First an alien mothership stranded in the desert, and now a whole extraterrestrial homebase right in the heart of the Alps, where people love to have jacuzzi orgies at 15,000 feet and fly on jet wings. Fortunately for earthlings, it’s just a concept for a medical centre for rehabilitation of trauma surgery patients designed by Sarah Schneider. Seeing how outwordly it looks inside, I wish it was just apartments.
Apple has just seeded iPhone 2.1 beta 4 to developers–uninteresting, really, except for the fact that the push notification service has been pulled from the release “for further development.” Targeted to hit your iPhone in September, the push service allows apps to receive notifications in the background while they’re not running, a godsend for AIM and other messaging apps. Hopefully this doesn’t mean it’ll be delayed, but we’ve all learned what happens when iPhone software rolls out before it’s finished baking, so I’d rather wait. [Mac Rumors]
If you’ve ever wanted to take a street tour of the centre of the Apple universe, now’s your chance. The Google Street View car has finished making its rounds at Infinite Loop, so you can zoom around like you belong there from your computer chair.
In case you didn’t already know, broadcasters can slip “flags” into TV shows telling your DVR to not record it or to delete it when it hits an expiration date. TiVo users last had a run-in with the auto-delete flag a couple years ago (Media Centre users had a more recent taste), but it looks like it’s back and haunting Star Trek fans.
Back when I was in college, one of my most frustrating experiences involved a roommate in my dormitory apartment who mistakenly believed that she would be able to wake up daily for her 8:30am lecture series. Said roommate could sleep through an elephant parade. Oh how I seethed in the mornings as I clutched my pillow to my head, begging for the noise to pleasepleaseplease just STOP. If only this alarm were available back then. The Silent Alarm Clock, designed by Johan Brengesjo, uses a wireless rubber ring that vibrates to wake you up in a tactile, noiseless fashion. Though it’s just a concept device right now, somebody ought to make and market one right quick. Think of how many friendships it could save! [Yanko Design]
Informed by the Bush Administration that a Rebel base is located in the heart of San Francisco, Imperial forces surrounded the city in advance of a full-scale invasion. While Imperial Admiral Piett promised administration officials that the assault would commence only if the Rebel forces fail to surrender by 8PM PDT tonight, video reports on the ground reveal that Imperial fighters have already begun flybys and the Death Star battle station has moved into position above the city.
WM Experts says that the AT&T-branded HTC Touch Pro we caught last week is probably going to be known as the HTC Fuze, and that it’ll be out “sooner rather than later.” Make sense, given that the thing’s already floating around, even though the name doesn’t, since it sounds more like an XTREME energy drink than a phone. Crazy kids. [WM Experts]
Science nerds and fans of British accents rejoice! University of Nottingham scientist/professor Martyn Poliakoff and video journalist Brady Haran have put together what they’ve dubbed The Periodic Table of Videos, where each square contains a link to a video showing some fascinating facts about its element. Who knew Bismuth was so pretty (quite honestly, who knew what Bismuth was in the first place)? Best of all, the project is continually updated, so even after you’re done with the 117 videos currently on the site, you can come back later to check for newer ones. The introductory clip gives you a taste of what you’ll find on their site. [
Now, I know Bono is the kind of guy that loves the sound of his own voice a whole lot, but his predilection for his own crooning apparently led to four tracks from U2′s upcoming album getting leaked online. Bono was playing them so loud from his villa in southern France that a fan passing by recognised his voice and recorded the songs.
Aw, here’s a cute piece of news: 12-year-old inventor Elizabeth Rintel has won the grand prize in a “Going Green Challenge” by youth media company By Kids For Kids with her “Water Watcher,” a device that measures and monitors water usage in the shower. The gadget, which can be fastened to any shower or faucet, sounds a beep and signals a red light every time a half-gallon of water is used. Cutting your shower short by just one minute could save 1,000 gallons of water per year, no small amount as our world possibly approaches the days of Peak Water.
