hear a fake key sound every time I hit a letter. This is the equivalent of that book Penny owned from Inspector Gadget!

I just really don’t see how they’re going to cram all of that technology AND do it on the cheap BY 2010. I know Yves Behar is an amazing designer, but I don’t think even Jonathan Ive could figure this one out. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong!

Found through Gizmodo

Bobby

Lacoste Future: Celebrating 75 Years
May 20, 2008 | Categories: Clothing / Design / Technology

To celebrate it’s 75th anniversary, Lacoste has decided to take a look into the future with an online video they’ve created called Lacoste Future, which shows just what tennis could look like in the future. Looking and moving like it came out of Metal Gear Solid 4 (think Raiden), but it’s definitely one of the better “future glimpses” to come out of a fashion house. The site gives an in depth look at the clothing and equipment used in the spot, including a racket with unbreakable magnetic string, shoes with an embedded OLED display, and a face mask that not only protects the wearer but is able to help visualize where the ball will land. Oh yeah, and the clothes look pretty cool, kind of rugby meets tennis meets Stormtrooper. They even have a section where you can download stills from the movie as a desktop background, pretty cool, huh?

Definitely watch the movie above, and then check out the site, it’s really well done.

Found through Fubiz

Bobby

Piece of Me, Piece of You
May 16, 2008 | Categories: Art / Design / Films / Music / Technology

Poor Zune, you try so hard but never really get anywhere in your battle against Apple. Hell, one of my co-workers hadn’t ever heard of a Zune before! But like I said, you do try, and this new video by Three Legged Legs is proof positive that you really do care. The video is called Pieces of Me, Pieces of You, and features zombie puppets! The puppets were created the awesome Adam Parker Smith, who is a damn pro on creating creepy, zombie puppets. Imagine Thriller with puppets and a Chromeo soundtrack and that’s what you’ve got.

Be sure to stop by Three Legged Legs behind the scenes post which shows you pretty much the entire process from concept to finished product. They even have sketches, photos of the puppets, storyboards, and test zombie movement footage. I want one of those zombies so bad, him and Wall-E could hang out!

Found through Shape + Colour

Bobby

The New Slimmer, Sleeker Jawbone
May 15, 2008 | Categories: Technology

Starting in California on July 1st, you’ll no longer be able to drive and talk on your mobile phone at the same time. I know that this law already exists in states like New York, I think it’s going to be insane to try enforce this law, especially here in Los Angeles where everyone is glued to their cell phones. Nonetheless, it’ll be the law, so it’s time to look into alternatives. Thankfully, Aliph has updated their already awesome Jawbone earpiece with a brand new version.

This new version is taking the place of the older model, and has been updated all over the place. The earpiece itself is 50% smaller, comes covered in leather rather than metal, and features 4 hours of talk time and an 8 day standby time. It also comes in black, silver, and gold and will be going for $130, which is kind of steep, but I personally think it would be worth. The only other wireless earpiece that I’d consider is Apple’s earpiece (which is also $130), but I’ve heard some not so great things about it.

For a hands on review, head over to Gizmodo to read their praise of how improved it is over it’s former self.

Bobby

Real Life Wall-E
May 14, 2008 | Categories: Films / Technology

I already know what I want for X-mas this year, and nothing else can possibly compare to it. The video above is a demonstration of a real life, honest to god, Wall-E!!! Seeing the movie is one thing, but being able to interact with a real moving and talking Wall-E would be the best thing ever! I’ve heard recently that Disneyland is starting to create more interactive robots like this that would be controlled by someone standing off to the side of the action. I really hope that Disney puts this little guy out onto the streets of Disneyland, I’d honestly go down there just to see him (and possibly try to ride him, try to stop me, I dare you!).

