Designed for trade fairs, stage shows and parties (yay!), the PufferSphere is an interactive digital spherical display that I want in my house. If my house was big enough, that is. The inflatable globe with a 360º field of view plugs into the mains, and can be wall-mounted, stuck on the ceiling or even used outside, if you think that standing it on its base is a bit infra dig. There’s a video below of the PufferSphere in action.
In the US at least, Sony and Konami will be celebrating the June launch of Metal Gear Solid 4 “Guns of the Patriots” with a special steel coloured edition of the PlayStation 3. Dare we say “gunmetal grey” colour? Yes, I think we dare. It’ll be a limited edition, but both the 40GB PS3 and a single matching DualShock controller will be available in a premium package for US$520. [Kotaku and AV Watch]
There has been a lot of emphasis in recent years on conserving water, but we all know that for most people self-regulation is damn near impossible. Enter designer Tommaso Colia and his Eco_Drop Shower. When the shower has decided that you have outstayed your welcome, concentric circles on the floor will rise&mdashmaking things too uncomfortable to continue. I don’t know if this concept will ever see the light of day, but I vote for modifying it into a moving wall of spikes. Now that would be effective. Additional pic after the break.
Alright, I get it. Eco-friendly types and people who have small apartments might appreciate a washing machine / toilet hybrid that recycles wasted wash water in the flush tank. It is a good idea, but there is something that is just plain wrong about having your clean clothes so close to the place where you poop—you know what I’m saying? Still, if you are a dude you could entertain yourself by watching the cycle spin while urinating.Nice. It may only be a concept, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this thing popping up in tiny apartments sometime in the near future. [Core77 via Apartment Therapy]
A new development from InnovaTek offers potential freedom from high oil prices and hope for the future of biodiesel fuel-cells. They are currently testing a hand-sized microreactor that can convert nearly any liquid fuel into hydrogen—and while you are pondering that little nugget of information consider this: the microreactor units can be linked together. InnovaTek has already developed linked systems capable of producing anywhere from 1 to 160 gallons of hydrogen per minute, meaning that it is possible to generate hydrogen on-board in fuel-cell powered vehicles.
Unbelievably enough, researchers in California have developed an artificial muscle that can expand more than 200% when electricity is applied to it. By using carbon nanotubes, they have added a level of durability that can not be matched by current artificial muscle materials. If an area of the nanotube fails, the region around it becomes non conductive which effectively prevents the damage from spreading.
Billy Chasen, the artist who encased a still-working, exploded iPod in resin, put a new piece up at the American Heart Association’s 2008 Heart of New York Gala at the classy Waldorf Astoria hotel in NYC. Watch as a heart sprays blood all over the inside of a glass cube! Be made curious by the strange juxtaposition of such a gruesome piece with old people in tuxedos! Get distracted by something else due to your short attention span! [Billy Chasen via NotCot]
Pocket Shock-It: Russian Roulette/Mexican Standoff for Chickens
For the Jackass generation.
Cellphone Delivers 666 Days of Standby, Eternal Damnation, a Camera
Seems rather implausible, except for the eternal damnation part.
Intel Actually Sets Low Price for its Low Price Atom CPU
It’s looking good for the Eee PC and its various clones.
Coming Blu-ray 2.0 Update Makes PS3 Best Player Ever
At last. Now we just have to get all the other players on board and the mess of Blu-ray standards might go some way to being solved.
…and that’s it for the weekend. Have a happy Easter everyone!
Here’s an unexpected patent from Apple: a system for projecting 3D images. Sure, we’ve seen 3D panels from Sharp and 3D projectors that require glasses, but this is a projector setup that requires no glasses. And this makes sense for Apple why?
Beleaguered smartphone maker Palm lost $31.5 million this quarter, despite the Centro’s success—no surprise, given that their living-in-the-past handsets are losing marketshare, not to mention the whole deader-than-dead Foleo. [NYT]
