Lifestyle posts

The Spanish government is quite unique as far as copyright laws are considered: it is completely legal to upload and download copyrighted material as long as it is for “personal use.” This means that every single Spaniard can download the latest Timbaland track, rip the latest Avatar movie, and acquire an unlimited amount of content through file sharing, for free. They got it good, don’t they? However, there is pressure on the government to change. Most countries that participates in international trade would like it if Spain would conform to copyright infringement laws. To the MPAA, RIAA,…

I’m a total freak for Twitter. It’s the greatest thing to happen to the internet in ages, and I wish I had it on me at all times. I’d get an iPhone app, but the hell if I’m paying an iPhone-sized monthly bill. Fortunately for me, the designers at Tokyoflash are working on an alternative concept that will rock your socks into another dimension. I’d like to have a romantic relationship with this watch. Check it out: we’ve got three modes: microblogging, which can display your twitter and Facebook contacts’ status updates, world clock, which can give you the skinny on what’s the when…

Man, it’s hard to believe the 50’s was 60 years ago. That’s the better half of a century. Time flies, no? Ever want to revisit that decade? Listen to some rock n’ roll? Drink some soda-pop? I was born in the 80’s, so I don’t. But maybe you do!

 Designer Gary Katz has a way. Katz has made a really cool replica of a classic drive-in theatre, complete with moody sunset, ugly metal speakers, and dashboard view. There’s an absurd attention to detail, here; Katz has gone out of his way to research and capture the 50’s aesthetic. Hats off, Gary. Why the hell is this on Techi, you ask? Because…

As the proud owner of a Smart car, I simply had to post this. Mercedes gave Wired a couple of Smart ForTwo’s to take up to Inuvik, Canada to test drive the same routes used by ice truckers carrying wood down to Dawson City, Yukon. Considering these cars were originally meant for the gentle streets of continental Europe, they handle the challenge admirably. The Smart cars started even without engine block heaters in 40 below temperatures, no mean feat. At 70 horsepower, the cars struggled to keep up with the pace, but managed that task too. I love my Smart car, and it’s great to know that if I ever wanted…

You thought the way the Solar Pebble slapped the sun around was pretty cool, right? Right? Here’s another great way we mancreatures are bringing the sun to its knees as a sustainable energy source. That is, sustainable until the sun explodes in like 5 billion years. But that’s irrelevant. Until then, we have the Sundolier! ‘Bah! I’ve seen this before,’ you say. You would. And, granted, from these photos, the Sundolier would appear at first to be a fairly typical skylight. But let’s not get our lines crossed here – first of all, this thing’s a freaking robot that sits on your roof. …Yeah,…

With the impending US launch of Apple’s iPad, analysis and chatter has reached – well, fevered picth doesn’t even begin to cover it. Every technology-focused outlet I know of is talking about the device, and even the mainstream media is obsessed with it too. It was on Letterman for crying out loud. It is everywhere and tomorrow across America, people will be standing in line for one. Still it seems that, like with any major product launch, opinion is sharply divided between those who are clamoring for one and those who just don’t get it. And those who just don’t want one are making a pretty strong point….

Though you may be tiring of the iPad hype machine, this video of a forthcoming Popular Science may reignite – or create – some excitement for the device everyone can’t stop talking about. The clip is from Bonnier and Berg, who have already produced a great concept video about tablet magazines, and in it, they demonstrate not only how a magazine can look on the iPad but also how it needs its own sort of user interface. Rather than using the animated page-turn that seems to have become popular, users swipe left and right to move through pages and, when they come upon something they find interesting, swipe…

Except Cars, of course. Nobody knows what Pixar was thinking with that one. Okay, so if one wanted to get picky, this isn’t a tech story proper – but how many geeks do you know who don’t love Pixar movies? Yeah, thought so. Which is why it seemed important to tell you that, though we associate sequels with things like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, word on the street is that Toy Story 3 is another Pixar masterpiece. CNET reporter Daniel Terdman got access to an early screening in California and he seems mighty pleased: Pixar, yet again, has managed to turn animated silliness into top-tier filmmaking…

Themed restaurants are all the rage these days – heck, even Kim Jong Il has a line of establishments with pretty, dancing waitresses (no, really). But pirates or weird maid outfits are nothing compared to Hajime in Thailand – a restaurant that uses robots for staff. The robots, who are dressed up look vageuly like ancient Thai warriors, serve food through a central path. Customers order through a touch-screen system and the robots deliver their orders. They also, for reasons that remain somewhat inexplicable, dance while they serve food, which seems like a fitting mix of entertaining and just…

There are painfully few options available to the trendy consumer who wants to look silly in transit. Unicycles take too much time and effort to learn. Hoverounds are for old ladies. Segways are just too silly – we’re trying to strike a balance, here, people. But now…now there is a way to look exactly one increment less ridiculous than on a Segway. Presenting…the YikeBike. Yeah, I don’t get it either. But it’s still a pretty neat idea. The Yike is all-electric, can go 6 miles on one charge (which sounds wimpy until you realize this is probably a bad choice for a long-distance road trip anyway),…