Found through /Film

Bobby

Lillies: Solar Lily Pads
May 13, 2008 | Categories: Technology

Moving away from the last past and out of Mordor is a brilliant little concept simply called Lillies. Lillies is alternative idea to the usual roof mounted solar panels, this time being placed in the River Clyde in Glasgow and resembling giant lily pads. The lily pads would be tethered to the river bed where they would slowly rotate throughout the day to get the optimal exposure and suck up as much as energy as possible.

I think this is a really great idea as long as it was executed in an artistic way. I think it would suck to have a bunch of ugly metal discs sitting out in the river not doing anything, but the idea has serious potential. There are no plans to build the lily pads yet, but the idea is being pithed to the Glasgow City Council where a test project could be developed. What do you guys think, does the idea float? (Ugh, I’m sorry, that just popped into my head and I had to write down, haha…)

For more information you can read the BBC article.
Found through Inhabitat

Bobby

Readymade Is Now Online!
April 10, 2008 | Categories: Design / Magazine / Technology

Last night I spent a half about a half an hour or so looking through the newest issue of Readymade, one of my favorite magazines these days. The only difference is that I read the whole dang thing digitally on my computer. Readymade has made a GIGANTIC leap, deciding to place the entire contents of their magazine online, and I honestly couldn’t be any more excited about this.

Most of the time when you deal with online magazines they usually come in a PDF format or there’s some giant problem with the whole thing. Believe it or not, they got it right on their first try. Going through the magazine it’s identical to the real version, ad placement and all. There are two ways to view the magazine, a pulled out view of both pages, and then clicking the page zooms you in. The zoomed in view isn’t too far away or too close, it’s literally just right (though these are just my perceptions, if you wear glasses you might feel differently). You can search for any word or phrase in the entire thing, and all web addresses are built as hyperlinks so you can visit any site immediately.

The way it’s presented is almost Apple-like, giving you only the basic tools you need instead of throwing in a ton of bells and whistles. Simplicity literally at it’s finest. This is such a great opportunity if you’ve never read Readymade before to give it a try, and if you’re already a fan, this just sweetens the deal.

Honestly, I felt guilty that I was reading this for free. I would honestly pay $10 a year for something like this, it’s just that well done.
Click here to read the latest issue!

Bobby

Oceania Compact Refrigerator
April 9, 2008 | Categories: Design / Technology

Continuing with a cold theme here, what you see above is a refrigerator concept called Oceania by the very talented Tez Patel. Basically he’s re-thought the entire idea of what a fridge should be, eschewing the usual tall and bulky form they come in. Instead your food would be placed inside special drawers which would use a future cooling technology to keep things fresh.

I personally live in a really small apartment, so something like this would be a life saver. I only have a tiny mini-fridge, so being able to hold more this way be a total advantage. It would also be so much easier to retrieve foods from way in the back instead of forgetting about things that are hidden behind the foods in front. I’m sure most people with a regular fridge might not think this is very cool, but I think of how great those new drawer dishwashers are and it seems obvious that this is probably going to be a big trend in the future. To see some more photos, check out his Coroflot.

Found through Yanko Design

Bobby

Snapture
April 8, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Photography / Technology

Even though it’s not the best one out there, I’ve really grown to love the camera on the iPhone. Maybe it’s not the camera itself per se, it’s really not that great, but I love how easy it is to snap a picture of something and then send it to my Tumblr, or email it to myself or a friend. And honestly I don’t really care if the pictures don’t turn out to be works of art, I like them because I’m able to document something that catches my interest right away. So coming across an iPhone application like Snapture is kind of exciting.

Snapture basically takes the ultra-minimal contorls of the iPhone photo application and beefs it up with some new features. With Snapture you can do things like zoom, tap any button on the phone to take a photo, change your photos to grayscale, or even have a timer. These are all very simple ideas done in a very simple way so that you’re not left with a bunch of technical choices or ways to screw up your phone. The icons themselves could use a little bit of polish, they aren’t the most attractive, but they’re certainly easy to understand.

So far the application is only available for jailbroken phones, but hopefully they create and official application soon so that any normal iPhone user (like myself) can enjoy having more photo options!

Bobby